                                  SOFTWARE STAR
                                 for Spectrum 48K
           Copyright Addictive Games Limited 1984. All rights reserved

To load the game type LOAD"".

SOFTWARE STAR THE GAME
Software Star is a game which allows you to try your hand at becoming a Software
Star by running a successful company and producing chart topping successful
games. You control your company's finances, marketing, personnel and games design.
There are many other features that make this a gripping addictive game.
Have you got what it takes to make it to the top? Here's your chance to find out!

THE AIM OF THE GAME
The aim of the game is to reach the Status of Software Star and stay there for as
long as possible. Your months of stardom are recorded and the program sets you an
initial target of 10 months of Stardom. It is also necessary to achieve the profit
targets set by your Board of Directors. Please read the following playing tips while
you are playing the game as they will considerably enhance your understanding and
enjoyment of the game.

SOFTWARE STARDOM
Software Stardom is achieved by getting your games frequently in the top three
positions in the charts. A number one hit will give you the biggest boost to your
stardom rating. The public soon forget you in this game and if you do not have the
game in the top three in any month your stardom rating will reduce.

SKILL LEVELS
Start playing at beginners level and progress when you feel you want a greater
challenge. Note that the game can become very difficult at the higher levels.

GAME DEVELOPMENT
The quality percentage of a game will affect sales - the higher the better. Therefore
it is a good idea to leave a game in development for a few months to allow its quality
to improve with time. After about four months development the quality improves
more slowly.

REVIEWS
Note that when you launch a game you are given a note of how favourable the
reviews were. The quality rating shown for the game after it has been launched may
differ before it is launched. This is because reviews will affect the quality. Good ones
will boost it, had ones will reduce it. After launch the quality is therefore a
representation of how the public rate the game.

EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY
You may use incentives, discipline or no action at all to try and achieve excellent
productivity. No cast is incurred when using these. Higher productivity will aid sales
and the development of your games.

SALES FORCE STRATEGY
There are many ways you can allocate your sales forces effort. The following tips
may help you to form your own strategy. The region given the highest priority will
receive a large sales boost. The region given the second priority will receive a small
sales boost. The region given the third priority will receive a small sales reduction.
The region given the fourth priority will receive a large sales reduction. When you
allocate priorities you are modifying the effectiveness of your sales force in each
region. A region which has received several sales boosts will generally achieve higher
sales. Please also note that each region has a maximum and minimum effectiveness
of your sales force. This means that it you always give one region the highest priority
eventually the effort will be having no effect. Similarly a region which is always
given the lowest priority will reach a point where it cannot get any worse. It is
always possible to get sales even in a region which has the sales forces
effectiveness at the lowest possible level.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

In public relations you are able to use either hype or honesty. Each one can have
either a positive, negative or zero effect on your company image. Hype is however
more risky and although if it works it will increase your company image considerably.
If it fails it will have a major damaging effect on your company image. It's up to you
whether to take the gamble.

ADVERTISING BOOKINGS
Each month there is an optimum advertising level. It is higher in the winter months
than the summer months. If you set your advertising at this optimum number of
pages it will maximise your sales for that product. If you book more adverts than
necessary your sales will not he improved any further. However, if you book less than
the optimum then your sales will he reduced.
Certain other factors should also be taken into account when deciding how many
pages of advertising to book for a game:-
1. The age of the game.
When a game is over three months old its sales potential starts to dwindle. Therefore
it is not a good idea to book large numbers of pages of advertising for a game which
is dying out.
2. Its quality.
The higher the quality of the game the higher its potential sales. Therefore it may be
worthwhile booking a lot of advertising for a very high quality game but perhaps not
so much for a poor quality game. However, you might decide to take the risk and try
and push a poor quality game by booking a large amount of advertising. It's up to
you.
3. The time of year.
There is a seasonal effect in the game which you will notice strongly. Sales are much
greater generally during the winter months (December, January) than in the summer
(June, July). This of course matches reality in the software business. It should also
affect the amount of advertising you book. Ten pages of advertising on a game in the
summer is almost certain to be a complete waste of money. Whereas ten pages in
say December may well lead to substantial sales. The Market Size for the month,
which is displayed on the Advertising screen, will guide you when deciding how many
adverts to book.
Essentially with advertising you should use your own judgement and experience to
decide how many pages to book for each game.

THE CHARTS
You can follow your games' climb up the charts and you will be able to see whether
you have passed the break even point on sales. Remember it is important to get your
games in to the top three.

PROFIT TARGETS
Profit targets are set each year 6y your Board of Directors. It is important that you
reach them. The Board of Directors will allow you to fail in reaching your profit
target once for one year. If you fail the following year you will be sacked.

DELETE GAMES FROM RANGE
From time to time you will find that a game has passed its saleable life and its sales
will drop to a low level. Please bear in mind that each game costs you about 2,000
per month in overheads in addition to what you are spending on advertising.
Therefore do not keep an old game that is selling only a few units as it will lose you
money.

SAVING THE GAME
You may find it useful to save the game regularly, (it takes about 20 seconds), to
keep a record of your progress in case you get sacked or go bankrupt and want to
restart from a previous position. To restore a saved game it is necessary to reload the
program and take the R option when the program loads.


Copyright Addictive Games Limited 1984. All rights reserved. Unauthorised copying, hiring, lending,
                public performance and broadcasting of this product is prohibited.
  The publisher accepts no liability for errors in the software nor liability for damage arising
                                   from the use of this product.

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Document created by Frode Tenneb, 20061227.
