We currently have 10 components required for producing electronic products. However, the components themselves add very little to the gameplay. The main task for the player is simply to manually calculate how many of each component is needed for the planned production volume.
In my opinion, the number and complexity of these calculations do not really turn into gameplay. They simply create additional busywork: the player takes the recipes, opens a calculator, and manually calculates how many batteries, capacitors, microchips, and other components will be required, for example, to produce 1,500 phones and 1,850 smartwatches.
In this regard, even the discontinued conveyor belt system was more meaningful from a gameplay perspective. It allowed players to actually solve production and logistics problems within the game mechanics: organizing production, placing equipment, and building physical production chains.
Therefore, I suggest adding a dedicated late-game position: Plant Manager.
This could be an expensive and difficult position to fill, intended for an advanced industrial infrastructure. Their job would be to automate production planning and calculate the required components.
The Plant Manager would be assigned to an importer through a dedicated interface, similar to how an HR specialist is assigned to HeadHunter.
The player would then get a list of the products that can be manufactured and specify the required quantities. For example:
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1,500 ZanaMan phones
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1,850 Arty Fish watches
The system would automatically calculate the required quantities of all components based on the recipes and pass those requirements to the importer. The importer would then order the necessary quantities of components to fulfill the production plan.
Instead of manually calculating:
“1,500 phones × X batteries + 1,850 watches × Y batteries + …”
the player would simply set the production targets:
ZanaMan Phone: 1,500 units
Arty Fish Watch: 1,850 units
The system would handle all the repetitive math.
This would fit well into the existing logic of the game. At the later stages of the game, players can gradually delegate routine processes to employees. For example, warehouse and import operations can already be automated by setting desired stock levels.
The Plant Manager would be the next logical step: the player decides what and how much to produce, while the automation determines how many components are required.
The factory could also receive a dedicated workstation for the position: an office desk, computer, and the corresponding office requirements. This way, the position would not simply exist as another option in a menu, but would physically exist in the game world.
This also gives the position a clear purpose. The Plant Manager would actually be responsible for the production plan, rather than simply being another employee who needs to sit at a computer just to provide a bonus.
The main advantage of this system is that it does not remove the production mechanics. It only removes the part that currently consists of manual arithmetic.
The player would still have to:
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choose the products;
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determine the production volume;
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organize the factory;
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provide workers;
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set up imports;
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provide warehouse and logistics infrastructure;
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monitor production results.
But they would no longer have to be both the owner of an industrial empire and the person manually multiplying ten numbers by the number of phones being produced.
