From: krogers@javelin.sim.es.com (K. Rogers)
Subject: Re: RRT: Computer opponents up to their eyeballs in debt
Keywords: RRT
Reply-To: krogers@javelin.sim.es.com
Organization: Evans & Sutherland Computer Corp., Salt Lake City, Utah
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 1992 19:00:58 GMT

krogers@javelin.sim.es.com (K. Rogers) writes:

>Following some suggestions I received a while back I have been running
>other RRT companies into the ground by feigning a hostile take over,
>milking them for all their worth, then dumping all the stock.  You
>know, make a shark attack, get 60% take all the money they have, sell
>10,000 shares so you only own 50%, the player will sell a bond, you
>buy the shares back, take over, milk all the money, repeat until he
>can't sell any more bonds.
>
>Ok, works like a champ, but aren't the stupid companies supposed to go
>belly up soon afterwards?  All three lines are in Megadebt, with a
>capital M, incomes are always in the red, cash is some $7M in the red,
>they all have $4M+ bond debts, they own none of their own stock, and
>report no net worth, but they're still around.  What the hell gives
>here anyways?  I'd be out of the game if my finances looked like that.
>These yoyos have been like this for 12 finanical periods now and they
>just *will not* die.  I'm getting pissed off.  I've been waiting and
>waiting for these lines to die so I can take over the new ones as they
>appear now that I'm rolling in dough.

I have some even stranger news to report after my original posting.
I'm playing along with the above saved game and go to my broker.  To
my surprise, one of the lines which had been $24M in debt the last
time I checked wasnow $29 M *in the black*.  I thought it was a
computer bug since I instantly bought up 60% (it owned no stock and
had no net worth) of stock and tried to milk that money.  No di.  Ok,
I figure it had to be a bug - the number should have been red but was
black.

Hah, next turn I find out the line went from no net worth, negative
cash income for 14 fiscal periods, no owned stock, though it was worth
$8 a share $5M in outstanding bonds , to stock of $144/share _after_
it had split two for one, a net worth of $29M and it just booming.  No
you tell me how it did that.  Its stock split 2 for one 3 turns in a
row and the line had a net worth of 144M when I retired as pres.

Seeing a trend, I bought 100% stock in both remaining companies which
had also gone from mega debt to positive cash balance to mega net
worth just before they, too, managed to pull off a financial miracle.

Anybody have any clues how the computer does this?  The only possible
explanation I have is that they were churning out the dough but hiding
the assets in land every turn and declaring bankruptcy.  They get half
their bond debt forgiven every turn but lose all stock, so they don't
buy stock, just high-rent land.  So, every turn they go to max debt,
buy land, declare bankruptcy, repeat until you have enough land to pay
off all debts and have mega cash to boot.  The drawback to this plan
is their stock stays at about zilch, and if you catch them just after
they sell all their expensive track and have a huge cash surplus, you
can buy them out 100% just before profits exceed $60+M.

Comments?  Anybody ever had this in a game before?  All three lines
did the same thing.  I retired as pres after buying out the other two
lines just before they exploded in profits.
-- 
Keith Rogers
krogers@javelin.sim.es.com