buy 75 plastic for 100 credits (100=75, divide by 3, 33 1/3= 25, round), have it brought to us by the transport company for a total cost of 193. 20 per worker * 13 = 260, 100 per manager * 2 = 200, total cost 653. 5 plastic per batch of toys made, makes 10 toys per batch, 5*13 = 65, 10*13 = 130, export 100 toys with the transport company, cost 50, 100*10 = 1000.
Fire 3 workers, if we keep them we can not export the tools they make so they just add 60C (c for credit) in expenses. That really improves our profit.
Plastic left at end of month: 75-65=10
Toys left: 100 - 100=0
Total Cost: 100 (material costs) + 400 (wages) + 50 (transport costs)= 550.
Total Revenue: 100 * 10 (toys exported times price)= 1000.
Total Profit: 1000-550= 450 credits
Margin: 450/550= -22.2%
we have to go in debt by 130 credits to pay the cost for this turn, then 100 to pay the cost for the next, and so on, so exporting plastics is simply not profitable once you take labor costs into account, even if we fire the 3 extra workers.
So lets look at appliances instead.
Turn 3:
Buy 75 metal for 300C, 25 Yithium for 500C, have it shipped here for 50C. Fire 3 workers, wages now cost 400C. Have them begin making 10 household appliances, using all of the materials. Buy the hand held surveyor for 200C, and survey a tile.
Turn 4:
House hold appliances completed, pay workers 400C, export 10 house hold appliances earning 5000C, have the truck bring 75 metal and 25 Yithium back with it for a total cost of 850C. (note that this trucking trip occures at the end of the month, after the appliances are completed, so I don't know if I am allowed to do this in turn 4 or turn 5, but I went with my gut and put it here) Survey another tile. (also if we found anything in the tile we survyed last turn, tell us about it before executing turn 4, if no mineral deposits show up then please just carry on with turn 4)
Materials left at end of turn: 75 metal and 25 Yithium
Total cost: 850(materials) + 400*2(wages) + 200 (hand held surveyor) + 50 transport = 1900C
Total revenue: 5000C
Total profit: 5000 - 1900 = 3100C
Profit Margin: 3100/1900= 163.1%
Then we have the shipment of the 75 metal and 25 Yithium at the end of turn 4, so 3100 - 850 = 2250C profit. (The reason we buy those extra materials is so that in turn 5 we can have every one work on making apliances, since we can send the truck to buy 75 metal and 25 Yithium again, so then we have 10 workers making a total of 20 appliances, which will double our revenue. )
Checkig to make sure our profit from turn 4 covers cost for turns 5 and 6: 2250 - 850 (materials, bought in turn 5)- 400*2(wages, both 5 and 6) = 600C. Then we get the revenue for the 20 appliances, 10,000C - 50 (transport)=9,950C, and on the way back the truck brings the materials again, -850C. So at the start of turn 7 we have 9,150 credits.
The problem with all this that we don't have enough money to get the materials to make the appliances. So we need a loan for 2000C until turn 7, in order to cover the costs for the materials and wages. Offer the porta-mine as collateral on our loan, and promise 5% interest, which means we give them 2100C at turn 7.
If for some reason we cannot get loans in this game, just sell the porta-mine to pay for the costs of starting to manufacture appliances.
Please tell me if any of my assumptions are wrong. Also all these calculations were done assuming that one turn is one month (which seems to be the case because between turn 1 and turn 2 he said one month passed) and that one batch means the amount one worker can produce while working at an assembly line, not the amount produced by the entire line, and that we pay our workers once per month (aka once per turn). I also assumed that the truck can carry things to and from the city, and that it counts as only one trip. If this is not true, then the margins are slightly affected. Also I assumed that we can sell goods the turn they are completed, not the turn after, if this is not true please tell me.
Also if i forgot to mention it, once we buy a surveyor we survey a square every turn.