This update overhauls the management system for companies listed on the stock market. There are quite a few interconnected parts to this change so it will be on the Experimental Branch for a while before releasing to the main branch.
To access the Experimental Branch:
Right-click the game in your Steam library -> "Properties" -> "Game Versions & Betas" select "experimental".
Board Of Directors
The Board Of Directors guide a company's direction and will affect its performance over time. It's comprised of up to 5 members from either rival families or from your household. These members are elected every 2 years.
You can nominate your household characters to the board if you own enough of the company's shares. If elected, your character will passively generate influence points. Their skills will also contribute positively or negatively to the board's overall performance.
During election months, board nominees are ranked according to a variety of factors - their related experience, personal popularity, household or rival support, and share price performance since the last election.
This means it's not always the most competent people elected to the board! As an example, if the economy crashes leading to a stock price collapse, the current board will have a negative offset to their ranking at the next election. Perhaps that means it's a good time to nominate your own less experienced family member, and use your owned shares to push them higher up the rankings.
Other Changes
There are other changes too, like some UI windows staying open at end of month instead of auto-closing. This is a bit of a risky one since I originally coded things assuming all windows would be closed at the end of the month, please let me know if you see any inconsistencies.
Charts now have a tooltip when you hover over them showing exact values:
And there is a new chart on the Assets List for examining your net worth changes over time:
