Solarise

Energy is the critical resource of the 21st century. Use solar as a path to underpin your country's energy needs and reach self-sufficiency. Work your way up to manage a factory, power needs, politics, and just ordinary people to lower costs and outcompete your global rivals. Win the modern market.

Europe

In most automation games, you land on a green alien planet or crashland on an orange alien planet, hoping to mine and automate mineral extraction. This game takes a different approach and instead starts you off in 2026, in modern Europe with a little capital and a small space to build. You must work your way up from repairing broken panels, to setting up your own lamination machines, and eventually fighting local laws to establish mines and vertically integrate your production. You are faced with real machines, laws, problems, and people.

Production chain

This game aims to tackle the 6 stages of solar panel production, starting you off at the final step in the process, and allowing you to invest capital further down the production to vertically integrate over time:

• Panels - start by assembling together multiple cells and electronics to produce a roof-ready solar panel

• Cells - turn silicon slices into electricity-producing cells

• Wafers - slice up blocks of silicon into thin slices

• Ingot - pull molten silicon into crystals and cut them into blocks

• Polysilicon - purify crude silicon to solar-grade

• Rock - establish mining operations and smelt quartz-rich rock to forge silicon
  Accept contracts at various stages of the process and customise your factory to fit the market demand as well as your future ambitions.

People

Hire the right workers, assign them to their stations, and make sure they stay productive. Invest into managers and HR departments to find better skilled candidates and improve your efficiency. People might come with unique traits and quirks, whether that's being a fast-learner, or a hidden thief who steals the occasional cell that slips through their fingers. Should you deem right or struggle with cash-flow, lay off certain employees to rescue the balance sheet.

Power

As your production ramps up, handle power needs by hooking up to the grid and importing cheap electricity, but deal with connectivity delays and the price that comes with affecting the locals. Or, re-purpose your own stockpiled panels to go net-neutral, but accustom yourself to working alongside weather conditions.

Politics and long-term investments

As you turn profit and look into further expansion, you'll have to consider direct capital expenditure or spending on political influence or marketing campaigns. Invest into lobbying for various strategical benefits such as tariffs or lower taxes to better ease expansion. Alternatively, invest into ads like "Buy European" to increase local demand. Use your wit to find the right timing and approach that scales the most effectively.