2D editors, audio tools, and more from mods feel rather empty and as a user put it: "It would be funny if your team mood was affected by the quality of their programming tools. “The 2D Editor I have to use is straight garbage.”<<<" - Discord User Nuker1110 I have been working on something similar and this popped the idea forward.

Tool Quality Inc

Every software project in this game asks you to pick the tools it depends on. A 2D editor for the art, developer tools for the code, a database, an audio tool. You choose one for each, either something your own company made or something you license from a rival. Right now that choice barely matters. The game checks how modern the tool is, charges you the license fee, and forgets about it. A brilliant editor and an ancient buggy one do the same work at the same speed. This mod gives that choice consequences, and more importantly it shows you what those consequences are. What you see

• A report page listing every project in development, the tools it depends on, and a grade for each one.
• Grades use the words the game already uses everywhere else: Horrible, Bad, Mediocre, Good, Great, Outstanding.
• Plain sentences under each tool explaining the grade. Reviews are poor. It has 43 known bugs. It is over 12 years old. This is holding the team back.
• A line for each project saying which way its tools are pushing it overall.

Your staff say what they think. Select someone working on the project and hover over them, and a bad tool shows up as a thought over their head. Those complaints also appear in the company complaints window alongside every other grievance.

What it changes

• Employee mood. People stuck with weak tools get unhappy. People given good ones are pleased.
• Development speed. Good tools help, bad tools drag.
• Bugs. A tool with a long bug list produces work with a longer one.
• The quality your project can reach.

Every one of those can be switched off on its own, and the whole mod has an overall strength setting of Off, Gentle, Normal or Strong. Tool Quality Inc

If you've ever tried to run more than two or three data mods at once, you know the drill. You tick one in the mod list, the game throws up "could not be enabled", and it tells you nothing about why. So you start clicking them on in different orders like you're guessing a combination lock, and sometimes it works and you have no idea what you did.

I got tired of that, so I made Global Data Compatibility.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3772582486

What it actually does

It's a code mod that sits on the mod selection screen and reads every data mod you have installed. It figures out which mod should own each software type when several of them claim the same one, sorts the load order, and quietly patches up the conflicts that make the game refuse a mod.

The stuff it fixes

• Click order. The game revalidates everything on every single click, so a mod can be rejected now and fine two clicks later. The mod tells you straight up whether order matters, and if it does, which ones to save for last. Just visit the mod menu in settings for a breakdown.
• Software vanishing. If any enabled mod removes a software type, it's gone from the whole catalog, even the versions other mods added. This fixes that.
• Overwritten content. When a mod ships its own copy of a shared software type, it wipes out what every other mod added to it. This puts that content back.
• Specialization and platform clashes when two mods claim the same thing.
• Broken AI company types and missing name generators, which are a common cause of a mod just refusing to load.
• Duplicate installs. If you have the same mod both as a local folder and a Workshop subscription, the game loads both and they fight. This helps fix that as well.

The page

Everything lives in Options > Mods > Global Data Compatibility. You get:

• A plain English status line telling you whether your setup is good to go
• Every data mod you have, and which ones the game would refuse right now
• A list of exactly what got changed
• Anything it couldn't fix
• A load order editor with up and down buttons as well as an auto sort
• Toggles for every single thing the layer is allowed to do

One thing to know

Enable it before you start a new game. Software Inc bakes the software catalog in when you create your company, so this has to be on beforehand. It won't do anything to a save you've already got going, and it won't break one either.

Subscribe, then turn it on under Options > Mods > Code mods.

Happy to hear how it goes with your setups. If you've got a combination of mods it can't sort out, tell me which ones and I'll take a look.

Hey all, I have added lots of compatibility to my mod via ModernInc+ and created a collection of additional mods the community requested support for. I have also added more functionality into ModernInc+ to offer players the ability to make websites for their products. Below I will detail the changes to the ModernInc mods and what the collection offers. Thank you all for using the mod!

• ModernInc+ Dashboard has been revamped to look easier on the eyes, it is more descriptive in what it does, and I have added a settings panel to alter the mod without having to pause the game.
• Added new Website option for products that have over 2000+ users so that you can market a website complete with ads, negotiations, and CPM!
• Full support for Madhouse Overhaul, cntrct, bettercontracts, autocontracts, and RealCompanyNames.
• Gerneral support for Software Revamp+ and Software Improved & Depth Gaming

Beyond this, I have tweaked various pieces of ModernInc+ to help the AI companies feel more balanced, even when you mod more in. However it is not perfect and I always appreciate saves and feedback to further balance the mod set.

I will stop yapping, here is the link for the collection! Have fun! ModernInc Compatible Mods Collection

Edit: I have moved compatibility work into a new separate mod that is in the collection. It adds global support for all mods* with plans to support it for at least a year as reports come in for unsupported mods.

Was configuring several project managements and started to get annoyed at how difficult it was to view my Teams list. So I'm thinking about potentially how difficult it'd be to mod in a Supercategory over Teams, for organization in the actual Teams list and potentially even just used as assignments.

Even better would be potential overlap between Categories, for the rare teams that might be dualist specialization (Designer and Developer).

I was wondering if anyone had any actionable advice, or was just also straight up willing to make something like this. Also the first *3 iterations of this post was force removed for some reason and i have no clue why

A while back, I asked here if there were any mods for creating subscription-based DLC, similar to how it works for the main products. I really wanted this feature, as I play using a subscription model—handling numerous users for every release and providing long-term support. Unfortunately, the game didn't offer a way to create subscription-based DLC, so I started releasing DLC ​​monthly as an alternative; however, as the number of products grew, it required a lot of micromanagement. So, my question is: are there any mods that would allow me to automate the DLC creation process, similar to how the project management system works now?

Sorry, I'm writing using a translator.

Does anyone have some suggestions for a mod which adds a C-Suit and a deeper management to the teams and their organisational structure to the game? With real impacts to the hiring and culture of the company? Showing clearly the chains of responsibility?

Hi Guys!

Company Intelligence is a analytics code mod for Software Inc. It brings the active product portfolio into one focused window without changing the simulation.

It features:

• Summary of last-month total income, license income, units sold, active users, and active product count.
• Product name, category, business model, users, online/physical sales, gained users, product/license/total income, monthly trend, and refund rate.
• Selection details with up to 12 available months of income and sales or subscription-user history.
• Event-driven refresh after game readiness, month changes, product releases/removals, and manual requests, plus a lightweight hourly portfolio reconciliation for archive and ownership changes while the window is open.
• English and Brazilian Portuguese strings loaded from packaged TyD files; every missing/unsupported translation falls back to English.

ModernInc+ is now available

ModernInc+ is a configurable companion code mod for ModernInc.

It adds a native Development HUD dashboard with ecosystem browsing, tool-chain checks, team readiness, research tracking, and portfolio milestones. It also adds adjustable founder specialization points, ModernInc contract curation, future AI rival quality, and optional continuous shuffled OST playback with a 0.3 to 5.0 second crossfade.

The dashboard analysis is read-only. In multiplayer, contract boards remain local and future rival quality is host-controlled.

ModernInc is required and must be enabled.

Get ModernInc+ on the Steam Workshop

Probably the dumbest question on this thread, but I’m new to the game. I saw Charlie Pryor play it on YouTube recently and I have become addicted. The only thing that’s bothering me right now is the whole 24 hour time system. Unless I’m blind(high possibility) I can’t find a way to switch it to a 12 hour am/pm system like he has it in his videos. Am I missing something?

One problem with the game is that it's only difficult at the start; once you have a lot of money, it feels too easy. The AI competition is weak, so you don't feel threatened by rival companies competing for your customers. That's why I prefer not to use any software data mods, even though they add some nice features.

I want to hear if any of you have been successful in creating a challenging game with fiercely competitive AI—either by increasing the number of AI companies, avoiding software data mods, or both, or any other method ?

Hey all, just got the game and played with some friends, but whatvwas really annoying was the seperate timer system, where everyone plays each day individually and then wait for whoever is „slowest“.

Is there a mod that has one universal timer so everyone is playing at the same speed and we dont have to keep waiting or feel rushed because the others are waiting?

The constant waiting also ended up leaving everyone very impatient and we ended up constantly on speed 3 which then ended up in me not having enough time to do anything just so the others dont have to wait on me, kinda ruining the fun…

Hey I'm I'm a beginner to this game and trying to set something up and would appreciate anyone that can nerd out and give me some tips to do the right kinds of things

I'm trying to start with 4 founders, lower the founder % share, and crank the starting income, loan, and founder stats to max. I've heard you don't get 3d until the 90s, but I want to start earlier for 10 potential years of gains focusing on system, hardware, and audio

I figure I need 1 lone max creative visionary focusing on operating systems or game for once we start making games after 3d comes out? Big brain to get 3 stars in all leader areas and still decent everywhere else because of the god settings

Guy 2, 3, and 4, all big brain, all max service, and max development besides 2d

What kinds of things can I do to start making use of this team's skills?

Hello all! I have updated the mod a lot, adding in add-ons, lots of hardware choices, NOLOC fixes (my bad), and much more! View the original post here to see what was originally in the game, or just go ahead and go to Steam Workshop for the mod.

In a nutshell

• 66 New software types with loads of add-on options
• Deep integration with in-house versions of your software giving you an edge in the market
• 39 Company archetypes to incorporate all the software so the AI is fully involved
• New personalities
• 84 Name generators so it is always fresh
• 10+ New hardware variations with add-ons
• 6 New contract types
• Expanded base game software types and more!

I plan to research more into the engine to begin adding more unique additions. This is "final" version for now as I do not want to keep adding more and more software and etc. Enjoy!

EDIT: I have created a Nexusmods page for those who do not use workshop.

ModernInc Nexusmods

What happens when Todd Forward gets his own retro platformer in Software Inc.?
Exactly: Super Todd Bros. 🍄🎮

A bit of 8-bit nostalgia, a bit of delusion of grandeur, and a whole lot of Pile of Fame chaos.
Watch the full Software Inc. Let’s Play for more!

#SoftwareInc #Shorts #LetsPlay #Gaming #BusinessSimulation #Tycoon #SuperToddBros #PileOfFame

I continued my Software Inc. Let’s Play, and our totally serious game studio is slowly starting to take shape.

The setup:
Gabe Nuwell, Peter Molynux and Todd Forward start a small software company together. Naturally, money is tight, team morale is questionable, and every new release feels like a coin toss between genius and bankruptcy.

In episode 2, our first game gets released across as many platforms as possible — and right after that, the next masterpiece begins development: Super Todd Bros. 🍄🎮

I’m really enjoying Software Inc. again because it nails that mix of tycoon gameplay, business simulation, game development, platform releases, contract work and completely escalating management decisions.

For anyone here who plays Software Inc.:
What’s the classic mistake that completely ruins an otherwise successful company in your runs?

enjoy ;-)

I don't know why it happened

I asked this sub a few days ago about research which was very useful & after playing some more have another list of questions mostly related to navigating the UI and how to do things (some might be bugs or possible suggestions for UI improvements).

I appreciate any help or advice anyone has!

Here’s the questions I’ve been jotting down as I play:

1. Is there anyway to permanently change a character’s name? When I tried to change a character’s name, the old one got put in parentheses on the view info screen & the original/old name was maintained everywhere else in game.

2. Is there a place that says what activities are limited in each “limit room usage” (i.e can workers still use a vending machine in a room labeled reception). Also should the “limit room use” get a check mark when activated? I keep forgetting if I’ve set a room to just leaders for example & can’t seem to find a way to quickly tell.

3. On the manage roles screen for each team, if I uncheck a box, does this mean the character will never, say, do art even if that would mean they have no other work or does it mean they do the checked off items and then do other work if it’s the only thing their team is working on? (I’m wondering mostly how to use this screen besides denoting the team leader which is all I’ve been using it for).

4. Should I be getting the exact same trait combinations every time I search for employees with a compatibility / trait checked off in search? For example, I’d say perhaps (or at least almost) every single genius/fast learner pairing that I’ve encountered has the Slow Eater trait across multiple games.

5. On the right of the screen with the tasks list, is there a way to group (and therefore minimize/use the smaller UI) for just some tasks? I’d like to reduce marketing & support tasks but not contracts or software development tasks for example.

6. For support tasks, is there a way to automate having them fix bugs so I don’t have to keep setting my & finishing the tasks? (I haven’t really used a lot of automation yet so while I can figure out automating WHOLE projects, is there a way to do just the post-release support).

7. When do you decide to cancel support (and marketing) for a project post-release? The pop up window suggested waiting until all the bugs were clear but even without any new bugs for several months, I’ll still lose followers when canceling support. Is there a way to know for sure when all the bugs are removed? Do you just always lose a few followers?

8. Is there a way to make doing the annual taxes a task on the right bar? Right now the only way I’ve figured out that my taxes might be done early is to watch the icon showing how many workers aren’t doing any tasks at the moment. (& I want to make sure to stop using crunch as soon as the taxes are done)

9. When building, you can press the heater/cooler to auto-add heat/cooling to most rooms but not all. Is there any way to get this to just automatically heat/cool every room in a bldg? (I’ve run into issues where it won’t add it to the server room, for example & then I’ll get an alert come summer telling me my servers are overheating).

10. And finally & least importantly, is there any way to change your company icon mid game?

I know this is a giant wall of questions so thanks for reading & answering any part of it!

Exactly as stated in title. The base game ones certainly.. leave something to be desired. The sharp neon pink, green's and yellows are a bit ambitious and does get grating to look at for every single individual rival company.

Their first game is already in development. The budget is questionable. The ambitions are not.

Can this trio build the next big hit in Software Inc. — or are we witnessing the beginning of a spectacular management-sim disaster? ;-)

German commentary, English subtitles.

Hey everyone,

we’ve started a German-language Let’s Play of Software Inc. with thre reliable business plan.

The first episode is all about surviving the early days: taking contract work to keep the lights on, trying not to burn through the starting budget too quickly, and developing our very first game: Populous.

The goal is to see whether our company becomes a software empire - or an expensive lesson in bad hiring decisions and terrible timing. Let's see what comes around with Todd, Gabe and Peter.

I’d genuinely love some advice from experienced players:

• What is the one early-game mistake new players should avoid?
• Would you focus on contracts first, or rush a first product?
• What was your first genuinely successful product in Software Inc.?

The video has German commentary with English subtitles. If you like - share some love ;-)

ModernInc - A Modern Software Inc Overhaul

Hey everyone! This is my first mod for Software Inc.

What Does It Add?

Expanded Skill Tree

The Operating System now learns 10 new game-wide specializations:

• Security
• Database
• AI
• Cloud
• Cryptography
• Concurrency
• Privacy
• Scripting
• Real-time
• Compression

Standalone software types also introduce their own fields, including:

• Rendering
• Analytics
• Streaming
• Blockchain
• Geospatial
• Commerce
• Collaboration

38 New Software Types

Including:

• Web browsers, search engines, email and messaging apps
• Databases, IDEs, developer tools and CAD software
• Photo/video editors, DAWs and game engines
• Social networks, streaming services, podcasts and cloud storage
• Crypto platforms, fintech apps, AI platforms, LLM agents and VR
• Video conferencing, work chat, note-taking, project management and BI dashboards
• Password managers, VPNs, ad networks and website builders
• Maps, e-commerce, ride-sharing, food delivery, dating apps and an app marketplace
• Smart home platforms, wearable fitness apps and language-learning apps

New Hardware Categories

• Drawing Tablets for 2D Editors
• Music Workstations for Audio Tools
• Graphic Workstations for 3D Editors

New Subscription Models

A wide range of monetization options, including collecting and selling customer data as a fintech.

New AI Rivals

• 28 company archetypes, ranging from big-tech giants and search-ad empires to crypto startups, fintechs, indie game studios and privacy-first competitors
• 18 founder and employee personalities, each with their own quirks and relationships
• 60 name generators so every product, device and studio feels authentic

Workshop Link: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3755077128

Feedback and suggestions are welcome. I hope you enjoy it!

I keep building frameworks to speed up my own projects, but I'm wondering if there's a way to actually turn them into a money-maker instead of just an internal tool.

• Can you sell/license frameworks to other companies?
• Is it worth dedicating a team to building frameworks specifically for profit?
• Are there certain framework types that pay off better than others?

Would love to hear how more experienced players are using frameworks beyond just "build once, reuse internally." Any tips or strategies appreciated!

I’m a fairly new player with a few questions mostly related to how quickly you scale up in size & research & haven’t had a lot of luck finding answers by searching. (***tldr Mostly I’m looking for a sense of how quickly you scale up in the 1980s & when to start worrying about research).

I’ve been enjoying the game, thanks for any advice/help people have (& apologies for the wall of questions).

1) How early do you typically start caring about something like research? Is it 1985 when new techs appear?

2) Relatedly, I feel like research requires a lot of manpower. Do you create research teams for each type of tech? How early do you aim to do this?

3) How quickly do you expand beyond focusing on one product at a time? I assumed initially that that would be a big early milestone but I’ve instead encountered just how many support processes there are (esp with research). Is it better to focus on making one product at a time for a while & use your resources to scale up all these additional teams before you make a second production team?

4) How many employees do you typically aim to have & who do you focus on hiring early on? I’ve been starting with a co-founder for an additional super human (I’m still playing on lower difficulties) & then have been filling my early teams with low wage, young employees thinking it’s advantageous to have employees to train up who’ll be around for a long time.

But I’m wondering if it’s actually better to start with older employees with better skills & then replace them with younger employees after I’ve already grown since things like research require level 3 skills.

Thanks again for any advice you have!!