Playing & Trading Strategy

I don't know when you got off the train so here is a big wad of stuff that HSX has changed since some people left and then started returning:

In Winter 2008, HSX changed the format of the game to make it a more social game.  When it launched it had major bugs and a large number of players quit.  HSX quickly reverted the game back. The redesign was majorly colored in bright orange so players have nicknamed it 'HSX Orange'. The HSX Boards had a new format that did not allow for the posting style of the veteran players, so they started their own forum/board and many of them migrated there so they can keep posting the stuff that they like to post in the format that they are used to. (link)

In Summer 2009, HSX again redesigned the sign to this current version.  New version also had many new features.

- News Tagging: when posting on the boards you can put any stock symbol in brackets and your post will be linked to the stock page

- Leagues: players can now create and join leagues so players with thingys in common (live in same area, group of real life friends, fans of a certain actor or genre, players with similar port size, etc) can talk to each other away from the main HSX Boards (link)

- Trader Watchlist: you can make a list of players and see them in a list with some of their stats, some players use this to keep track of ports their size to see how they are doing, other players use it to see how the top players are doing, you can use it to see how your friends/family are doing (link)

- Market Lab showing the biggest moving stocks is gone, but on the moviestock, starbond, derrivative landing pages there is a version of it for each stock (link)

I think about Winter 2010 HSX changed the max amount of shares you could hold for a moviestock from 50k shares to 75k shares... a few months later it was again increased from 75k shares to 100k shares.

When HSX changed the share limit they also adjusted the games sensitivity.  In the past, players would buy a stock and the price would remain the unchanged until enough shares were bought to trigger a threshold and then the price would change in an increment (popular increments based on stock price were $0.13; $0.26; $$0.39; $0.52; etc).  Under the new settings EACH trade now moves the price of the traded stock BUT HSX also dialed down the increments so smaller to medium stocks move $0.01 and the huge stocks move in some kind of increment (think $0.13)

At some time there was a major fixation with players manipulating penny stocks so HSX imposed a new comission rule that comission is still 1% of the current price or $0.02 per share (for stocks priced under $2.00)

HSX also did away with comission free Saturdays saying that the reason for comission free Saturdays was that most HSX Players would play from work/school during the week with great connections but would not play as much from home on the weekends with slow dial up connections.  Now everybody has great connections at home or via cell phone there is no longer a reason for comission free Saturdays.

A few years ago, HSX started to set up a real life real money version called the Cantor Exchange but at almost the last minute Congress voted it down.

(before) (after)

When the Cantor Exchange got voted down, HSX laid off all of its staff except DMac aka Antibody who runs the site (adjusts, creates IPOs, support, moderates the boards, etc...) by himself.

HSX changed weekend opener halt times from Friday morning to late Saturday afternoon.  HSX says it gives players to watch the weekend openers before investing in them while players guess it is to get more traffic to the site on Saturdays.

Many players were unhappy about the change in halt times so HSX created a new type of stock 'Opening Weekend' (OW) which are priced and cashed out at how much a movie does opening weekend and halt on Friday mornings like weekend openeing stocks used to.  Players like this stock because it has a lower price so newer players can participate in opening weekend and because it halts earlier players can still do gut checks each week.

edzep created a new version of Killfile called The Roto Expunger (named after a player who was widely known for spamming HSX and posting nothing of value) (link)

edzep also created so other browser add ons that allow you customize thingys in your port, customize the HSX Boards, see the daily change for any HSX Player, and a widget for easier/faster trading (link) (link)

HSX also changed how it IPOs Blockbuster Warrant stocks.  They used to IPO half a summer worth of Blockbuster Warrants and then mid summer would IPO the second half.  Blockbuster Warrants are now IPOed as needed when a moviestock in release reaches the $100 of box office mark.  Blockbuster Warrants are cashed out after the movie has been in release for 12 weekends.

The weekend adjust i multiplier has been changed and is currently

wide movies- Weekend * 2.7

limiteds expanding wide = (Weekend * 3.0) + previous

The new boards automatically star out (censor) bad words.

When a active starbond dies, the price is halted as soon as HSX becomes aware and then the bond is cashed out at current TAG.  If the starbond has a current movie in release then HSX will wait for that last starbond adjust to happen and then cash the bond out.

Starbonds have recently been replaced someplaces on the site with 'Celebstocks'.  They are the same thing.