Check this forum to see the progress of the game development
Default Demand increase and City startups
|
Doctor Dread Administrator Posts: 1478
7/8/2018
|
I've been working on the Anomalies and Player Quests system slowly. We won't see that implemented for weeks at least. But there are smaller easier problems I've been trying to address on the side. The problem of Cities Boom/Bust cycle has been an issue for a long time. Cities on Earth or new ones that are created all over the place, tend to get a lot of momentum until the demand skyrockets into 5-600 territory for 100 products no one is supplying and then causes a power dive crash . During that time a lot of people make a lot of money on the "free demand" that is generated in the cycle. We've already tried to mitigate the problem by making the higher tier products not increase past 200 until the population hits certain levels but that is a little klunky and doesn't mitigate the problem.
So the new idea is to slow down the rate in which demand rises as the demand gets higher, an idea that as brought up by players a while ago. Normally the demand increases 0.1% a turn or 100% in 1000 turns (approximately 1 week real time). Now that number is scaled down by 10% for every 100% demand there is. So at demand of 200% the increase in demand every turn is 0.08 instead of 0.1 and at demand 500% the increase very turn is half, or 0.05%. Hopefully it slows down the runaway demand enough to SLOWLY bring a city down when its demand is never being met and also making 5-600 demand products take months instead of weeks to naturally go up that high without breaking everyone selling at normal levels.
As part of this update I have reduced the current demand everywhere by half if it was over 250.
IN ADDITION, the amount of industry needed to create a city has been increased from 1000 to 3000 output at the location. There are too many cities that are spawned by one person mining a single resource. That's never been enough "action" to warrant a new city to spawn . The total output includes all industry not just the mining, Players often place factories at location also. When there are 3-4 players mining 3-4 different resources at the location plus their factories are there also, that may warrant a new city creation. I almost made the threshold 5000 industry, but we'll see how 3000 goes.
I'm also looking at IMPLODING dead systems in the game. If an entire system goes empty, it will implode, become unexplored and will re-spawn with all new planets and resources if it is activated again. Empty systems is a leftover relic of the mass expansion by a few players who , admittedly , were having fun with it but it breaks the overall game causing too many systems and cities for the population of players. I'm still looking at ways to aggregate players into smaller areas to make the mechanics work smoother.
|
|
|
0
link
|
|
ChaChaCharms Posts: 167
7/9/2018
|
Why cut demand in half at the magic number of 250? If product was 280 demand, it is now 140, how is this logical. I can see cutting 600-1000 demand in half but this just seems like a great way to drive players away.
Instead of new content that you have promised is coming, you bring about FUNDAMENTAL changes to the way people make money (not the first time) and expect that to placate us until an unforeseen time that dazzle us with new actual useful and enjoyable content.
Please consider creating a discussion with players to see how the effects of any changes will impact corps instead of just doing them... this may be your game and I know you are the developer, but some of us have been heavily invested in the game for well over a year now since launch and we do have insights in game mechanic changes that can be useful too.
--
Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain..
|
|
|
0
link
|
|
CptCommanche Posts: 69
7/9/2018
|
I agree with ChaCha.
Also, so many thumbs up to closing dead systems. I think this should extend to systems that have no cities in them. So Burkam, Luyten etc would all close too.
--
Boldor Galactic Inc, AKA the old StarCorp
|
|
|
0
link
|
|
Doctor Dread Administrator Posts: 1478
7/9/2018
|
Halving the demand was last minute decision in order to see the Default Demand change play out without going through a boom bust cycle. Picking a higher number like 300 might have been a little less jarring but the 250 break brought most of everything to average into the 200 range. i don't bump the table on purpose but I don't always have the luxury of time or doing perfect roll outs.
|
|
|
0
link
|