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View Full Version : Upgrade Prioritization: where to invest your time + money based on your playing style



bloot25
12-27-2011, 03:44 PM
I have a level 3 Warehouse ($4.2k every 48 hrs @ tycoon) and a level 1 Shoe Store ($1.5k every 8 hours) that I want to upgrade-- but which one should I do first?

The answer is that it depends on your style of play! If you are making three collections per day from the Shoe Store then make that upgrade-- however if you are only getting two, then the Warehouse is a better bet.

The methods I'll show you will allow you to make the same informed decisions for your entire hood (note: this excludes defense buildings as well as new building construction).

First you will need to know the key pieces of information for each of your money buildings:
UT = Upgrade time in hours (represents lost income as well as time you cannot upgrade other buildings)
CPD = Collections per Day (more important than the possible income is what you actually will collect)
UC = Upgrade cost
OI = Old Income (before upgrade)
NI = New Income (after upgrade)


Now we will derive some new figures to help synthesize all of the data.  First we will calculate the daily increase in income (I prefer this to the unrealistic hourly figures that reside on the profile):
Delta Income per Day = (NI-OI) x CPD



Next we look at the payback period for the investment which includes the upfront cost (UC) but also the opportunity cost of missed collections during the upgrade:

Days to Pay Back = [UC + ((CIxCPD) x (UT/24))] / (Delta Income per Day)


The time spent while waiting for an upgrade doesn't just represent lost income, but it also means that you are not able to be upgrading other properties. Here is a function that helps prioritizes shorter waits (UT) with more income:
Delta Income per Wait = (Delta Income per Day) / UT (in hours)


Finally to put it all together the last function gives one number that will help prioritize all of your upgrade possibilities:
Upgrade Priority = (Delta Income per Wait) / (Days to Pay Back)


Using these formulas, my Upgrade Priority (since I only make two collections per day) is 14.8 for the level 1 Shoe Store and 15.6 for the level 3 Warehouse.  However if I made all of the collections from the Shoe Store then the Upgrade Priority would jump to 33.2!


Use the formulas above to build a spreadsheet for your entire hood. Please feel free to share your feedback.

Good Luck!

bloot25
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whocareswhatmynameis
12-27-2011, 03:57 PM
thank you for your post. however, there's already an extensive discussion on other threads regarding the very same topic. there are peer generated spreadsheet (google docs) in use by many in this forum. i'll post the links...

whocareswhatmynameis
12-27-2011, 04:00 PM
http://www.funzio.com/forum/showthread.php?13183-Payout-algorithm-explained

Tramp Stamp
12-27-2011, 04:54 PM
I have a level 3 Warehouse ($4.2k every 48 hrs @ tycoon) and a level 1 Shoe Store ($1.5k every 8 hours) that I want to upgrade-- but which one should I do first?

Neither! Both are middling Type B buildings that offer low value compared to the Type A set. Warehouse is a particularly poor value and might literally be the last building upgraded.

I do like the attempt to work in an adjustment factor, but your calculation doesn't appear to consider income lost during the upgrade. You also use an undefined variable CI, unless that is a typo of OI. If it is, you should use simply the new income in the denominator as you're "double dividing" otherwise. I made the same mistake in the ROI calculations.