Yet Another Stats Spreadsheet - one for items *and* buildings

[Lars]

Thinks and I just finished a stat calculation spreadsheet, too. Nicholost was faster to publish his one. However, I think our spreadsheet will still be useful for many of you, for example those who want to include defense buildings into the calculations.

The Good ...

handles inventory, defense buildings, money buildings and skills
computes profile stats and fight screen defense (according to jlhy's and peacock's findings)
breakdown of A/D stats and money/respect/gold value for each item category
breakdown of income by collection periods (5m/1h/3h/6h/8h/12h/18h/24h/48h)
... and more numbers and diagrams
should work with OpenOffice (sorry, not really tested, see description of the OpenOffice version on Google Code for details)


.. the Bad and the Ugly

inserting items is a bit tedious (see developer notes sheet)
some limited gold items are missing, I think
does not work with Google docs


You can download this spreadsheet from Google Code, too:
http://code.google.com/p/cc-all-stats-spreadsheet/downloads/list

Best,

Lars

[jaywalker]

Very nice work :)
Filled in all weapons and buildings now. You get a good overview :)

[white frog]

Appears that you guys did a lot of work to put that out! Great job! Looks nice too.

[Nicholost]

Wow... that... is... impressive. Please tell me you work in Excel for a living. Very well done. http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h257/nicklepics/nothing%20of%20use/Emoticons/thumbsup.gif

I think it's time to deprecate mine and link that thread to this one. What I wrote does 1/10th of what this one does.

Lars, mind if I take it for a spin?

[Silvio]

Oh mannn!. Just after I finish uploading Nicolast's I get this one. It totally makes my own one plae in comparison.

I have found my new baby! I consider myself very proficient in excel, but this is impressive.

Thank you so much for sharing. This is very very impressive!

[Lars]

Wow... that... is... impressive. Please tell me you work in Excel for a living. Very well done. http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h257/nicklepics/nothing%20of%20use/Emoticons/thumbsup.gif

Thanks so much, I feel honored.

Well, concerning Excel skill, I consider myself an experienced programmer but I have only done very basic things with Excel before. In fact, I used this as a project to teach myself the powers of Excel.


Lars, mind if I take it for a spin?

Sorry, not sure what you are asking for -- guess my English language skill is not quite sufficient here. If you want to use it for anything, feel free. I put it under a free licence to share with all contributors.

PS: I owe you the idea to share it using Google Code. :)

[Nicholost]

Lars, while working on this, did you ever discover the mystery of how items are sorted in the game inventory? I never figured it out, but based on your sample data, we have nearly the same sort order, so that rules out my theory that it was totally random. Do you know?

[Nicholost]

Sorry, not sure what you are asking for -- guess my English language skill is not quite sufficient here. If you want to use it for anything, feel free. I put it under a free licence to share with all contributors.

Sorry. Would you mind if I enter my game data and use your tool? That's what I meant by "take it for a spin."

[Lars]

Sorry. Would you mind if I enter my game data and use your tool? That's what I meant by "take it for a spin."

Feel free to use it, that's what it is meant for!

The inventory sorting remain a mystery to me, too. I tried to match it with game data fields (display_order and id) but could not figure out any pattern. Thought about checking inventory sortings from rivals/mob members for more informations but never had the time (and patience) for it.

[Nicholost]

The inventory sorting remain a mystery to me, too. I tried to match it with game data fields (display_order and id) but could not figure out any pattern. Thought about checking inventory sortings from rivals/mob members for more informations but never had the time (and patience) for it.
I did the same with the same results. I spent hours looking for a pattern and never found it. Even the plist has display order as 999 for all items.


<key>display_order</key>
<integer>999</integer>


If I/we find bugs, how do you want us to log them? Do you want us to open a new issue in Google Code, post them here, or something else?

Lars, you have effectively created a single-source-of-truth tool. This one tool encompasses each of the best tools available on the forum and then adds additional features. From one programmer to another, I am extremely impressed. How many development hours do you think you have into it?

[Lars]

If I/we find bugs, how do you want us to log them? Do you want us to open a new issue in Google Code, post them here, or something else?

I think managing it with Google Code will be the most efficient in the long run (even if I did not use that development platform before). Of course, an additional post here won't hurt.

If you want to participate directly as project committer just send me the mail address to add. I will be happy to be able to share the workload.

I should note that I probably won't be able to be online the next two days (expecting a lot of work at my job, finishing late at night). And I won't be online too long today anymore (not living in an US timezone).


From one programmer to another, I am extremely impressed. How many development hours do you think you have into it?

Hard to say. I would estimate it to be in the upper range of two digit numbers. I started it during my holidays and I did the worst parts then (deciding on how to organize the data and find out what I can do with Excel formulas). The last major update (adding the money buildings) was a matter of a few hours as I knew where to go by then.

[Nicholost]

I think managing it with Google Code will be the most efficient in the long run (even if I did not use that development platform before). Of course, an additional post here won't hurt.
Okay, I will log an issue in addition. I'm seeing a difference between my game attack and the calculated attack. My weapon and armor counts match between the two, so I'm assuming it is not a data entry issue, although it could be.

Calculated:
# of Mafia Members: 283
# of Weapons: 1,211
# of Armor: 476
Total Mafia Attack: 14,739
Total Mafia Defense: 18435

Actual:
# of Mafia Members: 283
# of Weapons: 1,211
# of Armor: 476
Total Mafia Attack: 14,805
Total Mafia Defense: 18,478

I manually added "Corsair Sword" to the melee list. Could that be the cause?
Ordering ID Name # A D Resource
12 941 Corsair Sword 1 78 53 Crate


If you want to participate directly as project committer just send me the mail address to add. I will be happy to be able to share the workload.
I might take you up on that. Although, I do not know how much help I will be. Thank you for the offer.


Hard to say. I would estimate it to be in the upper range of two digit numbers. I started it during my holidays and I did the worst parts then (deciding on how to organize the data and find out what I can do with Excel formulas). The last major update (adding the money buildings) was a matter of a few hours as I knew where to go by then.
I would have guessed that. I'm impressed that you were able to do all of that without the use of any macros. That's cool.

[Thinks]

Thinks and I just finished a stat calculation spreadsheet

... correction... Lars just finished the super sexy spreadsheet (that's what I called it late at night when my eyes were on the verge of bleeding from staring at it forever)

I only helped with small things, provided feedback, etc. He's just too modest. :)

That being said... What'd I miss?!?! Does the community agree that this sheet is the sex!?

PS: Really, what'd i miss... all these rat catcher posts etc. I got so caught up in doing laundry and killing 499 that I havent been able to check the forums.

[Lars]

Nicholost, I guess you double-checked your vehicles (and explosives) entries already if weapon and armor count match.

Adding items in general can disrupt the sheets but I think it shouldn't if one following the instruction in the developer notes sheet. A possible check against this would be to fill in the data in the original spreadsheet. (Given it's stats I guess the Corsair Sword doesn't add anything to your Attack, right?) Might be quite a bit of work though, depending on the size of your inventory.

If in doubt log an issue. Even if you find out the calculation to be correct please add an issue for the missing item (with stats).

To jaywalker, white frog, Silvia: Thanks for the flattery! :)

Think I will leave the forums for tonight now,

Lars

[Fricco]

Great works Lars. this sheet mixes well with my previous 2 (Mic Dundee and Nic)
Thanks to all who make an effort to help the game play.

[doug19]

Incredible work Lars!! Thanks very much!

[transfer]

This topic is clearly not getting the attention it deserves.
Bump for great justice and an incredible work on this.

I'm still getting used to it, amazing project and I'm happy you found a way to kill two stones with one bird by getting something out of it while providing such an awesome sheet for the community.

Thanks.

[Lars]

OK, I am back now.

Please log any problem to http://code.google.com/p/cc-all-stats-spreadsheet/issues/list

This includes missing items. Please provide the issue description with the item stats.

It would be great if anybody can provide me with the lacking gold prices for the items mentioned in the sheet (Bow Reaper, Corsair Reaper, Defender, Demolitioner, Bloody Mask, Spike Kickers, Mini Getaway, Prestige).

[CounterSniper]

OK, I am back now.

Please log any problem to http://code.google.com/p/cc-all-stats-spreadsheet/issues/list

This includes missing items. Please provide the issue description with the item stats.

It would be great if anybody can provide me with the lacking gold prices for the items mentioned in the sheet (Bow Reaper, Corsair Reaper, Defender, Demolitioner, Bloody Mask, Spike Kickers, Mini Getaway, Prestige).

The mini getaway was a crate item.

[Lars]

The mini getaway was a crate item.

OK, thanks!

[CounterSniper]

OK, thanks!

Sure, Im pretty sure many of those are but i like to be positive before committing.

Ghost818 can probably fill you in, I bet he has most if not all of those bad boys.

[Ghost818]

OK, I am back now.

Please log any problem to http://code.google.com/p/cc-all-stats-spreadsheet/issues/list

This includes missing items. Please provide the issue description with the item stats.

It would be great if anybody can provide me with the lacking gold prices for the items mentioned in the sheet (Bow Reaper, Corsair Reaper, Defender, Demolitioner, Bloody Mask, Spike Kickers, Mini Getaway, Prestige).
CS is right about 2 things:
1) I have all of those :D
2)Those are all crate items

[CounterSniper]

Those are all crate items.


See Lars, i told you he would know!

[Lars]

Thanks to both of you! Will include this in the next update.

[Fricco]

if possible the Newly added Crates from last night.
thanks

[CounterSniper]

CS is right about 2 things:
1) I have all of those :D
2)Those are all crate items

i got 4 of the mini's, put em in the shop, now i have a badazz maxi.

[Ghost818]

i got 4 of the mini's, put em in the shop, now i have a badazz maxi.
Where's Xzibit when you need him to pimp your ride.

[Ghost818]

if possible the Newly added Crates from last night.
thanks
http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh501/ghostly818/4598a156.jpg
http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh501/ghostly818/81168f30.jpg
These are the only ones I took screen shots of.

[i need muney]

This gets deeper everyday -_- awesomers job, Lars!

[mnju_03]

http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh501/ghostly818/4598a156.jpg
http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh501/ghostly818/81168f30.jpg
These are the only ones I took screen shots of.

I sure would love to have these rare items...

[Ghost818]

Took me 4500 gold exactly to get the massacre up there. It was in the last set of 3.

[Lars]

Thanks for the screenshots, they really help.

PS: Anybody else finding items to add, please submit this with stats as an issue in http://code.google.com/p/cc-all-stats-spreadsheet/issues You can also attach screenshots. I might overlook it in the long run if it is posted here. (The requests above are submitted already.)

[erik]

Great work Lars.

[Swearengen]

WOW - all of these spread sheets just keep getting better and better. I am not a computer guy but honestly I am amazed at the programming skills showcased on this forum. Great job Lars and everyone else.

Look forward to plugging in all my data (well maybe not) but looking at the results will be nice! :)

Thanks

[Santa]

Amazing work Lars! Keep it up!

The spreadsheet works perfectly. Only one minor problem. It's missing the Showgirl Shotgun. :)

[Lars]

Updated the spreadsheet to 1.0.1, see
http://code.google.com/p/cc-all-stats-spreadsheet/downloads/

Changed some details, added Magic Playhouse and a number of items:
type name A D resource price
armor Bloody Mask 62 71 Crate
armor Bone Guards 14 37 Loot
armor CBRN Suit 8 53 Gold 50
armor Climbing Shoes 4 1 $ 1600
armor Guardian Angel Coat 12 22 Loot
armor IRA Hit Goggles 45 38 Loot
armor Knife Fighter Pads 55 70 Crate
armor Prototype Suit 170 242 Crate
armor Radar Watch 27 33 Gold 45
armor Spike Kickers 24 28 Crate
armor Warden's Assault Shield 1 28 Loot
armor Wicked Buzz 70 97 Gold 195
car Clowning Glory 348 152 Gold 995
car Eye in the Sky 256 191 Gold 860
car Mini Getaway 26 24 Crate
car Prestige 115 127 Crate
car The Pathmaker 328 206 Boss Bag
explosive Erin Go Boom 40 20 Gold 50
explosive Old-School Bomb 4 3 $ 7500
explosive Smart Bomb 109 71 Gold 220
gun Acid Squirt Gun 41 24 Gold 55
gun Ammo Blaster 70 71 Crate
gun Assassination Pistol 60 40 Wall Safe
gun Bow Reaper 135 103 Crate
gun Corsair Reaper 78 53 Crate
gun Cuban Special SMG 13 11 Loot
gun Defender 58 72 Crate
gun Emerald Burner 290 243 Wall Safe
gun FBI Defense Pistol 19 29 Crate
gun Flechette Crossbow 130 113 Crate
gun Green Lightning 178 155 Loot
gun Green Piece 237 203 Loot
gun M4 A12 7 11 Respect 150
gun Massacre 260 115 Crate
gun Peacekeeping Assault Rifle 15 18 Loot
gun Peacekeeping Magnum 10 15 Loot
gun Police Bullseye 33 28 Loot
gun Potato Cannon 300 140 Gold 900
gun Rampage Shotgun 82 45 Crate
gun Rusty M4 A1 7 11 Loot
gun Showgirl Shotgun 49 35 Loot
gun Silent PPK 114 77 Gold 225
gun The Evergreen 112 95 Loot
gun Thug Blaster 68 32 Loot
gun Thug Pistol 30 20 Loot
gun Thug SMG 39 36 Loot
gun Wall Scaler 24 26 Crate
melee 3 Wood 30 20 Crate
melee Bastard Sword 168 71 Crate
melee Blarney Stone 90 65 Gold 190
melee Corsair Sword 78 53 Crate
melee Cricket Belter 90 50 Crate
melee Deadly Cutter 41 27 Loot
melee Demolitioner 31 20 Crate
melee Genova's Pig Sticker 13 12 Loot
melee Irish Dragon 79 42 Loot
melee Punisher Boomerang 164 68 Crate
melee Ripper Knife 30 20 Loot
melee Sharp Rake 2 0 $ 250
melee Warden's Night Stick 9 12 Loot
melee Weeping Widow 288 122 Loot
vehicle Agent's Car 277 205 Gold 895
vehicle All Terrain Bike 28 24 Loot
vehicle Ghetto Fabulous (2) 31 18 Crate
vehicle Green Extreme 268 172 Loot
vehicle GTR 77 66 Crate
vehicle Irish Escort 30 52 Loot
vehicle Stradale 128 100 Crate
vehicle Strike Truck 69 62 Crate
vehicle Sunchaser 194 139 Loot
vehicle Unit Hauler 122 85 Loot

And thanks for all the nice feedback, motivated me to keep working on the sheet when I really should doing something else :-),

Lars

[jaywalker]

What exactly is the "Upgrade Factor"? What's a good/bad number?
If I try to sort the money buildings sheet, I get an error (freely translated from Norwegian):

"This operation requiers the merged cells to be the same size"

Could be usefull to sort if you want to know what you can upgrade for if you have x money, how long time it will take etc...

[Lars]

What exactly is the "Upgrade Factor"? What's a good/bad number?

High is good, but it is only intended for internal use. (I could have included the formula directly in those formulas that use it, but that would make the formulas long and hard to debug). The buildings income for the current level is computed by the base (level 1) income of the building time the Upgrade Factor (depends on level and building type). There is a table for it in the hidden sheet (you can unhide it with the popup menu on the sheets tabs at the bottom).


If I try to sort the money buildings sheet, I get an error (freely translated from Norwegian):

"This operation requiers the merged cells to be the same size"


I guess your sort operation tried to sort also the title rows and/or the bottom row with the sums -- both contain merged cells. Select only the rows containing the money building data and perform the sorting for them.

[jaywalker]

High is good, but it is only intended for internal use. (I could have included the formula directly in those formulas that use it, but that would make the formulas long and hard to debug). The buildings income for the current level is computed by the base (level 1) income of the building time the Upgrade Factor (depends on level and building type). There is a table for it in the hidden sheet (you can unhide it with the popup menu on the sheets tabs at the bottom).



I guess your sort operation tried to sort also the title rows and/or the bottom row with the sums -- both contain merged cells. Select only the rows containing the money building data and perform the sorting for them.

The table at the top is:

=$A$2:$S$152

And it's hooked off in the "titles" box... I didn't alter it, and it looks correct. It's not possible to sort any of the rows. The only way I could get it to work, was if I removed and deleted everything from line 153-164 (including the byulding count, total $/h etc). Not sure if it is possible to make it sort everything except that, but the tables makes it look neater.

[Lars]

The table at the top is:

=$A$2:$S$152

And it's hooked off in the "titles" box... I didn't alter it, and it looks correct. It's not possible to sort any of the rows. The only way I could get it to work, was if I removed and deleted everything from line 153-164 (including the byulding count, total $/h etc). Not sure if it is possible to make it sort everything except that, but the tables makes it look neater.

That's strange, I just successfully sorted it, tried it both with player's income and with ROI, for $A2:$S152 (with titles) as well as with $A3:$S152 (without titles). No idea why it fails for you.

[jaywalker]

That's strange, I just successfully sorted it, tried it both with player's income and with ROI, for $A2:$S152 (with titles) as well as with $A3:$S152 (without titles). No idea why it fails for you.

What version of excel do you use? I use the 2007 Norwegian version, might be a an issue there...

[Lars]

What version of excel do you use? I use the 2007 Norwegian version, might be a an issue there...
Could have been an explanation but it's 2007, too. German version. However, I don't think localization means German versions have superior sorting capabilities. :)

[jaywalker]

Could have been an explanation but it's 2007, too. German version. However, I don't think localization means German versions have superior sorting capabilities. :)

The sterotypical german is known for beeing more organized that the rest of the world :p But yeah, I don't really have any clue. For the time beeing I can just delete the bottom part whenever I want to check it out :)

[Lars]

OK, that's a workaround. Still I wish I knew what the problem is ...

[Thinks]

Just came in at the tailend but I do know MS Office and its design. It doesn't matter the language, it's just a language pack applied over top of a "language-less" piece of software. Theyre both the same Excel.

I run Office 2010, worked for me?

[Ghost818]

OK, that's a workaround. Still I wish I knew what the problem is ...
What you sent me is exactly as you gave the example, I will be waiting for further instructions when you sleep and wake up.

[Silvio]

Hi Lars,

Thanks again for the wonderful spreadsheet - I am having trouble updating the pivot tables on the A&D Distributions tab. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

[Lars]

Hi Lars,

Thanks again for the wonderful spreadsheet - I am having trouble updating the pivot tables on the A&D Distributions tab. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

Excel or OpenOffice? (The latter has a known issue logged.) If the problem occurs with Excel, can you fill me in with some details?

[Ghost818]

Hey Lars, I want to continue the process of adding my guns, but I dont want to mess anything up by adding things from the Event. Is there going to be an updated sheet including these?

@Public, has anyone successfully updated the sheet with the new items and is willing to share it with me :D?

[itzkakarot]

Great work on the spreadsheet, Lars. This is sheer awesomeness to the 12th degree.

I'm confused by the "effective defense" of defense buildings. They seem to scale WAY down the more you upgrade, yielding the point that it's better to have a ton of Level 1 def buildings than to have any level 10s.

Do we have documented proof that this is how defense buildings work? I would think this is a huge problem with the defensive building mechanic. Was this already discussed and I just missed it?

[Lars]

Hey Lars, I want to continue the process of adding my guns, but I dont want to mess anything up by adding things from the Event. Is there going to be an updated sheet including these?

Well, I plan to update them but with some time between the update cycles. Can't keep pace with all these limited gold sales and event items all the time.

If you want to help then post a request for adding the missing items an issue at http://code.google.com/p/cc-all-stats-spreadsheet/issues (listing the stats of the items in the issue description).


@Public, has anyone successfully updated the sheet with the new items and is willing to share it with me :D?

There is some advice on adding items in the developer sheet. I suggest to make a backup copy before adding items and to compare the stats with the backup before you input the counts for the new items. Also, I suggest to check the formulas of the new inserted line and the lines above and below for consistency (in Excel there's a mode to show the formulas instead of their results).

[Ghost818]

I'm alot more familiar with Excel, however I'm using openoffice because this is my personal laptop, my work/school laptop is at my ladies house. Would it work just like Excel if I just highligted and dragged down? Or do I have to do each formula on its own.

[Lars]

Thanks, itzkakarot.


I'm confused by the "effective defense" of defense buildings. They seem to scale WAY down the more you upgrade, yielding the point that it's better to have a ton of Level 1 def buildings than to have any level 10s.

Do we have documented proof that this is how defense buildings work? I would think this is a huge problem with the defensive building mechanic. Was this already discussed and I just missed it?

Peacock and jilhy found out the formulas for this:
http://www.funzio.com/forum/showthread.php?15058-Effect-of-Def-buildings-and-skill-points-against-rob-atk-by-Guru-Peacock-again..lol
http://www.funzio.com/forum/showthread.php?14873-Bodyguard-Agency&p=75843&viewfull=1#post75843
http://www.funzio.com/forum/showthread.php?15058-Effect-of-Def-buildings-and-skill-points-against-rob-atk-by-Guru-Peacock-again..lol&p=122948#post122948

Of course we do not really now what numbers are used internally. However, the numbers form the above model seem to perfectly match with the numbers shown in the fight and robbery result screen. (On the other hand, when analyzing the failed robberies from my message wall I came to the conclusion that my robbery defense is more effective than the listed number. Also, it seems that money buildings have a build-in robbery defense, too. It's in the game data but how to apply these numbers is unknown.)

[Burn]

We need more spreadsheets!

I won't be satisfied until each one of my 500 mafia can go into battle equipped with a spreadsheet each.

[Lars]

Ghost, I think somebody else should give you a definite answer here because I am no specialist in OpenOffice. Anyway, I *think* it works like in Excel. However, take care on with top and bottom rows of the tables in the spreadsheet: Sometimes the formulas differ at these rows.

[Lars]

I won't be satisfied until each one of my 500 mafia can go into battle equipped with a spreadsheet each.
Is it to be used as a melee weapon? Or rather a consumable explosive?

[Burn]

A vehicle of course. Excel Er Oh.

[Ghost818]

Ghost, I think somebody else should give you a definite answer here because I am no specialist in OpenOffice. Anyway, I *think* it works like in Excel. However, take care on with top and bottom rows of the tables in the spreadsheet: Sometimes the formulas differ at these rows.
I see, thanks for the response bro.

[Lola Gets]

Just wanted to say, there have been a lot of helpful tools and information on the forums, but this has finally brought everything together. Thank you so much! My favorite tool yet!

[Lola Gets]

Has anyone successfully update the spreadsheet since the Dice event? I am about to attempt adding new items but may have some questions...

[Olly1]

Extremely impressive sheet. Just spent a little time filling it out. I'm fairly novice at this game and I'm struggling to make sense of what some of the results really mean. In particular the defense against attack & rob. I'm taking Nicholas' approach of no banking now (as of 2 days ago) so I want to know how to increase my def against attack from my current inventory.

There are lots of wise folk on here so can anyone provide any assistance? I can send my completed sheet if it helps?

Thanks guys and especially Lars - That really is something!

[Lars]

Just wanted to say, there have been a lot of helpful tools and information on the forums, but this has finally brought everything together. Thank you so much! My favorite tool yet!

Thanks, Lola Gets!


Has anyone successfully update the spreadsheet since the Dice event? I am about to attempt adding new items but may have some questions...

Just in case you have not seen it yet: There is some advice on adding items in the Developer Notes sheet.

I plan to upgrade the spreadsheet for new items myself. However, I will need at least a week before I am able to start working on it (too many other obligations at the moment).

[i need muney]

Lars, I cannot recall if I said or not, so here: thanks :D
It's a crazy amount of effort to put up for the community.

[Lars]

[...] and I'm struggling to make sense of what some of the results really mean. In particular the defense against attack & rob.

Defense against attack and rob should your effective defense against these actions.

Defense against attack should be the number the attacker gets displayed in the attack result screen. (There is some discussion if it is even lower. Some forums members, like white frog, think the effective defense from defense buildings in cut in half for attacks. I am not sure yet. Burns provided great data from having his two accounts attack each other and the numbers fit the calculation I used. I will change the formulas if I come aware of good evidences for the other theory.)

Against robberies defense from equipment is thought to be cut in half. The money buildings seem to provide a buildin defense against robberies though we are not sure about the exact effects so far. (Money buildings defense is not included in the speadsheet.) I can just tell from experience, that my defense against robbery seems to be more effective than the listed one.

[Olly1]

Ok thanks again Lars, very helpful.

At the risk of being the biggest noobie on this forum, what would you suggest is the best way to increase defense against attacks? Or is that simply a case of buying more equipment, using the results of your sheet to determine which equipment type is best to buy next (i.e guns/melee/vehicles etc)?

[Lola Gets]

Thanks, Lola Gets!



Just in case you have not seen it yet: There is some advice on adding items in the Developer Notes sheet.

I plan to upgrade the spreadsheet for new items myself. However, I will need at least a week before I am able to start working on it (too many other obligations at the moment).

I was able to do it successfully! I was worried because I am not an Excel expert, but the instructions were clear and straight forward. Thanks!

[Lars]

Thanks, I need muney. Feedbacks like yours encourage me to keep working on it. :)

[Lars]

I was able to do it successfully! I was worried because I am not an Excel expert, but the instructions were clear and straight forward. Thanks!

Nice too know! I should have added the advice to backup the spreadsheet before changing. Fortunately you seem not to have needed a backup.

[Lars]

[...] what would you suggest is the best way to increase defense against attacks? Or is that simply a case of buying more equipment, using the results of your sheet to determine which equipment type is best to buy next (i.e guns/melee/vehicles etc)?

Depends on your level and economy. If your economy is strong, if you have bigger savings, or if you are at a low level you might give a considerable boost to your defense quickly by buying cash-based equipment. A fast hint for what is worthwhile to buy is the "D of next replaced item" entry for each equipment type, telling you the effective gain. (E.g. if the entry is 4 for guns, a combat shotgun (A/D 6/4) would add nothing to defense, an assault rifle (7/5) would add 1 and a golden magnum (8/7) would add 3). For a more detailed planning on bigger numbers of items and equipment added in the future use the A/D distributions sheets or run scenarios with the sheets by entering the planned item numbers. However, don't buy defense explosives unless on top on an already very solid defense (or explosives that feel very cheap for your economy so you don't really mind losing them all the time).

In the long run respect items will give you much better stats but it takes some time to gather the respect points (except for a few decent cash weapons to gain until they are replaced by loot and respect items). Take care not to buy too many of the cheaper respect items -- they give you a quick boost for now, but it be painfully when you replace them. Respect simply feels too valuable to be spend for temporary increases.

Defense buildings have gained a bit of a bad image (because leveled they do not add as much as the game listings say) and they take quite some time to build for a decent amount. However, to my experience they can add a good buffer against attacks and robberies in the low and mid-range levels. (Guess it's different in the high levels where extremely strong opponents are plentiful.) The key is to get many defense buildings at level 1. (Upgrading them to level 2 or 3 might be OK but higher levels quickly become too expensive for the effective defense gains.) In effect it's better to have defense buildings of small size. Gatling Turrets are nice for that. MG turrets might be OK at lower levels but are too weak at mid-range levels. Muay Thai Center are an option, too. Maybe Missile Turrets work for higher levels, though I suspect the building times too be too long. Please note also, that there is still some discussion if they are as effective against attacks as against robberies. Some senior forum members believe their defense is cut in half for defending against attacks.

Hope that helps,

Lars

[jaywalker]

A little personal tip:

I have used a few different methods when it comes to choosing what building to build and/or upgrade next... I prefeer to go for upgrades that I can actually use, so my Laundromats havn't been upgraded since I was level 10 or so.

I made 2 extra columns wich I use:
(added $/H) / time (h) | This one is good if you have enough cash and just want to increase your $/H as fast as possible.

($ cost / added $/H) | This one is a "dummified ROI" and doesn't include buildtime. Tells you how much $ you have to pay per $/H gained. This is good if you need to save up for something, but still want a decent increase in $/H (you have to check buildtime manually when you find something you like).

I try to go for option 1 whenever I can though.

[Lars]

I made 2 extra columns wich I use:
(added $/H) / time (h) | This one is good if you have enough cash and just want to increase your $/H as fast as possible.

With time (h) being the build/upgrade time?

I might consider adding this. And there are other metrics discussed like income/area footprint. Wonder how popular which metric is.

[jaywalker]

Yeah, I tried to use the same names as you did :)

[kitzune]

While using the open office version of the I was wondering where to go to look for the code. The numbers at the bottom of the armor sheet doesn't look right. I just have never programmed Open office documents before and I didn't see the location using the help such as it is.

Thanks in advance....

[Lars]

While using the open office version of the I was wondering where to go to look for the code. The numbers at the bottom of the armor sheet doesn't look right.

Yes, I think you are right, I had to fix one of the equipment counts in my working copy (error doesn't apply to the total counts, however). I planned to publish the fixed version once I added all those new equipment items. Unfortunately, with this endless stream of items from all those events and crates I have a hard time to catch up ...

PS: Bug applies to both Excel and OpenOffice version.

[Thanker]

Apologies for necroing this thread, does the spreadsheet (last update in 2012) still work with the current data set / current game version?

[Lars]

Apologies for necroing this thread, does the spreadsheet (last update in 2012) still work with the current data set / current game version?

Well, it "works", but it has none of the later introduced equipment items and their bonuses in it. Gave up to upgrade it when an endless stream of new items were introduced. Adding them manually is just too time-consuming and I don't have the time resources to automatize the process, sorry.

I think it still can maybe help you if you are a low level player with few special items. (There are instructions how to add items.) Adding boosts will be very tedious, however.

[(CCK) Cam]

Nice necro. At least you asked a question about it. Some people NECRO and just do it to get more posts.

[Thanker]

Well, it "works", but it has none of the later introduced equipment items and their bonuses in it. Gave up to upgrade it when an endless stream of new items were introduced. Adding them manually is just too time-consuming and I don't have the time resources to automatize the process, sorry.

I think it still can maybe help you if you are a low level player with few special items. (There are instructions how to add items.) Adding boosts will be very tedious, however.

Thanks Lars, in any case, appreciate your great work for putting this together in the first place, you have my thanks.


Nice necro. At least you asked a question about it. Some people NECRO and just do it to get more posts.

Lolz, Thanks Cam :)