Level 10 Buildings Need an Adjustment

[itzkakarot]

At risk of opening a can of worms that will likely result in no action on Fun-Gree-O's part, I figured I'd spark a discussion (or at least conjecture) on a new feature request.

I've been doing nothing but extremely long grinds for the past few months -- just hit my first $78MM for my lvl 3 NC, as an example. While I'm waiting for the cash, I've been upgrading some of my oldest and lowest earning buildings, as they have the best ROI and I can't stand not upgrading anything while I wait.

When I got my 2nd Pizza Parlor to lvl 10, I asked myself what real motivation does anyone have for getting lvl 10 buildings? Income is a factor, sure, but in almost all cases you will inevitably gain a few levels and unlock a higher income building well before you hit that 10th upgrade. One bonus of hitting level 10 is you cross off one building from your hood planning list, so one less thing to worry about. But is that enough to encourage people to go through the very long and arduous process of 9 building upgrades?

Then it hit me, if Level 10 buildings came with a bonus, such as automatic collections, that would make it extremely worthwhile for those making the long grind.

I can hear the QQ and counter arguments already, "But if lvl 10 buildings are auto-collected, then we can't rob them, boo hoo!" While that's true, to get a lvl 10 hood it takes literally years in upgrade time alone, not counting the time to earn enough money to pay for those upgrades. "But what if someone just has 1 or 2 level 10 buildings and then they never have to collect?" Well, that person won't be a likely robbing target anyway, because they'd likely be hit already, and they're likely not a huge Fun-Gree-O money-maker because I doubt they're spending much on gold with such a small hood.

So what of it? Any takers on this idea? Any haters? Speak now or forever hold your peace.

[sister morphine]

When I was doing the initial save to build my nightclub I upgraded my ice cream stores from about level 7 to level 10, and during my current save to upgrade the club to level 2 have been doing the houses. In both cases the motivation is the same.... to stop myself spending the money on other things. Any increase in iph is infinitesimal but that's a side-issue.

[fuzzy]

So my 2 level 10 Laundromats would auto collect?

I like the idea from a economy stand point but would be terrible for all the robbing / stalking I do.

Players would not have to log in nearly as much.

[Luciferianism]

Kills one of the main aspects of the game and also gives cheaters immunity from harm. Terrible idea.

[RijilV]

I don't think people cheating really care if you rob them.

[Swearengen]

Maybe if lvl 10 gave some extra def bonus or something, not auto collect...

[TRAZ]

Hmmm...interesting...auto collect, but not auto deposit....more cash on hand to steal when I attack them as they might not have deposited the amount that was collected.

You'd be able to get more cash this way possibly. Say if they had 5 level 10 buildings that auto collected. You'd have to spend the bullets to hit each one of those buildings individually vs a one-stop shopping place...wohoo...bring it!

[sexkitteh]

I think someone did the math and it was something like 20+ years to get every building in game to level 10...

The reality is you don't need to get every building to level 10... just a handful of them...

Unless you are a sim player with OCD (kind of like me) you a) don't need to level any of the old buildings at all... b) all the HL buildings are going to take for ever to get to ten...

And your idea would make robbing useless as others commented.

NOW - if it was special buildings with a lvl10 bonus... that would be cool...

Say... a lvl10 NC gave -30% on upgrade costs or something like that :D

[The Billionaire]

I like the idea of players receiving some sort of bonus when they complete the level 10 upgrade on a building. Unfortunately an auto collect feature will ruin the robbery aspect of the game. However there are some other possiblities.


Level 10 buildings produce 48 RP over a 48hr period - The player would be given respect for his efforts in levelling a building all the way up to 10. For example, a 24hr collection building at level 10 would earn the player 24 RP when it's collected and a 3hr collection building at level 10 would earn the player 3 RP's everytime its collected.

Mafia cap increased by two - Everytime a player levels a building up to level 10 their mafia cap increases by two. This would reward players for their efforts by giving them the chance to increase their stats. If this was in place it might make the game more economy driven.

Weapons upgrade - Everytime a player levels a building up to level 10 they get the chance to upgrade 5 of their weapons. The stats of the 5 weapons would double and you can only choose cash or respect weapons. The weapons would then become a "Plus" weapon, for example "Full Combat Gear Plus" would have the following stats - Att 34, Def 54.

Buildings receive "Empire" status - Everytime a player levels a building up to level 10 the building becomes an "Empire" building and pays out 25% more. It also pays out double the amount of RP when robbed.

Anyway the above is just some of my ideas but an auto-collect function can never be introduced into Crime City because it will ruin certain parts of the game although i'm 100% behind the idea of rewarding players who slog it out and upgrade a building all the way up to 10.

My level 10 buildings are as follows:

The Billionaire
2 x Ice Cream Parlours
2 x Houses
1 x T-Shirt Stand

Avon Barksdale
2 x Ice Cream Parlours
2 x Techno Clubs

[Boom]

Sweet I would upgrade my black bandit plus and be plus plus

[Boom]

But of course only allow RP and money items

[The Billionaire]

But of course only allow RP and money items

Yep, it would only apply to weapons that ALL players have the opportunity of purchasing.

[Fake]

Hey Billionaire,

very cool idea the "Empire status", 'm in!

100% agree with "auto-collect", in my understanding it does not fit in a game like CC.

[BeniBugatti]

I'd like to see each level 10 building have a very small game mechanic effect similar to event prizes, such as:

1%-3% less banking fees
1%-3% more income from jobs
1%-3% additional attack
1%-3% store discount on respect item purchases

you get the idea.

[Hacksaw Paul]

Hey Billionaire,

very cool idea the "Empire status", 'm in!

100% agree with "auto-collect", in my understanding it does not fit in a game like CC.


I second the motion 😁

[Nicholost]

This is a rad idea, itzkakarot.

To counter the argument that auto-collection of money buildings would kill the robbery aspect, I only somewhat agree. Remember, you can't take a building from level 1 to 10 in a day. Upgrades get increasingly more expensive with each level. Unless a person has both the existing income to perform back-to-back upgrades and the diligence to link them together in series, there are going to be long periods where the building(s) they are walking to level 10 will not be under upgrade. Since the bonus is the driving force behind spending time and money upgrading them, those building(s) will be at a higher level than they would be without an incentive. In other words, robbery opportunities will still exist, for long periods of time, and they will be more lucrative than they would have been without the incentive. Which would you rather see in a hood: a dozen level 3 buildings, or a single level 9 and a bunch of level 1s sitting out for the taking?

However, TRAZ's suggestion of auto-collecting, but not auto-depositing would be the only way to really make it work. There'd be a sweet "gotcha" when upgrading quick payout buildings to level 10. While it would make you rich quick, you'd have so much money sitting in the open after short periods away from CC (sleep, class, and work), that you'd be a huge attack target. You'd really have to weigh out your options here; do you upgrade quick payout buildings to level 10 to make a ton of cash at the risk of being bombarded with attacks while away from CC, or do forgo the money making opportunity to avoid attacks and watch your opponents pull ahead? Since you can't turn off the auto-collection blessing while away on vacation or in times of inconvenience, it quickly can become a burden. A WiFi-less week in the Bahamas kicking it with G Wiz drinking fruity drinks with mini-umbrellas would result in hundreds of attack attempts at your ever-increasing open wallet.

While the knee-jerk reaction to auto-collection is negative, I really do think it'd be a blessing in disguise to all CC players.

[Giedrius]

I like most of ideas including auto collect, economy is huge part of game and need to be made more rewarding, nowadays it's just ohhh I'm in 500k, 1mil, 2mil club and so on and pretty much it...

PS I'm in 1,5mil club with only 2 level 10 MT's.

[Steve0]

What about making level 10 building non robbable, that would make also more people level them to 10.

[Swearengen]

It does sound good, without the auto bank...I was thinking autobank at first glance. It also leaves open target of all those old abandoned accounts, so instead of them getting robbed out, they keep generating cash for other active players.

[Auxilium]

I've seen some good options here. Specially the ones from The Billionaire. Some bonus with a lvl 10 building would be awesome :)

[Euchred]

I like these ideas especially auto collect but no bank since I dont bank anyway :p

But honestly I'd take anything for something I'm going to accomplish anyway.

[The Billionaire]

Hmmm...interesting...auto collect, but not auto deposit....more cash on hand to steal when I attack them as they might not have deposited the amount that was collected.

You'd be able to get more cash this way possibly. Say if they had 5 level 10 buildings that auto collected. You'd have to spend the bullets to hit each one of those buildings individually vs a one-stop shopping place...wohoo...bring it!


It does sound good, without the auto bank...I was thinking autobank at first glance. It also leaves open target of all those old abandoned accounts, so instead of them getting robbed out, they keep generating cash for other active players.

The auto collect but not bank would work quite nicely actually. The above and what Nicholost said sounds good.

Lets just keep praying Gree takes note.

[erik]

Either way. I can't sleep for more than 5hrs 59 minutes anymore ha.

I personally would be happy if the cash went into my hand... someone catching my full 24/48 run would cost me 12M... 300k would be fine by me. (Yes, I understand they arent all 10 right now, but you get my point.)

[617Pats]

Awesome idea. I think it could possibly good for Funzio/Gree because people might be more inclined to spend gold in order to shorten their building time. Patience is a virtue that most do not have from looking at the majority of the hoods I enter. Im not saying people will pay but maybe. I personally do not spend gold on faster upgrades but not sure how it stands in the CC community.

[Plumbernick9]

I wish someone from Funzio/Gree would chime in at some point during these brainstorming sessions.

[MajorOffensive]

At first, I was very skeptical of the auto-collect. It does take away some robbery from the game. There are some buildings I'd rather keep robbable, for the good respect ratio. But overall, I like the idea the way Nicholost sees it. I think players generally would invest more time and money (both kinds) into their hoods, generating more lucrative, and less embarrassing, targets. The tastiest targets would take years to get all to level 10 without some gold help. Seems somewhat win-win for the playerbase and Grees deep pockets.

[Dreno33]

I like the idea of players receiving some sort of bonus when they complete the level 10 upgrade on a building. Unfortunately an auto collect feature will ruin the robbery aspect of the game. However there are some other possiblities.


Level 10 buildings produce 48 RP over a 48hr period - The player would be given respect for his efforts in levelling a building all the way up to 10. For example, a 24hr collection building at level 10 would earn the player 24 RP when it's collected and a 3hr collection building at level 10 would earn the player 3 RP's everytime its collected.

Mafia cap increased by two - Everytime a player levels a building up to level 10 their mafia cap increases by two. This would reward players for their efforts by giving them the chance to increase their stats. If this was in place it might make the game more economy driven.

Weapons upgrade - Everytime a player levels a building up to level 10 they get the chance to upgrade 5 of their weapons. The stats of the 5 weapons would double and you can only choose cash or respect weapons. The weapons would then become a "Plus" weapon, for example "Full Combat Gear Plus" would have the following stats - Att 34, Def 54.

Buildings receive "Empire" status - Everytime a player levels a building up to level 10 the building becomes an "Empire" building and pays out 25% more. It also pays out double the amount of RP when robbed.

Anyway the above is just some of my ideas but an auto-collect function can never be introduced into Crime City because it will ruin certain parts of the game although i'm 100% behind the idea of rewarding players who slog it out and upgrade a building all the way up to 10.

i love these ideas. might i add one more?

maybe a Level 10 gives the opportunity to build ONE more of that same type. after that, no more. (ie. upgrade 1 of your 2 Movie Theaters to 10 and be able to build a 3rd MT. then it is maxed) or you can make it to where you have to upgrade both to lvl 10 in order to purchase a 3rd. either way works(:



EDIT: just got another idea

have EVERY type of building give a DIFFERENT bonus. it would inspire ALL players to build and upgrade ALL buildings in the game!! How cool! (i.e. every post mentioned could be assigned to a different building, funzio can be creative with what is paired and thought of for what. like a NC at lvl 10 gives you a better chance at getting "lucky" with events ;) haha. you get the idea)

to add to that, one of the buildings could also give you some bonus Skill Points.

[Zendfrim]

I support this thread. Both defense and hood development are in dire need of attention by this neglectful company. I believe a level 10 building, when robbed, should act as if the defense of the player was doubled or even tripled. If I get my nightclubs to level 10 I would expect my ACTUAL defense to count for double. That's my thought. It doesn't stop robberies completely, but it makes it so defensively you have a chance.

Something like this definitely needs to be done to encourage both defensive and hood development.

[Swearengen]

Great Thread hope CCMark is reading it...

[itzkakarot]

Very good points from everyone. The reason I was shying away from Level 10 buildings just giving some "random" bonus was because we already see that model in the lockbox event uber items, and quite frankly...it stinks. There are maybe 3-5 bonuses worth getting (free banking from last year's St Patrick's day event, minigun that reduces building upgrade costs, for example) and the rest are just meh.

Auto-collecting (and yes, NOT auto-banking, the cash must stay on hand until you do something with it) is something new that fits within the bounds of why you're upgrading your buildings anyway, it helps your economy. As it has already been pointed out, building every building up to level 10 literally takes decades of time. It's simply impossible to do. Players would need to strategically decide which buildings they really want to invest in, especially when it comes to the high income ones.

If you don't like a flat "always auto-collect" policy, perhaps we can tweak it. What if the player had the option of turning on auto-collections for a particular building, and they would only get a portion of the hourly income. So for example, my lvl 2 Nightclub earns me $577,500 every 6 hours, or $96,250/hr. If I toggle auto-collect on my Nightclub, it would earn me $63,525/hr automatically (66% of the potential income that I would normally get). This would introduce a lot of flexibility in the game. For example, I hate the 8 hour and 18 hour collections, you just can never faithfully collect more than twice or once a day, respectively. I would definitely turn on auto-collect for those. Some folks hate the 3/6 hour buildings and only check their hoods 2-3 times a day, well they can choose to invest and level those 3/6 hour buildings, turn on auto collect, take an income hit, and not worry about them again. Going away on vacation with no cell service? Turn on auto-collect for the week, so at least you earn something in that time.

I have to imagine that a large factor which pulls people away from this game is they just happened to go 1 or 2 weeks without checking their hood, and they just never come back to it. If their hood was making money in the background, it would serve as more incentive to come back.

That's my argument and I'm sticking to it :) Now for the counters... I think Billionaire had the most exhaustive list of alternative bonuses, so for the sake of carrying on this discussion, I'll hit each of his points:




Level 10 buildings produce 48 RP over a 48hr period - The player would be given respect for his efforts in levelling a building all the way up to 10. For example, a 24hr collection building at level 10 would earn the player 24 RP when it's collected and a 3hr collection building at level 10 would earn the player 3 RP's everytime its collected.


I don't agree. Gaining RP from Income buildings would essentially break the model that RP is only gained from attacking or robbing other players. If this bonus were implemented, theoretically I could get RP without ever winning one fight, which would just be wrong. As it is, I think we earn enough bonus RP through the lockbox events and daily scratchers.




Mafia cap increased by two - Everytime a player levels a building up to level 10 their mafia cap increases by two. This would reward players for their efforts by giving them the chance to increase their stats. If this was in place it might make the game more economy driven.


This wouldn't necessarily be a benefit. Many players deliberately keep their mafia count low for bracketing purposes. I'm not talking about the 499'ers, I'm talking about keeping a lean crew of well-armed mafia and seeing nothing but green on your newscast. (For more on bracketing, see Nicholost's awesome post here (http://www.funzio.com/forum/showthread.php?22306-Mafia-Size-and-the-Bracketing-Hypothesis)). Raising the mafia cap would offer zero benefit to these players.




Weapons upgrade - Everytime a player levels a building up to level 10 they get the chance to upgrade 5 of their weapons. The stats of the 5 weapons would double and you can only choose cash or respect weapons. The weapons would then become a "Plus" weapon, for example "Full Combat Gear Plus" would have the following stats - Att 34, Def 54.


While a very cool idea, I think this is just too much work to implement. FunGreeO is looking to make as little changes as possible on this game while they focus on newer ones like KA and beyond.




Buildings receive "Empire" status - Everytime a player levels a building up to level 10 the building becomes an "Empire" building and pays out 25% more. It also pays out double the amount of RP when robbed.


This has potential, but needs some tweaking. Having a level 10 building pay out 25% more is no different than just raising its base income. But I like the idea of "Empire" status. In most societies, "Empire" buildings have an effect across the entire city that they're located (Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, etc). Let's bring this concept into CC. A level 10 building could raise your entire base income by X%. X would be determined by the "quality" of the building. IE Lvl 10 LMs would offer a 0.5% economy increase while NCs would snatch you a whopping 10% increase. Having an overall economy modifier like this scales nicely with the player, the better his/her economy the more important those lvl 10s become.


I also like Sweargen's idea


Maybe if lvl 10 gave some extra def bonus or something, not auto collect...

But only for defensive buildings. Perhaps some X% modifier on base defense depending on the def building "quality".



In Summary

I propose 1 of 2 bonuses for level 10 buildings:

Auto-collect (but not auto-bank) all income from a level 10 building, potentially at a reduced hourly income rate of 66% of the building's normal income/hr, OR
Each level 10 building raises base income by X%, where X is determined by the level 10's "quality"


In addition to the above, I propose that level 10 Def buildings offer a base Def modifier, especially since the def upgrades suffer diminishing returns, this would make upgrading them worthwhile.


/trips off soapbox...

[Swearengen]

+1000 Itzkakarot

Great to have you back on the forum! Awesome topic & great suggestions!

[Second Comming]

I think giving lvl10 buildings small bonuses would be great, let the gold buildings have better bonuses etc. For funzios benefit (as they rarely dont add anything that doesnt bring them revenue from gold purchasing) It would mos likely encourgae p to spend gold on completing buildings faster so they would actually make profit on it (along with more ppl buying gold. Uildings)