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XCOMUFO & Xenocide

Manufacturing Profitability


Gustarx

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I did a search for title names, I didn't find a corresponding, similar, topic related to the title. If there is such one, sry for the launch of this one.

 

Before I start this topic, posts, first thanks to those who have contributed to the article at the X-com Wiki-pages. :-)

 

 

 

 

The scenario Im thinking of is that mentioned below counts for the first 2/3/4 months.

 

 

I guess, but thats my thought, is that one of the best route's for max profitability is to have a workshop maxed full, 50 spaces. Probably the most profitable workshop contains 15 engineers detached to 3 projects:

- shortterm profit: the motionscanner, 4 spaces

- midterm profit: the lasercannon, 6 spaces

- longterm profit: the lasertank, 25 spaces

 

Such profitable workshop is preferable the 2nd workshop.

 

Cuz beside the profitable workshop its a necessity to also have, preferable from the start a workshop dedicated to the items u (think) need. Such workshop can be found at base 1. The projects working at could look like:

27 engineers detached to:

- the lasercannon, to arm the Icpt's (interceptors) or for midterm profit, 6 spaces, 300 hrs 1 unit

- the lasterpistol, to equip soldiers, not for sale, 2 spaces, 300 hrs 1 unit

- the laserrifle, to equip soldiers, not for sale, 3 spaces, 400 hrs 1 unit

- the heavy laser, to equip soldiers, not for sale, 4 spaces, 700 hrs 1 unit

- the motionscanner, to equip soldiers, or for shortterm profit, 4 spaces, 220 hrs 1 unit

- the medikit, to equip soldiers, not for sale, 4 spaces, 420 hrs 1 unit

 

 

For improved results make advance of the hours of a day. I mean, cash for building new basemodules can be best used at the END of the day. Even more excact is to figure out when the structure, the basemodule, will be finished of. Building a hangar, which costs 25 days to be finished of, can be best purchased at day 7, 23;00. it will be delivered at the start of the coming month May, without the maintaining costs for engineers for the current month. Building General Stores after day 21/22 in the running month. So, when u want to invest in building hangars, u can start figuring out from day 1 to 7 what the best combination of the 3 most profitable items is. Its impossible to finish to finish 2 tanks at the last day. but it IS possible to change the detachement for the items/projects 'motionscanner' and 'lasercannon'. The remainining engineers could be detached to the other projects, especially those with the most hrs to built, or to those that are most desired. My point is, there is LESS profitability overall if a single workshop isn't maxed full, which is the case with only detaching engineers to 1 project. Its possible to track how many items are built for 1 project and that can be used to determine how to allocate the engineers for all projects.

 

 

The uploaded prt-scr, with the comments, could probably illustrate a bit more what I mean.

 

Comments by workshop 1 at base 1:

- Iv allready built and distributed over 8 bases, 16 heavy lasers, 2 for each base. I want to built some additional (4 or so) especially for the Skyrangers. So this project don't have a high priority. Its one of the projects I can use to allocate remaining engineers for, when I want to invest, to built longterm investments, like some hangars at the end of 7 April, 23:00.

- Iv built a second workshop for base 1, which will be finished of at the start of May;

- That way Im able to continue track of the delivered units of existing projects;

- and able to allocate more engineers to at least one new project that of the lasertank at base 1;

- I had 36 engineers allocated to all the projects except of lasercannon & heavy lasers end March (*1)

- Iv figured out how many cash I need for the tactical mission 'built 7 hangars', it requires the sale of 7 heavy plasma, those 7 heavy plasma will be transformed into about 7 LC. First to invest in the units themself. At 7 april 23.00 Im able for the built of 7 hangars.

 

Comments by workshop 2 at base 2:

- this workshop was ready at day 1 of April. Its just in use;

- 9 engineers have just been arrived from base 1;

- all allocated to the project 'medikit' which I want to finish as soon as possible with maximum, best use of the available space;

- Iv just bought 4 new engineers. When project medikit is finished, those engineers will arive about the same time; Iv figured out, at what day and time I need to switch the engineers so arrival of the 4 new engineers will be the exact time when the medikit-project at base 2 will be finished;

- within 4 - 6 hrs after Iv hired the first 4 engineers, I hire 2 new engineers to finish of the laserpistol-project at base 2;

- when the 2 not for sale items have been finished, workshop2 is ready for use;

- then I can allocate engineers at wish to the 3 most profitable items at around day 4 of month 4, April;

- noticeable is that Iv at 2 workshops the possibility to allocate engineers to 2 of the most profitable items.

 

 

_____

 

*1

 

I didn't figure out so good how many engineers could have been allocated to base1, end January/Febr. 1999 This could be tested out in other games. End March I had 36 engineers at base 1, allocated to several projects and 1 remaining workshop-space left, so 49. I decided to proceed at a certain point rather, then to hire 1 more engineer at the last half of the month, OR to re-arrange the projects, in which case I would have 3 or more engineers not being able to allocate to projects, OR to restart a new game. I had overwrited with the Save/Load tool the 'point of no-return, ... ; -) .

 

 

Probably above will allready be used by most, or a lot, of players. Where they will have tested, figured out what the best results will give for their own current game. And use their own variants of whats best working for them. However maybe my insights, thoughts, post, could be used for those who want to optimize, improve the profitability of the whole operation.

 

 

_____

 

 

All what Im doing, thinking, takes a lot of time, so much time, so I thought it feels for me better to make a topic, about this aspect of the game, then to start, add and contibute to the wikipages. Sry if thats maybe inconvenient for or to some, ....

 

 

 

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Edit:

 

oh, remaining thought:

 

With 2 workshops at 2 different bases, its more convienenant to figure out what the most suitable allocation is for adding new projects, BEFORE hiring new engineers. Cuz it takes less time to (re-)transfer some, 2-4 existing engineers, which will cost at least 6-16 or 18 hrs, not sure about 16 or 18 hrs, but considerable less hours, then to hire in new engineers, which will cost certain 72 hours. New engineers could be best hired at the start of a new month.

Edited by Gustarx
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For convienance Iv uploaded the file with prt-scrs of the end-scenario:

 

I could have made 2 more prtscreens:

 

The one where I start to re-allocate engineers from project 'Medikit' to 'Laserpistol. Which was when I hired the 2 last engineers. The allocation became 3 for 'Laserpistol' and 6 for 'Medikit'.

The 2nd step of re-allocation was about 42 hrs before the first 4 engineers arrived. At that point the allocation became 4 for 'Laserpistol' and 5 for 'Medikit'. When the 4 engineers arrived, project 'Medikit' was finished at the same hour.

 

However its so also obvious, I hope, what I did, ...

Edited by Gustarx
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  • 3 weeks later...

There's very little that actually turns a profit, when you take the cost of the engineers and the cost of the workshop into account.

 

Motion scanner is a biggie, obviously. Laser cannon is better.

 

There are no other reasonable choices unless you exploit bugs. Yes, the laser tank is in-between the two, but you go from laser tank to laser cannon quickly, so there's little or no time when you can make a LT and not a LC.

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The fusion ball launcher would've been better than the laser cannon if it wasn't for the fact that every fusion ball launcher in the batch after the first one will cost you some exotic materials. Building FBL's one at a time can be quite a chore when you could pump out 20 laser cannons in a single order. Also if you've reached the point where you can build FBLs, you're probably doing well enough in the ground missions to not need to manufacture for profit! :D

 

Generally, I find the need to manufacture for profit is less important on the harder difficulty levels, where there are more aliens and more equipment to recover. You can easily live off the spoils of the battles.

 

- NKF

Edited by NKF
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  • 4 months later...

Thinking in terms of profitability alone, will not save the world anyway, seems to me.

 

I had to delete the attachments, which I had added by previous posts, cuz of space. I didn't know at that time how to use the other way of making prtscrns, with Ctrl F5 . Thanks NKF, ; -) .

 

And this reminds me to the way how (the memory) of a pc is working. In the beginning was space everything, all had to be comprised. PC's and especially Memory was very expensive, ... Extended memory, RAM, ... making programs, software that worked, did cost a lot of human time to think how it could be so efficïent possible.

 

Ingame and in real life, resources are short, cuz we, humans dont know how to use it, ... so it cost time. But how is it possible to make time profitable for the only sake of profitability?

 

 

I mean, these days, would world really have benefit by a bankrupt of Greece, or new local units to trade with, instead of the Euro?

If humans don't take the time for the process, hastly searching for quick succes, winning a war, finance, own profit&benefit, would that save the world?

If I cannot save one soldier, If I think soldiers are expendable, do I save the world then, wouldn't it have their impact on their families, consequence's, repurcusions?

Why and where do we sent 'our' soldiers to? Why do they go, to attack or to defend what?

 

 

While playing 'Enemy Unknown', ... since 1 year Im addicted again, I Played TFTD when it was released in the past century. Other priority's, job in the ICT, reading books, playing for about about 5 yrs 'RuneScape', ... I think a lot about lot of worldwide issue's, see questions above.

 

 

What I wrote in other topics here, playing games will change our worldview. We train our brain, ...

 

 

I like playing 'Enemy Unknown', (like TFTD) cuz Iv constantly physically to change my point of view to our Earth, ; -) .

 

 

 

Its up to new generations what they do with the knowledge of older generations. The old generation wasn't just far enough to have a worldwide vision. They, or better we, I feel/know I belong to an older generation, hadn't or didn't take the time to learn study other living beings. WorldWar One was a great slaughter, with lot of new developped tools, not knowing how to use them. 1900-1999 was a blind age, ...

 

 

sry for my txt, (for the length of it I mean, not for the content itself ofc), I cant save the world alone. Only thinking how we, humans can improve ourself,

 

 

have nice day, : -) .

Edited by Gustarx
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