Incoming Change to Color Stock Bonus

[Alex]

Hello, everyone, I'm excited to announce that we're working on a change to how Color Stock Bonus works. Please bear with me through the main points of this topic to avoid common questions. It's likely that your questions are answered somewhere in this topic.

 

This change is being tested on the Test Server, available at http://test.politicsandwar.comFIRST let me address some FAQ about the test server.

 

1. Registration is disabled. If you don't have a nation on the test server, you cannot create one.

2. To login to the test server, you use the same e-mail address and password you would've had on the real server from late August.

3. Anyone who's created an account from 9/1/2015 onward should not have an account on the test server.

4. If you're getting a password error, and you have an account on the test server, send me a PM.

5. I will not create an account on the test server for you if you don't have one. At this time, it's closed to registration.

 

Okay, now on to what this change actually is:

 

Under this new system, Color Stock Bonus has one variable that increases it, and one variable that decreases it. What increases your color stock bonus is the number of treasures held by nations on a color. For each treasure held by a nation on a color, that color sees a 1% increase in Color Stock Bonus. This is capped at a maximum of 10%.

 

For example, if there are 5 treasures held on the Yellow color, then Yellow has a gross Color Stock Bonus of 5%.

 

There is a penalizing factor to Color Stock Bonus, and that's the number of alliances (with a score greater than the largest nation in the game) on that color, less one. For each qualifying alliance after the first one, a -0.5% penalty comes into effect. Here's the formula for all of this:

Color Stock Bonus = MAX(MIN((Treasures on Color/100),.1) - ((Qualifying Alliances-1) * 0.005),0)

So, if Yellow has 5 treasures, and 3 qualifying alliances, they have a Color Stock Bonus of (5*1)-((3-1)*0.5) = 4%

 

It's a simple and straightforward system. Now, that we know how a Color Stock Bonus is calculated, who receives the bonus?

 

Nations that receive this bonus (to their gross income) are:

 

• Nations not in an alliance that have that color
• Nations that have that color and are in an alliance of the same color

An example of a nation that would not get a Color Stock Bonus is a yellow nation in a green alliance. They get neither the yellow Color Stock Bonus, nor the green Color Stock Bonus.

 

Beige nations always get a 5% bonus regardless of whether they're in an alliance or not. Gray nations never receive any bonus.

 

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Okay, great, so you understand how Color Stock Bonus has been changed. However, that's not the whole picture. There's a new bonus that's been added as well: Alliance Treasure Bonus

 

For each nation in an alliance that holds a treasure, all nations (not including applicants) in the alliance will receive an income bonus directly proportional to the number of Treasures held. The formula for this is:

Alliance Treasure Bonus = (Treasures In Alliance) * 2

Each Treasure increases the bonus by 2%. There is no cap on this bonus. So, for an example, Alliance A has 3 nations with 1 treasure each. Their Alliance Treasure Bonus is 6%. All nations in Alliance A that are on the same color as their alliance (not including applicants) receive a 6% bonus to their income. Beige and Gray nations get no Alliance Treasure Bonus.

 

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On the revenue page, both of these bonuses are displayed, and a new row called "Cumulative Bonus" has been added to see the total bonus you receive to your income. I also have hidden the Approval Rating change listed on the Revenue page, though it still exists.

 

For more information on each of these Bonuses, I've written up P&WPedia articles: Alliance Treasure Bonus and Color Stock Bonus

 

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Treasures still provide a nation bonus like before, and are transferred between nations when one nation is defeated in war. Half of the 30 treasures automatically respawn every 30 days in new nations.

 

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The goal of this post is to alert the community of an incoming change, and to help test the change for bugs before making the change on the live server. If you have any questions or concerns, ask here, and I'll do my best to address them.

 

Thanks!

[Nadir Aminu]

Cool!

[Ayayay]

Inb4 everyone starts merging

Edited October 13, 2015 by Metro

[Atzuya]

Lol a lot of people will come to the test server and see their nations in ruin

 

Now people will actually have to fight for the stock bonus rather than just sit by and telling new alliances to scram to other colors

[Godfrey]

Just to clarify, how does the treasure respawn work? I know it's after 30 days, but say a treasure would respawn in 5 days and then someone takes it during a war, does the timer get reset or would it still disappear after 5 days?

[Ayayay]

Just to clarify, how does the treasure respawn work? I know it's after 30 days, but say a treasure would respawn in 5 days and then someone takes it during a war, does the timer get reset or would it still disappear after 5 days?

Would still respawn

[Boyd]

Give me treasure.

[Greatnate]

What's the rational behind capping the treasure bonus before applying the additional alliances penalty instead of after? I.E. a color with 11 treasures and 3 alliances would only have a bonus of 9% instead of 10%.

[Ayayay]

This is a lot to read.

I see no hate in the comments so I'm just gonna go with it.

I hate it, if encourages larger alliances.

[Alex]

I hate it, if encourages larger alliances.

 

That's not necessarily true at all. A small alliance with a lot of treasures will have a much larger bonus than a large alliances with only a few. I'd say it encourages alliances to have a higher average score, and be capable of gathering treasures.

[Ayayay]

That's not necessarily true at all. A small alliance with a lot of treasures will have a much larger bonus than a large alliances with only a few. I'd say it encourages alliances to have a higher average score, and be capable of gathering treasures.

It's far easier to be in a large alliance and have the treasures auto spawn in than actually fight for control of them.

[Sweeeeet Ronny D]

and no large alliance is going to risk war to go after a few treasures.

[johnl023]

However nations obtain these treasures, it's likely this will lead to tons of skirmishes between different colours.

[Phiney]

No ronny and under are likely right. Even a 50% bonus is barely worth fighting over since war is so damaging. They'll spawn in the largest alliances and that will be that.

Edited October 14, 2015 by Phiney

[Prefontaine]

My question is what is doing this trying to accomplish?

 

If you're trying to use treasures to promote war, you're failing. Treasures will likely never be used to promote war based on how war works in your game versus rewards from treasures. If anything they will simply promote the beating of smaller, newer alliances. 

 

If you're trying to make the color stock system more dynamic, you're somewhat succeeding, but it's basically entirely luck based as no one is going to be going to war for treasures on a regular basis. Wars will happen as they would normally regardless of who has treasures, and then whomever wins those treasures will have them sit in their nation until the next major war happens that would have happened even if treasures didn't exist. There are far better ways to make the color stock system more dynamic that aren't a purely luck of the draw type scenario.

Edited October 14, 2015 by Prefontaine

[jaguar]

Yeah, I agree with Pre, this change won't accomplish anything. I believe there should be reforms in how war system works, right now, it is way too costy

[Dark Specter]

When treasures were implemented they failed their purpose. And now that they are being upgraded to boost income across the whole alliance they will still fail.

[Alex]

When treasures were implemented they failed their purpose. And now that they are being upgraded to boost income across the whole alliance they will still fail.

 

That seems awfully cynical

[Vosunda]

That seems awfully cynical

 

Cynical, but true.

[Guest]

That seems awfully cynical

 

/me rubs hands together

[Alex]

Cynical, but true.

 

I disagree. The new Color Stock Bonus system will create greater inequality, which I think is good in this case.

 

If you let one alliance get even half the treasures, that's a 30% income bonus that they're getting. That should put a big target on their head, and hopefully force some diplomacy. And when diplomacy fails, there's only war.

[Dark Specter]

I disagree. The new Color Stock Bonus system will create greater inequality, which I think is good in this case.

 

If you let one alliance get even half the treasures, that's a 30% income bonus that they're getting. That should put a big target on their head, and hopefully force some diplomacy. And when diplomacy fails, there's only war.

as people have already stated if half or all the treasures end up in a large alliance then the income boost is not worth starting a war over sense war is far more damaging then the awards that will come out of it that will make it worth while.

[Alex]

as people have already stated if half or all the treasures end up in a large alliance then the income boost is not worth starting a war over sense war is far more damaging then the awards that will come out of it that will make it worth while.

 

Then you get to just sit and watch whatever alliance holds all of the treasures grow larger, and larger, and larger, and outpace you and your friends. I can't imagine it will be long before they try to strong arm the rest of you, and you'll either have to bow down and subject to their demands, or fight back.

[Godfrey]

But the treasures respawn so I don't think alliances are going to be chasing them down since it's not worth the effort. Maybe if they stayed longer or the respawn timer reset once you won them in a war they would. 

[Hooves]

I just stand with everyone else on this matter. 

 

Edited October 14, 2015 by Hooves