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Thread: The so-called Expansion Bonus

  1. #1
    Settler kzar's Avatar
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    The so-called Expansion Bonus

    Many new buildings such as the Snack Stand, Oil Mill and Smokehouse were introduced in the game following the 'logic' of the so-called 'Expansion Bonus'.

    The 'Expansion Bonus' designation refers to the claim that '[t]his building's production speed increases with every copy of it on your island.' Furthermore, it states that if '[y]ou have place this building on your island [X] times, so it's production speed is at [X]00% of the base value.'

    This is false.

    We all know that it is false, but we accept it naively because it was introduced as such and we have never really questioned the validity of the claim. In reality, the total production only increases because we have more buildings producing at the exact same rate. For instance, 1 Smokehouse produces 1 fish steak per hour, 2 Smokehouses produce 2 fish steaks per hour, 3 Smokehouses produce 3 fish steaks per hour, etc. However, the definition cited above wants us to believe that having multiple copies of the building will increase the production of that building. Indeed, the popup box of that building clearly indicates that the production time is reduced. However, the building itself does not produce more than base value. If it was so, 2 copies of the building should allow each Smokehouse to produce 2 fish steaks per hour, and so on.

    Such a deceptive advertising is pervasive in our societies. At first glance, this seems trivial. But in a commercial and gaming context, it favours the accumulation of frustration and it encourages player-clients to post cynical comments.

    (PS. The easiest way to fix that problem is that production speed is increased, whether we build the copies of the building or not, ie. to keep the copies in Star Menu.)
    Whence comest thou?

  2. #2
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    Amazingly while your premise is wrong your actual argument is right. The flaw in your reasoning is that your ignoring the fact that no matter how many buildings you have you only have 1 production queue. If each building was producing then you would be right. Your solution however defeats one of the objects of the game, namely space management.

  3. #3
    Settler kzar's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dorotheus View Post
    Amazingly while your premise is wrong your actual argument is right. The flaw in your reasoning is that your ignoring the fact that no matter how many buildings you have you only have 1 production queue. If each building was producing then you would be right. Your solution however defeats one of the objects of the game, namely space management.
    I agree that common sense should prevail here (but common sense is a funny thing in TSO). However, this is not 'my' premise, but the actual description. The way I read the description is that 'this building's production speed increases with every copy of it on your island' and not 'these buildings' production speed increases with every copy on your island' or simply, 'the production speed increases with every copy of this building on your island. For me, the description strongly suggests that each particular building is producing, which I know is not the case because it has no production status anyway. But one sure thing is that there is no increased speed or any kind of 'bonus'. What can be disputed is whether a 'copy' of a building counts as a distinct entities or not. In my opinion, since the 'copy' is acquired and built independently, they are distinct. In fact, the referent of 'this' is always the current building that is selected. For BB, they are treated as the same and unique entity, hence all the non-sense and cynicism of this post.

    As for the solution, I agree with you but BB has to fix either the description to fit the game mechanics or vice-versa.

    Finally, the main point of this post, for those who may have missed it, is that when a company is trying to sell something, the product should match the description. For those who have been around for a while, it happens that sometimes, BB struggles with that.
    Whence comest thou?

  4. #4
    Settler kzar's Avatar
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    Now they just changed the name of 'Expansion bonus' for 'Duplicate bonus'. This change was never mentioned in the Change Log. Just no explanation. I'm good with that. It's certainly insignificant, but the modifications of the descriptions are usually announced. Sneaky, sneaky...
    Whence comest thou?

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