Unit Hurry Cost Revisited!

[Jamski]

My point exactly HongHu

I mean if I have 120 bases, and say 40 rushes each turn, I want it simple. With my method I can do the math instantaniously in my head (its just practice) and maybe waste 1 or 2 ecs in a turn. Rushing facs and SPs means there is never any waste.

-Jam

[Snowflake]

What you got there is that you won't have any mineral carry over NW.

[edit] And this is my 3rd edit too.

[Net Warrior]

lol HungHu, I already edited my post

[Snowflake]

Say you need 48 ecs to fully rush a production.

If your base production is less than 10 you rush it for 48 ecs and carry the min over.

If your base production is 10 you rush it for 48 ecs and carry the 10 min over.

If your base production is 11 you rush it for 46ecs (=48-2*(11-10)) and use 1 mineral and carry the rest 10 min over.

If your base production is 12 you rush it for 44 ecs (=48-2*(12-10)) and use 2 mineral and carry the rest 10 min over.

If your base production is 13 you rush it for 42 ecs (=48-2*(13-10)) and use 3 mineral and carry the rest 10 min over.

...

If your base production is 18 you rush it for 32 ecs (=48-2*(18-10)) and use 8 mineral and carry the rest 10 min over.

[Snowflake]

Originally posted by Net Warrior
lol HungHu, I already edited my post

And I edited mine too.

[Santiago_Claus]

I don't like counting mineral rows. You'd have to be a fighter pilot to enjoy distinguishing between bright blue, blue, and dull blue blocks on a dark blue background.

It is much easier on my eyes for me to take the ec figure from clicking "Hurry" as one of my inputs (and the equally easy-to-read "net mineral income" number on the right of the city resource display as my other.)

Buildings and SP's are, as someone else noted, "trivial", but units are ugly; I'd sooner extract a tooth than a root every time I want to rush a unit, so I let the spreadsheet do it for me.

However, I'm always open to new ideas, so ... here's the challenge:

Devise an approximating formula for optimized unit payments simple enough to do in one's head which takes ONLY hurry cost and production as inputs. The formula must be fail-safe: it must never under-pay!

HongHu gets the ball rolling, taking advantage of the fact that unit cost will never be less than two:

Approximation = Cost - 2 * Production

Using a test case 30-production base, 50-cost unit, 10 minerals pre-paid, we want to buy 10 more minerals to finish the unit early. (C - 2P) buys 25, which causes a waste of 5 units (20 ec).

I'll amend HH's formula with a "look-up table": 60, 160, 300 ec use production coefficients 3, 4, and 5. That is, at 60 ec the unit cost reaches 3, so you may safely discount 3 * P. You can remember the 60, 160, 300 breakpoints by remembering the pattern (3, 4, 5), (2, 4, 6):

3 * 2 * 10 = 60,
4 * 4 * 10 = 160,
5 * 6 * 10 = 300.

Or you could just buy me a better pair of glasses ...

[Enigma_Nova]

F4 - production
You see the minerals made / total
Total - made = minerals left.

count them ECs and mins ya lazy bastards!

[Snowflake]

There is no way I will look up production using F4 40 times per turn. Lazy or not is discussable but I could always find better ways to utilize my time.

[Enigma_Nova]

You mean you play your turns imperfectly?

You don't have time to count your mins, you don't have time to play your turns...
Why the hell are you still at Apolyton? Do you have a point to prove?

If so, I'll eagerly spend 72 hours waiting for you to prove it.

[anarchie]

If you start by managing all your rush-buying from the F4 screen, it's not anything of a bother to note the remaining minerals before opening a base, and that's only to check the base's production.

[Snowflake]

Hmmm do I have to prove a point to be at Poly?

/me reads the member agreement.

Nope.

Best wishes with your 72 hours.

[GeoModder]

Hear hear...

[Minute Mirage]

Is there a problem with just using Nethog's table? I have it printed beside me when I play and it takes me only a few seconds to look up the cost of rush building.

[Jamski]

Why don't you have it memorised

-Jam

[Enigma_Nova]

Makes me wonder why you can't count the ECs manually, but using a table is an okay idea.