NationStates Jolt Archive

By that I don't mean, "will it boost or drop me a full Civil/Economic/Political category every time or only sometimes"... I mean, is the same choice on the same issue supposed to sometimes boost one category in one nation, but hurt that same category in another nation?

I ask because I've been tracking effects of these choices for a little while and on the watershed issue the exact same choice of options boosted my economy in two of my nations (once from Very Strong to Thriving and once from Thriving to Powerhouse) and in two other nations it hurt my economy (taking it from Thriving to Very Strong in both cases).

What's the deal?

edit: damn... posted with the puppet... oh well...

Sometimes. However, normally the issue affects your nation based on what's happening in your nation already. For example, in a nation with a crappy economy Option 1 of the "Suits in Protest" issue will increase your economy drastically, while in nations with good economies it might not do anything at all.

How can you be so sure? As I understood it, only (Game?) Mods had access to the code.

Experimentally testing the effects of issues is always a little dangerous. There could be other factors, such as other issues, or UN legislation. And even then, without hard numbers, I've always found it too complex to simply 'know' what's going on.

I don't know if issues affect nations differently. I had assumed they wouldn't, but it does sometimes appear that they do. sirocco will have the definitive answer, I should think. Anything short of that, as Granny Weatherwax would have it, is probably just messing around.

How can you be so sure? As I understood it, only (Game?) Mods had access to the code.Probably because he's seen us say as much before.

The code is, rather obviously, the same every time. The code, however, takes into account your current stats. Look at it this way:

$Choice on $issue cuts your taxes by 10% (of your current tax rate). Every time you pick it, your taxes are reduced by 10%. If your taxes are 90%, they'll go down to 81%; if they're 10%, they'll go down to 9%. The rate of drop is the same, but the raw drop is different.

If the choice dropped them by 10 percentage points, the 90% would become 80% and the 10% would become 0%. See the difference?

Note: This is an example only. It's to demonstrate how an effect can be based on your stats. There isn't an issue that actually works exactly like this. They're considerably more complex.

Sometimes. However, normally the issue affects your nation based on what's happening in your nation already. For example, in a nation with a crappy economy Option 1 of the "Suits in Protest" issue will increase your economy drastically, while in nations with good economies it might not do anything at all.

Yes... but would it ever increase the economy in the first case and decrease the economy in the second?

Experimentally testing the effects of issues is always a little dangerous. There could be other factors, such as other issues, or UN legislation. And even then, without hard numbers, I've always found it too complex to simply 'know' what's going on.

None of the nations were in the UN, and I only legislate one issue at a time when I'm tracking to make sure there's no confusion of effects.

$Choice on $issue cuts your taxes by 10% (of your current tax rate). Every time you pick it, your taxes are reduced by 10%. If your taxes are 90%, they'll go down to 81%; if they're 10%, they'll go down to 9%. The rate of drop is the same, but the raw drop is different.

If the choice dropped them by 10 percentage points, the 90% would become 80% and the 10% would become 0%. See the difference?

Yes... but both those changes, in both cases, are still in the same direction right? That's still just talking about a difference in degree, not direction, of effect... unless I'm misreading something. In the case I'm looking at two nations had their economic strength increased and two had them decreased by making the exact same choice.

In the case I'm looking at two nations had their economic strength increased and two had them decreased by making the exact same choice.That can happen, yes. Usually with older issues though. There's still some issues where if a nation is above a certain point, it'll be pulled down. Using my tax example:

$choice on $issue moves your taxes towards 90%. For most people, it'll raise their taxes. If your tax rate is over 90%, however, the choice will lower your tax rate.

There's not many of these left and tend to require a given stat to be at an extreme end of the spectrum. So, yes, it can happen, it just won't happen frequently.

That can happen, yes. Usually with older issues though. There's still some issues where if a nation is above a certain point, it'll be pulled down. Using my tax example:

$choice on $issue moves your taxes towards 90%. For most people, it'll raise their taxes. If your tax rate is over 90%, however, the choice will lower your tax rate.

There's not many of these left and tend to require a given stat to be at an extreme end of the spectrum. So, yes, it can happen, it just won't happen frequently.

Ok, got it... thanks.