Talk:Buying/Selling/Transferring (TFTD)

I will update all the actual costs (corrected for component values), and generally fill out this table, shortly. I've done the spreadsheet and translated it into this rather grim ascii table format a couple of times but lost my work both times, once during the move to Strategy Core and once by pure carelessness on my part. Try, try again! Spike 17:45, 1 October 2008 (CDT)

Wow, I love what you've done with the table. I had hoped if I left it partially filled out, someone might be motivated to fill it out, but you did one better (adding the payback column) . And please, if you (or anyone else) has sufficient vocabulary to replace the word profit with what I was trying to talk say, you have my deepest blessing. --SgtKlaos 01:42, 29 November 2008 (CST)

Thanks. It's on my Things To Do List to finish this TFTD economics data and also upload the same data for Enemy Unknown (with payback periods etc). It's probably identical but I need to double check before I upload it. I'm sort of on holiday at the moment so maybe I'll get to it. Spike 16:24, 29 November 2008 (CST)

Real Economics (moved from main page)

[re Analysis section]

The reason for this financial miracle is a market with infinite demand, and a pure monopoly by Xcom. In the real world, certain products, for instance Coca Cola, or Vodka, have much higher margins based on their manufacturing cost and sale price. However, they have huge marketing costs which are needed to upkeep the brand names. Jasonred

That doesn't really explain it. There is an infinite, inelastic demand for all products in the game, regardless of whether they are profitable or massively unprofitable. XCom has a monopoly in all of them. Also, while there are variable margins in the real world, there are few negative margins - certainly not for long. And variable margins are not only explained by marketing, though that is one mechanism of boosting profit margins. Basically, the game does has a bad/non-existent economic model that bears no relation to reality. Arguably the designers intentions were not to simulate reality, but to get good game balance. I'm not sure they got that either, though they are much closer to game balance than they are to realistic economics. Spike 16:40, 14 April 2009 (EDT)

Well, in the first place, a market with infinite demand is impossible. Pure monopolys are also almost impossible. ... When you get right down to it, you could count the alien pacts as a form of competition.

There are negative margins. For instance, scientists have been able to nuclear transmute lead into gold. Unfortunatly, the process is ridiculously expensive, since it takes massive amounts of energy and labor and you end up only transmuting a few atoms. Negative margin simply means "this is not a profitable activity... don't do it"

Realistic economics... hah. You are right, the games is MILES off from that. As for game balance... er... yeah, I find Xcom relatively balanced, actually. ... If you are talking about how building a Laser Cannon factory is so massively profitable, I would point out that the initial outlays needed are so big that you can usually just win the game by the time you can afford to do so. Jasonred 17:50, 14 April 2009 (EDT)