Talk:Production amplifier
Partial amplification mechanics
The page says, about installing 25% of the amplification slots: "This results in one production cycle's output being doubled, followed by three productions cycles without any boost." That's not exact: each production cycle produces 1.25x times the output, but the count of non-liquid items is rounded up or down each cycle in such a way that the average over 2 or 4 production cycles is correct. For example, a recipe like Electromagnetic Control Rod produces 2 of them normally; with a 1.5x amplification, it produces 3 of them every cycle. With the way the quoted sentence is formulated, we would think it produces 2 and 4 alternatively.
Arigo (talk) 09:56, 21 October 2024 (UTC)
I have done some testing and it seems the game applies patterns:
The output of a machine (not the items/min, the number above) is always an integer.
If you multiply an integer by 1.25, the result will always end with .0, .25, .5 or .75.
Let’s says A is an amplified cycle and N a normal cycle, it seems the game applies the following patterns on 4 cycles:
.0 AAAA
.25 ANNN
0.5 ANAN
0.75 AAAN
I tested the last one on the “Radio Control System” recipe which outputs 3 items, adding one Somersloop: 3 x 1.25 = 3.75 and the game outputs 4 4 4 3 items.
After further testing the patterns are reversed and the logical order of presentation (increasing number of amplified cycles) is:
.25 NNNA
0.5 NANA
0.75 NAAA
.0 AAAA
I will try to update the article.
Article language
This article feels like it was written like a Steam guide. The language used seems remarkably informal for a non-tutorial page, and most of the "Why use Somersloops" section should be under "Tips" or a different page. I didn't rewrite anything because I figured I should get some input before doing something so drastic (and i don't exactly have many ideas on what to replace it with, if anything). Stickdoggaming (talk) 01:02, 10 November 2024 (UTC)
On this page I have written 2 paragraphs, one which is very formal “Amplified production cycles” (it’s only maths), and one less formal “Where to use Somersloops”.
English is not my native language, so maybe that’s why you have the impression it’s a “Steam guide” and you’re free to correct any mistakes I have made, but in this paragraph there are also formal parts: the “Somersloops are tools” part, the virtual machine analogy and the 1/4-3/4 power repartition. I think all of this is important to understand in detail how Somersloops work.
For the rest, the efficiency talk and recipe examples, I agree it may be out of place and you’re free to move them to a different page if you wish.
Cygx1 (talk) 05:55, 10 November 2024 (UTC)
Thinking more about it, the main article could be rewritten in a more formal way and without omitting any information, as follows:
- Somersloops are tools.
- Production amplification favors small buildings.
- Virtual machine analogy and power usage repartition, to have a deeper understanding on how this works.
- When Somersloops are used in a small building, it’s optimal to fully overclock them (the current article explains why in Q&A form, this could be better).
The discussion about efficiency is a bit long an could be removed, however the context the player is in is important because Somersloops have a huge impact on both resource and power usage, so choices will probably differ depending on personal goals.
Cygx1 (talk) 08:47, 10 November 2024 (UTC)
Done.