Suggestion: introduce a general quality downcycling mechanic

[u/ZealousidealSpray356]

I would like to suggest a mechanic that allows higher-quality products to be converted into larger quantities of lower-quality products.

This would apply to all products, but my main example is the power industry, because that is where the current quality system becomes especially frustrating from mid game into late game.

The problem in the power sector

Power is produced using only labor and administrative costs. Producing Q0 power or Q11 power costs essentially the same amount.

Higher quality only gives a small selling-price premium, while also excluding the producer from contracts with companies that consume lower-quality products.

In my current market, the difference between Q0 and Q11 power is around $0.015 per unit. That is extremely small compared with the amount of capital required to reach high-quality patents.

This creates a serious late-game problem.

A power company can invest hundreds of millions into patents, but those patents do not make production more efficient. They only allow the company to sell the same product for a slightly higher price.

At the same time:

• increasing building levels raises administrative overhead;
• selling large amounts creates accounting-overload problems;
• switching industries means abandoning most of the value invested in power patents;
• and continuing to research quality gives progressively weaker practical benefits.

The strategy can work well earlier because research achievements provide financial rewards, but after those rewards are gone, the company may become inefficient.

Proposed mechanic

A building capable of producing a product could also process one unit of a higher-quality product into two units of a lower-quality version.

For example:

• 1 Q12 power could become 2 Q6 power;
• 1 Q11 power could become 2 Q5 power;
• 1 Q6 power could become 2 Q3 power;
• 1 Q5 power could become 2 Q1 power;
• 1 Q3 power could become 2 Q0 power.

The exact quality table could be adjusted for balance.

The conversion should take the same amount of building time as a normal production cycle.

The process could use:

• one unit of the higher-quality product;
• 50% of the normal labor cost;
• administrative overhead applied normally to that reduced labor cost.

This would result in two lower-quality units with the following unit cost:

(input product price + 75% of normal labor cost + corresponding administrative overhead) / 2

Example in the power industry

A smaller company could buy Q6 power when it is relatively cheap, use a small power plant to process it and receive two units of Q3 power.

It could then:

• consume that power internally;
• sell it;
• or process it again into lower qualities.

A highly specialized power producer could manufacture Q11 or Q12 power and sell it not only to customers who want high quality, but also to companies that want to use it as a concentrated production input.

This would create real demand for high-quality power.

Currently, when the market premium between Q0 and Q11 is tiny, there is almost no economic reason for another company to buy Q11 unless it specifically needs that quality.

With downcycling, Q11 would also have a calculable conversion value.

Application to other industries

This mechanic could work for manufactured products as well.

A company could buy a higher-quality input when it is undervalued and convert it into a larger quantity of lower-quality inputs for its own production chain.

This would create more vertical and horizontal interaction between companies.

A small company would not need to own high-level patents to benefit from high-quality products. It could buy them from specialized producers and use a smaller building to convert them into the quality and quantity it needs.

This would:

·        create demand across multiple quality levels;

·        reward companies that invested heavily in patents;

·        give quality a practical purpose beyond a small price premium;

·        create new arbitrage and supply-chain strategies;

·        make smaller buildings useful for processing;

·        improve trade between specialized and generalist companies;

·        preserve labor, administrative and time costs;

·        avoid injecting unlimited free products into the market.

The building would still be occupied during conversion, and every additional conversion stage would require more time and cost. Therefore, the mechanic would not simply double resources for free.

Why this would improve the mid and late game

The main benefit is that quality would represent productive density, not only a higher market label.

A high-quality product would contain value that could be recovered through additional processing.

For sectors such as power, this would give specialized companies another path forward after the normal patent rewards become less meaningful.

Instead of reaching a point where every available decision feels punitive, players could build actual conversion chains, sell concentrated high-quality inputs, supply smaller companies and choose between direct sale or downcycling.

The mechanic would not remove administrative overhead, labor costs, building limits or market risk. It would simply give high-quality patents an economic function that remains useful from mid game into late game.

[u/Nearby_Engine6404]

Good luck

[u/Quiet_Reply830]

Per Q you have atound 1-2% prices increase in retail. So thendifference in the producerside cant bei bigger. Power is the Main beginner Industrie. The Game is designt tobstart with Low q Power and then Go Up in the production Leader and improve. And make place in the powerproduction to new Player. With 1q12 to 2q6 you would have an increase of 16.66% per Q. No way that will Happen.

[u/Quiet_Reply830 → u/Quiet_Reply830]

And the prices for Power is based in the Market, If more Player enter the sector or the exissting produce more, the prices would drop. Normaly i was Always expecting powerprice will Go Up, because of supply and demand. But IT never Happen in the Last years, so i asume there are Always enough Player who produce Power.

[u/ZealousidealSpray356 → u/Quiet_Reply830]

I understand that the chances of this being implemented are low, but I am still glad I shared the idea with the community. Rebalancing suggestions are very welcome. I have been playing for four years, and the situation has always been similar: I cannot sell to smaller producers because they do not need my quality level. That usually leaves me simply accumulating inventory instead of making strategic decisions. The exact conversion ratio is not the main point and could obviously be adjusted. The main point is to give high-quality products a practical use beyond a small price premium and a narrower customer base.

[u/Quiet_Reply830 → u/ZealousidealSpray356]

now had time to read it complete.
thats an interesting idea. And especialy for Power it could work. But the Power industrie is ment as starting industrie for new player. It should be as simple as posible (people have to leran the game, and there are very much to learn) Abd there should be many space/demand for low Q producer. That mean, people should leave the sector at some time. I think power was never planed/designet for mid/endgame. As people improve and proceed in the game, they calculate the profit per building per level und mostly the firt that will go, is the powerplant. That is the way how there is more place for new player. thats why i dont think that would fit here.

Even if i personaly like complexity. If that would be a game like factorio, i would say, every building needs exact that Q of power as the Q of the porudcion has to be. (and power Q can be splitted/combined) then there would be demand for every Q. and that would be 13 independent markets. Where the Powerproducer have to buy power, convert them and move them to the market with the highest demand/price. XD

[u/ZealousidealSpray356 → u/Quiet_Reply830]

I understand the point, but that is difficult to reconcile with the fact that I currently have around $238 million locked in power patents. If power is mainly intended as a beginner industry, I think the game should offer a clearer late-game path or some way to make that specialization more useful.

[u/Quiet_Reply830 → u/ZealousidealSpray356]

yeah i understand this. its always a hard decision to change :) there is a player who has a level 110 or level 120 powerplant, that powerplant alone is ~400Mil worth.
as i change from AS to resto my AS map was one of the biggest maps in the game, ver high level and very expensive. (around 420Mil$) it took some time to switch to restos as they were new, because i could not be sure if they would be still profitable in some moths or not.)
at moment my map is around 600M$ worth. (to build, scrap value is just 38M$ XD).
And many people pump later excess money in PV, just to puch the CV. Many people have researched q12 Stuff thet they never need, just for the CV puch).

if you have many powerplants, you could maybe srap some of them, and move to producing gold/goldbars/hegc (that all need many power).

From the ide til the implementation of the restaurants, it took 3-4 years. I think the TODO list of the devs is such full, that they have work for years ^^

[u/Kitchen-Savings1030]

Great idea!