Andyman [471591] —
Original article
Volume I, Issue 2 | The Journal of Torn Science (JTS) is a peer-reviewed journal that features high-impact studies conducted by researchers in the Torn Community.
In the Journal of Torn Science, we seek answers to questions through the collection of data and thoughtful study.
Science is a process one goes through to become more sure about something by controlling and isolating variables and drawing conclusions from objective repeatable experiments that involve measuring empirical data. Science is arguably man's most powerful tool in figuring out and manipulating the world arou...
Right! So, in this issue of the Journal of Torn Science, I'll be showcasing the studies and respective analysis to help you as you inevitably ask yourself the following questions:
1.) What is the best way to gain weapon experience?
2.) How many square kilometers is Torn?
3.) How do I optimize my racing skill gains?
4.) How do I calculate investment yields from stock blocks that provide a dividend?
5.) What are my chances of getting loot from NPCs, and is it worth the energy?
What is the best way to gain weapon experience?
Andyman: We learned back in July of 2016 that it takes 2,000 hits to get a weapon from 0% to 100% weapon experience. The method in which you achieve those 2,000 hits is ultimately up to you; though I encourage you to consider the following as you develop your strategy for gaining weapon experience:
- Defending hits count the same as attacking hits.
- The lower your weapon's damage stat, the more energy-efficient your weapon experience gains are going to be. That said, try to obtain a version of the weapon with the lowest damage stat possible to maximize your chances at doing the greatest the number of hits you do per attack.
- Hits on the lootable NPCs count toward weapon experience gains. (Note: You'll actually want to use a higher damage weapon if looting to get a better chance of loot)
- Weapons that have limited ammo capacity and/or reload often are more difficult to gain weapon experience on since turns are used to reload and/or you eventually run out of ammo before the 25 turns are up.
- The suppressor (lower damage output), recoil pad, extra clips, and extended magazine (ammo management) weapon attachments can help maximize the weapon experience gained per energy spent.
- The mathematics education (ammo management) is useful for extending the number of possible hits prior to running out of ammunition on several weapons.
Source
How many square kilometers is Torn?
Back in January, Meresca_Milnota asked, "We know the length of each Race Track, like Withdrawal, and we know how many pixels the race track is on the City Map. Can we infer how large the City is from this?"
Andyman: We obviously have to assume the racing tracks as shown on the map are drawn to scale, and that everyone's screen resolution and browser displays the map in a universal manner to be able to proceed. That said...
I'd use the 1.64-mile-long Convict track instead of Withdrawal since the track appears to have at least one 90-degree angle; and only 3 other angles which appear to be close enough to add up to the additional 270 degrees necessary to finish a square. From that, we can be reasonably certain that each of the four stretches of Convict is right around 0.41 miles since a square has four equal sides. On my Samsung Galaxy S10e, I'm measuring the map to be approximately 16 Convict-sides wide by 10 Convict-sides tall. Or 6.56 miles x 4.10 miles after we apply our 0.41 miles per Convict side calculation.
Converting miles to km: 1.00 mile = 1.609 km. So 6.56 miles wide x 1.609 = 10.55km | 4.10 miles tall x 1.609 = 6.60km. To get square kilometers, we simply multiply the height of the map by the width of the map; 6.60km x 10.55km = 69.63 square kilometers. So the answer is, yes, if we make some resolution and scaling assumptions, Torn is approximately 69.63 square kilometers.
Source
How do I Optimize my Racing Skill Gains
Andyman: For years, several of us petrolheads assumed racing skill was correlated to the time we spent racing on the track so we would make sure to enter a 100 lap race with a class E car before going to bed. When I tested it; however, it was clear that we were dead wrong! Instead, in my study, I found racing skill was correlated to distance raced as opposed to time spent racing. The JTS team is currently studying racing skill gains with a new script that is yielding great data and allowing us to study gains based on finishing place, track, official/custom race, wait time, whether or not money was bet, etc... Keep an eye out for future articles with more details!
In the meantime, to maximize your skill gains, you should complete 100 lap races on the longest track (Docks) with the fastest car for that track (Ford GT40 with paddle-shift gears, long ratio gears, adjustable coil suspension, turbo 3 Engine) with the least amount of wait time in between races.
Racing skill, of course, can be obtained much faster at higher levels by working in a 10-star TV network and using job points on the Press Pass job special. The Press Pass provides a one-and-fourteen chance of gaining a static +0.5 racing skill every two and a half days from a "top racing driver" taking you around a few of his favorite tracks after a press event, sharing with you valuable racing tips and advice. That works out to an average of +1.0 racing skill every 70 days!
Source
What are the investment yields from stock blocks that provide a dividend?
Andyman: I tracked and analyzed the dividends I received over the course of a little over 3 years so I could calculate the yields on passive income sources with a relatively high degree of confidence. Yield is calculated by simply taking the value of the payouts over the course of a year divided by the current price of the stock block. The higher the yield, the better!
The dividend payout (the numerator) stays consistent; however, the price of the stock block (the denominator) is subject to change every 15 minutes.
Pictured: The stock block yields as of the 20th of March, 2020.
Note: Stock "investors" buy and hold the stocks for the corresponding dividends. Stock "traders" simply aim to buy stocks at a lower price than they sell the stocks for. The stock "investors vs traders" are fundamentally different. Investors have a predictable income (as measured by the respective yield) whereas traders are basically gambling on stock price fluctuations to provide their income.
Source
What are my chances of getting loot from NPCs?
Andyman: In December 2019, I published my loot tracking data as an attempt to gauge the expected value of using energy in loot raids. One of the variables associated with this study was finding the approximate loot drop rate for each of the items. This loot percentage data is based solely on item circulation data as of the 6th of December, 2019 and I'm aware this methodology isn't perfect for several reasons.
Chiefly, the looting community gets antsy on occasion and takes out Duke/Leslie while he is still at Loot Level III. Furthermore, the Nail Bomb and Sand are expendable temporary items, so the looting percentages are probably understated by at least a few % considering they are taken out of circulation upon being used. There may also be items that have been generated by staff for testing, and it is entirely possible that troll player(s) have destroyed one or more of these lootable items via SED...
If you happen to be one of the lucky four players who gets loot during a Loot Level 4 raid, I calculated your chances of obtaining loot items as follows:
Note the market pricing data reflected on the chart above fluctuates greatly and will almost certainty continue to decrease as NPC-loot-items get more and more common.
Jimmy's drops are proving to be much more difficult to study, seeing as though he drops candy and lawyer business cards!
And for those wondering, yes, it's possible to loot two of the same rare item at Loot Level IV! Two Rheinmetall MG3s were looted from Duke on the 26th of March, 2020. AlexanderWoolf and COXY were the lucky pillagers!
Join Our Team!
JTS has a Discord where all of our studies are coordinated. We are currently vetting interest from people willing to participate in research data collection and seeking volunteers for data collection (Researchers), script writers (Research Quants), leading Torn Scientists with well-defined research questions and aims for their research (Principal Investigators), and individuals with experience writing and reviewing scientific literature and have a strong grasp of the game and its mechanics (Reviewers). If you think you'd qualify for one of these roles, please shoot Paul or Andyman a chat in-game!"
Thank you for reading this issue of The Journal of Torn Science.
Science is a process one goes through to become more sure about something by controlling and isolating variables and drawing conclusions from objective repeatable experiments that involve measuring empirical data. Science is arguably man's most powerful tool in figuring out and manipulating the world arou...
Right! So, in this issue of the Journal of Torn Science, I'll be showcasing the studies and respective analysis to help you as you inevitably ask yourself the following questions:
1.) What is the best way to gain weapon experience?
2.) How many square kilometers is Torn?
3.) How do I optimize my racing skill gains?
4.) How do I calculate investment yields from stock blocks that provide a dividend?
5.) What are my chances of getting loot from NPCs, and is it worth the energy?
What is the best way to gain weapon experience?
Andyman: We learned back in July of 2016 that it takes 2,000 hits to get a weapon from 0% to 100% weapon experience. The method in which you achieve those 2,000 hits is ultimately up to you; though I encourage you to consider the following as you develop your strategy for gaining weapon experience:
- Defending hits count the same as attacking hits.
- The lower your weapon's damage stat, the more energy-efficient your weapon experience gains are going to be. That said, try to obtain a version of the weapon with the lowest damage stat possible to maximize your chances at doing the greatest the number of hits you do per attack.
- Hits on the lootable NPCs count toward weapon experience gains. (Note: You'll actually want to use a higher damage weapon if looting to get a better chance of loot)
- Weapons that have limited ammo capacity and/or reload often are more difficult to gain weapon experience on since turns are used to reload and/or you eventually run out of ammo before the 25 turns are up.
- The suppressor (lower damage output), recoil pad, extra clips, and extended magazine (ammo management) weapon attachments can help maximize the weapon experience gained per energy spent.
- The mathematics education (ammo management) is useful for extending the number of possible hits prior to running out of ammunition on several weapons.
Source
How many square kilometers is Torn?
Back in January, Meresca_Milnota asked, "We know the length of each Race Track, like Withdrawal, and we know how many pixels the race track is on the City Map. Can we infer how large the City is from this?"
Andyman: We obviously have to assume the racing tracks as shown on the map are drawn to scale, and that everyone's screen resolution and browser displays the map in a universal manner to be able to proceed. That said...
I'd use the 1.64-mile-long Convict track instead of Withdrawal since the track appears to have at least one 90-degree angle; and only 3 other angles which appear to be close enough to add up to the additional 270 degrees necessary to finish a square. From that, we can be reasonably certain that each of the four stretches of Convict is right around 0.41 miles since a square has four equal sides. On my Samsung Galaxy S10e, I'm measuring the map to be approximately 16 Convict-sides wide by 10 Convict-sides tall. Or 6.56 miles x 4.10 miles after we apply our 0.41 miles per Convict side calculation.
Converting miles to km: 1.00 mile = 1.609 km. So 6.56 miles wide x 1.609 = 10.55km | 4.10 miles tall x 1.609 = 6.60km. To get square kilometers, we simply multiply the height of the map by the width of the map; 6.60km x 10.55km = 69.63 square kilometers. So the answer is, yes, if we make some resolution and scaling assumptions, Torn is approximately 69.63 square kilometers.
Source
How do I Optimize my Racing Skill Gains
Andyman: For years, several of us petrolheads assumed racing skill was correlated to the time we spent racing on the track so we would make sure to enter a 100 lap race with a class E car before going to bed. When I tested it; however, it was clear that we were dead wrong! Instead, in my study, I found racing skill was correlated to distance raced as opposed to time spent racing. The JTS team is currently studying racing skill gains with a new script that is yielding great data and allowing us to study gains based on finishing place, track, official/custom race, wait time, whether or not money was bet, etc... Keep an eye out for future articles with more details!
In the meantime, to maximize your skill gains, you should complete 100 lap races on the longest track (Docks) with the fastest car for that track (Ford GT40 with paddle-shift gears, long ratio gears, adjustable coil suspension, turbo 3 Engine) with the least amount of wait time in between races.
Racing skill, of course, can be obtained much faster at higher levels by working in a 10-star TV network and using job points on the Press Pass job special. The Press Pass provides a one-and-fourteen chance of gaining a static +0.5 racing skill every two and a half days from a "top racing driver" taking you around a few of his favorite tracks after a press event, sharing with you valuable racing tips and advice. That works out to an average of +1.0 racing skill every 70 days!
Source
What are the investment yields from stock blocks that provide a dividend?
Andyman: I tracked and analyzed the dividends I received over the course of a little over 3 years so I could calculate the yields on passive income sources with a relatively high degree of confidence. Yield is calculated by simply taking the value of the payouts over the course of a year divided by the current price of the stock block. The higher the yield, the better!
The dividend payout (the numerator) stays consistent; however, the price of the stock block (the denominator) is subject to change every 15 minutes.
Pictured: The stock block yields as of the 20th of March, 2020.
Note: Stock "investors" buy and hold the stocks for the corresponding dividends. Stock "traders" simply aim to buy stocks at a lower price than they sell the stocks for. The stock "investors vs traders" are fundamentally different. Investors have a predictable income (as measured by the respective yield) whereas traders are basically gambling on stock price fluctuations to provide their income.
Source
What are my chances of getting loot from NPCs?
Andyman: In December 2019, I published my loot tracking data as an attempt to gauge the expected value of using energy in loot raids. One of the variables associated with this study was finding the approximate loot drop rate for each of the items. This loot percentage data is based solely on item circulation data as of the 6th of December, 2019 and I'm aware this methodology isn't perfect for several reasons.
Chiefly, the looting community gets antsy on occasion and takes out Duke/Leslie while he is still at Loot Level III. Furthermore, the Nail Bomb and Sand are expendable temporary items, so the looting percentages are probably understated by at least a few % considering they are taken out of circulation upon being used. There may also be items that have been generated by staff for testing, and it is entirely possible that troll player(s) have destroyed one or more of these lootable items via SED...
If you happen to be one of the lucky four players who gets loot during a Loot Level 4 raid, I calculated your chances of obtaining loot items as follows:
Note the market pricing data reflected on the chart above fluctuates greatly and will almost certainty continue to decrease as NPC-loot-items get more and more common.
Jimmy's drops are proving to be much more difficult to study, seeing as though he drops candy and lawyer business cards!
And for those wondering, yes, it's possible to loot two of the same rare item at Loot Level IV! Two Rheinmetall MG3s were looted from Duke on the 26th of March, 2020. AlexanderWoolf and COXY were the lucky pillagers!
Join Our Team!
JTS has a Discord where all of our studies are coordinated. We are currently vetting interest from people willing to participate in research data collection and seeking volunteers for data collection (Researchers), script writers (Research Quants), leading Torn Scientists with well-defined research questions and aims for their research (Principal Investigators), and individuals with experience writing and reviewing scientific literature and have a strong grasp of the game and its mechanics (Reviewers). If you think you'd qualify for one of these roles, please shoot Paul or Andyman a chat in-game!"
Thank you for reading this issue of The Journal of Torn Science.
Original article
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