Very rarely do I ever use the advanced storm station in the game. It was introduced in the secrets of Dr.Wu DLC as an exclusive building. I never did like it because despite the near perfect protection it provides, it barely does protect the buildings around it as the radius would affect very few buildings. In a way I understand why this is the case, having it be large in its radius would be game breaking, but I think it downplays on delivery as it has a lot of stuff leading to it that gives it little pay off.
I made a poll on the unofficial JWE reddit, and as of writing this, most players do not use the advanced SDS, with comments on how ineffective it is as an advanced version of the storm defense station.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/jurassicworldevo/comments/g2h2d7/do_you_use_the_advanced_storm_defense_tower_in/
With 86 saying 'no' and 38 saying 'yes' as of writing this, this means that nearly 70% of the time, players may not want to use the advanced storm station at all. Most comments leading to the fact that the area of effect is too small to benefit investing in these storm defence stations.
Let's compare it with the standard storm defense station:
• The standard storm defense station is researchable in zero stars in challenge mode.
• It uses 5 electricity units to power it.
• It costs $100,000 to build
• It costs $100,000 to research
• It provides 40% protection against storms.
• It has a wide area of protection
And this is the advanced storm defense station:
• The advanced storm defense station is researchable in two stars in challenge mode.
• It uses 10 electricity units to power it.
• It costs $400,000 to build
• It costs $500,000 to research
• It provides near perfect protection against storms.
• It has about half of the area of protection of the standard storm defense station.
• It is unlocked by finishing the Secrets of Dr.Wu Campaign.
When comparing the two towers, the advanced SDS, despite the near perfect protection, is really inferior to the standard SDS. It uses twice as much power, it costs four times as much to build, it costs five times as much to research, and it has a longer process to acquire than the standard defense station by finishing the campaign and reaching 2 stars in challenge mode. I think this is meant to be seen as an upgraded version of the tower, but it feels like a minor niche that is often times negligible due to the amount of money, power, and effort needed to use in our parks. And near perfect defense from storms only benefits buildings not being broken by storms, and they will still be damaged from tornadoes regardless if you go for a standard or advanced option.
So why not bump up the area of effect? The idea behind making the AOE of the advanced SDS 50% that of the standard SDS makes sense conceptually, but I think this hinders it as it affects an area that takes into account both length and width.
The current size of the advanced AOE is about half of that of the standard SDS, but because it focuses on width and length, it feels like it has a quarter of effect, and in a way it does.
To roughly match the AOE of the advanced to the standard, you would need about 4 Advanced towers to cover this area. If the towers were based on size alone without any change in costs and power, this makes sense, but because costs, power, and star ratings are taken into account, this makes it a less flattering option. As 4 advanced towers would cost 40 power units, and $1,600,000. Which is really expensive on resources when compared to the standard version which require 5 power units and $100,000 with 40% protection for the same AOE. Sure it is not near perfect protection, but it is still a more attractive choice when compared to the advanced SDS.
By expanding the AOE, we could have the advanced towers be more appealing. Instead of 50% of AOE for the advanced tower, why not bump it up to at least 85%. It seems generous but it makes up for the additional costs in resources.
By bumping up the effectiveness by 35%, we have a more effective and attractive option to the Standard SDS. Its AOE is smaller than the standard SDS, but the fact that you only need one Advanced SDS to reach an AOE close to the standard AOE makes it more appealing thanks to the costs of this version being 10 power units, and $400,000 dollars for near perfect protection. Making the advanced SDS a more appealing investment for our parks.
I also think that there is no need to diminish the size of the Advance SDS altogether, as often times, upgrades costs more to invest and implement, but provides a better effect with little differences in maintenance. It is like the fast food building to the restaurant, the restaurant is more expensive and takes a little more space than the fast food area to build, but it caters to more guests and brings in more money. Or like the Success rates upgrades, each one costing more to research and apply than the prior, but each one benefits the player with more success rate and not needing extra power units compared to the previous version. There is a sense of growth thanks to propper investments.
So in this hypothetical Island where you need 7 SDS in your park to protect it from storms, and this game has the Advanced SDS with an AOE of 85% - 100% of the Standard SDS, the player has these 2 options.
The Standard Storm Defense Station:
• It costs $100,000 to research.
• It costs 35 power units to maintain
• It costs $700,000 to build the 7 Standard SDS.
The player would need to just pay $800,000 and 35 power units to have 40% protection from storms. The island is protected, but you would still need to send out ranger teams to fix broken buildings that were not fully protected, which has its own costs.
OR
The Advanced Storm Defense Station:
• It costs $500,000 to research.
• It costs 70 power units to maintain
• It costs $2,800,000 to build the 7 Advanced SDS.
• This option is available upon reaching 2 stars in challenge mode.
The player would need to pay $3,300,000 and 70 power units to have near perfect protection from storms. It costs about 4 times as much as having 40% protection, but your island is basically near protected from storms, making buildings break from storm damage a thing of the past due to the player's added investment in storm defense.
Both of these are now options, the standard version if you wish to have a park with decent protection and you are on a budget, or the advanced version, where you pay a pretty penny to make sure your island remains unscathed from storms. The only thing that players still worry about are dinosaur breakouts and the Tornado attack, but light and heavy storms are less of a worry then what they used to be.
I hope this helps visualize how the Advanced Storm Defense Stations could do with the upggrade. Thank you for your time and take care everyone!
I made a poll on the unofficial JWE reddit, and as of writing this, most players do not use the advanced SDS, with comments on how ineffective it is as an advanced version of the storm defense station.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/jurassicworldevo/comments/g2h2d7/do_you_use_the_advanced_storm_defense_tower_in/
With 86 saying 'no' and 38 saying 'yes' as of writing this, this means that nearly 70% of the time, players may not want to use the advanced storm station at all. Most comments leading to the fact that the area of effect is too small to benefit investing in these storm defence stations.
Let's compare it with the standard storm defense station:
• The standard storm defense station is researchable in zero stars in challenge mode.
• It uses 5 electricity units to power it.
• It costs $100,000 to build
• It costs $100,000 to research
• It provides 40% protection against storms.
• It has a wide area of protection
And this is the advanced storm defense station:
• The advanced storm defense station is researchable in two stars in challenge mode.
• It uses 10 electricity units to power it.
• It costs $400,000 to build
• It costs $500,000 to research
• It provides near perfect protection against storms.
• It has about half of the area of protection of the standard storm defense station.
• It is unlocked by finishing the Secrets of Dr.Wu Campaign.
When comparing the two towers, the advanced SDS, despite the near perfect protection, is really inferior to the standard SDS. It uses twice as much power, it costs four times as much to build, it costs five times as much to research, and it has a longer process to acquire than the standard defense station by finishing the campaign and reaching 2 stars in challenge mode. I think this is meant to be seen as an upgraded version of the tower, but it feels like a minor niche that is often times negligible due to the amount of money, power, and effort needed to use in our parks. And near perfect defense from storms only benefits buildings not being broken by storms, and they will still be damaged from tornadoes regardless if you go for a standard or advanced option.
So why not bump up the area of effect? The idea behind making the AOE of the advanced SDS 50% that of the standard SDS makes sense conceptually, but I think this hinders it as it affects an area that takes into account both length and width.
The current size of the advanced AOE is about half of that of the standard SDS, but because it focuses on width and length, it feels like it has a quarter of effect, and in a way it does.
To roughly match the AOE of the advanced to the standard, you would need about 4 Advanced towers to cover this area. If the towers were based on size alone without any change in costs and power, this makes sense, but because costs, power, and star ratings are taken into account, this makes it a less flattering option. As 4 advanced towers would cost 40 power units, and $1,600,000. Which is really expensive on resources when compared to the standard version which require 5 power units and $100,000 with 40% protection for the same AOE. Sure it is not near perfect protection, but it is still a more attractive choice when compared to the advanced SDS.
By expanding the AOE, we could have the advanced towers be more appealing. Instead of 50% of AOE for the advanced tower, why not bump it up to at least 85%. It seems generous but it makes up for the additional costs in resources.
By bumping up the effectiveness by 35%, we have a more effective and attractive option to the Standard SDS. Its AOE is smaller than the standard SDS, but the fact that you only need one Advanced SDS to reach an AOE close to the standard AOE makes it more appealing thanks to the costs of this version being 10 power units, and $400,000 dollars for near perfect protection. Making the advanced SDS a more appealing investment for our parks.
I also think that there is no need to diminish the size of the Advance SDS altogether, as often times, upgrades costs more to invest and implement, but provides a better effect with little differences in maintenance. It is like the fast food building to the restaurant, the restaurant is more expensive and takes a little more space than the fast food area to build, but it caters to more guests and brings in more money. Or like the Success rates upgrades, each one costing more to research and apply than the prior, but each one benefits the player with more success rate and not needing extra power units compared to the previous version. There is a sense of growth thanks to propper investments.
So in this hypothetical Island where you need 7 SDS in your park to protect it from storms, and this game has the Advanced SDS with an AOE of 85% - 100% of the Standard SDS, the player has these 2 options.
The Standard Storm Defense Station:
• It costs $100,000 to research.
• It costs 35 power units to maintain
• It costs $700,000 to build the 7 Standard SDS.
The player would need to just pay $800,000 and 35 power units to have 40% protection from storms. The island is protected, but you would still need to send out ranger teams to fix broken buildings that were not fully protected, which has its own costs.
OR
The Advanced Storm Defense Station:
• It costs $500,000 to research.
• It costs 70 power units to maintain
• It costs $2,800,000 to build the 7 Advanced SDS.
• This option is available upon reaching 2 stars in challenge mode.
The player would need to pay $3,300,000 and 70 power units to have near perfect protection from storms. It costs about 4 times as much as having 40% protection, but your island is basically near protected from storms, making buildings break from storm damage a thing of the past due to the player's added investment in storm defense.
Both of these are now options, the standard version if you wish to have a park with decent protection and you are on a budget, or the advanced version, where you pay a pretty penny to make sure your island remains unscathed from storms. The only thing that players still worry about are dinosaur breakouts and the Tornado attack, but light and heavy storms are less of a worry then what they used to be.
I hope this helps visualize how the Advanced Storm Defense Stations could do with the upggrade. Thank you for your time and take care everyone!