Math Brainiac + Excel Brainiac - Help Request

[lindenkron]

I'm having abit of an issue here... And quiet frankly, it's one of the few times where I'm completely at a [This is as far as my knowledge goes] stop.

What I need, want, would like, is a 'diagram' so to say, showing different values in a form at different levels etc. Ill try to give an example:

        Point Value
       1  2  3  4  5
L   1  1  2  3  4  5
E   2  2  4  6  8  10
V   3  3  6  9  12 15
E   4
L   5

Now. there you can see if things look "balanced" so to say.

I really hope ANYONE is following this, because I'm not sure I quiet understand it myself rofl.

But would I would like, is to make such a diagram / schematic etc, over 3 values affecting eachother.

I need to see the calculated numbers for:
Point Value + *Level of unit (1-100)* x GoldBounty(1-5) at any given combination...

I looked at Excel now for like 45 min, and I'm not an inch closer to understanding if this is possible with excel or not.

I'm really hoping anyone out there can help me, and ofcause +Rep for help... I'm quiet honestly, really lost here

Thx,
-Lindenkron

PS. Yes, this is a World Editor question, since I need it for balancing my map

 

[Builder Bob]

        Point Value
       1  2  3  4  5
L   1  [B]1[/B]  2  3  4  5
E   2  2  4  6  8  10
V   3  3  6  9  12 15
E   4
L   5

Is that how you want it to look? If it is, then it is quite simple in excel. It can be daunting at first though.

with the bolded cell selected do the following

1. type =
2. click the cell with level 1
3. hit F4 exactly 3 times
4. type *
5. click the cell with point 1
6. hit F4 exactly twice
7. hit enter
8. select the bolded cell again
9. notice the small black square in the lower right of the cell
10. click the black square and drag it down across as many cells as you want
11. now you have many cells selected vertically
12. click and drag the black square again to the right to fill your whole diagram
13. Done

You may not get it at the first try, but you'll get it if you follow this list.

Edit: Sorry, I think I might have misunderstood you after reading this again.

But would I would like, is to make such a diagram / schematic etc, over 3 values affecting eachother.

3 variable values? You'll need a 3 dimensional diagram to display that. I don't know how to do that without creating multiple 2 dimensional ones.

 

[lindenkron]

You'll need a 3 dimensional diagram to display that. I don't know how to do that without creating multiple 2 dimensional ones.

Exactly.. That's what I've been bumming my head with the last coupple of hours now xD

 

[bOb666777]

Ummmmmmm yeah, I'm fairly new to excel, but I know you can use this formula to calculate Level*GoldBounty: =PRODUCT(SUM(ROW();-2);SUM(COLUMN();-1))

Assuming you have a first row with the name of the table, and a second with the variable values, and a first colum with the other variable values...

I don't know how to add a 3rd value though :\

 

[Builder Bob]

When I encounter such problems I usually make one of the values a static variable and balance the two remaining in a diagram by themselves. At any time I can change the static variable to see how it affects the diagram as a whole.

It's not perfect, but it gets the job done.

The best choices for static variables are the ones that scale linearly.

 

[Zaraf]

The above posters are quite correct. You can't do this in Excel the exact way that you want to. Having 3 variables which change would require a 3 dimensional matrix, which while not too difficult to make, would be extremely annoying to view.

An option you have is to eliminate a dimension by having multiple 2 dimensional projections (like having 6 flat 2D squares which make up a single 3D cube). To do this, you would basically determine which variable is the lowest (maybe gold bounty in this case since it's only 5) and then you would have that many tables. So one table for when gold bounty equals to 1, another table for when gold bounty equals to 2, etc.

The third option (and the one I would recommend) is what I've done here for you. I've made a spreadsheet that has the level of unit and gold bounty as a table, and with the point value as a value you can manipulate.

Basically, open up the spreadsheet, change the value of the point to something, and see how the values change. Changing the number makes it fast and easy to see how the results vary.

I did not know from your formula above if you are following BEDMAS rules or not. Meaning, do you multiple the level of unit and gold bounty FIRST and THEN add the point value? Or did you want to add the point value to the level of the unit first, and THEN multiple the gold bounty? I created 2 separate tables for each circumstance. You can remove the table that is not applicable. I can't upload .xls files here, so I put it in a zip file.

I've done a lot of Excel formulas and spreadsheet balancing for my TD that I'm working on (Cowardice TD) and I can show you my spreadsheet if you'd like some help with balancing or would like to see what I've done.

 

[lindenkron]

Thanks Zaraf. That was extremely usefull! +rep

I have a map where I need the gold income to be "steady" rising.
Gold bounty = Increases by 1 per 5 minutes
Point value = Steady (Depending on the units point value) to decide what class the unit is. The higher point value, the more gold)
Level = The higher lvl the unit is, the further on the map we are, the more gold they need to buy items since the items are more expensive.

So hard to balance it out with the right fomulair, atleast for me. I havn't done any full-map testing yet, so I got no clue wether wolves get to much money or not. But this sure did help me alot Thanks.