User blog:QuickNick/UpgradeStrategy

Nick's Upgrade Strategy Page ''v5.5. Updated 09-Sep-2017.''

Recent Changes Upgrades Required to Complete each Series Most series have one event which has the maximum PR for the series and features all cars BUT some series have mandatory upgrade events, these are events which have a PR but are not for all the cars in the series which means the upgrade is mandatory. This table shows, for each series, the maximum-PR mandatory event for each car AND the maximum-PR all-car event with the "best" car-upgrade strategy AND all other car-upgrade strategies. {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left; border: 2px solid #6C93B1; width: 100%;"
 * Included the event rewards ...
 * R$ but not CRB as this varies depending on how cleanly you raced!
 * The Fame has been converted to Gold based on the average Event Fame-to-Cash rewards AND the average Upgrade Gold-to-Cash costs.
 * It was pointed out to me (by Sirebel, thanks Dave) that the upgrade PR increments seem to be constant within each upgrade type ... does that mean the search for the exact PR increase is now over!?! So I am now using an averaged value (total PR increase for the upgrade type divided by the number of upgrades for that type) for the PR calculation and rounding to the nearest one decimal place. Please note that this could give rise to slight (i.e. 0.1) differences in the calculated PR values if FM round down the PR.
 * The best selection calculation now ...
 * Uses an editable sheet for the various calculation factors.
 * Uses an editable sheet to allow cars to be selected as "best" for a series (e.g. Lamborghini Asterion LPI 910-4 in Hybrid Hypercar Clash) but I have decided (for the time being) to not use this facility.
 * Allows for cars which appear in subsequent series.
 * Gold has been given a higher priority than other factors in the calculation.
 * Only factors in the upgraded PR value if the car appears in subsequent series.
 * The Series column on the car-event line now shows the Series Abbreviation for all series in the table for the car (with the current Series unlinked) allowing you to jump to the previous/next entry for the car.
 * Added Series column with links to subsequent series for which the car must be upgraded and/or can complete the series.
 * Series Rewards now include Series-Completion Rewards and Sponsorship Bonus Rewards.
 * Added Career Group header rows e.g. NASCAR.
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 * Key
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 * Group entry. Group header row.
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 * Series entry. Series header row showing the maximum PR, the series abbreviation and completion rewards.
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 * Car-Event entry. Required/Mandatory Upgrade Event i.e. Car-Specific Event with a PR.
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 * Car-Event entry. Suggested "best" (or only) Car Upgrade Strategy to complete the Series. NOTE: To ensure that subsequent entries have the correct upgrades and costs, the table features only one "best" non-mandatory entry per series.
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 * Car-Event entry. Optional Car Upgrade Strategies to complete the Series. NOTE: This is not the suggested upgrade strategy SO to ensure that subsequent upgrade costs are correct, subsequent entries for the same car will not take into account these upgrades.

Series entry details Note: the column-headers are more specific to the Car-Event entry lines! Car-Event entry details Known Issues Upgrade Strategy Table
 * Index. The Series number as per the Series and Special Events page.
 * Series/Tier. The Series name.
 * PRs. The maximum PR for the Series.
 * Upgrades. The Series Abbreviation. Each Car-Event entry shows all Series (which are in the table) for the current car BUT because there is limited space I have used the Series Abbreviation rather than the full Series name. The Series Abbreviation is (normally) the first letter of each word of the Series name. Visit here for a full list of the Series Abbreviations.
 * Reward. The Series completion and sponsorship rewards. The cost of the upgrades on each Car-Event line is deducted from this to show the net rewards.
 * Index. The Tier-Event numbers for the event.
 * Series/Tier. The Tier name/description.
 * Car. Yep, you guessed it!
 * Series. All Series (Abbreviations) in the table for this car, listed in the order they appear, allowing you to jump to the previous/next entry for the car. The number of subsequent series affects the "best" selection calculation and could explain why a more costly entry has been selected e.g. V8 Naturals. Click on the link to jump to that series in the table.
 * PRs. Car minimum PR. Event PR. Car maximum PR.
 * Upgrades. Additional (and Total) Upgrades. Upgrade string. Upgrade PR.
 * Cost. Cost of this entry's upgrades in Gold and R$.
 * Reward. The nett series reward, in Gold and R$, after allowing for this entry. For optional entries, this replaces the best entry reward. For a good example of this, see the Endurance Champions series entry which features a mandatory event, a best event and optional events.
 * Determining the "best" entry is based on a number of factors including the upgrade costs, upgrade PR and the number of subsequent series for which the car is required and/or can complete the series. This is all very subjective ... the selected car may not be the best or cheapest car for you.
 * Each subsequent entry for a car is based on the previous entry for that car. If the previous entry is not considered the "best" entry then the upgrades and costs are not added to the (already done) totals for that car BUT the upgrade path is retained for consistency as the alternative would be to start from the previous "best" entry (or no upgrades) which could result in a completely different upgrade path being taken in which case the strategy becomes meaningless. This is usually only an issue where a subsequent entry for the same car has a lower PR, e.g.
 * Porsche 918 RSR concept in Accolade Open and East/West Throwdown. The "best" entry in East/West Throwdown is based on the optional entry in Accolade Open.
 * To see a list of car-series combinations and the minimum upgrades required, visit my Minimum Upgrades sandbox page, those calculations presume no previous upgrades and may result in different upgrade paths being taken.
 * I have a simpler Upgrade Strategy page which shows each series and the cars which can complete the series. As on this page, each upgrade is based on the previous upgrades for the car. But it can be sorted by car which makes it easier to follow the upgrade progression. Visit my Upgrade Progression sandbox page.
 * This is a fully automatic process which uses a "forwards looking" approach, for each series it tries to determine the "best" car based on a number of factors including the number of subsequent series using the car, the assumption is made that each subsequent series will require a higher PR than the one before, this is not always the case and can cause problems (as mentioned above). It has been suggested to me that a more holistic approach is required, I accept this but at the moment I haven't worked out a way of doing it AND the saving would be so small (in tests it totalled less than 50 Gold) that it's simply not worth the effort.