Stepwise Variables

Stepwise variables are variables that don’t increase by the same percentage with each level. For some variables, such as q2 in T1, doubles its value each time it is bought. However, for some other variables, such as q1 in T1, buying a level will not always increase its value by the same amount. Sometimes its value increases by 10%, sometimes by 5.5%. This guide will explain these stepwise variables, how to determine the percentage increase from buying these variables, and how to use these information to optimise strategies.

Stepwise variables in original theories #

All stepwise variables in original theories are based on modulus 10 (mod10). The general formula is:

(10 + x m o d 10)^{⌊ \frac{x}{10} ⌋} - 10

For original theories, all variables written in scientific notation are stepwise variables.

A controversial theory #

After reaching ee20k $F(t)$ and completing Theory 9, you will unlock custom theories. Each custom theory gives up to 150 $τ$ . It usually takes more than 3 months to reach this point. It takes approximately 1 month of active play for each custom theory to reach 100 $τ$ . Therefore it is not feasible for us to reach e150 $τ$ on all custom theories.

After Theory 9 completion, you might notice that the $τ$ /hour of a lot of theories are very quick. In fact, because of 3R9, this $τ$ /hour is one of the highest in the whole game. Because of this, it would be helpful to have something to reliably utilise this $τ$ /hour peaks.

There exists a custom theory that can automatically buy variables according to pre-programmed rules. It can also automatically publish the theory at close to optimal points. Furthermore, it can switch between different theories depending on the extrapolated $τ$ /hour of each one. This custom theory is quite controversial amongst top players, however it is valid to use. The custom theory, made by rus, is called Theory Automator (TA) and it can be downloaded here.

An alternative overpush version of the same theory can be downloaded here.

2 TA versions? Which one should I choose? #

The overpush version is for LONG term maximisation of $f(t)$ and $τ$ . It is better if you wish to play the game for at least 1 year. It is also better if you wish to climb the leaderboards LONG term. If you want more instant gratification, the ‘standard’ TA is better. It is also faster to ee50k $f(t)$. For a more detailed explanation on overpushing and cashing in, please see my other blog post on overpushing.

How useful is TA for each theory? #

TA does active strategies for you. It also automatically publishes for you. With these 2 facts, we can establish that TA is most useful for theories that have strong active strategies as compared to idle strategies. It is also more useful for theories with short publication times.

Therefore, the most useful theories for TA are T1, 3, 5, 7, 8. TA in particular is not really useful for T2 since it already has long publication times, AND there isn’t a strong active strategy for T2. In fact, I’d recommend NOT using TA to run T2.

How long to use Theory Automator (TA) #

Here we assume that your goal is to maximise the $f(t)$ gain. There are many factors to consider; the main one being how often do you check the game. The more often you check the game, the earlier you should stop using TA. We will go through a couple of examples and give generic advice:

Super Idle Player (once per week) #

For this player, we will run TA until ee50k $f(t)$. We will then start to manually do T2 and possibly T6. We will run TA on everything else. At ee60k, we will consider manually do T4. Practically, we will never manually do T1, 3, 5, 7, 8 ever again.

Standard Idle Player (once per day) #

For this player, we will run TA until about ee40k $f(t)$. We will then manually do T2 and T6. We will continue to run TA to about ee50k $f(t)$. We will then manually do T4 as well. We will continue to use TA for T1, 3, 5, 7, 8 until ee60k $f(t)$. Afterwards, we will then abandon TA and manually do all theories.

Semi Active Player (3 times per day) #

For this player, we will abandon using TA for T2 straight away. At about ee30k $f(t)$, we will also abandon using TA for T6. At about ee40k $f(t)$, we will abandon TA on T4. Finally, at about ee50k $f(t)$, we will abandon using TA for everything else.

Hyper Active Player (10 times+ per day) #

For this player, we will abandon using TA for T2, 4, 6 straight away. At about ee40k $f(t)$, we will abandon TA for everything.

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