
[A short dissertation on how the payoff algorithm works (or "How Do The
Arena Masters (those cheap bastiches!) Determine My Share Of The Gate
Receipts?")] - by Alex Dwelis.

The payoff is determined by four factors: experience, success in the arena,
rating, and the level of a combat android.

First, experience.

The experience--number of matches fought--of both combatants is compared.
If the are approximately equal, the winner can expect to earn about 250 in
gold.  If the winner, however, is much more experienced that the loser, he
can get as little as 10 gold pieces.  If, however, the winner has much, much
less experience than the loser, than he can expect that the experience
portion of the payoff will be a maximum of 1000.


The success of both combatants is next compared.

Success here means the ratio of total wins to total fights.  Should both
opponents be equal, this portion of the payoff is about 1000.  If the winner
is much more successful than the loser, this portion can get as low as 100.
Finally, if the winner is much less successful in the arena, than he can
earn up to 4000.

Next, the ratings of both fighters are compared and that comparison results
in a number that is multiplied with the total of the experience and the
success components.  When both warriors are approximately equal in their
ratings, within a range of plus or minus 12 points, the multiplier is
simply 1.  If the winner is rated higher than the loser, the multiplier
will range from .1 (yes, that's one-tenth) up to almost 1.  If the loser is
rated higher than the winner, than the multiplier increases linearly up to 3.
The multiplier can jump up to 6 if the loser is, if I remember correctly,
rated 200 or more points higher.

Finally, if a combat android is the loser, than the winner gets a bonus of
1000 times the level of the combat android ... where terminators are
considered level 10. Target androids, of course, net you nothing.


