Speeches vs. Ads - I'm hopelessly confused! HELP!

from Stardock Forums
Try as I may, I'm quite unable to figure out exactly what Speeches and Ads do, and when to use them.

Here's what (I think) I know, please help me figure this out.

-= What they do =-

State:
+ increase the importance of a issue (it's ranking position in the state's top issues)
+ increase (or decrease) your (or your opponent) stance on the issue (the little number beside the thumbs), depending on the type of speech / ad
+ increase your awarness

National (not for newspaper ads):
+ increase the % of voters who believe the issue is important
+ increase your % ratio (who voters believes is the best on this issue, I think)

All of this is a one time effect, except for the +% bonus each week of ads (more on that later).

Am I right so far?

Here's what I don't get:

1- Do any of them change the minds of voter on a issue? ie. Can they make Republicains oppose the war in Iraq, or at least lessen their support for it (or vice versa for Democrats)?

2- I'm confused about the statistical effects of ads. For example, let's look at a TV ad:
"Changes your position on issue in state by 3, 2 nationally, +3 national awareness increase, plus 4% change to position per week"
But if I take an ad and look at its effects the next turn, it won't be anything like that.

Example: TV ad on Fighting Crime (I support...)
Before:
Nationally: 10% 50% 50%
State: ranked 5th, +5, +5
Next turn:
Nationally: 12% 69% 30%
State: ranked 4th, +18, +5

So do I really get:
(initial state position) x3
(initial national % approval) x2 (by some weird calculation)
(initial national % importance) +3
and +4% change on those modified positions (only state position (I think) or all of them?) each and every week after that

3- When should I take ads vs. make speeches?
I have the impression that I should make speeches first, since ads are a multiplier on that bonus, but is that always true? What about $ cost vs. stamina cost, or newspaper vs. radio vs. TV? Is it better near the end of the campain to forget speeches and only make ads?

If you have any insight on this, it'd be greatly appreciated.
9,085 views 8 replies
Reply #1 from PolMach Forums Top
Your speeches and ads don't change the way voters think, although it make change what they think about. What ads and speeches do is add importance to the issue you are addressing, and change your rating on that issue. Newspaper ads and speeches only have a real noticable effect in the state they are made in. Radio and TV ads have national appeal.

If you go on a newspaper blitz supporting social security in Florida your rating for supporting SS will go up as will the importance the voters place on SS. Being that dems, reps, and indies like SS in the game, you will do well with all 3.

Now if you take an issue like abortion and run tv ads supporting it, it will increase its importance on a national level, really increase its importance in the state it is placed in, and will change your position on the issue upwards. This will help you with dems and indies but will hurt you with reps. The voters position doesn't change but the more you talk about it the more importance your position matter to the states parties.

Hope that helps, if not I can try again.
Reply #2 from PolMach Forums Top
Now I ran ads giving my candidate all thumbs down and my oppenent all thumbs up in West Virginia and I still won the state it just favored me more and more. I don't get it.
The Political Machine 2024
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
When you say:
So do I really get:
(initial state position) x3
(initial national % approval) x2 (by some weird calculation)
(initial national % importance) +3
and +4% change on those modified positions (only state position (I think) or all of them?) each and every week after that
You are looking at % when it's the value that is modified. For instance you would start at 5 on an issue and your opponent too, so that's 5-5 = 50%/50%.
You get +3 on the issue in state so it's 8-5, +2 nationally which gives 7-5. The strange calculations yield the % that you see and I have no idea how they are done either. The ads % bonus is a % of the current value, so when you have 8 +4%/week you get 0.32 points so it probably takes 4 weeks to reach 9.
Speeches tend to have more effect on moving the importance of an issue upwards. They are cheap in money but heavy on stamina.
I'd rather make ads first because their % bonus kicks in after time (an add on last turn gives very little), and use speeches to move my favorite issues up (particularly to get something nasty in 2nd or 3rd position in a state).
Anything of national concern gets a TV ad. I use newspapers very sparsely and no radio.
Reply #4 from PolMach Forums Top
Now I ran ads giving my candidate all thumbs down and my oppenent all thumbs up in West Virginia and I still won the state it just favored me more and more. I don't get it.


Thumbs down doesn't mean you are losing.

The thumbs up and down are an indication of public perception of your position on an issue. The higher the number next to the thumb, the more you opposition or support of the issue. So it is entirely possible to have a -120 on an issue and it be wildly popular in the state.

Job outsourcing is one of the issues having a big thumbs down would be in your favor. It means you don't support outsourcing which in the game is not liked by anyone. The higher your disapproval, thumbs down, the more the voters will like you on the issue.
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
I think the thumbs up he talks about are those in the ads panel which show how people actually react to your add (thumbs up = increase your appeal, down = lowers), not those fhown in the states window.
If you have some awareness and your opponent doesn't, you'll win, even with crappy policies.
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
First, thanks for all the info guys!

Now, LastStand wrote:
Your speeches and ads don't change the way voters think, although it make change what they think about.

Does that mean that the only way to change voters minds (making Republicains favor Gun Control for example), is with TV interviews?

LDiCesare, I think I'm still confused about the statistical effects of ads.
Let's look again at my TV ad example. If I'm 5/5 with my opponent on a issue in a state, and I take a TV ad in favor of that issue, it'll become 18/5, not 8/5, which leads me to believe that it's a "x bonus", not a "+ bonus", am I right?
And does the +% per week applies to all three (state, national and awareness) or just some of them? From what I can see, it does affect the first two (state and national ratings) but not the third (national awareness). ie. having an ad run longer will increase your position on it, both statewise and nationaly, but won't help increase its awareness level (both state and national) past the first boost it received when I first rant the ad. Correct?
Reply #8 from PolMach Forums Top
As far as I can tell, speeches do almost the exact same thing as advertisements. Speeches cost no money, but lots of stamina, and they othey give you a one-time boost. Ads cost money up front and cost over time, but in thelong run they have greater effect. They're almost always a better use of your stamina. Speeches seem to increase the importance of an issue more than ads.

The only times I use speeches are at the beginning of the campaign when I'm trying to boost awareness and support in a state I'm about to fundraise in. They can also be useful at the very end, when you're out of money and changing voters' prioriites can change the outcome of a state.