TAX COLLECTOR + GHOST PAINT EXPLAINED

[Anhedonia]

EDIT 3: Further testing proved that the ' Tax Collector ' info card is just very poorly worded, it only targets the ' Plot ' building chain so being able to use Ghost Paint on it shouldn't be possible since you can't change it's target.

While the ' Tax Collector ' does transform the ' Plot ' building chain, it doesn't interact with anything outside of the ' Plot ' building chain. So while TECHNICALLY transforming, it only targets ' Plots '. Other things triggered by the Transformation of the ' Plot ' building chain SHOULD trigger; in my testing I got a brewery to trigger from the ' Estate ' turning into a ' Plot '.

[NCDarkness]

Agree, Ghost Paint's tooltip could use a better explanation of what it's doing in general.

Also, in your example, I would have expected the Tax Collector to start changing your [Crop] into [Plot] as the modified Tax Collector should have read as:
"Transform one random [Crop] in range into Plot"

So apparently the Tax Collector tooltip is incorrect as well based on your testing; good to know!

[NCDarkness]

As a follow up on Ghost Paint:

Using Ghost Paint on building that targets multiple types - like the Windmill ([Residence] or [Training]) - only allows you to change the FIRST type. So a windmill could be changed to "[TYPE] or [Training]", but not "[Residence] or [TYPE]". Huge disappointment in how this building modifier functions; needs to either be fixed in how it functions, or have it's tooltip updated to reflect just how limited it actually is.

[Imhotep]

Originally posted by NCDarkness:

Agree, Ghost Paint's tooltip could use a better explanation of what it's doing in general.

Can you explain what it does?

I purchased it in a game today and found it couldn't be used on the majority of my buildings.

[A HORSE WITH OPINIONS]

Hah I thought the Ghost Paint changed the type of the building you paint, not the type it targets. Explains why I've never gotten it to do anything cool lol

Gotta experiment again now that I get what it actually does

[Anhedonia]

Originally posted by Imhotep:

Originally posted by NCDarkness:

Agree, Ghost Paint's tooltip could use a better explanation of what it's doing in general.

Can you explain what it does?

I purchased it in a game today and found it couldn't be used on the majority of my buildings.

Ghost Paint is one of the strongest building upgrades.
It changes a TAG modifier of a building, usually the first one if the building has two.
The reason most buildings can't be changed by it is because it has to be a building that effects another building in some way. Then after that it has to have a modifier that can be changed, which limits the number of buildings further. However the buildings it can be used on are some of the best buildings in the game, the ones you would want to use it on anyways.

An Example of this:
The ' Balloon Trader ' gives everything in it's range the [LUXURY] tag, if you use ' Ghost Paint ' on the ' Balloon Trader ' you can change that [LUXURY] tag into whatever you want.

Or in the example of a ' Sawmill ' which I use a lot, it changes the target from [MANFUACTURE] which is poopy, to [INDUSTRIAL] which now triggers everything in that Guild Roster.. EVEN FURTHER if you mix it with the ' Balloon Trader ' giving all your buildings the [INDUSTRIAL] tag, your Sawmills can now target all your buildings, every round (As long as you let it eat some lumber piles)

[NCDarkness]

As Anhedonia points out, in specific circumstances, Ghost Paint can be powerful, however there are definitely some issues not clearly indicated by the tooltips:
1) As they point out in the original post, certain buildings like the Tax Collector simply do not work with Ghost Paint for some reason.
2) Ghost Paint will ALWAYS change the first Tag - if there is any way to make it change a 2nd or 3rd Tag on a building, I'd love to know, but I haven't found any way to do so.

Whether these are bugs or working as intended, either case the devs should address: either correcting the bugs, or making clear the limitations of Ghost Paint.

Originally posted by Anhedonia:

Originally posted by Imhotep:

Can you explain what it does?

I purchased it in a game today and found it couldn't be used on the majority of my buildings.

Ghost Paint is one of the strongest building upgrades.
It changes a TAG modifier of a building, usually the first one if the building has two.
The reason most buildings can't be changed by it is because it has to be a building that effects another building in some way. Then after that it has to have a modifier that can be changed, which limits the number of buildings further. However the buildings it can be used on are some of the best buildings in the game, the ones you would want to use it on anyways.

An Example of this:
The ' Balloon Trader ' gives everything in it's range the [LUXURY] tag, if you use ' Ghost Paint ' on the ' Balloon Trader ' you can change that [LUXURY] tag into whatever you want.

Or in the example of a ' Sawmill ' which I use a lot, it changes the target from [MANFUACTURE] which is poopy, to [INDUSTRIAL] which now triggers everything in that Guild Roster.. EVEN FURTHER if you mix it with the ' Balloon Trader ' giving all your buildings the [INDUSTRIAL] tag, your Sawmills can now target all your buildings, every round (As long as you let it eat some lumber piles)

[Anhedonia]

Originally posted by NCDarkness:

As Anhedonia points out, in specific circumstances, Ghost Paint can be powerful, however there are definitely some issues not clearly indicated by the tooltips:
1) As they point out in the original post, certain buildings like the Tax Collector simply do not work with Ghost Paint for some reason.
2) Ghost Paint will ALWAYS change the first Tag - if there is any way to make it change a 2nd or 3rd Tag on a building, I'd love to know, but I haven't found any way to do so.

Whether these are bugs or working as intended, either case the devs should address: either correcting the bugs, or making clear the limitations of Ghost Paint.

I think the Ghost Paint works as it is described:

"Permanently modify target building's affected category to one of your choice. | You may only select a new category that already exists on the map | Buildings can only have 1 paint at a time"

So it does what it says, though it is pretty vague at what exactly that entails on a lot of building combos. I think what needs to be better explored in the building interactions with one another since there is a lot to figure out definitively.

For example there is testing needing to be done on the buildings that trigger adjacent ones. Do they always pick a building around them or do they sometimes pick an empty plot? The Ballista is certainly the latter but I can't speak to the other ones in the game, like the Harvester, but I have received mixed results from other people so take it for what you will on that topic....

I expect that the interaction with Ghost Paints is another one of these where it should be straight forward but the wording is unclear or just incomplete. I don't fault the developer on this as we are probably exploring a lot of options they never really considered.

[ECLIPSE]

The tax collector shouldn't be a valid target for ghost paint, then, since it effectively does nothing.

[Imhotep]

Thanks for the explanations.

I purchased Ghost Paint with the idea of putting it on a Conduit. The thinking was to change the Conduit's category to - I think - Engineering or Manufacturing, which would be triggered by - I think - Saw Mill, which triggers nearby Engineering or Manufacturing buildings.

But Ghost Paint couldn't be used on Conduit, and in this thread, I've learned that's because it has to be a building that affects another building in some way. If, hypothetically, Conduit's description was that it triggered two Manufacturing buildings in range, one would be able to use Gold Paint on it and change Manufacturing to another tag. Ghost Paint can't be used on Conduit because it says it will trigger two random buildings in range, but they are any buildings, with no tag specified. If there was a specified tag, it would work.

Am I understanding this correctly?

[Anhedonia]

Originally posted by Imhotep:

Thanks for the explanations.

I purchased Ghost Paint with the idea of putting it on a Conduit. The thinking was to change the Conduit's category to - I think - Engineering or Manufacturing, which would be triggered by - I think - Saw Mill, which triggers nearby Engineering or Manufacturing buildings.

But Ghost Paint couldn't be used on Conduit, and in this thread, I've learned that's because it has to be a building that affects another building in some way. If, hypothetically, Conduit's description was that it triggered two Manufacturing buildings in range, one would be able to use Gold Paint on it and change Manufacturing to another tag. Ghost Paint can't be used on Conduit because it says it will trigger two random buildings in range, but they are any buildings, with no tag specified. If there was a specified tag, it would work.

Am I understanding this correctly?

Seems like you are understanding correct.

It doesn't change the building tags of the building you are painting, it changes WHAT that building targets.

[Imhotep]

Originally posted by Anhedonia:

Originally posted by Imhotep:

Thanks for the explanations.

I purchased Ghost Paint with the idea of putting it on a Conduit. The thinking was to change the Conduit's category to - I think - Engineering or Manufacturing, which would be triggered by - I think - Saw Mill, which triggers nearby Engineering or Manufacturing buildings.

But Ghost Paint couldn't be used on Conduit, and in this thread, I've learned that's because it has to be a building that affects another building in some way. If, hypothetically, Conduit's description was that it triggered two Manufacturing buildings in range, one would be able to use Gold Paint on it and change Manufacturing to another tag. Ghost Paint can't be used on Conduit because it says it will trigger two random buildings in range, but they are any buildings, with no tag specified. If there was a specified tag, it would work.

Am I understanding this correctly?

Seems like you are understanding correct.

It doesn't change the building tags of the building you are painting, it changes WHAT that building targets.

Great, thanks!