Calculate per-cycle and hourly resource income for in-game tribes
How to Use This Tool
Enter all required inputs for your tribe's current setup: number of active gatherers, base gather rate per gatherer, cycle duration, number of resource nodes, node respawn time, and tribe tax rate. Select your game type and time units from the dropdown menus. Click Calculate to generate a detailed income breakdown, or Reset to clear all fields. Use the Copy Results button to save the output to your clipboard.
Formula and Logic
Calculations follow standard tribe resource economy logic used in most MMO, RTS, and survival games:
- Total Raw Income per Cycle = Active Gatherers × Base Gather Rate per Gatherer
- Node Capacity per Cycle = Number of Nodes × (Cycle Duration ÷ Node Respawn Time) × Base Gather Rate per Gatherer
- Adjusted Raw Income = Minimum of Total Raw Income and Node Capacity per Cycle
- Tax Deduction = Adjusted Raw Income × (Tax Rate ÷ 100)
- Net Income per Cycle = Adjusted Raw Income - Tax Deduction
- Hourly Net Income = Net Income per Cycle × (3600 ÷ (Cycle Duration in Seconds))
- Node Utilization Rate = (Active Gatherers ÷ Number of Nodes) × 100 (capped at 100%)
Practical Notes
Game-specific factors can impact actual results, so adjust inputs to match your current play session:
- Meta shifts and balance patches often change base gather rates: check your game's latest patch notes before calculating.
- RNG mechanics (random resource spawns, critical gather bonuses) are not factored into this tool: add a 5-10% buffer for variance in survival and RTS games.
- Tabletop game tribes may use round-based cycles instead of time-based: set Cycle Duration to 1 round and adjust respawn time to rounds per node respawn.
- Performance scaling: some games reduce gather rates for tribes with more than 50 active gatherers due to engine limits: verify your game's gatherer cap before inputting values.
Why This Tool Is Useful
This calculator eliminates guesswork when balancing tribe resource economies. Gamers can optimize gatherer assignments to maximize income without overworking nodes. Game designers can test economy balance for custom maps or mods. Competitive players can plan upgrade timings and resource sinks ahead of matches. Streamers can use it to explain economy strategies to viewers in real time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this tool account for gatherer idle time?
Yes, node utilization rate factors in how many gatherers are active relative to available nodes. If gatherers exceed nodes, utilization caps at 100% and excess gatherers will idle until nodes respawn.
How do I adjust for critical gather bonuses?
Add your average critical bonus percentage to the Base Gather Rate input. For example, if you have a 15% crit bonus, multiply your base rate by 1.15 before entering it.
Can I use this for tabletop RPG tribe management?
Yes, set Cycle Duration to 1 round, Node Respawn Time to rounds per resource respawn, and adjust gatherer counts to match your tabletop game's tribe rules.
Additional Guidance
Always verify in-game values before making strategic decisions: this tool uses user-provided inputs, not live game data. For games with dynamic node respawns (e.g., nodes that move or despawn randomly), increase the Node Respawn Time input by 20-30% to account for unpredictability. Competitive players should run calculations for multiple scenarios (e.g., pre-upgrade and post-upgrade gather rates) to identify optimal upgrade paths. Game designers can use the hourly income output to balance resource costs for tribe upgrades and buildings.