Stock Market Confusion

[tch2296]

Sorry for the massively oversized images but I'm trying to understand how to put images on this website and for some stupid reason i can't just link to an image on my computer, I have to link it to a website, which is SO DUMB - (please somebody explain to me how to do this correctly).

 

(IMAGE DIDN'T WORK BECAUSE I CAN'T USE A JPEG EXTENSION?!!!) Seriously? This forum still doesn't know how to handle a jpeg image? Is the webmaster still living in 1994? Why can't I just select an image from my hard drive like every other website. Regardless, what the images showed was a clear discrepancy between the numbers table on the stock screen and the graph displayed right next to it. It makes no sense.

 

Anyways, can anyone explain how the numbers here correlate with the graph, both pictures having been taken at the same time? Nothing at all makes sense, and I'm assuming that on the graph 350 represents $3.50, so it is in cents. But the value for "Last" - where does that come from? Where do the High and Low values originate? Why is the "Current" value on the numbers table differ from the current value according to the chart?

 

How has Rockstar managed to mess up the in-game stock market so badly, both the LCN and the BAWSAW make no sense, the graphs almost never correspond to the numbers displayed directly on their right! WTF is going on here? How are you supposed to make any money or make any sensible investments if the data they give you says two things at once?

 

After all the detail they put into this game, it's crazy to me they messed this part up.

[Raavi]

Upload your image(s) to an image hosting site, for example.

 

 

http://www.tinypic.com

http://www.imgur.com

 

After it is uploaded copy paste the URL (note: it has to end with an imagine extension e.g .png, .jpg, .gif)

 

 

Hit the little tree symbol as shown above.

 

 

Click "Ok" and you can go ahead and post the image.

 

 

 

As for stock quotes making no sense. It is a game centered around crime, not an investment simulator. Moreover, it isn't a key game mechanic, it is only really lucrative (and designed) for a few missions. Once you've reached that couple hundred of million, billion dollar mark the stock market isn't of use any more.

Edited March 30, 2014 by Raavi

[OrionSR]

The high, low and starting values of LCN stocks are generated at the start of the game. The graph is generated when the save is loaded always includes the high and low; it contains no history of price information - it is purely decorative. You can take advantage of scripted stock changes or the exploit the random price fluctuation of +/- 0.11 every 45 seconds by saving or loading favorable changes.

 

I haven't made detailed observations of the BAWSAQ market.

[tch2296]

I'm having trouble trying to make wise investment decisions in the SP mode because even the basic information the game gives me via the charts and tables don't even seem to match up with each other, so I don't know which values are even correct.

 

For example, in the table below, it gives the value as 3.52, but the chart seems to show closer to 3.50 (converting from cents to dollars of course - strange you have to do that). I know this isn't a huge discrepancy, but which value is actually correct.

 

Also, what does the "Last" value in the table mean? The average from the previous 5 hours? It seems to correspond with the value of the stock at -2 hours. Confusing.

 

Why are the "5-Hour High" and "5-Hour Low" values in the table totally different than what is clearly indicated in the chart?

 

Can anyone take a look at these images, taken at the same time of the same stock, and help decode this for me? The most important thing for me is figuring out the actual value and figuring out what he actual highs and lows are, so I can buy when I know the stock is bottoming out.

 

I'm just totally confused by this system - and it's just as bad in the LCN market also, although at least with that one there is some predictability, if you are observant of the storyline and understand how it will affect the market.

 

 

 

Edited March 31, 2014 by tch2296

[Jvaz615]

I wish I knew. I gave up on it after I invested in something and lost over 100K on all my characters

[tch2296]

I understand the game isn't an "investment simulator", although I don't think that was what my post implied. It just seems silly for them to have made a fairly big deal about the game having a stock market in which you could make a lot of mney if you made wise investments. Obviously, you can use Lester's missions to make some serious loot, but otherwise it's pretty difficult to make informed decisions when the stock graphs are so far off.

 

The strange thing is, although some people have suggested that the graphs are purely decorative, a lot of the time the values in them are fairly close to the numerical values. I don't get that. Why even include the graphs?

 

So basically what you guys are saying is that the numerical values are the only things to really look at? In that case, what do the "High" and "Low" values represent? All-time highs and lows or just within the last in-game week (for the LCN) or the last 5 hours (for the BAWSAQ)? If I had an idea of what a stock normally bottoms out at, then I could still make decent decisions, purchasing when it gets to its normal low and then selling once it gets to its normal high.

 

Anyone here had any luck in actually making money off either of the markets (and I'm not talking about using the Lester assassination missions or exploiting the market by saving/reloading every 45 seconds - I just don't play games that way)? Thanks for the help guys.

[OrionSR]

LCN Only: My current hypothesis is that the High and Low value are only used as data points on the currently generated graph. These values are randomized at the start of the game sometime before the first autosave. My save histories suggests that these values rarely change unless the game scripts or player manipulation force the price out of range. The current price history for the half dozen or so stocks I examined closely suggests that the random fluctuations of the market, in general, keep stock prices mostly the same. Sometimes there are large changes but they tend to average out over time.

 

Normal LCN stocks usually bottom out at 3.42 (+/- 0.01). RichardsMajestic bottomed out at 1.62 after it was tweaked by late game scripts, but then it only had a variation of +/-0.06 so it didn't provide any advantage when manipulating random fluctuations.

 

There are other serious flaws in the LCN interface that suggest this feature is little more than a stock market shell (I don't think it was ever fully developed into what was originally intended). The rounding errors produced by calculations with player money (32bit integer) and stock prices (floating point, probably 32bit) produce huge errors at the small and large scale. The game doesn't seem to have a way of tracking the purchase price of batches of stocks purchased at different prices. I'm not sure which purchase price is used to calculate Profit, but selling some but not all definitely throws the Profit calculations all out of whack.

 

Practical Applications: The most stable stocks to bank money above maximum is in the most expensive LCN stocks because the random 0.11 fluctuations have the least influence on overall value. Or, if you are lucky enough to have an LCN stock near 3.42 then you've got a place to save your money that can't possibly loss any money.

 

I've read numerous reports of players making decent money from BAWSAQ stocks. The suggested strategies usually involve watching the market for anything well under a buck, going all-in, and then leaving it there for days or weeks until you can't resist cashing in.