Second Improvement

[Rozie Sedai]

Quick question if I may.
I have my harbour so what would be the best improvement to buy next. Money is not an object (thanks for AIDS).

[Dontasemebro]

Stadium, most likely, then buy a bank, and switch off until you've bought 5 of each. There's improvement order instructions somewhere in the treasury.

[Reoga]

http://cybernations.rialliance.net/index.php?showtopic=1420
go here it well thought out if your looking to up your cash flow.

[Rozie Sedai]

cheers for advice.
I did not get far on my old nation so I am in new terriority with this sort of thing.
have a read of guide in bit.

[Lanna]

Get a factory.

[Ganon5]

If you've got plenty of money left go for factories. Otherwise stadiums (If your gross income is below $85) or banks might be best

[Grand Poobah Marx]

Get a factory.

This.

[Ganon5]

If you really care then:

The principle of choosing improvements after the harbor is simple - what maximizes income (whether by increasing income, by lowering costs or by getting the most value from aid funds).

After a harbor the choice is usually between factories, banks and stadiums. The reason is simple - banks give the highest income increase (+7%), and factories lower infrastructure purchase costs (-8%) and stadiums give +3 happiness (which equates to +$6 income, increased by multipliers such as banks). At the early stages - infra is the primary target as this determines toniculation, which determines income, which determines growth.

Depending on resources, income levels, aid levels and expected spending (as not everything goes on infra) a bank, factory or stadium will usually be the best choice after the harbor - to find out which will be best you need a calculator (ie work it out).  Aid levels make a difference as this is not generated by income levels but is simply there to be spent, so maximizing the value for money is important.

The maths: First you should look at your income levels and divide by the multiplier. Since harbors give a 1% boost, if you had one harbor you would have a multiplier of 1.01. If you had one bank, the multiplier would be 1.07 (7%). Having both, it is 1.01 * 1.07 = 1.087.

As previously mentioned, same improvements multipliers stack, so two banks and one harbor gives you 1.14 * 1.01 which gives 1.1514. Now, take your income per day, and divide by your multiplier. Say the income is $130.00 and you have one bank and one harbor. $130 / 1.0807 $120.29. This is your base income. To see how much your income will increase if you buy a bank, multiply your base income by 0.07. In this case, one bank will give you an increase of $8.42. Compare this to a stadium.

One stadium gives you +3 happiness, which equates to +$6 * (multiplier) income. Your multiplier is 1.0807. So, 1.0807 * $6 = $6.48. The bank gives you more income at this time. Buy a bank.

If you have significant aid cash (significant in relation to earnings) then factories may make sense as you are simply going to spend a lot on infra and can benefit enormously from the lower cost.

From the MFO improvement guide

[Joker]

If you're receiving aid or making your money through tech deals, max out on factories ASAP.

[Lord Xnut]

Since no one have suggested it yet, Foreign Ministries might be a vice chose if you are doing tech deals.
It will increase your toniculation income by 5% VS the banks 7% increase.
In addition FM gives you an extra aid slot and the increased income you get from doing five tech deals at the same time instead of four is by far greater than any bank or stadium will give you.