It does if the resources available to me forego my doing it that way.
...The resources available are not the limiting factor. Choice is. Which, by the way, is a perfectly valid REASON not to do it; but it does not address the argument about the efficiency of reaching the stated goal, namely to gain more expansions.
Discussing relative efficiency in different scenarios is fine as a mental exercise, but there is no one-size-fits-all answer here, which means there is no objective answer here unless all the other factors in the equation (era + available space + available buildings + goals + play style + whatever else) are exactly the same.
There certainly is an objective answer if the parameters of the topic can be agreed upon. What is happening here is that I am arguing that VT's are inefficient for the purpose of obtaining expansions, and that there are more efficient ways for you to reach that goal. You are reacting to that as if it is an invalidation of the personal choice to pursue that goal in a way that suits a particular individual best. Early on in this discussion, I did acknowledge that there can be reasons someone might want to have a VT that have nothing to do with whether or not the VT is efficient. One such exception has been explained in great detail; a player who does not care to put in the extra effort that would be required to make use of a more efficient means of getting expansions, where 'efficiency' is defined purely by 'space used' compared to 'results obtained'...because, for that person, the definition of efficiency in this specific case is actually 'medals earned' compared against 'time expended trying to get medals', where the least amount of time expended is the overriding goal regardless of the number of medals obtained.
Again, fair enough. That's a personal preference, and I am not calling for any changes in VT's or their removal or anything of the sort. I do, however, stick by MY original point, which is that they are worthless for the majority of players in the majority of situations and utterly inefficient at producing the thing they are designed to produce.
