Is it just me or don't you have to have met the civs that know the tech to get the bonus multiplier anymore? At least in BTS this seems to have been removed.

I never even knew -- you get a bonus when researching a tech that the AI already has?

@Trv016 - yes, you do. If you are researching a tech no one else has it will cost the full amount. You get a discount for every other civ that has learnt it. That's why metal casting costs an arm and a leg at the beginning of the game but is 10 times cheaper later, even though you aren't producing 10 times as many beakers. To the OP, I don't know the answer to your question. Someone should test this out. I can't atm unfortunately, away from gaming comp.

I don't understand why there is no official release notes like every other patch that NORMAL developers would include.

Firaxis seems to mostly make its clients use a guessing game by trial & error to figure out everything.

Firaxis seems to mostly make its clients use a guessing game by trial & error to figure out everything.

Keeping up the long term motivation to play again ? :sarcasm:

Is it just me or don't you have to have met the civs that know the tech to get the bonus multiplier anymore? At least in BTS this seems to have been removed.

It's just you.

The known tech multiplier is extremely small, and is almost never worth considering in your overall strategy.

The known tech multiplier is extremely small, and is almost never worth considering in your overall strategy.
Can you be more specific? Are we talking 1 or 2% per AI civ? Or is it a bit more? And does it scale with the map size and the number of civs included?

It's 30% multiplied by the percentage of the world that knows the tech.

Once a few civs know a tech, it becomes cheaper to trade for it.

It's 30% multiplied by the percentage of the world that knows the tech.
So, if, say, 13 out of 17 other civs know the tech, and I have met all of them, I get a 30x(13/18) = 21.66% discount?
That DOES seem worth considering to me. Especially on a pangea (where you meet everyone rather soon), or a mid-to-late archipelago game.

Look at the strategic implications though.

If 12 civs know Currency, do you really want to wait for #13 before you research/buy it?

You are missing a trade route in every city while you wait.

As Dave points out, it's rarely worth waiting for an important tech. Also, it's much easier to trade for a tech that lots of people have, which is usually the best way to get it. That said, there are certainly times when it makes sense to adjust your tech order based on this bonus. If a bunch of civs are researching a tech you could start now but don't plan to use right away, you might as well wait. If there's a tech that helps you right away, of course, you should get it immediately, and if there's a very important tech that you're beelining to, that probably outweighs taking advantage of the bonus.

The main time I utilise the bonus is early game, when I'm scooping up the basic improvement techs I don't need right away for my capital. You need them all eventually, but there's no reason not to maximise beaker efficiency by going for the ones others started with first for the bonus. It'll be a while before trading really takes off, anyway.

Look at the strategic implications though.

If 12 civs know Currency, do you really want to wait for #13 before you research/buy it?

You are missing a trade route in every city while you wait.

right, but on the other hand, it makes long beeline tactics quite effective.
You pay the full price for your long beeline, but then you can research all those things you didn't care for in the beginning with a huge bargain.

Maths needed here :
Is it better to go (example):
- agri, AH, writing, alphabet, then go back to fishing, wheel, pottery, mysticism, meditation, priesthood, hunting (you're bound to have something in the list, but I don't care)
or
- agri, fishing, wheel, pottery, hunting, AH, myst, med, priesthood, writing, alphabet
?
IMHO, above monarch, the first way is better. A lot better, because of the trade opprtunities.
OTOH, the second way is certainly better on settler.
Other than those 2 level situations, I have no clue.

right, but on the other hand, it makes long beeline tactics quite effective.
You pay the full price for your long beeline, but then you can research all those things you didn't care for in the beginning with a huge bargain.

Maths needed here :
Is it better to go (example):
- agri, AH, writing, alphabet, then go back to fishing, wheel, pottery, mysticism, meditation, priesthood, hunting (you're bound to have something in the list, but I don't care)
or
- agri, fishing, wheel, pottery, hunting, AH, myst, med, priesthood, writing, alphabet
?
IMHO, above monarch, the first way is better. A lot better, because of the trade opprtunities.
OTOH, the second way is certainly better on settler.
Other than those 2 level situations, I have no clue.

You shouldn't have a tech path that you always stick to. You're not a good player if you use one. It's the same with people who have to play with a certain civ/leader to win. A good player can adjust his tech path and playing style by looking at the number players, number of Ai's, map type, other civs and leaders, bordering civs, relations, trades, other diplo stuff etc.

You shouldn't have a tech path that you always stick to. You're not a good player if you use one.
While this observation may be valid in itself, I always find it funny when someone with 31 posts suggests that a veteran with almost 6,000 posts is not a good player.;) Granted, numbers aren't everything. But still... :)

While this observation may be valid in itself, I always find it funny when someone with 31 posts suggests that a veteran with almost 6,000 posts is not a good player.;) Granted, numbers aren't everything. But still... :)

I'm not quattromaster yet, I need one more game :lol:.
However, he was right, although misunderstanding me.

My point was to show that in one given situation you could either reduce your beakers cost by taking all the prereqs or you could reduce your beaker cost (less, but still) by waiting for the AIs to research the prereqs.