attackfighter
Emperor
I've played this game a lot, but only now did this just occur to me. In retrospect, it's very obvious and I'm surprised I didn't realise it earlier. What I'm getting at is probably a bit more complex than what the thread title brings to mind, so let me elaborate on it a bit.
Technology costs increase incrementally for every technology you've discovered. I don't know the exact value of the increase, but it is significant. If you start a game and research Social Psych, Biogenetics and Secrets of the Brain, then your research cost for Centauri Ecology will be much higher than if you had just gone for it first.
This is very significant, and probably often overlooked. It means that getting any superfluous technologies, even for free (through unity pods, for instance), can significantly slow down your acquiring of useful technologies. Therefore, the best strategy is to completely avoid technologies that you do not need. It's not enough to simply ignore them, you have to go out of your way to avoid acquiring them. Otherwise they can hinder your progress.
Most of the early to mid game technologies I have pegged as useful are the ones that lift resource caps and the ones that come with technology or economy modifiers. Those technologies, and their prerequisites, are the most important ones for developing in the early game. Therefore, when I play I beeline for those, while ignoring clutter like Secrets of the Human Brain (which, despite the free technology that comes with it, will slow down your technology progression more than speed it up). This strategy has done me well, as I now no longer find myself getting stuck in stagnant periods, where my tech growth has lagged behind my production capacity.
I thought I'd share this revelation, because I have no doubt that there are lots of players who're ignorantly crippling themselves by trading for all of the techs the AI will give them, cashing every alien artifact they come across, and rushing to Secrets of the Brain. Those deliterious acts shall hinder you no longer, now that you know this strategy of tech avoidance I have taught you. Use it well, Padawans.
Technology costs increase incrementally for every technology you've discovered. I don't know the exact value of the increase, but it is significant. If you start a game and research Social Psych, Biogenetics and Secrets of the Brain, then your research cost for Centauri Ecology will be much higher than if you had just gone for it first.
This is very significant, and probably often overlooked. It means that getting any superfluous technologies, even for free (through unity pods, for instance), can significantly slow down your acquiring of useful technologies. Therefore, the best strategy is to completely avoid technologies that you do not need. It's not enough to simply ignore them, you have to go out of your way to avoid acquiring them. Otherwise they can hinder your progress.
Most of the early to mid game technologies I have pegged as useful are the ones that lift resource caps and the ones that come with technology or economy modifiers. Those technologies, and their prerequisites, are the most important ones for developing in the early game. Therefore, when I play I beeline for those, while ignoring clutter like Secrets of the Human Brain (which, despite the free technology that comes with it, will slow down your technology progression more than speed it up). This strategy has done me well, as I now no longer find myself getting stuck in stagnant periods, where my tech growth has lagged behind my production capacity.
I thought I'd share this revelation, because I have no doubt that there are lots of players who're ignorantly crippling themselves by trading for all of the techs the AI will give them, cashing every alien artifact they come across, and rushing to Secrets of the Brain. Those deliterious acts shall hinder you no longer, now that you know this strategy of tech avoidance I have taught you. Use it well, Padawans.