Lightbulbing

[RedRalph]

I find it kind of frustrating how towards the end game you can have a GP lightbuld something and it only just saves you one turn of research. I know the logic behind, the latter techs cost a lot more beakers, but does anyone else think perhaps at the very least lighbulbing should save you 3 turns? Just seem to me a bit of a waste...

[Spearthrower]

I personally think, although I am sure not many people will agree.... that spending a GP on a tech should research the whole damn tech, no matter what era it is in. It just seems so anti-climatic otherwise.

[LemonJello]

I don't usually use my GP for a tech jump, unless there's nothing else that I can do with it that will get me better results.

My usual choice is Golden Age, Finish Wonder, Special Building, then maybe for the lightbulb.

[RedRalph]

Early on the special building is great, but tis diminishing returns make it pointless in the late game

[Figaro]

Lightbulbing is only really worthwhile early on, when the techs are expensive enough that you save a while in researching them but cheap enough that you can actually research them in one go. Same goes for Great Engineers generally!

If you can't think of another use for a GP, I suggest saving them for Golden Ages, because a Golden Age is just as good regardless of the date/size of your empire.

[Spearthrower]

Originally Posted by Figaro

If you can't think of another use for a GP, I suggest saving them for Golden Ages, because a Golden Age is just as good regardless of the date/size of your empire.

I tend to settle a lot of my GP's - I usually play a fairly heavy GP game and I end up with an extra supercity from them.

I'd prefer to settle a bunch of engineers so that they can build wonders naturally, than "waste" one on a grab... depending of course on the timing of that GP and what was available.

But yeah, with BtS.... golden ages have become a much more significant tactic.... I tend to use artists and merchants for them though - all other GP's have either specialist buildings I want or can be settled for great benefit.

[DomA]

I find the fact the GP loses significance in research balanced both in terms of gameplay and realism. In modern times, the work of a single genius shouldn't give you very advanced techs that need additional funding, an infrastructure and a large scientific community at work before concrete applications for the breakthroughs can be developped. At that time, geniuses should give significant boosts on theory or leaps in applied science, not whole techs - the "less powerful" GP reflect this well, IMO. Beside, lightbulbling very advanced techs would be overpowered (for the space race, notably).

I usually find that if GP save only one or a few turns of research I may not even need to stay in the lead, it's because my research is going well on its own and it's far more worthwhile to my game to settle the GPs or use them for Golden Ages.

My science planning is usually good and I stay in the lead or close, so GP for lightbulbing I use sparingly and only for significant early or midgame jumps (getting a religion, an advantage at a specific wonder or a military tech that will help me stay ahead with my defensive-style gameplay).

[Littlelisa]

I save almost all my GP now for Golden ages, apart from engineers

But if they auto researched techs people would save them till modern times and instantly research Physics for another GP and then use rest on more techs

Suddenly you would be 100s of turns ahead of all AIs

[UncleJJ]

Using GPs for the first two Golden Ages is a good ploy but it gets expensive after the second one. I find paying 3 GPs for a Golden Age is a lot harder to justify. I suppose the basic value of a GP is determined by how much you could lightbulb it for, or get on a trade mission for a GM, or a infiltrate mission for a GSpy. Then ask yourself, is a 3 GP Golden Age worth the 1900 beakers, 2000 gold and 3000 EPs that the GS, GM and GSpy would have given you if you had used them that way? You would need a big empire or the Mausoleum for that to be true.

Of course for non Spiritual leaders a Golden Age is also useful for changing several civics without anarchy and the hammers and commerce gained from that can far outweigh the bonnuses in the Golden Age itself.

[MrCynical]

The 3GP golden age I generally find fairly good value as well, especially if you have the mausoleum (which by the time you're lookign at your third Golden Age you've had plenty of time to acquire one way or another). Great Prophets and Artists aren't that useful after the Renaissance, and a Golden Age can be preferable to simply merging them. Then you just need one of another type, probably the Spy for choice since I find EPs of very low value outside the late game. Particularly in the later stages of the game (e.g. space race) the numbers you suggest of 2000ish beakers or gold aren't that significant. That's maybe half a turn's output. particularly when you're running out of tech to research, and/or drowning in gold, as is very common in the modern age, a golden age is easily the best use for GP. Obviously in the space race great engineers are of limited value - the one at Fusion I very frequently burn on a last Golden Age.

[Krikkitone]

Well Looking at the GP abilities

Lightbulb: worth the same # Flasks throughout game
Golden Age: Worth more Later in game
Settling: Worth more earlier in game (more time to get benefit)

of the Special Missions
Trade missions= slightly more later
Culture bomb, Infiltration= constant Value
Academies, Shrines= worth more earlier*

*Thanks uncle JJ mistyping

[UncleJJ]

Originally Posted by Krikkitone

Well Looking at the GP abilities

Lightbulb: worth the same # Flasks throughout game
Golden Age: Worth more Later in game
Settling: Worth more earlier in game (more time to get benefit)

of the Special Missions
Trade missions= slightly more later
Culture bomb, Infiltration= constant Value
Academies, Shrines= worth more later

I would say Academies and Shrines should be considered like Settling, worth more earlier in the game since they are a per turn benefit. Scotland Yard and using GPs to found Corporations (which you missed from your list) can be added there as well, the earlier the better.

I find that in the late game (circa Industrialism) there are so few turns left that I only use lightbulbing or trade missions for GMs. Unless that is I have 3 GPs for a Golden Age. Getting 4 different GPs for a 4th Golden Age can be difficult and so far I have yet to accomplish that despite playing several SE games where I had over 20 GPs in total... I suppose I settled to many early on