Should Future Tech Have Actual Benefits?

[Gyra Solune]

As it stands Future Tech is kind of useless. Increases score...so what? If you've gotten that far in the tech tree and have science to spare for continuing your research, you should have some sort of actual reward. I think a stack of bonuses would be nice. Basically each time you research Future Tech, you get one additional Delegate, Spy, and Trade Route, alongside a 20% increase in total Culture, Faith, and Tourism, +1 Movement and +20% attack power for all units, and maybe +1 of every main yield on a tile improvement. It's the very last tech, it should be pretty potent across the board for how late it comes, especially considering that, by all rights, the game should've ended by that point, and Future Tech should serve to make sure there's no delay on that, plus it makes sense, since Future Tech is basically "all the cool stuff we haven't invented yet", and it stands to reason cool stuff yet to be invented will probably result in greater prosperity and power. As it is now, points are just...they do nothing for the game itself, and are the absolute last thing a player is likely to be thinking of.

 

[Glassmage]

too imbalance. +1 gold and +1 happy is good enough.

 

[Polisurgist]

As it is now, points are just...they do nothing for the game itself, and are the absolute last thing a player is likely to be thinking of.

If you've gotten to the point where you're researching Future Tech and no one's won yet, points are probably the first thing on your mind.

 

[Gyra Solune]

If you've gotten to the point where you're researching Future Tech and no one's won yet, points are probably the first thing on your mind.

The thing is that a modicum of science focus means that the year 2050 is likely not to ever come for the vast majority of players. Unless you're on settler, time victories are basically not a thing.

 

[Polisurgist]

The thing is that a modicum of science focus means that the year 2050 is likely not to ever come for the vast majority of players. Unless you're on settler, time victories are basically not a thing.

I've never known anyone to research future tech unless at least science victory is turned off, if not everything but time being turned off.

 

[NukeAJS]

Future tech is only in the game for information era advanced starts and/or space race disabled.

 

[EricTheGreat12]

What if Future tech led to a special unit or building such as a 'Super Soldier' (which could be a replacement for mechanized infantry)

 

[TheMarshmallowBear]

What if Future tech led to a special unit or building such as a 'Super Soldier' (which could be a replacement for mechanized infantry)

XCOM Squad and Giant Death Robot are doing that job.

Quite frankly Future Tech doesn't need to do anything bar provide constant bonuses, why? It's literally a thing to stop you from frozing because you've researched everything. I have rarely ever won a game and reached Future Tech, even on Warlord, there's no need, it's one of those rarely researched tech.

 

[EricTheGreat12]

XCOM Squad and Giant Death Robot are doing that job.

Thine, then what if the tech has a bigger bonus

 

[Socratatus]

If you don`t know the future then it`s difficult to decide what benefits one should get.

To get it right you`d need to do a bit of indepth, factual reasearch to get a reasonable idea of what the future would bring. It`s actually not that hard to see how Tech will go about 100 years down the line. However, the Devs aren`t into that as their stupid Giant death robot and Xcom units show.

Somehow I don`t think the Devs spent 1 second pondering the future reality of these units!

 

[Yzman]

If you don`t know the future then it`s difficult to decide what benefits one should get.

To get it right you`d need to do a bit of indepth, factual reasearch to get a reasonable idea of what the future would bring. It`s actually not that hard to see how Tech will go about 100 years down the line. However, the Devs aren`t into that as their stupid Giant death robot and Xcom units show.

Somehow I don`t think the Devs spent 1 second pondering the future reality of these units!

The game has to end eventually. It can't tech in infinity.

 

[CornMaster]

Is there only one future tech? Or levels like some previous civ games?

If there are levels, each could give a random bonus like 10% more gold, or +1 range or +1 trade route, or 10 happiness, etc... This would simulate the unknown, but benefits of researching future techs.

If there is only one, it could give a single random bonus that matches flavour of the civ...more trade, happiness, faith, production, strength, etc...

 

[BeakersGoMeep]

Is there only one future tech? Or levels like some previous civ games?

If there are levels, each could give a random bonus like 10% more gold, or +1 range or +1 trade route, or 10 happiness, etc... This would simulate the unknown, but benefits of researching future techs.

If there is only one, it could give a single random bonus that matches flavour of the civ...more trade, happiness, faith, production, strength, etc...

It can be taken many times, however unlikely, and as such I agree that it should give multiple bonuses. Either a stacking bonus or an arrangement of randoms. The OP gave too much of a bonus imo, Bonus promotion for damage for units built in cap, +2 happiness and +15% boost to culture and tourism seems like enough to me.

 

[KrikkitTwo]

Well the issue is that all of the techs that help you win the game really fast
Internet-Culture
Globalization-Diplomatic
Nanotech, Stealth, Fusion-Conquest
Nanotech, Particle Physics-Science

are there before Future Tech

The only point to Future Tech is winning a Time victory.

and after winning a victory, there is technically no more "in-game benefits"

However, fun things I could see
Great Person (of Your choice or Random)... especially since at the end of the game those are hard to get

Wouldn't help most victory conditions, but would be fun to play with.

 

[evilcat]

But... why? What for? Is it one of this suggestion "lets take something which do not even affect gameplay, and complicate it to increase bug risk, so devs will focus on this rather than things that matters"?

If someone is researching future techs, maybe its time to switch all to production and just have this spaceship done?

 

[KrikkitTwo]

But... why? What for? Is it one of this suggestion "lets take something which do not even affect gameplay, and complicate it to increase bug risk, so devs will focus on this rather than things that matters"?

If someone is researching future techs, maybe its time to switch all to production and just have this spaceship done?

Well that would be there for the fun... balance is no longer an issue (someone who is researching Future tech is delaying or turned off space victory, and probably other Victories as well..except maybe Conquest.)

 

[Jaybe]

Future Tech is much harder to get in BNW because of ease of victory being gained by someone, and late teching is more difficult.

Before BNW I would often get Future Tech, sometimes 5-10 of them (Prince difficulty, playing for score not speed). I felt strongly that they should escalate in cost (10-15% per future tech).

 

[Lochlann]

Seems to me that Future Tech is only in the game because it has to be, and is going to be unavoidably awkward as a result. The game cannot include an infinite number of technologies, obviously, but it'd be pretty silly and immersion-breaking to just abruptly end technology acquisition, as though there were nothing more to discover and invent. Future Tech is the workaround: create the illusion of future progress without coding for such progress. But like all illusions, it can't stand up to close scrutiny.

That said, I think that having some kind of tangible benefit to FT would go far in supporting the illusion. Nothing approaching the Christmas list suggested by the OP, of course, but +1 happiness per FT wouldn't be too unreasonable, or maybe +1 gpt, something like that. I believe CIV granted +1 happiness and +1 health per city for each FT; that never felt too unbalanced, and it managed to preserve the idea that these futuristic advances had SOME real effect, which helped the illusion.

 

[troublmaker]

You can research future tech *blinks* my games end at the year 1800...

 

[CountAccountant]

Have you ever played Sid Meyer's Alpha Centauri? A bit dated, perhaps, but I believe it is exactly the experience that you are looking for.