I’m sure it has more to do on how I play, but I notice in my games, the later I go, the more one AI runs away tech wise (usually Suravyaman). I turn on no tech brokering which usually nerfs this somewhat, but still cant figure out how an AI with few cities can pump out so much tech. Any ideas?
AI teching fast in late game?
- Thread starter prloko
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georgjorge
Deity Wannabe
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The AI get an additional bonus to research based on era (Classic, Medieval, Renaissance, Modern ...). I'm sure somebody can provide the exact values.
So yes, the AI does research faster in the modern era than the Renaissance. In Deity, even If I can compete up to the Renaissance, they run away afterwards - which is why I need to take their cities sooner.
Also, human players can keep up in tech with bulbing from great people, which loses its value at some point (need more GP points for less value).
So yes, the AI does research faster in the modern era than the Renaissance. In Deity, even If I can compete up to the Renaissance, they run away afterwards - which is why I need to take their cities sooner.
Also, human players can keep up in tech with bulbing from great people, which loses its value at some point (need more GP points for less value).
georgjorge
Deity Wannabe
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6K Man
Bureaucrat
Explains how a 14-city AI can put a 3-digit stack on my doorstep in the modern era.
ArchGhost
Prince
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The 5% per era bonus refers to research(tech cost reduction) only, and is the Deity value. On Immortal it's 4%, for instance. But yeah. the Ai actually just goes faster as the game goes on and they collect tech. They also get cost reductions for each player that knows a tech they are working on, and any time an AI + AI pairing meets the attitude and "# of players know this tech" thresholds for tech trading, they can (doesn't mean they will) randomly gift techs to each other for nothing. This is especially blatant with Master/Vassal pairings, where even the attitude threshold for the Master is ignored entirely (Masters can always gift tech, for free, to their vassal). The Ais are always conspiring to collect tech ever more quickly and they do it without you being able to see it happen in real time, only as a result after clicking next turn. Just one of the many, many ways the AIs don't play fair with the human. But that's alright, the human isn't ever bound to play fair with the AIs either
Hammer handicaps are likewise adjusted by difficulty, but also don't seem to be universal across all units and buildings either. For instance, settlers are still pretty expensive for the AI even on Deity (91 or 92 hammers IIRC) yet they can produce an archer for 15 hammers, a 40% hammer cost handicap which is common for many builds. Of course this was probably done for balance reasons.
Hammer handicaps are likewise adjusted by difficulty, but also don't seem to be universal across all units and buildings either. For instance, settlers are still pretty expensive for the AI even on Deity (91 or 92 hammers IIRC) yet they can produce an archer for 15 hammers, a 40% hammer cost handicap which is common for many builds. Of course this was probably done for balance reasons.
Thanks everyone! Helpful to know. I’ve played causally for 10 years, but lately I have been trying to up my game, and have been experimenting with different things like producing tech/gold in high hammer cities to see the effect vs just playing with the slider.
The AI per-era-bonus affects everything except the tech cost I think.The 5% per era bonus refers to research(tech cost reduction) only, and is the Deity value. On Immortal it's 4%, for instance. But yeah. the Ai actually just goes faster as the game goes on and they collect tech. They also get cost reductions for each player that knows a tech they are working on, and any time an AI + AI pairing meets the attitude and "# of players know this tech" thresholds for tech trading, they can (doesn't mean they will) randomly gift techs to each other for nothing. This is especially blatant with Master/Vassal pairings, where even the attitude threshold for the Master is ignored entirely (Masters can always gift tech, for free, to their vassal). The Ais are always conspiring to collect tech ever more quickly and they do it without you being able to see it happen in real time, only as a result after clicking next turn. Just one of the many, many ways the AIs don't play fair with the human. But that's alright, the human isn't ever bound to play fair with the AIs either
Hammer handicaps are likewise adjusted by difficulty, but also don't seem to be universal across all units and buildings either. For instance, settlers are still pretty expensive for the AI even on Deity (91 or 92 hammers IIRC) yet they can produce an archer for 15 hammers, a 40% hammer cost handicap which is common for many builds. Of course this was probably done for balance reasons.
On a test game I used world builder to remove all AI techs, settle an AI capital city on ice, and forced them into Strike supporting 30 lions to go 1
per turn with 0% slider.I infiltrated with a Great Spy to see what they were teching and then used world builder to force the AI from Ancient Era to Future Era by giving them knowledge of fusion.
The AI had not met any other AI yet, so no bonus tech speed that way. (Maxes out at +30% if everyone knows the tech and the AI has met everyone, but it might be a bit less if the human player is counted in the calcuation
)Hidden research bonuses?
We start a game. Difficulty level does not matter I think. We SIP by a river and work a floodplain while building a worker. We select and de-select a tech at the start of every turn (i.e. put no :science: to any tech until T5), then we choose agriculture and end turn. If you already weren't...
forums.civfanatics.com
A starter tech like Mining does not get +20% tech speed bonus from knowing a prerequisite tech.
Hunting is a 40
tech that costs 40*1.3 = 52 on a standard sized map on Noble difficulty.For the human on Deity difficulty it costs 52*1.3 = 67.6 = 67
For the AI on Deity difficulty it costs 52
because they don't have a 30% penalty like the human player. 
Whether the AI is in the Modern Era or Ancient Era, it will still pay 52
to tech Hunting every time unless they met other AI that already have it.The 30% tech cost penalty for the human on deity and the insane escalating bonuses that the AI get for units/food/buildings/upgrade costs every new Era is what makes them seem to tech so fast.
A size 1 city only needs 11
to reach Size 2 for Deity AI that know Fusion. Crazy.List of Techs to advance to the next Era
Spoiler :
)
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Thanks Kaitzilla. With that, I’m assuming there is a strategy to be deployed to avoid trading techs to AIs that would advance their Era?
There is not too much strategy that revolves around the AI gaining an Era bonus.
Usually it is only 1 era, so a tech trade tends to be more advantageous to the player than the AI gaining a few more percent of bonuses.
However, I would not sell a modern era tech to a backwards AI for 50
unless I didn't care at all that I was super charging them.The one time the Era bonus hit me in the face like a brick was on an Emperor game.
AI get 85% unit costs at the start of the game, so Archers cost 25*0.85 = 21.25 = 21
With 0 turns in a build, it takes 2 population for an AI to whip a 21
Archer.I traded Literature to an AI bumping them into the Classical Era, and they got a 3% bonus to unit costs.
So with 0 turns in a build, it takes 1 population for an AI to whip a 25*0.85*0.97 = 20.61 = 20
Archer.Sure enough, the Size 3 city became a Size 2 city with a shiny new Archer and my attack failed with 0.1hp left on that last Archer.
The Classical Era bonus matters to the AI on Emperor difficulty.
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A couple days ago was playing as Charlemagne at Monarch on Standard Continents map. Made it to Liberalism first, selected Nationalism, teched to Military Tradition and Rifling to get Cuirassiers and Cavalry. Proceeded to Vassal two more Civs and wipe out another (had already Vassaled Malinese). Wound up with 32 Cities of my own with lots of captured Wonders and other goodies but was behind Kublai on the other Continent who had only 7 Cities! Granted he hadn't fought any wars I knew of but still...
Plains-Cow
Best Resource; Always Wins
What did you do? Did you end up winning the game?There is not too much strategy that revolves around the AI gaining an Era bonus.
Usually it is only 1 era, so a tech trade tends to be more advantageous to the player than the AI gaining a few more percent of bonuses.
However, I would not sell a modern era tech to a backwards AI for 50
The one time the Era bonus hit me in the face like a brick was on an Emperor game.
AI get 85% unit costs at the start of the game, so Archers cost 25*0.85 = 21.25 = 21
With 0 turns in a build, it takes 2 population for an AI to whip a 21
I traded Literature to an AI bumping them into the Classical Era, and they got a 3% bonus to unit costs.
So with 0 turns in a build, it takes 1 population for an AI to whip a 25*0.85*0.97 = 20.61 = 20
Sure enough, the Size 3 city became a Size 2 city with a shiny new Archer and my attack failed with 0.1hp left on that last Archer.
The Classical Era bonus matters to the AI on Emperor difficulty.
I don't really remember, but I feel like I rage quit that one.
Plains-Cow
Best Resource; Always Wins
Sounds like a good time if there ever was one for a rage quit.
