An old issue with tech.

[obsolete]

I don't believe this is a bug, but it is something I have never seen anyone fully explain.

What your console tells you is being output into tech beakers, is never really a 1-to-1 thing. For example, lets start a random map, Deity (in case there are discounts on levels in current patch), and check out what happens.

We work just 1 single plot, with say 1 commerce on it. Our slider is on 100% science, so we should have 10 beakers. You see that?

8 Capital + 1 Capital plot + 1 Working plot. = 10 breakers.

Now check your tech bar after 1 turn. If you were working a first level tech, often you will see 11 beakers went in, not 10. I used to think this 10% difference could be due to a rounding error, but I see issues are off even when we go up the scale.

If we mess around around a bit, different techs etc, you can see the 20% discounts at times kick into effect, but still the numbers just don't add up right to 1-to-1 ratios.

I used to think part of this could be for a research discount depending on AI owned techs, but I did see numerous people mention you only get these discounts after meeting an AI that has researched it.

Hmmm!

What is even more-so off, is often if I regenerate a map with a new leader, the bonus beaker(s) you gain often differ, despite in all cases the capital reports max 10 Beakers.

I suspect that there are other issues added in here under the hood, such as a free beaker to prevent division by zero errors, such as when you are in anarchy (yes, you still get tech beakers during anarchy if you look!).

I'd like an expert on the code here to finally point out what really is happening.

Thanks.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

I've read this elsewhere and am not the code diver, but hopefully this will be of some use until someone gets a link to the exact mechanics:

- A free beaker per turn is in play ----> it even happens at 0% research w/o specs.
- There is a bonus on techs with all AIs you've met, which you mentioned.
- You get a discount on techs based on how many pre-reqs for that tech you have (the lines going back from it). So if you have hunting and AG animal husbandry is cheaper and so forth (it's possible to get all 3 pre-reqs clear for writing for a marked boost...usually not worthwhile however).
- It's possible there are rounding errors - probably in the display rather than the mechanic if my memory of the typical pattern serves me correctly.
- There is also an adjustment toward tech cost (or research) depending on difficulty, and I forget how that factors in, but I think it's a straight up "your techs cost more due to this difficulty".

My guess is that what you're seeing is a combination of the free beaker, pre-req bonuses, and and possibly rounding. We'll see though.

 

[obsolete]

The last I read, deity AI do not get a bonus on their tech (this may have been different in other versions). Their bonuses are on production.

But another issue I noticed, even with just one city you will have about 0.3 lost commerce to maintenance. However, what it displays may not be how it's handled internally. For example, if we are still having a surplus of beakers, I can only imagine the game must be rounding this factor down to 0.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

The last I read, deity AI do not get a bonus on their tech (this may have been different in other versions). Their bonuses are on production.

I was referring to the player's tech cost, and expressing some uncertainty as to whether the interaction with this could cause what you're seeing, but I'm guessing no.

I'm definitely interested to see the display vs actual discrepancy here too. What I know doesn't seem to explain this entirely.