civilizations and technologies

[kristopherb]

should civs get double the speed of a technology?
eg
england-fuedalism
france-monachy
japan-civil service

these examples arent set in stone

 

[salty mud]

No. It would just be a gimmick, and would have little effect because other Civs would rush a tech as well.

 

[Titus]

I have thought about this too. Probably not specific for every civ, and not as extreme as halved research time, but I think that every leader trait could be linked to a number of techs (not necessarily all techs, and not necessarily only one trait per tech). If you possess a certain trait, say, financial, you will be able to research techs like Pottery, Banking, Corporation, etc., a bit faster. If you are spiritual, all the religious techs would come faster. Organized - Code of laws, Communism, Civil service. Industrious - Masonry, Metal casting, Industrialism. And on and on.

 

[Panda]

I see little use of it. Furthermore, this would limit choice and force the human player even more down a (civ-)specific research path.

 

[kristopherb]

I see little use of it. Furthermore, this would limit choice and force the human player even more down a (civ-)specific research path.

no i whould help guid players through the tech tree

 

[Xanikk999]

I like the idea.

If anything civs should be more specialized. I know civ has a long history of ununique civs but i think this would spice up gameplay.

And before you say its overpowered, these civs are just ho-hum at other techs too. Every civ would have its own advantage.

Idea good!

 

[Panda]

no i whould help guid players through the tech tree

The purpose of the game is to re-write, not re-play history. And by making the research of certain techs cheaper, you're practically pushing players to go down a certain path, especially on higher levels.

 

[Crighton]

similar thought / similar question

Does the AI weight a tech more based on that particular AI's preffered civics?

I'm thinking Saladin, everytime I see him he usually is the first to Theology and then he spends the rest of his time in Theocracy (which is one of his favorites).

It's just frustrating when he buttons up and I can't spread the word amongst his people (he also virtually gaurauntees being on the business end of my war machine by doings this as well since it screws my diplomacy with him).

 

[Silver Marmot]

I think it would be very tough to implement this in a balanced manner.

For instance, sometimes I'll get access to Feudalism early on, but it will take 40 turns to research it when most other techs take 10, so I usually wait a while before getting it. If England was allowed to research Feudalism at twice the speed, it would enable them to have longbows well before other civs had anything beyond swordsmen, which would be completely unbalanced.

 

[salty mud]

Good point.

And if a civs speed tech is say "plastics," it would be late on and make little difference at all. The game would probably already be decided by that point.

 

[kristopherb]

Good point.

And if a civs speed tech is say "plastics," it would be late on and make little difference at all. The game would probably already be decided by that point.

that chould be said for uus ubs

 

[salty mud]

Indeed, it could.

 

[VoiceOfUnreason]

Does the AI weight a tech more based on that particular AI's preffered civics?

Wow, great question.

From what I can tell, the answer is yes, at least as far as choosing free techs or researching is concerned. A tech that unlocks any civic has some positive weight associated with it, and it gets even more weight if the new civic is better than the one currently in use. When evaluating the value of a civic, the "favorite" civic gets a 25% boost to its value and a little bit more besides.

But for trades, I think the answer is no - it appears that the trade value of a tech is just its beakers.

The Better AI team have been poking in that section of the code, they might be able to give you a better answer.

 

[Titus]

I think the AI's are way too similar in their research goals. There might be some slight variations at certain points in time, but on the whole they all go after the same stuff. If you check the "technologies" screen at the foreign advisor's, most of the time you'll see the same techs available all around.