Here goes.
1> They're not linear. Or at least, they're not linear on how far from 0 they are; if there IS a baseline that everything is linear from, it's a negative number.
2> They can range from -999 to +999. Realistically, most things go 0-100, where 100 means "build this as soon as you can" (i.e., the Factory). The only things above that are things like the Apollo Program and Manhattan Project (250 each), and the various spaceship parts, because those REALLY need to be built ASAP once they're unlocked. Most buildings and units and such might be in the ~50 range.
3> They're additive, sort of. That is, a building with five +10 Flavors will, on average, be built as often as something with a single +50 flavor. But the single +50 will be more erratic; if the AI thinks that it doesn't need that particular flavor at the moment then it'll be almost worthless, while if the AI thinks that it really needs that then it'll go all out. (This is why most military units have a combination of Offense, Defense, Ranged, etc. flavors.)
4> They're adjusted by the preferences of the leader in question. So an aggressive leader (Montezuma) would value FLAVOR_MILITARY_TRAINING more than a pacifist would.
5> There's always a remote possibilty of anything being picked to be built. Even a -999 building can be selected, it's just incredibly rare if there are any other options available at that moment.
6> There are several situations where Flavor ratings are outright ignored. For instance, Policies; the AI has a hard-set preference to finish whatever trees it's already started, so if you make a policy with three -999 flavors, it'll STILL get picked by the AI in preference to starting a new tree if it's the only one remaining in the previous tree.
Similarly, if the AI decides that he needs more Worker units, then he'll build whatever Worker-type unit he can, even if you've given that unit a lousy Flavor rating.
7> Chocolate is the best flavor.
Any questions?
