How does research really work?

[morchuflex]

Hello.

Starting a new game, I have noticed that my research is going faster than it should: my just founded capital city is working a fish tile for a total of 11 science points (8 from the palace, one from the central tile, two from the fish) but my research is progressing at a rate of 13 points per turn: after one turn, the research bar is showing 13/192, then 26/192, etc. How is it possible?

 

[AThousandYoung]

Are you a Financial leader? Do you have any buildings in the city?

What civics are you running? There are a lot of things that could modify beakers.

 

[crispyfloss]

If you're researching a technology that has prerequisites, you get a bonus based on the number of the prerequisites that you have. So if you start with Fishing and the Wheel, say, and you research Pottery, you get a x 1.2 modifier. Which works out nicely to the 13 that you're seeing.

See this helpful document.

You may also notice in the tech tree research window that the number of turns it estimates will almost always be less than (beaker cost) / (beakers per turn), because of bonuses such as this.

 

[morchuflex]

If you're researching a technology that has prerequisites, you get a bonus based on the number of the prerequisites that you have.

You're right! I had forgotten about that. Since it was the very beginning of the game, I didn't think about prerequisites, but the extra beakers definitely came from that: I was spiritual, and already knew Mysticism; hence the extra beakers when researching Meditation.
Thanks for the link, too. I'll study it carefully. Strangely enough I couldn't find it with the search function. (I miss the Civ3 War academy: so much easier to use...).

 

[Larklight]

It might also be that you've met other civs that know the tech: this speeds it up a bit too.

 

[morchuflex]

It might also be that you've met other civs that know the tech: this speeds it up a bit too.

Thanks, but it's the very first turn of the game, so I know noone else.

Not related, but since I am in a nitpicking mood...
Though I always love meeting people who show interest towards ancient languages, I must say the Latin sentence in your sig is not entirely correct. It should be videtur (not viditur). And the use of the subjunctive is unusual after quidquid.

Furthermore, what do you make of young people who prefer classical music? Yes, they do exist...

 

[Larklight]

Furthermore, what do you make of young people who prefer classical music? Yes, they do exist...

Imagine you're playing Vanilla and percentages of under 0.005% are rounded down to 0

And sorry to disapoint you, but my knowledge of Latin extends no futher anthay hetay tyabiliay toay tewriay inay igpay inlatay.

New sig. better?

 

[Perugia]

I believe you also get 1 free beaker per turn presumably coded this way to prevent the unwanted division by zero when calculating the number of turns required.

The effect of this free beaker can be seen when you set the research slider to 0% and have no specialists like at the beginning of the game, the number of turns left equals the number of beakers required not infinity.

 

[madscientist]

I feel like an idiot but I just never realized this. I have known about required techs, but never payed mush attention to the tech tree or who had what. I gotta pay more attention to that tech tree!!

 

[morchuflex]

New sig. better?

MUCH better. Thanks to your sig, "My name will live in centuries to come" (Ovidius).

 

[Larklight]

The effect of this free beaker can be seen when you set the research slider to 0% and have no specialists like at the beginning of the game, the number of turns left equals the number of beakers required not infinity.

I was once delighted when a city of mine built soemthing during anarchy! (It was 3 hammers away at the start of a 5 turn anarchy). This effectivly pushed my production up by a turn. Maybe we could plan to use this?

MUCH better. Thanks to your sig, "My name will live in centuries to come" (Ovidius).

Morchuflex is your real name?

 

[obsolete]

If you're researching a technology that has prerequisites, you get a bonus based on the number of the prerequisites that you have. So if you start with Fishing and the Wheel, say, and you research Pottery, you get a x 1.2 modifier. Which works out nicely to the 13 that you're seeing.

See this helpful document.

You may also notice in the tech tree research window that the number of turns it estimates will almost always be less than (beaker cost) / (beakers per turn), because of bonuses such as this.

That article has been one of my favourites for a while. Though certain issues like:

8) If you have a neighbor who you're thinking of killing off who has techs which you have not researched yet, it might not be worth it to kill them off UNTIL you've researched the tech (1 neighbor who knows the tech in a 7 player game will provide a 1.04 boost).

I may raise my eyebrows. I understand what the writer is trying to get across, though that modifier is so little, I don't see the stalling actually worth it here.