Originally posted by Ben E Gas
Also, as for my last question on the science % slider bar: (Prescobar) mentioned it was an exploit in the game. I disagree. The reason is because I may get my budget out of the negative, but I still take a hit in my science discoveries. They take much longer. So, no, it isn't an exploit if I'm understanding what you wrote.
I still don't know whether you are playing standard rules, DyP, or some other mod. For a question like this, that knowledge is essential. For instance, if you are playing standard rules or otherwise without a rate cap, you could be experiencing a strange game bug. However, if you are playing DyP or another mod with a rate cap, then my original point still stands and I will reiterate to try and make it clearer. I will take DyP for an example, since that is what I am most familiar with. Your question was (for those who missed it):
Every time I adjust the slider for my science output, it is reset on the next turn and I have to readjust it. It happens every turn and is becoming annoying.
I'm trying to keep my income out of the negative by adjusting the science slider to 10% or so.
My comments on it being an exploit were directly related to DyP which is the only place I've seen the slider adjust itself. In DyP, Chiefdom (the starting government) has a rate cap of 50%. That means, you are not supposed to have *any* rate (science, luxury, or tax) above 50%. If you keep all 3 rates under 50% each the game should *not* touch your slider. In fact, the game will prevent you from setting science or lux above 50%; but because of a bug, you can wind up with a tax rate over 50% if the others are too low. For example, if you set both sliders to 20%, the result is a tax rate of 60%. On your next turn, after commerce is distributed, the game will recognize the error and move your science up to 30% to get the tax rate back into the legal range at 50%. *If* that is what's happening in your game, then your constant resetting of the slider to get a tax rate over 50% is an exploit, as outlined below.
An exploit, to me, is defined as performing some action which the game allows you to do (usually because of a bug or oversight) but which is either explicitly against the rules, or implicitly against the spirit of the rules. Modmakers put the rate caps on governments for a reason. Utilizing this bug, you are partially circumventing these caps because you are getting more tax than you should be allowed under the rules. The fact that your science suffers is immaterial. Part of the idea behind the rate cap is that you need to use other means to increase your science or tax output, like building certain improvements, using specialists (when available), building more roads (when available), and doing more trading. It also encourages you to look at other governments with less-restrictive caps. Obviously, it's your game and you can play it how you want, but I am morally obligated to point out to you that the constant adjustment of the slider to give tax rate above the governmental rate cap is actually violating the rate cap with respect to taxes. For this reason, I term such an activity "exploitive." Whether or not you choose to use this exploit is your choice. For a single-player game you are the only one being affected so it doesn't matter. All I am saying is that the game is behaving the way it is in order to try to keep your tax rate within the rules.
Is there a way to tell what government type are available to me at a certain point in the game? I forget which ones I've discovered and I dispise the tech tree.
Regarding your other question on the tech tree, new governments have icons which appear in the tech boxes just like unit icons. Techs which you have already researched are colored differently than techs which you have not. These two things will aid you immensely in knowing what governments are available. Additionally, unless you have a seriously complex mod, you aren't going to have more than about a dozen government types; the standard game has about half that. It will only take you a few minutes to write down their names and tech pre-reqs (and maybe the era the tech is in) on a piece of paper; you can then refer to that piece of paper along with the coloration on the tech tree (blue means you have it, green means you're working on it, tan means you don't have it but can research it, grey means you don't have it and you also need other stuff before you can get it.) to see what's available. The tech tree is an extremely useful game tool and I would highly encourage you to use it more.
) But getting them loaded is an exercise in frustration - you have to walk the CM onto an offshore ship; for some strange reason you can't use the 'load' button. 
