need my speed
Rex Omnium Imperarium
I thought any overflow in Civilization III was wasted, regardless of that is from 'one turn remains to new technology' or from 'ten turns remain to nine turns remain' (otherwise I can't really imagine how this would work)? That is, it is optimal to adjust your sliders every single turn so long as it doesn't change the amount of turns a technology requires?
E.g., a technology costs 100 beakers, I currently produce 11 beakers and 1 gold with my science slider at 50% (simple calculation, not realistic). That means it will take me 10 turns (because 9*11=99, but I need 100), and I get 10 gold (10*1).
If I now lower my slider to, say, 40%, which will make me produce 10 beakers and 2 gold, that means it will still take me 10 turns (10*10=100), but now I get 20 gold (10*2).
On the other hand, if I move my slider up to 60%, which will make me produce 12 beakers and 0 gold, it will take me 9 turns (9*12=108) while I now get 0 gold (9*0).
Those 8 beakers are wasted overflow, however. And so you can calculate what the optimal flow is through your turns, at any turn, not only when a new technology starts with requiring only 4 turns (the minimum; it will never be lower than that, so indeed, if your technology requires 100 beakers and you produce 999999 beakers per turn, it will still require 4 turns, and thus you are better off putting your science slider at 10%).
E.g., a technology costs 100 beakers, I currently produce 11 beakers and 1 gold with my science slider at 50% (simple calculation, not realistic). That means it will take me 10 turns (because 9*11=99, but I need 100), and I get 10 gold (10*1).
If I now lower my slider to, say, 40%, which will make me produce 10 beakers and 2 gold, that means it will still take me 10 turns (10*10=100), but now I get 20 gold (10*2).
On the other hand, if I move my slider up to 60%, which will make me produce 12 beakers and 0 gold, it will take me 9 turns (9*12=108) while I now get 0 gold (9*0).
Those 8 beakers are wasted overflow, however. And so you can calculate what the optimal flow is through your turns, at any turn, not only when a new technology starts with requiring only 4 turns (the minimum; it will never be lower than that, so indeed, if your technology requires 100 beakers and you produce 999999 beakers per turn, it will still require 4 turns, and thus you are better off putting your science slider at 10%).