A library, uni and observatory together cost 440. (assuming no modifiers from traits)
A forge costs 120. (again assuming no trait modifiers)
A forge's bonus to the hammers a city produces can be anywhere between 0 and 25% depending on whether whipping/chopping is used and how many base hammers there are. Whipping and chopping tends to make the bonus closer to 25% and cities with low base hammers (especially less than 4) are more likely to be near 0%.
Assuming no other multiplier buildings, a forge will make buildings between 80% and 100% of their original cost.
80% of 440 = 352.
In best case scenario, by building a forge before the 3 science buildings you are saving 88 by having the forge. Since the forge costs 120, could it be reasonable to suggest the science buildings should have come first? Having the science buildings up earlier could be a bigger advantage e.g. for a commerce rich city.
There are a lot of simplifying assumptions in this, including the fact we ignore the possible from the forge, the from the forge, border pops etc. but I think it goes to show the forge can be just a tad overrated sometimes. The city with the forge is faster to make more wealth or research once the science buildings are finished. And I'm not trying to advocate not building forges - I build them frequently and think they are a very powerful building. Just you don't have to build them right away in science cities necessarily.
A forge costs 120. (again assuming no trait modifiers)
A forge's bonus to the hammers a city produces can be anywhere between 0 and 25% depending on whether whipping/chopping is used and how many base hammers there are. Whipping and chopping tends to make the bonus closer to 25% and cities with low base hammers (especially less than 4) are more likely to be near 0%.
Assuming no other multiplier buildings, a forge will make buildings between 80% and 100% of their original cost.
80% of 440 = 352.
In best case scenario, by building a forge before the 3 science buildings you are saving 88 by having the forge. Since the forge costs 120, could it be reasonable to suggest the science buildings should have come first? Having the science buildings up earlier could be a bigger advantage e.g. for a commerce rich city.
There are a lot of simplifying assumptions in this, including the fact we ignore the possible from the forge, the from the forge, border pops etc. but I think it goes to show the forge can be just a tad overrated sometimes. The city with the forge is faster to make more wealth or research once the science buildings are finished. And I'm not trying to advocate not building forges - I build them frequently and think they are a very powerful building. Just you don't have to build them right away in science cities necessarily.