Strange observation on the tax slider

[Skanderbeg]

In my current game, Monty on Prince level, a made a strange observation on the tax slider.

I was going on "deficit research" with 100 % Science. I am filling up my coffers by selling obsolete techs my real competitors already have to the weakest AI's. My goal is a culture victory.

Although I know, that when I complete a tech, the surplus beakers are taken over, I took down the science slider to 80 oder 90 % if it doesn't mean to loose a turn in research, because by doing this will prevent me from running out of money.

Then i got a lot of money from loosing a wonder race, and I thought of running 90% science and 10% culture. I saw this:

100% science: -17 gpt

90% science + 10 % culture: -9gpt

What's this? I thought 100 % must be the same as 90% + 10%?

I don't know if this is a bug or somehow to the calculation from where the gold comes, but I think it is useful to know that You can run in the green (or with only slight deficit) with 90%science/10%culture when You run in the red with 100% science.

The 10% culture can make the difference if You are going for a culture victory or want to steal a ressource from a neighbour.

This 10% culture over some turns got me iron and cows

 

[Wodan]

What happened is that by putting 10% culture, you made some citizens happy, who then either worked a tile in those cities or became specialists (depending on your city settings), and this gave you more commerce (as well as more hammers and beakers).

Personally, I pretty much always run at 80/10/10.

Wodan

 

[Darwin420]

Apparently culture is cheaper than science.

 

[Aldor]

What happened is that by putting 10% culture, you made some citizens happy, who then either worked a tile in those cities or became specialists (depending on your city settings), and this gave you more commerce (as well as more hammers and beakers).

Personally, I pretty much always run at 80/10/10.

Wodan

I don't think thats it. I've seen the same as Skanderbeg, in many games. To me this usually happens when I switch from science to culture (cultural victory is my favorite). At almost every 10% I increase the culture slider (and the science slider drops accordingly, 100% total), the cash result jumps up or down a few coins. This can't all be from happy/unhappy citizens (especially as there are no unhappy citizens in my cities at my difficulty level

I guess its some rounding problem, although that would be strange too, as it can sometimes be quite a few coins difference between each level of science/culture.

 

[_alphaBeta_]

I've seen the same behavior, although I don't have a save of it anymore. I'll have to check. Did you study the financial screen before and after changing the slider? Perhaps this is the case:

Apparently culture is cheaper than science.

Although I could see specialists jumping around on you, especially if the city governors are running the show for you.

 

[Chalid]

I think the problem is - if i remeber correctly - that your gold/science/culture is rounded sepreatly in every city. So 100% means no rounding, 90% science and 10% culture might mean both values are rounded down. The remaining trade point is converted to money. If this happens in one city ist quite unimpressive but if its happening in 30 cities it results in quite different incomes.

 

[Rad Chris]

I agree with the guy who said it was unhappy citizens working a new tile. If you are running say 80% science and increase culture your science will go up because of the newly worked tiles as well, so its not just income.

Also the rounding does affect things quite dramaticaly, especially in the early game. Example: in the first 30 turns or so decrease your science to 90%, then decrease it to 80%. Notice the jump from 100 to 90 is much larger than 90 to 80. This is because of rounding.

 

[Skanderbeg]

I think I have found the solution (thanks Wodan :
it is not that the culture makes unhappy people happy and therefore makes more production/commerce,
but the additional culture, creating more happyness with theaters,
lets go some cities into "We love the King day" (don't know correctly how it is called in Civ IV, giving me some additional money.