The Internet

[Tholomeo]

I cannot understand this "wonder"! It becomes available ultimately late in the game, it takes ages to build it, it is not hurryable with the suffrage, and it does not give any benefits to you.
As we all remember, there used to be a Great Library in Civ2 with the similar effect, but it was on an Early stage of the game, it costed less, and it could be hurried.

But what about the internet in Civ4? A misunderstanding? A mock? What did Sid intend it to be?

People, I want your opinion!
Who has ever received benefits from completing this project?

 

[Meffy]

I don't understand it either, unless it's a way for someone who's been beelining for space techs to catch up on the less peaceable stuff...? That doesn't seem likely to me. *shrug* But I'm not voting in the poll because I don't understand the game overall yet, so am unqualified to pass judgment.

I'm hoping someone with more insight than I've got will explain how and why the Internet wonder is worth building.

 

[ghen]

If I'm going for a diplomacy win, and beeline for the UN I get the internet as well and catch up with 3 or 4 techs I missed. At that point, usually like Military Tradition, Communism, etc. Nothing special, but definitely worth building as it keeps other civs from doing the same.

IIRC it also gives you techs that other civs research randomly after you build it too. Or at least thats what seemed to happen in my last game.

 

[Tamman]

I find it very useful. It allows you to tank your research and still keep up. You can make a lot of cash / culture when your not having to waste money on the science slider. Just for it early and it can easily give you over 10-15 techs over time.

 

[MrCynical]

I can't really find any use for it, unless you beeline for the internet from a very early stage. There are quite a lot of techs you could skip out, and so later get from the internet, but heading down one tech path for that long would probably put you at a huge disadvantage before you actually get the wonder.

The great library from Civ 3 had the same effect, but appeared in ancient times, but this was somewhat overpowered (Many of the strategies for the highest levels revolved around this wonder). I think the effect could be balanced, but it needs to be somewhere in the middle of the game, maybe in the industrial age (so obviously internet would no longer be the appropriate wonder to apply it to). Maybe the internet should give the old Civ 3 benefit of giving the civ that builds it a golden age.

 

[SPQR300]

It is not useful, since it comes way too late. Beelining for such a late tech is suicide.

 

[sovarn]

there have been a couple of thread about this already. But i do find it useful a bit.
Recently i played a game with space victory turned off but permanant alliance on.
When two of the AI allied together they shot way ahead of me when combined. So i built the Internet which i normally wouldnt have built and basically got all their tech which was a bout 4-5. I was playing on noble and just a bit behind in tech for most of the game anway.

So it is helpful in this case and i managed to catch up and just invade everyone except for those ai that allied together.

 

[Tamman]

You don't have to beeline for it. Even assuming you research all the techs below Computers and then plastics and Fiber Optics that still leaves 8 techs that you don't have to research, more if you bypassed some of the earlier ones. Just set your tech slider to 0 after you finish building it, or earlier if your sure your going to get it and let everyone else in the game research for you while you aquire massive amounts of gold to hurry, sabatoge, or push your culture with.

If you were able to pull off a non insane beeline for it you could concievably aquire 15+ techs for no cost.

 

[countzero]

I always thought the great library was too powerful in the earlier civs. I think it's nice to have a similar wonder in the later stages of the game, but the internet is just too late. I've never used it, and I've never seen any AI use it either. Usually space race is won (or about to be won) by the time somebody completes it.

 

[Mylon]

I'm not too fond of how the internet works in the game, so one of the changes I made with my mod was to include several more benefits to the internet, like a new national wonder: Internet Backbone. +20% global commerce, +50% global culture, +2 happiness. Granted, with the internet, anyone can build it, but there's still a benefit to having it built.

 

[MrCynical]

The snag is that two other civs get the techs before you, so you'll lose the space race if you stop researching completely. Even if you've turned this off you'll still be vulnerable to one civ with a more advanced military than you. It's not uncommon for one AI to be vastly ahead of all the others at this stage of my games, and the internet is then 100% useless.

 

[Artanis]

It's not incredibly uber or anything, but I think The Internet is actually kinda handy.

Fiber Optics is only one tech off the same path you take to get to Modern Armor. This means that instead of going back and researching up to a good half-dozen things after beelining to ubertanks, you just research one tech, build one project, and suddenly you have all the government and biology-line techs you skipped on the way there.

 

[MetHimPikeHoses]

Worthless Wonder, but having Al Gore on there is funny, since he did 'invent' the internet.

 

[chewbaccad]

Depending on how formidable your opponents are in the late game, it allows you to go from 100% research to 100% culture and not fall too far behind... a helpful push if you're going for the cultural victory. Agreed, it isn't the best wonder out there, but like all of them it certainly has the occasional uses.

 

[Ray Patterson]

I laughed out loud when I first read the description of the Internet... I never, ever built the Great Library in earlier Civs (played under my level most of the time to be honest), and here was something similar almost at the end of the tech tree! But, I think if it was a wonder instead of a project it would easily be worthwile (of course then you would just buy it most of the time). Because beelining has become much more attractive in this civ, and trading techs has become much more difficult, it seems clear now the old GL had to go, it would have been ridiculously overpowered. But this really seems too weak.

 

[KrikkitTwo]

Essentially it can help with the late game wins by
Space Race: Sabotage opponent with 100% Gold
Culture: 100% culture
Diplomatic: Gold to bribe wars
Military: Gold to support/upgrade/rush army

 

[weimingshi]

If you play with space victory off, I would suggest rush to get kremlin and never research fiber optic, this way kremlin will never go obsolete.

 

[Roxinante]

If I'm behind - which usually is the result of the other civs hating me and refusing to trade tech with me, the Internet is a must.

 

[karadoc]

You need to learn how to write an unbiased pole. Maybe you should look on the internet.

 

[Acceptable_Loss]

IMO the internet is a wonder that doesn't help you win. What I mean by this is that it can be useful but it never seems to help you win. There are usually 2 times when you build the internet.
1. You are way ahead in techs and you biuld the internet so that others can't. In this case it my give you a few techs that you skipped but your victory was already a foregone conclusion.
2. You desparately shoot to FO so you can biuld the internet. In this case it will help you catch up tech wise but since you've fallen so far behind it won't help you win as other civs are usually very close to victory at this point

Basically the Internet can give you benefits but it very rarely helps you win like other late wonders such as The Kremlin and The Space Elevator can.