what determines the type of GP you generate?

[CivNoobie]

what determines the GP that you generate?

say that my GP farm has no wonders except for a national epic. why am I still generating GS most of times?

 

[Manco Capac]

Luck.

 

[nerdfighter13]

Running specialists also effects what type you get. If you are only running scientists, then that is why you get many GS.

 

[Manco Capac]

Oh a new CivNoobie's avatar...ah, yeah , that was expected from him.

Uh a new one. Worse.

 

[elmurcis]

Sid - Civ God

 

[Windsor]

If you mouse over the GP-bar in the bottom right corner of the city screen you get a breakdown of the GPP your generating - where it comes from(wonders and specialists), what bonuses you got and the percentage possibility for what your next GP will be.

 

[traius]

Oh a new CivNoobie's avatar...ah, yeah , that was expected from him.

Uh a new one. Worse.

I'm not sure anyone changes it more often than you Tachy

 

[damerell]

I'm not sure anyone changes it more often than you Tachy

Yes, but Tachy's aren't so unspeakably sleazy.

 

[traius]

While I grant you that this one is sleazy, the last one was merely incomprehensible. At least to me. It was some sort of... thing.... with Red, white and black harlequin colours everywhere. I can identify this!
ADDENDUM: I can identify that it's a woman. I have no idea who she is.
Arg, EDIT 2: Yeah, I got AdamCrock's and CivNoobie's images mixed up. It is in fact AdamCrock's incomprehensible image that is filled with red white and black something(s)

 

[tdy99]

If you keep getting scientists, it may be that you have a library in that city and thus 2 scientist specialists are all that you can run. If you have a courthouse, the city adviser will probably run a spy. The AI seems to have a thing for spies for some reason.

If you're in caste system, you can run unlimited merchants, scientists, and artists. The AI seems to prefer scientists.

 

[Mec AntiKythera]

The Great Person Points you generate determine the odds, the Random Number Generator determines the rest.

 

[CivNoobie]

If you keep getting scientists, it may be that you have a library in that city and thus 2 scientist specialists are all that you can run. If you have a courthouse, the city adviser will probably run a spy. The AI seems to have a thing for spies for some reason.

If you're in caste system, you can run unlimited merchants, scientists, and artists. The AI seems to prefer scientists.

this is probably why.

does anyone know how to generate large amounts of GE early on? (say at renaissance age)?

 

[Windsor]

this is probably why.

does anyone know how to generate large amounts of GE early on? (say at renaissance age)?

Forge + IronWorks = 4 engineer slots. Then it's just about also getting the bonuses like pacifism, golden age and the philo-trait.

In terms of wonders, pyramids and hanging gardens provide GE-points. Hagia sophia and cristo redentor does to but they are rubbish(hagia) or late(cristo)

 

[MilesBeyond]

Specialists contribute the most to GP generation, then Wonders, then National Wonders. For reference, each specialist produces 3 GPP every turn, no wonder in the game gives you more than a raw 2 GPP, no NW gives you more than 1.

So this means that if you're looking for great people, specialists will almost always be more helpful than wonders. There are obvious exceptions, of course. For example, the Great Library gives you two free specialists, so it's the best of both worlds. But generally speaking, if you're running Scientists in a city with a bunch of Great Artist wonders (Sistine Chapel, Parthenon, National Epic, etc) odds are much higher that you'll spawn a GS than a GA.

You're right about Engineers. I think the game was specifically designed to limit GEs in the early turns - you can't generate them at all until Metal Casting unless you built the Mids, and even with MC, Forges only give you one Engineer apiece. Compare that to two Scientists from a Library, two Merchants from a Marketplace, and unlimited Scientists, Merchants and Artist from CS.

Here's the real kicker: 90% of the time, a Great Scientist or Great Merchant will be much more valuable than a Great Engineer anyway. GEs are good, don't get me wrong, but Great Scientists bulb most of the path to Liberalism while also giving you Academies in your research cities, while Great Merchants can be cashed in to either upgrade your troops (not terribly cost-efficient but sometimes necessary) or to run at 100% science (recommended).

Insta-building a wonder is nice, and they have some decent bulbs, but GEs for the most part just aren't quite as useful. I mostly use them to snag those wonders that I don't really care about but are nice to have (if I pop one in the Middle Ages, for example, I might trade for Engineering and use him to rush-build Notre Dame, a good-but-not-great wonder that I'd otherwise skip).

 

[Manco Capac]

this is probably why.

does anyone know how to generate large amounts of GE early on? (say at renaissance age)?

I'm proud of you. You were able to ignore off-topic stuff and kept focused on real related things.

GEngineers are hard to generate before industrial ages for being wonder rushers. That avoids snowballing because rushing a wonder gives 2 by itself, so there the snowballing effect.

Now, how to get them? Here's the list of things that help to get them in BTS:

Forges (assign an engineer specialist...only one possible per city!) when Metal Casting is learnt.
Mids wonder.
Hanging Gardens.
Hagia Sophia.

And that's it!
Yes, GEngineer sources are scarces pre-industrial because most wonders are pre-industrial.

You can try to build most GEngineer wonders in a city and wait, but usually, you get and GEngineer out of luck if you want to get them fast.

If you beeline a strategy, perhaps, your first and second GPeople should be a GEngineer as it takes 100 and 200 only.
After that, it takes eternity and better gamble on it.

For instance, if your GP bar says 30% GEngineer and 70% GScientist, then it means on 10000 reloads, statistically, you should get 3000 reloads with a GEngineer.

 

[Manco Capac]

Forge + IronWorks = 4 engineer slots. Then it's just about also getting the bonuses like pacifism, golden age and the philo-trait.

In terms of wonders, pyramids and hanging gardens provide GE-points. Hagia sophia and cristo redentor does to but they are rubbish(hagia) or late(cristo)

Ironworks is not from Renaissance, but industrial age.

 

[Ramesses-Rules]

Specialists and Wonders both affect the GP probabilities. However, I am paranoid. I swear they give me the GP I least need at the moment even though he is lower probability. It is like when they tell you that combat odds are 75%, which doesn't hold if it is a battle you desperately need to win.

 

[TheWilltoAct]

I'm proud of you. You were able to ignore off-topic stuff and kept focused on real related things.

Moments like this remind me why I enjoy these forums, and your input Tachy!

 

[CivNoobie]

as for GS, do you bulb them, or do you let them make an academy in every cottage city or just let them join the capital (oxford city) everytime?

 

[Manco Capac]

as for GS, do you bulb them, or do you let them make an academy in every cottage city or just let them join the capital (oxford city) everytime?

Depends. Usually, the first GScientist is making an academy in the capital because that's the earliest GScientist, thus the return is bigger than an academy in like 500 AD. Also, the capital is often chosen because the palace generates a free 8 all the time you put your science slider full.

For the next ones, often bulbing (in a pretty convential play without any originality) techs like Education, Lib and sometimes Philo if your want to slow down the AI and get a religion for whatever reason (isolation).

Bulbing is about getting an edge earlier like a military edge and conquer earlier and harder.
For instance, if you intent to get a fast Oxford with stone available and being Philosophical, you may bulb most of Education right now and get Oxford earlier and that snowballs if done right.

It's situational. The harder part is to get a goal behind your actions. Looking sleazy scat is not a valid action. Think hard is one. If Duckweed is the strongest player on the forums, it's because he's determined and organized in his grand-planning. He beats with flying colors extremely organized teams in micromanaging just because he knows the purpose of every little action. Not mocking intended now, but it's really a hard part to learn because it needs experience, which no one can lend to you. It's not lend-able.

BTW, how do you bulb your GScientists. Do you put them in the microwave?