Whats the best use for a Great Scientist?

[JimT]

Can someone give me a few quick hints regarding their best use.

I have just built Great Library in a commerce city and so far got 2 Great Scientists (plus a GE I fluked with a 6% chance).

I used them to build Academys in my two main science cities. I has beelined to alphabet, mathematics then literature.

What I would like to know is:

a) Was this the best use for them? I decided the long term gain was better than the immediate popped tech. the 50% extra is already worth about 15 beakers each and will obviously grow.

b) What is the best thing to do with the next one? Settle as a great scientist or start pooping out tradeable technologies.

If it helps I'm on Monarch and with the GS help have managed to pull myself into a slight tech lead.

 

[dutchfire]

Check how much a new academy will help you (50% * base ), and check how much a super-scientist will give you (6 or 9 with representation * bonus (library, academy, university, observatory)

 

[Thedrin]

If you expect to generate lots of great scientists you're probably best off using the first to build an academy in your city with the projected greatest beaker output and settling all future great scientists in that city. A great scientist settled in a city with a library, university, academy and Oxford University will give 27 beakers per turn if you run representation. For an academy to be better value the city needs to have a base research of 54 beakers.

Also keep in mind that the output of an academy will fluctuate with changes in your science rate. The ouput of settled great scientists remains constant.

 

[majk-iii]

1) Build Academys in main science cities... then;

2) Settle as a great scientist in those same cities or, like you say, start pooping out tradeable technologies. However i'd stop that after phil/lib/const, they are mostly wasted that way later game. Rather have one city that's sniffing on 800-1000 beakers/turn.

 

[cabert]

if you can lightbulb a tradeable tech or gain the free tech from liberalism via lightbulbing most of education, it's more value than settling or academy.

If you run for culture, remember an academy is + 4 cpt.

 

[JimT]

Cheers all very useful. Hadn't thought of popping liberalism.

James

 

[cabert]

Cheers all very useful. Hadn't thought of popping liberalism.

James

what you can pop is philosophy (prereq for liberalism) or education (another req for liberalism).
You can even gain Taoism

 

[UncleJJ]

if you can lightbulb a tradeable tech or gain the free tech from liberalism via lightbulbing most of education, it's more value than settling or academy.

If you run for culture, remember an academy is + 4 cpt.

Sorry, but I find the lightbulb and then trade argument unconvincing, if the player is already trading efficiently and with a long term perspective. Trading with AI opponents is limited by the WFYABTA effect as well as other diplomatic considerations. Taking an early trade can be inefficient in beaker terms (and long term research) if it precludes a more valuable later trade. For instance, who thinks trading for Archery is good if it stops you getting Rifling later on?... no one of course. Trading is highly situational and if you can trade for a tech that will unleash a significant economic or military advantage over the AI you face then go for it but trading is not always good or the best strategy.

So trading early can be be bad as well as good, therefore arguing that lightbulbing a tech and then trading is an advantage has to be considered carefully. It could be powerful but it can also be a waste. We are therefore little further forward .

Sorry if I have complicated the argument but it is too simple to say lightbulbing is good and strong because you can trade the techs at that stage... that might be true sometimes but certainly is not always the case.

 

[cabert]

Sorry if I have complicated the argument but it is too simple to say lightbulbing is good and strong because you can trade the techs at that stage... that might be true sometimes but certainly is not always the case.

if you read well what you quoted, it said
"if you can lightbulb a tradeable tech"
There is no "always better" mention here. It's just an option I highlighted because the OP seemed to undervalue it.

+ who trades for archery? I do!
Who cares for rifling in 5000 years when you want archers now?
In the early game, archery is 5 turns. In the late game, rifling is 5 turns.

 

[NKVD]

yep I always go in the victory conditions to know how many turns are left and make the calculations...

 

[slowcar]

in my experience lightbulbing becomes better the higher your difficulty level goes as the worth of the tech compared to your own science output rises.

 

[Wlauzon]

Cheers all very useful. Hadn't thought of popping liberalism.

James

One of the very few techs worth using up a GP on.

 

[blitzkrieg1980]

How many beakers does a settled GS get (without any bonuses or representation? In other words, what is the base beaker output for a settled GS?

 

[TM Moot]

Cheers all very useful. Hadn't thought of popping liberalism.

James

Quick query - is it potluck what tech a GP will supply, or is there some way of choosing?

 

[UncleJJ]

Quick query - is it potluck what tech a GP will supply, or is there some way of choosing?

No, it is entirely pre-determined for each type of GP. See this article Great People Tech Preferences for how to control which techs each GP offers.

 

[VoiceOfUnreason]

How many beakers does a settled GS get (without any bonuses or representation? In other words, what is the base beaker output for a settled GS?

1 / 6

 

[FeelGood]

no, it`s predetermined. See http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=140952

ops! Sorry, UncleJJ beats me.

 

[blitzkrieg1980]

Thanks VoiceOfUnreason!

 

[acidsatyr]

building academies in multiple cities is a bad idea. The only time you want to build academy is in your good science city AND you should build it (if you want to build it that is) before ~ liberalism Building academy after that is not good because immediate lightbulbing is more effective. In my opinion, the only time you should actually build academy is if you have a really good early science city. Settling them in cities as SS is even worst.
so basically lightbulbing > academy > settling
someone already mentioned, lightbulbing is much more effective (in fact required on high levels) where you need to catch up and can’t really wait for academy to do that.

 

[carl corey]

I'm playing the first game in which I have not settled nor built any Academy with Great Scientists. The first one came a little late because I captured a city with a shrine in it and got a prophet from there, so I used it to pop Philosophy. Popped Paper with the second one, researched Education on my own, got most of Printring Press with the third, etc, and went all the way to Physics & Biology in no time. If the situation were right I could beeline to the UN and Diplo victory, but my only friend is second in population so that won't work.

What I'm trying to say is that having the benefits of a certain tech earlier by lightbulbing it might actually be more important than getting a higher amount of beakers over the course of the game from an Academy or a settle GS. Philo opened pacifism and sped my way to Liberalism. Paper also helped on the same path. (probably should have waited for Education though...) It's hard to really test this though. Maybe I just got lucky/better this time around?!