There are so many things you can say about RAs. I've come to the conclusion that it all boils down to two fundamental problems - lack of realism, and too much randomness. Many suggestions have been made, but mostly they cut down on the randomness without fixing the realism problems of where exactly those free beakers are coming from, and why it's better to sign an RA with a technologically inferior nation than a superior one.
The previous system, tech trading, is far better on the realism front but also suffers from the randomness problem, not in theory but in practice - everyone trading with everyone else creates a very unstable situation where anyone could find themselves far ahead or far behind for no particular reason. Here's a proposal that merges the two systems to solve both problems. It is essentially a tech trade delayed in the same way that an RA is, which (I hope) avoids both the lack of realism of the RA and the randomness of instant tech trading.
Let's say I want to learn Navigation. I look around, and see that Elizabeth already knows it. She agrees to teach it to me for an upfront payment of gold. So far, exactly the same as tech trading. However, I can't learn Navigation instantly! My scientists will be boosted by the help of her scientists, but they still need time.
We will both pay our scientists to work overtime for this exchange of knowledge, so that our regular beaker rate is not affected. Obviously, Elizabeth will have accounted for this cost when making the deal (it should depend on the number of beakers Navigation requires so that she can know how much it will cost in advance). While this deal is going on, neither of us can engage in a second research agreement with anyone else, since our scientists are already working overtime. Also, if I really want Navigation ASAP, I can tell my scientists to work on it as regular research too, but this means I won't get full value out of my deal with Elizabeth.
Here's a more formulaic description for Seller teaching Tech to Buyer. Every turn:
- Let Beakers = Buyer's beaker rate
- Add X*Beakers to Tech for Buyer
- Subtract Y*Beakers from Buyer's gold
- Subtract Y*Beakers from Seller's gold
- Deal ends when Buyer finishes Tech
(X and Y are numbers to be tweaked; perhaps X=3 and Y=1?)
The previous system, tech trading, is far better on the realism front but also suffers from the randomness problem, not in theory but in practice - everyone trading with everyone else creates a very unstable situation where anyone could find themselves far ahead or far behind for no particular reason. Here's a proposal that merges the two systems to solve both problems. It is essentially a tech trade delayed in the same way that an RA is, which (I hope) avoids both the lack of realism of the RA and the randomness of instant tech trading.
Let's say I want to learn Navigation. I look around, and see that Elizabeth already knows it. She agrees to teach it to me for an upfront payment of gold. So far, exactly the same as tech trading. However, I can't learn Navigation instantly! My scientists will be boosted by the help of her scientists, but they still need time.
We will both pay our scientists to work overtime for this exchange of knowledge, so that our regular beaker rate is not affected. Obviously, Elizabeth will have accounted for this cost when making the deal (it should depend on the number of beakers Navigation requires so that she can know how much it will cost in advance). While this deal is going on, neither of us can engage in a second research agreement with anyone else, since our scientists are already working overtime. Also, if I really want Navigation ASAP, I can tell my scientists to work on it as regular research too, but this means I won't get full value out of my deal with Elizabeth.
Here's a more formulaic description for Seller teaching Tech to Buyer. Every turn:
- Let Beakers = Buyer's beaker rate
- Add X*Beakers to Tech for Buyer
- Subtract Y*Beakers from Buyer's gold
- Subtract Y*Beakers from Seller's gold
- Deal ends when Buyer finishes Tech
(X and Y are numbers to be tweaked; perhaps X=3 and Y=1?)
