Endgame cost of research

from Stardock Forums
I've played & won with a variety of play styles and victory conditions. It's a pretty addictive game!javascript:smilie(':d') I frequently have a problem with my economy late in the game - having to cut spending to avoid losses.

In my most recent two games, I figured out at least part of the reason why. I was going for a tech victory and had several upgraded tech resource starbases, all the +Research techs & trade goods, etc. I was pumping 70% or so into research, trying to finish the game, but I was hemmoraging cash.

I discovered that I could get back into the black by switching research spending to military. In other words, each "point" of research spending was costing me LOTS more than a point of military spending.

I eventually figured out that this is because 33% of the tech "bonus" costs you money. With something like +250% research, I was effectively charging myself thousands more per turn.

I didn't experiment, but I expect that you'd see the same effect if you build lots of production-enhancing starbases. That's just not my typical playing style.

Some comments & questions:

1) I find this incredibly counter-intuitive. A research bonus ought to, plain and simple, give me more research. It shouldn't carry hidden and undocumented costs. If the bonus is unbalancing, it seems to me like the right solution is to reduce the magnitude of the bonus.

2) I found that, for a given revenue level, I had an effective ceiling on how much I could actually spend on research while staying in the black. I could increase the research percentage and cut the spend rate, or I could decrease the research percentage. But the total number of BC to research stayed roughly constant. For me, it was about 5000BC/turn in the late stages of a large galaxy.

3) Has anyone found a good formula or rule of thumb for predicting your civ's research "ceiling" given the current size of your economy? It'd be great to decide whether upgrading that new starbase is worthwhile or not.

4) Has anyone found a good strategy for breaking through the ceiling, i.e. for significantly increasing the number of BC to research in the late stages of a game?
1,169 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
Math dictates that you always benefit from higher bonuses, even if it may seem counter intuitive. The bonuses are applied in a proportional manner, so you will always stand to gain with a higher bonus. The reason why you still have to pay for part of the bonus is probably to bring research closer in line with the overall stage of your economy so players cannot exploit it easily.
Offworld Trading Company
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
http://www.galciv.com/browser/msgboard.asp?BoardID=GF&id=54178&cmd=showall#54838

To Za H:
//Math dictates that you always benefit from higher bonuses, even if it may seem counter intuitive.//
Don't be so sure.

~SDC~
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
Ellestar:

I'm quite sure ;)

Let me give you an example though. Suppose we have a planet with 30 production...

Production Capacity = 30
Paid Production = 30
Bonus Production = 0
Total Production = 30

Now we build a starbase with a +100% production bonus next to it. Since half of a starbase's bonus are free, and the other is paid for...

Production Capacity = 60
Paid Production = 45
Bonus Production = 15
Total Production = 60

If your economy cannot support the full production capacity, you can lower your spending by 1/3rd to bring paid production back to the 30 BC level, which reduces bonus production proportionally...

Production Capacity = 60
Paid Production = 30
Bonus Production = 10
Total Production = 40

Compare the above to what we began with and you can see that production and research bonuses are always beneficial. Whether they are cost effective is another matter entirely though.
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
The math in your example makes sense. And the correllary seems to be that if your economy is more-or-less maxxed (all trade routes, all econ improvements built, etc.) then every increase in production/research bonus will have to be accompanied by a reduction in spending or you'll go into the red.

Thanks for the explanation.
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
It might be worth pointing out that because starbass bonuses are 1/2 free and social improvement bonuses are only 1/3 free, it's often best to construct starbases instead of Manufacturing Centers, Fusion Power Plants, and Anti-Matter Power Plants, more so than many people would otherwise imagine with the 5 BC/turn maintenance cost. Starbases can be more cost effective as soon as you have 2 to 4 planets in one sector, and even that limit will be further eased once you have better technology.