Player Setup different from manual and question on production

from Stardock Forums
1. In the latest manual downloaded from stardock central (ver 1.02), most of the player setup choices were beefed up eg. "...technologists give an impressive 30% boost research and +3 to sensor range." (taken from manual)

However, when running the retail game + version 1.04 bonuspak patch, the technologist still shows + 30% research and +1 sensor. Infact, all the other parties have lower bonuses than stated in the manual. Is there something amiss with my version?

2. A question on production. Suppose I have 2 planets put 100 BC on expenses. I would imagine the 100 BC is shared between the 2 planets. If on 1 planet, I then select "Nothing" in the Social and Military Production, does the BC gets redistributed to the remaining 1 planet with production. I was wondering abt this when reaching end-game and some of my planets have Social Prod that are maxed out. Seems like I am wasting BC on Social Production when there are other planets who can used the BC.

Thanks


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Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
I'll tackle the production question. The simple way of viewing it is that production is divided among the planets based upon their maximum production capacity. This is based upon PQ, population, improvements, technology, and extra points spend in increasing categories at the start of the game (like +10 research and such). If you have two planets with the same PQ and everything else is the same, the 100 BC would be split down the middle at 50 BC each. It would then be further divided into military, social, and research production depending on how the sliders were set. So a 40/30/30 slider setting on a planet getting 50 BC would result in 20/15/15 production points on that planet.

But if one planet is Earth with a combined production value of 75, and the other is a newer, lower quality planet with the three categories totalling 25, then it would be obviously a 75/25 split. Any planet with no project wastes its share of the money. It is currently not redistributed, it is simply gone.

Now, time for some more complex stuff. Spending is not simply divided three ways after all. First, things like leases, espionage, and tribute are taken out of the overall spending budget. What is left gets turned into military, social, and research spending. Starbases and ships have their cost added into the military spending, so while all the BC that goes into social and research gets turned into new projects, the BC you put into military does not all go into building new ships. Some is getting diverted to maintain the old ships.

Then there are the extra production points you get from improvements, starbases, technology, and points spent at the beginning of the game in things like +research and +social production. Some of that extra improvement only increases the capacity of that planet, which means it will start eating up more spending relative to what is was spending before. But some of those increases are free points that you pay nothing for. This is why on the planet screen that some production is labelled something like 13+4. The first number is how many BC are going to the project from the budget, the second number after the plus sign is the free points.

Well, that is the basic guide. Whew. I hope that helps a bit.
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
However, when running the retail game + version 1.04 bonuspak patch, the technologist still shows + 30% research and +1 sensor. Infact, all the other parties have lower bonuses than stated in the manual. Is there something amiss with my version?
End of quote


Manual is incorrect. Additional balancing was done to the parties after it was published.
Galactic Civilizations IV