Can't figure basic research costs
Broida (spamless)
I'm having trouble figuring out the basic research costs per level.
Never mind the complication of "costs 50% less" or "costs 75% more",
or even that of "Generalized Research". Those are pretty easy.
But I can't figure out stuff like: "What will it cost to go from
level 3 to level 4 in a particular field of study?" The Research
Dialogue will show it for ONLY the upcoming level, and it doesn't
show from the BEGINNING of the level: it shows from the current
point within the level.
The Stars "Help" stuff says under "The Cost of Research" only this:
Research in any field becomes progressively more expensive,
increasing in a Fibonacci type series. The total cost equals
the cost for that field plus the added cost of 10 resources per
field of study per level you've already achieved.
Fine, but that boils down to "It costs the cost plus 10 resource
per yadda per yadda." It never says what the ORIGINAL cost is,
before that "added cost"! It also takes TWO base points before
you can expand the Fibonacci sequence.
For instance, at the start of the game, my custom race has level
4 in Energy/Weapons/Prop and level 3 in Const/Elec/Bio. It shows
a cost of 420 to get to level 4 Electronics. This race has "costs
standard amount" for Electronics.
The "added cost of 10 resources per field of study per level you
have already achieved" should be 210 at this point: I already
have a total of 21 tech levels (3x4 + 3x3). So that says the
"base" cost is also 210 to go from level 3 to level 4.
Ok, fine. Now, what's the "base" cost to go from level 4 to
level 5 in Electronics??? Once I make level 4, I can see how
many total levels I have and figure out that "added cost", but
where do I get the "base" cost?
I would like to see the "base costs" for each level of each
field of study spelled out somewhere. Does anyone here have
such a table of data?
Mike
Oo Tiib
> field of study spelled out somewhere. Does anyone here have
> such a table of data?
If you are interested in formulas behind all of it and got MS Excel,
then search for xls spreadsheets with what you can see the costs of
different tech paths. I think it was stars.xls. Its been long around, i
believe last i saw copy on StarsFAQ site.
But generally ... you dont want the tech itself, you want items it
brings. Right? So you go open tech browser, see your juicy item of
interest and the research cost is written there at side as well. ;-)
Öö Tiib
Terpsichore
Supposing I have GR, 100 k allocated to research, elec selected.
50 k goes to elec, 10 k to each of Weap/Ener/Bio/Cons/Prop
Now, supposing I have level 26 in Weapon. Are my 10 k to Weapon wasted
or is the cash going to other fields ?
Thanks if you know the answer.
iztok_...@yahoo.com
> Now, supposing I have level 26 in Weapon. Are my 10 k to Weapon wasted
> or is the cash going to other fields ?
BR, Iztok
Broida (spamless)
> Supposing I have GR, 100 k allocated to research, elec selected.
> 50 k goes to elec, 10 k to each of Weap/Ener/Bio/Cons/Prop
Not quite. 100K goes to Elec. 15K each to each of the
five others, not 10K each. That's the advantage of
Generalized Research: you actually get credit for 125%
of resources allocated to research. See the Help item:
"Step 3: Lesser Traits", and click on the subitem for
"Generalized Research". The note confirms the 125%.
The drawback is that the primary field only gets 50%
of the current allocation.
> Now, supposing I have level 26 in Weapon. Are my 10 k to Weapon wasted
> or is the cash going to other fields ?
I don't know that particular bit. Probably wasted.
Mike
Broida (spamless)
No. As I said, I want to know the base costs for the
tech levels, not the items.
I'll see what spreadsheets I can find.
Mike
Broida (spamless)
Yes, "stars.xls" has it on the "Research" tab.
Here's the "base cost" table for those that might
be interested:
TechLevel BaseCost
1 50
2 80
3 130
4 210
5 340
6 550
7 890
8 1440
9 2330
10 3770
11 6100
12 9870
13 13850
14 18040
15 22440
16 27050
17 31870
18 36900
19 42140
20 47590
21 53250
22 59120
23 65200
24 71490
25 77990
26 84700
(Any typos are mine.) Looking at the formulas used,
I think it's wrong from level 13 onward, though.
Don't forget that the above is just the "base cost".
You also have to pay the "added cost" of 10 resources
per field of study per level you already know.
Wow, that spreadsheet lets you specify the order you
want to research things so you can know the overall
cost (forever) of your planned sequence. Nice.
Mike
Dirk Thierbach
One cannot use Fibonacci numbers for all tech levels, the resource
cost would get too high at some stage. (I suppose that's what you mean
by "formulas used").
OTOH, I haven't verified those numbers myself. Anyone who has?
- Dirk
Broida (spamless)
Yes, that's what I meant. At level 13, the formula
changes significantly, and the effect is LOWER numbers
than expected. Your explanation makes perfect sense.
Mike