Author Topic: What research speed is recommended?  (Read 5410 times)

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Offline Jorgen_CAB

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Re: What research speed is recommended?
« Reply #15 on: April 09, 2021, 02:40:05 PM »
What I have found in my last attempt in terms of survey is that a really low survey rate and low technology progression make it much harder to expand as it takes so much longer to find optimal places for early mining colonies, you also need to spend more resources and fuel on survey in general which is another strain on an early low tech empire. Your survey ships are both slower and require more fuel and you need allot of them and/or good survey rates.

I have gone as low as 5% survey in my last two attempts now and I like that quite allot.

A few other things that I have found with really low technology progress is that your economy grow at a bit different pace so you actually can grow your empire along side technological progression a bit more evenly. At 100% technology progression you rush through early technology so fast they might as well not even be there and then you eventually stall and have to wait for decades before the next technologies can be researched. With lower tech speeds, say at about 10% the ride up the technology tree feel more smooth and reoccurring events, this is because your economy have time to mature in between technology jumps so the next level does not seem so much vaster than the one before in comparison.

Another thing about slower and more steady growth is resource sinks... it will likely take much longer to reach a runaway economy which you eventually will reach as your population and mines are less efficient and you need more fuel to go a particular distance, it take more time to deliver facilities (more time they are idle) etc... This means you simply struggle a bit more economy wise for how you allocate your resources even if you have a relatively large population count.

Space just feels bigger for a much longer time... that is something that I like... in general I really like the time between Nuclear Pulse and Early Fusion drives in terms of technology levels. At later stages space just don't feel as epic anymore.

We all have different likes and approaches to the game and there really are no wrong way to go here. You can crank up the tech speed to 200% and enjoy a very different type of game. The question is what you prefer.
« Last Edit: April 09, 2021, 02:42:00 PM by Jorgen_CAB »
 
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Offline nuclearslurpee

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Re: What research speed is recommended?
« Reply #16 on: April 09, 2021, 02:49:30 PM »
What I have found in my last attempt in terms of survey is that a really low survey rate and low technology progression make it much harder to expand as it takes so much longer to find optimal places for early mining colonies, you also need to spend more resources and fuel on survey in general which is another strain on an early low tech empire. Your survey ships are both slower and require more fuel and you need allot of them and/or good survey rates.

I have gone as low as 5% survey in my last two attempts now and I like that quite allot.

A few other things that I have found with really low technology progress is that your economy grow at a bit different pace so you actually can grow your empire along side technological progression a bit more evenly. At 100% technology progression you rush through early technology so fast they might as well not even be there and then you eventually stall and have to wait for decades before the next technologies can be researched. With lower tech speeds, say at about 10% the ride up the technology tree feel more smooth and reoccurring events, this is because your economy have time to mature in between technology jumps so the next level does not seem so much vaster than the one before in comparison.

Another thing about slower and more steady growth is resource sinks... it will likely take much longer to reach a runaway economy which you eventually will reach as your population and mines are less efficient and you need more fuel to go a particular distance, it take more time to deliver facilities (more time they are idle) etc... This means you simply struggle a bit more economy wise for how you allocate your resources even if you have a relatively large population count.

Space just feels bigger for a much longer time... that is something that I like... in general I really like the time between Nuclear Pulse and Early Fusion drives in terms of technology levels. At later stages space just don't feel as epic anymore.

I definitely agree about low survey speed. My current AAR campaign is at all default speeds as I wanted a lot of quick action, but most of my campaigns I have played around with 25% or 10% survey speeds to incentivize large survey fleets and making system surveys a full scale military operation instead of one ship flying around praying not to get killed by angry NPRs.

With tech speed I have been considering a house rule restricting the number of labs per scientist to much less than their actual maximum, e.g. 20% of maximum. I do like the feel of 100% tech speed in terms of building a realistic (to me) multi-generational fleet, but I also want to actually play with the low tech levels in the process. Restricting, say, the skilled P&P scientist with 25 admin skill to only, say, 5 labs prevents rushing the propulsion techs while keeping a good overall rate of progression - and might force spending more time in early tech lines usually relegated to the Ion+ era.
 

Offline Jorgen_CAB

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Re: What research speed is recommended?
« Reply #17 on: April 09, 2021, 03:02:39 PM »
I definitely agree about low survey speed. My current AAR campaign is at all default speeds as I wanted a lot of quick action, but most of my campaigns I have played around with 25% or 10% survey speeds to incentivize large survey fleets and making system surveys a full scale military operation instead of one ship flying around praying not to get killed by angry NPRs.

With tech speed I have been considering a house rule restricting the number of labs per scientist to much less than their actual maximum, e.g. 20% of maximum. I do like the feel of 100% tech speed in terms of building a realistic (to me) multi-generational fleet, but I also want to actually play with the low tech levels in the process. Restricting, say, the skilled P&P scientist with 25 admin skill to only, say, 5 labs prevents rushing the propulsion techs while keeping a good overall rate of progression - and might force spending more time in early tech lines usually relegated to the Ion+ era.

Don't get me started on house rules for labs or even industry... :)

When a lab is built it is always designated to ONE specific area of technology... I could change labs to another category later on but I would need to take two, destroy one and then transfer the other to a new field.

Scientists work in specific fields and there are limits to how many labs can switch between scientists in a single year even within the same technology area. The easy math here is a scientist can only receive its admin rating divided by 10 rounded up in a year, they may loose any amount. If they switch into a completely different field within an area (say researching railguns and then missile launchers) after a project is done they can only retain admin rating divided by 5 labs, the rest have to be allocated elsewhere.

I do similar thing with all industry too... no planet may switch more than roughly 10% industry capacity per year between projects. only if there is some sort of emergency can this rule be extended to about 20% in a year.

I can't just switch ordnance and fighter industry on and off for example either... they to can only add or remove about 10% a year unless there is some emergency. So... if my ordnance industry is idle on a world it would normally take me a decade to get up to full production again or five years if there is a war going on.

Sometimes when the military want a new type of ship or modernize an old one I have to write up a proposal for myself for the politician to accept... I better do a good job convincing myself it is worth the time and money to do just that ship and not something else... perhaps the politicians are more interested in completely other things and cut the military budget. I probably am a bit schizophrenic sometimes, surely feels that way... but it probably just are the role-player side that want to get out and play.  ;)


Limitation and role-play is what this game is all about in my opinion... so just go nuts...   ;)
« Last Edit: April 09, 2021, 03:12:21 PM by Jorgen_CAB »
 
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