Research TP costs by galaxy size and technology rate

from GalCiv2 Forums

So I was curious as to what effect Technology Rate and Galaxy Size have on technology research costs. A crap ton of math later, I have the following handy table and set of formulas in case anyone else is interested.

The following data assumes a base cost of 200TP (base cost taken from TechTree.xml).

Tiny

  • Very Slow - 391
  • Slow - 193
  • Normal - 135
  • Fast - 107
  • Very Fast - 89

Small

  • Very Slow - 404
  • Slow - 199
  • Normal - 139
  • Fast - 110
  • Very Fast - 92

Medium

  • Very Slow - 416
  • Slow - 205
  • Normal - 144
  • Fast - 114
  • Very Fast - 95

Large

  • Very Slow - 449
  • Slow - 221
  • Normal - 155
  • Fast - 123
  • Very Fast - 103

Huge

  • Very Slow - 483
  • Slow - 238
  • Normal - 167
  • Fast - 132
  • Very Fast - 110

Gigantic

  • Very Slow - 522
  • Slow - 257
  • Normal - 180
  • Fast - 143
  • Very Fast - 119

Immense

  • Very Slow - 542
  • Slow - 267
  • Normal - 187
  • Fast - 148
  • Very Fast - 124

TP costs as a function of Technology Rate

  • Very Slow- 290%
  • Slow - 142.75%
  • Normal - 100%
  • Fast - 79%
  • Very Fast - 66%

Note: This is meant to be read as a comparison from Normal. So TP costs at Fast are 79% of Normal and TP costs at Very Slow are 290% of Normal.

TP costs as a function of galaxy size

  • Tiny --> Small - +3.25%
  • Small --> Medium - +3.25%
  • Medium --> Large - +8%
  • Large --> Huge - +7.5&
  • Huge --> Gigantic - +8%
  • Gigantic --> Immense - +3.8%

Note: This is meant to be read as a percentage increase from the previous galaxy size. So TP costs increase by 3.25% when you go from Tiny to Small and TP costs increase by 8% when you go from Medium to Large.

Interesting observations

  • At no combination of galaxy size and technology rate is the TP cost actually equal to the base cost in TechTree.xml. The closest you can get is Small/Slow where the TP cost is 199 and base cost is 200.
  • None of the percentage modifiers from base values are even numbers. I take this to mean that the Stardock developers hate even numbers, and thus I hate them, just a little bit. Maybe like 3.25% of maximum hate.
  • If you double-check my math you'll notice rounding errors sometimes that make the numbers off by one. This is because my percentage values are a bit approximate. I tried to be as precise as possible, but my love of even numbers caused me to try to stop at as few significant digits as possible to get accurate values.
5,797 views 5 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

You have way to much time on your hands lol,

 

Interesting numbers I still find technology rates not slow enough in larger maps as you have more planets to offset this, where as tiny you only have a couple of planets.  Thanks for the information.

Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

One of the things you can do to offset the effect of more planets on larger maps is (with a mod) drastically reduce the 'free tp' that come with the initial colony.  Like 2 tp or something.  Then you only get significantly more research capacity by building (or capturing if you prefer) more labs.

Galactic Civilizations IV
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

I usually only play metaverse games so modding is out :(

Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

I haven't submitted a metaverse game in two years.  You're not missing much except for maybe the medals.  There's plenty of challenge to be had in a modded game, can't say the same for vanilla TA.

Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

There have been posts (years ago) alluding to an undocumented research modifier (a "secret" bonus).

IIRC, it applies only to Technologist at Suicidal.

If you are looking into research quirks, you might investigate!