Beaker cost for techs should be displayed

from GalCiv2 Forums
In Civilization 4, the cost of researching a technology - measured in beakers - is displayed. This is essential, because it allows you to compare techs: How much is 'mathematics' worth compared to 'horseback riding'? For example, the former might be worth 300 beakers and the later 500.

In this game, the cost is not displayed. You are only told how many weeks a given tech will take to research. This lack of information is a huge problem because it makes it impossible to find out whether you are getting a good or bad deal when trading techs. If the Altarians want 80 BC for 'stellar cartography' are they ripping me off or giving me a good deal? There is no immediate way to tell. Obviously, this is quite a serious issue and one that should not have gone unnoticed by the developers.

Displaying tech costs should be a high priority issue and should in my opinion be implemented before 1.1 is released.
5,690 views 9 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I couldn't agree more. In defense of the way things stand, however, you're not quite as blind as it first seems. When the parenthesis text indictates your high diplomacy is giving you an advantage, then you're almost certainly getting better than 1:1 beakers for beakers in tech. Granted, this is modified by certain things (apparently the AI values weapons techs more, and god only knows how it values money, ships, influence, etc when converting to tech points), but the *programmers* consider whatever deal emerges to be advantageous to you.

Of course, knowing you're getting a bargain is different from being able to quantify it, which you'd think would be easy to display (when right clicking the techs, say). It's all the worse since each race will make different deals that are of different advantages to you. The same tech that'll get 200 bc from one race will get 300 from another. You can "manually" get a good guess of what a tech is worth by plunking it down in the interface, and seeing how much a race will pay for it. But that's almost infuriating when you consider that all of the math is already there and simply isn't being displayed.

And the interface is sorely missing a "what'll it take to make this deal work" button that'll add the cash difference between techs automatically without me having to screw with the tech slider each time.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
agreed, display tech costs please
SoundPackager - Customize the Windows sound scheme
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
While I generally agree that displaying beakers would make the game easier, it's all prospective.

Take your mathematics vs horseback riding - really it comes down to what you need at the time. What is your game plan? So horseback riding cost 500 but you don't need an army are you still going to research it?

As for your good or bad deal - all's all relative isn't it. You decide if your getting a good or bad deal. You have to decide what it is worth to you in the scheme of the game. Do you really want to give Lasers to someone? Will it hurt me later.

Your trying to put a money value on things. Let's continue with Lasers. Say you have Laser III. Early in the game, this is very powerful. So you value it at 500. In later stages of the game, when you have plasma guns, it's not worth that much so you value it at 200. You still did the same research for it. The beakers costed the same but now the value has changed.

So 80 BC for stellar cartography maybe a good deal or a bad deal but it depends on what point in the game, what you are trying to accomplish and what you want.

Displaying tech costs should be a high priority issue and should in my opinion be implemented before 1.1 is released.

So while I understand the want to know how many beakers, it's not really a big problem. I would rather know the beakers so I know how much tech spending I need to set to get it a certain time.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Still, it wouldn't hurt to have beaker costs displayed.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Download and run the Galactopedia. it includes the Tech costs. Great program.

http://www.kynosarges.de/Galactopedia.html
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The Galactopedia is good, yes. But its not the same.
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I certainly wouldn't be opposed to them displaying the cost. If nothing else it would help new players get abetter idea of what is valuable. For vets it really adds nothing since I already know the value in terms of trading for most of the tech tree .
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I really, really miss this feature so... Bump.
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Agree with the OP.