Blind Research

[Urban Ranger]

One of the really cool features of Alpha Centauri is blind research. You have no idea of what you will get next. You need to think on your feet as new tech becomes available.

I wish Civ 4 has something like that, or at least it can be modded in.

[polarnomad]

That would be a great option to have! Assuming of course that it follows the tech tree. (I have not played Alpha Centauri.)

[Proteus_MST]

Hm, I think it´s a good idea as long as it is an option which can be switched on or off,

[polarnomad]

Originally posted by Proteus_MST
Hm, I think it´s a good idea as long as it is an option which can be switched on or off,

Agreed.

[Henrik]

I like the idea but could never get to like it in action in smac...

[Snotty]

I enjoyed the tech tree in smac, I seem to remember you could pick which 1 of 4 directions you wanted your research to progress primarily in.

[The_Aussie_Lurker]

I said great idea, but with the 'caveat' that it should not be 100% blind, but that you should be able to prioritise your research in one of several key areas-Economy, Military, Science, Socio-cultural, Naval, Industrial. Obviously you can't specialise everything, and each category you specialise, you lose out in another area. What would also be interesting is if particular improvements/wonders could give bonuses to certain research areas. So Sun Tzu's Academy could grant a +25% bonus to military research-just as an example.

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

[Godzilla]

Yeah, the blind research option was very cool. Every time that screen came up, it was like opening a present, and it made me actually read the description.

Urging your scientists to work in a certain direction, IMO, is more "realistic" than setting a specific goal in mind.

Researching Gunpowder, when you've never experienced such a thing before seems stranger than suddenly coming upon this revelation. Look at 3M and post-it notes...

[baboon]

I'd say blind research fits SMAC better than Civ, just because at SMAC you're going into the future so everything seems new, whereas in Civ you're basicly replaying the past.

You could argue otherwise though

It would try it definately if it was an option in Civ4.

[joncnunn]

Blind research just isn't fun; it involves too much looking up what factors to pick to maximize the chance of getting whatever tech you want next instead of just picking it directly.

[LzPrst]

I voted ape food, cause I love bananas, but also because I like the idea, but for some reason in SMAC I just found it frustrating. which is strange, cause they way it was done was actually quite brilliant. I think a lot of the problem was that I didnt know the techs. if the exact same technique was copied in civ4 I might like it a whole lot more since I would actually have a clue what that certain tech advance would do.

Heres one way to implement it. Divide techs into types, such as Military, Industrial, Economic, Cultural, then set a slider for each. you would start with 20\25% in each depending on how many categories total, but you could adjust what you wanted to prioritize. for example, the mongolians would tend to focus near all on military and other civs would prioritize differently.

whatcha think?

(ps. arent we in fact asking for another game...? )

[Cort Haus]

Deciding what to research next is a central part of the gameplay for me. Blind research seems like auto-workers and auto-build queues - OK for a quick romp on lower levels to see what happens, but not very strategic.

Blind city placement anyone?

[Aro]

Originally posted by Cort Haus


Blind city placement anyone?

[Senethro]

Originally posted by Cort Haus
Blind city placement anyone?

Well played! This thread has reached its conclusion.

[Adagio]

Blind city placement





Blind research could be interesting, but I would probably still prefer to chose my research... but it could be fun in games where strategy is not the top priority (like if you're playing a quick game against someone who's never played Civ before, to make the game more equal)