The Planetary Datalinks

[d=me]

When you build the planetary datalinks; lets say that there are 3 technologies that suit the cretirea. When do you get these technologies? Right away or when another faction researchs it?

[livid imp]

Re: The Planetary Datalinks

Originally posted by d=me
lets say that there are 3 technologies that suit the cretirea.

Eh?

There are no "cretirea" per se. Once 3 factions get a particular tech you also get it in the following turn. They just pop up like you researched them. Actually confuses me a little sometimes.

On that note, I never, ever bothered with this tech because in a normal SP game you should have the tech lead making this good only as a denial project. But..... recently I have been playing a OCC (one city challenge) game where I was only maintaining tech parity, so I bought this. Man what a sweet project this is if you do fall behind on the tech. Plus you can ignore lower end techs (only researching high end ones) cause you know sooner or later the datalinks will deliever the ignored techs.

If you think that the Universal Translator (2 free techs) is worth it, then don't pass the PD either. It netted me at least halve a dozen techs last night alone.

[Flubber]

Sorry livid but it is a good question

You get a tech from the planetary Datalinks when some other faction acquires it. My experience is that if there is some low level tech that all the other factions have BEFORE the Datalinks is completed, that tech will not come to you through the datalinks. But if the same tech were held by 4 factions and after the Datalinks was built, another faction acquired it THEN you would get it.

I believe it is a game mechanics thing that the game only checks to see if the Datalinks should give a new tech ONLY when some other faction acquires it. Thats my experience.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

If you get this SP, if 3 factions already have a tech, you will not necessarily gain that tech. The game apparently relies on a check every time a faction makes a discovery to see if 3 factions have the tech. When you get the Datalinks however this check is NOT done for existing techs by factions. Only when another faction makes a discovery will the game perfrom the check. In essence, you'll need 4 factions (minimally) to have discovered some of these techs before the datalinks provides them.

[Flubber]

Overall

I generally don't see the PD as that valuable in a normal game against the AI-- If you are in the lead the AI will hate you anyway so its easier and cheaper to probe techs away anyway. Against humans its nice to have for denial to others and it can be a handy way to pick up some off-beeline techs ( since it is harder to probe away techs in MP)

[livid imp]

Originally posted by Flubber
Sorry livid but it is a good question

Good or not, it was the wording that confused me. I never meant to dismiss the questioning.

Originally posted by Flubber
I generally don't see the PD as that valuable in a normal game against the AI

Generally I don't either, but I was playing an OCC game and had a TON of cash and could buy this SP as fast as getting 2-3 probe foils out.

[Impaler[WrG]]

I find it anoying that the Planetary Data Links and all the other similar effects produced in the Alpha (TECHSHARE, and SHARETEC) are all based on a hard coded mechanism that only uses an Intiger to calculate the effect.

In other words if you eliminate half the factions in the game the # needed to steal a tec dose not change. Rather then working off a fraction 3/7 which would alow you to take tecs with only 2 having it when their are 4 or fewer factions. Most of the time once you get to the late game their are only 4-5 factions left and often a few are totaly stagnated tecnologicaly (as in 100+ years to their next tec) so you cant continue to get anything usefull.

[d=me]

Thanks, that was just what I was asking for. Now I know that you have to wait for another faction to get it even if 3 factions already got it when you complete the secret project. Thanks.

[livid imp]

Originally posted by Impaler[WrG]
Rather then working off a fraction 3/7 which would alow you to take tecs with only 2 having it when their are 4 or fewer factions.

IMO they should have left it as it was in Civ with the great library. 2 factions should be all it takes to pay off. Then people would fight over this SP again. instead of it being completely ignored.

[Commy]

This is why I play angels. Only reason to build it is for denial against other factions. Only a stupid person doesn't put an infiltrator in every faction. Angels get a tech discovered by three factions they have infiltration. Pretty good advantage on OCC games and on Transcend games, but yes, they should make it more like civ and require only two factions to get it.