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It is New Year's Eve 4000BC. The game options have been chosen and the little globe icon appears over the dramatic music accompanying the "Building World" caption. The following morning two settlers lean on their spades attempting to clear hangovers from the night before. What starting techs do you have at turn one to assist in building the empire?
There are several factors that can determine the number and nature of techs received at the start. Terrain and your proximity to other civs can influence the number of techs, but the results are not consistent. There are many examples of dirt hole starts with little reward by way of science. When the nature of the techs is considered, the actual civilisation you have chosen to lead is crucial - more about this later.
From an analysis of thousands of game starts it appears you can have from 0 - 8 techs, from a choice of sixteen "possibles". Any tech received before 4000BC is important, as it does not affect the research rate. However, if a scroll of wisdom is procured from a hut during the first turn, this counts as research - making the next research require more beakers.
The figures below show the actual times the advance was recorded in a trial of 1764 starts. (2.42/Standard Large Map/Deity/Hordes.) On average each start under these conditions yielded about two techs per game.
The 16 starting advances are, in frequency of appearance:
TABLE 1
Bronze Working (896)
Alphabet (706)
Ceremonial Burial (575)
Horseback Riding (303)
Code of Laws (244)
Masonry (195)
Pottery (162)
Warrior Code (143)
Currency (137)
Mysticism (96)
Iron Working (72)
The Wheel (53)
Monarchy (21)
Trade (14)
Construction (10)
Map Making (2)
No advance is ever received without the prerequisite tech: i.e. no currency without bronze. On the game's tech-tree there are seven sciences which require no prerequisites. "Base Techs." These are (Alphabet/Bronze/Burial/Horse/Masonry/Pottery/Warrior).The above list is significant as Code of Laws comes in before three base techs. Perhaps the game designers were encouraging a change of government to Monarchy or even Republic?
The list is fascinating for what it excludes - no Writing or Mathematics. Probably the deadly diplo or powerful catapult was considered too potent so early in the game. Using the same logic we must assume that Polytheism and Feudalism were also excluded. Without these restrictions (allowing any 8 techs with prerequisites) it would be possible to have Chivalry at 4000BC - Alpha/Burial/Laws/Monarchy/Warrior/Horse/Feudalism/Chivalry. However, that is not too distant from the possible. We still have a 3850BC save with Feudalism! (A Monarchy start with two handy huts. (Warrior Code/Feudalism) It must be added that these are long odds to achieve such a situation!
The game provides each nation with characteristics. The Mongols are Aggressive Militaristic Expansionist, whilst the Babylonians are Rational Civilised Perfectionist. For the purposes of starting techs we only need to know whether an empire is:
Civilised: (1)
Romans/Babylonians/Germans/Egyptians/Americans/French/Aztecs/Chinese
Neutral: (0)
Indians/Zulus/English/Celts/Vikings/Persians/Sioux
Militaristic (-1)
Greeks/Russians/Mongols/Japanese/Spanish/Carthaginians
Using the same information as in Table 1 above, the data is interesting if the three categories of empires are considered separately.
TABLE 2 - CIVILISED
Alphabet (393)
Bronze Working (223)
Code of Laws (185)
Ceremonial Burial (171)
Masonry (171)
Pottery (135)
Currency (67)
Monarchy (16)
Mysticism (16)
Trade (12)
Construction (7)
Warrior Code (4)
Horseback Riding (2)
Iron Working (0)
Map Making (0)
Wheel (0)
TABLE 3 - NEUTRAL
Bronze Working (331)
Ceremonial Burial (244)
Alphabet (237)
Horseback Riding (132)
Currency (65)
Mysticism (57)
Code of Laws (53)
Pottery (27)
Warrior Code (23)
Masonry (21)
Iron Working (6)
Monarchy (5)
Wheel (5)
Construction (3)
Map Making (2)
Trade (2)
TABLE 4 - MILITARISTIC
Bronze Working (342)
Horseback Riding (169)
Ceremonial Burial (160)
Warrior Code (120)
Alphabet (76)
Iron Working (66)
Wheel (48)
Mysticism (23)
Code of Laws (6)
Currency (5)
Masonry (3)
Construction (0)
Map Making (0)
Monarchy (0)
Pottery (0)
Trade (0)
The fast track to Monarchy is weighted heavily for the Civilised Nations. However, one of the strengths of the game is its degree of balance. The Neutral Empires in Table 3 are the only ones that had all 16 starting sciences represented. The warlike gang in Table 4 may take longer to reach Monarchy, but have the better chance of Horseback Riding - good for exploring and killing early barbs. It is difficult chasing the King's 150 gold without something on four legs! (Both Horse/Wheel are on the road to Democracy).
The Egyptians have a much higher probability of starting with Masonry than any other civ. (62% of all their starts). Perhaps this is some historical genuflection to building the Pyramids. To test the "Historical Wonder" connection we also looked at the Greeks' chances of Bronze Working for building The Colossus. This worked out at 68% - which is good but not spectacular - compared to the Russians 76%. The theory cannot be extended to the Babylonians and The Hanging Gardens as they start with Pottery only 10% of the time, lagging behind half a dozen other nations!
The story so far has only concerned 2.42 on a Large Standard Map. Nearly 1500 trials were done on the same map size in MP (5.4). There was no discernible difference in the pattern of techs and civs. The same trend followed a Normal 2.42 World, though the number of techs per start is reduced to about 1.4. (It is still possible have 8 starting techs) On a Small 2.42 World the most techs recorded was six. When the World becomes smaller other factors come into play.
At the start the civs are placed in order of colours - beginning with white and ending with purple. To compensate for poor locations more science is sometimes given to the last empires to be placed. This process actually results in the techs per start being higher (around 1.6) than the medium map.
TABLE 5 - AVERAGE TECHS PER CIV COLOUR (Small Map)
(Based upon a 630 sample)
White = 1.27
Green = 1.23
Dark Blue = 1.33
Yellow = 1.33
Light Blue = 1.97
Orange = 2.1
Purple = 2.3
Compensations by way of science for poor terrain are by no means uniform. The orange and purple people often end up on an icecap with only a couple of techs in the deep freeze.
Proximity to other civs can influence the starting techs. Whilst there is a trend of compensation it is very random at times. (The Dateline can also mess this process around). The same story is true for huts and specials. However, if the settlers start on or very near a river - then there is a strong chance that few, if any, techs will be given. Whilst this kind of statement undoubtedly invites stories about encartas of knowledge floating down a river longer than the Amazon - the frequency of occurrence is the significant factor!
In nearly 5000 game starts, over many months, we have obviously generated a considerable amount of data. If anyone has need of detailed information about the chances of the Russians starting with 5.86 techs on a wet Wednesday - we will do our best to help!
-------------------
Research by both Gits - summary by SG (2)
It is New Year's Eve 4000BC. The game options have been chosen and the little globe icon appears over the dramatic music accompanying the "Building World" caption. The following morning two settlers lean on their spades attempting to clear hangovers from the night before. What starting techs do you have at turn one to assist in building the empire?
There are several factors that can determine the number and nature of techs received at the start. Terrain and your proximity to other civs can influence the number of techs, but the results are not consistent. There are many examples of dirt hole starts with little reward by way of science. When the nature of the techs is considered, the actual civilisation you have chosen to lead is crucial - more about this later.
From an analysis of thousands of game starts it appears you can have from 0 - 8 techs, from a choice of sixteen "possibles". Any tech received before 4000BC is important, as it does not affect the research rate. However, if a scroll of wisdom is procured from a hut during the first turn, this counts as research - making the next research require more beakers.
The figures below show the actual times the advance was recorded in a trial of 1764 starts. (2.42/Standard Large Map/Deity/Hordes.) On average each start under these conditions yielded about two techs per game.
The 16 starting advances are, in frequency of appearance:
TABLE 1
Bronze Working (896)
Alphabet (706)
Ceremonial Burial (575)
Horseback Riding (303)
Code of Laws (244)
Masonry (195)
Pottery (162)
Warrior Code (143)
Currency (137)
Mysticism (96)
Iron Working (72)
The Wheel (53)
Monarchy (21)
Trade (14)
Construction (10)
Map Making (2)
No advance is ever received without the prerequisite tech: i.e. no currency without bronze. On the game's tech-tree there are seven sciences which require no prerequisites. "Base Techs." These are (Alphabet/Bronze/Burial/Horse/Masonry/Pottery/Warrior).The above list is significant as Code of Laws comes in before three base techs. Perhaps the game designers were encouraging a change of government to Monarchy or even Republic?
The list is fascinating for what it excludes - no Writing or Mathematics. Probably the deadly diplo or powerful catapult was considered too potent so early in the game. Using the same logic we must assume that Polytheism and Feudalism were also excluded. Without these restrictions (allowing any 8 techs with prerequisites) it would be possible to have Chivalry at 4000BC - Alpha/Burial/Laws/Monarchy/Warrior/Horse/Feudalism/Chivalry. However, that is not too distant from the possible. We still have a 3850BC save with Feudalism! (A Monarchy start with two handy huts. (Warrior Code/Feudalism) It must be added that these are long odds to achieve such a situation!
The game provides each nation with characteristics. The Mongols are Aggressive Militaristic Expansionist, whilst the Babylonians are Rational Civilised Perfectionist. For the purposes of starting techs we only need to know whether an empire is:
Civilised: (1)
Romans/Babylonians/Germans/Egyptians/Americans/French/Aztecs/Chinese
Neutral: (0)
Indians/Zulus/English/Celts/Vikings/Persians/Sioux
Militaristic (-1)
Greeks/Russians/Mongols/Japanese/Spanish/Carthaginians
Using the same information as in Table 1 above, the data is interesting if the three categories of empires are considered separately.
TABLE 2 - CIVILISED
Alphabet (393)
Bronze Working (223)
Code of Laws (185)
Ceremonial Burial (171)
Masonry (171)
Pottery (135)
Currency (67)
Monarchy (16)
Mysticism (16)
Trade (12)
Construction (7)
Warrior Code (4)
Horseback Riding (2)
Iron Working (0)
Map Making (0)
Wheel (0)
TABLE 3 - NEUTRAL
Bronze Working (331)
Ceremonial Burial (244)
Alphabet (237)
Horseback Riding (132)
Currency (65)
Mysticism (57)
Code of Laws (53)
Pottery (27)
Warrior Code (23)
Masonry (21)
Iron Working (6)
Monarchy (5)
Wheel (5)
Construction (3)
Map Making (2)
Trade (2)
TABLE 4 - MILITARISTIC
Bronze Working (342)
Horseback Riding (169)
Ceremonial Burial (160)
Warrior Code (120)
Alphabet (76)
Iron Working (66)
Wheel (48)
Mysticism (23)
Code of Laws (6)
Currency (5)
Masonry (3)
Construction (0)
Map Making (0)
Monarchy (0)
Pottery (0)
Trade (0)
The fast track to Monarchy is weighted heavily for the Civilised Nations. However, one of the strengths of the game is its degree of balance. The Neutral Empires in Table 3 are the only ones that had all 16 starting sciences represented. The warlike gang in Table 4 may take longer to reach Monarchy, but have the better chance of Horseback Riding - good for exploring and killing early barbs. It is difficult chasing the King's 150 gold without something on four legs! (Both Horse/Wheel are on the road to Democracy).
The Egyptians have a much higher probability of starting with Masonry than any other civ. (62% of all their starts). Perhaps this is some historical genuflection to building the Pyramids. To test the "Historical Wonder" connection we also looked at the Greeks' chances of Bronze Working for building The Colossus. This worked out at 68% - which is good but not spectacular - compared to the Russians 76%. The theory cannot be extended to the Babylonians and The Hanging Gardens as they start with Pottery only 10% of the time, lagging behind half a dozen other nations!
The story so far has only concerned 2.42 on a Large Standard Map. Nearly 1500 trials were done on the same map size in MP (5.4). There was no discernible difference in the pattern of techs and civs. The same trend followed a Normal 2.42 World, though the number of techs per start is reduced to about 1.4. (It is still possible have 8 starting techs) On a Small 2.42 World the most techs recorded was six. When the World becomes smaller other factors come into play.
At the start the civs are placed in order of colours - beginning with white and ending with purple. To compensate for poor locations more science is sometimes given to the last empires to be placed. This process actually results in the techs per start being higher (around 1.6) than the medium map.
TABLE 5 - AVERAGE TECHS PER CIV COLOUR (Small Map)
(Based upon a 630 sample)
White = 1.27
Green = 1.23
Dark Blue = 1.33
Yellow = 1.33
Light Blue = 1.97
Orange = 2.1
Purple = 2.3
Compensations by way of science for poor terrain are by no means uniform. The orange and purple people often end up on an icecap with only a couple of techs in the deep freeze.
Proximity to other civs can influence the starting techs. Whilst there is a trend of compensation it is very random at times. (The Dateline can also mess this process around). The same story is true for huts and specials. However, if the settlers start on or very near a river - then there is a strong chance that few, if any, techs will be given. Whilst this kind of statement undoubtedly invites stories about encartas of knowledge floating down a river longer than the Amazon - the frequency of occurrence is the significant factor!
In nearly 5000 game starts, over many months, we have obviously generated a considerable amount of data. If anyone has need of detailed information about the chances of the Russians starting with 5.86 techs on a wet Wednesday - we will do our best to help!
-------------------
Research by both Gits - summary by SG (2)
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