AI tech progress

[ck07]

RTW2 1.26. In a game as Germany, by 1912-ish I had the largest budget, by wider and wider margins over time. 12% research effort throughout. From 1921-ish, by the end of every year, 95%-100% as many techs as the sum of the tech "frontiers" for that year.

My opponents, with somewhat -> much smaller budgets and 8%-10% tech effort, had these #s of techs as a %age of mine:

FR, 1/1921    90%
UK, 4/1926    97%
UK, 1/1932    95%
US, 1/1938    97%

This implies some mechanism that keeps the AI from falling much behind the player:
-Do they get a bonus based on the player's tech level?
-Do they steal more techs than I have noticed? (To test the latter, for the last ~10 years I have reloaded every month that I get notice of a theft by UK, US, or an "unknown power.")

If there is such a mechanism, might the player be better off not seeking a tech lead?

[wlbjork]

There are many mechanisms in play.

Diminishing returns: If 8% research generates 1000RP, 12% will generate about 1250RP. You get more RPs overall, but fewer per % point.

Time braking: All technologies have a service date, and researching before this date applies a research penalty (the penalty is higher the earlier the research attempt is made). Some technologies are skippable, increasing the chance of a penalty being applied to your research.

Espionage: As you say, technologies can be stolen outright. I *think* there is also a research point bonus to nations with lower technologies to represent more minor espionage efforts.

Proliferation: Some technologies can spread for free when you build a ship using that technology.

Ship purchase: Buying ships from technologically advanced nations generates bonus RPs and can even grant technologies outright.

You can gain a tech lead, but it's not really worth the effort and the funds are generally better being invested in more ships.

[ck07]

Jul 6, 2022 21:29:35 GMT -6 wlbjork said:

There are many mechanisms in play.

Diminishing returns: If 8% research generates 1000RP, 12% will generate about 1250RP. You get more RPs overall, but fewer per % point.

Time braking: All technologies have a service date, and researching before this date applies a research penalty (the penalty is higher the earlier the research attempt is made). Some technologies are skippable, increasing the chance of a penalty being applied to your research.

Espionage: As you say, technologies can be stolen outright. I *think* there is also a research point bonus to nations with lower technologies to represent more minor espionage efforts.

Proliferation: Some technologies can spread for free when you build a ship using that technology.

Ship purchase: Buying ships from technologically advanced nations generates bonus RPs and can even grant technologies outright.

You can gain a tech lead, but it's not really worth the effort and the funds are generally better being invested in more ships.

Thanks. The 1st is not enough to account for it and the second doesn't as the first three measures were taken when no one had any techs beyond date and at the time of the 4th the U.S. and I had the same ones. #4 can't account for al of it since many tech fields are passive bonuses. #5 has not happened.

Have not tried to count how much #3a accounts for; not enough, I think. #3b, if true, might help account for it. 

[JagdFlanker]

Jul 6, 2022 21:29:35 GMT -6 wlbjork said:

Ship purchase: Buying ships from technologically advanced nations generates bonus RPs and can even grant technologies outright.

i'v never known about this or tried it - anybody actually experience this?

[dorn]

Yes, you can get forward in some invention or your admiralty get some thinking as you know it using it.

[wlbjork]

Jul 9, 2022 5:07:10 GMT -6 JagdFlanker said:

Jul 6, 2022 21:29:35 GMT -6 wlbjork said:

Ship purchase: Buying ships from technologically advanced nations generates bonus RPs and can even grant technologies outright.

i'v never known about this or tried it - anybody actually experience this?

It's a useful tool if playing a technologically backwards or small nation (e.g. Russia or Chin China).

Some 'technologies' are so obvious in hindsight that merely building a ship using that technology can be enough for engineers to perform an epic facepalm - though I only remember that happening once, quite early on in my gaming toime.

[cv10]

With regard to the UK and US, both also have the "technology leader" national trait along with Germany. Even with a larger budget and 12% research budget (limited by diminishing returns), it might not be enough to pull significantly ahead of them given all of the other factors at play other people have listed.

[JagdFlanker]

interesting, the very rare time i build in a foreign shipyard it's always during the initial setup when there's no tech to steal yet lol

since i play with randomized tech (all techs 50/50) and no proliferation on all techs it's good to know i might be able to pry some missing tech from another country

[arminpfano]

Thanks for this insights, didn´t know half of it. Have to try it.

One tactic which works very well in my experience is concentrating on a few techs disciplines and falling back in other, less important ones (for instance subs for me - I never build them). Then other powers (those which are not outright unfriendly with you) will offer you advances in these disciplines. You can save a lot of RPs, especially if one of the technology leaders is your ally.