Divide Pts Evenly research wastes points?

Neo · #1 September 10th, 2001, 05:21 AM

When I choose the Divide Pts Evenly research option and if any of the projects researched have less points remaining than the fractional part of the evenly divided points, that the excess portion of the fractional points for that project are just discarded when they are completed next turn? Then why would anyone ever want to use the Divide Pts Evenly option and just throw away research points instead of the sequential research which never loses points as long as you have enough projects queued up to use all the points? Why not add the excess points for those projects into the projects that won't get completed next turn instead of just discarding them?

Will · #2 September 10th, 2001, 05:57 AM

I usually just use divide evenly until I get some projects that have 0.1 years left. Then I put those at the top of the queue, and my most expensive/urgent project after that, and deselect divide points evenly.

I don't know if the excess points are diverted away to another project...

capnq · #3 September 10th, 2001, 05:57 PM

It's useful when you want to research something that's really expensive, but not urgent. You can put the expensive project and a cheaper one together in the queue, and keep replacing the cheap one when it finishes.

I'm not sure the total lost by the division would add up enough to be significant. I do the same micromanagement that Will describes, also.

------------------
Cap'n Q

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the
human mind to correlate all of its contents. We live on a placid
island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was
not meant that we should go far. -- HP Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu"

Lastseer · #4 September 10th, 2001, 07:38 PM

Divide points evenly just seems stupid to me. Why you ever want to use it?

Lets say I am researching three projects that cost 30k each. Lets also say I am making 10k points a turn.
If I research sequentially I get advance 1 on turn 3, advance 2 on turn 6, and advance 3 on turn 9.
If I divide evenly I get all three advances on turn 9.

Why purposely delay? It seems either most important job first or shortest job first in a sequential manner is best.

Am I missing something?

Andr�s · #5 September 10th, 2001, 07:58 PM

It shouldn't be on by default

Neo · #6 September 10th, 2001, 08:09 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Will:
I usually just use divide evenly until I get some projects that have 0.1 years left. Then I put those at the top of the queue, and my most expensive/urgent project after that, and deselect divide points evenly.

I don't know if the excess points are diverted away to another project...

If they were going to be diverted, it should be simple enough to change the algorithm to divide those excess points up and add them to the "Cost Per Turn" for the other projects that aren't going to get completed that turn. But since the Cost Per Turn is always equal for all the projects in Divide Pts Evenly regardless of how many points they need yet to get completed, it appears that they are just discarded.

I think this is a bug, since they could fix the algorithm easily to not discard those points in Divide Points Evenly, and then you wouldn't have to do your extra little micromanagement trick. I'll add it to my wish list.