Cost per research point calculator

[Yossar]

Lore master 150 gold 12 research

Possibly the best Drain 3 researcher in the game

[ April 13, 2004, 10:24: Message edited by: Yossar ]

[CayseP]

Fix: The C'Tis shaman is sacred (currently it seems non-sacred and similar to the empoisoner), which helps C'Tis somewhat on a longer time scale.

[guybrush threepwood]

Originally posted by PDF:
How is maintenance cost calculated ?
In the game it's surely rounded (up or down) somewhere, to have entire figures. I've heard that it was done on a per unit basis, so that can really change the values on the long run (50-100 turns).
Anyone has the formula ? IW only ?

hmmm... all I can say to this is what Graeme Dice said a few Posts ago:

Originally posted by Graeme Dice:
I would imagine that it adds up the upkeep for all units keeping the decimal points, then just drops whatever is left at the end. I know that it does store the decimal points up to the very end though, as the devs have mentioned this.

Of course, whatever method is actually used in-game is what should go into the calculator. Does anyone know for sure?

Also, I am still hoping that someone could clarify whether or not a unit gains experience for researching (in addition to the 1xp/turn that every unit apparently gets).

[Duncanish]

But does a unit not gain some "research xp" or some such in addition if it is just hanging around doing research?

Don't believe they do. Researchers I keep at home studying never gain levels very fast, and I've never had one go past two stars. But they do gain experience faster if they get involved in a skirmish or two.

[Graeme Dice]

Originally posted by PDF:
How is maintenance cost calculated ?
In the game it's surely rounded (up or down) somewhere, to have entire figures. I've heard that it was done on a per unit basis, so that can really change the values on the long run (50-100 turns).
Anyone has the formula ? IW only ?

It's in the wish list thread that no rounding occurs till the very end.

The Wish List Thread

[guybrush threepwood]

Originally posted by Duncanish:

quote:

---

But does a unit not gain some "research xp" or some such in addition if it is just hanging around doing research?

Don't believe they do. Researchers I keep at home studying never gain levels very fast, and I've never had one go past two stars. But they do gain experience faster if they get involved in a skirmish or two.

---

OK, I assume they don't then.

I have added XP into the picture now - of course assuming that the units are doing nothing but researching from the day they are created (in a real game this does not have to be so of course). The extra XP not surprisingly give an advantage to low cost/low research level researchers in the long run compared to higher cost/higher research level ones.

[Gateway103]

IIRC, all commanders (and possibly units too, never bothered to check) gain 1 XP per turn just by doing anything not XP related (i.e. not fighting, or entering war academy, and not enhanced by items). So A researcher would gain 1 XP per turn, whether she researches or not.

For example, in my long SP testing game as Atlantis, which finally ended on turn 221, all mages in my capitals were ofLevel 3 & 4, whom I know were hired in the early days to fuel my research. And since I was the only water nation, these mages never seemed battle at all (sitting home and hit books). So this seems to collaborate my memory that commanders gain 1 XP per turn at minimum, as some of these researchs would get 200+ XPs (level 4), while the rest were level 3, as observed.

Just an observation.

-Gateway103

[Chris Byler]

The research formula:

Research = Sum of all mage levels + 2 + Experience bonus +/- Sage bonus/Witchdoctor penalty +/- Scale adjustment + Item bonuses

Mage levels are all magic paths except divine and unholy. Commanders without any mage levels can't research at all. Includes bonuses from path boosting items (e.g. Earth Boots).

Experience bonus is +1 rp per star.

Sage bonus - various units have this including sages, loremasters, the Great Sage pretender, adepts of the metal orders. I think it's +3 for most of those units, but I'm not sure of the exact value. There's also a heroic research bonus, I think - I assume this works like the sage bonus, I don't know if it's cumulative with a sage's natural bonus if a sage gets the heroic research ability.

Witchdoctor penalty - I've heard that they are bad at research now but haven't played Machaka recently.

Scale adjustment - +1 RP/magic scale, -1 RP/drain scale. Ulm Master Smiths ignore drain but do benefit from magic (but Ulm pretenders are affected normally).

Item bonuses - various items give RP bonuses of different sizes.

Research can't be reduced below 0 but can be reduced to 0 (non-experienced level 1 mage in drain-3).

[Graeme Dice]

Originally posted by Chris Byler:
Commanders without any mage levels can't research at all.

Commanders that don't list a research ability can't research. Arco Golden era philosophers have no magic ability, but can still research.

Witchdoctor penalty - I've heard that they are bad at research now but haven't played Machaka recently.

Witchdoctor's now research at a base level of 3, instead of the 5 they would normally have with three magic skills.

Research can't be reduced below 0 but can be reduced to 0 (non-experienced level 1 mage in drain-3).

I take it you've never played a drain 3 nation. The minimum research value is 1, and never lower than that.

[ April 13, 2004, 18:24: Message edited by: Graeme Dice ]

[guybrush threepwood]

Originally posted by Yossar:
Lore master 150 gold 12 research

Possibly the best Drain 3 researcher in the game

Added. (and its even the best drain 2 researcher )

Originally posted by CayseP:
Fix: The C'Tis shaman is sacred (currently it seems non-sacred and similar to the empoisoner), which helps C'Tis somewhat on a longer time scale.

wups. Fixed.

Hmm... maybe I should add a way to show the data I am using so its easier for people to spot my bugs

Update: The calculator now includes a link to a page which shows the unit data that is used for the calculations.

[ April 13, 2004, 13:15: Message edited by: guybrush threepwood ]