Researching the effect of tech-leakage

[Corbeau]

Howdy y'all.

I'd like to check what is the real effect of the tech-leakage option that has been activated in this game. Specifically, I'm interested in how much it helps players who lag behind to not lag behind too much. This is why I need some hard data.

I understand that some may want to keep their stats confidential. Some don't care, but still. If you like, feel free to put information here, as a follow-up in this thread. However, if you'd like to keep it anonymous, send it to my e-mail:
p_dalibor (the weird sign whose history it would be worth investigating, too) net (a teeny tiny dot) hr

I don't need anyone's name or to know who you are, I just need the data.

If you are willing to take part in this research, please send me the following information:
- number of cities
- Settled Area (Menu: Civilization -> Demographics)
- Economics (Demographics again)
- current government and a rough timeline of your government changes (if you remember)
- your overall average science percentage since the start of the game (your estimate)
- HOW MANY techs you have discovered so far

To make data more comparable, please send your data on the NEXT turn - T78.

To make things more fair, I will not release full data here, but only send it by e-mail to people who send it to me. Here I will only share my general conclusion (which doesn't necessarily have to be correct )

Discretion is guaranteed, especially if you send the data anonymously, but even if not, this is only for the feature investigation purposes.

Thank you.

[xandr]

Do you also want our locations and number of units in border cities?

[HanduMan]

Would you like to explain your research methodolgy a little bit? What kind of conclusions will you be making out of above descried data to determine the effect of tech leakage?

[Corbeau]

I want to compare the overall size of the civilization to the number of techs researched to see how they relate to each other. If I am right, large difference in size shouldn't reflect on the difference in research. What I want to see is how much is a *typical* smaller nation behind in research behind a *typical* large nation and does it have a chance for survival in a direct conflict. In other words, I'm trying to see 1. if not-spreading and staying on your island and building up is a viable strategy, and 2. how newbie-friendly is this tech-leakage feature.

For example, I have one comparison already. In this case, a 1:2 ratio in number of cities and 5:8 in Settled Area resulted in falling behind for only *two* techs (out of ~30). Now I'm trying to get a wider view, trying to weed out data noise created by potential bad decisions, different sequence of governments, shifting the sci/tax priorities and so on.

[Corbeau]

Do you also want our locations and number of units in border cities?

I find your lack of faith disturbing. *breathes heavily*

[CedricD]

Which value do we have for tech_leakage: 1, 2 or 3?
If 1, than tech leakage is very neglecting: say, if you have embassy on 2 neighbours out of 40 players (i.e. 5% of players),
it will reduce tech price by only 5%, and only for those techs already known by neighbours with embassies?
I've noticed this 5% boost around T40...
But now I'm also see a large difference in some top-tech prices of the same level, don't know if they are really leaked from ALL other nations?

; Technology leak from other civilizations
; 0 - No reduction of the technology cost.
; 1 - Technology cost is reduced depending on the number of players
; which already know the tech and you have an embassy with.
; 2 - Technology cost is reduced depending on the number of all players
; (human, AI and barbarians) which already know the tech.
; 3 - Technology cost is reduced depending on the number of normal
; players (human and AI) which already know the tech.
tech_leakage = 1

[wieder]

We have this.

; 2 - Technology cost is reduced depending on the number of all players
; (human, AI and barbarians) which already know the tech.

[mmm2]

here is formula it uses to calculate it:

base_cost *= (double) (players - players_with_tech);
base_cost /= (double) players;

so for example, if tech costs 1000 bulbs and you are 2nd out of 50 to research:
1000 * (45 - 1) / 45 = 978 bulbs
or if you are last to research:
1000 * (45 - 44) / 45 = 22 bulbs

so decrease of 2.22% for each player who has tech already...