In the current MP game we all took Physical Brain on turn 3, and started to build the Automated History Analyzer.
Which is a logical consequence of the AHA being very good to get, and the sooner the better.
But that makes it nearly a no-brainer (only Science-Oriented Species may decide to postpone it, and most of the time it's not a good idea to do so).
A way to diversify the paths taken by Empires would be to have Policies get more expensive the more they have already been adopted by other Empires, as I proposed elsewhere.
So each Empire would choose which Policies he'd like to adopt, and try to get it early so that it doesn't cost him too much.
Another one would to have a building also available at start or after a short research, something like a PARC (Pan-Aliens Recollection Center) which would cost around half of the AHA (so it's a viable option to get it first).
PARC could be built only alongside the Imperial Palace, and destroyed with the Imperial Palace.
For each Tech that the player would be first to Research, the PARC would provide a focused +1 Influence bonus.
If the player is second to get the tech, the PARC provides +0,5
Third, +0,25
Fourth, +0,125
Fifth, +0,05
It could also make the corresponding tech 1% less expensive to other players.
Only for techs researched after PARC's completion (so whether you try to build the AHA first to get more techs earlier, or to build the PARC first to get the bonus from getting these techs, is a real choice).
That would encourage players to either bet on their ability to out-research other players, or to try uncommon tech paths.
The reward is good enough (especially long-term) to make it worth pursuing it, and as such to push towards imagining how tech paths less traveled could work for one's Empire: but also not that strong that researching useless techs would become a valid strategy.
Yes, in the long term, it would raise the Influence of most players (the only way not to get a bonus from it would be to pursue with obstinacy tech paths that are already explored by other Empires with better Research, rather than trying to figure out one's own path).
To me it's a feature, not a bug : the Influence roadblock that current gameplay entails is too early imho.
Postponing it, with the PARC bonus, from around 8 planets to around 10-12 (at which levels it's still a challenge production-wise to settle what you want) would better the game.
Which is a logical consequence of the AHA being very good to get, and the sooner the better.
But that makes it nearly a no-brainer (only Science-Oriented Species may decide to postpone it, and most of the time it's not a good idea to do so).
A way to diversify the paths taken by Empires would be to have Policies get more expensive the more they have already been adopted by other Empires, as I proposed elsewhere.
So each Empire would choose which Policies he'd like to adopt, and try to get it early so that it doesn't cost him too much.
Another one would to have a building also available at start or after a short research, something like a PARC (Pan-Aliens Recollection Center) which would cost around half of the AHA (so it's a viable option to get it first).
PARC could be built only alongside the Imperial Palace, and destroyed with the Imperial Palace.
For each Tech that the player would be first to Research, the PARC would provide a focused +1 Influence bonus.
If the player is second to get the tech, the PARC provides +0,5
Third, +0,25
Fourth, +0,125
Fifth, +0,05
It could also make the corresponding tech 1% less expensive to other players.
Only for techs researched after PARC's completion (so whether you try to build the AHA first to get more techs earlier, or to build the PARC first to get the bonus from getting these techs, is a real choice).
That would encourage players to either bet on their ability to out-research other players, or to try uncommon tech paths.
The reward is good enough (especially long-term) to make it worth pursuing it, and as such to push towards imagining how tech paths less traveled could work for one's Empire: but also not that strong that researching useless techs would become a valid strategy.
Yes, in the long term, it would raise the Influence of most players (the only way not to get a bonus from it would be to pursue with obstinacy tech paths that are already explored by other Empires with better Research, rather than trying to figure out one's own path).
To me it's a feature, not a bug : the Influence roadblock that current gameplay entails is too early imho.
Postponing it, with the PARC bonus, from around 8 planets to around 10-12 (at which levels it's still a challenge production-wise to settle what you want) would better the game.
Statistics: Posted by LienRag — Sun Sep 22, 2024 7:55 pm