Dynamic tech costs

from GalCiv3 Forums

One of the things I'd be interested to see in GC3 is that when you mod an existing or new tech, the cost for it in-game is determined on the fly according to a few factors.

For example: ability bonuses on the tech, new components or buildings made available, the existence of similar components or buildings, and any racial competencies or penalties with that particular type of technology, as well as the usual modifiers for galaxy size and game pace (tech speed).

You might recall that some races in GC2 had a harder time researching some techs because they were costed differently on purpose.

The reason for this is to make it easier for modders and developers alike to fine-tune game balance, without having to manually re-cost a lot of technologies by hand, but still allow differnt races to retain flavour in their tech trees.

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Reply #1 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Having just finished modding a tech tree myself, this sounds like a good time-saver. Of course, this would have to be optional, because the good ol' Human touch can balance the game better (ideally). These auto-values would make good "Starter points" to give you a ballpark estimate of where the ideal value is.

 

Also, keep in mind that the tech trees aren't meant to be balanced; they're supposed to be asymmetrical and race-specific in a way that enhances their strengths and highlights their weaknesses (you mentioned this). For instance, the Altarians have weaker and more expensive weapons, while the Drengin are the opposite. Krynn have an excellent culture and cheap conversion techs,  while the Korath have a very expensive Spore tech.

 

I'm not sure if an automatic algorithm can balance with race disparities in mind, but if it's an option, then go balls deep mah friend.