does Domai cheat at research?

[bvanevery]

I've seen 2 games now, where Domai has done inexplicably well at research.  He's supposed to have a -2 Research rating, yet he often cranks out midgame Build technologies before I can.  For a time in one game, he was Fundamentalist Free Market Power.  That's a -4 Research rating!  I was probably playing Yang at the time.  I think I had normal research, every Research Hospital gewgaw you could think of, and was roundly kicking ass.  It was a little easier to swallow when he switchted to Democratic Free Market Power as he did have big cities.  Maybe Free Market is really worth a lot.  But I couldn't help think he was either popping Artifacts, or he was plain out cheating.

This past game, I was the Cybernetic Consciousness.  I have a +2 Research rating!  I had every Network Node and Biology Lab you could want, more cities than him, don't think his cities were larger than mine as Hab Complexes hadn't been available to him very long.  I'm on Build only focus.  How the hell does he belt out all these Build oriented SPs before I can even get them, like The Ascetic Virtues?

I'm seriously wondering if the AI actually ignores the faction research ratings.  Does Transcend goose the AI research somehow, so a -2 really becomes a +2 or something?

I've not paid attention to the Artifact habits of AI factions.  I do see them sitting around in their cities, which makes me think they're not quick to pop Artifacts.  I try to seize them, which seems bugged.  Sometimes I get them, other times they're destroyed, even if a message says I captured them.

[Kirov]

AI get various bonuses depending on the difficulty level. I don't remember the specific figures right now, but you can see their industry bonus when you probe an AI faction while on Transcend. It's massive. The lab bonus is a bit harder to calculate, but I believe it's still quite substantial. You can google the details, but yeah, don't expect the AI to play fair on higher levels.

[bvanevery]

Hrm, are you talking about something you only see when you first infiltrate a faction?  If so, I would need to start a new game to see it.  Among factions I've infiltrated, I can't find any kind of readout screen with any kind of faction bonuses on it.  Web searching was also not particularly helpful on the topic.  Do you have any suggestions for better keywords to try?

[Kirov]

I meant something much simpler - when you infiltrate someone, you can click on their base and see their production. The number of minerals in a row indicates their Industry bonus or penalty. The default is 10 and it changes by 1 for each bonus point. Therefore, early Domai should have 8 mins/row and 6 with Planned/Wealth ("+4 IND bonus"). However, I'm pretty sure that on Transcend he's got additional 2 or 3 bonus, as other factions do. Just take a look at their bases, I'm not sure about the specifics at the moment.

It's more tricky with lab bonuses, but I can assure you it's substantial. AI get techs cheaper, but since the formula for tech cost is absurdly complicated, as so many formulas in this game, it'd be hard to give you a figure. The last time I read about that was ages ago. Likely it was on the apolyton.net boards, where back in the day all SMAC-related content was simply the best. If you're that interested in SMAC (and I'm happy to see that! ), just perusing that board would reveal many interesting gems. I frequented it in 2003-2004, but by that time the game was already "cracked" so you can go earlier.

[bvanevery]

Ok, you mean the production of a unit or facility in progress.  I think I found once upon a time that smaller maps gratuitously decrease the cost of a lot of things for everyone, so one would want to assess on a Standard map or larger.  Domai currently shows 5 bars across a row.  He is Fundamentalist Planned Power, which should give him +2 +1 -2 = +1 Industry.  I'm looking for a unit whose minerals cost would be easy to compare.  Ok, if I designed a Trance 3-Res Sentinel, with my +0 Industry it would cost me 30 minerals to produce.  It costs him 15 minerals!  He is operating as though he had +5 Industry, "Mineral costs decreased by 50%!!!"  That's the maximum bonus possible from a social choice.

I'll look at what other factions have in a moment.

Difficulty:

Transcend.
    1 pop before encountering drones.
    AI production cost is at 70%.
    Random events don't occur until after turn 25.
    Command Center Maintenance starts at 1. Then it goes to 2 when you discover fusion power. Then 3, when you discover Quantum Power.
    Higher Ecological Damage.

70% is equivalent to +3 Industry, "Mineral costs decreased by 30%!"

The Spartans have 6 bars across a row.  That would be equivalent to +4 Industry.  They're Fundamentalist Planned Power, giving them -1 +1 -2 = -2 Industry ordinarily.  So they have, in essence, been given +6 to what their Industry should be??!?

Morgan shows 6 bars across.  Fundamentalist Simple Power, should be at -2 Industry.

Caretakers show 5 bars across.  Fundamentalist Planned Survival, should be at +1 Industry.

Lal shows 6 bars across.  Democratic Planned Power, should be at -1 Industry.

So it looks to me like the AI factions are given ridiculous bonuses, but they are capped at +5 Industry.  Which means Domai doesn't have as much of an advantage compared to other AI factions.

Unless the display is simply limited to 5 bars across minimum.  Checking that.  No, to produce a Trance 3-Res Sentinel costs Lal 18, Domai 15.

Hmm, faction, should be, is actually:

Santiago, -2, +4
Morgan, -2, +4
Lal, -1, +4
Domai, +1, +5
H'minee, +1, +5

So it's not simply a +6 bonus.  There's some kind of multiplier or order of operations or rounding.

[Buster's Uncle]

Small maps gratuitously decrease the cost of research for sure.