Research Basics

[riscadw]

So I have been noticing that come late game, I am pathetically behind in research in most of the games I have played in ETW. This is the first total war since Shogun that I have played but come from a background in Civilization. My questions are:

How many colleges should I have as an Absolute Monarchy/Constitutional Monarchy?

Should I have just 1 gentleman per college or more than 1?

What all makes up my research output?

How do I steal research?

How do I stop people from stealing mine (if they can)?

Are there any tricks to trading AI technologies and is it even worth it in ETW?

Thanks for all the help.

[MatrixStorm]

With tecnologies you can get an (big) advantage against your rivals both naval, military and economic.

1. I always use one college. Try to upgrade them if you can, this is not neccesary.

2. This varies.
If you have 5 gentleman, and 5 colleges, this are your options:

- Put them in one college.
This makes them work together and research faster.
In one USA campaign, my research time was halved with 3-5 gentleman.

- Put them all in different colleges.
For every college you got, you can research one more technology.
E.G. you have 5 colleges so you can research 5 technologies.

3. This is a question I can't understand...

4. Just take your gentleman and put him in a rivals school.

5. They can steal your technologies, I'm afraid...
This happens mostly with your enemies.
If this happens, you've lost your advantage.

To stop them, simply take them out.
You can do this by assasination with a rake (however, the odds are 21-36% that he succeeds...) or take one of your gentleman and let him duel with him.
Before you do the last option, you need to look to the traits of the gentleman.
Normally, you have 50% chance that your gentleman succeed.
With some traits his chance grows in one of the duel ways (fencing or shooting).
If you duel, a clip will appear.
They are quite funny (like your gentleman being stabbed in the leg and retreating with his opponent wounded after him) so I would suggest to watch them.

6. You can trade technologies with another nation and vice versa

However, technologies are very expensive and nations will ask regions, big sums of money or other technologies for them.
You can combine some things with limited military acces (10 turns) and some money, or trade a 'useless' technology for another.

If it is worth doing, depends on the situation, money spend, how much gentleman you have and the technology.
It is not worth to give 3,5k for a plug-in bayonet or a carabine (low research rates and pretty useless), try to trade things like square formatin and canister shot.


Some tips:
Research you bayonets to ring bayonets ASAP.
This give your units better melee attack than your enemy, and it's also neccesary for the construction of your military buildings.

[riscadw]

With regard to question number 3. What I am trying to say is that in Civilization, the speed at which you research a technology is based on how much gold you have, what you have the science slider on, and the different science bonuses from buildings. Are gentlemen the only thing that affect the research rate in ETW?


Thanks for the great reply. My next question is, When you move a gentleman to another's college, does it steal the tech over time or in 1 turn. I bought the game on steam so I got no manual. Sorry for the minor questions.

[NJGOAT]

1. The number of colleges are entirely up to you. The drawback is that schools create unrest in the region, so it is beneficial to generally not have more than two in a region as an absolute monarchy. That being said, spread them out. I generally try to have 3-4 schools. 1 main school researching land military, 1 researching farming/industry and 1 researching enlightment/industrial, the final school is dedicated to naval research. Each school you have, the more techs you can research at one time.

2. Gentleman add to the research points of the colleges they are based in. Generally gentleman will provide bonuses to certain technology areas. You have to look at their profile to determine where they help. This is where dedicating certain schools to certain areas comes in. For example, if a gentleman has bonuses for industrial research he won't be much help in researching military techs. Group your gentleman as they spawn based on their strengths. I generally try to keep 3 gentleman in each school if I have enough to go around. If not then they are assigned based on their strengths. They will also develop these strengths over time as well when the college they are in completes research in a particular area.

3. Your research points are generated each turn and they are determined by 4 different things:

- Each college has a base amount of research points depending on the type it is. Schools are the most basic and modern universities are the most advanced. Each higher level gives you more research points.

- Your gentleman add research points to the college they are in based on the bonuses that they provide.

- Certain technologies (namely Enlightenment techs) grant percentage bonuses to the amount of research points you have each turn.

- Your cabinet ministers provide % bonuses to the research points when you research certain technologies. I think the only two who give bonuses to technology are the Army and Navy ministers to those areas respectively.

4. You simply move one of your gentleman to another countries school. You will be given the option of just visiting or attempt to steal research. This generally has a low chance of working. To answer your follow-up, it is a one time shot, not something that happens over time. You can try once each turn whether succesful or not.

5. You can't outside of using your gentleman to duel theirs (only if you are both European) or using a Rake to assassinate them. I have also toyed with keeping a Rake in my school as a counter-espionage unit. I don't know if this has any effect, but since I use Rakes on a limited basis, why not.

6. The AI uses a cash value formula to determine the fairness of deals. It values technology very highly. When trading techs the "level" of the tech determines its value. If it is higher up the tree, the more it is worth. Generally in the early game the AI is more open to trading techs. A 2 or 3 to 1 ratio from you to the AI will generally get you whatever tech you want. Sometimes a little cash can seal the deal as well. It is also doable to trade a high level tech for a lower one, like ring bayonets for the first level farming tech. That deal can usually get done.

[Maximus Lazero]

3. Your research points are generated each turn and they are determined by 4 different things:

- Each college has a base amount of research points depending on the type it is. Schools are the most basic and modern universities are the most advanced. Each higher level gives you more research points.

- Your gentleman add research points to the college they are in based on the bonuses that they provide.

- Certain technologies (namely Enlightenment techs) grant percentage bonuses to the amount of research points you have each turn.

- Your cabinet ministers provide % bonuses to the research points when you research certain technologies. I think the only two who give bonuses to technology are the Army and Navy ministers to those areas respectively.

In addition, some cities let you build scientific buildings, like observatories. These provide research benefits, spawn gentlemen, and can also give nice happiness bonuses.

[happycynic]

I use 5 or 6 schools by the end of the game, regardless of government type. The trick is to place them in provinces with 4-5 point major cities like London or Vienna. That way the theater building can offset much of the unrest. Also don't be afraid to trade technologies. The AI almost always gets the best of the deal, but every little bit helps. Make one or two technology trees a priority. If you get a nice advanced, say, infantry tactic before everyone else you can trade it to multiple allies for different techs.

[Alf]

a correction to njgoat's post

the research points also got bonus from science building at major towns. observatory adds something like 3 or 5% to research point

[MortenJessen]

Hi there.
Only a little correction from me: It is only possible to have four gentlemen at the time working in each school, college or university at any time. Sure, you can place 203 gentlemen in each, but still, only four has an effect on research.
Y.S.
M. Jessen

[riscadw]

Thanks guys. I was in the dark about this. Steam should really have a manual that is easily available. Also, I wish ETW had a better trade layout for techs. It's time consuming going to each country to see what techs they have.