[Freeciv-Dev] Superficial analisis of AI research speed.

[Manuel Gutierrez Algaba <irmina@xxxxxx>]

Well, first of all, my lynx doesn't work properly, secondly
city walls are too expensive.

Today, I've played at another nice game of freeciv, following these
premises:
- it's better to have lots of cities than to have few cities
- it doesn't matter how well equiped your cities are 

So I chose despotism , and for a long time I run under it. 
The surprising thing happened when I did the switch to Republic 
( as I always
do ), then science rate rose up to 60 % ( sixty per cent ).
Most surprisingly , I developed science as fast or even faster 
than my full grown counterpart ( a nice AI ), and my empire was
composed of a lot of small ( 5,6,4...) cities. After a while (10-20
-30 turns , I can't figure out now )
science rate fell down to normal (?) 17 % .

Then, I have these conclusions:

- AI speed of research  relies in its way of deploying as many 
cities as possible without necessarily  equipping them .

- Somewhere in the code, or somehow the code helps this behaviour,
perhaps some explicit factor, perhaps some kind of variable feedback,
I don't know.

- It'd be fine ( or interesting at least ) to control speed of 
research by dividing it by the number of cities. Perhaps a greater
and finer way of obtaining AI hardness degrees could be easily  
obtained.

Even so, it's quite interesting and fine to have found the key
of that impressive AI. I have the save-games of it. But It'd be
interesting to experience that strategy with more people,... or
to play at it a bit more.

Regards/Saludos
Manolo