[Freeciv-Dev] Re: (PR#3672) [sug] Sharing techout in Teamgamees

["Per I. Mathisen" <per@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sun, 9 Mar 2003, Arnstein Lindgard wrote:
> > This is a very interesting idea. Combined with tech lease, it could create
> > some very interesting team set-ups, eg two researching players doing
> > techpool leasing their techs to two war players.
>
> Leasing out knowledge, Per?:)

Technology is applied knowledge. It isn't just the dry bookly knowledge,
it is experts, know-how, organizational systems, scientific paradigms and
so on. To lease a technology to another nation means making the other
nation capable of building the _products_ of the technology, instead of
actually getting the knowledge behind the technology.

Think how the countries of the north outsource industrial production to
countries in the south. If these developing nations do something that is
unpopular with those who own the technology, then the factories and the
experts who run them are pulled out, and the design-knowledge supplied
from the north is stopped.

So when you lease a technology, you actually get a lot of experts who help
you produce stuff - they don't teach anyone how to produce it, they order
people around to do what is necessary to get things produced. When the
lease is broken, the experts go home. Also the leasing out nation sends
critical parts (eg computers and superconductors) along that can't be
produced in the leasing nation, and without these production also stops.

Anyway, that's the in-game rationale for the feature.

> Techs can simply be stolen, but industrial parts can be contracted
> from allies.

That is what the tech lease idea is trying to capture.

> It would be interesting if Freeciv could simulate the synergies of
> globalisation, to give cooperative nations an advantage over aggressive
> players who go it alone.

Well, whether synergy or more exploitation is the main effect of
globalisation is debatable. Also, advantage to cooperating in freeciv is
already big: You can share techs and maps. With techpooling and tech
lease, the possibilities and rewards for cooperation become even greater.

  - Per