Curve of learning:

Master the science curve in Sid Meier's Civilization VII! Learn how difficulty affects research costs and how to calculate your next breakthrough.

Hey there! Let's talk about how science advances work in Sid Meier's Civilization VII. It might seem a bit complex at first, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be able to plan your research much more effectively. Think of it like this: the game gives you a set amount of science each turn, and you use that to unlock new technologies. The trick is that the cost for each new technology increases, and how much it increases depends on the game's difficulty setting.

If you keep your science production at 100%, you'll notice that the costs for advances are pretty consistent, forming straight lines rather than curves. They're basically arithmetic progressions. Here's a breakdown of the base costs for each difficulty level:

• Chieftain: 10, 18, 24, 28, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, 60, 66, 72, and then you add 6 for each subsequent advance.
• Warlord: 10, 18, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 72, 80... here, you add 8 each time.
• Prince: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70... a steady increase of 10 each advance.
• King: 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72... you're adding 12 each time.
• Emperor: 14, 28, 42... and here, you add 14 each advance.

See how the numbers change? This also means that if you're playing on Emperor, it's going to take you more than twice as long to get new technologies compared to if you were stuck on Chieftain for too long. It's a trade-off for the challenge!

Now, these numbers get even bigger if you lower your science production percentage. Let's use Prince as an example: your fifth advance normally costs 50 science points at 100% production. But if you drop your science production to just 10%, that same fifth advance will suddenly cost you 500 points! Ouch.

There's actually a formula to figure this out:

Science advance need = NS * LV * SD

Where:

• NS is the number of technologies (or 'expertises') you've already researched.
• LV is the difficulty level multiplier:
  • Chieftain = 6
  • Warlord = 8
  • Prince = 10
  • King = 12
  • Emperor = 14
• SD is the science distribution number, which is basically your science production percentage divided by 100 (so 100% is 1.00, 10% is 0.10, etc.).

Understanding this formula will help you plan your research path, especially when you're trying to hit specific tech goals or trying to keep pace with the AI on higher difficulties. Keep an eye on your science output and adjust your city focus accordingly!