Creativity?

I heard it works by adding percentage bonuses to research here and there. In game you do not see the effects, I think you can see the effects in the debug log?

Creativity may give you free progress towards your current research goal each turn, but the bonus is usually pretty small.

Ahh, ok. I've noticed sometimes the progress will go from like 8 to 6 weeks, thought maybe that's what it was. I'll have to try it without that and see how it goes.

There are only two noticable effects on science progress - 25% anomalies and the economic slider bars. Nothing else has a noticable effect... you can even capture an enemy science capital with a 700 science bonus involved and the noticable effects from it are typically SQUAT!

Hi!

Ermmm, in my previous game when I colonized a class 18 radioactive planet I got a "54% bonus to research" event. And after that a +700% research bonus tile on the surface. Needless to say that planet alone produced ~1/3 of all research of my 20-planets empire. When the game ended it was producing ~2k research alone. A MEGA planet for the slowest-tech game.

BR, Iztok

"I heard it worked by..."
"Creativity may give..."


The Creative attribute has been discussed in so many threads, and never has a definitive answer been presented - even by a dev.

Never, as far as I recall.

Even the devs say... it might do this... it might do that.

I have experimented with it, and I have seen no change whatsoever, no matter the amount of Creativity I impart to myself. It could be 10%, 50%, 100%, or 1000%.
No change to anything in the actual game, as far as I can tell.

It is a total waste, and should not even be considered when selecting ability bonuses.



If even the devs can not, or will not, tell us what it is for, and no change can be seen in the game by using it - how valuable can it really be???

And perhaps more to the point...

WHY is it even in the game in the first place?

Here's another maybe to this list of maybes.

In one scenario, while in the early stages of the game, I spoke with the Altarians to trade techs. The had phasors available. When I checked what techs thay had researched I noticed a large gap in their beams weapons tech. I checked the other races and no one was that far ahead. I have noticed this about them in one or two other occasions.

Perhaps creativity has more impact for specific races. I haven't experimented with playing as the Altarians to test my creativity. I stick with abgilities that are certain to bring about victory (economy, morale, etc). When I rely on "luck" and "creativity", I find I can rely on quickly losing and starting a new game.

Why can't we get a definitive answer? Do the devs themselves not know?   

MAY in this case refers not to doubt about its function, but about the random frequency with which it occurs. It does most certainly give random free RPs--play with Creativity then go look at your debug.err.

Yes but i'm talking about a 'noticable' effect on tech production. Your talking about building up a planet over time.

If you have a saved game... reload it and do this experiment; Give that planet to another race and then see if science production bothers changing - my bet is that it won't!

of course you will see the effect if you try to move the slider bar. I guess i'm just a bit frustrated because nothing i do apart from finding anomalies ever changes tech production 'noticably'.

edit; also it would be nice if once apon a time when i build a science capital or the omega lab that i can look and see 3 turns knocked off my research! but no, nothing, always no change.

Hi!

IMO you have too many planets. With my 20 planets 1k research had quite an impact, with your 100 it's simply too small to be noticeable.

BR, Iztok

True... i don't like playing maps anything less than large but only because i carn't seem to get a decent game out of anything less.

On a medium or less map it is very difficult to get a 'balanced' game. I will either dominate the AI and get bored or i will quickly loose.

Yeesh, with all the unknowns in this game, it makes me think that the devs either: a) plan on making money with a full-detail strategy guide, or they view the game as a piece of fine modern art, full of hidden meaning, rife with symbolism, and completely open to interpretation.

hahaha, but to compare software with modern art, you would have to have a painting which about 20 different people contributed too.

And imagine how it would be virtually impossible to get each different painter to follow exactly the overall theme of the painting in an identical way to each other!

So then, it actually does something, but only sometimes, maybe, if you're lucky.

So it still seems like a total waste of ability points, since increasing Research Ability gives the bonus 100% of the time and using Creativity is a real hit and miss bonus - mostly miss.

Hi!

Your condition is pretty much met: they had quite some programmers and artists involved in development of this game ...

BR, Iztok

Actually, from what I understand, the team working on GalCiv2 is very small - especially compared to other companies that produce games.

I may go off on little things like the uselessness of the Creativity attribute, but I have nothing but the highest regard for the GalCiv team, and Stardock as a whole. They are both amazing, and awesome.

Possibly, but creativity is a pretty cheap ability which helps. Also your research ability is dependant on your production sliders - usually i avoid all abilities linked to production sliders since ingame i don't wan't to feel restricted in my production settings because i don't wan't to waste my ability bonuses.

Just started as the Altarian with tech trading off - we shall see what happens

I'm dying of creative curiosity here. Are you still cooking that session as the Altarians?

Possibly, but creativity is a pretty cheap ability which helps. Also your research ability is dependant on your production sliders - usually i avoid all abilities linked to production sliders since ingame i don't wan't to feel restricted in my production settings because i don't wan't to waste my ability bonuses.


What if you plan your economy so your always using your industry 100% and then change military,economic, and research spending as needed? I typically lower my tech and increase my social spending when I upgrade my research facilities.

At least with using a research bonus you can control it to some extent through the sliders.

Creativity is pure random chance, which is extremely hit and miss.
Mostly miss.

Research ability points get themselves cut by a massive 70% (66.6%) even when gov spending is 100% just by balancing the three production sliders. This massive percentage loss hits any ability points relating to any of the three production sliders, that's why their so crap and i never use them.



Creativity might be pure random chance, but at least it is giving me 100% of the bonus!

Research ability points get themselves cut by a massive 70% (66.6%) even when gov spending is 100% just by balancing the three production sliders. This massive percentage loss hits any ability points relating to any of the three production sliders, that's why their so crap and i never use them.



Creativity might be pure random chance, but at least it is giving me 100% of the bonus!

Creativity might be pure random chance, but at least it is giving me 100 % of the bonus!