Question on TEC late-game tech

from Sins Forums

I can't figure out how the special TEC late-game ability "Cultural Monopolization" does. I tried getting it and seeing what happens, but I cannot really see the effects. What exactly are rebellions, how do they occur, and how often? I'm not terribly interested in knowing whether this is effective in MP, just basically what it does (for "fun").

"Pervasive Economy" puzzles me too. Again, I tried researching this to see what happens, and I am not sure when and if I am making money. Am I supposed to get something if other factions (or even I myself) purchase something from the black market, or if anyone builds a ship / structure, or if people trade stuff?

thanks so much

8,473 views 4 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top

If I'm not mistaken, Cultural Monopolization is one of the culture upgrades, so all it will do is increase the culture generation rate of your Broadcast Centres and increase the AM regen bonus. I think what you're talking about is Insurgency. Researching this causes rebel ships to randomly appear at enemy planets, which act like the neutral militia at the beginning of the game - they attack anything, and use strictly TEC ships. Rebels are very seldom an actual threat - static defenses can handle them most of the time - and are really just nuisances to your opponent.

Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top

Pervasive Economy causes you to earn money every time an enemy spends money on ships or structures.  Like most high-end civic techs, I can't recommend it for 1v1 matches, but it's very useful in 3v3 or larger.

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Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top

I can confirm that it works, as I tested it in a LAN match.

Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top

Here's the breakdown of why pervasive economy isn't as godly as it might sound.  Let's say your opponent earns 100 credits per second, but suffers 50% upkeep.  He has 50 credits per second to spend.  Suppose 30% of that goes to techs and the black market.  That leaves 35 credits per second for spending.  Of that, you earn 20% from maxed out pervasive economy.  That works out to... 7 credits per second on average.  Needless to say, if you're running 8 labs and have maxed out the trade tech path as TEC, this should already be pocket change for you.  This is why it's easy to think pervasive economy does nothing.

As I said, I do not recommend this in a 1v1; your opponent needs to have a massive income for it to ever be worthwhile over just investing this directly into trade or military firepower, and generally speaking if a TEC player allows an Advent or Vasari opponent to get this far in a 1v1, he's already lost.  However, in a team game, this tech shines beautifully, and can really turn a game around.