IMHO, the Civ2 science system was very boring, you chose your research, got the advance, then chose another one. I especially don't like the idea of being able to plan your research from the start.
I propose that before you have scientists in your cities, you would get 'breakthroughs' rather than advances. These are discovered pretty much randomly. But each breakthrough is made in a particular city.
If your people are well educated (if you have built schools and universities), breakthroughs are more likely. Also, the breakthrough fits the city, for example, if that city has alot of farmers, farming breakthroughs are made. There would still be pre-requisites like Civ 2.
For example, you might be playing the greeks, and it is early in the game... suddenly a message pops up:
quote:
An explorer in Corinth has drawn a record of the main features in his region, calling it a "map". This marks the invention of map making
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Once you start employing scientists in your cities, you can start telling them what to discover with something like the research choosing model in SMAC. But instead of you accumulating beakers, it is random, but the probability is based on how many scientists you have, if you have improvements like the research lab and university, and how much of your budget is spent on science.
This idea might make it harder and less predictable for the human player, especially at the start of the game.
