You seem to be stuck in this beta ...Why are you looking and comparing with what we have on a test beta server ??? i am talking when the game goes to live server ... Are you trying to tell me that with 1 million player base with unlimited neighbors on the map you cannot get 200% bonus by regular neighborly visits???
I think you don't understand me.
I read every posting very carefully but nearly all are telling the same.
Nearly all are written from an perspective where culture wasnt an issue at any given Point of time.
Hence yes - you could reach 200% in the past with only a Hand full of flowers. As culture spender. But you should have monitored the whole Situation a bit better.
After a few days you needed 4 Hands full of flowers to maintain 200% Bonus. And by the time you normally (as a human) Research holy Codex and then the butcher you are at a Point thet you Need so damn much culture Surplus to maintain your precious 200% Bonus that you loose more productivity by achieving it then you got from the Little Bonus.
Even if you drop to 125% you get more out of you economy then trying to reach one of the last 2 bonuses by your own.
And even with "unlimited" neighbours which will be very limited - the last 2 bonuses under the old System would have required more then double the culture that all you culture buildings give you to reach the second Bonus. So even with unlimited neighbours it was impossible to reach the max Bonus. It was even nearly impossible to reach 170%
Now when you can reach 150% by your own it IS possible to reach 170% by neighbourly help.
And yes i know Khebelns City. He has not even 40% of his space covered with culture buildinngs and only 20% of his cultural buildings are Diamond ones. I don't know how much polishes he would Need to reach the 125 or 150% but it should be much more possible then before to reach 150% then reaching 140% before this update.
I never said that i like the culture buildings giving too Little culture for their size. Heck the Diamond ones gib often 50% more culture while requiring 30% less space - this i offended many times but ist unlikely that it will be changed.
But to end my post.
125% is supposed to being achieved by your own. 150% with neigbourly help or decet amount of Diamond culture buildings. Same went for 120 and 140% in the old System.
160 (old System 10%) is supposed to be reached by exzessive neighbourly help which is without guilds nearly impossible. Due to human nature only take and never give in 75% of all cases.
170% is supposed to be reached by few Diamond culture and exzessive neighbourly help.
The old 200% were supposed to be reached with exzessive neighbourly help AND investing horrible amounts of Money into the game.