How to hurry tech research ?

[DrSpike]

I like Sistine's, particularly if religious. But I rarely put everything on the line for it, because mostly it just isn't worth it. If I felt for some reason that I wouldn't get many luxuries after Navigation then I'd try harder, but otherwise let the markets do the work.

[Hermann the Lombard]

Originally posted by vmxa1
The point about the lux slider is one I am not so sure of. Once I start using it, it almost never gets down to zero again.

...except when I screw up after checking the tech rate I can get at 100%...

[Aqualung71]

Originally posted by Hermann the Lombard


...except when I screw up after checking the tech rate I can get at 100%...

You're not alone there

[Arrian]

Growth. Growth = more pop, more cities, more tiles worked, move tiles developed (more workers to build those roads and whatnot).

Corruption fighting is also key - building courthouses and positioning your Forbidden Palace (something I feel I'm still learning to do right under the new 1.15b patch corruption rules). It does seem that an old rule of thumb works ok: stick it in a former capital of a neighboring civ.

Of course city improvements and government choice matter too, of course.

But the basic thing is to learn to love growth, not fear it. Growth (and therefore granaries) is good. Then you need to learn how to harness the power of population: good expansion & development (workers!) of your terrain.

There are lots of threads in the "Must Read" section that should be useful. However, be aware that most, if not all, were written while playing vanilla Civ3 or Play the World, and so do not take into account the changes incorporated into Conquests (the change in industrious worker rates, the change to the Forbidden Palace, etc). It's a good place to start, nonetheless.

-Arrian

[Jon Shafer]

Republic/Democracy, tight city spacing, well-developed cities and relatively good land can get you 4-turn techs starting near the end of the Medieval Age. Mix in a bit of war and a well-placed FP and you can keep that pace until you blast the SS off.

The biggest factor in this is having enough cities, and having them large enough to produce large amounts of gold (as Arrian said, love growth... it's the most powerful factor in Civ 3).

[Dominae]

Tech every 4 turns is great, but it can often be at the expense of the overall tech rate. For the fastest pace, you want to be researching techs every 4 turns yourself, without gpt "contributions" from the other civs. Thus they're researching at full capacity too, and the whole world advances very rapidly.


Dominae

[ducki]

Quoting Thriller(I think)

but probably more assuming you beeline for Theology then switch down to Invention

Is this common amongst the higher level players?

Generally I pick either the top or the bottom(often with a Chivalry detour, though) and stick with it. What's the reasoning between going partway down one path and then the other aside from enabling wonders?

Just wondering.

[DrSpike]

Agreed. Theology then Education and then continuing on that path means that even emperor level AIs will pick up Feudalism, Engineering, Invention and maybe even Gunpowder. It's useful for early finishes to stay on one path.

[Jon Shafer]

Depends on how the game is going. If I have good land, secure borders and am happy with my situation I'll take the upper path. If I gots some peeps to kill, then I take the lower one.

[ducki]

Oh, I meant the switching, Trip - going to Theo then changing branches to Invention(or vice versa).

Is it common to move from branch to branch to open up wonders, or is there another reason, or do most players pick a branch and hope the AI researches the other one?

[Jon Shafer]

Depends on how many AIs are left alive and their current research capabilities.

I usually just stick to one path or the other, often the top one. Sometimes when the AI really sucks at research I do both paths...

[vmxa1]

Ducki there are reasons to do either. One reason to switch is that you have the GL and want to avoid Education as long as you can. You also may want to make an attempt to get an SGL so you may well be researching at a near max rate, in spite of the GL.

[Theseus]

DAM, I'll jump in with just a few comments, adding in to the excellent advice provided above:

* Roads and rivers: Commerce is exchangeable for tech research. So, in addition to Arrian's comments re growth, you need to maximize gpt.

* Exploration: Have you seen all the commentary re Scouts and Curraughs (including 'suicides')? Being an early tech broker due to contact advantages is very powerful.

* Tech leads: Do NOT research what the advisor suggest... learn what is maximally tradeable to the AI civs. Gaining a branch tech lead (do you understand that concept?) is invaluable, especially for the several tech 'chokepoints' or 'corridors'.

* Extortion:
*

[Aqualung71]

ducki, in response to your original question.....I agree with what you've said (though I'm not sure what higher level players actually do ). I was only providing an example of how the time between Theology and Economics can be greater than it appears on the tech tree.

While my approach is flexible depending on what techs the AI already has and so is driven largely by trade opportunities (ie, how quickly can I get as many techs as possible)....my preferred approach is to go for Theology first, then continue on to Education and Banking/Astronomy - gotta get those Universities built! Hopefully, I will pick up Engineering in a trade and also Chivalry. I rarely research Invention and Gunpowder myself. I may then drop down to the lower branch to go for Chemistry.....or if somebody already has it, possibly research an optional tech on the upper branch such as MT in order to provide trade opportunities. As I don't often go for Magellan's or Smith's, I rarely research Economics or Navigation myself and sometimes only pick them up after entering the Industrial age.

[vmxa1]

Smiths will pay for a lot of research.