What technologies don't the AIs research?

[Theseus]

Sorry for the semi-mangled grammar, but I was trying to match "What technologies don't you need?" and make another point.

I've been proselytizing about gaining a tech lead in branches that the AI doesn't research, or at least prioritize.

It occurs to me that the best of all worlds is clearly when it's a tech that you want / need (I know, not quite the same as the other question, which was about progressing through the eras).

I can't for the life of me remember what techs are best for this purpose... my standard approach is just to NOT research whatever the science advisor suggests.

So here's the question:

What should you research that is both critical to your game, but that will probably be something that you can sell like mad?
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[Edit... ongoing contributions]:
[Edit again... split the list up]:

Critical path:
Currency - Zachriel
Steam Power(!) - consensus
Music Theory* - The Yankee
Ecology - Carver

Others:
Free Artistry - The Yankee
Printing Press - Carver
Democracy - Sheik

I know that Music Theory is not necessarily critical, but I put a very high priority on Bach's, so...

[Sheik]

Democracy

[Carver]

Ecology and printing press. In a game where I was the first to get ecology I traded it for all the techs I was missing (like 8). I wound up owning everyone's gold, having all luxuries coming in and having a map of everything.

[Theseus]

Excellent.

I'm going to edit the first post, and try to make a running list.

[Keeper of Hell]

Obviously, a lot of how fast techs are researched has to do with how many AIs are present on the map. Ideally, you should make a game with yourself and one AI player, then turn off your tech research and watch what techs the AI researches and in what order. Of course, this would get tiresome quickly, especially since you'd need to play similar games five or six times with different civs to make sure that your results are reasonably accurate, but if there's a pattern to be had, this is the way to have it. If you don't want to do a bunch of boring experimental games, then the only way to get data is to try and watch AIs in a normal game. From my own observation, AI civs seem to neglect the lower tech path (the Medicine through Electronics branch) in the Industrial Age in order to hit most of the middle areas (The Corporation, Industrialization, etc.). The difference is sometimes not as noticeable, and it could be attributed to the AI's tendancy to research early techs in each Era rather than following one linear tech path to the exlusion of others. You can normally exploit this by going for one branch exclusively and then trading your "specialization" for the more general, ground-level techs that the AIs have been working on. This works particularly well in the Industrial Era, when you can speedily make your way to Scientific Method and grab ToE, thus making your specialization even quicker and enabling you to quickly pick up the techs the AI has been working at.

[Kingof the Apes]

I have seen many variables.Usually the computers get knights, but in a game I'm playing now no one has researched chivalry, but greece is one tech away from military tradition

[Kingof the Apes]

I have seen many variables.Usually the computers get knights, but in a game I'm playing now no one has researched chivalry, but greece is one tech away from military tradition

[Jaybe]

Originally posted by Kingof the Apes
I have seen many variables.Usually the computers get knights, but in a game I'm playing now no one has researched chivalry, but greece is one tech away from military tradition

Sounds like it was a peaceful game during the chivalry stage. There just didn't seem to be a need for it ...

[Wormwood]

I find that the AI, in the ancient age, often tends to research the upper branches, and tends to have currency and construction before, but I can usually get to Monarchy first, and selling it is qite lucrative.

[dojoboy]

Originally posted by Wormwood
I find that the AI, in the ancient age, often tends to research the upper branches, and tends to have currency and construction before, but I can usually get to Monarchy first, and selling it is qite lucrative.

This has been my experience also. Even on monarch level, and sometimes emperor, I reach monarchy first and trade for several techs & gold.

[dojoboy]

Originally posted by Wormwood
I find that the AI, in the ancient age, often tends to research the upper branches, and tends to have currency and construction before, but I can usually get to Monarchy first, and selling it is qite lucrative.

This has been my experience also. Even on monarch level, and sometimes emperor, I reach monarchy first and trade for several techs & gold.

[The Yankee]

Depending on whether you're the only one who has it and if the wonder has not been built, the AI sometimes gives some good scratch for Music Theory and Free Artistry, as well as Communism. You may get a few techs out of each, but at the very least you can get some gold and/or luxuries.

[Theseus]

Yankee, I'm gonna throw up Music Theory and Free Artistry, which I have also seen ignored by the AI civs, but I'm pretty sure they go for Communism fairly regularly.

BTW, everyone should feel free to argue about this list.

(uh, what am I thinking... 'poly=argue)

[Hurricane]

If you start as religious, Polytheism is the best bet as first tech. You can often research this one first of all even at 40 turns. Writing is a good bet if you start with Alphabet.

I'm not so sure about Music Theory. My experience is that some AI always will go for it very fast. They probably like JS Bach's as mush as I do.

[Arrian]

Theseus,

I could be wrong about this, but it seems to me that the AI will tend to ignore dead end techs if someone (hmm... ME) has a large tech lead.

In my current game (Aztecs... still haven't gotten the hang of the best use of Jags, but things still went well), France is the top remaining AI civ. They researched their way straight to communism, but still didn't have military tradition (which I then sold to them for 100gpt, almost hoping they would pick a fight). I think the AI would have researched MT if I hadn't been so far ahead.

Speaking of the AI beeline for communism, this means it is slow at getting the really important IA techs. It seems to LOVE medicine, and will gladly offer up its left nut for it. Given time, however, the AI will research medicine on its own.

My own observations confirm that they tend to ignore printing press. That means demo too, unless they are given printing press. Once they have that, they will research demo. France did.

Music Theory will be ignored if Bach's has been built. Otherwise, they will go for it. *good job there, Soren*

They seem to always ignore Free Artistry. *another good job there, but it would have been better to remove it entirely, or change its purpose*

-Arrian