I won, but I'm still behind.

[Pacific_Wing]

I finally won a game the other day (aside from winning by default at forced retirement). It was a conquest victory. I beat the French, Egyptians, and the Iroquois on a small map. I got lucky and had all of the resources, and I started combat early so the game didn't last very long. I'm still not a very good player.

I used to have trouble getting up to the final tech levels by the end of the game, but now I'm up to the modern age. (Whose idea was it to put Kenny G music in the game, anyway?). I came within 30 years of finishing the space race when the game ended at 2050.

What I need to know is if there is any surefire technique for getting up to the later advancement levels earlier in the game. It seems like I'm just starting to build some of this fancy hardware and the game is just about to end.

Also, fraxis, if you're reading this: put a feature in the editor that allows you to control how many years go by each turn. I think time spins along WAY too fast.

Cheers,

-Pacific_Wing

[Skeeve]

Hi there Pacific Wing,

I've had a similar experience with playing on a tiny map. I think that you need to play on larger maps to enable vast empire building that leads to more science funding.

Here are some additional points to remember to keep the science moving along:

• Roads/Railroads on every workable square
• Trade your new technology to other civilizations for Gold to keep funding your research
• Exchange Tech for Tech in the early ages.
• If you've got a city that you just don't want (or it's about to be obliterated by an enemy - trade it for Tech or gold! You'd be surprised what you'll get for it. It seems the computer is willing to part with its mother for a city.
• Build lots of science improvements - libraries, university, etc. But make sure you've strategically placed your Forbidden Palace so that you won't lose too many funds to corruption.

IMHO, corruption is a little out of hand in this game.
Oh, well, there's clever ways around it. Take the "IFE" strategy, for example.

Well, good luck!

[Sevorak]

The key, as always, is a core of 10-12 (depending on map size) large, productive cities that will fuel both your tax collection and your research. Establish this core at the minimum by 100-200 AD (generally earlier). Build libraries and universities everywhere. Improve the terrain around all of these cities - especially with roads. Get the Colossus/Copernicus/Newton's combination in a city, then move the capital close or build the Forbidden Palace close so that you get low corruption in that city.

In the last game I played at Chieftain, a week or so ago, I industrialized France around 1380 AD. I think I modernized some time in the 1800's, though I don't recall exactly.

-Sev

[Falconius]

Originally posted by Skeeve
It seems the computer is willing to part with its mother for a city.

Not always. I was toying around with offering mutual protection pacts to all the other AI civs in my current game. The Germans went for it for one tech. The Americans wanted a tech and a city.

But the French would not go for it for any price. I even offered five of my best cities (I was only testing them-- wasn't really going to go through with it).

It's good to see the AI behaviors vary their patterns depending on the situation.