Buy or research?

[Lung]

Originally posted by Solver
Nice input, Arrian. It's just a shame to see people to convert to warmongers, though.

We warmongers have to stick to what we're best at

[Tuberski]

When I played Civ2 I would always build until I had tanks. Now I can't do that. I actually find the game to be more fun than it was before BECAUSE of Warmongering.

[Tuberski]

However, I like to keep my research bar at the point were I am going to make the most money for the fewest turns of research I can get. If going negative in money will get me that important tech a turn or two earlier, then I will go negative.

But getting a Tech in 4 vs. 5 turns, I'll take the 5 turns and the large jump in income.

[Shaka II]

I generally research in Ancient era Horseback Riding and Iron Working and then shut off research for a long long time. It's just not possible to keep up with the AI in research at Emperor, until the economic infrastructure and empire size are there. This is usually the onset of Industrial era or later for me. AJ/Dr. Spike say it is even later for Deity.

There are certainly exceptions to this of course. Monarch is the last level at which pure researcher/builder can be done IMO.

I don't see this as a bad thing. The military expansion required at the harder levels, particularly in the Ancient and Middle Ages is a tremendous amount of fun, whereas building by itself can get a bit tedious.

You just have to have enough money to not fall behind in certain vital techs like Chivalry, Military Tradition, etc.

[Solver]

I didn't try Deity yet, but I'll be upset somewhat if there will be no Researcher/Builder way to complete it, for racing for the military techs (Horseback, Iron), and shutting research down is somewhat contrary to my playstyle.

[DrSpike]

Hehe, keep hoping. I felt the same way when I started deity, and did grab a couple of spaceship victories because the AI is dumb at building them at times. But I had to grovel for most of the game. The thing is without warfare you'll fall behind in tech, and never have the best military. You are always on the back foot, and unless you are very lucky you wont get anything like the optimal amount of cities. The best a builder can do is fight a lot early, from say 1000BC to 1AD and take over 1 civ almost entirely. Then churn settlers to fill in the gaps and you'll have enough territory to keep up with the AI in tech, probably through maximising cash. You needn't fight except for defence post AD.

[Jethro83]

Having converted to being a warmonger, I tend to buy their techs early on when I'm not yet ready to smash them. Once I have a decent army in place, I'll go to war, and then stop short of wiping them out, sue for peace and demand every technology they have. If they don't comply, then I'll further reinforce my 'persuasion' by striking harder at more of their remaining cities. The later part of the middle, when I rule most of the lands I see, and have a decent infrastructure, I'll then go to peace, switch to Democracy, and start my own research into the Industrial age and beyond.

[Panag]

Re: Buy or research?

Originally posted by Solver
It's my observation that many people prefer to run science low, and buy it from the other civs. Others still follow the traditional reseach methods.

I have tried out both, and I must say I strongly favor research. Not only it's my style, it also seems better from the strategic viewpoint. If you buy techs, you won't get any faster than the best AI civ, while if you research, you can actually get ahead in tech.

Above that, if you research and decide to sell the techs you got, it's an instant source of income, one that can keep you running more science for even MORE tech.

What's your take on this?

hi ,

tax 2 or 3 , science at least 5 never below that , normal 7, lux 1 maybe 2 , ....buy what's there if possible , trade only if its worth it , get lib and univ very early , ..

have a nice day

[Solver]

Panag, right, thats similar to my approach for getting as much science as I can.

[Panag]

Originally posted by Solver
Panag, right, thats similar to my approach for getting as much science as I can.

hi ,

however , you have to be carefull , if you start at deity the AI has a lot of units , and might sometimes put you in a tight spot , ...
he might start to blackmail ya , .......and then you , as the human player have to swallow any hard feelings , ...

of course , when you have a good tech race , and you get some key techs first , like fission and others , you can maintain peace with the civ's true power , ....

have a nice day

[Txurce]

On occasion playing Emperor, I've taken the tech lead early in the middle ages - right around chivalry - and held it for the rest of the game. To do this I played traditional Civ2 style: maxing science at around 90%, building science buildings in every city, maxing out the cities. But to get there, I warmongered myself into a dominant position, and extorted the techs that allowed me to catch up and switch to republic. The only way to generate the science necessary to hold a tech lead is through early warfare (and the right circumstances among the other civs).

[Panag]

Originally posted by Txurce
On occasion playing Emperor, I've taken the tech lead early in the middle ages - right around chivalry - and held it for the rest of the game. To do this I played traditional Civ2 style: maxing science at around 90%, building science buildings in every city, maxing out the cities. But to get there, I warmongered myself into a dominant position, and extorted the techs that allowed me to catch up and switch to republic. The only way to generate the science necessary to hold a tech lead is through early warfare (and the right circumstances among the other civs).

hi ,

it depends , every game is different , and then there are the levels , so many factors , so many possibilities , .....

have a nice day

[Xarathas]

Civ3 has really turned my strategy upside down. I was always more of a builder than warmonger.. but somehow it's just not that viable in Civ3. I remember I used to love starting out on isolated islands in Civ2, but now I dread the thought of it. It's just Soooooooooo hard to keep up in Civ 3 (in higher lvls) when you are isolated.


Not saying that I'm completely tossing the builder strats out the window, but it's just so hard to do without warring.

My usual strategy goes as follows -

1) Research up to Literature (if I can get good amount better than 40 turns, then I will set science appropriately, if not, set science to minimum).

2) Get Great Library, turn science to minimum. Horde money and go to war (if applicable).

3) Once in Middle ages, turn science to as high as possible, beeline for chivalry, then theology. Turn science back down to around 40~50, and go do more warring I try to war as much as possible when I have an advantage (Chivalry, Military Tradition, Motorized Transportation) and stop when that advantage is gone.

4) By the Industrial age, I should have all the libraries, universities, etc. setup and ready to pull ahead in the research race. Idealy, my golden age would be triggered somewhere at this point after I turn democracy, but it really depends on what civ I'm playing since some are hard to keep from triggering early on.

Of course, not all my games go as planned, but this is usually the route I try for.

I tried pure builder/research strats, but it just doesn't work nearly as well.

[Panag]

hi

tip ; in the editor , put duration of golden age at 30 turns , we all love it , ......

have a nice day

[Marquis de Sodaq]

I've found research is better. The only real reason is that the AI will often not sell me a tech for any less than my firstborn. My neighbor gets it for a song, they demand 10g/turn from me. So I just pump up research. If the AI trades me into the back of the pack, I'll steal some tech from a weenie civ that is no threat militarily.