My favorite four (with the exception of transcendence):
Virtual World (as Provost)
Cyborg Factory
Planetary Transit System and Space Elevator(subsequently utilizing colony pods with drop ability!)
Citizens Defense Force

Initially, the Weather Paradigm and Command Nexus can save alot of time and is most palatable (constructed from a city with a pop. over 5, with a Recreation Commons, Recycling Tanks, and two formers working for it)

What do you think http://forums.civfanatics.com/ubb/frown.gif ?

I'm an energy and research fiend, so my favorites are:
Merchant Exchange
Supercollider
Theory of Everything
The Space Elevator
The Network Backbone
The Longevity Vaccine
I put all of these into one base and defend it well! The base has to have at least one energy bonus tile and good production or the scheme fails. Acually, the best site for a superscience base (in my games) is at the top of Mount Planet. I then make this base my headquarters so that I don't lose energy due to inefficiency. This strategy has worked for me every time, no matter what faction I play as.
There are two other Secret Projects that I must have at all costs. They are The Weather Paradigm, and The Command Nexus.

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"Shake the world beneath your feet up"
--Johnny Clegg

And The Cloudbase Academy. Then every city can build satellites and get full bonuses from them too!

Cloning Vats
Cloning Vats
Cloning Vats
Cloning Vats

is that order

The Planetary Transit System.

3 workers are better than one!

Might I ask what the Cloudbase Academy is? From the description on it I am guessing it is the Space Elevator. Do different countries have different names for the secret projects?

The Cloudbase Academy is a new Secret Project via Alien Crossfire. It gives a free Aerospace Complex in every base so that you build elite air units.

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"Shake the world beneath your feet up"
--Johnny Clegg

i think everybody forgetes the human genome project not only does it give you an extra talent but when you get one of those messages that says a disease has broken out at one of your base if you have the project
youll get another message that says your base wasnt affect b/c u have the project

Command Nexus
Planetary Transit System
Space elevator
Supercollider
Weather Paradigm
Human Genome
Virtual World

Playing as the Hive, the last two help get rid of happiness problems, and with command nexus, PTS, and automatic perimeter defense at every base new bases (or conquered bases) are fairly strong, so you don't need to worry about overextending defense forces.

Virtual World
Cloning Vats
Citizens' Defense Force
Network Backbone

I almost always play as Provost Zakharov, so Virtual World is essential. The Cloning Vats is needed for high population growth (but of course Super-Tensile Solids must be researched in a hurry), Citizens Defense Force - oh, how I love it (Perimeter Defense everywhere!), Network Backbone for Zakharov reasons again.

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"Go to the place that should not be named with your beliefs, Miriam Godwinson! All your New Jerusalem are belong to US!!"

Academician Prokhor Zakharov - "For I Have Tasted the Fruit"

Where is the Human Genom Project ?
I think if you play a non military fraction this is a very good wonder too.

Cloudbase Academy
Virtual World
Xeno-Empathy Dome
Empath Guild

I have given significant weight to how early they ar available
without that priority then

Cloudbase Academy
Network Backbone
Cloning Vats
Virtual World

I agree with all who puts the Cloning Vats in top of the list. But nobody said the Hunter-Seeker Algorithm! http://forums.civfanatics.com/ubb/cyclops.gif

While hunter seeker is nice to have, all it takes is 2 probe teams per city to make up for not having it. Unless you are on a huge map this cost about the same so...

The only bad thing about not having the Hunter Seeker is that an computer gets probe immunity (not in expansion but...). At times loose have give hunter seeker to a submitted faction so that I could give them tech without my enemies stealing it from them.

While the pop boom can be done with social engineering, the loose of the penalties for power and thought control and great. This is why I love the Cloning Vats. I always want to rename my faction the Empire when I get it though.

Only 2 probe teams? I receive hordes of 6 or 7(those damned Believers http://forums.civfanatics.com/ubb/mad.gif...) probe teams attacking my bases. I always try to get the HS Algorithm before other projects in the same technology levels.

Well, Sense I play as the Believers most of the time, I never have that problem much.

Cloning Vats
Hunter-Seeker
Citizens Defense Force

And then I tailor to the needs and abilities of my faction:

Morgan: Merchant Exchange
Spartans: Command Nexus (Insane morale!), Maritime ctr Centre
Hive: Xenopathy Dome (all of those units flying through the fungus...)

I think Merchant Exchange is the worst SP. Useful at the beginning, but in the middle of the game its energy bonus is hardly noticeable.

The ME is more of a 'Combo' project. It's effects are best utilized when combined with the Supercollider, Theory OE, Network BBone......

...and The Longevity Vaccine. Frequently, in my games, my superscience base is the fastest growing, and most productive base, meaning that it's subject to drone riots if I'm not careful. Since I usually use simple or green economics, I can keep the drones down at all of my bases, plus get an economic boost for the the superscience base.

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"Shake the world beneath your feet up"
--Johnny Clegg

I forgot to mention The Space Elevator. I put this in my science base because it doubles your energy production at the base. Naturally, with all those SP's in one base, you'd best believe I keep it well defended! In addition, I always make this base my headquarters, so there is no inefficiency. I always try to build my science base atop Mount Planet, but the Borehole Cluster, the Sunny Mesa, or the Uranium Flats work just as well. I once had a base that was putting out over 400 energy per turn!

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"Shake the world beneath your feet up"
--Johnny Clegg

I am by far too indecisive to name a few Projects I like more, but I shall attempt to create a small list of favourites. Now of course in truth these vary depending on just which faction I play with, and on how well the game goes. If I am leading by far I will always try to build all the projects I can before the AI does, but that is hardly always a possibility. :rolleyes:

Now I'll make a "top five" here. In no special order mind you, just ten Projects I like very much.

1. Weather Paradigm ( despite knowing full and well that having a few extra formers well makes up for the bonus WP gives I still like it. It's a fairly useful long-term project, especially when building those time-demanding Boreholes )
2. Cyborg Factory ( needless to say it is useful for *any* faction to receive that lovely all around +2 bonus to morale, one does not even need be militaristicly aligned to see the benefit of having superiorly trained troops )
3. Cloning Vats ( super-sized cities in no-time, not only does it remove the bad parts from Thought Control, but it also makes the cities grow enormous in the blink of an eye. Kind of kills the usefulness of the Plantery Transit System for one )
4. Hunter-Seeker Algorithm ( whilst probes of your own may block out enemy ones, I find it so much more comfortable to be positively IMMUNE to probe operations rather than just being protected from them. Not only is it annoying to rebuild lost probes but they don't quite work to defend your entire armed forces either )
5. Citizen's Defence Force ( admittedly building and keeping Perimiter Defences up is not much of a hassle, but for much the same reason as the HS I like CDF. With it you will never be without defenses, and that is nice. The silly AI can't sabotage it and you don't have to worry about building it )

There's a list for ya. Of course, like I said, I like them ALL! But I tend more towards "global" projects than I do such ones as Merchant's Exchange, Supercollider etc, because I do not like ones only affecting one base ( if globally in the big picture )

:nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke:

had been a long time since I played SMAC

but I remember the last time I played, I ended up with all the secret projects :D

I believe I played at the 4th or 5th difficulty level

What is the best project depends on the level of difficulty I am playing, with what fraction, what state my cities are in, etc. Most wonders are quite nice, but you can certainly win without.

One of the most useful projects I find are:
The Weather Paradigm, formers work faster and can do more, which means more resources quicker, and faster growth.
The Cyborg Factory, saves a great deal of building, and increases productivity.
The Human Genome Project, always good to help you when your cities get annoying and revolting al the time.

Probably you wont need at the lower levels, but heck, you dont need any wonders there and I can't remember when I played lower then trancend.