To become a more versatile player I recently started using SE almost exclusively for my early-mid games. The trouble I'm having is keeping SE viable past Liberalism and especially past Democracy. In a recent game on Emperor I had a very strong early game where I got Pyramids early and kept a tech lead on the AI until Liberalism (definetely stronger than I would have with CE). Then I started falling behind. Beelining to Biology helped in the short-term but the AI still ran away from me technologically. Had I been running a full-blown CE with the amount of land I had at that point I woulda crushed the AI in research.
So, is SE a viable research alternative to CE in the late game? Or can it only serve a support role for essentially a warmonger/domination victory (e.g Nationhood, State Property)? If you do transition from SE to CE then how and when do you usually start? How do you generate cash other than Merchants (excluding shrines)? In my view, the strongest feature of CE late game is its incredible versatility. What would you say is the strongest suit for late game SE?
So, is SE a viable research alternative to CE in the late game? Or can it only serve a support role for essentially a warmonger/domination victory (e.g Nationhood, State Property)? If you do transition from SE to CE then how and when do you usually start? How do you generate cash other than Merchants (excluding shrines)? In my view, the strongest feature of CE late game is its incredible versatility. What would you say is the strongest suit for late game SE?