Post Lib tech path on the race to space.

Space is my favourite victory condition, I just seem to enjoy playing out the whole tech tree in a nice peaceful late game win. As I've slowley moved up the levels the old space race is getting closer and closer so I've begun to really improve my plan for the most efficient space win and I've pretty much got the space parts techs down to tee. Now I'm looking at all the stuff prior to that.

I normally choose whether or not to go space at libralism or earlier so I'm looking to find what the best tech path's are at this time when trying for as early a space win as possible.

After lib is won or lost I usually have 3 tech targets...

Steel - to get Ironworks up and running.

Rocketry - to get started on the Apollo program.

Industrialism - to reveal aluminium (plus Assembly line is on the path for factories)

I normally go for steel first which I think is always going to be the right decision, it makes a lot of sense getting Ironworks completed before starting the costly Apollo program, besides steel is a prereq for artillery on the path to Rocketry.

But its rocketry & industrialism where I'm not sure which would be the opitmal route.

My tendancy is to go Rocketry after steel and get started on apollo as early as I can then proceed to industrialism for aluminium but I wonder if industialism is the better choice? Aluminium gives dbl production speed on the Apollo, you'll get a factory in your ironworks city aswell from replacable parts.

Anything else I've missed at this stage of the game that might help? Does anyone go to Rocketry via flight rather than through Artillery?

Space is not my favorite VC, but whenever I go for it I prioritise much different than you

I usually find that production is not really the problem rather the teching is.

I usually head for superconducters first for labs and then backfill for things like steel/rail and similar

After that Industrialism for aluminium which is nice, but not a must have. Then rocketry -> fusion -> composites -> ecology

Once you get to fusion you can if needed switch to production civics and start to rework your land for max hammers

Superconductors (labs boost research AND space parts)

Computers (denial of tech to the AI, possibly nets you some)

Genetics or Fusion if you got internet (AI researches these later than the satellites line)

Composites (need to build more casings than other things)

Ecology (cheap tech but also a cheap space part and you only need 1 of them)

I might be doing it wrong but I don't think I'm *too* far off. Maybe if you're blowing out the AI you can just skip internet, but genetics is still nice for health and the fusion path has the expensive parts. If internet won't give you rocketry you might want it earlier though.

Astronomy(observatories and intercontinental trade), Democracy, Corporations if you have a city for WS and biology are key techs for me.

I see no rush for steel and rocketry.

AAAHHHH! You're tormenting my memory. I do have some fast space wins in the hof archives across BTS/Warlords/Vanilla. (Not above monarch.) There are variations in tech order but my fastest win had 60+ cottages and 90+ windmills. Why does that sound like bio/electro early after lib? But mainly Ironworks comes a bit late, like after factories/labs but before Apollo. (No corp game.) In a big empire Apollo doesn't need to be finished much before the last 10 turns when you build all 16 parts.

2 main things:

Research boosters (Corporation, Biology, Constitution, Democracy, PP, Communism, Electricity, Flight etc.)
Hammer boosters (Industrialism, Steel, Steam Power, etc.)

Others:
Computers: The Internet
Tech what the AI doesn't have and trade to get there faster.

I usually beeline Steel and Bio then right towards internet. Then I just keep eye on what others are teching and choose my techs to get them all fastest way I can. I usually get Rocketry with one of the techs from internet. Probably not a sound stradegy, but it works for me.

^ Agree with most replies. I'm 'usually' chasing The Internet and get it from there.

I'd just add Railroad as one I personally prioritise, with two great prerequisites in Steel and Steam Power, and the super collateral-damage-immune Machine Gun defensive unit.

kolokol said:

I usually find that production is not really the problem rather the teching is.

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I'm normally the opposite way round, tech is strong but production is low, but then I often play peacefully at this stage of the game prefering rushes & early war if I go to war, I don't tend to have many production cities.

Windsor said:

Astronomy(observatories and intercontinental trade), Democracy, Corporations if you have a city for WS and biology are key techs for me.

I see no rush for steel and rocketry.

Click to expand...

maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way round, rather than looking at what I need to begin the space race I should really be looking at what will make my empire stronger overall and then I guess it matters less.

TheMeInTeam said:

Superconductors (labs boost research AND space parts)

Computers (denial of tech to the AI, possibly nets you some)

Genetics or Fusion if you got internet (AI researches these later than the satellites line)

Composites (need to build more casings than other things)

Ecology (cheap tech but also a cheap space part and you only need 1 of them)

Click to expand...

just incase I wasn't clear I think I've got the actual space techs part of the space race down pretty well, but just incase I'm missing something there this is my path after Industrialism/Electric...

Plastics > Radio > Computers > Superconductors > Satalites > composites > fibreoptics > fusion > genetics > ecology

I don't think you can be too prescriptive about the last few techs. It seems to me there is no firm favourite for the AIs like there is with the tech paths through most of the game. So if you have the internet clearly you try and research the things the AIs aren't going for. (Might be worth turning the espionage slider right up after the internet for that purpose - I never tried that). Also it obviously helps then if there is not just one other guy in the race. That can be planned for well ahead, and also towards the end I always give away techs like crazy to try and keep it tight.

Without the internet it's been a while since I did it so I can't help there. In my games if I'm going space it's because my empire is relatively small and military action would be difficult. I usually find then that if I lose the race to computers I won't win the race to the end of the tech tree either. So if the internet is BIDL, for me it means a final desperate attempt at something more .... violent. I forget space then unless it happens by accident.

If it's a rather pure space game where you don't war much i'd typically research along the physics->electricity->radio line backtrading for demo (very important tech but after Sol's built it's easy to get it). The happy wonders are nice and cr is a big + in space games. This is very general, if others ais are clearly going this way i might go AL route.

Once i have internet i'd accumulate some gold first. Agree with TMIT that ai often favor satellite line sometimes all the way to stealth. Hard to say if they go fiber->fusion or super->genetics first.

Normally space hinges on one of two techs for me:
1. Computers - this is the come from behind shot. Nabbing the internet can catapult me from last to second place pretty well.
2. Superconductors. For some reason the AI hates this line, but it gives you a massive boost to research and opens up genetics which solves pretty much all pre-industrial health problems. This is one of the few techs where I estimate not trading it improves my relative rate of return.

Now that is not to say running towards a few key techs (most notably plastic for 3GD) doesn't occur, but that normally in space racing I'm planning to hit one of those two and leverage them hard regardless of if I opt for a sidetrack like a radio wonderblitz or a quick shot to fission so I can have a modern navy.

As a general rule I tend to favour techs with expensive SS parts before cheaper ones, so that the builds finish at about the same time (assuming there are several decent production cities). Ideally I would want 6-8 parts to complete within a couple of turns of the launch (last 8 turns of production timed with a GA). Computers and Superconductors first though, for reasons that shouldn't need explaining...