Tech tree: which is the earliest discovery you aim for?

[jordissim]

I've been playing Civ1 (DOS) for years now, and I've just realised that my pattern regarding discoveries remains unchanged. I always try to get Conscription as soon as possible, then develop the rest of technologies -always leaving Horseback Ridding and Feudalism for the last.
I wonder if someone here finds that this is suboptimal. It's always seemed to work, but since there are many ways of playing, I'd appreciate some other strategies I may apply...

[Mize]

Look around this forum, there are a lot of posts in older pages that will give you an enormous amount of information. You don't have to make a new thread for everything, as most of your questions have probably been answered here before.

[RedKi-rr]

I usually beeline Railroad due to its huge economics bonuses.
And don't forget that cost of the tech is greater than cost of the previous one (and this depends on the number of thechs you know and on the year in the game (IIRC some crucial years are 1 AD, 1500 AD, after which the number of required beakers are doubled(??))). Therefore you shoudn't spent your time for the military techs like conscription (if it is unnecessary). I always value economic techs greater than militaty techs.
Emperor AI has 0.8 coefficient for production and other things, this is not huge bonus.
And celebrating "We love president" day is one of the most crucial things to easily beat Emperor.

[jordissim]

Originally Posted by Mize

Look around this forum, there are a lot of posts in older pages that will give you an enormous amount of information. You don't have to make a new thread for everything, as most of your questions have probably been answered here before.

Sorry Mize, you're right. The discussion's page is enormous, though, and I'm new at this. I'll follow your advice next time.

[jordissim]

Originally Posted by jordissim

Sorry Mize, you're right. The discussion's page is enormous, though, and I'm new at this. I'll follow your advice next time.

Alright, I took the time to look at every single thread, and could find none answering my question. So Mize, if you have a bad day, just don't make us pay for it. You've wasted my time, and through your answer it is possible that no-one bothers to take my question seriously.

[Mize]

jordissim, I'm so sorry I wasted your precious time. I see you spent what, a whole 15 minutes looking through "every single thread"? Give me a break, the archives go back to 2000! And by the way, my day is none of your concern. I myself sacrificed some of my time, took a lot longer than 15 minutes actually, to type out this post and try out this forum's wonderful search engine: http://forums.civfanatics.com/search.php

This thread http://forums.civfanatics.com/showth...highlight=tech might interest you, as well as maybe this one http://forums.civfanatics.com/showth...highlight=tech

As you can see even from these two threads, one of which is only loosely about research but nonetheless a good and edifying read, most people will go for the wheel as the main military technology in the early and mid-game, while the main maritime tech is navigation, all that you need to get your caravans, or your chariots to the best cities, and the research path to it gives you the option to build Copernicus observatory, one of the most important wonders in the game.

Speaking of caravans, trade is one of the most important technologies in the game. It should be researched when you have feasible routes available, or if you have to boost a city's wonder production (let's say you're building the already mentioned observatory in your best trade city, which has little production). Religion is also a must if you want growth and should be timed with the government switch to republic/democracy.

Railroad is unanimously declared a crucial tech for builders and a lot of people beeline straight to it. It allows you to grow your cities, increases your trade and makes your logistics all that much easier. With a proper railroad network you can defend against armor with just a few cannons or even some ancient catapults. Coastal cities are a problem if the enemy is stronger and has battleships though. That's when you'll usually really need conscription.

If you're looking for efficiency in research, look at your empire's geography and define your long term strategy. For the space race you should focus on trade and research early on. If you have a lot of clear coastline that can grow large 20+ cities with little production shields you obviously need to focus on economic development and growth to be efficient. That means: currency, writing, trade, banking, university, the republic, religion, railroad, not necessarily in that order. For an early conquest shields are the priority, so you'll want the wheel and mapmaking, and maybe mathematics and navigation. You pick up everything else on your way, and just milk everybody for cash...

Now, I've spent more than half an hour just typing this post and finding and looking through those two threads, yet I don't consider my time wasted. Why? Because I intended to help. Not just you, but anybody else who might read this thread. The funniest thing is that many people here have done just that in the past, and by refusing to take your time and read what they had to say, you are essentially wasting their time and effort. It's really quite ironic.

[RedKi-rr]

Originally Posted by Mize

Railroad is unanimously declared a crucial tech for builders and a lot of people beeline straight to it. It allows you to grow your cities, increases your trade and makes your logistics all that much easier.

Railroad increases only food and production 1.5 times, but not commerce. At least in my version of civ1...

[Mize]

It does increase trade in tiles with a high trade yield such as gems, gold and ocean. And when you take the food surplus in coastal cities, every railroaded plain/grassland means that you can work one more ocean square (+3 trade, or 4 if you railroad the ocean too).

[RedKi-rr]

Just checked...Indeed. I didn't know about that. The description of this is very limited in the game. And I never railroad ocean, just don't like this trick, also it's very difficult to note an increasing of trade on jems or gold in the city screen.

Thanks a lot!

[jordissim]

Originally Posted by Mize

jordissim, I'm so sorry I wasted your precious time. I see you spent what, a whole 15 minutes looking through "every single thread"? Give me a break, the archives go back to 2000! And by the way, my day is none of your concern. I myself sacrificed some of my time, took a lot longer than 15 minutes actually, to type out this post and try out this forum's wonderful search engine: http://forums.civfanatics.com/search.php

This thread http://forums.civfanatics.com/showth...highlight=tech might interest you, as well as maybe this one http://forums.civfanatics.com/showth...highlight=tech

As you can see even from these two threads, one of which is only loosely about research but nonetheless a good and edifying read, most people will go for the wheel as the main military technology in the early and mid-game, while the main maritime tech is navigation, all that you need to get your caravans, or your chariots to the best cities, and the research path to it gives you the option to build Copernicus observatory, one of the most important wonders in the game.

Speaking of caravans, trade is one of the most important technologies in the game. It should be researched when you have feasible routes available, or if you have to boost a city's wonder production (let's say you're building the already mentioned observatory in your best trade city, which has little production). Religion is also a must if you want growth and should be timed with the government switch to republic/democracy.

Railroad is unanimously declared a crucial tech for builders and a lot of people beeline straight to it. It allows you to grow your cities, increases your trade and makes your logistics all that much easier. With a proper railroad network you can defend against armor with just a few cannons or even some ancient catapults. Coastal cities are a problem if the enemy is stronger and has battleships though. That's when you'll usually really need conscription.

If you're looking for efficiency in research, look at your empire's geography and define your long term strategy. For the space race you should focus on trade and research early on. If you have a lot of clear coastline that can grow large 20+ cities with little production shields you obviously need to focus on economic development and growth to be efficient. That means: currency, writing, trade, banking, university, the republic, religion, railroad, not necessarily in that order. For an early conquest shields are the priority, so you'll want the wheel and mapmaking, and maybe mathematics and navigation. You pick up everything else on your way, and just milk everybody for cash...

Now, I've spent more than half an hour just typing this post and finding and looking through those two threads, yet I don't consider my time wasted. Why? Because I intended to help. Not just you, but anybody else who might read this thread. The funniest thing is that many people here have done just that in the past, and by refusing to take your time and read what they had to say, you are essentially wasting their time and effort. It's really quite ironic.

My apologies again, Mize, and I mean it. For whatever reason, I don't have access to threads that old. I only can go back to 4 pages, and 15 minutes is time enough to go through every thread. I read with great interest the ones you quoted, and they indeed answer my question. I don't intent to be a nuisance to anybody, on the contrary, if I joined this forum is because I love Civ since it came out and I am willing to devote time both learning from other people's experience and adding some input I may have to offer (however minimal). If I took your post personally is because I felt that you also took mine the same way, and I never understood why people sometimes tend to mock an earnest question rather than ignore it if they think it's worthless. Which obviously wasn't the case here. So again, my apologies.

[Mize]

You can view all pages in the archive if you go to the top of the main Civ I forum page and look slightly above the first threads. Right under the "notices" section you'll see the display options menu. Just change the setting of the third drop-box from "last year" to "beginning" and voila, 27 pages. Have fun and please excuse me if I insulted you in any way!

BTW, I seem to remember there was this pure text archive of threads even older than those but I can't seem to find it...

[jordissim]

Originally Posted by Mize

You can view all pages in the archive if you go to the top of the main Civ I forum page and look slightly above the first threads. Right under the "notices" section you'll see the display options menu. Just change the setting of the third drop-box from "last year" to "beginning" and voila, 27 pages. Have fun and please excuse me if I insulted you in any way!

BTW, I seem to remember there was this pure text archive of threads even older than those but I can't seem to find it...

Much appreciated, Mize; and same so, excuse me if I insulted you.

[Mize]

RedKi-rr, I don't like railroading ocean too, although it isn't a far stretch to imagine it as some sort of oil rig or something, an improvement that enhances your trade. I tend to railroad ocean only when I have a large city with an odd food supply that constantly celebrates one turn and starves on the next. In such cases I just railroad a fish square (if any).

[Osvaldo Manso]

Early on, I aim for Bronze Working and Mathematics so that I can defend my cities properly (phalanx unit + catapult).
Then, I pursue Writing and Trade so that I can build Diplomats and Caravans.
Later on I go for Railroads (this is as more important as my empire is larger) and/or Navigation (when I find that I am on a small island I go for Navigation as soon as possible).
In later stages of the game, the more important techs are those that give you the ability to build important wonders, such as the Hoover Dam or Women's Suffrage, since the late wonders never expire.
In particular contexts, for example when you are engaged in a tough war, any tech that gives you an edge on the battlefield is a must.

[RecycledElectro]

(1) Bronze Working
(2) The Republic
(3) Bridge Building

After that I go for Gun Powder or Magnetism, depending on whether I think I'm on a large or small continent.

[Tristan_C]

The Wheel. After that, I assess the situation.

Also, inb4 whelkman comes in and says Robotics

[Whelkman]

Originally Posted by Tristan_C

Also, inb4 whelkman comes in and says Robotics

LOL, I guess my love affair with Mfg. Plants is well known. I have a series of "key advancements":

• Alphabet or Ceremonial Burial (I try to start with one)
• Monarchy or Republic (significantly better production at one tech detour)
• Democracy
• Bridge Building
• Map Making (though I've gotten to Magnetism via huts before completing the Trireme)
• Invention (fun to get 19th century graphics deep in the B.C. years)
• Railroad
• Robotics
• Religion
• Genetic Engineering
• Mass Production
• Recycling
• Fusion Power
• Future Tech

After Robotics it's a formality. You can basically replace the remainder of the list with "the rest".

[InnateGamer]

Watch my latest lp on youtube, I discover Robotics before 1AD! Usually I go something like this:
1. Republic or Democracy or (Masonry and Trade), need better government
2. Trade, need trade routes and marketplaces
3. Religion, mostly if I'm on a big continent (JS Bach's Cathedral)
4. Theory of Gravity, Isac Newton's College
5. Computers, SETI Program (better go for Computers immediately, since my settlers might not be ready to start building railroads yet and a 50% research bonus is a big deal)
6. Railroads
7. Genetic Engineering

[nickthehun]

Bronze Working for Phalanx + Colossus. Wheel for Chariot. Ceremonial Burial + Mysticism for Temple. Astronomy for Copernicus Observatory. Republic for the best government mid game government. Railroad is essential. Religion for JS Bach Cathedral which helps a lot when your cities get larger. Trade for Caravans.

[Theov]

Originally Posted by Mize

Look around this forum, there are a lot of posts in older pages that will give you an enormous amount of information. You don't have to make a new thread for everything, as most of your questions have probably been answered here before.

I always do a few minute search on google to see if the question has been answered already.
If not, make a new one... it's not that the Civ1 forum is so crowded.