How do you stay ahead of the technology

On anything Monarch and over, I just can't seem to keep up with the technology. I try to trade, but gradually they get ahead of my and I get screwed on the Age changes, especially to Industrial. What are your techinques keeping up in technology?

1. On Monarch level you can set research to a normal level but on Emperor or Deity the best way to handle research is to set it at 10%. This gives you more gold in your treasury each turn and you can use that gold to buy techs from the other civs. Techs get cheaper as more civs have them so try to avoid buying them from the first civ to complete the research.

2. Go for the techs that the AI ignores. As a very rough rule the AI will go for the techs at the top of the chart. If you research those at the bottom you can sometimes be the first to get a tech. Once you do that you can sell it to all the other civs for their old techs. Don’t hoard a tech like that because it will soon become less valuable. In the Ancient Age try for Monarchy, the AI usually goes for Republic. In the Middle Ages I don’t find it so clear that the AI takes any particular path. In the Industrial Age, the AI rarely goes for Sanitation.

3. Expand as fast as you can. Put off building a lot of city improvements and go for settlers and military units. Then attack your neighbors and try to make a peace in which you demand their techs.

4. Read the articles in the War Academy (in the left side bar on the main page). There is a wealth of information here and everyone has an opinion. Good luck!!!

Go get the Great Library for starters. If your goal is simply winning the technology aspect (or staying on pace with everyone else) that's the one technique that can give you that edge.

Another way is to eliminate your competition early. Find the closest civ(s) that you can eliminate militarily the fastest and take them out, always mindful of maxing your science spending.

Also, hampering other civs' ability to build up their treasury will force them to spend less on science just to keep a positive cash flow. There's a fewways to do this:

1) once aquiring a tech, sell it to the highest bidder. While this won't give you an early advantage research-wise, it will reduce the bank accounts of competing civs (if you sell enough)

2) get those resources early...supply vs. demand...you can command a greater price on the open market for your resources thereby depleting a civ(s) bank account and thereby directing their cash flow towards resources and away from your techs and further research spending on their part.

Always try and get a large payment in gold-per-turn rather than a lump sum...this provides a greater crippling effect financially over time for the opposing civ and prevent them from being able to counteract the large payment by switching production modes that can make up that difference.

See if those make a difference. It requires commitment and discipline over many, many turns. It won't happen instantly!
I'll be curious to know if these help you!

there must be a trick to getting gold per turn, I usually play on Regent and my AI trading partners mostly would "never consider" paying gold per turn. I don't think it is my reputation, This happens when I first contact civilizations and on through the middle ages. Once in a very great while they will pay a little per turn. They always want me to pay per turn when the shoe is on the other foot, so it can't be my reputation. Maybe what I want to trade isn't valued highly enough? Things like Monarchy and Republic?

Death and destruction. Always take out your first neighbor as soon as you can. If you do so harshly (ie raze a city or two) they may come begging for a peace treaty. If they do, clean them out of techs.

The other advantage of a military track from time to time is great leaders. You can rush the Great Library, Copernicus, Newton, Evolution, etc.

If you do get the Great Library, stay on the bottom of the tree. This should slow Education's development from negating the effect and you might just be lucky enough to know where the Saltpeter is before everyone else.

Starting off as someone like the Aztec's can really help. You're assured an early golden age that will help you keep up in early growth and building tons of Jaguar Warriors can let you clean out the goodie huts and get free techs, the best techs of all.

Sadly I dont keep ahead. I struggle, and in general I am able to keep up with leading couple of civs. Rarely am I the one who researches things myself. I usually use the Great Library or buy it from some civ once they have traded it to another so it comes down to a reasonable value.

Being the first one to monarchy is neat and all, but being the 3rd still works great.

Ever so often I manage to pull way ahead, but it's usually at the modern age. Right now in my game I'm even with most of them. I've decided to stop researching, and just by the techs. Tech research usually goes pretty slow for me in the modern age, because I don't trade after then. I'm going to try something different this time, since the AI is pretty close with me. There are a couple of Scientific civs, so I should get a few.

Originally posted by barron of ideas
there must be a trick to getting gold per turn, I usually play on Regent and my AI trading partners mostly would "never consider" paying gold per turn. I don't think it is my reputation, This happens when I first contact civilizations and on through the middle ages. Once in a very great while they will pay a little per turn. They always want me to pay per turn when the shoe is on the other foot, so it can't be my reputation. Maybe what I want to trade isn't valued highly enough? Things like Monarchy and Republic?

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This is likely due to the AI not being able to afford a gpt deal. Regardless of how much the AI values the tech you are offering, it will not adjust it's tax rate to pay for a new tech. You'll either have to wait until the AI builds up it's economy further or switch to a higher difciculty level.

I'm also pretty new on Monarch level. I noticed in several games the AI would sell me important key-tech's as Democracy , Magnetism ( in this game the only one I need befor going to Industrial ) while other techs were traded for reasonable prices.
These are my tips :

1) the most important one, scout asap and try to "steal" your neighbours iron and/or horses. Those things aren't called strategic resources without a reason. They can make the enemy weak and/or poor.

2) Keep a close eye on your rep. If it's screwed, then you'rescrewed, no one will trade with you.

3) If none of the 'advanced' civs want to trade a important tech, trade your extra strat.rescources for GPT with the highest bidder and you'll be able to research 2-3 techs and still be able to save money for buying techs later.

4) Once your gaining a lot, look if it isn't worth buying the last 1 or 2 turns of your research. For instance : I've been researching replaceable parts and there are 1 or turns left. The other civs will very likely want to sell the tech to me and if I get 250 taxes each turn why not pay 200-300 gold to get the tech earlier and be able to cut some turns of the next tech.

Henry X your point #4 seems reasonable, but giving your opponent $200 or $300 for one turn earlier research may have an impact on your strategic situation. If they upgrade a bunch of spears to pikes or muskets, you may be sorry later.

Your right , but I try to trade with civs with a common enemy or civs a bit further away. I try not to trade too much with my neighbours( victims of war ), otherwise they stay mad longer after a war , I noticed.

When there's already some tension between you can go to war by declaring it yourself or getting them to declare it. After the war is over for a while you can get them back to "polite" by ROP and maybe some lux. rescource trading. If they're "polite" when you declare them, they seem to see it as if you betrayed them and stay mad longer.

It's a bit off-topic, but it's a part of my overall strategy.

I was significantly behind in Tech in my monarch game, but doing well in the demographics. After researching a few techs 1 or 2 turns too late to capitolize on everyone, I get Chemistry first through deficeit spending. I sold that to the other 6 super powers (the other 16-odd civs didn't have the cash), and was from that point on able to spend on average 100% on science, getting a tech every 4 turns, and then selling that and getting richer. After a while, you reach the point when you are so advanced and rich that you can then hoard your techs.

So the above advice of going for the unpopular techs (Scienctific theory, Monarchy, Chemisrty--worked for me anyway--seems to work pretty well).

Getting the great library is the best way to keep up and another way is to have a civ declare war on you, you do a defensive fight and after the defensive alliances are about ready to run out, take one of his cities and settle for peace after canceling the allince. This will generally keep them fighting for a Loooong time.

Getting the Great Library is very difficult on the higher difficulty levels (at least for me) unless I get a leader to rush it. The best way to get techs is to go to war with another civ, take a few cities, and get peace + a few techs. Wait 20 turns and repeat. If you have a scientific civ you can do the Nationalism slingshot, and then Theory of Evolution and the Hoover Dam and you should be able to stay ahead in tech from then on by playing the tech broker.

How many turns should it take to get the techs?

I play on the easiest lever now, I lead the tech race but it still takes 20 turns or so to get the tech, and I'll never make it to te modern eras?

Maybe it accelerates in the harder levels?

Actually, it accelerates on the easier levels. You are probably having trouble because you don't have enough cities or libraries.

Originally posted by kb2tvl
Getting the great library is the best way to keep up and another way is to have a civ declare war on you, you do a defensive fight and after the defensive alliances are about ready to run out, take one of his cities and settle for peace after canceling the allince. This will generally keep them fighting for a Loooong time.

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What GC said; plus:

On my last Monarch game, I had the GL. However, the leading AI in tech didn't trade any techs to the other civs, and extorted me for them.

Of course, as soon as I got education, the AI started trading like mad. Bastards.

I have played OCC at monarch level and found the main problem is keeping up in techs. The way I managed to keep up was play a expansionist scientific civ (the Russians).

I get most of my ancient era techs from goodie huts.

Exploration also gives me early contact with the other civs and a valuable map which I trade for techs.

I try and build the Great library but usually fail.

When I go to a new age I choose to research a tech that the other civs have and takes the least number of turns to reseach this means I get as my free tech one of the other 2 starting techs which I trade for other techs. The next turn I can change the tech I am reseaching.

I try to reseach the techs that other civs do not have and trade them.

I make the trades in my turn rather than as a response to other civs overtures this way I can trade that tech with every civ for something.

I always build the Theory of Evolution.

I this way I found I could maintain a position of 3rd in the tech rankings right up to the UN.

Although these strategies evolved in OCC games I now apply them routinely to all games that I play an expansionist or scientific civ.