Back from Holidays.
I'll answer your questions and I will post some findings. I will also edit the opening post.
- Redrover:
Avoid at all costs generation of any GP other than a GS. You should only allow a GE to cath Pisa, PT. Usually at the last turns when I fill all the specialists slots I time the last Scientist with an Artist, an Engineer and a Merchant.
- S.K.Ren:
I do sell luxuries and strategics for 240 and 45, but If I have an upset neighbour I will sell him for 209 and 39 or even less. That way If they declare war on me I can sell the resources again to buy some archers and If they don't attack everything is fine.
- DThompshon32:
Plant all your scientists. I only burn them if: I have already a lab and 6 turns with all the specialists slots filled have passed (maximum science) and the next round of RAs won't kick in a near future (It will boost your RA output).
- Dreadnough:
I rarely had issues with Air Force. Only when I had a good military (late game) and I was at war with a neighbourgh and I pushed him back to his borders. I guess usually my units are out of range of air units. When that happened I just bought an anti air unit and planes stopped coming.
About the gold issue in my games I only use gold to: Buy some archers and upgrade them later, buy some important tiles, sign RAs, buy 1 coal to build the factory, buy aluminium, buy a solar plant or 1 uranium plus a nuclear plant (I'm building spaceship parts at this point and I can't stop to biuld the plant). Selling all luxuries, building a Market, National Treasury and a Bank and working riverside tiles or luxury ones if you don't have a river gives me like 40+ gpt with is enough for my needs. If you build the happiness building you'll get 2-3 Golden Ages along your game that will give you a good amount of gold aswell. Remember that in the last turns you can throw away your GPT for an instant huge amount of gold and you can sell your university, lab, opera house, etc. If you want more gold you can build the Oracle after the NC to get Commerce opener for free.
I prioritize Satellites, I've never been beaten to Hubble and I hardbuild it usually (normally 10 turns). I've you can't build it, sure robotics first is a must.
- Jeespoks:
Playing Deity you can't get the GL. It is mostly build turns 25-30. At lower difficulties a GL->Philo bulb would be great ofc.
- The Pilgrim:
I end signing 5 RAs, sometimes even more. I achive this with an active use of the spies. I send all of them to different Civs changing the Civs often so I can get attack plans to share the info and get new friends constantly. It works wonders. I don't care stealing techs becase I beeline so much that normally I can only steal cheap and useless techs from the low part of the tree like gunpowder or steel and It can upset Civs that could be friends in a future. I've managed to make friends with mad neighbouring Civs like Attila or Monty that attacked me 2 or 3 times along the game just by pure info sharing of other Civs attack plans.
Some general findings:
- Unless you are Ethiopia, Celts or Maya, you don't need religion and SH is a waste, period. I guess I was lucky before because in the last games AIs build it around T27-30 and a couple times I was unable to found a religion even with SH. I find much better to open in a full grow mode with Scout, Monument, Granary, Library, Water Mill, NC focusing on improving farms and growing and only focusing production to build NC. It also allows to build a warrior or two while waiting for the NC that are helpful.
- I had much success with an alternate opening with Artemis. Archery-Mining first, Scout, Monument, grow to size 3, and focus production to complete Artemis. Usually around turn 30-40 depending on the chopping. AIs rarely make it that fast and it pays off in the long run. If you like to gamble a lot you can continue to Math and HG (if on desert even if you fail on HG you can beeline to Petra while building archers). If you achieve it (I guess you have like a 20% rate of succeding, maybe more with Egypt)) you'll have a really pleasant game.
- The best Civ hands down to OCC science are the Incas. Pachacu's Mountain bias allows turn 0-1 city founding and luxuries in place of your city radius (with other civs if you move your settler to found near a Mountain you may find yourself with 0-1 luxuries). In addition, terrace farms are great and defending with hill movement and free roads around your city is godly.
- I found that the techpath without thinking about the median is similar because your also follow this path: NC, Public Administration, Education, Oxford Astronomy, Steelworking, Machinery, Pisa, PT, School, Electricity, Industrialization --> Lab --> Rocketry (Apollo) -> Sattelites (Hubble).
- Now that you don't care about the median, the turn I discover Education I sign 3-5 RAs the same turn so when they kick I can jump from Printing Press to PT or even School.