Factors that affect tech pace

[jdstacey]

I've had some games where the overall tech pace was amazingly fast and some that are just glacial. I have _some_ ideas as to why, but I figured I'd bring it up here.

Here's the list I have so far:

1) Land (duh) - lots of green & rivers => faster tech pace
2) Opposition leaders
a) Financials, philosophers
b) Rabid tech traders (MM)
c) Leaders prone to peacevassaling
3) Religion situation - if there's a lovefest, those AIs will swap freely and not fight each other

What else am I missing?

 

[QuixotesGhost]

Occasionally I'll notice that AIs will sometimes pursue Liberalism before heading up the Engineering line - what influcances the AI to make that descision?

 

[coanda]

Number of civs that can talk to each other. That's a really big one - it's also why lots of humans hate isolation starts.

 

[Ataxerxes]

Number of civs that can talk to each other. That's a really big one - it's also why lots of humans hate isolation starts.

Related to that is map type. Great Plains, Panagea and similar maps tend to have more civs (and human) trading more because everybody knows everybody. Continents and Archipelago often have slower tech pace due to slower discovery and higher maintenance costs.

 

[VoiceOfUnreason]

Continents and Archipelago often have slower tech pace due to slower discovery and higher maintenance costs.

I seem to recall that the wrapping of the map can affect maintenance costs?

Two aspects under player control; how aggressively is Alphabet traded, and how many wonders are you leaving for the AI (potentially starving the AI of great people).

 

[NihilZero]

Occasionally I'll notice that AIs will sometimes pursue Liberalism before heading up the Engineering line - what influcances the AI to make that descision?

The ones that actively go after Lib are often those who have a favourite civic that is found along the Lib path. These also happen to be some of the fastest techers, a lot of them are FIN tech whores. So, you have: Darius, Elizabeth, Willem and Asoka who have Free Religion as their favourite civic, meaning that they will actively pursue the Lib path; and Hannibal and Mansa who have Free Market as their favourite - Economics requires Education, and once they have that the free technology from Lib makes it attractive to them (duh).

I have found that the above mentioned are consistent threats for Lib. Did I forget anybody?

The thing is, where the Free Market guys are concerned, they need Machinery -> Guilds -> Banking for economics, which can sidetrack them a bit, but their fondness for Education makes them Lib contenders all the same. A lot of leaders couldn't give a rat's ass about Education, it would seem, which eliminates them from the lib race unless they are really running away with things.

 

[ABCDPuppies]

I have found that the above mentioned are consistent threats for Lib. Did I forget anybody?

Zara always seems to be right in there too. I guess it's a combination of general good teching and favorite civic of Theocracy, with Theology leading right to Paper -> Edu.

 

[AutomatedTeller]

Resources - gems and gold early can rocket your early tech pace - dye and silk give you a nice boost, too.

 

[Bei1052]

1.) Map type. In general, the computer can't handle archipeligo maps well, so the tech rate always goes slower on them. The tech rate also goes slower the fewer leaders the AI knows to trade with.

2.) Leaders in the game. Warmongers like other warmongers. Peacenicks like other peacenicks. If you were to play a game with, say, Genghis, Alexander, Monty, Shaka, Ragnar and Tokugawa, you'd find that they'd all be pleased/friendly with each other, wouldn't fight amongst themselves, would trade freely with other, and the tech rate would be respectable. Similarly, if you were to play a game with Mansa, Gandhi, Elizabeth and any other peacenick with no warmongers around, you'd find the same situation, only they'd tech much faster as they dedicate more of their energy towards their economies than building armies waging war. Mix the two groups, and you'll get a slower tech rate as the warmongers will target the peacenick, or at least impede their tech rate by declaring war on them. Iirc, when the AI is DOW'ed, they divert commerce away from research.

I don't know how true this is bit, in my experience, the more players in a game the slower the tech rate, as more wars break out and there are more chances for the AI to hate each other.

 

[whats a navy]

This may seem too obvious but difficulty level. Settler tech pace is insane for human.