How do you keep up scientific research in the later parts of the game?

[Keirador]

Andy: there isn't just one strategy that works. If what you laid out is working for you, simply try it on emperor and see what happens. Any problems, come back here. Off the top of my head, I feel like you might need to work on making sure your NC city is very high pop and running specialists, and if your cap is focused on hammers an putting out units, your science city might need to be a different city.

 

[Vidszhite]

I often go first workshops then universities, is a matter of preference, but going straight education will net you more science if you feel you need to speed-up science at all costs.

GL is better than worker + library, specially with calendar researched, you can get philosophy for free and save many turns of research, and the science boost it great at that time. The problem is that is a higly desired wonder, opponents already have pottery, so even entirely focusing at it, con will miss it more often than build it. If you miss it, at that point you lose so much on the try is generally not advised.

You need a worker to build the GL on high difficulty, and you also need trees to chop. I usually get 2 workers to GL rush on Immortal, (not by building them, I get them both "free"...) and even that still fails half the time. You also need to make sure you get Calendar researched before you finish the GL, or else you can't bulb Philosophy, which is not always possible.

Oh high difficulty, though, rushing the GL+NC is not advisable. That's too many turns of not expanding, not building an army, and not building trade routes. By that time, the others will have settled in all the prime locations, the barbarians will be all over the place, and the warmongers will be ready to monger their wars. On Immortal/Deity, other things, especially expansion, are more immediately important.

 

[Keirador]

the warmongers will be ready to monger their wars.

Agree with everything Vidszhite said, but loved the above.