I just got my first win on Emperor (Huge earth map with 11 civs, normal game speed) via the space race by using what might be a rather unconventional strategy. For the vast majority of the game I am just doing everything I possibly can to stay as close as possible to the AI on technology, pursuing the following tech strategy: first Animal Husbandry (I was starting near lots of pigs and sheep and it gets me to Writing), then Writing (for Libraries), then Alphabet even though it takes forever because as soon as I get it I just trade like a madman, even though I have to give up way more than I get with each trade I can manage to get nearly every technology the other civs have developed by trading with all of them. I can usually trade for Fishing, Mysticism, Masonry, Bronze Working, and Priesthood right off the bat. I then proceed to research Polytheism, which doesn't take that long. As soon as I get Polytheism I build the Parthenon in just a handful of turns through deforestation, and research Literature. The Wonder and the Lit tech arrive about the same time, so then I follow up with the Great Library in the same city, also built super fast with forest chop (clearly you should have a city near a lot of forests to accomplish this). I then top it off with the National Epic in the same city (more forests!), which since I am a Philosophical civ ensures a steady supply of Great Scientists throughout the course of the game. By this point I have probably been able to trade for Sailing and Pottery as well, and I start Cottaging everything in sight. Around this time I try to establish the basic boundaries of my civ, building some fairly far-out cities with only enough defense to ward off barbarians for the time being, but ensuring that the areas between will become mine and can then be filled with cities as well. I have found that I can basically neglect defense at this point as the AI even on Emperor doesn't seem to start getting aggressive until about 2-300 AD. Next up is Metal Casting, which takes awhile but has good trade value and is necessary to build the Forges I will need for the building rush to come (both for Markets and for Axemen in case of an invasion). Usually I get one Great Prophet who can research Theology for me around this time too. Between Theology and Metal Casting I can usually trade for Mathematics, Monarchy, Code of Laws, Currency, and Construction. I then build Markets in every city as I start researching the Civil Service, whose Bureaucracy civic provides a key research boost in my capital. With the Civil Service in hand on the early side I can trade for Feudalism and and Machinery, and proceed to research Guilds, Banking, Paper, and Education, promptly building Grocers, Banks, Universities, and Oxford University with my Forged cities and some opportunistic remaining deforestation. By this point usually one Great Merchant appears and gets me enough cash that I can crank up science to 100% for a nice long while. These techs get me trades for Calendar, Optics, and Nationalism, meaning that Astronomy, Observatories, Constitution, and Representation follow in short order. At no point am I ever ahead of the top science civs (I think it's simply impossible on Emperor to be running first on science the whole way, the AI advantage is too big at the beginning), but I try to stay no more than 1-2 important techs behind (they tend to research things like Drama, Music, and Divine Right that I don't find very useful so I don't count those). At this point I just research whatever scrap is left before Scientific Method and Chemistry as I don't love losing my Great Library and Parthenon effects (this is usually in some order Economics, Philosophy, Engineering, Printing Press, Replaceable Parts, Gunpowder, The Corporation, and Rifling). With nothing urgent to build in my cities at this time I usually take the opportunity to build some mid-game military units like Knights to fend off potential invaders at the borders. I don't know how typical this strategy is but it usually keeps me within shooting distance of the AI through 15-1600. Clearly very large nasty invaders can throw a wrench in things but I usually find that if I have enough troops to just beat back an initial attack wave, I can subsequently churn out enough to crush the second one and then the AI will usually offer peace.
After this point is where it gets interesting, and where I hope I may have something new and different to contribute to the forum. The Internet, in my view, must be a flaw in the game design--it is so absurdly good that it is rather difficult to lose if you build it. Throughout the whole game you are getting a tech every 5-9 turns, I remember in older versions of Civ Darwin's Voyage was a Wonder that gave you two free techs. By contrast, once you build the Internet you get 10 to 15 techs instantly, your Civ score shoots up 500 points and you are automatically a leading contender in the Space Race. For that reason, as soon as I finally say goodbye to my beloved Wonders by researching Scientific Method and Chemistry, I am off to the races going for the Internet. First, I go Physics-Electricity-Radio-Computers, trading Radio for Assembly Line and starting to build Factories and Coal Plants and then building Laboratories in every city. Around this time the first Apollo Programs are built; I can then typically use Radio to get about three civs to declare war on those civs, and with some defensive pacts half the world gets bogged down in a war while I continue on my merry way. I can hopefully trade for Artillery and then research Rocketry to get going on an Apollo Program of my own in a city with the Ironworks and a powered factory. While that city is trudging away on Apollo and all the others are building Research, I get Satellites and then Fiber Optics, which usually finishes about the same time as the AP.
Once Fiber Optics arrives, the beauty of the strategy takes over. I shift from Representation to Universal Suffrage, turn my science slider down to zero, have nine cities build the five Casings, three Thrusters, and one Cockpit while the rest build Wealth. Finally, I get the Internet around 1870-1890, by which point I have saved up something like 8,000 gold. I get approximately 8 zillion technologies and turn the production city to the Docking Bay. Then I turn the slider back up to 100% and research Fission. A few turns later a second civ gets Robotics, giving it to me as well, and I promptly use the 8,000 gold to buy the Space Elevator in one turn. Then it's just a race to the finish, in which I am a bit ahead all the way down to the end. The last time, I won in 1941 AD.
The hardest part is staying within shooting distance until Scientific Method, it seems. But if you can pull that off, I think this is an almost failsafe approach to jump-start from there to a Space Race victory. I'd love to hear if other users have done anything similar, or how the strategy might work on higher difficulty levels.
After this point is where it gets interesting, and where I hope I may have something new and different to contribute to the forum. The Internet, in my view, must be a flaw in the game design--it is so absurdly good that it is rather difficult to lose if you build it. Throughout the whole game you are getting a tech every 5-9 turns, I remember in older versions of Civ Darwin's Voyage was a Wonder that gave you two free techs. By contrast, once you build the Internet you get 10 to 15 techs instantly, your Civ score shoots up 500 points and you are automatically a leading contender in the Space Race. For that reason, as soon as I finally say goodbye to my beloved Wonders by researching Scientific Method and Chemistry, I am off to the races going for the Internet. First, I go Physics-Electricity-Radio-Computers, trading Radio for Assembly Line and starting to build Factories and Coal Plants and then building Laboratories in every city. Around this time the first Apollo Programs are built; I can then typically use Radio to get about three civs to declare war on those civs, and with some defensive pacts half the world gets bogged down in a war while I continue on my merry way. I can hopefully trade for Artillery and then research Rocketry to get going on an Apollo Program of my own in a city with the Ironworks and a powered factory. While that city is trudging away on Apollo and all the others are building Research, I get Satellites and then Fiber Optics, which usually finishes about the same time as the AP.
Once Fiber Optics arrives, the beauty of the strategy takes over. I shift from Representation to Universal Suffrage, turn my science slider down to zero, have nine cities build the five Casings, three Thrusters, and one Cockpit while the rest build Wealth. Finally, I get the Internet around 1870-1890, by which point I have saved up something like 8,000 gold. I get approximately 8 zillion technologies and turn the production city to the Docking Bay. Then I turn the slider back up to 100% and research Fission. A few turns later a second civ gets Robotics, giving it to me as well, and I promptly use the 8,000 gold to buy the Space Elevator in one turn. Then it's just a race to the finish, in which I am a bit ahead all the way down to the end. The last time, I won in 1941 AD.
The hardest part is staying within shooting distance until Scientific Method, it seems. But if you can pull that off, I think this is an almost failsafe approach to jump-start from there to a Space Race victory. I'd love to hear if other users have done anything similar, or how the strategy might work on higher difficulty levels.
