?Faster Tech growth in Monarh and above?

[sennaspirit]

HELP...I've been playing this game for awhile (months), but i'm finally getting to the higher levels. I'm starting to play Monarch level, but I'm getting blown away in the tech growth area. It's so bad, that in the last two games, I had very small civs (with only a few cities) finish with the their 2nd tech level just as I was starting it! Ouch...i'm getting crushed...Clearly i'm doing something (manythings wrong) Any advice out there to speed up tech advances in general, but specifically in Monarch and above. Note: I haven't even tried the higher levels due to this.

Thanks in advance

 

[DS_Legionary]

First of all welcome to CFC.

Now for your question the key here is trade. It will be your best friend. Most people will research a tech that the AI does not research until a little later. For example Mathematics is a good one, along with Currency, Polytheism, and Monarchy. Once you research those techs you trade them to the AI for all the techs that they got while you were getting your, and you can keep up pretty well that way.

Or, you can buy techs from the AI. Set your science meter at 0% and put a scientist in one of your cities, so you can still try to get those techs that the AI doesn't go for. Then you just go up and buy the techs you need from them.

Hope this helps.

 

[Wookie]

When playing on higher levels the AI develops tech much faster than you can. To get over this the only thing you can do in the early game is to trade and buy tech from them. It costs less gold to buy it than it does to research it yourself, so set your science as low as you can and buy buy buy.

Once you get a bit larger then you can start to research it yourself.

One way is to try and get a tech that the AI doesn't normally go for, and then trade it for 2 or more techs and some gold.

I hope thats a help, I'm getting wasted on regent at the minute.

Cheers

Wookie

 

[sennaspirit]

Thanks for the info...I'll see if that helps...nice to know someone is out there watching out for us desparate players!

 

[superslug]

I highly recommed Bamspeedy's 4 turn settler trick as a solution to this. Build lots of cities early, pack them in tight and focus on road building. By generating commerce, you'll be able to buy techs easier from the AI. Once you establish embassies they may go for gold per turn deals, which can prevent wars.

 

[sennaspirit]

Thanks slug...i'm experimenting with the other tactics as well. it's going to take a few rounds to get used to this (playing with science turned down). I was wondering about GPT implications. my first attempt at the no science approach left me with no gold (I promised it all away...stupid), but i'm doing better in this game.

thanks
Sennaspirit

 

[superslug]

Wiping out your GPT is okay, so long as you're staying in the tech race. I usually make sure I buy several techs at once, each from my closest neighbors (to avoid local war). When that round is up after 20 turns, I launch a new batch.

Just remember one thing: If you're civ isn't religious, and you sign a GPT for Monarchy, wait until the deal's up before switching governments.

 

[Bamspeedy]

Contacts.

Getting contacts with as many civs as possible, as early as possible, is the key to staying in the tech race. Don't sell contacts to the AI (if possible), so you can keep better deals available. For example, if a certain AI civ only has contact with you, then you can charge him monopoly prices for a tech that perhaps all of the other civs already know. You can buy a tech at 6th civ prices, but then turn around and sell it to a civ nobody knows for 1st civ prices. By hoarding contacts you can often get 2-3+ techs for the cost of buying just 1 tech.

Researching techs the AI avoids/is slow at getting, helps to. 10% science (or 1 scientist later on when you can spare a citizen in some town) on a tech works many times if you pick the right tech, and can really pay off since you only spent ~40 gold on the tech, but can get many other techs from it.

 

[JMK]

Staying up at research at Monarch level is not that hard!
1) Set your science to 100% Pottery, you will need to build a granary for faster expension (a lot of settler and WORKERS)
2) build a few warriors (or scout) at least three of them on standard continent; use them for scouting and get CONTACTS.
3) build a granary in your capital, if Pottery has not yet been found yet, use prebuild (check for happiness using luxury slide every time your capital is growing) this will lowered your speed research, but wil allow you to grow - never use specialist in your capital early in the game.
4) A little trick is to check that your granary is being built one/two turns before your city grows again.
5) Then, should your capital has reached the size of four, I like to build settler and another worker.
6) After you find Pottery, research the most expensive Tech (Alphabet, or Wheel) stay tuned at MAX.
7) use 40 turns gambit on a) Polytheisme, b) Litterature, c) currency. otherwise go MAX research. Build your Library in every city around your capital as soon as it becomes available, then go to Republic. If you have enough WORKERS (1 to 2 per cities) you should be the Tech Leader by the end of Ancient times, early Middle Ages.