Free Tech Tricks

[CKS]

Does this work in PTW? I'm trying it in ptw 1.27 but can't get it to work. I have a save 1 turn before I finish currency and enter the MA. I choose the big picture at the entering new age screen and it takes me to the score graph screen. If I hit any of the advisor shortcut keys from there it takes me to the "tech chooser" window. I can't get to any of my advisors before that. At that point I already have my free tech.

I don't think it does. My experiences are the same as yours.

 

[pickett63]

Question;
I thought in Conquests there was no free Tech for being the first Civi. to get Philosophy?

 

[punkbass2000]

There is. First to Phil gets a free tech.

 

[plarq]

First researched Philosophy->Free Tech is a C3C feature,not in Vanilla and PTW.
Agree on Microbe's point,getting 2nd tier tech as free tech is a bit exploiting SCI trait.But it's not easy to get in emperor+ anyway,you can't buy all first tier tech unless there're three SCI partners to trade.
One more hint.Gift SCI partner to another age without leaving diplomatic window,gift him other 1st tier techs of new age,then he will get another free tech for you to buy.

 

[juz1138]

while the other tricks in this article are sound it should be noted the the expanionist slingshot strategem is a shot alright a long shot and if it doesnt pay off you are put at an early disadvantage producing the opposite of the desired effect so be careful!

 

[Tomoyo]

The expansionist one is easy on lower levels... Believe me, you'll have plenty of huts to pop, and fifty turns to pop them.

Anyway, why didn't I read this before playing my HoF space game?

 

[DaveMcW]

I edited the first post to confirm it doesn't work in PTW.

 

[Grille]

For the fun of exploiting the scientific double slingshot, I started a large pangaea map game with Greece using the technique as described here...

(...)
Scientific Double Slingshot (Civ3, C3C)

Does it annoy you when a scientific AI gets the same free tech as your scientific civ? Never let it happen again!

To pull this off you need a lot of gold in the bank, or optional techs from the previous age to barter with. Finish researching the last tech of the previous age, and a popup will appear congratulating you on entering the new era. Click "What's the big picture" and you will zoom to your research screen - without your free tech!

Hit F4 to tab to the foreign minister and buy the free techs from all your scientific rivals. You may need to gift them into the new age. Pay gold, gpt, anything to get those techs. Hit F1 adjust your gpt income. You will get it all back soon.

Now exit out of the foreign minister and continue your turn. When the build phase finishes check your research screen - you have a different free tech that none of the AIs have. **If you got all the first-level techs already, it will be a second-level tech** like Theology, Industrialization, or Space Flight! Sell it to your scientific rivals to get your money back.
(...)

**bolding by me

... which worked out very well: when finishing the ancient/ma, I could gift the AI into the next age and they fortunately got all the 1st level techs.
However, when I finished the industrial age, no AI made it to computers; I was kind of disappointed, yet amazingly, I got the 2nd level tech recycling for free - despite of lacking 1st level tech computers.

Here's a couple of shots:

One turn to go for modern age:

After exploiting the big picture and thereby regrettably noticing that no AI obtained computers, I got recycling nevertheless:

For the record, this is not a mod and default rules were in use. Of course, I picked the AI rivals manually to get all the sci civs in. Except for Germany, all these sci civs were still alive at this point.
It seems like a glitch; if not, maybe the game's free tech selection is not even depending on the (own) knowledge of 1st level techs: then, the game engine possibly just checks for any advance (out of the newly entered age) that could technically be researched next (?). If that was true, one could ever (if not regarded as exploit, of course) take the gamble even in case there's only 2 or so sci civs around...
Maybe anyone made a similar observation and could confirm?

[edit: file naming changed]

 

[DaveMcW]

Yes, it is possible.

In fact, sometimes this is the prefered strategy. If you trade for Steam Power and Medicine at the start of the industrial age and ignore Nationalism, you increase your chances of getting a required tech from 2/6 to 2/5.

 

[Grille]

Thanks for clearing that up.
And a very powerful tool indeed.

Btw, some marginal stuff spooking in my head: I think that the big picture splash phase is still part of the IBT. For one, if triggered, the tech choice prompt is one of the the very first things happening at human player's 'real' turn start *AFAIK*. When using the big-picture/F4 contacting method, the tech choice prompt does obviously not show up yet. Maybe this suspected order of events (the coding, respectively) enables the technique after all. Whatever.
But furthermore, this means that the AI can manage production while contacting them, and also finish their own research targets after the big picture bargain took place and before the human player gains full control over the turn.
AI production settings/changes should be at least obvious through upcoming 'great wonder initiation' pop-ups during those negotiations. This may be an issue if a human would want to (rush-)attack a certain AI straight away in the upcoming turn, because that AI could (in a somewhat exaggerated, bad case) suddenly have rifles rather than spears...
Not 100% sure, but I imagine that AI wonder cascading (with prompt finish?) or rushing (ETA 1 then) might happen as well. Not that the AI steals the UN...
Ok, enough of doomsday proclamations.
This would rarely happen anyways, but one should be prepared for it.

 

[TNOBLES]

Sorry about repling, I couldn't figure out how to just post

Just like to ask if anyone knows what happens to sheilds if you disband a unit or harvest a forest while in wealth or your build project is at 1.

 

[eldar]

There is one "free tech" strategy missing, the Theory of Evolution Modern Era Slingshot.

To pull this off you need a tech lead before getting Scientific Method, so you can hold off building the ToE.

Time the ToE build to coincide with completing your final Industrial tech.

First do any "Big Picture" trading you like to get free techs off Scientific rivals.
Then you'll get your own free tech, if you're Scientific.
Then pick your two free Modern Era techs when the ToE completes.

With the right luck and AIs, this approach will net you no less than seven modern era techs on the first turn! And with the right pre-build timing, can have The Internet and Nuclear Plants built that very same turn.

 

[KrikkitTwo]

Is the selection of the Free Scienctific tech totally random? (from the available techs of the newly entered era that is)

 

[AlanH]

Is the selection of the Free Scienctific tech totally random? (from the available techs of the newly entered era that is)

It is random as of PtW. In vanilla 1.29 there's a bug, and it is almost 100% certain to be Monotheism, Nationalism and Rocketry in each of the eras.

 

[Pentium]

it is almost 100% certain to be Monotheism, Nationalism and Rocketry in each of the eras.

Almost? Isn't it exactly 100%?

 

[Grille]

Almost? Isn't it exactly 100%?

Not 100%, you could get the other techs at a slim chance.
AFAIK it's in the magnitude of roughly 5% (? optimistic guess); IIRC a Firaxian or a player (who ran a test) stated theses chances on this site or on Poly some ages ago.
So if you got lucky getting (say) feudalism for free in vanilla, make sure to trade for the 'usual' free tech monotheism from sci-opponents.

 

[AlanH]

Almost? Isn't it exactly 100%?

Apparently not. As Grille says, there's supposedly a slim chance of getting one of the others. I believe it's a bug in the way the RNG output is used to select from the available techs.

 

[Pentium]

Wow, that gives me hope!

 

[cheesejoff]

If you are playing online it's theoretially possible to get really advanced techs, maybe it's possible to skip a whole era!

 

[coolio7]

Hey! I just got back from attempting the Russian Triple Slingshot. I did it on a small pangea 80% water with raging barbs on cheftian. I played against all Scientific civs. Sadly, very little huts came up, so I was stuck having to research my way through the ancient age. I only git like 2-3 techs from huts. Next time will probably be on a larger world.

Anyway, I was still the first to philo and I followed the guide and gifted my 5 opponents to the next era. But I hit another bump again, and nobody got Feudalism. So, Feudalism ended up being my sci tech, but I still got theology from philosophy.

The weird part was when I went to exit the advisor's screen, my comp kind of froze. So, I went to get a drink and when I got back, it said I had just discovered BRONZE WORKING and I could now chose. Even weirder, it seemed to already have chosen theology as my philo tech

Very odd indeed.