How Do You Have the Patience to Win Science Victories?

[MarigoldRan]

The problem is this:

If you're gunning for a Science Victory, you're going to be ahead in science. But if you're ahead in science that also means you're going to be ahead in military tech.

So anytime I go for a science victory I'm sitting there thinking: "you know, if I had more cities, I could get even more science. Let's upgrade my existing army and conquer a neighbor or two, and THEN I will go for a science victory."

Next thing you know, I'm on my way to Domination victory. As a result I've NEVER won a Science victory in Civ VI.

 

[steveg700]

LOL. I read the subject line and I was kinda like "duh, get bored and roll anyone who looks at you cross-eyed".

Never mind. We're on the same page it would seem. I long to create an emergency where enough civ's team up that I actually sweat it.

 

[MaryKB]

I don't enjoy military conquest, but I do take pleasure in watching my nation (which I've been building for thousands of years!) finally reaching the apex of our technological achievement.

 

[Sagax]

And that is why you get regular complaints about warmongering being too good. It’s the most efficient strategy, and it’s known.

Personally, I just find unit management too tedious. I’m more of a builder: between spending 5min on unit management and 5min on city planning, I’d always choose the latter.

 

[Archon_Wing]

This is why I at "fast science victory" that is basically just domination victory where you stop at the last capital, especially when it gets spammed 5436534654 times.

Though part of how SV works is the tech tree is very compact near the end. People basically accelerate the last part by doing spaceport/projects in a very short time frame.

But of course when the AI falling over and dying is a given, it doesn't mean that science victory is boring. It's more like you didn't need to do that.

 

[Aristos]

Funny, I have not been able to win in any other way than Science... and most of them, never really being ahead but (ab)using the super spies combined with the inability of the AI to defend against them. Domination? Not for me, especially against THIS AI... if one day the TacAI is a little more challenging, perhaps I would go Domination. Religion is Fallen Enchantress Domination, so the same. And culture, I have yet to try it, because Science attracts me too much (a side effect of being a civ 1-6 veteran perhaps?)

 

[bbbt]

Try playing on quick/online speed.

I think I have the same problem but opposite results - I don't have the patience for moving all the units around the map to do domination (or religious victory!), at least on anything larger than a small map.

 

[BarbarianHunter]

Try playing on quick/online speed.

I think I have the same problem but opposite results - I don't have the patience for moving all the units around the map to do domination (or religious victory!), at least on anything larger than a small map.

bbbt is right, science and cultural victories become allot less monotonous for me if I use online speed. A pleasant change every now and again.

 

[Disgustipated]

taking cities generally takes more time. But I can see how people may not have the patience for pressing end turn many times. Though with royal society, science victory is slightly more involved.

And yeah, with royal society, patience isn't needed anymore. Firaxis caved towards our instant gratification culture and made it easy for us. And GS will make it easy for culture victory now with rock bands. And maybe even domination victory with GDR, although to be honest nukes with cheap choppers are still faster.

 

[Imaus]

Science is about building tall-ish. Every city an academic powerhouse protected by the best of the best.

It does get tempting to expand by force but I remember RP'ing how this society would act: basically setting up settlements in deserts and the ice-islands to the north and south for the !science. Works sort of well, especially when Libraries and Universities become almost instant-builds.

 

[Midgardsormr]

I always think "How do people have the patience to win Domination Victories?"

Science is generally my default. As soon as I see AT, I switch to full science mode. Rocketry is usually just two techs away at that point, and the way I play I usually have a couple more Governor levels coming soon, which I use to level up Reyna. Assuming I've been on my game with regard to my economy, I can usually buy a Spaceport very shortly after unlocking it. From there the SV is more a matter of production than science. I turn my attention to managing my Builders, Spies, and Trade Routes, with a bit more concentration on getting those last few Eurekas. I stop warring for the purpose of taking territory and start targeting the other science leaders, with an eye toward pillaging their Spaceports. I find all of that much more interesting than slogging my artillery across a continent to take yet another capital.

 

[tedhebert]

I always think "How do people have the patience to win Domination Victories?"

Exactly... I'm pretty sure this shows the main difference between people who play at standard or small size maps, and those who play at huge size maps. Domination at huge is totally mindnumbing.

 

[Pietato]

I play huge continents. After conquering one continent, I am loathe to attack another.

 

[Victoria]

I am with @Midgardsormr on this. A pure dom victory is dull in comparison to the science endgame acceleration. You have to think and plan an awful lot of different things from just churning through another city. You sort of play dom for 100 turns then switch to something different. The same can be said for a culture victory although incredibly good players can do that faster peacefully with the right map.
RV is the worst to me, followed by dom. CV can also have a lot of planning involved, not as much but more varied than an SV so to me they are both equally top.

 

[Disgustipated]

although incredibly good players can do that faster peacefully with the right map.

??

I'm certainly not an incredibly good player, but my cultural victories are ALWAYS faster than science victories. They are so easy for me to get. Perhaps on deity difficulty this is true, but not lower difficulties (up to about emperor I would say). Though I should mention religious victory is the fastest for me (aside from domination on small maps or standard archipelago/island plates maps). But religious victory is generally not very fun for me, though the ending cinematic is okay.

Generally I tend to go for the victory that is appropriate for that civilization. Some civs that have 2 good methods of victory (like Russia) I choose one or the other. Civs like Scotland, Korea, and Netherlands I always go science victory. Same with Germany, Arabia (though they are suited for religious as well), China (probably the weakest science civ in the game), and Australia (who is quite powerful at nearly every victory condition).

 

[Victoria]

but my cultural victories are ALWAYS faster than science victories

Apologies as I was not clear enough.
A dom science game is faster that a peaceful science because 20+ cities rock
For a CV dom is normally faster because you can stop the opposition getting a lot of culture but a pure peaceful CV on deity can be around T100 if done right with a good map. You can use a lot of gold from the opposition at deity and chop in Oracle early with Pin for a GW rush. It's then getting to printing.
... and there was always the accidental CV with China at T58 with reliquaries.

 

[Disgustipated]

A dom science game is faster that a peaceful science because 20+ cities rock

Ahh, I misread you. Yeah having that many cities does send your science sky high. And with royal society, I find science to be the limiting factor. Even with Scotland and Korea. But I haven't played this way in a long time. I generally stop conquering when I have between 10 and 15 cities. If I go conquering everything, I won't stop. Kind of like the OP I suppose. Rise and Fall changed the way I played, because I like to try to make alliances.

 

[Victoria]

If you are playing GOTM53 right you'll get your rockets off before you are a dominatrix.
Fantastic map and not really a deity game, its been messed with by those naughty staff members

 

[Archon_Wing]

I'm certainly not an incredibly good player, but my cultural victories are ALWAYS faster than science victories. They are so easy for me to get. Perhaps on deity difficulty this is true, but not lower difficulties (up to about emperor I would say)

On higher levels, the AI ramps up culture fast so science can be more consistent.

But in general turn times are faster the higher you go.

 

[PlayAsPericles]

I don't enjoy military conquest, but I do take pleasure in watching my nation (which I've been building for thousands of years!) finally reaching the apex of our technological achievement.

And that is why you get regular complaints about warmongering being too good. It’s the most efficient strategy, and it’s known.

Personally, I just find unit management too tedious. I’m more of a builder: between spending 5min on unit management and 5min on city planning, I’d always choose the latter.

Sums it up perfectly. I generally go for science or culture victory and most of the time science.I also always play the largest map too so warmongering and spreading religion is WAYYYYY too tedious on that map size!