Is it time to kick up to King again?

[Horizons]

So I've been playing games on Prince again and getting into the routine of kicking the AI's butt. But again and again, on Prince, the AI hits a ceiling tech-wise and again and again we all manage to build our Manhattan Projects no sooner than 2000AD. It's chronically bad, even when I've been ahead of the AI in population for most of the game. So is kicking up to King the only way to overcome the chronically expensive late game tech that takes hundreds of years to research?

I'm not looking forward to sweeping round-the-board cheats for the AI ... but if it's the price I have to pay? (I always play on Standard maps, BTW, if that makes a difference.)

 

[joncnunn]

Playing on a higher difficulty level greatly helps with science as there are discounts for known AIs already having it. If you are playing too low for your ability you end up researching just about every tech first and paying full price.
(In addition, trade routes provide you some science if the AI has techs you bypassed.)

I suspect though if the AI actually has near tech parity with you in 2000 AD that you've not been focusing enough on science yourself.

 

[LoneRebel]

Playing on a higher difficulty level greatly helps with science as there are discounts for known AIs already having it. If you are playing too low for your ability you end up researching just about every tech first and paying full price.
(In addition, trade routes provide you some science if the AI has techs you bypassed.)

I suspect though if the AI actually has near tech parity with you in 2000 AD that you've not been focusing enough on science yourself.

Does this discount for known AIs already having a tech also apply to AIs if the human has already researched a tech that they have not, and to an AI if another AI has already researched it?

 

[joncnunn]

Does this discount for known AIs already having a tech also apply to AIs if the human has already researched a tech that they have not, and to an AI if another AI has already researched it?

Yup, it's a per civ modifier. In fact I think the AI default handicap gives the AI slightly more of a discount than it does the human.

 

[Gamewizard]

If scholars in residence is active, the techs get really cheap. I use it to keep tech parity on higher levels.

 

[Memoryjar]

Yup, move to king or, for my opinion, directly to emperor.
You'll feel again the rage-quit effect.
I never saw a 1950 AD in my emperor games.