I've wondered this for years...

[ChiefSparkY]

I've wondered this for years... and now I'm finally going to ask, having just restarted Civ 3 twice right there now.

I've always had it in my head that I'm wasting science if I don't choose a technology to research and whack the science rate up to 100% before ending the first turn. And when I forget to do it (and the advisor asks me automatically, after ending my turn, what I'd like to research), I quit the game, curse myself, and start again.

So, does it matter? Thanks for clearing this up

 

[Lord Emsworth]

I've wondered this for years... and now I'm finally going to ask, having just restarted Civ 3 twice right there now.

I've always had it in my head that I'm wasting science if I don't choose a technology to research and whack the science rate up to 100% before ending the first turn. And when I forget to do it (and the advisor asks me automatically, after ending my turn, what I'd like to research), I quit the game, curse myself, and start again.

So, does it matter? Thanks for clearing this up

Yes, it does matter. Try it for yourself on a tiny Chieftain map or so. Just grab a save where you start on a river, found on the spot, add in your worker, and make sure that you work one riverside tile and have one geek.

Alternative 1: Set research to 100% but do not chose a research goal. Result: IBT you will be asked what to research. If you pick CB, then you'll see that in 3950BC you still have 5 turn to go.

Alternative 2: Set research to 100% and pick CB as research goal before ending the turn. Result: In 3950BC you'll still have 4 turns left.

 

[ChiefSparkY]

I've wasted some great starting points over the years by forgetting to set science rate and choose the knowledge to research and then starting all over again. Glad to hear that it was right to do it though! Thanks for clearing it up.

 

[Lord Emsworth]

Normally it's 3-4 beakers lost. I am not sure if you really have to throw out a great start because of that.

 

[jonny41177]

If you have a good starting point then a turn delay won't hurt lol i usually get crappy starting locations and have to move my settler especially if i want to be next to a ocean and start a tile away. Good players depending on difficulty can overcome a missed turn.

 

[Verarde]

I generally forget to do that as well, but the times that I do remember, I always pat myself on the back.

And when I don't, I don't quit. I keep playing.

 

[dominatr]

you can always reload the autosave from 4000BC if you mess up on this, i tend to do that a lot

 

[Theov]

how does the AI do it?

 

[web25]

ops, i have never picked my first science right away. i always thought you had to wait, LOL.

seems it wouldnt matter though.

 

[darski]

I always pick my research topic and set the rate ... even when I don't have a city yet

 

[AIL]

ops, i have never picked my first science right away. i always thought you had to wait, LOL.

seems it wouldnt matter though.

Not picking the first science right away is not the problem. That won't make you lose beakers.
The problem is that you start with research-rate set to 50% and not 100%.
So you'll lose those 50%.

But it ain't such a big deal either as you get your 2 Gold or so instead and stay at 100% for 1 turn longer than you could otherwise after making your first buildings.

However, in theory it could snowball into a big disadvantage when you miss a tech-trade by getting your first tech 1 turn later then AI A who then traded it with AI B and now AI B does not trade with you because it traded with AI B and so you lose a whole tech worth of research instead of just delaying it for 1 turn.

 

[Ataxerxes]

I always pick my research topic and set the rate ... even when I don't have a city yet

That sounds like a good habit to get into. I'm always settling first and then picking topic and rate but sometimes I forget. Frustrating.

 

[web25]

i had the problem with the game im playing now, im the iroquois and every civ i came into contact with had 2-3 more techs than me. none would trade either. but for some reason i could expand so fast that im ahead of everyone on the map by a tech or 2.

im a slow starter, so this thread is to my interests. any tips on keeping up with the computer at start of the game?

 

[Spoonwood]

i had the problem with the game im playing now, im the iroquois and every civ i came into contact with had 2-3 more techs than me. none would trade either. but for some reason i could expand so fast that im ahead of everyone on the map by a tech or 2.

im a slow starter, so this thread is to my interests. any tips on keeping up with the computer at start of the game?

Research Alphabet and the Writing first/second and trade with multiple AIs.

 

[vmxa]

Assuming that you are not playing levels that they have a very large bonus and have a decent start, then the best way is to expand quickly and improve tiles. If you do that in most games you will not be keeping up, you will be ahead.

 

[web25]

i expand quick and build roads for the commerce.

how high should i build my cities pop before building settlers?

 

[scratchthepitch]

i expand quick and build roads for the commerce.

how high should i build my cities pop before building settlers?

When I'm in a hurry to expand, I try and time it so the settler completes when the town reaches between 3 and 4 pop. I try to make an equal number of defenders as settlers, so often the towns will alternate defenders and settlers. If a town populates slowly, I may have it concentrate on defenders for other towns that populate quickly and can turn out those settlers and workers often.

The downside of this strategy is it shortchanges science research due to the lack of population. You'll end up with more territory, but you'll fall behind the others in tech.