Bandobras Took
Emperor
. . . or What Kind of Bang Am I Getting for My Buck?
I mainly started pondering this because of all the people who say Castles go obsolete too quickly and that getting Liberalism is important. What follows is the base beaker cost for each path and a few thoughts afterward.
Liberalism (Religion to Paper)
Mysticism 50
Meditation 80
Priesthood 60
Writing 120
Code of Laws 350
Philosophy 800
Masonry 80
Polytheism 100
Monotheism 120
Theology 500
Paper 600
Education 1800
Liberalism 1400
Total Cost: 6060
Liberalism (Civil Service to Paper)
Mysticism 50
Meditation 80
Priesthood 60
Writing 120
Code of Laws 350
Philosophy 800
Mathematics 250
Civil Service 800
Paper 600
Education 1800
Liberalism 1400
Total Cost: 6310
Engineering
Wheel 60
Pottery 80
Mining 50
Bronze Working 120
Metal Casting 450
Machinery 700
Masonry 80
Writing 120
Mathematics 250
Construction 350
Engineering 1000
Total Cost: 3260
Feudalism
Mysticism 50
Meditation 80
Animal Husbandry 100
Writing 120
Priesthood 60
Monarchy 300
Feudalism 700
Total Cost: 1410
The most immediately obvious thing is that getting Engineering is roughly half the beaker cost of Liberalism. Liberalism usually gains about 1800 (Nationalism) off of the free tech, but Engineering is still a far cheaper path -- you'll be building castles around the time you get Paper going for Liberalism. Not only that, but many of the Prereqs for Engineering are worker techs (Mining, Bronze Working, Pottery, and the Wheel being the most notable, with Masonry and Machinery coming in second).
Even figuring in 1800 off of Liberalism's Free Tech, Engineering has roughly 1600 beakers to work with -- a bit more if the common path of Liberalism through Civil Service has been taken. That means that going for Engineering will also give you time to take Feudalism, with most of Code of Laws thrown in for good measure.
Going for Liberalism should be used in Conjunction with bulbing from Great Scientists in order to get anywhere. However, the prereqs include absolutely no Worker or Military techs whatsoever with the exception of Masonry (keeping in mind that Civil Service is only a Military tech in conjunction with Machinery).
Given all of the above, a more militarily-oriented person should think about giving Liberalism a miss in favor of heading towards Engineering/Feudalism for the following reasons:
1) You still have to research Worker techs on the Liberalism path, and a good chunk of those are already included on the Engineering path resulting in what is effectively an even larger base beaker advantage for Engineering;
2) If a Liberalism person wants a viable defender, they have to research Machinery anyway, whether it be for Macemen or for Crossbowmen;
3) Engineering itself is a great Warmonger tech, improving movement on roads, giving access to Trebuchets, and enabling Castles for better Espionage and Trade Route income (not to mention Pikes for countering mounted units);
4) Forges from Metal Casting along the way help boost military production;
5) You can pursue Feudalism either in conjunction with or after researching Engineering to give you access to Vassalage, Longbows, and a running start on Guilds for Knights and then to Gunpowder.
Civs with the Aggressive trait, on the other hand, don't get a lot out of the Engineering/Feudalism path unless they detour to Civil Service. Protective (through Crossbows)/Charismatic (through generally cheaper promotions)/Spain (through Citadel-enhanced Siege) can gain a great deal out of giving Liberalism a miss and pursuing Medieval war to give them an advantage. Philosophical Civs gain more out of Pursuing Liberalism since they can make the earliest use of Great Scientists.
As usual, let me know if I've made a mistake.
I mainly started pondering this because of all the people who say Castles go obsolete too quickly and that getting Liberalism is important. What follows is the base beaker cost for each path and a few thoughts afterward.
Liberalism (Religion to Paper)
Mysticism 50
Meditation 80
Priesthood 60
Writing 120
Code of Laws 350
Philosophy 800
Masonry 80
Polytheism 100
Monotheism 120
Theology 500
Paper 600
Education 1800
Liberalism 1400
Total Cost: 6060
Liberalism (Civil Service to Paper)
Mysticism 50
Meditation 80
Priesthood 60
Writing 120
Code of Laws 350
Philosophy 800
Mathematics 250
Civil Service 800
Paper 600
Education 1800
Liberalism 1400
Total Cost: 6310
Engineering
Wheel 60
Pottery 80
Mining 50
Bronze Working 120
Metal Casting 450
Machinery 700
Masonry 80
Writing 120
Mathematics 250
Construction 350
Engineering 1000
Total Cost: 3260
Feudalism
Mysticism 50
Meditation 80
Animal Husbandry 100
Writing 120
Priesthood 60
Monarchy 300
Feudalism 700
Total Cost: 1410
The most immediately obvious thing is that getting Engineering is roughly half the beaker cost of Liberalism. Liberalism usually gains about 1800 (Nationalism) off of the free tech, but Engineering is still a far cheaper path -- you'll be building castles around the time you get Paper going for Liberalism. Not only that, but many of the Prereqs for Engineering are worker techs (Mining, Bronze Working, Pottery, and the Wheel being the most notable, with Masonry and Machinery coming in second).
Even figuring in 1800 off of Liberalism's Free Tech, Engineering has roughly 1600 beakers to work with -- a bit more if the common path of Liberalism through Civil Service has been taken. That means that going for Engineering will also give you time to take Feudalism, with most of Code of Laws thrown in for good measure.
Going for Liberalism should be used in Conjunction with bulbing from Great Scientists in order to get anywhere. However, the prereqs include absolutely no Worker or Military techs whatsoever with the exception of Masonry (keeping in mind that Civil Service is only a Military tech in conjunction with Machinery).
Given all of the above, a more militarily-oriented person should think about giving Liberalism a miss in favor of heading towards Engineering/Feudalism for the following reasons:
1) You still have to research Worker techs on the Liberalism path, and a good chunk of those are already included on the Engineering path resulting in what is effectively an even larger base beaker advantage for Engineering;
2) If a Liberalism person wants a viable defender, they have to research Machinery anyway, whether it be for Macemen or for Crossbowmen;
3) Engineering itself is a great Warmonger tech, improving movement on roads, giving access to Trebuchets, and enabling Castles for better Espionage and Trade Route income (not to mention Pikes for countering mounted units);
4) Forges from Metal Casting along the way help boost military production;
5) You can pursue Feudalism either in conjunction with or after researching Engineering to give you access to Vassalage, Longbows, and a running start on Guilds for Knights and then to Gunpowder.
Civs with the Aggressive trait, on the other hand, don't get a lot out of the Engineering/Feudalism path unless they detour to Civil Service. Protective (through Crossbows)/Charismatic (through generally cheaper promotions)/Spain (through Citadel-enhanced Siege) can gain a great deal out of giving Liberalism a miss and pursuing Medieval war to give them an advantage. Philosophical Civs gain more out of Pursuing Liberalism since they can make the earliest use of Great Scientists.
As usual, let me know if I've made a mistake.
Okay, that last statement went a little overboard. 
I'd love to see more people put away the cookie cutter and prove me wrong, though.
) and this game is not looking perfect, but things are not down the toilet that's for sure. Also, I'm playing as Churchill who supposedly has the weakest trait in the game (and one of the strongest too I guess).
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