Optimum mean research path?

[The Pilgrim]

the PT isn't that important. (for winning) It's helpful to have, mainly to prevent an AI from getting +100% beakers on RAs.

the GL and PT, and frankly every wonder, just makes you win faster.

I missed the PT on my Roman game, but just expanded and kept up on techs. (except for the Egyptians who sped through the tech tree)

Not for winning, but for finishing tech tree as early as possible. Missing it will slow you down more than missing GL. IMO, it's the most helpful of all wonders, especially if you go tall. I keep in mind fmlizard2's latest Egypt game, probably this subconsciously affected my comment on his post. But I wouldn't quit the game because of it either. Expansion and massive murder is always a better alternative. No need to convince me.

In this referenced game, I got GL on turn 39. I didn't chop a forest (tree hugger), had no marble, and didn't even have a worker until turn 60. I got nothing meaningful from huts. I spent all my getting Siam into early war. I did have Egypt and Aristocracy though.

I used a Granary (w/3 deer, 1 wheat) to get a big early population and then went focus on my undeveloped silver mines to make it happen.

I was kidding. It was a reference to MadDjinn's formula for getting GL on Deity for sure.
Best thing about Egypt in these circumstances, though, isn't its UA but not having Egypt with its UA as opponent.

 

[qemist]

the PT isn't that important. (for winning) It's helpful to have, mainly to prevent an AI from getting +100% beakers on RAs.

the GL and PT, and frankly every wonder, just makes you win faster.

So are you saying you shouldn't try for them? or that you can and if you get beaten to both by one turn (this has happened to me) you would still win on deity? I gave up and I only play immortal.

 

[MadDjinn]

So are you saying you shouldn't try for them? or that you can and if you get beaten to both by one turn (this has happened to me) you would still win on deity? I gave up and I only play immortal.

switch 'would still' and 'can' in that question, and yes. (other factors determine win/loss success)

Missing the GL is annoying, but you'll get a little cash for missing it. It's not that important.

missing the PT means you lose an OP wonder to an AI, but you can just go beat them down and take it. They're even likely to settle the GS for you.

GS production is far safer than RA spam, so you can use some 75% median beaker RAs to get you to Scientific Theory and build public schools everywhere earlier to give you another round of GSs.

With correct median shifting, at the right points, 75% of a top tech (ensured median) is more than the beaker cost of lower techs. You could also spread out the RAs in the spam and finish the 25% on raw bpt between RAs.