Q's on Tech Advance pace above Regent

[Sancho Panza]

Hi folks, I am in a delimma. For the past few months, I've been at "Regent" level and quite happy, only now, with victory assured every game practically, I feel it is time to move up a level.

There is only one thing that holds me back: the rampant pace of tech advancement. I like a good "Knight War" but even in Regent, Cavalry often comes too quick to really go medeival on someone, so I can only imagine how on the higher levels it flies by.

Secondly, being a builder, I can imagine how with the rampant tech pace you are often into the modern era before you've even had time to complete all those cathedrals and universities.


So how do you handle these things? Just play a faster game and not worry about all the buildings; build and upgrade units as necessary?

And finally, is there a way to SL-O-O-O-W down the tech pace on the higher levels without giving away the A.I's main advantage?


Aside: I've always wondered why on the higher levels they gave the A.I the tech advantage instead of giving the player a tech DIS-advantage, since it skews the time-frame and length of games.

 

[Lt. 'Killer' M.]

One thing that helps a lot is getting the Great Library. Hard on Monarch without a prebuild, pretty easy often enouhg with a proper prebuild.

Also, forget about building every building in every city. make sure you are flip-safe, but not TOO many libraries. Buy techs and safe yourselve the research costs.

Then, you cna still (at least on Monarchy and in good games on Emperor) out-infrastructure the AIs from end off Middle Ages on. This will slow research down a bit, too, as you can afford to trade around all the time and keeep the AIs at war.

 

[sumthinelse]

Originally posted by Lt. 'Killer' M.
One thing that helps a lot is getting the Great Library. Hard on Monarch without a prebuild, pretty easy often enouhg with a proper prebuild.

Also, forget about building every building in every city. make sure you are flip-safe, but not TOO many libraries. Buy techs and safe yourselve the research costs.

Then, you cna still (at least on Monarchy and in good games on Emperor) out-infrastructure the AIs from end off Middle Ages on. This will slow research down a bit, too, as you can afford to trade around all the time and keeep the AIs at war.

I agree. Welcome back Killer.

Even on Emperor and Deity you can build workers or settlers in one city and use them to "join" another city that can produce more shields, so you can build things like the Pyramids and Great Library. Of course you will pick your wonder-producing city very carefully. (This is kind of like the "caravan" in Civ2 to build a wonder but you send people instead of production.) Luxuries are always very important so you can have a big city without it going into disorder, but if you concentrate on roads (industrious civs are great for roads), rivers, and other gold producing themes (don't forget the possibility of a golden age) you will have enough extra gold to raise the entertainment tax temporarily (if necessary). After the wonder is finished you may want to build settlers/workers in the oversize city to get rid of the excess population and reduce the entertainment tax.

If you get a map without rivers or you are not industrious this is harder to do, but still may be possible.

 

[WickedWombat]

Originally posted by Sancho Panza
Secondly, being a builder, I can imagine how with the rampant tech pace you are often into the modern era before you've even had time to complete all those cathedrals and universities.

Usually when I begin the industrial era, I give my cities just enough to defend themselves and also fortify my civ's borders with any potential unfriendlies I might have.

I like to crank my science high as it will go, maintaining, of course adequate happiness in my cities (democracy, monarch level, Iroquois), and sell my techs for outrageous amounts to the rival civs.

Hey, I'm just giving them what they offer me!

 

[Sancho Panza]

Thanks all for the replies and the tips on how to play the higher levels. Especially about the 'worker caravan' to get the GL.

@WW: Those are my exact tactics on Regent!

I guess what I was really asking was: Is there a way to slow down the tech-advance pace on the higher levels?

 

[Lt. 'Killer' M.]

Sancho Panza: get the Great Lib. Then AIs DO research slkower. Also, get them to fight.

If you want to mod the game, simply jack up the prices for techs.

 

[DaveMcW]

The best way to slow down science is to fight world wars.

 

[Cartouche Bee]

Originally posted by DaveMcW
The best way to slow down science is to fight world wars.

And don't sell or give techs to the AI.

 

[Woody]

And don't sell or give techs to the AI.

Selling techs to the AI for a large number of gold pieces per turn is a great way to cripple their research rate. I love nothing more than selling the AI something like Music Theory for 200-300 gpt. For them to afford that they have to cut their research to almost nothing.

 

[Bismarck]

Originally posted by Sancho Panza

There is only one thing that holds me back: the rampant pace of tech advancement. I like a good "Knight War" but even in Regent, Cavalry often comes too quick to really go medeival on someone, so I can only imagine how on the higher levels it flies by.

Knights are expensive. That's why you need to build a large number of horsemen during the ancient and early medieval era, and then upgrade. Presto! Instant 20-30 knight army on call.

(The same applies to knight->cavalry upgrade).

 

[Darkness]

Originally posted by Bismarck


Knights are expensive. That's why you need to build a large number of horsemen during the ancient and early medieval era, and then upgrade. Presto! Instant 20-30 knight army on call.

(The same applies to knight->cavalry upgrade).

Yes, but for the horseman-knight upgrade you need quite a lot of money in the treasury (unless you have Leo's, of course)...

 

[Sullla]

Originally posted by Sancho Panza
Aside: I've always wondered why on the higher levels they gave the A.I the tech advantage instead of giving the player a tech DIS-advantage, since it skews the time-frame and length of games.

Actually, this is exactly what the game does do; the AI researches at the same rate on all difficulty and the player's rate of research changes. At Monarch, techs will cost 111% of what they do on Regent. On Deity, techs cost the player 167% what they do on Regent. Tech costs didn't use to work this way prior to the 1.29f patch (1.21f included games where I built the UN in 1190AD and launched a spaceship in 1250AD), but now the tech pace is much slower and more resonable. So relax, the game already does work the way you want it to!

 

[Michael York]

It's not so much the tech rate but rather the trade rate. An AI to AI trade rate of 160 on Diety vs. 100 on Cheiftan makes a huge difference. If you look at the # of AI's per island vs. their civ sizes and scientific achievments, The trade is what gives them their real advantage.

 

[Cartouche Bee]

Originally posted by Woody


Selling techs to the AI for a large number of gold pieces per turn is a great way to cripple their research rate. I love nothing more than selling the AI something like Music Theory for 200-300 gpt. For them to afford that they have to cut their research to almost nothing.

I've never been able to get that much for Music Theory from the AI, I've usually got them broke just paying for peace.

 

[lz14]

On higher difficulty levels, you can still manage a knight war. It barely finish off any civ, especially if you are fighting more than one. But you can weaken them, capture some wonders or resources, prepare for a bigger war later.
The more civ you play, the faster the tech goes. Because they can trade each other, and not all AI s research the same tech path. Anyway, if the AI are in democracy, their tech will be flying. So do whatever you can to stop them being democracy.

 

[Jurimax]

Luring the AI's into a world war is the best way, in the military advisor screen you can see what's their goverment. When fighting a prolonged war, they will often change from demo to monarchy, republic or communism. This happened to me in my last emp game (gotm16). I was leading big-time (relatively speaking) in technology.

After excessive trading, and thus grinding their highspeed research to a halt, you can also apply the tactic Julius Caesar already applied during the apex of the Roman empire, divida et impera, divide and rule. This way, you might lure AI's to grow jealous of each other, and above all, fight each other instead of fighting you.

Greets