Question about OCC strat

[Frankincense]

Hi everyone.

I've been learning to get better at OCC (no size limit). Usually play with normal random map, deity, raging hordes, 7 civs. I'm still struggling to shave unnecessary turns off in early games and I have some questions.

-What's the best color to play as?
I assume that weak colors (white, blue, green) are bad as you're more likely to be your own key civ and won't get tech cost bonus?

-Is it better to aim for Republic than Monarchy?
What I've been doing is going for Monarchy and celebrate WLTKD to get the economy of a republic. I switch to high lux to get WLTKD first and then switch back to 0/7/3; the WLTKD will sustain itself with bonus lux from WLTKD.
The reason I usually choose to go for Monarchy first is because Republic needs more tech to reach and most of the time I can't make a beeline to it because of tech hiding. Unless I'm very lucky with starting techs and huts I go for Monarchy first because it's much faster and I'll have less carrying cost toward Astronomy.
But right now I'm not sure. Assuming that I have no starting techs, if I go Alp,Cer>Cod>Mon then my city has nothing to build but warriors, unless I get Bronze Working somewhere in between. But if I start building wonder that soon, the Colossus will finish before I get Trade.
If I go Alp>Cod,Wri>Lit>Rep I can build library and diplomats which are useful. But I'll be stuck in Despotism for long and Trade feels very late with this route. I consider celebrating under Despotism but with the resource penalty it's just impossible w/o market.

-How do you use your first 3 vans?
Should I make trade routes with some nearby city ASAP, or is it better to spend some time sending it overseas to a demanding city for higher payoff but late trade routes?

-Does constantly asking for gifts slow AI civs' progress?
After I learned to stay pathetic and ask allies for gifts, I felt that AI civs research new techs much slower. Is it just me?

-Should I prioritize Shakespeare or Newton?
I usually goes for Shakespeare first because it allows me to raise science to 100%, and celebrating to 21. But I noticed that I don't always need size 21 to get 2 turn techs and I have to cut research and raise lux while celebrating. Right now I'm thinking that Newton first might be better, and I can just celebrate when tech carrying cost starts to slow me down, but I'm not sure.
Also I'm having this weird idea of temporarily getting a colosseum. With about 100g (incremental buy for less than 200g cost and sell for 100g) I can get a quick boost to size 12 before Shakespeare (13 with sewer, but seems hardly worth it for just 1 citizen). Is it worth it?

BTW what's the average time for normal OCC? I usually win between 1700-1800 AD and my best time is 1616 AD but I'm not sure how that compares.

Thanks for you time.

 

[Prof. Garfield]

It's a shame this place is so dead now. I think @WildPony has been going through the the old Games of the Month, and at least one was as an OCC https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/gotm-119-spoiler.413121/page-4

I've never been much of an OCC player, but maybe I can give you something new. Food caravan routes "use up" one of the 3 trade route slots, which can mean that you can use the "wonder bread" trick to free up commodities for new caravans (if a commodity is "blocked" but does not have an associated trade route or caravan, delivering a food caravan for a wonder will usually free up this commodity allowing you to make another caravan).

You'll have to experiment with the details yourself, since I'm pretty sure this hasn't been realized before. I used this idea somewhat during a multiplayer game a little while ago, and it seemed to work when tried. I think the trade routes that are kept are with the three cities with the largest trade. I'm pretty sure the foreign bonus is not considered, but I haven't looked too closely.

 

[Frankincense]

Hi Prof. Garfield. Thanks for the reply.

I think the idea is to send the first 3 vans to a nearby AI city and get the road connection bonus, so subsequent vans going overseas will yield high payoffs and still doesn't replace the first 3 routes, so I can use the unblock commodity trick forever, right?

What I've been doing until now is using beakers from the first 3 payoffs to propel me toward Astronomy, so I tend to send it overseas where payoffs are great, but I've been thinking that maybe trading with a city using road connection may be better than overseas payoffs. If I find a nearby city then I can trade with it and devote my early shields to Copernicus instead of Marco Polo. Still, early Marco Polo is still useful because I won't have to worry about money for the rest of the game if I can ally with everyone early enough before they declare war on one another. What do you think?

 

[WildPony]

It's a shame this place is so dead now. I think @WildPony has been going through the the old Games of the Month, and at least one was as an OCC https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/gotm-119-spoiler.413121/page-4

Thank you Prof. Garfield, nice to see that somebody noticed .

 

[Frankincense]

Hi @WildPony . I learn things from your log. Looking forward to your Republic comparison game.

Quick question. I see you built a lot of diplomats. How did you use them?

 

[Prof. Garfield]

I think the idea is to send the first 3 vans to a nearby AI city and get the road connection bonus, so subsequent vans going overseas will yield high payoffs and still doesn't replace the first 3 routes, so I can use the unblock commodity trick forever, right?

What I've been doing until now is using beakers from the first 3 payoffs to propel me toward Astronomy, so I tend to send it overseas where payoffs are great, but I've been thinking that maybe trading with a city using road connection may be better than overseas payoffs. If I find a nearby city then I can trade with it and devote my early shields to Copernicus instead of Marco Polo. Still, early Marco Polo is still useful because I won't have to worry about money for the rest of the game if I can ally with everyone early enough before they declare war on one another. What do you think?

I suspect that the effort involved in building the road to get the road connection bonus might be too much to make it worthwhile (especially since the bonus only applies for a specific route and if the enemy soldiers are not covering the path), especially given the limited settler time you have and the fact that the nearest city to you will probably be small. Also, I don't know if the game takes into account the road bonus when choosing what three trade routes apply (you probably want to try that in cheat mode to check). My suggestion was to send food caravans to the AI, thereby sacrificing some food each turn and the trade from a route or two and in exchange get the ability to keep producing caravans for delivery for large payouts. I don't know if that would be good or not, but it might be worth investigating.

Three overseas payoffs and Marco Polo sounds like the better strategy to me (though, I should emphasize that I haven't played much OCC), but remember that early payouts are capped near 200g (until your tech cost exceeds 300, after which the cap is 2/3 the tech cost), so you won't have to go too far.

 

[WildPony]

Hi @WildPony . I learn things from your log. Looking forward to your Republic comparison game.

Hi Frankinsence , so happy to hear : ). That One City Republic comparison log somehow got lost or at least misplaced. I will try to find it and if i am unsuccessful, maybe i will just play it again : ).

Quick question. I see you built a lot of diplomats. How did you use them?

I use the diplomats predominately for exploration and as well to open unterrained huts and to be around the terrained ones when they open just in case a bribe is needed. Part of this is because in the Multi Gold version it's extra important to have enough military to prevent the foreign civs from despising you and refusing to trade techs, so it's very possible that i would play it differently in the classic version. I also prefer building diplomats instead of horses in the One City game to minimize the potential for the units away penalty, anticipating the commonly encountered possibility of having to bribe one or more supported units out there.

To weigh in on some of your other questions all of this pertaining specifically to the One City game.

-Is it better to aim for Republic than Monarchy?
What I've been doing is going for Monarchy and celebrate WLTKD to get the economy of a republic. I switch to high lux to get WLTKD first and then switch back to 0/7/3; the WLTKD will sustain itself with bonus lux from WLTKD.
The reason I usually choose to go for Monarchy first is because Republic needs more tech to reach and most of the time I can't make a beeline to it because of tech hiding. Unless I'm very lucky with starting techs and huts I go for Monarchy first because it's much faster and I'll have less carrying cost toward Astronomy.
...But right now I'm not sure. Assuming that I have no starting techs, if I go Alp,Cer>Cod>Mon then my city has nothing to build but warriors, unless I get Bronze Working somewhere in between. But if I start building wonder that soon, the Colossus will finish before I get Trade.

If I go Alp>Cod,Wri>Lit>Rep I can build library and diplomats which are useful. But I'll be stuck in Despotism for long and Trade feels very late with this route. I consider celebrating under Despotism but with the resource penalty it's just impossible w/o market.

Age old question and you have made some good points here. Deity level in One city does make the Republic route less appealing than on other settings since it is generally cost prohibitive to celebrate the Despotism to Monarchy numbers along the way. I still generally prefer going strait to Republic since for me once there it seems like it was worth the wait. As you say that path allows for the early library if desired as well as for the exceedingly useful diplomats. Another consideration is that i prefer to avoid Feudalism (As well and Invention and Navigation) until around the time i would be ready for Invention... and avoiding Monarchy allows me to have Warrior Code/Iron Working and Bridge Building and to continue opening huts without the risk of picking up Feudalism before its time.

As to Colossus, i personally believe it is preferential in most cases to complete it early and before Marco's and to then complete Marco's with 4 caravans.

-How do you use your first 3 vans?
Should I make trade routes with some nearby city ASAP, or is it better to spend some time sending it overseas to a demanding city for higher payoff but late trade routes?

There are various theories i am sure, each of which may have its own merits, but my personal opinion in a Medium Map game is that it is generally best to get Marco's and to trade for as many techs as possible before landing any trade caravans to greatly heighten the bonuses, hopefully even to the 300+ level. You likely know that the maximum possible bonus is 2/3 of your current beaker cost (edit: as i just noticed @Prof. Garfield had mentioned in the previous post). It varies from game to game, but somewhere around the 20th tech, beaker cost and the associated bonus potential goes from about 300 beakers / 200 max bonus to about 600 beakers / 400 max bonus. Of course if after Building Marco's and trading for all possible techs (and then opening several saved huts in the hopes that some will be techs) my bonuses are still only in the 200 range or so, i'll take what i can get and often times this triggers new availability.

-Should I prioritize Shakespeare or Newton?

I usually goes for Shakespeare first because it allows me to raise science to 100%, and celebrating to 21. But I noticed that I don't always need size 21 to get 2 turn techs and I have to cut research and raise lux while celebrating. Right now I'm thinking that Newton first might be better, and I can just celebrate when tech carrying cost starts to slow me down, but I'm not sure.

I personally generally prefer Shakespeare's and Sewer for size 21 even before Copernicus, although when trade caravan availability is meager, i would prefer to have Copernicus first since without a steady stream of trade caravans, this could actually get me to Sanitation and size 21 sooner. Then generally i prefer Econ and Stock Market before Theory of Gravity and Isaac's. After using high science to reach Republic and Trade, i generally like to get the Gold income, buildings and various wonders established before focusing again on high science, including as much as possible having enough gold to rush a unit, building or wonder every turn. But i have the multi gold game version (something i would like to change for more of an apples to apples comparison), so i understand that it seems to be significantly easier to get substantial Gold from the foreign civs in the Classic version and as such this would provide an earlier gold cushion which might lead me to prioritize Copernicus before Shakespeare's / Sewer in more situations.

Also I'm having this weird idea of temporarily getting a colosseum. With about 100g (incremental buy for less than 200g cost and sell for 100g) I can get a quick boost to size 12 before Shakespeare (13 with sewer, but seems hardly worth it for just 1 citizen). Is it worth it?

I think in most instances it is well worth it to invest in a Colosseum before the civ is ready for Shakespeare's and that this Colosseum will more than pay for itself by the time you sell it. Not only does it get us from 8 >12 (and a bit further) but it also allows us to minimize the Lux rate all the way until Shakes allows us to zero it. In my opinion it would be a fairly rare set of circumstances where skipping the Colosseum would be optimal. An analogy of sorts might be how pre-Republic warriors are worth their weight in gold in providing contentedness until they become obsolete.

BTW what's the average time for normal OCC? I usually win between 1700-1800 AD and my best time is 1616 AD but I'm not sure how that compares.

1700 -1800 seems quite strong and i am pretty sure that mid to late 1800s is more common for me. I would enjoy seeing some of your games and/or logs for comparison, possibly even playing and logging some of the same GOTM's if you would like : ). The following are links to several of my recent One City logs (among others not linked) and unless otherwise noted they will be the most recent post within each of the following threads:

2nd to last post in this thread, 1843 landing: https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/gotm-83-spoiler.254077/page-3#post-15455751

3 separate one city comparison's here in the final 3 posts of the thread: https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/gotm178-spoiler.567961/page-2#post-15413775

https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/gotm-92-spoiler.293751/#post-15474488

https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/gotm-92-spoiler.293751/#post-15472526

https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/gotm178-spoiler.567961/page-2#post-15468728

https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/gotm-94-spoiler.308703/#post-15466197

https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/gotm-94-spoiler.308703/#post-15462903

Seems you already found this first one where i will seek to find the Republic comparison. Due to various sub-optimal circumstances, I consider this Monarchy result to be quite poor : ). https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/gotm-119-spoiler.413121/page-4#post-15478101

Thanks for you time.

You too.

 

[Frankincense]

This is the log of my most recent game. Not sure if it's valid. I play the MGE with attitude patch so there's no constantly hostile AIs.

Random normal map, Deity, 7 Civs, raging horde, Mongol.
4000 BC - Starting techs: Bronze Working, Ceremonial Burial, Horseback Riding, Mysticism. NON Archer from hut.
3750 BC - Currency from hut.
3700 BC - Karakorum founded, 2 whales, 1 buffalo and 1 pheasant.
3500 BC - Warriors.
3250 BC - Alphabet.
2700 BC - Writing.
2550 BC - Library.
2200 BC - Code of Laws.
1700 BC - Trade.
1150 BC - Literacy. Marco Polo's Embassy. // A massive amount of early off-path techs greatly delayed my Republic and became my undoing.

Greeks:
Traded Mysticism for Map Making.
Gave Literacy as tribute.
Peace.
Gifted Ceremonial Burial, Trade.
Exchanged maps.
Alliance.
Requested gift and got The Wheel.

Germans:
Gave Literacy as tribute.
Peace.
Gifted Writing, Map Making.
Exchanged maps.
Gave Trade for alliance.
Requested gift and got Pottery.

Romans:
Gave Literacy as tribute.
Peace.
Gifted Writing, Trade, Map Making.
Exchanged maps.
Gave Pottery for alliance.
Requested gift and got Masonry.

Egyptians:
Gave Literacy as tribute.
Peace.
Gifted Writing, Map Making.
Exchanged maps.
Gave Trade for alliance.
Requested gift and got 100g.

Persians:
Gave Map Making as tribute.
Peace.
Gifted Writing, The Wheel, Trade.
Exchanged maps.

Babylonians:
Gave Literacy as tribute.
Peace.
Gifted Alphabet, Writing, Map Making.
Exchanged maps.
Gave Trade for alliance.
Requested gift and got Iron Working.

From this point on, I tech guide, tech bomb my key civ and ask allies for gifts as much as possible.

925 BC - Silver van.
795 BC - Beads van.
775 BC - Warrior Code as gift from Babylonians.
675 BC - Philosophy as gift from Greeks. Trireme.
600 BC - Traded Warrior Code for The Republic with Romans.
525 BC - Construction as gift from Babylonians. Salt van. Government switched. Silver to Ur.
500 BC - Mathematics. Temple. Beads to Babylon.
450 BC - Food van.
425 BC - Astronomy.
400 BC - Food van.
350 BC - Food van.
325 BC - Food van.
300 BC - Food van.
275 BC - Copernicus' Observatory.
225 BC - University. Seafaring as gift from Germans. Food van. Salt to Babylon.
200 BC - University. Traded University for Banking with Egyptians. Alliance with Persians.
150 BC - Food van.
125 BC - Medicine. Food van.
100 BC - Food van.
50 BC - Shakespeare's Theatre. Karakorum celebrating.
AD 1 - Marketplace.
AD 40 - Theory of Gravity. Monarchy as gift from Babylonians. Aqueduct.
AD 60 - Food van.
AD 100 - Food van. Stopped celebrating.
AD 140 - Engineering. Food van.
AD 160 - Polytheism as gift from Persians. Colossus.
AD 220 - Sanitation. Karakorum celebrating.
AD 240 - Sewer System.
AD 280 - Harbor. Temple sold. // Tiny mistake. Should've remembered to do this as soon as Shakespeare.
AD 300 - Invention. Traded Invention for Bridge Building with Greeks.
AD 320 - Food van.
AD 340 - Food van.
AD 360 - Food van.
AD 380 - Democracy. Food van. Government switched.
AD 400 - Food van.
AD 420 - Food van. Stopped celebrating.
AD 440 - Gunpowder. Food van.
AD 460 - Isaac Newton's College.
AD 480 - Navigation.
AD 500 - Diplomat.
AD 520 - Physics.
AD 560 - Chemistry. Food van.
AD 600 - Steam Engine.
AD 620 - Food van.
AD 640 - Railroad. Traded Railroad for Metallurgy with Babylonians.
AD 660 - Food van.
AD 680 - Industrialization.
AD 700 - Food van.
AD 740 - Economics.
AD 780 - The Corporation. Food van.
AD 820 - Magnetism. Coal freight.
AD 840 - Gem freight.
AD 860 - Explosive. Oil freight.
AD 880 - Transport.
AD 900 - Electricity.
AD 920 - Food freight.
AD 940 - Refining.
AD 960 - Food freight.
AD 980 - Steel.
AD 1000 - Food freight.
AD 1040 - Combustion.
AD 1060 - Cloth freight.
AD 1080 - Automobile. Traded Explosive for Feudalism with Babylonians. //No one was researching cavalry line yet so I had to get Feudalism myself
AD 1100 - Superhighway. Coal to Athens.
AD 1120 - Engineers. Karakorum celebrating. Oil and Gem to Elephantine.
AD 1140 - Engineers. //2 engineers will be killing pollution every turn
AD 1160 - Chivalry.
AD 1200 - Leadership. Stopped celebrating.
AD 1240 - Conscription. Food freight.
AD 1260 - Barb hut.
AD 1280 - Tactics.
AD 1300 - Food freight.
AD 1320 - Mass Production.
AD 1360 - Machine Tools. Food freight. Cloth to Ravenna.
AD 1380 - Flight. // Researching other off-path techs will just delay me
AD 1400 - Darwin's Voyage. Miniaturization. Computers. // Flight got me from 2 turns to 3 turns. Darwin gave me a boost toward research lab.
AD 1420 - Radio. Research Lab.
AD 1440 - Factory.
AD 1460 - Advanced Flight. Offshore Platform.
AD 1480 - Power Plant.
AD 1500 - Rocketry.
AD 1520 - Recycling. //Another mistake. I knew Space Flight would be unavailable but still forgot to trade techs to avoid tech hiding.
AD 1550 - Space Flight. Sewer System sold. Traded Conscription for Atomic Theory with Germans. Used the charged settlers to plant a forest to get base shield of 30+ and final shields of 60+, skipping Robotics.
AD 1560 - Apollo Program. Aqueduct sold.
AD 1570 - Plastics. SS Structural.
AD 1580 - SS Structural.
AD 1590 - Nuclear Fission. SS Structural.
AD 1600 - SS Structural.
AD 1610 - Nuclear Power. SS Structural.
AD 1620 - SS Structural.
AD 1630 - The Laser. SS Structural.
AD 1640 - SS Structural.
AD 1650 - Refrigeration. SS Structural.
AD 1660 - SS Structural.
AD 1670 - Superconductor. SS Structural.
AD 1680 - SS Structural.
AD 1690 - Fusion Power. SS Structural.
AD 1700 - SS Structural.
AD 1710 - SS Structural.
AD 1720 - SS Module.
AD 1730 - SS Module.
AD 1740 - SS Module.
AD 1750 - SS Component. //Earlier mistakes proved to be costly at this point. If I could launch before 2 yrs/turn I would have settled with 15/2/3 SS.
AD 1752 - SS Component.
AD 1754 - SS Component.
AD 1756 - SS Component. Launch. //No more resources at this point so decided to launch now instead of waiting to build 2 more components.
...
AD 1777 - SS arrived.

I have a few questions.
1. When I request gifts, is there a way to know if the AI will give me gold or techs? Off-path techs very often damage my early game.
2. I try to micro my research as much as I can so that there won't be wasted beakers. The problem is sometimes that backfires. Sometimes my power rating changes and my tech cost increases at the last minute, and thus I need to spend another turn to make the discovery. Does this ever happen to you?
3. I notice that the AI rarely research the cavalry line (Feudalism > Chivalry > Leadership > Tactics) and I very often have to research them myself. It seems the AI's favorite techs during middle game are always Bridge Building > Steam Engine > Railroad > Industrialization no matter what their traits are. Is there a reliable way to guide them toward Chivalry/Leadership?

 

[WildPony]

This is the log of my most recent game... AD 1777 - SS arrived.

Nice Log and Landing year : ) . I thought i had a pretty good handle on things, but am looking through your log seeking to understand what you are doing that helps you to Launch significantly earlier than me.

You have asked 3 good questions and in each instance i don't completely know the answers. But the following is my best attempt to contribute.

1. When I request gifts, is there a way to know if the AI will give me gold or techs? Off-path techs very often damage my early game.

I am not 100% sure how this works, but if the ai's gold is below 50 (i believe) and if upon demanding tribute of them they choose to tribute you something, then it can only be tech. If their gold is 50+, they could gift you tech or gold. If they have more techs than you it seems to make them more likely to gift you tech when there is a choice.

2. I try to micro my research as much as I can so that there won't be wasted beakers. The problem is sometimes that backfires. Sometimes my power rating changes and my tech cost increases at the last minute, and thus I need to spend another turn to make the discovery. Does this ever happen to you?

Yes i micro-manage mine as well in the One City game and this does sometimes happen to me, some games more than others. I doubt there is any way to anticipate this so the necessary adjustments can be made, but if there is i am unaware.

3. I notice that the AI rarely research the cavalry line (Feudalism > Chivalry > Leadership > Tactics) and I very often have to research them myself. It seems the AI's favorite techs during middle game are always Bridge Building > Steam Engine > Railroad > Industrialization no matter what their traits are. Is there a reliable way to guide them toward Chivalry/Leadership?

My own practice generally speaking is to gift them their tech in progress if i have it... and hope they will choose to research one of the techs i don't have. I doubt there is a more focused way than this of guiding them specifically towards the Tactics path, but if there is, then i am unaware.

 

[Frankincense]

Still looking to find places to improve. Feedback is welcome. D=

Random normal map. Deity. 7 civs. Raging horde. Mongol.

This is a very interesting starting spot. I started on a small piece of land sticking out from the South Pole. There were ice tiles to be transformed later but the specials were too good to ignore. Here's the video of the whole game (I'm allowed to post links, right?): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/459048813

4000 BC - Starting techs: Bronze Working, Horseback Riding, Iron Working, Warrior Code. 100g from hut.
3900 BC - Karakorum founded, 2 ivories, 1 whale.
3650 BC - Alphabet, Warriors.
3400 BC - Warriors.
3250 BC - Code of Laws.
2700 BC - Ceremonial Burial.
2350 BC - Silk uncovered from grassland.
2100 BC - Monarchy.
2050 BC - Gov switched.
1950 BC - Barb hut.
1800 BC - Russian met. The Wheel from Russians.
1750 BC - Currency from Russians.
1500 BC - Trade.
1400 BC - Marco Polo's Embassy.

Alliance with Russians.

Mysticism from Zulu. Alliance with Zulu.

Map Making from English. Alliance with English.

Writing and Mathematics from French. Alliance with French.

1350 BC -

Alliance with Chinese.

Alliance with Aztecs.

1300 BC - Library.
1150 BC - Masonry from Russians. Coal van.
1000 BC - Silk van.
925 BC - Astronomy. Trireme.
850 BC - Hides van.
800 BC - Hides van.
775 BC - Coal to Moscow.
750 BC - Trireme.
725 BC - Literacy.
700 BC - Hides van.
650 BC - Beads van.
625 BC - The Republic from English. Barb hut.
600 BC - Seafaring from Aztecs. Silk to Zimbabwe.
575 BC - Philosophy. Medicine. Pottery from Aztecs. Hides to Moscow x2.
550 BC - Food van.
500 BC - Food van.
475 BC - University. Food van.
450 BC - Food van.
425 BC - University. Gov switched. //Horrible mistakes. Forgot to change by almost 2 cycles.
400 BC - Food van.
350 BC - Copernicus' Observatory.
325 BC - Banking from French.
300 BC - Marketplace.
275 BC - Navigation from French.
250 BC - Engineering. Food van. Beads to St. Petersburg.
200 BC - Bridge Building from Chinese. Food van. Wool to London.
175 BC - Invention. Food van. 50g hut.
150 BC - Food van.
100 BC - Shakespeare's Theatre. Polytheism from Zulu. Started celebrating. //Didn't build a temple and just went straight for Shakespeare. Stayed at 4 for a long time until now. I thought subsequent workers won't get as much arrows as my first 4 on the specials, and tried to get Copernicus to double my science as soon as possible instead.
50 BC - Harbor.
AD 1 - Sanitation. Aqueduct.
AD 40 - Bank. //A bank let me maintain 80% science while celebrating. Still contemplating if this really helps in the long run.
AD 80 - Sewer system.
AD 100 - Democracy. Food van.
AD 120 - Bridge Building from French. Food van.
AD 140 - Food van. Gov switched.
AD 160 - Colossus.
AD 180 - Steam Engine.
AD 200 - Food van
AD 240 - Railroad. Economics from Aztecs. Food van.
AD 260 - Food van.
AD 300 - Theory of Gravity. Monotheism from Chinese. Food van.
AD 340 - Food van.
AD 360 - Chemistry.
AD 380 - Food van.
AD 420 - Gunpowder. Magnetism from English. Food van.
AD 440 - Isaac Newton's College.
AD 480 - Explosive. Industrialization from Chinese. Diplomat. //A mistake. Explosive should have come a turn earlier but I forgot about an incoming barb which blocked my worker.
AD 520 - Engineers.
AD 560 - Metallurgy. Engineers.
AD 580 - Feudalism from Aztecs.
AD 600 - The Corporation. Engineers. //Behind in terrain improvement so needed another one.
AD 640 - Refining.
AD 660 - Gold freight.
AD 680 - Electricity.
AD 700 - Wine freight.
AD 720 - Combustion.
AD 760 - Steel
AD 780 - Hides freight.
AD 800 - Automobile.
AD 820 - Atomic Theory from French. Hides freight.
AD 840 - Electronics. Superhighways. Wine to Moscow. //Should've built SH a turn earlier.
AD 860 - Chivalry. Hides van.
AD 900 - Leadership. Hides van. Gold to Tlaxcala.
AD 920 - Mass Production. Wool Freight.
AD 960 - Conscription. Food van.
AD 1000 - Tactics. Food van. Wool to Calixtlahuaca.
AD 1020 - Flight. Hides to Teotihuacan x3. //Might be a wrong decision. I simply just wanted to cut down research time back then.
AD 1040 - Machine Tools. Food freight.
AD 1080 - Radio. Food van.
AD 1100 - Darwin's Voyage. Miniaturization. Advanced Flight. //Rush buy with only some starting shields from disband and no wonderbread. Hurt a lot.
AD 1120 - Computers. Factory.
AD 1140 - Research Lab.
AD 1160 - Rocketry. Offshore Platform. Hides to Teotihuacan.
AD 1180 - Power Plant.
AD 1200 - Space Flight.
AD 1220 - Apollo Program. Sewer system sold.
AD 1240 - SS Structural. Aqueduct sold. //Planted a forest to get final shields of 60+. Don't remember if it was this turn or the turn before.
AD 1260 - Nuclear Fission. SS Structural.
AD 1280 - SS Structural.
AD 1300 - SS Structural.
AD 1320 - Plastics. SS Structural.
AD 1340 - SS Structural.
AD 1360 - SS Structural.
AD 1380 - Robotics. SS Structural. //Nuclear Power was hidden. Couldn't avoid it.
AD 1400 - SS Structural.
AD 1420 - SS Structural.
AD 1440 - Nuclear Power. SS Structural. Genetic Engineering from Aztecs. //Traded for an off-path tech here to avoid Superconductor being hidden. Very lucky someone got it just a few turns before.
AD 1460 - SS Structural.
AD 1480 - SS Structural.
AD 1500 - The Laser. SS Structural.
AD 1510 - SS Structural.
AD 1520 - SS Component.
AD 1530 - Superconductor. SS Component.
AD 1540 - SS Module.
AD 1550 - SS Module.
AD 1560 - Fusion Power. //Out of resources at this point. Had to beg every civ, sell every science improvement and disband every remaining unit save my last engineers to get all the resources I needed.
AD 1570 - SS Module. Launch.

... Spammed units, built every defensive improvement, got UN.

AD 1606 - SS arrived.

With more desirable starting techs and no small mistakes here and there, I could have arrive before 1600 or even 1500. And if there had been an AI city nearby I could connect with, my early game research might have been a lot faster. Still new personal best. Whaling and sealing are OP.

 

[Ali Ardavan]

Frankincense, Have you read the OCC guide which is one of the sticky threads in this forum?

I've been learning to get better at OCC (no size limit). Usually play with normal random map, deity, raging hordes, 7 civs. I'm still struggling to shave unnecessary turns off in early games and I have some questions.

-What's the best color to play as?
I assume that weak colors (white, blue, green) are bad as you're more likely to be your own key civ and won't get tech cost bonus?

Being your own key civ is more advantageous in mid and late game. You have to be the tech leader to be able to win.

-Is it better to aim for Republic than Monarchy?

It depends on circumstances such as starting techs, amount of accessible huts, ...

-How do you use your first 3 vans?
Should I make trade routes with some nearby city ASAP, or is it better to spend some time sending it overseas to a demanding city for higher payoff but late trade routes?

Losing key wonders are detrimental to an OCC game. Only establish trade routes when you are not in a wonder race.

-Does constantly asking for gifts slow AI civs' progress?
After I learned to stay pathetic and ask allies for gifts, I felt that AI civs research new techs much slower. Is it just me?

I am not sure but even if it does the gifts are worth it.

-Should I prioritize Shakespeare or Newton?

Again it depends on the circumstances. Who has the enabling key, who has already started building it, ....[/QUOTE]