Research Strategies?

[Titan2018]

Do You work your way up the tech tree researching every tech or do you only research the most useful techs? Which strategy is better (gets you up the tech tree faster)?

I've recently moved up to Noble. I won but it took me until 1923 to get a space victory. I've see from the hall of fame that this isn't exactly top notch for this community and I'm trying to figure out how I can speed up the tech race. I play as a peaceful builder and I don't fight wars unless someone has a resource I need (or simply want really bad) . Can you advance faster by being aggressive or peaceful?

 

[MrCynical]

Do You work your way up the tech tree researching every tech or do you only research the most useful techs? Which strategy is better (gets you up the tech tree faster)?

There are techs which I won't bother researching myself, but I'll usually pick them up in tech trading at some point. You get to the point where they effectively don't cost you anything, since you're either trading completely obsolete tech, or getting them in addition to another tech you were going to trade one of yours for anyway.

Certainly at higher levels I find it faster to bee line to an advanced tech, and then back fill with tech trading. I'm less convinced of that strategy on the lower levels. You might do better picking up the extra bonus for multiple prerequisite techs if you're having to do virtually all research yourself.

1923 isn't a bad date for a space race win at noble. It's actually somewhat harder to get a fast victory at the lower difficulty levels due to lack of AI support in the tech race.

Can you advance faster by being aggressive or peaceful?

During the war itself, you'll research slower, as you pay maintenance on cities you capture and higher unit costs. Absorbing a neighbouring civ will greatly increase your research potential in the long term though, once you get the captured cities up and running, so being aggressive does result in a faster tech pace.

 

[Sjaramei]

Do You work your way up the tech tree researching every tech or do you only research the most useful techs? Which strategy is better (gets you up the tech tree faster)?

Researching every tech will make your tech pace slower. Some techs boost your research speed very much (CoL,Currency, Civil Service for instance) and should be prioritized over many crappy techs from an early age. (i trade for them most likely instead of researching them on my own)

Can you advance faster by being aggressive or peaceful?

Aggressive of course. Your tech pace skyrocket late game if you are playing for domination. Playing peaceful like you do will be faster early game, but depending of your early land grab out teched later.

(Land is power)

 

[Elandal]

I believe peaceful rex followed by middle ages war is reasonable in BTS where the AI expands slower than in Warlords. Actual need for war and timing depend on everything like usual, but a war after first consolidation of peaceful rex period can make a difference.

In BTS warring is more expensive and takes longer to prepare for. The AI has better defensive stacks (and offensive stacks, but I'm assuming you've managed your diplomacy so you haven't been attacked) so the offensive force must be a lot stronger than it needed to in Warlords. Then again, this just means more care with stack defenders, enough sieges, and mopup crew that needs to be numerous enough to account for sieges not being able to kill.

The above expense of war means war isn't the obvious solution to everything anymore like it used to be. Still, it's most of the time cost effective solution when well planned and executed.

On Aggressive AI the key is just teching fast and working well with diplomacy. AggAI techs slower due to higher military costs, but also declares easier. Thus you can get tech lead with ease if you handle diplomacy well enough that you have time to tech up. Once you have tech lead, do whatever you want again - going to war with superior units is easy solution.

 

[Big Boss Man]

My tip : Use GP to " Bubble " up Techs I.E. use a SCI GP for Education or Phil

 

[Black Mech]

Personally i make for as many military techs and just get the peacfull techs when i need to work on culter, tech rate, or they're needed to get a militery tech.

 

[Archaelicos]

I go for techs that seem necessary, focusing at first on what I need for city growth. But I play the Greeks, I got for copper early for my phallanxes, and so forth.