Rifle/artillary slingshot

[Meateater]

Was messing around one day and popped a few techs. Well just after the AD's I had rifles and artillary. The trick was to get a few cities up quick and some libaries and monuments. So for the techs I would got Pot, Writing, then make my way up to gunpowder. After GP I would use my 3 scientist (Run speasialist in your libaries to generate the scientist) to pop tech and use my policy points for rationalizm and on the left side of the tree get the 2 free techs.
Now that is 5 techs all popped at once and you go in to the renaissances and industrial era in one turn, this is around 500 AD or before all with NO wonders.

 

[alpaca]

Yeah sounds like good-natured abuse of the most dominating unit and GP in the game

 

[pi-r8]

Yeah sounds like good-natured abuse of the most dominating unit and GP in the game

haha, exactly. 500 AD is quite fast though. But I do think that beelining to artillery is the best tech path. Not only do you get early artillery, which is a great unit and unlocks order, but also, while you're teching, you get all the other seige units which keep you safe from any attack.

 

[Roxlimn]

Production is just as valuable. It costs 420 hammers to make one Artillery. Could you field one in a reasonably timely manner? Did you have lots of excess gold to buy one?

 

[IgnatiusTBarfat]

Production is just as valuable. It costs 420 hammers to make one Artillery. Could you field one in a reasonably timely manner? Did you have lots of excess gold to buy one?

This is my problem. I've beelined the tech, but it takes me 26 turns to build one.

 

[Roxlimn]

The Artillery Great Wonder!

 

[IgnatiusTBarfat]

The Artillery Great Wonder!

Ha ha !!!

It is true though. Imagine it is 500AD and you are hanging out with your sword and bow patronizing some prostitute and all of the sudden artillery from heaven starts raining down on your castle. It would seem pretty wondrous.

 

[pi-r8]

Production is just as valuable. It costs 420 hammers to make one Artillery. Could you field one in a reasonably timely manner? Did you have lots of excess gold to buy one?

Ideally you built 2 catapults long ago, which have been constantly fighting and gaining experience, so you can upgrade them into elite artillery with logistics.

 

[IgnatiusTBarfat]

Ideally you built 2 catapults long ago, which have been constantly fighting and gaining experience, so you can upgrade them into elite artillery with logistics.

Yeah, that's an excellent point. What is the math on the upgrade costs generally? Specifically, how much does it take to get a catapult through to artillery?

 

[pi-r8]

Yeah, that's an excellent point. What is the math on the upgrade costs generally? Specifically, how much does it take to get a catapult through to artillery?

i don't know the formula, but I know it takes 150 to upgrade catapult to trebuchet, and 250 to upgrade cannon to artillery. So maybe 600 to go all the way.

Generally upgrading is always cheaper than buying a new unit, though.

 

[IgnatiusTBarfat]

Many thanks!

 

[aimlessgun]

Even if you didn't have cats lying around, I believe it would still be cheaper to rushbuy cannons right beforehand and upgrade them than to rushbuy artillery.

 

[stii]

Think it is 350 to go from cannon to artillery.

 

[Roxlimn]

Is it possible to maintain warfare on a constant basis enough to build Catapults and attendant units, and tech this quickly, and still have 1200+ gold for the upgrade? Could be possible on the higher settings - the AIs have more gold to spare.

 

[Roxlimn]

Even if you didn't have cats lying around, I believe it would still be cheaper to rushbuy cannons right beforehand and upgrade them than to rushbuy artillery.

Cannons are 800 gold. Upgrade is 250. Artillery are 1030 gold, I believe.

 

[alpaca]

Is it possible to maintain warfare on a constant basis enough to build Catapults and attendant units, and tech this quickly, and still have 1200+ gold for the upgrade? Could be possible on the higher settings - the AIs have more gold to spare.

Yeah this is quite strange, actually. I'm not even sure a game on a higher difficulty setting is actually more difficult in many ways. The primary gains for the AI is being able to spam millions of units but those are mostly just cannon fodder for your own. Also, the AI on higher levels has a lot more money so you can sell it a lot more stuff and sign more trade agreements.

Maybe I should go back to Prince for a try?

 

[the streak]

Wouldn't it be sweet if, once you researched a specific tech, the next person to research it gets a discount on required beakers, and this keeps reducing as more people research the tech. It would simulate the real world, where tech would spread around and you wouldn't get some countries still using flintlock pistols while others are rolling around in tanks and jet fighters. You'd also reduce the advantage from rushing techs, as others would now have a quick path to artillery.

 

[SuperSmurf]

Wouldn't it be sweet if, once you researched a specific tech, the next person to research it gets a discount on required beakers, and this keeps reducing as more people research the tech.

Wasn't that mechanism used in at least cIV ?

 

[winthrowe]

Wasn't that mechanism used in at least cIV ?

not in base, but lots of mods included the 'Tech Diffusion' component, which already has an early version in the works in the civ5 modbrowser.

 

[aimlessgun]

not in base, but lots of mods included the 'Tech Diffusion' component, which already has an early version in the works in the civ5 modbrowser.

I could have sworn it was in unmodded BTS.