science

[bryanwallace]

im not quite sure how the science path works..
what is the best path to follow ?
is it most important to get the techs that get you into a new era asap or not?

 

[vmxa]

Getting into the next age is usually best, at least Middle Age and Industrial. The path is not all that important, except for trade purposes. It depends on what you are planning to do and what you need.

 

[Lexicus]

It depends, like so many other things in Civ, on the circumstances.

 

[Xerxes5]

I would say it depends on your overall strategy and how you play the game... like, if you like fighting, get the more militaristic techs, etc.

 

[TheOverseer714]

In general, go left to right following a path toward governments(AA) rather than top to bottom. You can trade for the less expensive techs, especially at the mid to higher levels. A nice path in the AA is Alphabet, Writing, Code of Laws, Philosophy, Republic(Republic slingshot). If you like Monarchy, go Warrior Code, Ceremonial Burial, Mysticism, Polytheism, Philosophy, Monarchy(Monarchy slingshot). In general, research high value tech and sell/trade for cheaper techs.

 

[Abegweit]

Getting into the next age is usually best, at least Middle Age and Industrial. The path is not all that important, except for trade purposes. It depends on what you are planning to do and what you need.

Exactly. But trade purposes make one particular path essential IF you want a fast science game. This article shows which techs the AI likes and which ones it doesn't. The only one in the top 20 you should consider researching yourself (ignoring the case of an isolated start) is Pottery. Granaries are just too powerful in the early game to be left to chance. A typical path, assuming you are playing Emperor or below, is:

Pottery for granaries
Alphabet for curraghs and to start the Republic slingshot
Writing-CoL-Philosophy-Republic

Starting with Alphabet helps a lot. The best civ, the Iroquois, starts with both Alpha and Pottery. This is just one of their lesser advantages. They also have the best traits and an absolutely kick-ass UU.

Next come Literature and Currency, Math if you have to. Then trade your way into the next age.

The top four middle age techs for the AI are feudalism, invention, guns and astro. So get engineering into its hands and start on the upper path (Mono, Theo...). By this time you should be well on your way to taking over the world.

 

[Lexicus]

I usually try to get Philosophy and use that to get to Code of Laws, because I've been beaten to it before when I waited too long to get it. Am I wrong to do that?

 

[Abegweit]

Don't delay. The only thing you can possibly want before the Republic slingshot is Pottery and even that is not every time. Other than that, it's Alpha-Writing-CoL-Philo. Don't even consider anything else.

 

[Lexicus]

But what about getting Philosophy before CoL?

 

[Aabraxan]

In Conquests, getting CoL before Philo is the only way to get Republic as your free tech. Depending on your situation, however, it may be more useful to simply use Philo to grab a different free tech. So I wouldn't say that you're wrong to use Philo to grab CoL, but, depending on your difficulty level, it may be possible to make better use of Philosophy.

 

[Abegweit]

The objective of the whole exercise is to obtain Republic as your free tech. By learning CoL before Philo, this become possible. There is a second technique which also works but which is quite risky since it depends on what the AI has been doing.

Research Philo after Writing, as you suggest. Then, when you are prompted to select your next tech, don't do it. Instead, enter the Big Picture and trade for CoL anyway you can. Exit the BP and Republic will become available as your free tech.

This trick can also be used to get Monarchy if Polytheism is around when you learn Philo. Of course, if the AI doesn't have the requisite techs when you discover Philo, none of this will work. Sometimes folks will shut off research when Philo is about to be finished in the hopes that CoL or Polytheism will appear before another civ learns Philosophy.

 

[iambenben]

I try to get invention as quick as possible, I adore cheaper upgrades

 

[bryanwallace]

sorry i dont really follow-how do the free tecs work-do you have to be the only one with a certain tec??

 

[Jazzmail]

Depends on many factors.

-Some games, especially on smaller maps, simply don't last long enough to warrant a government change. So obviously you want military techs like iron or horseback riding there.
-If you get attacked early, you got more immediate concearns than goverment change.
-Religious trait can make a difference. Since it reduces anarchy to a minimum regardless of empire size, you may want to focus more on land grab and less on changing govenments early.
-But if you start with alphabet when no rival civ does, you have a good chance to get all the intermediate techs(writing, code, philo) before anyone else and then you can trade for more practical techs when you're near discovering the next tech. That's a situation where I would want to beeline to republic.

 

[garyg]

sorry i dont really follow-how do the free tecs work-do you have to be the only one with a certain tec??

If you are the first Civ to research Philosophy you get a free tech.
It's a race. The strategies discussed are the paths to take for the prize.
If you win you want the best tech (highest cost and best trade value) for your prize.
The government techs are highly valued by the AI and can get you a lot of stuff in return.

 

[bryanwallace]

can you choose which tec you get for fre??

also does this work in the other ages??

 

[pol1]

You have to choose 'what's the big picture' option (or similar) and then tech that You want to have for free (trade meanwhile, check who has what...)

ToE gives You 2 free tech and You can choose them in the same way (i'm not talking about timing ToE and actual research...)

 

[Abegweit]

can you choose which tec you get for fre??

Yes.

also does this work in the other ages??

If Philo is the last requisite tech you learn in the AE, it is possible to get ME techs for free. If you combine this trick with gifting the scientific civs into the ME and trading for their free techs, it is possible to get 2nd (or if you are really lucky - 3rd) tier ME techs. You cannot get anything more advanced than that.

 

[bryanwallace]

thanks
but what i really meant was id there a sim thing in the other ages where if you get a certain tec you get a bonus one..

 

[Abegweit]

Other than the ToE which pol1 mentioned, there isn't.