Seeking some research tips

[Metropolis Man]

At the moment, I'm tackling Monarch level games and it's quite the leap from Regent. At Regent I was often able to outresearch the AI on most techs and thus turn around and sell them for good $. At Monarch, the AI can get quite a bit ahead.

At the very beginning of the game all techs take 50 turns (at least I think that's the case). So, I've always felt--why keep the default setting to 50% and lose the extra gold? I always turn down the research slider to 20% initially and once I have a few established cities and more gold coming in, I gradually increase the alottment to research.

I've tried games where I've set the research slider to 0. It's actually worked in a few Regent games, and the gold just pours in. But, I tried 0 research at Monarch, and the money I saved could not pay for all the techs needed to keep up. So it seems to me, at least at Monarch, a good strategy would be to always research the tech that takes the fewest turns at that moment and buy the other techs.

What are your general research strategies? Thanks.

 

[Beamup]

Techs generally won't actually take 50 turns - even your first. As you found new cities, grow population, and build roads, your research will go up enough to drop it. So even though it says 50 turns initially, you'll still be slowing your research by dropping it off 100%.

My usual approach is to research as high as I can down a particular tech path - the Alphabet/Writing one is good. Then, I use the techs I've researched from that path to bargain with and fill in the rest.

A few comments on your strategies:
- On Regent and below, there is zero point to a 0-research game. You can outresearch the AI with no difficulty at all. Even on Monarch you can easily keep up. It's only once you start talking about Emperor+ that "trade for everything" or even "trade for most things" becomes really useful.
- Sorry, but always researching the fastest tech is an exceedingly poor approach. Especially if you're doing it with the thought of trading - the main time it can be legitimate if you don't plan to trade tech at all. Keep two things in mind. First, research cost and purchase cost are proportional. So a tech that you can research in half the time will cost you half as much, and you gain nothing. Second, the AI tends to do approximately that. Which means you'll get MUCH better returns by researching deeply into the tech tree instead of broadly, since you'll actually have techs the AI lacks.

 

[Metropolis Man]

Techs generally won't actually take 50 turns - even your first. As you found new cities, grow population, and build roads, your research will go up enough to drop it. So even though it says 50 turns initially, you'll still be slowing your research by dropping it off 100%.

My usual approach is to research as high as I can down a particular tech path - the Alphabet/Writing one is good. Then, I use the techs I've researched from that path to bargain with and fill in the rest.

A few comments on your strategies:
- On Regent and below, there is zero point to a 0-research game. You can outresearch the AI with no difficulty at all. Even on Monarch you can easily keep up. It's only once you start talking about Emperor+ that "trade for everything" or even "trade for most things" becomes really useful.
- Sorry, but always researching the fastest tech is an exceedingly poor approach. Especially if you're doing it with the thought of trading - the main time it can be legitimate if you don't plan to trade tech at all. Keep two things in mind. First, research cost and purchase cost are proportional. So a tech that you can research in half the time will cost you half as much, and you gain nothing. Second, the AI tends to do approximately that. Which means you'll get MUCH better returns by researching deeply into the tech tree instead of broadly, since you'll actually have techs the AI lacks.

Good tips. Thanks.

 

[dojoboy]

What are your general research strategies? Thanks.

Beamup offers sound advice.

My research line depends on my strating techs and difficulty level. On regent, I know I can diverge here and there, and still win the tech race w/ the AI. Above regent, I'm more disciplined, and research as Beamup mentioned, deep into the tech tree.

At the start, I run research at 90%. You'll notice that if you're researching a tech that other civs start with, at 80-90%, you can get it quicker than 50 turns, 40 actually. And, there is something gained by reaching Philosopy first - a free tech! Yes, a free tech. I almost always beeline for Code of Laws, then Philosophy - and then grab Republic for free. Unless I'm on an island map, where Map Making ASAP is very useful.

The important thing about tech research is sharing. Remember sharing? That's the game none of us liked playing as a kid! Of course, don't really give tech away, sell it. The AI's are going to get it any how, usually in a matter of a few turns. In a current game I've got going as Korea, I've pulled several 200+ gpt deals from civs for some of my chocie technology. With those kind of deals, you can keep research at 0-9-1. Now, don't go looking for these deals until the Industrial Age. But, you can still get good gpt deals up to that point, allowing you to research well.

If you're selling techs, just make sure you're paying attention to the geoplotical climate. You don't want to sell Motorized Transportation to a civ you may be going to war with in less than 20 turns, or you'll lose the gpt and they'll have the tech - and they'll be happily rolling tanks off the assembly line to visit you in.

At emperor and above, you've got to quickly get involved - bloody the AI's nose for 2-3 techs here, 2-3 techs there in peace settlements, until your production base allows you to keep up.

 

[Metropolis Man]

..And, there is something gained by reaching Philosopy first - a free tech! Yes, a free tech. I almost always beeline for Code of Laws, then Philosophy - and then grab Republic for free.

Oh, I completely forgot about that trick! It's probably been a year since I've played Civ III and I've fogotten some of the best tricks. I'm still good at prebuilding which I'm sure is a huge edge over the AI.

 

[Nicci]

- try to research forward . . . (horizontal and not vertical, if u know what i mean). that way chances are u will discover knowledge other civ's don't own yet. this makes trading a lot easier.
- don't waste money by putting the slider high up there. most of the time i play on monarch and the first part of the game (pretty much untill i reach republic) research is on 10% most of the time.
- don't ever underestimate the power of a strong army! if my neighbour knows stuff and i don't that's a very good reason to start destroying him with force! only sign peace if he is willing to give u all he know's.
- i usually send out a bunch of scouts/warriors to meet other civ's as soon as u can. if u know them before the others do, u can trade ur way up.