Tech help......

[CenturionV]

Well I do know this has been asked thousands of times but I could not find another one suited to my situtaion so....
playing on monarch up from regent, conquests, standard world, random climate, standard rules, 7 random ai and my civ random as well.

the problem starts out early in the game, within the first few turn i generaly am already behind in tech, I seem to be able to keep somewhat to pace with the ai expansion but there tech just blows me away plus they practically give it away to each other, (last game I played I had fought to get a whole island + few colonies on continents only to be out teched by even the guy who has only 2 cities)

I've heard people say that all you have to do is get 1 tech ahead that the ai need and then trade it to everyone, and it seemed to work on regent but now I NEVER get a tech thats more advanced than the ai because I get about 1 to 4 tech research vs them. I also don't think I can possibly check EVERY ai EVERY turn when theres 7+ players , its way to tedious.

any help?

 

[Bede]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Monarch.

At monarch level you will not ever be able to keep pace with the AI if you try to do the research yourself.

Some suggestions:

Push exploration just as hard as you can. The more people you know the less each tech will cost. More contacts also mean more trading opportunities.

You will need the contacts and lots of gold to maintain anything even close to parity. Be prepared to pay lots for essential techs ( either for development or trading).

Pay close attention to what techs the AI oppo is researching and spend your research dollars where they are not, hoping for trading opportunities.

You need to avoid the low hanging fruit temptation. If the tech takes less than the max number of turns to research for your spending level, it's too late, everybody else in the game has it or will have before you do, so you will still be behind and will have no trading opportunities. You are better off buying the cheap techs and researching the costlier ones.

And lastly, there is alway "pointy stick research". Pick a fight with the tech leader, beat up on him/her a couple of times, then demand techs and gold for peace. All the tech and all the gold is about right. Any other terms and you will find yourself behind again, very shortly.

Good luck and good hunting.

Bede

 

[CenturionV]

So always go for the tech that is most expensive, and just buy the other ones? should i set my tech spending to a minimum to do this (so i get lotsa money but still get tech every now and then?) Also this IS a conquest strategy right (I never plan on bothering with classic Civ or PTW now that I got C3C)

 

[frank_mosta]

Originally posted by Bede
Pay close attention to what techs the AI oppo is researching and spend your research dollars where they are not, hoping for trading opportunities.

How do you find this out?

 

[CIVPhilzilla]

Also beginning of the game only fund science at about 10-20%, so that you hit the research min and get tons of cash or some luxury money so you can have more ppl working in your cities.

 

[anarres]

I have to say that researching your own techs is possible all the way to deity, even by the end of the Ancient Era. I can't comment on Sid level yet, but I can say that on Monarch there is no reason to do minimum tech gambits (40 turn research).

You maybe need to concentrate on early expansion more. Until you have a good core of cities (maybe 6 to 10 or so) working roaded tiles you won't get close to being the tech lead, and if you don't expand quickly you can really slow down research.

My very first tech is usually pottery if I don't start with it. This can be got in 10 to 15 turns on a standard map on Deity, so it should be less turns for you on Monarch. Once you make contacts and have expanded a bit you can choose to research the ones the AI does not. In the Ancient Era the techs the AI rarely goes for quick are Mathematics and Currency, so once you have researched/traded Pottery and Masonry you can go for maximum research at both of these, one after the other. If you win to Currency (which you should, unless the AI pops it from a hut) you can trade for all the other techs, then go for Currency while the AI finishes researching the Ancient Era techs for you. After Currency I nearly always beeline to Republic, which is essential to getting the gold required to research faster (also rememnber Republics got less corruption than Monarchy).

Some top tech trading tips:

- Research the techs the AI dosen't like to go for. Maths/Currency/Printing Press are big ones in PTW, although it is likely to be very different for Conquests.

- Only do minimum research on one of the techs mentioned above, if at all. On Monarch I really can't see any need. Any other tech would be wasted since the AI will get it first.

- Generally it is best to only research at the following levels:
-- 0% (if you are saving money for a particular purpose)
-- 10%/1 scientist (for minimun tech gambles)
-- 'max' = the most you can do without hitting 0 gold. (If you don't research at max you may save some more gold but the AI can get it the turn before you and sell it around)

- Get a bigger empire and make sure to work roaded tiles!! This is silly to mention really, but if you don't expand early you will never beat the AI in research.

- Get to Republic quickly - the gold and reduced corruption is very important to research. Ignore those who say WW is not managable or that the military police is better. Almost without exception Deity level players choose Republic, and it's for a reason. WW should never be a real problem, if it is ask more questions about why you are suffering from it.

Sorry for the ramble, but I consider tech research and trading to be the most important aspect of the game. There becomes less and less room for playing sub-optimal strategies as you move up the levels, and the things I have mentioned are central to how I become tech lead in the quickest possible time.