Tech path to Spaceship victory

[RJM]

I have just managed my first Warlords win (spaceship launch) on Monarch level - following a large number of replays! After some experimentation, my tech path was as follows:

Agriculture, Pottery, Writing
Mysticism, Meditation, Priesthood, Code of Laws
Alphabet, Polytheism, Literature
Civil Service
Currency,
Paper, Education
Nationalism, Liberalism
Astronomy
Printing Press, Scientific Method, Physics
Electricity, Steel, Artillery, Rocketry
Assembly line, Industrialism, Radio, Computers, Plastics, Robotics, Satellites
Fission, Fibre Optics, Fusion, Refrigeration, Genetics, Ecology

The Wheel and Mining were my starting techs.
Bronze Working was popped from a hut before I'd researched Agriculture, otherwise it would have been an early tech.
Mathematics and Philosophy were light bulbed. (Education and Fission were partially light bulbed.)
Constitution was my free tech from Liberalism

All other techs were either obtained by trading or never learned.

I would normally research the Guilds, Banking, Economics, Corporations branch, but in this case, all were available to trade before I was ready to research them.

I'm not sure about researching currency as early as I did - the extra trade routes were good, but it was a long time before I actually built a market. It might have been more beneficial if I had some foreign trade routes. I wonder whether it would have been better to research Monarchy after Civil Service to increase my hapiness cap.

RJM

 

[Ozbenno]

Printing Press, Scientific Method, Physics
Electricity, Steel, Artillery, Rocketry
Assembly line, Industrialism, Radio, Computers, Plastics, Robotics, Satellites
Fission, Fibre Optics, Fusion, Refrigeration, Genetics, Ecology

Research Assembly Line and Steel before Sci Method, to further the life of the Great Library (unless getting the Great Scientist from Physics is in doubt maybe even then), if you're way ahead do Railroad and Combustion as well. Also research Industrialism before Rocketry to have Aluminium available for building Apollo.


I'd go...

Printing Press, Assembly Line, Steel
Scientific Method, Physics, Electricity
Industrialism, Artillery, Rocketry
....

 

[Cookie Crumbs]

In a typical game I like to research Constitution and get Democracy as a free tech, and time the Taj Mahal so that I'm in a golden age when I get Democracy. If you can get Economics within that period -even better. That way you can switch to Emancipation, Free Religion and Free Market (and Free Speech if it works out better than Beauracracy) without anarchy.

EDIT: in BtS, of course.

 

[RJM]

Research Assembly Line and Steel before Sci Method, to further the life of the Great Library (unless getting the Great Scientist from Physics is in doubt maybe even then), if you're way ahead do Railroad and Combustion as well. Also research Industrialism before Rocketry to have Aluminium available for building Apollo.


I'd go...

Printing Press, Assembly Line, Steel
Scientific Method, Physics, Electricity
Industrialism, Artillery, Rocketry
....

In this case, the Great Scientist from Physics was distinctly in doubt. Actually the order in my original post is slightly misleading. I started researching Steel, but switched to Scientific Method as soon as one of the AI civs discovered Printing Press. However, like you, I wonder whether the free GS is worth losing the Great Library for.

Researching Industrialism before Rocketry looks like a good call. I did get Aluminium in time to reduce the Apollo build time, but I think it would have been better to get it earlier.


RJM

 

[RJM]

In a typical game I like to research Constitution and get Democracy as a free tech, and time the Taj Mahal so that I'm in a golden age when I get Democracy. If you can get Economics within that period -even better. That way you can switch to Emancipation, Free Religion and Free Market (and Free Speech if it works out better than Beauracracy) without anarchy.

EDIT: in BtS, of course.

I don't have BtS - is there an important difference in the tech tree?

As to getting Democracy as my free tech, I'd like you to convince me on that. At the moment, I can't think of any reason why I would want to switch out of Slavery / Cast System. The main benefit seems to be a possible penalty on the AI civs. In my normal game, I often avoid switching to emancipation until forced to do so by a UN resolution. The Globe Theatre and other hapiness buildings (plus a small culture rate if necessary) are usually sufficient to cope with the penalty. In any case, delaying Liberalism while researching constitution looks like a big risk.

Similarly, I tend to stay in Pacifism until there is a clear benefit in switching to Free Religion - and even then, I sometimes forget.

As far as avoiding anarchy is concerned, I was playing as Mansa Musa, so I didn't have any anarchy during civic changes.

RJM

 

[Cookie Crumbs]

Well, I like to get Emancipation as early as possible to get cottages maturing quicker, which sends your research skyrocketing. If you're running cottages you don't need Caste System except for popping Great Scientists, and normally by that point in the game I want high-population cities running rapidly-maturing cottages, and chop all the remaining forests for Observatories/Universities. Still, I wouldn't run Caste System for the sake of my GP farm when Slavery/Emancipation offers empire-wide benefits, and in any case I find the Great Library+2/3 scientists that Observatory and Library allow+National Epic/Parthenon is sufficient to give me enough Great Scientists early on.

 

[r_rolo1]

I'd go...

Printing Press, Assembly Line, Steel
Scientific Method, Physics, Electricity
Industrialism, Artillery, Rocketry
....

. Computers should be researched before rocketry, because:

-Labs will help your last tech push

-Apollo has the discount from Labs as well ( in that aspect it is just like a SS part )

Just insert Computers before Rocketry and you'll be fine....

 

[Ozbenno]

-Apollo has the discount from Labs as well ( in that aspect it is just like a SS part )

Does it? Never knew that. All those hammers I've been wasting

 

[RJM]

. Computers should be researched before rocketry, because:

-Labs will help your last tech push

-Apollo has the discount from Labs as well ( in that aspect it is just like a SS part )

Just insert Computers before Rocketry and you'll be fine....

OK, researching Computers and building a lab may reduce the amount of basic production required for Apollo - although if you already have access to aluminium, a forge, a factory and power, this will not lead to a great reduction in build time. However, surely the time taken to research Computers and build the lab means that Apollo completion will be delayed.

I agree about the value of labs to help with the last tech push and reducing time to build SS parts; I'm doubtful about delaying Rocketry until discovery of Computers.

RJM

 

[RJM]

Well, I like to get Emancipation as early as possible to get cottages maturing quicker, which sends your research skyrocketing. If you're running cottages you don't need Caste System except for popping Great Scientists, and normally by that point in the game I want high-population cities running rapidly-maturing cottages, and chop all the remaining forests for Observatories/Universities. Still, I wouldn't run Caste System for the sake of my GP farm when Slavery/Emancipation offers empire-wide benefits, and in any case I find the Great Library+2/3 scientists that Observatory and Library allow+National Epic/Parthenon is sufficient to give me enough Great Scientists early on.

Interesting - I had rather discounted the value of Emancipation in growing cottages on the grounds that my cottages are more or less fully grown by the time Democracy becomes available. However, looking back at a recent game, I had 1 hamlet and 3 villages, so I would have benefited. None the less, the gain is limited; knocking 5 turns off the time to grow a village into a town would give you 5 extra beakers - in total, not every turn. With my play style, I can't see that I would get the benefit early enough to make a big difference.

Incidentally, I do run Caste System for the sake of my GP farm. In fact its the only reason I run Caste System. In my recent game, the GP farm can support 7 specialists. Without Caste System only 2 of them can be scientists.

By the time I reach Democracy, I'm building lumbermills on my remaining forests rather than chopping them down. I want to grow my production capability. In my coastal cities I build lighthouses and work the sea tiles - not as good as a village but better than a cottage. This gives me a 2 way option of reasonably high commerce or reasonably good production, depending on worker allocation.

RJM

 

[r_rolo1]

OK, researching Computers and building a lab may reduce the amount of basic production required for Apollo - although if you already have access to aluminium, a forge, a factory and power, this will not lead to a great reduction in build time. However, surely the time taken to research Computers and build the lab means that Apollo completion will be delayed.

I agree about the value of labs to help with the last tech push and reducing time to build SS parts; I'm doubtful about delaying Rocketry until discovery of Computers.

RJM

The big bottleneck in the SS production ( in warlords... BTS is another story ) is the SS engine and SS Stasis Chamber production, not the Apollo ( in spite of the Apollo being heavy as well). The beeline to Computers is done with the objective of getting the techs required to the quoted SS parts ASAP and to have labs online when you can start all that is space related.

Another benefit ( a real important one if you're doing a come from behind space race, with many gaps in the tech trees ) is that computers is 1 tech away from the Internet...

But the big thing is that Space race normally is a tech race against the AI and that every that you can get counts. Getting some crucial techs ( like Fusion ) is too much important...

 

[RJM]

The big bottleneck in the SS production ( in warlords... BTS is another story ) is the SS engine and SS Stasis Chamber production, not the Apollo ( in spite of the Apollo being heavy as well).

Good point

RJM