"We are a backwards people"... because we don't have obsolete techs.

[Quandary]

I've been seeing this for some time now.

Example: I'm in the middle of the industrial age and leading in that era, but I skipped chivalry, the republic, music theory, and free artistry. Result, "we are a backward people".

Or It's the modern era, I'm a good two techs ahead, but skipped advanced flight (etc). Again, we're a backward people.

Worst: I'm about even with the pack, buying my way up the ladder, but again skipped the dead- end techs I had no need for. What am I? Backwards, of course.

This really needs to be re-coded. If I have tanks, who cares that I didn't research knights? If Bach was already built, why would I want music theory? Eventually I end up buying the old techs just to get the SA off my back, but I'd really like a more accurate tech evaluation so I don't have to civ hop to find out how I really stand.

Caveat: This is based on my observations and conclusions I've drawn from them. Please share if your experience tells you that you don't get the backwards message under the same conditions.

 

[sealman]

I do the same but I have never noticed that. I always wondered if those people in the top right hand corner did anything I guess not

 

[Renata]

There's a lot of weird stuff:

"The Babylonians think they are equal in tech to us" when you're up currency, construction and republic on them and they have no techs you don't have, for example.

I don't take it seriously - I don't think it has any impact at all on game play.

Renata

 

[Dwarven Zerker]

Originally posted by Renata
There's a lot of weird stuff:

"The Babylonians think they are equal in tech to us" when you're up currency, construction and republic on them and they have no techs you don't have, for example.

I don't take it seriously - I don't think it has any impact at all on game play.

Renata

There's the problem. The Babs (or whatever other civ) are thinking. We just have to stop worrying about what they think because we know what the real score is.

 

[Renata]

LOL.

Renata

 

[widdowmaker]

What is a "backwards" people anyways? I have wiped out the civs who called me that.

 

[Catt]

Bugs me too, though I usually successfully ignore it now. I will generally buy Music Theory and Free Artistry for 10 gold (sometimes 11!) after the wonders have been built - partly to get my science advisor in line but also to remove the darn techs from the technology available for trade from the competing AIs' trade windows.

 

[morkaphi]

That's a true problem. Then the AI advisor tells his boss, "Let's sell our Music Theory to those backward people for Industrialization." Boom, here comes Gandhi pushing such a trade while advising you to take more meditation...

 

[Greyhawk1]

I always seem to be OK for a while then the AI goes crazy and jumps four or five techs ahead in the space of me researching two. Its annoying having "we are technically advanced!" then 4 turns later "we are backwards people".

I guess the darned AI civs researching for each other is to blame for that. That is the single most annoying thing about civ3 :rant:

 

[Quokka]

Originally posted by Catt
Bugs me too, though I usually successfully ignore it now. I will generally buy Music Theory and Free Artistry for 10 gold (sometimes 11!) after the wonders have been built - partly to get my science advisor in line but also to remove the darn techs from the technology available for trade from the competing AIs' trade windows.

I do the same.

 

[reddragon381]

I've had that happen before. It's usually when i skip like monarchy or republic (but on deity it't usually for real! hehe)

 

[RegentMan]

Originally posted by Quandary
Example: I'm in the middle of the industrial age and leading in that era, but I skipped... the republic...

Heaven forbid! No republic ! I do hope you be-lined for democracy! Unless of course you're out to conquer the world :soldier:...

 

[Quandary]

Regentman:

Heaven forbid! No republic ! I do hope you be-lined for democracy!

Generally I go from despotism to monarchy to democracy. My level of building usually isn't advanced enough to support a republic that early, and monochary's free units and garrison contentment bonus (up to 3 content citizens per city) works a lot better for me than the commercial gain and corruption reduction that republic offers.

By the time republic would really be a gain for me, democracy is only a handful of turns away, so I guess I do make a bee-line for that instead.

 

[Xerol]

monarch game, tiny map, aztecs(me) vs. americans, iroquois, and russia. the iroquois made me mad early in the game by blocking a one-tile land bridge that just happened to be a mountain by putting a worker on it, and having him road, mine, and fortress it all in order. i headed straight for monarchy(after getting map making; it was a continent game and i didnt want to be stuck on a small patch of land until 10ad) and destroyed the iroquois with the help of the russians. america became the superpower here, possessing a huge continent all to itself with 11 tiles of ocean on either side, while the three of 'us' were stuck on a continent that filled up two screens, full of water, which was about half the size of america's entire continent. needless to say, by the time i had reached modern times(and russia declared war on me after i refused to give it my territory map and 2 gold) america was already into future tech...i still didn't have the republic and it was 1800 ad. i finally caved in and traded it for two workers and my territory map...got democracy around 1930, finally switched in 1960 after saving about 25k gold to support my 143 units(think...it's a tiny map...) i surprise attacked america with 80 tanks and swept half of their hi-population, low production area within 8 turns. (it was a lot of flood plain with wheat...almost nothing else other than flood plains, i think there were a few plain desert tiles) i held out in there for a few more turns while my tanks healed up, then pushed onward to crush washington by 2000.

 

[reddragon381]

Originally posted by RegentMan


Heaven forbid! No republic ! I do hope you be-lined for democracy! Unless of course you're out to conquer the world :soldier:...

I usually go for democracy because anarchy really makes me mad (unless im a religious civ)

 

[nihilistic]

Quandary, those techs should be very, very cheap then ... why don't you buy them up?

 

[Vdog]

Why would you skip Republic and Music Theory? Better goverment and the best wonder in the game.

 

[Pasi Nurminen]

I just go despotism > monarchy > communism every game. I don't want to deal with that war weariness while I'm subjugating the people of the globe nya nya nya

 

[Xerol]

i usually get to monarchy asap for the sake of MPs and less corruption, although i'll try to buy construction first if i've got more than 3 soldiers/city but i'll head straight for monarchy if i've got a lot of rivers or a lot of gold/lux on workable tiles(i learned this in my emperor game as the babylonians...i had about 45 total units and 11 cities, meaning i paid 1 g/t for the military under despotism...i switched to monarchy but only had one size 7 city with the rest being 6/less which means military support was now only 24, so i had to pay 21 per turn for unit support...money i didnt have)
i'll hold off on buying/switching to democracy until i at least start getting rrs/factories, or universal suffrage, and i'll usually stay at monarchy if i've got weak neighbors, the MPs are especially useful when taking over cities

 

[JMK]

Originally posted by Greyhawk1
I always seem to be OK for a while then the AI goes crazy and jumps four or five techs ahead in the space of me researching two. Its annoying having "we are technically advanced!" then 4 turns later "we are backwards people".

I guess the darned AI civs researching for each other is to blame for that. That is the single most annoying thing about civ3 :rant:

Have you ever try to sell your tech once you were Tech leader ?
If not, you should try that once, sell your new tech for heavy GPT to the other Civs (at least those who can afford to pay) generally two things would happen a) your income will increase and will allow you to research faster, b) other Civs tech pace will go slower as they will not have as much as Gold to spend in research.
One more thing, but I am sure you already know, it cost less to research a Tech alreday known by another Civ, this is also good for the AI if you are the Tech leader.