Why am I always backward in tech?

[jkasparian]

Oh ya, the AI does cheat in a big way about science.

I had 6 Civ's and checked them all. They all had three advances above me.

So I trade with one of them and got two of them, and exit to the initial Contact window. I go back to the trade window and HE HAS 5 NEW TECHS. Not only that, but now all the other Civs have them to, and the turn has not passed. This is Regent level.

 

[Catt]

Originally posted by jkasparian
Oh ya, the AI does cheat in a big way about science.

I had 6 Civ's and checked them all. They all had three advances above me.

So I trade with one of them and got two of them, and exit to the initial Contact window. I go back to the trade window and HE HAS 5 NEW TECHS. Not only that, but now all the other Civs have them to, and the turn has not passed. This is Regent level.

I'd guess what happened in your case is as follows: you can only see the techs that the AI has that YOU can acquire; i.e. that are one step ahead of where you are -- you cannot see the techs that are beyond that initial step. As an example (and I'm having trouble remembering the tech tree, so bear with me), if you don't have Nationalism you cannot possibly trade for Communism or Espionage, because Nationaism is a prerequisite for either tech. When you seek to trade techs with AI, Nationalism may show up in AI's available techs. Even if the AI already has Communism and Espionage, you won't be able to see that he has those techs, because you can't trade for them in any event until you have Nationalism. SO, you trade for Nationalism. Now you go back to the same AI, and low and behold he already has Communism and Espionage. The important point is that he didn't magically cheat and get the tech advances to stay ahead of you - he already had them and you just couldn't see them!

 

[jkasparian]

Originally posted by Catt


I'd guess what happened in your case is as follows: you can only see the techs that the AI has that YOU can acquire; ... The important point is that he didn't magically cheat and get the tech advances to stay ahead of you - he already had them and you just couldn't see them!

Might be the case, will check it out. But I do agree that other CiV trade techs between themselves for nothing.

 

[Qitai]

If you are not trading, then I am not surprise you lose out in tech. Unlike Civ2, you do not need to research every tech yourself. The rule has change and trading becomes a very vital part of the game. So, stop researching like a blind mouse. That works only in Civ2.

 

[unscratchedfoot]

If you don't like the tech-trading orgy the ai's partake in, then it's an easy matter to reduce it by using the editor. Just go to "edit/rules/difficulty levels". Over 100 means the ai's trade at a furious rate (especially 120+) and at 100 and less there is no trading at all going on all as far as I know. I personally tried 110 and found it to be optimal for a fair tech race. From my little bit of tinkering 120 and up are redundant because all tech is instantly traded between ai's which means they acquire tech 8x or more faster (depending on how many ai's are with the program and not falling behind) than a non-trading player.

So give the editor a try - you should have a more enjoyable game.

 

[Sullla]

Above Regent level, you cannot just do your own research and expect to win. Even if you are in the tech lead, you must continue to trade wisely or the other civs will overtake and pass you. Unlike in 1.17f, the newest patch does not keep all civs caught up on tech. In all of the games I have played since then, usually 2-3 civs will be caught up on tech and the other AI civs will lag quite a bit behind. They are certainly not giving each other techs anymore. IMO simply lowering the AI-to-AI trade rate in the editor just makes the game easier for the player; that ratio is in there because the game's creators know that the AI cannot trade as intelligently as a human. But if that makes the game more fun for you, by all means do so.

 

[BadAndy]

omg...in regent level, the comp sux
i dunno wat they r doing, but my tech level is way higher than them, n i dun use 100% science.

just remember, trade with them in tech in the beginning
get all basic tech, then eventually u will have more tech than them, sell ur tech to them, u can make a lot of money. Try to get those trades where u can $/turn

i sold replaceable parts to Rome for 80+gold/turn
then to America for 50+gold/turn
and also i get luxury from them too in those deals
and world map, but i didnt needed those

with all that income, u can raise the science if u want. And try to just research useful techs, let comp research useless techs, then buy them off and build the wonders if there are any.