Your First 10 Techs.

[jarvisc]

...I build Colossus, Pyramids (I change to democracy immediately at this point. Researching democracy is not worth my time ),

Hi, sorry I'm late catching up on the forum. Just curious about your strategy here. At what point do you build the Pyramids, and how? It always seemed to me that building a 300-shield wonder mostly by direct shield production in one of your early cities is a huge price to pay. I usually get Democracy by around 2,000 BC (and republic ~2500 BC) so it's hard for me to see how to build Pyramids quicker than that and still have the opportunity cost pay off. Just curious how you go about it, if you'd care to share more? --Jarvis

 

[Posidonius]

It always seemed to me that building a 300-shield wonder mostly by direct shield production in one of your early cities is a huge price to pay... Just curious how you go about it, if you'd care to share more? --Jarvis

Can't answer for OJ, but here's how i manage the high cost of Wonders. A city's first production is always a Settler, which founds another city ASAP. As soon as that 1st wagon is settled into a new city, a second Settler is built. When that one's ready to leave the nest, the city builds a Temple, and maybe a Granary and Marketplace if there's time to kill before i learn Trade.

Once Trade is obtained, i organize these Wonder-eligible cities into quartets. Like mutual-aid societies, three of the cities in that grouping of four build Caravans and the other one builds a Wonder. Once the Wonder is built, that city makes Caravans and one of the other 3 starts hammering out its own Wonder. The important thing is to have a Temple and an active Settler to slow each city's growth, adjusting the squares the city eats to make the food surplus only one wheatstalk per turn. Naturally, you want to eat forests and coalmines to pop out Caravans as fast as possible.

Soon enough, all four cities in that group have their own Wonder. The foursome of Wonders is completed faster than if each city worked alone, since one of those 4 Settlers may found a city, so you can shift to more shields to keep food +1 in its former home. That surplus production would benefit one Wonder using the normal method of construction, but in a mutual-aid quartet it benefits all 4 Wonders.

The other main boon from a mutual-aid society is that instead of getting a flurry of Wonders 30 - 40 turns after starting, you get them at 12, 20, 28 and 36 turns (example numbers only.) Staggering the builds lets you choose which Wonder you need the most urgently, say, The Pyramids.

Finally, it returns cities to "active duty" one by one, in case of an emergency. You don't have 4 cities all locked into builds for 35 turns, you have one locked and three cities stay flexible if a rival lands some Legions on your shore. Each city is only locked for 10 or 12 turns.

Works great for building a quick fleet of Cathedrals too.

 

[Civ1onSNES]

Here is my list for despotic conquest:
1. Bronze working -> phalanx
2. Wheel -> chariot
3. Alphabet
4. Mapmaking -> trireme
5. Masonry
6. Mathematics -> catapult
7. Ceremonial burial
8. Mysticism
9. Astronomy
10. Navigation -> sail

And then 100% to taxes. Each unit is invented as quickly as possible. There are tactical changes depending on if I am alone in the island, then navigation as quickly as possible.


For the democratic strategy:
1. Bronze working -> phalanx
2. Wheel -> chariot
3. Alphabet
4. Writing -> diplomat
5. Code of Laws
6. Ceremonial burial
7. Mysticism
8. Literacy
9. Philosophy
10. Democracy

Then revolution to democracy, develop cities/sciencies and buy everything on the long term.

 

[GPR]

Its. dependent on the map, current situation, direction of development.

If you are on a small island, and you want to play expansively or aggressively you will need an alphabet and mapmaking, and then possibly ceremonial burial, mysticism, astronomy, navigation.
If you have enemies close to you and you play defense then bronze working or if you play very aggressive then wheel or alphabet, masonry and mathematics.
If you do not have enemies, you can follow the path of development, so the monarchy would be useful, i.e. the alphabet, ceremonial burial, code of laws.
Perhaps instead of temple and oracle (ceremonial burial, misticism) you will prefer to build hanging gardens (so pottery).
If you want discover of land and tribal houses dont give you cavarly unit meybe you invest in horsebvack riding.

Besides that, personally, I would prefer irrigation to be invented. It would be another variable. After all, it's 4000 years BC.

 

[Tristan_C]

Its. dependent on the map, current situation, direction of development.

It really does. I should point out that you always start with irrigation, mining, and roads in Civ 1, though, so they are not among the variable factors.

At least after the wheel, my go-to conquest path is this:
Navigation - this is important for a conquest victory unless on EARTH, and it has 8 prerequisites. +Wheel that's 9 techs before zeroing science. In excel, I can plot out the rickety path to dodge the disabled-tech rotation on the way to Nav, but when a bullied or captured AI gives me tech, the sequence gets thrown out the window. Very very disrespectful!

also after the wheel, here are my thoughts on space
Democracy - Dem has 7 prerequisites. On Emperor this is 512 lightbulbs minimum. With the wheel beforehand it's 639 bulbs minus any Dem prereq started-with or looted.
• It's tempting to just discover Masonry (pyramids) instead of teching all the way there.
• Can you gain anything by beelining Trade (vans) to help build the wonder? Trade has 4 prerequisites. That's a lot of foregone early gold. It doesn't seem worthwhile to me, at least. All I can do is found a sub city with good shieldgrass, swap-buy a city walls and/or palace towards the Pyramids when you can, and it will be ready eventually.
• Republic requires one tech, that being itself, which lies out of the democracy beeline but it seems worthwhile to me if you get it before CB and Mysticism (and assuming you aren't racing on the pyramids).

Stuff I tend to avoid:
Monarchy - this does not fit conquest because it causes you to have to pay maintenance on units. wtf. Researching it drastically slows the research path to democracy, so it's a loss on that too.
HBR - the wheel is just more effective than this. I have not actually researched this tech before fusion since 1991.

Libraries - Backburner... optimally, build marketplaces and temples, and next WLTK concurrent with banks. I would only suggest building libraries after this point. Only when the pop is large does this building stand out among other important build options. This is somewhat in contrast with more recent Civ titles.

 

[GPR]

Trade (caravan unit) is very important to me. Not for trade route but help with building.
Building buildings, e.g. a cathedral, an aqueduct when the city has too little production. Or help (to speed) in producing wonders in a particular city.
You know. Caravan help only with wonders but you may change to wonder and after change to any building.
I guess never change goverment to Democracy and comunist. I dont need their to win game.
In fact. I try to invent communism as late as possible due to its canceled effect to michalangelo chapel