Tech

[Wehr Wulf]

Kinda curious about how you guys do tech.... When you guys play a long campaign, how far down the tech trees do you get?
Im gonna start a GB campaign and im thinking about destroying the church by London and make it a second college, and even destroy the factory in Ireland and make that a school as well. Have 3 colleges right from the getgo.

I dont see how the early enlightenment techs give such small % bonus to research speed, if you get that bonus and want to research a tech that takes 4 turns, how can you take 10% off of 4 turns?

[OZFugazi]

hi

when i play gb, that's exactly what i do. upgrade the cultural buildings for the learning bonus as well. speeds things along quite nicely.

cheers.

[Anvos]

Generally I say about 3 education buildings, that you upgrade as soon as you can, and some tech swapping will let you get the entire tree done before the end. More than 3 and the required infrastructure generally won't be complete for another tier before your gentlemen are sitting on their hands and nothing to research.

[Wayz]

Just steal tech, send out gentleman far and wide and take other nations hard work.

[HazardHawk]

Your own play style is going to affect tech research more than adding additional schools. The amount of time to research each tech is modified and figured each and every turn. The more schools you have, the more unrest you have which takes away more than the benefit of the schools; more so when in the same province than when in differing provinces.

In Empire, this goes for everything, it is all about accumulation. NO one thing or action is going to make any real difference. Every action, every research, ever battle, every war, ever trade agreement, every tech researched by another nation even all interact. No matter two games may start the same, it is impossible to play the same game twice in detail because every choice you make has a cumulative affect.

What this means is, we cannot give you realistic advice as YOUR game and game play style is different from each of ours in detail. For more than very basic advice to help, you would have to change many more details than simply the addition or change in a single thing you do.

[Anvos]

Originally posted by Wayz:

Just steal tech, send out gentleman far and wide and take other nations hard work.

Stealing tech is only really worth it if you already have 3-4 gentlemen manning each of your education buildings, since that comes with the downside of decreasing your research rate and not being able to control what tech is available to you.

[Wayz]

Originally posted by Anvos:

Originally posted by Wayz:

Just steal tech, send out gentleman far and wide and take other nations hard work.

Stealing tech is only really worth it if you already have 3-4 gentlemen manning each of your education buildings, since that comes with the downside of decreasing your research rate and not being able to control what tech is available to you.

Heh, I steal everything not nailed down with tech, I prob steal more than I actually research lol.
Some save scumming involved though if want to maximise chances you get one re roll on the RNG after a reload so if its a quick uneventful turn I reload for another roll of the digital die.

But yeah say you have 4 agents stealing 4 tech , lowest number to acquire is say 7% if the roll is below 7% you get 4 tech all at once and can reassign them next turn to grab more.

[Anvos]

I much prefer tech trading, since it tends to be faster and then you can sell tech to minor nations for cash with no real risk.

[Wayz]

Originally posted by Anvos:

I much prefer tech trading, since it tends to be faster and then you can sell tech to minor nations for cash with no real risk.

Yeah I do that too, Or buy it from them if I have the cash. But I don't trade strategic tech that unlocks buildings on principle. Can also trade regions you don't want to create a buffer between you and a strong faction and make them pay for it or trade tech.
Not very reliable process in this though but can get lucky.

[Eat3n]

Originally posted by Wayz:

Just steal tech, send out gentleman far and wide and take other nations hard work.

Originally posted by Anvos:

I much prefer tech trading, since it tends to be faster and then you can sell tech to minor nations for cash with no real risk.

Solid strategies. That's what i do.

Another strategy: assassins. Kill other nation's gentlemen or sabotage their schools...then you can take your dear sweet time researching.

[pgeerkens]

The Player has two profound advantages over the AI:

1. The ability to plan (on both the Campaign and Battle maps); and
   
2. The opportunity to employ Mahan naval strategy.

Hazard touts the "reactive AI" of this game; but while an improvement over a strictly scripted AI it's an "accommodation" and not some super feature. It's an attempt to put the player off guard through unpredictability, as compensation for the AI's inability to do either of the above analyses.

That said: I plan.

From the moment I choose a faction, I plan where I can, as quickly as possible, build 6 schools with a gentleman in each. Nothing beats rushing Fire By Rank and Carcass Shot, and getting both 10 or 15 turns earlier than any other European power except perhaps the Prussians (who also rush both these techs, and often get a few of Heidelberg, Marburg, Coburg, Graz, and Cracow early on with which to do so).

In my current VH/VH GB campaign I acquired my 6th school - Salamanca - in Summer 1713, completing the set of:

• Cambridge;
  
• Oxford;
  
• Trois Rivieres;
  
• Hartford (Bonus - a Meeting Hall courtesy of the Iroquois. Stronger at research than a Classical University, and without the Clamour For Reform penalty);
  
• Evora; and
  
• Salamanca.