The case for low science rate in sp

[geofelt]

In single player mode, the AI monitors your science rate, and tries to compete. If you are getting advances quickly, the AI will increase its rate also. It will have a surge of trade exchanges between civs, and will steal techs, particularly late in the game when you are building a spaceship.
I have noticed that when in fundamentalism, with little science to speak of, the AI does not seem to get advances very quickly. I suspect that it does not factor in the science benefit of trade caravans, so you can still get ahead of the AI by delivering trade.
I deliberately keep my science rate down when I have an advantage that I would like to maintain. For example, If I have artillery, and I am in conquest mode, I don't want the AI to get excited and develop armor.
I say, go all out in science early to get monarchy. Also go all out to get spaceship techs at the end. In between, increase science in surges for specific reasons, and ease off when you are in civ building mode.

[shade]

In single player mode, the AI monitors your science rate, and tries to compete. If you are getting advances quickly, the AI will increase its rate also. It will have a surge of trade exchanges between civs, and will steal techs

wow this one is new to me,I never even noticed an AI even barrely keeping up(and I don't really use trade to boost my science).I just noticed sometimes they stopped researching,but dont know why(maybe to keep their survival with negative cachflow not to cheaty )
Do you have more specific info about all this???


Shade

[Smash]

I think it was Xin Yu that first played around with a plan regarding this.Basically,he said go for Monarchy with normal rates then more or less shutdown science.Go for techs from hut,trades and maybe Great Library until Invention then crank up a 2 continents trading system.

[Carolus Rex]

Wonder building works the same way. Don't build any wonders and neither will the AI (up to a point, at least). But why cripple yourself?

I say, go for it!

Carolus

[Blaupanzer]

As I understand it, the theory proposed is to use trading rather than the science rate to develop techs. For those who are highly dependent on caravans to build Wonders, this presents a conundrum. Commodity selection for each caravan is, at least to some degree, dependent on the use of that caravan. Similarly, the development of naval power is much more important if you are going to use the seas to enhance trade value. If one is mostly "sleazing" with cities (keeping them small by building settlers, expanding constantly with new settlements, and emphasizing production over trade arrows and food), then trade-based science might make sense. However those little cities can't produce enough caravans to both sustain high trade (2 - 3 deliveries per turn) and sustain wonder-building, nor can they produce wonders on their own.

The AIs actually seem to respond to the RATE of your science rather than the actual number of advances you get, which is geofelt's point. Shade may not be playing at deity level, if I recall from other posts. At the lower levels, directed research (avoiding techs outside your path to the next goal) and focused wonder-building eats the AI alive in research. At deity, Xin Yu and geofelt may be right; choose your path, stay with it, and win any way you like. The controlling instrument is what you do with the many caravans you produce in either case.