How to speed up tech progress?

[PJL]

If you're wishing to stay as a small country (yes, why not sometimes), eg 1-2 provinces, then simultaneous investments in both is the most cost effective method, since your monarch's ability will also be a big factor in your investments.

This is especially true of of normal European countries, who tend to get average or better monarchs. I tried this stradegy as one province Mecklenberg, and managed to max both trade and infra by 1600.

 

[Castellon]

Originally posted by PJL
If you're wishing to stay as a small country (yes, why not sometimes), eg 1-2 provinces, then simultaneous investments in both is the most cost effective method, since your monarch's ability will also be a big factor in your investments.

This is especially true of of normal European countries, who tend to get average or better monarchs. I tried this stradegy as one province Mecklenberg, and managed to max both trade and infra by 1600.

I think you may have missed the point of the posts above, Alternating is a much better aproach then simultaneous investing.
In your method you are splitting your investment and will therfore reach both of them later than if you alternated. Monarch abilities effect on your tech will not change with either method.

 

[Castellon]

Originally posted by weird god
......except of course you grow them with your neighbourbonuses

Neighbour bonus in trade and Infra does not amount to much.

 

[unmerged(6159)]

My view on this one is:
-trade 1 to place merchants, trade 2 if I'm going to place TPs
-infra 3 to get refineries
-trade 5, which is where the trade tree starts becoming less productive
-infra 5

I'm a firm believer in shawn's view - there is a compounding effect to trade, because it makes your merchants much tougher, which saves you money, in addition to improving your percentage. My goal is to keep 5/20 everywhere and monopolize when it's possible.

I don't care about inflation in SP, but then I mostly keep stability high. If stability is going to be low a lot infra 5 is more important. Also this is definitely not wise in MP, where controlling inflation can give a big advantage.

Until your territory gets very big there is no excuse for getting more money from production than trade, if you are it's because you don't have enough merchants out there.

 

[unmerged(3931)]

Re: Re: Re: Re: How to speed up tech progress?

>>Doesn´t this [no contact penalty] only apply for nations with whiteman value?

Originally posted by Chema_Cagi

IIRC, ws2_32 (was that his nick?) explained in his brilliant "isolation factor" thread that:...

Here is a link to that thread.

 

[M@ni@c]

Starting with a small nation, in the first hundred years I have to concentrate on researching land tech and putting money directly in the treasury to pay troops for war. I hardly have money or time to advance above trade/infra level 2 or sometimes 3. How the heck do you guys do it then? Don't you research land tech?? Or do you use cheats like giving loans to the AI? I only reach infra level 5 in 1600-1625, even 1670 in my current Novgorod Russia with 70% inflation...

 

[Peter Ebbesen]

Originally posted by M@ni@c
Starting with a small nation, in the first hundred years I have to concentrate on researching land tech and putting money directly in the treasury to pay troops for war. I hardly have money or time to advance above trade/infra level 2 or sometimes 3. How the heck do you guys do it then? Don't you research land tech?? Or do you use cheats like giving loans to the AI? I only reach infra level 5 in 1600-1625, even 1670 in my current Novgorod Russia with 70% inflation...

Answer: Who needs land tech in SP?

And with puny minors* it isn't unusual not to gain infra5 before the late 17th century, even despite only investing in infrastructure, occasioned by rising inflation.


*latin techgroup minors don't count!

 

[unmerged(6159)]

Don't get in so many wars early. When I'm small I'll pick my wars very carefully, and stay at peace until I can get richer. Land tech is overated, until you have to face non-euro nations and want to roll over them without any effort. And if you're non-euro your land tech will never be any good.

 

[M@ni@c]

Isaac, that's what I tried to do with Novgorod. But five years after the game started I was fully at war with all the Russian states. And after I lost several battles against Muscovy (like my 18000 cavalry against his 9000 infantry on the brink of capturing Novgorod*) I thought my high-quantity army needed a little morale boost if I ever wanted to win any battle against them in our next war for hegemony.

*I reloaded two times or the game was lost.

 

[unmerged(4007)]

Well some might say that's because of a poor dp choice. Simply put, I see no good reason to try to go high quantity as a small nation. Unless you're large enough to swamp everyone in a sea of your cheap infantry's blood, quantity is bad news, especially in your home province when your troops will have no place to retreat to so it's a victory or death battle.

Small nations need high quality. Once you're not small anymore you can allow yourself some more manpower, but until you're the size of your average major, I wouldn't even thing of taking it off of full quality. The combat system actually weights morale more than it does tech--especially early on. It isn't until the early 17th century that tech becomes decisive issue in combat--and even then low morale will get you beat unless you do the "Slavic horde" mentality. So I'd say your problem isn't tech related, it's morale related.

 

[Faeelin]

Well, then one wonders at what points do manufactories become uneconomical. I'd say that if you pay 2k for one, then 1650 is the latest date necessary to make a decent amount more than they're worth.

Feel free to prove me wrong.

 

[BiB]

Manufactories yield 66 ducats at least a year (not counting their other benefits) so at 2K u'd get ur money back quite soon ... a matter of decades, which u have plenty left of in 1650.

 

[Caesar Augustus]

66? How do you get that?

 

[unmerged(11049)]

And even more. If you build refinery in grape area, you receive the income 12 per one year plus 5 per one month in researches of trade, it is 60 per one year. Total 72. And also 1% plus to trade. If you have 50% trade and the income of it 100 in one month, having added 1%, you receive 51% or 102 per one month. Total 24 plus per one year.
Total 96.
That is 2000 pays off at worst for 25 years.

 

[M@ni@c]

shawng1, no point with moving your quality slider up as Novgorod: you start with 1 Quality. Though for other small nations you're correct. I'll try the low land tech strategy next time I play a 1419 campaign.

 

[Castellon]

Originally posted by SSP
And even more. If you build refinery in grape area, you receive the income 12 per one year plus 5 per one month in researches of trade, it is 60 per one year. Total 72. And also 1% plus to trade. If you have 50% trade and the income of it 100 in one month, having added 1%, you receive 51% or 102 per one month. Total 24 plus per one year.
Total 96.
That is 2000 pays off at worst for 25 years.

Plus the added benefit of your merchants being stronger from your increased Trade Eff.
Plus the benefits it gives the province it is in like reduced revolt risk. ...
Plus if it took your eff. above 100% you get a massive bonus to your TP chance of success.

In short Manufactories are GOOD!

 

[BiB]

TOO good