Optimal techs.

[Merrick Chance']

What's the best teching-order? For the last couple of games as European minor great powers (Sweden, Denmark, Netherlads), I've been going with gettig as many industrial techs and economic techs (specifically the ones that increase Education ability) as possible, and then, when I start to get a tech point surplus, I start trading for the army and naval techs, only if I have a high prestige do I start a culture war.

Obviously, I always keep my education at max.

So it's usually (at least with the Dutch, who have banker science)

Pressure Systems -> trains -> a tech to increase Capitalist income -> Market Structures -> Clean Coal -> Medicine -> a tech to increase education, or the nationalism tech -> change administration/more industrial.

Anyone have an idea for a better system?

Also, completely unrelated-how do you get the event that changes all of your aristocrats to capitalists? That'd be amazing for me as the Netherlands, what with the 20 freaking aristocrats dotting the Indonesian coast.

 

[unmerged(760)]

simply put, there is no optimal path you can follow as vicky is a highy non-linear game. heres some advice that may help:

->most times its a good idea to get your economy boosted by commercial and industrial techs at first
->consider your context - are you going to war in the near future? hows your economic situation? do you need prestige? etc.
->consider your long-term and short-term goals
->consider RP generation and national value
->maybe its a good idea to almost skip one tech branch (cultural techs or naval techs come to mind) to be able to keep up to date on the others
->consider one is not able to trade for cultural techs

 

[unmerged(760)]

Also, completely unrelated-how do you get the event that changes all of your aristocrats to capitalists? That'd be amazing for me as the Netherlands, what with the 20 freaking aristocrats dotting the Indonesian coast.

IIRC its triggerd by a level-four or level-five industrial tech invention. others might know more about it, but you are free to check the vicky.

 

[unmerged(86954)]

IIRC its triggerd by a level-four or level-five industrial tech invention. others might know more about it, but you are free to check the vicky.

The two last techs of that one econ tech path convert aristos to capitalists.

 

[Secret Master]

Are you playing just Vicky, or do you have the Revolutions expansion?

If regular Vicky, both economic and industrial techs are solid bets to jump start the economy (given a civilized nation in Europe).

If you are playing Revolutions, economic techs are to be avoided at first, because every economic tech increases your POPs needs. Maximizing industrial output first, while keeping POPs needs low will really give you an edge in terms of the ability to tax and the ability of capitalists to build reserves and thus build more factories and railroads.

 

[unmerged(86954)]

I'm a Revolutions person. I blitz for Experimental Railroads and Mechanical Production if I don't have them...that or FoF if I don't have that. Positivism and Functionalism are usualy my next goals, unless I have pressing need for military techs (major landpower...), then I research military techs. Econ techs if I need them, or when I start to reap decent income. Industrial techs. Culture techs. Or something along those lines.

Sometimes when I play a humongously powerful country I have a house rule of researching a tech from all of the areas in row. I research an industry tech, then a culture tech, then a culture tech and so on until I hit a military tech. I research it and start again from industry.

 

[Merrick Chance']

Are you playing just Vicky, or do you have the Revolutions expansion?

If regular Vicky, both economic and industrial techs are solid bets to jump start the economy (given a civilized nation in Europe).

If you are playing Revolutions, economic techs are to be avoided at first, because every economic tech increases your POPs needs. Maximizing industrial output first, while keeping POPs needs low will really give you an edge in terms of the ability to tax and the ability of capitalists to build reserves and thus build more factories and railroads.

I'm playing Ricky, yeah. It's my first time (playing Ricky, I've played Mexico, Russia, Germany, Israel and America before) , but as the Netherlands I'm trying to make my country as business oriented as possible, like the Dutch were in the 1500's (I'm RP'ing in that way). I'm blitzing to Business management, which converts my aristocrats to capis, and then starting on normal progression. It's really odd though, I hardly ever tech my army, it's always really crappy. I've always been of the opinion that military techs upgrade something that you use for a very short part of the game-maybe overall 10-20 years out of a 100 year game? Similarly, culture techs only help you with something that, after you get to a very easily attained point (through prestige-farming wars), is pointless, beyond that you're just investing in something that you have to put a lot into to get very little. In contrast, economic techs immediately help you, as do most industrial techs in the form of inventions. It's an easy choice for me.