Tech Tree Planning Tool

Within the link below is a Photoshop file of the entire tech tree. I originally created this planning tool for myself to help design some personal mods and rebalance things, but I figured I'd share it with the community as well.

If you're acquainted with Photoshop, the ability to effortlessly shift all things around as if they were pieces of paper on your table and visually manipulate everything is very useful while designing, instead of relying solely on spreadsheets, sketches, and such.

Every button on the in-game tech tree is included within this file as separate layers... AND... they're all labeled! This is especially useful for all those "star" buttons on techs which grant certain bonuses or abilities. It's also helpful during those moments when you forget what an image represents or what it's called.

All layers are also organized into group folders according to type and are colored to help navigate thru them a bit.

I like to work with crispy high-res images so the original file is a bit large (but quite pretty!). Though, I also uploaded a low-res version if needed. Also, I believe GIMP imports PSD files, so hopefully that works out smoothly for you guys on the other team.

The tech pipes drawn on the one layer are a bit crude, but they're meant to be temporary and sketchy since you'll most likely be erasing and quickly drawing new connections anyway. Once a final layout is created, time can be spent on nicer pipes if desired.

Also, I've created a grid of guidelines to help line-up the tech boxes and space them evenly. To toggle it on/off in Photoshop, simply press "Ctrl + ;".

Also, there are two template layers included for duplicating and creating more unique tech boxes (one for the text and the other for the box), which can then be merged together (or linked if you prefer, or whatever).

I guess that's about it... I hope others find this useful in their modding endeavors and create some cool things with it.

Download at CFC

Thank you--this will help me with the tech overhaul that I'm planning to add to the Norse modpack. Trying to keep track of new rules without a tree diagram is a major pain in the posterior!

Oh, this is awesome! I've been doing that with Excel, it was okay but not so nice to visualize. This is going to be very helpful, thanks!

I did have a little notice from Photoshop saying I don't have the font required to display the text in the file though.

Is there any prospect of getting Lemmy's fantastic Visual Techtree Editor working with the current version? Having an actual functioning GUI like this would be amazing.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=395209
http://www.weplayciv.com/forums/showthread.php?5126-IndieStone-Visual-Tech-Tree-Editor

orlanth said:

Is there any prospect of getting Lemmy's fantastic Visual Techtree Editor working with the current version? Having an actual functioning GUI like this would be amazing.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=395209
http://www.weplayciv.com/forums/showthread.php?5126-IndieStone-Visual-Tech-Tree-Editor

Click to expand...

Wow, wow, wow... I didn't even know this existed! I'm actually glad you used this thread to just ask about that other application and trump my contribution, haha.

I just downloaded it to check it out; it looks fantastic. I really hope someone knows how to update it (AND wants to.). I'd definitely be interested. It even exports the XML code? Pretty cool... (Man, I wish Lemmy and Binky were still active with Civ and creating things again.)

I guess in the mean time I'll just use my simple little Photoshop composition. <sigh>

------

Opera, most text is rasterized into the tech boxes. Hmm, perhaps it's from the template text layer? I believe it's a standard font, Arial Black.

Yes it's from the template. Seems it's an Arial yes, I think it mentioned "rounded" or something. I can take a look around font sites, see if I can find it, no trouble.

Another thing is that technology layers aren't labeled, just called "layer X". I renamed them myself but I'm thinking it may be an oversight? Seeing as everything else is already labeled.

No, I just felt it wasn't necessary to label the technology layers since the actual tech boxes are already labeled with the rasterized text. (Thankfully, my OCD didn't kick-in that time, haha.)

Perhaps, it's due to the way I work in Photoshop as well. I usually have Auto-Select checked-on (unless I'm having difficulty selecting something or finding something), so I don't need to search for the actual layer and I just click on what I want to move and select. The reason I labeled the rest of the stuff is because they're simply images, and if one is unsure of what that picture represents just click it and it'll jump to the labeled layer that describes it (especially for those "star" buttons on techs).

Please let me know if you find anything else that may be an error and I'll check it out.

Oh, and you're correct about the text. I just opened the file and checked it out; the full name of the text used is Arial Rounded MT Bold. http://www.fontpalace.com/font-details/Arial+Rounded+MT+Bold/

Oh thanks, you saved me the search.

So far, nothing else to report!