Gathering Ideas for Tech Tree Rewrite

[Exavier]

Ok guys/gals here is the deal.

I have started preping to completly rewrite the current tech tree from the column of the tree where Steam Power shows up all they way to Future Tech. The reason for this insanity is multi fold.
1) Fix inconsitancies in the current tree (Power Plants before Electricity?, Nuclear ships before Fission?)
2) Slow the late game down a bit to allow for more battles in these eras.
3) Expanding tree to inclue a full WW1 and WW2 era
4) Expanding tree to allow for the implimentation of new units and features (especially after we get a converter to add new models)

This project is going to be designed for the community as a whole and anyone who wants to use it in their mod (hehe starting with my Composite Mod).

I have 2 major problems though especially since i want to get this put together ASAP. I am lacking in ideas and time to research for ideas for the new techs and I lack the ability to make graphical buttons for the new techs (mentioned in another thread requesting graphics designers)

What I would like is to see if anyone has a good tech ideas that i can use to form the new tech tree so thats what this thread is for.

Please follow this format:
-Tech Name
-Area you think it would fit well on current tree (near which techs)
-Area Tech Focuses on (while most tech names are self explanitary i still need a good reference to generate Pedia Entries and Quotes from)

Things not to include: (as these will be determined after i have formed the tree)
-Tech Costs
-Tech Prerequisits
-Graphics for tech (unless you want to)

I will be keeping track of ideas on the first few posts so ideas don't get repeated as much. Please refrain from general discussion if possible as well as flaming as I am just trying to collect ideas to expedite the creation of this tree. Everyone who's ideas where used will be given credit when the tree is released.

NOTE: also if someone wants to do the tree before Steam Power feel free


EDIT: After getting the ideas already posted into a workign tree I think i may have to redo the Ancient eras as well... so I am looking for suggestions for new techs from Game start to Steam Power.

 

[Exavier]

Reserved for future use

 

[Exavier]

Reserved for future use

 

[Tahuti]

Actually, for my WWI mod, I have a WWI techtree ready, I just only have to put to the computer. But I'l already noted it in my Noteblock, but I am affraid this cant be put seamlessly into your mod.

 

[sickre]

I would prefer a mod which expanded the ENTIRE tech tree.

 

[roidesfoux]

Two things:

1)I moved "Uranium revealed" to fission. Thus you can't use it to build ships before fission.

2)I was going to make all power plants have Electricity as a prerequisite, but then I looked at the civilopedia entry for coal plant. The way I read it, they first burned coal to power the machines directly, only later producing electricity.

-RdF

 

[Depx]

Id like to throw in that Ive never seen an ironclad used in game, need to give it a use. Never built one myself lol.

 

[Thalassicus]

Here's some of the most prominent advances from about 1850 to 1950:

Containerization - Commerce
Computers - Military applications (rename original "Computers" to "Integrated Circuits")
Jet Flight - Technological/Commerce
Labor Unions
Mass Transit
Nonviolence - Cultural/Political
Photography
Prefabrication
Relativistics - Led to Fission
Romanticism - Cultural
Weaponization - Chemical warfare, machine guns
Space Flight

And some other less significant ones (or are already represented to some degree):

Commercial Agriculture
Encryption
Expressionism - Cultural
Lasers
Radiology
Telephone
Television - Cultural

 

[Exavier]

@Thalassicus - Thankyou. Its a start for me anyway

@sickre - I am only rewriting the era's I know. I might do the rest when I am done... so does that mean because I am not doing the whole Tree you wo't help with ideas?

@Everyone Else - thankyou for showing me that its a mute point asking the general community for ideas. I stated specificly in the first thread what I needed and that this should not be a discussion thread. I don't mean to be rude but all I was after is ideas to help me get a new project off the ground. Guess I this is going to take longer then I thought.

 

[Thalassicus]

With the ones above, here's a rough idea for the tech tree organization:

View attachment Tech Tree.pdf

Could probably fit Mass Transit in there somewhere around Plastics, now that I think about it.

 

[Exavier]

you have 2 much time on your hands

 

[TheBladeRoden]

Radar-Improves air intercept chances or maybe ups city defenses from aircraft.

Some modern-future tech ideas.

Media on demand-Or whatever you call the next step beyond broadcast-only media.
Genetic Engineering
Mechanical Augmentation (Cybernetcs?)
Nanotechnology %1 Gray goo epidemic
Artificial Conciousness %1 Robot takeover
Military-grade lasers
Plasma weaponry
Interplanetary travel
universal equation

of course the ultimete tech
enlightenment

 

[Thalassicus]

you have 2 much time on your hands

Lol, it actually took less than an hour... 5 minutes to copy-paste from a screenshot to power point; added new ones and organize it, another few minutes to add connecters. What can I say, I like designing things (currently taking some circuit architecture courses)

Solid lines indicate some requirements (others on the screen woulda made it too cluttered), dashed are optionals. I split up "Physics" into Electricity and Relativity, "Industrialization" into Prefabrication and Containerization, and Flight into Flight, Advanced Flight and Jet Propulsion, among other things.

I think Jet Propulsion could lead to Sattellites too...space planes could have been an alternate development path to deliver those, rather than traditional vertical-ascent rockets.

 

[Exavier]

Ok well I have the new section of the tech tree (Steam Power to Future Tech) programmed so it appears in the ingame tree properly, got the tech costs set, and am currently working on the Text files for it and the AI aspect (what determines what the AI researches for and considers most important). Oh and we can't forget making it compatable with every language

After getting this far I think i am going to need to do the rest of the tech tree just to keep my format uniform... So now I ask again for Ideas.

This time I am looking for ideas for new techs from the beginning of the game up to Steam Power (as I have already done the tree beyond that point). So if you have any ideas please post them. (I like lists of techs, I can usually figure out where to put them).

 

[Tarkin1980]

Actually coal power plants before electricity makes perfect sense. The early stationary steam engines were not used to generate electricity. Also, I don't see why the discovery of uranium should be moved to fission. Uranium was discovered long before the first nuclear fission was even attempted.

 

[Exavier]

I never said i was going to change the resorce plots... I am just making a new tech tree. This tech tree will be released to the modding community as a resorce for use in their mods if they want (as the extended sections leave alot of free space for extra stuff). Resorce discovery, units, civs, ect will be left up to the modder who uses it. Though i will be providing my suggestions when i get it done

@Tarkin1980 - Yes they were used for mechanical energy not electrical... So it wouldn't be called a Power Plant or a Generator... it should be called an Engine

 

[khakhan007]

this might help you out
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl1300s.htm

what about the wheelbarrow.. doesnt sound like much but it improved farming greatly.. efficency

here is another link.

http://www.didyouknow.org/history/bc.htm

 

[Exavier]

not really... all those are already in the game

 

[Exavier]

early rough screenshot of the modifyed section of the tech tree (very early)

Here

tell me what you think

 

[korn469]

Nonviolence and romanticism seem like they should appear earlier. Genetics seem like it should come before cybernetics. Flight seems out of place, and early. Naval Assembly, and Advanced Naval Assembly don't strike me as important self contained technologies; instead, they seem like offshots of other techs such as Industrialism. Photography should come before shortwave radio (why not just call it radio). Did you leave out steel, biology, and combustion? Those are my first impressions.