I do think the technology tree deserves some changes...

[Siptah]

If you put in more crosslink, some players will complain about choices being too limited and always having to go the same way for optimal gameplay and so on. Getting the balance right is probably impossible, because people want the game to be different. Same goes for the number of techs.

 

[Leyrann]

If you put in more crosslink, some players will complain about choices being too limited and always having to go the same way for optimal gameplay and so on. Getting the balance right is probably impossible, because people want the game to be different. Same goes for the number of techs.

People quite universally think there's too few techs, I feel like. And I doubt there's many people that like how your third (!) researched tech from the start of the game can get you into Renaissance Era.

 

[Siptah]

People quite universally think there's too few techs, I feel like. And I doubt there's many people that like how your third (!) researched tech from the start of the game can get you into Renaissance Era.

But to get the cartography beeline changed (who does it anyway, besides on low difficulties against AI on island plates?), there is only one link to some other tech missing. There are a few (2 more?) of those things, and one was already changed by the devs. That doesn't necessarily mean we need much more crosslinks overall. I am not even opposed to way more crosslink, as I've said in this thread. But I know some players (especially MP) that prefer open tech trees. That doesn't allow me to speculate on a universal opinion of players though. Not even close. Not even for the people I know personally. Not even for the people on these forums.

 

[king of nowhere]

as for the few technologies, that's inevitable because all stuff like feudalism or liberalism were put in the civics tree. I think what makes the eras feel like they're zipping fast is that there are more of them - especially in the end, the progression industrial - modern - atomic - information is pretty fast. Makes some sense, as people born in the modern era are still alive today in the information era.

Anyway, I am more annyoed by the lack of new advanced civilian buildings in the information and atomic eras. I mean, it feels like all our technological improvements since the end of the first world war were only good for getting bigger guns. but this is going offtopic. probably the optimal solution will be to add just a bit more crosslinking in the right places. btw, I think the cartography thing is also somewhat justified, as polinesian people had cartography (a primitive version, but they could use it to locate the proverbial pin in the whole pacific ocean) without having virtually anything else. We think the current tech tree is unrealistic, but it's actually reality that is more surprising.

 

[Leyrann]

Then don't make Cartography a renaissance era tech. If anyone beelines Cartography, all great people are Renaissance era or later, etc.

 

[Jarms48]

I liked the idea that someone proposed, we start the game at 10000BC. I'd like to see a system from Civ BE make an appearance. Ancient era cities could start as "barbarian" camps and slowly claim the tiles around them (similar to BE cities "unpacking") once they claim all adjacent tiles they become a city. During this process you can only build units, and you have to put up with 1 citizen.

The first techs, could be:
- agriculture: allowing the training of builders and the creation of farms. We have to research Chiefdom after-all.
- Slings: allowing for the creation of slingers

 

[MadDjinn]

There should be a mod for this somewhere.