Tech Tree Quirks

[ccubed]

Thanks to another thread, I began looking at some things I find quirky about the tech tree. For example, you can make Giant Death Robots without having ever researched Electronics, Computers or even Robotics.

Some other observations, and I'm wondering if there are any strategies based around them:

1.) It's 15 techs to get to Biology and the Industrial era. You never have to research any of the chains starting with the bottom 3 techs (Animal Husbandry, Archery, nor Mining.) This could be useful, I suppose, to a peaceful strategy, or maybe one based around culture.

2.) It's 16 techs to Banking and the Renaissance era. Along the way you will get Civil Service and Chivalry, so you might be able to field an army of Pikemen and Knights to defend and/or conquer.

3.) Combining both of those lines takes 21 techs. You could then have some kind of a decent army, along with many of the useful science and culture techs.

The thread that lead to this exploration may have used some of the basics from above. In the thread "Cultural Victory - 1838" the poster teched to avoid buildings that his puppet cities might make (like barracks, armories, etc.) With the 21 tech strat, you'd have access to libraries, universities, temples, markets, banks and mints. These all seem like pretty useful buildings. The minor problem I foresee (from my playstyle perspective and admittedly limited skill level) is that it will be somewhat difficult to conquer cities without stronger ranged units. I hate whittling away with archers or getting my troops mangled or killed with frontal assaults on cities. I have read about good use of Horsemen speed, but haven't personally experimented with it.

So any thoughts, strats or exploits? Or any other tech tree quirks people have found?

 

[stormerne]

You can build a chariot archer without ever having researched Archery!

You can build an Opera House, a University, a Monastery, a Garden, a Temple, a Library, a Granary, the Sistine Chapel, the Kremlin, Notre Dame, the Porcelain Tower, Oxford University, Angkor Wat, the Hagia Sophia, the Oracle, the National Epic, the Great Library, the National College, and Stonehenge, and unlock 3 social policy trees (over your starting 3) by just researching 8 techs: Agriculture, Pottery, Writing, Calendar, Philosophy, Theology, Education, Acoustics!

 

[Airey]

You need at least HMan to defend yourself from AI attacks if you try to beeline science

 

[glaivemaster]

You don't need Iron Working to research compass, meaning that by the time you have developed compasses and thus an idea of magnetic north, you don't even know what iron is

 

[CYZ]

Giant Death Robots without actually knowing what robotics are? Tech tree isn't ideal for gameplay atm but historicly makes absolutely no sense.

Another example, trapping comes after agriculture, in reality humans were hunting (and using traps) long before they ever figured out that they could grow and harvest plants.

 

[André Alfenaar]

Or what about building infantry before discovering riflemen? I was playing America and wanted to protract the period to build minutemen.

 

[Makaz]

Or what about building infantry before discovering riflemen? I was playing America and wanted to protract the period to build minutemen.

Same ! I got stuck with France being unable to upgrade my knights to foreign legion because I had not researched rifling...

I could build / buy them though but I had to retroscience to get upgrades done.



The most funny is mech infantry without having found combustion. Meaning when you upgrade infantry to mech infantry; the 10 little guys go inside the mech and pedal to make it move.

 

[terrycrist3]

I won a science victory without combustion. I guest my space ship was powered by love.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Same ! I got stuck with France being unable to upgrade my knights to foreign legion because I had not researched rifling...

I could build / buy them though but I had to retroscience to get upgrades done.



The most funny is mech infantry without having found combustion. Meaning when you upgrade infantry to mech infantry; the 10 little guys go inside the mech and pedal to make it move.

There are other sources of power than combustion engines.

Although a lot of the tree IS really silly.

 

[madscientist]

In Civ IV the tech tree and units were much more inter-related. Instead of a stright path to a tech you also needed a prerequisite. Example, MAchinery and Engineering were needed for Chemistry even though the tech path of education/gunpowder coulled to Chemistry. LIke wise, you could NOT build Horse archers at Horseback riding or Crossbows at MAchinery without the simple tech of archery.

AT the moment Civ V tech tree is much too linear, there needs to be a little more thought and detail placed in research.

 

[delra]

Top part of the tree - sling for good buildings part of the tree.
Bottom part of the tree - let's research this crap when all the good wonders were invented and built part of the tree.

All civs with special units and buildings down on the bottom two rows are screwed. All civs having unique buildings and units in the chivalry, education or navigation route are cool.

 

[Feyd Rautha]

Making the tech tree more inter-related (not just the units) would help a great deal with the slingshots we've been seeing. I'd love it if you had to get all but one or two techs of the current era in order to unlock the next. This would really help with the classical era which is way too short (being just one tier long).

Could it be coded that Medieval techs require the Medieval era to be unlocked (or any era means that era must be unlocked first)? That would solve the problem quite easily.

 

[skallben]

You can build a chariot archer without ever having researched Archery!

You can build an Opera House, a University, a Monastery, a Garden, a Temple, a Library, a Granary, the Sistine Chapel, the Kremlin, Notre Dame, the Porcelain Tower, Oxford University, Angkor Wat, the Hagia Sophia, the Oracle, the National Epic, the Great Library, the National College, and Stonehenge, and unlock 3 social policy trees (over your starting 3) by just researching 8 techs: Agriculture, Pottery, Writing, Calendar, Philosophy, Theology, Education, Acoustics!

Without the knowledge of Engineering, or even Construction...There are things like this I wish they at least would have let us check on/off in custom game...We seriously need more options...

 

[renkenbd]

One thing that has always impressed me about this franchise particularly Civ IV, was the historical feel of the game. I recall many times when I would be watching some program on the History Channel and I felt like I was watching the game! On a few occasions I would go right into the computer room after the show and start playing. It was really cool to feel like you were experiencing history while playing the game.

Unfortunately, with Civ V, they seem to have lost that. I do love the game, but when I play the game now I don't get that same sense of history. I am not a game programmer, but I do hope that they can fix the tech tree so that it is more historically (and logically) accurate while maintaining the same great playability.