Technology tree thoughts

[Ahriman]

Ahriman, if it's anything like civ4, which tbh at the moment it does look like it, you advance to the next era when you research at least one of the techs from that era.

Maybe, but it could also be the case that you have to research all techs from the previous era before you can advance. Didn't Civ3 have something like this, where you couldn't advance without researching all the core "required" techs (only some techs were optional)?

 

[mjs0]

It probably indicates the age that you are in; the title bar will change to yellow once you complete the medieval era by researching all its techs.

Medieval is already yellow.

mjs0, would it not just be the bar for the current era is blue? If gunpowder is researched, then whatever the era after Medieval is the current era.

Possible? Yes. Likely? Yes.
...but I'm still hoping it's something more interesting.

 

[Ahriman]

Ah sorry, was remembering the wrong shot.

PoM's explanation sounds likely then; maybe they've researched a tech from the Renaissance era, and so that's the era they're in, but they still haven't got some of the medieval ones.

 

[GigaNerd]

I've updated the image in my previous post.
The five techs in the blue era are now visible:

• Astronomy
  [*]Acoustics
• Banking
• Printing Press
• Gunpowder

Dang... I wonder what we're gonna unlock with that one!

 

[Ahriman]

Dang... I wonder what we're gonna unlock with that one!

Theatre building.
Some kind of culture-producing musical wonder (JS Bach's cathedral, if they still have that knid of thing)

Sounds like a merge of the old Drama and Music techs into a single tech. Which seems reasonable.

 

[Mercade]

• Acoustics

Dang... I wonder what we're gonna unlock with that one!

Clearly the middle icon is center of the Creation of Adam the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

 

[PieceOfMind]

• Acoustics

Clearly the middle icon is center of the Creation of Adam the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Ding Ding Ding. I think you're on a winner there.

 

[need my speed]

And I guess the left one is a policy and the right one a building, or vice versa.

 

[Ahriman]

I'm going for left one is a Theatre building (it looks kinda like an opera house; floor seating, Circle, chandelier). The right one looks like a statue of a man radiating light. Could be a social policy I guess, or another Wonder.

I agree the middle is the Sistine chapel, but its pretty weird that a *painting* masterpiece comes from Acoustics.... nothing music related?

 

[need my speed]

I guess Acoustics is meant to be a replacement for Aesthetics...But, why do they have Acoustics instead of Aesthetics? And I agree with you.

 

[bjbrains]

I guess Acoustics is meant to be a replacement for Aesthetics...But, why do they have Acoustics instead of Aesthetics? And I agree with you.

Well, it looks more like it's a replacement for Music (Which makes more sense really), based on its position in the tech tree. Aesthetics is probably out (Since it was just a prereq that unlocked some wonders).

 

[funkyj]

Dang... I wonder what we're gonna unlock with that one!

The Stairway to Heaven wonder (LDO).

It is left as an exercise to the student to figure out what benefits Stairway to Heaven confers on the civilization that builds it.

 

[alanthreonus]

I'm going to be very upset if that's the final position for physics in the tech tree. It just makes no sense to put it there.

 

[Tylerryan79]

It's been said that certain social policies benefits are only available during certain eras. Also, as far as I know, they have never titled the tech tree in such a way with eras at the top. Maybe now eras are defined by date, so you can only research certain techs, in certain eras, and once you move on, they are locked out for good. Early techs would be easier, then the farther along the more complicated choices spring up. And you can research into the next eras techs, but you could miss vital ones by going too far ahead in only one path.

For example the picture above. The user has teched up to gunpowder the farthest, then a new era started. The green techs are the available techs to start from now. Maybe if he had Missed a path somehow leading to the new era those techs would be black, say if he went on a straight line to gunpowder, and kept on going. So anyways, green are the new start, as you can see he already went into gunpowder/new era so there isn't green there obviously. Black has yet to be reaserched/unavailable. The reason one title bar is blue, and the others yellow, is to show the player what age they are in. Yellow being completed/current, blue meaning not that era yet, so possibly slow down teching up in here, and try to get important techs in your era fool!

 

[KrikkitTwo]

It's been said that certain social policies benefits are only available during certain eras.

Where?... unless you mean they only Become available in certain Eras

Also, as far as I know, they have never titled the tech tree in such a way with eras at the top.

Civ 3 Had Eras on separate pages

Maybe now eras are defined by date, so you can only research certain techs, in certain eras, and once you move on, they are locked out for good. Early techs would be easier, then the farther along the more complicated choices spring up. And you can research into the next eras techs, but you could miss vital ones by going too far ahead in only one path.

That would be Bad, it would be punishing you for researching a tech...Far more likely is the idea that you must research ALL Prerequisites to make a tech researchable and researching ANY tech in an era makes that the Current Era.

For example the picture above. The user has teched up to gunpowder the farthest, then a new era started. The green techs are the available techs to start from now. Maybe if he had Missed a path somehow leading to the new era those techs would be black, say if he went on a straight line to gunpowder, and kept on going.

Why on earth would they do that?

So anyways, green are the new start, as you can see he already went into gunpowder/new era so there isn't green there obviously. Black has yet to be reaserched/unavailable. The reason one title bar is blue, and the others yellow, is to show the player what age they are in. Yellow being completed/current, blue meaning not that era yet, so possibly slow down teching up in here, and try to get important techs in your era fool!

What gameplay reason could they have for that... Sorry no Gunpowder until you get Tech X or you can never get it...? If nothing ele that would be complicated to explain.

 

[Ahriman]

I agree with Krikkitone in general here; it makes no sense (realism or gameplay design) that moving on to the next era would prevent you from researching any more techs in the previous one.

I do think its *possible* that some social policies only work during particular eras. That would be a nice way of weakening the simultaneity problem.

 

[Tylerryan79]

I was just thinking outside the box . I will try to find where I read that certain social policies benifits are only usable during certain eras. It was from something from before E3.

Also to clear something up, I was saying that you could research any tech at anytime, researching a tech in classical era doesn't make the game move into classical era. The date/turn determines the era. So you can research a straight line at the bottom to get to gunpowder, and still be in ancient era.

Ok so here is a quote from Jon Shafer from the gamespot e3 interview-

At E3, we'll reveal the social policies system, a major new feature that we haven't talked much about before. As players accumulate culture over time, they're able to spend it to adopt social policies. There are 10 branches to select from, most of them requiring the player be in a particular era to utilize. Each branch is themed around a different aspect of the game. For example, the early-game "honor" branch provides bonuses to one's military, while the later "commerce" branch improves one's gold output.

When he says you must be in a certain era to utilize it, I took that as you can get the bonus in ancient era, but when you move on, to the next era, you may lose a bonus, maybe gain another? We still don't know a lot.

As I said I was thinking outside the box, however the era title bar is pretty intresting, it mst have some meaning. What that truly is I don't know.

 

[mjs0]

Maybe it was from page 2 of the pre-E3 IGN article:

As players accumulate culture over time, they're able to spend it to adopt social policies. There are 10 branches to select from, most of them requiring the player be in a particular era to utilize. Each branch is themed around a different aspect of the game. For example, the early-game "Honor" branch provides bonuses to one's military, while the later "Commerce" branch improves one's gold output.

 

[Ahriman]

Yeah, "utilize". Might mean adopt/purchase, might mean that some become obsolete, might just mean a tech requirement.

 

[KrikkitTwo]

Yeah, "utilize". Might mean adopt/purchase, might mean that some become obsolete, might just mean a tech requirement.

Well obsoletion would solve some of your objections (if Slavery/Monarchy became Obsolete in the Industrial Era then you could have your 'noncontradictory system'

But techs should never become 'nonresearchable' (even if their benefits are obsolete)