Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 6:22 pm
I was messing with a tech spreadsheet idea over lunch today, and found a major disconnect in the tech info (or a major disconnect in my understanding).
If you look at 11.5.7 Tech Database, the first entry is Anti-Air (Weapons). It has a prereq of Attrition (0), Mobility (0), and Command (0).
Neither or Attrition and Mobility are in the tech list anywhere that I could find. There are other examples of this.
Now, these items do appear on the draft tech tree.
This forced me to really go back and read the sections, thinking I had missed things and try to correlate the listed techs, the tree, and the pre-req concepts. (I did some fast searches here, if I missed a conversation on this, my apologies.)
I am going to try to articulate my suggestion of what I got to as a workable re-design and maybe what the tech development section is trying to achieve.
===
Tech development includes two branches: Macro/Concept (defense, electronics, propulsion, basing, etc.) and Component/Applied (anti-ship capabilities, FTL, stealth, CIC).
Concept Tech is a relatively short list (replacing the tech tree and equipment tech categories). An empire advances in these tech levels through research, but only rarely does an advance directly impact unit design options. However, the tech level of the Concepts open the path to research/development of specific Applied Tech.
That is, each Applied Tech has a prereq of one or more Concept levels.
Concepts may be more expensive to research, but once an empire has... Electronics (3) they unlock and are able to develop the Applied Techs of EWS(1) or Stealth(1). Once unlocked, each Applied Tech would track its own level. So an Empire may stay at Elec (3), but have achieved Stealth (5) due to strict program focus on that Applied Tech.
Maybe if an empire's Concept is higher than the unlock requirement for an Applied there is a discount on the project to unlock that Applied item. Using my example above, if Stealth unlocks at Elec (3), but my Elec is (5), then there is a lower research cost to unlock Stealth.
I'd have to think through the nuts and bolts of it more, but I have to get back to work
===
Additional thoughts.
For simplicity any undeveloped tech is rated at zero. Unlocking a tech moves it to one. You either have it (1+) or you don't (0).
I do not see a reason tech advances couldn't allow for non-military items, such as improved productivity investment or bio change. though, I imagine these are companion material. In addition, several of the Menagerie traits (cyborg pops to mind quickly) would be prime candidate for tech research to make available for a race.
If you look at 11.5.7 Tech Database, the first entry is Anti-Air (Weapons). It has a prereq of Attrition (0), Mobility (0), and Command (0).
Neither or Attrition and Mobility are in the tech list anywhere that I could find. There are other examples of this.
Now, these items do appear on the draft tech tree.
This forced me to really go back and read the sections, thinking I had missed things and try to correlate the listed techs, the tree, and the pre-req concepts. (I did some fast searches here, if I missed a conversation on this, my apologies.)
I am going to try to articulate my suggestion of what I got to as a workable re-design and maybe what the tech development section is trying to achieve.
===
Tech development includes two branches: Macro/Concept (defense, electronics, propulsion, basing, etc.) and Component/Applied (anti-ship capabilities, FTL, stealth, CIC).
Concept Tech is a relatively short list (replacing the tech tree and equipment tech categories). An empire advances in these tech levels through research, but only rarely does an advance directly impact unit design options. However, the tech level of the Concepts open the path to research/development of specific Applied Tech.
That is, each Applied Tech has a prereq of one or more Concept levels.
Concepts may be more expensive to research, but once an empire has... Electronics (3) they unlock and are able to develop the Applied Techs of EWS(1) or Stealth(1). Once unlocked, each Applied Tech would track its own level. So an Empire may stay at Elec (3), but have achieved Stealth (5) due to strict program focus on that Applied Tech.
Maybe if an empire's Concept is higher than the unlock requirement for an Applied there is a discount on the project to unlock that Applied item. Using my example above, if Stealth unlocks at Elec (3), but my Elec is (5), then there is a lower research cost to unlock Stealth.
I'd have to think through the nuts and bolts of it more, but I have to get back to work
===
Additional thoughts.
For simplicity any undeveloped tech is rated at zero. Unlocking a tech moves it to one. You either have it (1+) or you don't (0).
I do not see a reason tech advances couldn't allow for non-military items, such as improved productivity investment or bio change. though, I imagine these are companion material. In addition, several of the Menagerie traits (cyborg pops to mind quickly) would be prime candidate for tech research to make available for a race.