Tech Tree: Difference between revisions

== [[Four X]] ==

* The 1995 classic ''[http://www.abandonia.com/games/221/Ascendancy Ascendancy]'' from The Logic Factory has a three-dimensional [[Tech Tree]] that is simply stunning in its scope and variety. Unlike many games, it is not necessary (or even ''possible'') for a player to acquire ''all'' technologies to win -- the tree branches in many wildly different and interesting directions, allowing races to specialize in something strange and unusual yet still have a strategically versatile "power set".

* ''[[Galactic Civilizations]] II'' has a large but fairly simple tech tree; all technologies have a single prerequisite <ref> Although some require you to be of a specific moral alignment to unlock them</ref>. A long, time-intensive branch dealing with philosophy and the nature of existence has no mechanical in-game benefits, but researching the final step of this branch triggers the research victory condition: the entire population of the player's race [[Ascend to A Higher Plane of Existence|transcends]] into [[Energy Beings]].

** The branch in question consists of five increasingly expensive (in terms of research points) parts, to wit: "Deeper Knowledge," "Galactic Understanding," "Near Omniscience," "Beyond Mortality," and, finally, "Technology Victory." The Torians have a similar branch that does reward +5% research for each step along the way, to make up for their limited tech buildings.

** ''[[Crusader Kings]]'' is set in medieval times and uses a "directed fluke" system: you pick techs and discover them in your capital a random number of years later. However, all technologies are features of particular territories, not their owners. Paris will not stop having an university because it's inherited by a monarch whose home doesn't, nor will Finland revolutionized its agriculture just by falling into the hands of a country that has. Techs spread over borders and trade routes, affected by politics and infrastructure.

* ''[[Starcraft]]'' requires specific buildings to produce units and research upgrades, and most buildings have other buildings as prerequisites for construction. The structure of the building hierarchy varies for each of the three races, with zerg having a tier based system, protoss having 3 largely independent tech paths, and Terran having a shorter central path with several large 'branches' for better units in certain classes. Upgrades offer either a unit-specific ability or improvement (such as increased attack range for the zerg hydralisk or a short range teleport for protoss stalkers) or a generic attack/defense boost for a class of units (e.g. increased attack power for all air units). Upgrades cost a fixed amount of resources and take a fixed amount of time to research once purchased.

* ''[[Command and Conquer|Red Alert 3]]'' is odd about this, all sides have to build a tech building to get the most advances stuff but Allies and Imperial have to pay for further upgrades, either in the form of security clearance for the construction yard (allies) or upgrades for individual buildings (imperial), the soviets just need a tech building.

* The ''[[Total War]]'' series used a tech-tree without actual research. Better versions of existing buildings become available when a city grows to a certain size, and in turn allow recruiting better units. Therefore, reaching the top tier of production usually involved protecting your kingdom long enough to let its cities grow big.