Just how advanced will technology get?

Something I'd like to know as well is how linear technological progression will be. In some games like Civ4 technology is a tree. You discover the alphabet, then you discover paper and writing, this gives you the ability to make libraries etc.

Innovation in the real world only happens when there is a need and when thinking minds have time to ponder that need. If the need doesn't exist then no one will think of filling it. If the idea is there but the materials needed to create it are missing then it also wouldn't work.

I'm hoping for something with a bit more interdependency between branches. I don't want to be able to have top of the line adamantium weapons without having put some serious time into all the steps of the creation process, unlike in galciv where all the lines of research were completely distinct. For example, you should need to put time into steel working to use any steel gear, but once you understand that, most of the derivatives should be rather quick to discourage letting an aspect of your civilization completely atrophy in the quest to min/max your way to success. You should be able to derive technology from related tech much more easily than come up with new tech.

Yeah. I hate the rigid structure. Of course, apparently it was to make it easier for AI. Maybe, give AI strict progression but give the freer one to players?

Also, I would like the high end to be steampunky! Airships!

I would guess that will be heavily dependent on the faction. Ie. you'll have the usual tinkering faction with steampunk stuff on one side and the nature loving treehuggers armed with grizzly bears.

I get the sense that the Fallen will probably have everything magic based, so late game you may see Steampunk meets Sauron... Could be wrong though.

double post

I'd almost like to see a sort of 'Eras' set up like in Dominions. For instance, the early eras could be really heavy in magic and have lots of ancient beasts and non-human races running around while the later eras would see a decrease in both and a heavier focus on technology. Just a personal preference really.

I would like there to be a ROFL-cheat, where we could meet our rifflemen up with the enemies swordsmen, our M1A1 tank against the enemies knights.

Edit- This post is in fecious jest. I should make a new topic.

I hope technology stops before gunpowder. Otherwise it might as well continue with cars and PCs and why not the galciv tech trees, but this is hardly fantasy as presented in EWoM. While tech trees should be in the game for forging swords etc, the fire power in this game should come from magic and not cannons.

True, guns would ruin the whole fantasy setting. I was merely wondering just how far it might get.

Guns or perhaps something like muskets?

There's plenty of fantasy settings with gunpowder or a variation thereof.

Naval combat ought to be more interesting with it, as would going down a technological road with your empire.

Oh, but what I would give to see a gigantic armored cave troll stomping onto the field sweeping aside large swaths of infantry, but suddenly there's a huge explosion and flash.  Then there's large pieces of troll lying about as the tank rolls on by

But this ain't the game for that, at least not outside of modding.

My personal opinion: please, no guns, not in the un-modded game.

I guess that means that mono-filament vibroblades are out, too? 

I always liked the idea of a random tech tree, a la MOO3. Every time you started a game the tech tree was "shuffled" to a certain degree so tech would never come in the same order. Eliminating the same tech tree reserch path every game. You would have to choose between things you might not have otherwise tried and craft your strategy from there. No game I can think of has ever really done that or done it well. Of course, that might be for a reason but I certainly liked the idea of it.

PS - No guns either please.

If it was in MOO3, it could not possibly be a good idea.

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I'll echo the thoughts of those who have said:

1) No guns, please.

2) I would like some interdependence among the branches of the tech tree.

- Ash

I concur. I want this to be a swords & sandals type of combat game. Moreover I think that an off-set dependence every three levels of tech would work well.

Mind you, I said no one had done it well yet.... 

I dunno...  having multiple seperating 'branches' for various approaches you can take sounds fun.  Want to be an uber-magical kingdom?  Sure!  Want to have the best economy around?  Sure!  Want to have the best military forces on the globe?  Sure!  Want all three?  Nuh-uh, gotta pick one.

I always liked Civilization's approach to this. You can move ahead along a particular branch of the tech tree for a while, conferring a temporary advantage in that area, but, eventually, the increasing research costs and interrelated prerequisites catch up with you and you have to restore some technological balance to your Civ before you can progress further.

So you can choose what to be the best at but it isn't a permanent decision. For example, you can beeline in such a way as to have the first/best medieval army in the game but, assuming equal competition, you and your enemies are still likely to enter the industrial age at the same time, so that exploiting your advantages becomes a very immediate concern and so that a good start doesn't turn the remaining 80% of the game into a long mop-up operation as you exploit your continuous advantage in one area.

- Ash

I think I agree with the "no guns" folks.  Bombards....not so bad though.  Maybe they could go in with a flare of fire elemental magic or something. 

If it could be pulled off, it sure would be nice to have some random elements in the tech trees adn the spell choices in a given session.  MOM did that pretty well.  You never knew for sure what higher end spells you'd get to research.  There were some standbys, but in the end it was really based on luck.  That makes sense to me for the magics.  For tech it should be largerly based on what choices you make, but a slight randomness mixed in would really spice it up.  It would make the replayablility rating much higher.  Static tech trees tend to lead to static tactics, and eventually to a stale gaming experience.  GalCiv2 made up for this by throwing in the random events, but in the end it would have been much better, IMHO, if it had been more MOO like in that choices you make mean you have to give up parts of the tree...unless you bought the creative trait.  Least I think it was creative...I'll have to go back and check.  Anyway, at a point in GalCiv2 you know you'll end up with ALL the tech in your races tree.  Having to choose this OR this tech makes for more replayability, and for me...more fun

What say the menschen?

Overall I don't like mutually exclusive technologies (and to a lesser extent magic), because there is usually not a very good reason for it. More often than not it feels like an artificial limitation and frustrates me more than anything. What I do like are small amounts of randomness thrown in (see the "Specific vs Focused Technology Progression" thread in the Ideas forum). I'm also not opposed to some choices making other things harder. For example if you tend to research a lot in military then maybe it costs more to research economic upgrades, or even specific techs affected the effectiveness/costs of other things.

But when I research a tech and it locks me out of a whole swath (or even just one) of other techs for no apparent reason other than because it can, then I just feel like the game balance was unfinished so they patched it up badly and moved on. If you are going to make mutually exclusive choices, make sure there is a reason for the exclusions other than balance. If it is a balance problem, solve it another way if at all possible.

I do know I'd like to avoid flying units but that's personal preference.

Nooo.

Won't please somebody think of the flying unicorns? Anybody?

But aren't dragons flying be default?

Or do you just mean, every unit can be attacked at mellee, even flying ones?

I'm confused (and flying-unicorn-less).

Somebody doesn't like archers? I understand completely, having something be completely invulnerable to the majority of units in a game is pretty annoying, and hard for the devs to balance right.