What SoaSE needs (imho)

This game is awesome, but it needs a little something....

from Sins Forums
I love this game. But much of what I love is it's potential. The devs were brillant and made a wonderful base for this game. I am left with some desires tho. And I have seen/heard from many others a similar wistful longing for something. Many threads here try to find that something...

After a lot of pondering and kicking ideas around with some others who also love the game, I think we have figured out what the issue is and how to help fix it.

NOTE: Not sure if this is something that should be patched onto the game itself or just created as a mod. Personally, I think this is patch material.

>> Branching Tech Trees <<

Right now, all TEC (or Vasari or Advent) are alike. There is no decisionmaking: i.e. no 'I want this, so, I give up developing that'.

The game would be a LOT more interesting and less cookie-cutter if there were 2-4 decision gates in each tech tab. A line of tech that, if taken, forever locks off another line of tech. (for that game anyways. Choose differently next game, if you wish.)

A player (or AI) would have to make choices about what it wanted to develop. Better fighter/bomber tech or weapon/speed tech for frigates. Cloaking/faster trade ships or cheaper/better orbital refineries. Build this frigate type or that type and then be able to improve the chosen type. Choices like that.

Implimenting this idea would result in two TEC players to have and run very different empires/fleets based on their choices for tech research, just as much as choices about fleet builds/placement are significant choices now.

I don't want SoaSE to be Moo2. Or Starcraft. I love the fusion of rts/4x. But the current game is a bit too cookie cutter for the factions. This would fix that.

P.S. I'd also love another tech tab and lab to build. Same slots available, just priorities to have, choices to make and what to do and give up doing (for now).

As a game designer, I always told my staff "Always give the players deliciously difficult choices. The decisons they make will define them."
15,191 views 10 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top
Heh, I remember talking about this with Swiss Knight regarding DoV - he wanted me to implement this very idea! Unfortunately while you can base more than one research thing off a prerequisite, there's no way to "lock out" other researches except for making it so prohibitively expensive that you'd only want to go down one path.

I do think it'd give a lot of depth to the game and provide a lot of variety within the same 3 race framework that already exists. Will it happen? Probably not, but it's a neat idea.
Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top
Set research to slow. That locks you out of any tree you are not researching for a long, long time and forces to prioritize ;)
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Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top
How about after you choose a tech at a particular level the cost of the remaining techs at that level all double (after you have choosen 2 techs at a level the remaining techs cost 4x, etc.) That would create sort of a tech development channel without completely locking out the other techs.
Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top
How about after you choose a tech at a particular level the cost of the remaining techs at that level all double (after you have choosen 2 techs at a level the remaining techs cost 4x, etc.) That would create sort of a tech development channel without completely locking out the other techs.
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You can't vary the prices in the middle of a game.
Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top
You can't vary the prices in the middle of a game.
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I don't see why that would not be possible. After you select a tech for research the remaining techs would be recalculated. Is't there some research item (advent I think) that lowers the cost of remaining research now?
Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top
You can't vary the prices in the middle of a game.I don't see why that would not be possible. After you select a tech for research the remaining techs would be recalculated. Is't there some research item (advent I think) that lowers the cost of remaining research now?
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You can globally change research times and costs but not do it to a specific research option afaik.
Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top
Anything that adds some depth and diversity to the game play is a good thing. SoaSE's biggest problem, IMO, is that every game feels like every other game no matter how or who you play.
Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top
one way might to make a set of gateway techs that have enormous costs, but the first is at a severe discount, or the first makes the prices get a discount of about -1000000000 percent.
Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top
P.S. I'd also love another tech tab and lab to build. Same slots available, just priorities to have, choices to make and what to do and give up doing (for now).


I like this idea. Reminds me of Company of Heroes battlefield doctrines. I'd love to see them establish a new tech tree that builds on one of the races strengths and locks off other avenue's.

I like the game as it is today so I'm hoping they do not go back and change the tech tree around. It does feel a bit cookie cutter as most of the techs and ships are the same but I like it. I'd rather they add to the existing game rather than changing the way things work now.
Reply #10 from Sins Forums Top
Heh, I remember talking about this with Swiss Knight regarding DoV - he wanted me to implement this very idea! Unfortunately while you can base more than one research thing off a prerequisite, there's no way to "lock out" other researches except for making it so prohibitively expensive that you'd only want to go down one path.I do think it'd give a lot of depth to the game and provide a lot of variety within the same 3 race framework that already exists. Will it happen? Probably not, but it's a neat idea.
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Exactly why I posted. This would require some coding in the app to add this possibility.

Some word from a dev as to the possibility of implimentation in a future patch would be wonderful, even if they do not change the 'released' game to take advantage of the added feature. I will state, however, that changing the 'released' game to use this would be a big step forward for the game, IMHO. Even if it makes some of the released materials obsolete. (Perhaps if there was a choice when you made a game of 'SoaSE Standard' (release type tech tree) or 'SoaSE Enhanced' (branching tech trees) gametypes??)

But, adding it just for mod possibilities would at least let the mod community do some spiffy stuff with it, if nothing else.