Technology Tree Getting Revamped In Civilization VI
One of the backbones of the Civilization series is the tech tree. With each passing turn you’re gaining steps to unlock more and more technology and advancements to your empire. Each advancement brings new abilities and potential. But, the tech tree was always rigid. And advanced at the same rate, regardless of nation or where your empire was built. In Civilization VI, that’s going to change.
“In previous Civs research was up on the side, and it didn’t matter what was going on in the game world. You could kind of move through that tech tree however you felt like in a very independent manner. It was a very passive activity; you could click on the technology you wanted to work toward, and it might be two or three layers deep in that tree, so you wouldn’t have to make another decision for 25 or 30 turns. We wanted to break people out of that,” says Lead Designer Ed Beach told IGN.
Firaxis also revealed a new version of the tech tree called Active Research. Which will allow gamers the ability to advance certain technologies based on what you’re doing each turn, as well as what your world is in regards to your empire. For example, if you’re a seafaring nation next to the water, and you build up lots of navy ships, your nautical advancements will rise faster than in previous games. Likewise, if you are wanting more masonry advancements, but don’t have a lot of resources, you’ll have to adapt in order to get what you desire. Then military advancements will occur by facing barbarians and other units.
“You can research it ahead of time and figure out what your path is, or some people just like to not worry too much about the boosts, but they notice they get nicely rewarded.”
Civilization VI arrives October 21st.
It looks pretty cool. I think they have kept to the same format in general through the years, and I am curious at what these changes would be. I think they were fine in Civ 3, it's basically learning one thing that will lead to higher and more advanced knowledge. It's basically how our ancestors did it from the dawn of time. I want to know what they changed, and how would it affect both the gameplay balance, as well as the replay value.
That's good to hear. I hope they learnt from the mistakes of Beyond Earth and are making a truly flexible tech tree, so that the game can have loads more depth.
Wow, that's very nice. Definitely another thing to look forward to in Civ VI.
Definitely agree. This is giving me also some more positive hopes about the game.
This is an interesting new element to Civilization gameplay but I have two reservations on this revamped technology tree. My first reservation concerns the relatively poor computer AI that diminished Civilization V. The erratic aggression of the AI opponents may be exacerbated with this new technology tree if significant improvements were not made. The second concern that I have is the potential that some of the more diplomatic and scientific technology advances may be somewhat devalued with this new technology tree since there will be a tendency to research military advances first, especially since the ability maintain a large empire was greatly curtailed in Civ V and this game element is likely to persist in the latest revision.
Yeah, that was one of the things that made me bored of Beyond Earth, you didn't have a lot of flexibility. I thought Civilization V had a pretty good tech tree, but this new one is definitely better.
I'm glad to hear that research will be less of a passive activity in this game, as in previous games it was mostly just selecting the preferred technology and waiting around. I like the idea of it actually being affected by what's going on in the game, the idea of advancing certain things based on what I'm doing with my empire sounds a lot more appealing than previous implementations.
"Change is good" people say. And I agree. It makes the game more unique and therefore less boring. We can just hope they won't repeat any of their mistakes. I like the flexibility and diversity it brings – that's what Civilization needs.
It is always exciting when various mechanics of games get updated for new installments. It may prove a bit of a learning curve at first, but I am sure that once you get the hang of it, it will make the game a lot more user friendly.
Yes let us not forget every Civilization game since Civilization IV has had a really rough release.
This aside I really like the idea of having the social, cultural and diplomatic type things separated from the more truly technological advances. This makes it so you don't have to research something like trapping to get civil service. Really always confused me when they'd have you research something mostly unrelated logically and completely unrelated technologically be a requirement to research something you actually wanted.
Along with this it is really good to hear we will have some sort of quests to go after to further your techs and civics instead of simply clicking a button and going "invent the wheel my beaker using chaps!". They kind of had similar things in Civ:BE but they weren't really implemented all that well.
Here's to hoping they do implement it well.
Having a learning curve is a good thing, it just means that it's not the same thing as they had in the past and there is something new in the game.
That's awesome. I hope it does have a lot of depth to it. It's a new thing to learn but people will get used to it and likely come to like it.
Oh yeah I never said a learning curve was bad. It just adds something else to do in the game which I think everyone can appreciate.
That is almost always the case when new mechanics are added to games. It may take a day or so to get used to, but once the players get the hang of it, they will come to love it…. hopefully XD
The changes to the tech tree in Civ VI seem like a really good change. It makes the entire thing more dynamic and interesting. All of the changes made to the mechanics for this game seem super well done, and each new thing I read about the game gets me more and more excited.
Oh that's some good news, updates are usually great. I can't wait to see what they're going to make different with the tech tree. Along with the multiplayer and such it seems like it's getting a lot better.
I agree, that's what makes a good squeal, if it's always the same thing they might as well launch some new patches instead of launching a new game.
I personally think this game really needed those updates, it was kinda boring sometimes because you had nothing to do but wait until something showed up to make a move, I am really glad to see more changes coming up, looking forward to it indeed.
I agree that it's something that everyone will be looking forward to in the next game. If they have made a tech tree that is more flexible will make the game more diverse and user friendly.
A lot of the things that were revamped I found to be not so much that as they were altered slightly, but I think that this was one that could have qualified. There was some difference there as I remember.