[GD-Design] Technology in 4X games

[Jasper M. <ja...@st...>]

Okay.  Jan, wanted some talk of strategy games, and I agree that there's
plenty of good discussion to be had surrounding them.  My personal
interests mostly lie in strategy and role playing games, though 1st
person games have a lot going on behind them too--at least potentially.

At any rate, I'd like to talk about the technology mechanics used in
4X strategy titles.  I know this is often a "hot topic" on message
boards for such games, but that doesn't mean there's nothing left
to say.  Some of the older ideas are, I agree, pretty tired, but I'd
like to see ideas for entirely new technology systems--just as a
matter of interest, even if they're not totally practical.

Now, I tend to be more interested in designing 4X space "empire" games
myself, but there are many incarnations of the 4X, including more
historical games.  There are many differences here.  Take Moo2 and Civ2
for instance.

In Civilization 2, each technology was its own discrete entity, and
you empire either had it or it didn't.  Each technology allowed the
research of new technologies and itself relied on other, earlier
techs.  This is the first part of a technology system I find important:
the relationships between techs.  Moo2 had a slightly different system,
where techs were grouped into major branches of science.  Instead of
moving up through the techs, one by one, as in Civ, the Moo2 player
had to select which of six or so techs he wanted most within a given
field, and there was no way to get the rest aside from trade.  

The second important aspect of a technology system, I'd say, is how
technology affects the game.  I.E. in Civ2, each discrete tech gave
you new units, new buildings, etc.  Meaning that in general, you got
access to specific new options.  In Moo2, many of the techs instead
gave you some kind of benefit which couldn't directly be observed as
a new unit, like better radar tracking.

Lastly, there's how research is accomplished.  Can the player choose
what it is he wants or is it random?  Can he theoretically research
everything or are his selections limited?  Is the rate of research
fixed or can he built institutions and/or enact decrees that affect it?


This post is getting pretty long as it is, so maybe I'll go into my
own new system in another post, but what does everyone think?  What
games have had significantly different tech systems?  What about
some ideas for new ones?

--
Jasper "Asmaul" McChesney 
ja...@st... / ja...@ja...
"You told me, Regin, that this dragon was no larger than
a serpent, but his tracks seem excessively large to me."
 - Sigurd, Saga of the Volsungs