Time to puzzle some tech names & info.

SnowFire · June 3, 2001, 22:56

Well, we can at least start with
http://bonusweb.cz/obrazek.html?obrazek=civ3e3p15.jpg
from that recently posted article, which gives a quite nice shot of the Ancient Tech screen. As the Technology Thread Manager back during the great List days, I have to admit it is mildly annoying that it seems that they're playing it straight a la Civ2 and not taking any radical ideas... but then again, we proposed a lot of incremental ideas that worked within the system that might get implemented. And who knows what Sid's thought of.

And oh yes, another thing that looks like it won't be in Civ3: any form of multiple tech research at the same time. Witness
http://bonusweb.cz/obrazek.html?obrazek=civ3e3p14.jpg

So let's start puzzling it out and squinting. I'm grouping these by the color of their bar on top- the categories in Civ2 were completely ceremonial (transportation, military, you remember them? Too bad they were just that... colors).

Arrows mean the follow up is the same color. So Iron Working is Light Green. If you're following along at home, I'm trying to go from the upper left to the lower right.

Light Green
Bronze Working->Iron Working->B[something] (not Bridge Building, it's one word- Blacksmithing? Might be Engineering too.)
Mathematics (it also leads to the B thing- not only does it look like Mathematics, it's got a catapult on its name!)
Alphabet? Kinda indistinct, but it leads to Math

Blue
Masonry (leads to Math)
Warrior Code (leads to Somethingback Riding and Msomething).

Tan
Pottery (leads to Mapmaking)
The Wheel (leads to Somethingback Riding)
Ceremonial Burial (leads to Mysticism)

Grey
Writing->a whole slew of things, only 1 of which I can make it out for sure:
Monarchy?
Code of Laws
Uternum (University?)
Map Making
Monarchy & Code of Laws->The Republic (that's how I figured out the pre-requs- I originally had Monarchy as Miography and Code of Laws as Speak of Lions. But when I realized this was the Republic...)

Mysticism->Polytheism->????
There's also what might be Horseback Riding which also leads to ????, except it looks more like Medusaback Riding. Oh well.

Anyway, from what we've seen of the colors, gray sounds like governmental/religious type stuff (though what is Horseback Riding doing there?). Light Green is more hard science and pre-reqs. I have no clue what Blue is, and Tan sounds like basic implements that defy categorization.

The circles are obviously items that have no icons yet, although is it just me or do some circles have a grey background? We might be able to tell whether the extras are military units or structures.

Anyway, what do you think? Any clarifications on my shakier identifications?

Personally I'm worried- I have a suspicion that technology will work exactly as before. Which is okay, but a bit dissapointing.

Sean · June 3, 2001, 23:13

I suspect B_______ is "Ballastics". Particularly considering the pre-reqs of Maths and iron-working.

RonHiler · June 4, 2001, 00:12

Quote:

Mysticism->Polytheism->????

Probably Monotheism

Adm.Naismith · June 4, 2001, 10:14

Quote:

Originally posted by SnowFire
As the Technology Thread Manager back during the great List days, I have to admit it is mildly annoying that it seems that they're playing it straight a la Civ2 and not taking any radical ideas... but then again, we proposed a lot of incremental ideas that worked within the system that might get implemented. And who knows what Sid's thought of.

Really, the Tech tree seems to me a great miss: I saw plenty of interesting change into The List, but nothing seems to be used

Wasn't the AI able to manage a more complex model? Wait a minute, may be are most of magazine reviewer and some RTS addictec players that can't cope with a complex model...

Stefu · June 4, 2001, 11:16

BTW, considering that the title of ruler in the other screen is 'Despot', it's pretty safe to assume that Despotism is in

Anyway, the tech screen looks like a disappointment. They haven't taken ideas from Tech thread (I quite liked the idea of 'prerequisite points', myself). On the positive note, they might be taking the 'less techs, more goodies' approach, considering number of circles under each tech. Also, since from what Snowfire listed they haven't added but a few extra techs, I'd guess this is more of a 'placeholder' tech tree. I might be wrong, of course, but that would (somewhat) explain why they haven't filled in the improvs.

Buck Birdseed · June 4, 2001, 11:30

Here's some more helf for would-be tech hunters, the "hidden" GameSpy screenshot:

http://www.gamespy.com/asp/image.asp...iv3/image4.jpg

Adm.Naismith · June 5, 2001, 08:18

Thanks, I completely forget that snapshot!

BTW, almost all the visible tech are grey. Any guess about the color code meaning?

Edited:

Quote:

gray sounds like governmental/religious type stuff (though what is Horseback Riding doing there?)

Sorry, I red this, but it doesn't seem correct now, looking at all tech painted in grey.

JMarks · June 5, 2001, 08:57

Ok, I'm not totally sure, but I think that the color codes have to do with your current scientific relations to that advance. For instance, I think that the grays are techs you can't research yet. Judging from the middle ages tech tree, blue would be ones you have, while orange are ones you can research next.

Looking at the ancient tech tree, I would have no idea what the green would be, unless it is to highlight the research path to a given tech. But (except for the green) the blue and orange theory hold there too. Anyone have a screenshot of later tech eras?

Ioanes

JMarks · June 5, 2001, 09:01

Ok, I think the greens are ones you don't have, but that your advisors want to take. Remember he wants to research Bronze Working? the blue and green theory still hold this way, except the ones you can research that your advisors want to take are now green along with the rest of the greens.

That sound like good speculation?

Chowlett · June 5, 2001, 15:33

I reckon you guys are right, but to clarify the "greens":

IIRC, just before that screen-shot, the Firaxian had said something like he would get the advisors to research what was needed for some tech or another. He skipped over it rather indistinctly as if it wasn't important, but I think that's what we're seeing here. Every tech that's green is needed in the chain to get the final green tech. All techs in that chain are either Green, or Blue (hypothesised "already have"). I reckon this is a fairly good bet.