The problem of the current Tech concept is that you can focus on warfare tech and forget the other techs to win the game. So rather than you split the civic, warfare, magic, matter that way, I have a suggestion a new tech concept that balance the purpose of every tech tree. With my concept, you can win even if you focus on Civic tech alone
So why should focus on civic tech? As I need to go war with other faction? The answer is simple, that the tech is not a practical tech that give you some building or equipments, but about your faction ideology and philosophy.
The first thing to change is the sovereign creation as you can choose the type of faction do you want to play. The Civic Faction? A military Faction? A Mage Faction? or what? You can only choose one of this faction. If you choose Civic faction, you will able to research the unique civic tech in the research department.
The Civic Tech. It is not just give you civilian building that improve you city, but it is the tech that follow the concept of trade faction. Where you focus on riches and wellfare of your civilization. if you focus on civic tech, the faction will be considered as the people country, as everyone equal. The military will based on peasant and militia. The equipment will follow the concept of standard equipment issue and weaponary. By focusing you tech to civic tech, you can only train a peasant with stick with standard issue equipments, such spear, crossbow, etc. But you will able to research advanced weaponary such as cannon, galleon, and musket.
The warfare tech is the tech that follow the concept of warlord Faction. If you focus your tech research on this, you'll able to build fancy castle on the middle of the road and recruit the higher version of peasant with a stick; "Noble" that has better starting HP and stats. You can even research the higher level of equipments, such heavy armor, and weapons, plus you will get raze option to raze the enemy city instead to capture them just for gildar. You can even rob the caravan, etc, just like Viking and robber barons.
Focusing the Mech tech will make you a Wizard Faction. Your civilization will focus on magic. You'll able to create an army of spell casters, and you will get magical trinkets. Not only that, you can even build a wizard tower, where you mightiest mage will able to channel his power to the world, help the tactical combat with his magic, etc. Just like in Age of Wonder.
with Adventure Tech, you can make your heroes the strongest entity on earth. By focusing on this tech, you'll able to research the best hero only equipment and skills. Plus, you can resurected your fallen heroes if they die. This is the tech for RPG lovers, if they want to make uber heroes. Just imagine, you just make your first city as inn for the heroes to rest. Then you let your party of heroes destroy everything on their path, including the evil faction on the way. Just feel like RPG game, isn't it?
I urge to change the Diplomacy to Religious Tech. The existing Diplomacy tech should be merged to other tech instead.
The Religious Tech will allow the player to create a religious faction, where you will get light / dark magic, and you'll able to summon greater being such as angel and devil. The religious faction focus on moral and influence department. You'll able to create Zealot, another version of Peasant with Stick who always has maximum moral. You can make a remote monastery that expand your influence further, the capture your enemy with with influence. Say, if the enemy converted to your religion, the people on city will eager to fight for you.
But of course, you still able to combine several tech just like now, although you can only research the special tech with your faction tech focus.
What do you think?
