logic tree

why do this

In the original game, technological advancement lacked organizational consistency. Sometimes, it makes sense for A to lead to B; other times, you might research several technological advancements only to reach one that has no connection to the previous one. Even worse, look at several advances and there is absolutely no correlation between them.

This also involves another issue: how deep the technology tree is. For example, if you wanted to research fine cloth workshops during the Reformation era, you would need to research nine technological advances in a row, only a few of which could barely be said to be related to textile production. Of course, not all the best technological advancements should be at the top, but is it really necessary to study officer schools and imperial ambitions in order to craft cloth?

what it does

Logical tech trees attempt to apply some common sense guidelines to the structure and order of tech trees. Its design is based on three pillars:

Precenses with similar functionality should be grouped roughly close to each other unless there is a legitimate reason why they should be arranged otherwise.

The prerequisites should be logical. The Chamber of Commerce wasn't created as a result of the discovery of the New World, so why are they locked behind this technology in the game?

Progression trees should be wider, not longer. The goal is to reduce tedium and make it easier for players to focus (or more flexible to adapt to new situations) without reducing the number of progressions or the pressure from having to research dozens of important progressions per era. You still have the same number of progressions to deal with, but now you don't have a bunch of completely unrelated progressions blocking you on the path to your goal.

To achieve this, I systematically reviewed every progression in the game, reading its description and considering the balance implications of moving it, and placing it where I felt it made the most logical sense. This results in (I hope) a more logically rigorous research tree, with a structure that feels intuitive at first glance.

This modification also fixes an important original oversight, what I call "floating" progression. These progressions have no set prerequisites, causing the engine to place them semi-randomly in the tech tree. If you've ever wondered why a bunch of unrelated government and trade tech is at the bottom of the game's "Spears and Musketeers" tech tree, this is why. This happens in many places; I'd estimate 10-15% of all progression in the game is floating, including unique progression for major nations like England, France, and Russia. This modification solves this problem by adding explicit prerequisites for every progression in the game.

FAQ

Will this modification bring every similar progression together?

Won't. I do try to place similar progressions closer together, but I value the name and description of a progression more than its modifiers (in other words, the historical context is more important than its role in the game). A good example is the Caravel: although in the game it is a light ship, you might expect it to be placed with trade-related technology, but it is actually placed in the exploration class because its in-game description emphasizes its role as an exploration ship.

The goal is not to reduce historicity by haphazardly arranging everything similar together in a soulless way, but to increase immersion and historical accuracy by placing technologies that have reasonable premises outside of their "natural" technology parts, into parts that best fit their historical context.

Will this mod move technology between historical eras?

Won't. It does move technology between broad categories (e.g. Renaissance, professional armies, etc.), but not between historical eras. Although different historical eras have different priorities, we strive to make each major category roughly equivalent, so naturally it is impossible for each main …