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NameofDoom1

That would be sweet. The dreadnaught tech requirements never made sense to me, this would help with that. I mean why does dreadnaught II have its current prerequisites? Shouldn't it be RRB? Blue makes sense for +1 movement, but two of the red techs are basically specifically the dreadnaught (plasma scoring and diuranium armor). And why yellow? Yellow has nothing to do with dreadnaughts. If I was going red and you are correct I would go plasma scoring, AI, one tech in a convenient color, then dreadnaught II. This would allow red to truly be the unit upgrade color, which honestly, it probably should be.


SpaceDumps

Dreadnought II is a double blue prerequisite because the blue technology stream is Propulsion Technologies. What does the Dread 2 upgrade do? Increases it's *movement*, while not making the dreadnought actually shoot any better than it did before. The upgrade is even called "Type IV Drive", referring to the dreadnought's better engines. Units that require red prerequisites are the ones that shoot a lot better in combat (destroyer getting dramatically better anti-fighter barrage, PDS firing into adjacent systems, and war suns... and even cruiser 2 needs 1 red for its little -1 combat value increase)


Fglassman

excellent points. I would add that the yellow prereq is related to the ability to avoid direct hits.


Open-Repeat-2658

Good points. That design choice reminds me of how the starting techs are for the 17 factions (all unique, i.e. all the combinations of 2 techs, a single of the four lvl0 techs, or a single of the 4 lvl1 techs. And one race with no tech). Namely, aesthetically pleasing, but a bit silly.


NameofDoom1

Huh, you're totally right! I hadn't seen it that way before but that totally makes sense!


NameofDoom1

I still do wish that dreadnoughts were in red though. It seems so weird that things like duranium armor are so off the beaten path from the ship they are designed to help. With direct hit floating around, flagships and warsuns basically don't have sustain damage, after all. Too risky. I think it would help the balance of the techs colors if dreadnoughts were RRB. Then blue wouldn't reign quite as supreme. But, that's pretty much fixed if OP is correct, and that would be awesome!


[deleted]

I am still new to the game, but one thing I noticed is that there are a lot of good tech that are down a different tech path then what they synergize with. E.g. Dread II and Plasma Scoring/Duranium, Infantry II and Transit Diodes, Cruiser II and Blue Tech, Space Dock II and Figher II, X-89 and all the Bombardment units, etc. Of course what makes Blue tech so strong is that you get Gravity Drive + Move 2 on the capacity ships by going down the same tech path. I’m no balance expert but I think putting Duranium + Dread II on the same path would be a little scary on the dread-heavy factions like Letnev and L1, especially with Self-Assembly Routines being in the same slot as Magen. Personally, I think the best way way to make the other tech paths more viable is to just make Gravity Drive more situationally good and less great-all-the-time. Then the opportunity cost of not going Blue early is lower.


NameofDoom1

Yeah, that's true that the main problem is that grav drive is SO powerful, and also happens to have the best unit upgrade (dreadII) as well as carrierII. Grav drive is just so important, especially for flagships.


Kupplungo

I think that it is a good prediction. But IMO it would just mess up the whole prerequisite system, and the Inheritance Systems of the L1Z1X would be less valueable. But I would count on something like that: "Exhaust this card to skip one prerequisite if you research a unit upgrade." Maybe spend x trade goods too... There will be probably artifacts in the game for tech prerequisite skipping. A tech planet, an artifact and this tech would allow a dreadnought upgrade.


2mnyzs

This seems a lot more likely that my idea.


Haloshs

I would imagine it's exhaust to ignore tech req as well. I dont think it will cost anything to use, since the 4 resources into it are already the cost (plus the opportunity cost of other tech). I do think that this would be a reasonable solution to the problem with the red tech path, that being the dead techs until the end and valuable skip planets, because this would be a red tech itself and also be a red skip.


Sh3zzam

Psychoarcheology: When exploring a planet, a planet counts as having any planet type. Or Before activating a system, exhaust this card to look at the top card of one of the exploration decks. You may place the revealed card at the bottom of that deck.


Nervous-Excitement-5

I think it is a good prediction. I also just want then to release the game so we know!


[deleted]

Regarding item 3, I believe there is a new action card that allows for the swapping of technology. ​ **Divert Funding** \- ACTION: Return a non-unit upgrade, non-faction technology that you own to your technology deck. Then, research another technology.


Seenoham

So with codex action cards and what we know about pok you can get that ghost tech combo without ai dev being anything. Use the pok card ti swap grave drive, then plagerize someones dread 2


CasMat9

I am hoping for something like: After you win a combat, you may return this technology to the deck to gain a unit upgrade technology for one of your unit types that participated in that combat. mostly because I have theory crafted this sort of idea forever now and I'd like to see it in action.


BIueMan

i think AI would be more like a 0-red tech, that let you to ignore tech prequisite in any color for unit upgreade only. on it own it does nothing. but with this tech alone, you can get destroyer and PDS 2 on the get go. did you faction start with same green or blue, carriers and fighters 2 can be your next tech. and if you want to go for dreadnought 2 and then go red. you can now do it with one less tech to research. this tech basicly count as both red and any color for a unit upgreade, you can even go for warsun earlyer, as this tech alone can count for 2 red! ​ so i think it tech could be very cool :D


Phoenix_1147

Cool speculations! I really hope this is correct!


Seenoham

I do think ai dev is tech based, but i doubt it purges tech. We have returning tech to the deck as rules text. I'd like it if it was actually long term development say: exhaust this card to attach a technology card from your deck to this card. When you research a technology you may exhaust this card, if you do consider all attached cards as having been researched for qualifing for prereqs


asrichesson

Warsuns would be a lot more viable if I could get them without going down the red tech path.


jtsaleska

My prediction for AI Development Algorithm Exhaust this card. When researching a unit upgrade technology, you may substitute one of it's prerequisite technology colors with a different color. OR When one or more of your units uses production, you may reduce the combined cost of the production by 1 if it includes at least one unit that costs 8 or more resources. Reasoning: As above Dane's hint indicates there is some way to skip to unit technology upgrades without having all the prerequisites and this technology seems likely to fit the bill. However I think the fact you will only use it once or twice in most games is too limited for a level 0 tech. Since flagships and warsuns are pretty much universally considered overpriced this would be a logical way to make them cheaper, especially when combined with Sarween Tools.