Epoch progression (based on current ideas)

[Engimage]

So the current idea is to delay progression between tiers. The path chosen for it was using grade 4 modules for that.

I think this is not the best way and we can just use the mechanic already in the game, but shuffling recipes a bit.

So we do already have the Research papers in the game. They do require just having a certain specialty. However we can just make those require level 6 of the specialty and make next tier skills require papers from multiple specialties.

Lets start splitting skills into tiers. My vision may differ from the one being currently in the game. But I am splitting skills into tiers based on the following criteria: Specialties in the tier should be either producing or requiring products of this tier. It also makes sense for them to use modules of the respective tier. Looking at my list you can already see some inconsistancies in the game, which might be addressed.

Tier 0 (this one is special, available without research but still belongs to tier 1):

• Logging
• Mining
• Gathering
• Hunting

Tier 1 (basic), stone tools:

• Carpentry
• Masonry
• Farming
• Campfire Cooking
• Butchery
• Paper Milling
• Tailor
• Basic Engineering

Tier 2 (Mechanical), iron tools, mechanical power:

• Smelting
• Pottery
• Glassworking
• Advanced wood processing (will describe below)
• Milling
• Cooking
• Baking
• Fertilizers
• Mechanics

Tier 3 (Industrial), steel tools, electrical (dirty) power:

• Advanced Smelting (as it produced Steel it has no place in T2)
• Cement (It produces Reinforced Concrete, so T3)
• Oil Drilling
• Electronics
• Advanced Cooking
• Advanced Baking
• Industry

Tier 4 (Modern), modern tools, electrical (clean) power:

• Advanced Masonry
• Composites
• Cutting Edge Cooking
• I can see something like Advanced Glassworking with Framed Glass here, Fiberglass should belong here

Tier 5 (Final Tier):

• Space Warfare, required for lasers etc. You can give it some random research recipe at level one, and require to level it to say 7 to actually shoot the meteor. Leveling this can be slow and require a big SP house/food.

So basicly we are moving research papers to level 6 (or even 7?) of the specialties across the tier, and make the books of skills for the next tier require several different papers from the previous tier. For example lets take Advanced Smelting. It should require:

• 5 Smelting Research Papers
• 1 Pottery Research Paper
• 1 Advanced Wood Processing
• 1 Mechanics Research Paper
• 1 Cooking Research Paper With the emphasis being on Smelting research papers, you will still require other key specialties being leveled to 6 as well.

As for Advanced Wood Processing. Yes, Lumber as a separate skill was removed. However there should be a jump requiring a start for this. Same with Cement, I am sure that with the progression being delayed it makes sense to require more start in general. And yes, you have to have this "epoch gates" before you get next tier material.

And yes I am pretty sure that all furniture requiring Lumber should be in Carpentry and require Carpentry Table. Or better a new type of a table. And with the increased demand for Logs I would let Loggers use Sawmill to hew logs for less calories.

[Sarah-Graesyn]

I thoroughly enjoy this idea, on a side note I have noticed through the playtest that paper really has a very limited use and would LOVE to see paper used by the skillbooks (you have to have 1 sheet of paper to make 1 scroll using the skillbook and the skillbook itself requires the research papers as well as a stack of say 15 blank sheets of paper)

[Engimage]

Yeas I have not mentioned that every research paper should require Paper :) Apart from those being T0

[trickenso]

I would prefer if these tiers weren't rigidly enforced. It would be a shame if this chance meant that every society developed exactly the same.

Maybe instead of strictly defined tiers, there was a general requirement before you could unlock additional skills or skill levels: "Nobody in this society can access level 5 in a specialism until they have access to a tier 3 library dedicated to the skill" or something.

Something to augment the skill book, perhaps: to get access to more specialisms maybe you need to display the skill book in a room with a certain room requirement - higher-tier rooms allow you to unlock more specialisms in the community as a whole.

Or it's not a library, so much as a research lab? People might have private libraries or laboratories, perhaps, and get a bonus for incorporating them into their houses?

I like the idea of two different communities having made different choices of specialisms for the same researched fields - both have the requirements met to unlock one hunting specialism, but one has focused on fishing, while the other is hunting on land. If the fishing community also wanted to have a skilled bow hunter they might need to upgrade their knowledge building somehow.

I'm trying to describe something that represents the technological and cultural achievements of a society generally in a gameplay sense, rather than 'you must unlock technologies A, B and C to access technologies D, E and F' which ends up feeling like hoop-jumping to me. Making societies totally uniform and progession linear would be a shame.

[trickenso]

Sorry - one specific point:

So basicly we are moving research papers to level 6 (or even 7?) of the specialties across the tier, and make the books of skills for the next tier require several different papers from the previous tier.

The trouble with this is that if you don't have one of every specialism, or your baker is offline for a while, all progress grinds to a halt. This could be catastrophic for a smaller server. Slow progression down, by all means, but creating blockers that stop it entirely could be a major problem.