What it says on the can. Teching is a major component of all strategy games - i'd be interested in hearing how everyone thinks CE should be approaching it (from what i've seen so far, Gaslamp hasn't really gotten to thinking that far - it's still mostly building up the all basic stuff to fill the game with). For the record, what i'd really like to see in the game would be 1. A persistent teching system - i.e. something you carry over from game to game within the same "game world" you create. 2. A mutually exclusive (preferably permanent) tree development option (to make each game/world) feel unique and add replay value.
This could be interesting, as it forces me to create multiple "avatars" for the different tech trees, but I don´t see how you could possibly create logical exclusive techs except maybe for techs that use masses of cheap labour vs. techs that use automation.
You're in a world where guys in steam-powered suits fire steam-powered grapple hooks at alien lifeforms from other other dimensions, and you want it to make "logical" sense. Interesting. Ahum, jokes aside, mutually exclusive options aren't so much about "logical" sense as it is about "practical" sense. In theory, everyone should be able to build everything. In practice though, you need the right combination of raw materials and expertise to get most complicated stuff done, and both exist in limited amounts. Actual colonies were generally made for the express purpose of exploiting a few resources and/or establishing a safe point along an important trade route. These colonies were generally supplied with what was believed to be the "adequate" resources for the task, and little more. A clever/resourceful/successful colonial bureaucrat could squeeze more, but even then, there was a limit to how much could be given. Hence the "pick one, or the other" option makes a lot of sense Btw, it doesn't have to be "hard" exclusion (i.e. you either get to have A or B) - you can have "soft" exclusion (i.e. you can have up to 2 techs from a pool of A&B&C).
I now remember that someone once suggested having different scientists which follow different schools. So for certain techs you would need a good standing with certain scientists nad schools but those hate each other, so you can´t have them all. That would work I think. And by logical in my last post I meant explained in-universe. I hate when in certain games two techs are mutual exlusive without giving a reason except "because we say so".
Or you could have scientists tell you to go off to the forest "because you already have a way to do it so give us a break". That would mean we'd be able to research one or two ways to do a particular thing but not all the ways to do it.
