Standard Clash Tech Tree

[alms66]

I pretty much agree with Laurent as well. I've been considering dropping the "Culture" line as well due to the fact that it has no effect at a strategic level, except to merely do "lip service" that such things exist. IMO, if we can't find a better way to handle culture such as this, than to lump it with technologies, we should ignore it.

[Gary Thomas]

I cannot see the justification for lumping education and science. Science has no special status as far as education is concerned, and formalised science education is only about two hundred years old.

Probably the most (by a very large margin) significant effect of education is literacy. This is not science.

Cheers

[alms66]

How about this then?

Communication
Transportation
Military
Knowledge (Science & Education)
Social
Infrastructure

I believe they should be under the same branch since Science is a subject of study and Education is the act of studying.
Shall we put it to vote?

[Lord God Jinnai]

Actually Education could go under social as well and we could just have Science as its own group.

[alms66]

I like that one LGJ, and will assume it so unless someone stops me while I reorganize the lists.

[LDiCesare]

As long as you don't put mathematics in education instead of science, you can separate education from science. I lumped them because I feel maths are science, even though they don't need the scientific (experimental) method used by other sciences.

[Gary Thomas]

I would have maths as a separate primary area.

But then I am mathematician by trade.

I suppose a professional golfer would feel the same way about golf.

Cheers

[LDiCesare]

I agree math is different from other sciences, but if you dun't lump it together with something else; we'll end up with countless separate categories. That's why I'd put it with sciences, particularly if you consider that several mathematical achievements have been made for or by physicists.

[yellowdaddy]

4 CATEGORIES ONLY

*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*

It is a 4X game after all...

Essentially you want to:
1. arm your people with the best, and to facilitate that you want to;
2. make your economy expand, and your population too, through developments in farming and health by;
3. developing and building better and more stuff, and by;
4. making your society more efficient through developments in systems like law and order, education and politics. And then export the wonders of your people across the world to teach Johnny Foreigner a thing or two. Or shroud your achievements in mystery and supersilious disregard for the barbarians beyond your borders.


Thus, I propose these four main research areas:

MILITARY INFRASTRUCTURE:
Small Arms (sword, longbow, pistol), Terrain Weaponry (artillery, cavalry, tank), Maritime Technology (longships, nuclear subs), Aerospatial Technology (biplanes, space fighters), Tactics & Organisation (roman legion, pincer movement, horde), Defence (shield, walls, armour), Intelligence (codes, assassin, sleeper),

ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE:
Financial Services (currency, banking, insurance), Trade (village market, caravans, stock exchange), Farming (agriculture, husbandry, forestry), Manufacturing (forge, mill, factory), Taxation (income tax, customs, war bonds,), Employee Rights (slavery, labour union), Mining (building materials, gems, oil),

MATERIAL INFRASTRUCTURE:
Transport (vehicles, roads, rail), Communications (alphabet, signalling, telecoms,), Construction (civil engineering, manufacturing techniques), Engineering research (engines, chemical engineering,), Sanitation (aqueduct, soap, hot water), Energy (wood, steam, electricity), Tools (manufacturing, medical),

SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE:
Law(jurisprudence, trademarks), Education (pure science, maths, literacy,), Medicine (herbal remedies, nursing, bioscience), Culture (way of life, social norms), Politics (types of gov.), Philosophy (ideology, religion,), Arts (music, dance, objet d'art, theatre),


Waffle:

Social Infrastructure should include Education: the level of which effects the Efficiency of Research in technology for the other areas.
Culture is also best part of Social Infrastructure, and, like in Civ`, you can invest in Culture to help improve your People's Education (and thus Research efficiency), their Contentment, and improve your Nation's Prestige and Influence with other Nations:
Cultural Conquests (and Cultural Trade) should be possible - it's a perfectly tangible and real thing, with real effects on how Nations treat each other - whether they gang up together in a "Cultural Clique" like NATO and COMECON did, and oppose each other; or indulge in civil wars like in China.
To say that culture has no effect at strategic level is "poppycock".
Culture is also evidently definable in terms of commodities and effects.

I don't see how having Science as well as the other ones works...
It's such a broad term, all those listed by alms66 - with the possible exception of "Social" are more or less branches of sub-categories of Science and Engineering (people sometimes mean Engineering when they say Science).
Maths too could be called an Art, and a Science - science just means "knowledge" anyway.
I'd drop the whole notion of "Science" as a category, and, maths will be best inserted into "Education", as no education is complete without it.


IN SUMMARY (as I know usually type too much in my posts!)

YOU ONLY NEED FOUR RESEARCH AREAS FOR A 4X GAME!