Warzone 2100 Forums

So, I'm trying to organise technologies in to categories, for example:

* Base structure materials
* Armour
** Cyborg armour
* Thermal armour
** Cyborg thermal armour

etc.

Does anyone have a list of existing research categories?

My plan is to create objects that define each category, what it's pre-requisites and characteristics are, and then have my AI able to choose different categories of research to go after based on what the enemy is doing.

http://guide.wz2100.net/r/tech-tree
http://guide.wz2100.net/

So, I'm doing a forensic dig in to the tech tree - you can see some of my progress here: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=8934

What I want to ask is this: Would you guys consider HPV / Assault Cannon as bundled in with Cannon research, or should they be treated as separate categories that follow on from Cannons?

Here's what I've currently got (I'm still wading through tech tree so there might be stuff missing):



And zooming in to my current Cannon category (click to zoom):



So, should HPV / Assault Gun be part of that Cannon category or separate?

BTW, once I've finished this exercise I'll be uploading the interactive diagram (the viewer for it is free and works on multiple platforms) so people can go in and browse / edit, etc. I imagine it will be very useful for people who make research tree mods, as well as anyone that just wants a more visually interactive way to navigate the tree. (not discrediting the awesome visual tree that's linked to earlier in this topic btw, but I just needed something that was editable and where I could group things together).

When you say "Assault Gun" in your previous post I assume you mean Assault Cannon?

Also, do you intend to remove Alloy upgrades as preq's?

Yes, I meant Assault Cannon (sorry, brain is mushed after wading through tech tree for several hours lol).

I'm creating the tree to accurately represent this: http://guide.wz2100.net/r/tech-tree-linear

I'm not moving or changing anything, but I will be highlighting "red line" weirdness (see viewtopic.php?f=35&t=8934 ) and attempting to group things to get a sort of macroscopic overview of the tech tree.

So far my model has all of the Machinegun section (from linear tech tree link above) and about 25% of the Engineering section. Scaled down to almost barely readable, it's already so big that it won't fit on my 42" widescreen dell monitor. Hence why I want to find groupings for areas of the tree so I can display a "birds eye view" that quickly shows the key bits of the tree and how interconnected they are.

I always felt that the Hyper Velocity Cannons were more like the unofficial successors to Medium Cannons (despite the fact that Medium Cannons don't need to be researched in order to be able to research Hyper-Velocity Cannons) due to their greater shot damage, slightly longer reload times, and slightly lighter weight. As for the Assault Cannons, I always thought that they were a more specialized offshoot of cannons, with a greater focus on taking out lightly-armored units due to their low shot damage and high rate-of-fire.

Still, despite them being offshoots of the Cannons line, I'd much rather prefer that they stay within the Cannons upgrade line so that players could more easily afford to switch to using these kinds of technologies as needed, without having to research a bunch of upgrades just to bring them up to date with the weapon line that they were previously focusing on. (I'm even proposing some additional ideas for offshoots to the Cannons line, as well as other lines, in order to allow players to better deal with certain threats as they develop (such as anti-personnel Flak Cannons or anti-tank Gattling Guns), and/or to encourage teams of players to take different research paths in order to gain access to some neat weapons that require research from these different paths.)

However, if you're trying to program your AIs to avoid certain technologies that conflict with its gameplay style, then by all means, go for it. If your AI is currently focusing their research on the Rockets line, then you could tell your AI to focus on researching Mini-Rocket Arrays if the opponent is attacking with Cyborgs, or to continue researching Lancers if your opponent is mostly attacking with tanks.

Hmm... looking at your flow chart it seems like you're redoing the tree and, you have Plasma Cannon, HVC, AC, and TAC coming in during T3? Hmm... not sure about that.

Why would you want AC Hardpoint to be a preq of TAC? Isn't that the same kind of oddness you were trying to decipher?

Also, at one time, HVC replaced Medium Cannon in the design menu once it was researched.

I'm not redoing the tree, I'm just reading through http://guide.wz2100.net/r/tech-tree-linear putting the info shown there in to a different format.

What actually defines the diffferent technology levels (T0 -> T3) - is there a guide somewhere as to what lives in each level, and what is seen as the start of each level?

Ah, I see now... hmmm... I'm more familiar with The Graphical Tree. The linear tree confuses me because it's not done by perquisites. Interesting.

The closest thing I've seen to a guide to tech levels is the source file defining starting tech (which needs balancing, imo). I'm afraid I don't remember where to find that, though.

The text at the top of the linear tech tree just caught my eye: "so they're listed under their first prerequisite." Meaning my last post is inaccurate. The linear tree is showing that AC Hardpoint and TAC share the AC as a prerequisite.

I keep interpreting your diagram as showing that AC Hardpoint is required for TAC... am I just especially dense today, or should you adjust that line connecting AC Hardpoint to TAC so that it connects AC directly to TAC?

On my diagram, all arrows going in to a tech are required before the tech can be researched.