We were discussing in global chat today that the military portion of the research tree can be difficult to follow. I'd like to suggest a reorganization of the tree. Some of these suggestions could be accomplished without changing the existing prerequisite structures of the tree, while others might suggest changes in those contingencies.
Broadly speaking there are 5 categories of military research:
1) Troop researches (Spearmanship, Spear Mastery, Infantry, Legion, Ranged Weapons, Ranged Weapons Mastery, Cavalry, Warhorse, Siege Engineering, War Machines)
2) Tactical researches (those in the Stratagem block such as Attack, Raid, Occupy Territory, Blockade, etc.)
3) Commander recruitment researches (Conscription, Call to Arms, Standing Army, Warcraft)
4) Hero skill researches (Everything in the Command section, including Defensive Tactics branch, Seasoning, etc.)
5) Building construction researches (found at the end of the various troop recruitment researches such as Spearmaster's Respite, Rider's Domicile, Marksmen's Somnolence and also the biome warfare buildings)*
The first suggestion I would make would be to either move the Stratagem section two sections down below Ranged Weapons or move Spearmanship down below Stratagem. This would put all the Troop Recruitment technologies in the same general area. No changes to prerequisites would be required.
The second suggestion would involve changes to prerequisites. I suggest moving all the Commander Recruitment researches into a separate line that would begin with Conscription. I don't see a logical reason that one must unlock a third commander with Call to Arms before studying Cavalry, so I don't see making this change to prerequisites as a substantial change to game mechanics; the barracks level requirement would have approximately the same effect in any case. This change would substantially clean up the Troop Recruitment section as well as make it clear exactly what researches are required to recruit additional commanders.
The final change is one I'm not quite as convinced would add value, but I think it's worth considering. Consider grouping all the troop upkeep reduction buildings at the bottom of the tree in the same way that the biome buildings are grouped, with perhaps a common "army financing" prereq with relatively low research costs, mostly in the interest of keeping things tidy. This would have the beneficial effect of removing the implication that many players see that researching and building a spearmaster's respite is the next natural action to take after one has completed Spear Mastery, when in fact it is more required for city specialization similar to the Biome Warfare buildings. This would involve changing the current Troop Recruitment research prerequisite, but again I think the barracks level requirement is sufficient.
Anyway, I don't imagine this is high priority, but I hope as more military researches are eventually introduced you consider making some of these changes, which would make the military portion of the research tree easier to follow and make it more clear what sorts of researches enable various aspects of military life in Illy.
*I just noticed there's no building that reduces upkeep for siege equipment. What's up with that? Some of us have a lot of sieging to do!
Edited by Rill - 29 Dec 2011 at 09:54