Proposition to refactor traditions: replace trees with categories

[Kernog95]

From my point of view, the traditions have two issues in their current form:

• You are encouraged, with the increasing cost and the ascention path unlocks, to pick one branch and complete it to the end. This forcibly specializes your early game, and discourages you from making hybrid builds.
• You may be forced to pick intermediary traditions that you might not want, either from a RP or from a cost-to-value point, in order to get another tradition

I believe that dropping the current tree system, while keeping the association of a tradition to a certain category, would benefit in several ways.
The system would be:

• Each tradition is classified in one category; possibility of unlockable "hybrid" traditions belonging to two categories
  
• Player picks a tradition freely in the category he wants
• The cost of every other tradition is increased, as it is now
  
• By picking a certain number of traditions of the same category, the player gains additional bonuses, in the same way picking or completing a tradition tree earns you bonuses in the current version
  
• After picking a certain number of traditions in any category, the player unlocks an ascendency tradition

The benefits would be:

• Creating new traditions would be easier, as they would not be constrained by having to branch them and keep this branching balanced
• Players would have much more choice for planning their tradition path. No more "I want a, but I can't because I would need to take x, y and z beforehand"
  
• Preventing the common strategy to rush tradition trees one after the others in the order to avoid the malus gained by picking another tree and get as many ascendencies as possible
  
• Ascendency gain would be streamlined: it would only depend on unity output
  
• Allowing all kind of hybridation:
  • Playstyles, like discovery/prosperity
  • Traditions unlocked by having picked enough traditions from each category (for instance: "patent laws" for a discovery/prosperity hybrid).

I'm leaving this here, hoping it starts an interesting discussion about traditions, which I hope will be one of the next aspects reworked in the game, and crossing my fingers a dev finds this topic and finds the idea inspiring.

 

[anamiac]

I like this. What if we had 7 possible traditions in each category, but you only have to research 5 to get the ascension perk? That way, you can only take the ones that you really want. Later, after you have all the ascension perks you can come back and get the traditions you skipped.

 

[mag_zbc]

I think traditions need more substantial rework. What I'd like to see are more focused traditions, and them being mutually exclusive. The problem with the current setup is that afer 200 years every empire has unlocked all traditions so every empire is identical.

What I would like is to have tradition trees being tied to ethics. In my opinion it doesn't make sense for Fanatic Pacifist empire to have access to Supremacy traditions, or Fanatic Militarists unlock Diplomacy. There should be some tradition trees accessible for every ethic, but other than that they would be a way to specialize the empire.

The same purpose would be fulfilled by mutually exclusive paths in traditions - for instance Offensive/Defensive for Militarist. Or we could choose between style of diplomacy our empire would practice - Subjugation of other empires vs. peaceful cooperation.

 

[AlanC9]

I dunno. In general, I find systems where I can pick whatever I want to be less interesting than systems where I have constraints.. I prefer RPGs with classes, for instance.

 

[Derp]

this would reward min-maxing even more than the current system

 

[Astax]

I wanted a tree for the perks. That way it is a lot more obvious what leads where.