Hey everyone!
The Horatio update is looming closer! In this second update for Endless Space 2, we are inaugurating a new, revamped version of the tech tree, following extensive feedback from the community. Most of you asked for a tech tree that would be closer in feel to the original Endless Space than Endless Legend, with a tree branching out instead of tech being freely accessible by era. To that end, we've moved from a global era system to a stage system per scientific domain:
- Science & Exploration
- Empire Development
- Military
- Economy & Trade
To get to the next stage of a domain, you need to possess half the technologies of the previous stages, either through trade or research.
New links were added between technologies, to group them thematically in a more meaningful manner. Cost reduction links mean that researching a technology lowers the cost of the next technology in line. This way, we create a nice "shortcut" to a deeper understanding of a technology without making it mandatory to research the earlier versions of it. Exclusion links mean that researching one of the technologies in the pair means being unable to research the other. This way, players have to make a choice early on, and only through diplomacy will they be able to shore up this specific weakness.
Dynamic costs were kept to preserve a somewhat linear pace of technology unlocking (about 1 tech every 5 turns on average). Costs depend on a technology's stage, this way it is possible to dive deeply in a single specific domain, but it has consequences on the global costs, even if the early stages will still be quite accessible.
We've also redone the look for a more sci-fi feel, akin to a motherboard's circuits. Part of this redesign involved integrating the Deeds better within the tech tree, and adding a color- and icon- coding to identify at a glance the nature of the technology's unlocks. The veterans will be able to select their path at a glance, but everyone will be able to zoom in and hover over techs and unlocks as required.
Compared to Update 1 and before, this means that Endless Space 2 renews with asymmetric progression of the various domains. For this and the other changes, we would like to know: what do you think of the new visual direction? What do you think of the gameplay feel? We're not done with the tech tree yet, so your continued feedback is important! 
Side note: we know tech unlock is currently a bit fast in the Update preview, it's meant for you to be able to toy with the tech tree faster (and thus more often) than you normally would in a game, so disregard the speed of tech progression in favor of your feelings on the rest of it!
That's all for now. Come back tomorrow for more on the features of the Horatio Update!
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