One of the considerations I had when creating a new tech for each and every specialization was whether or not the tech that unlocks the specializations (and allows advancement along the tech tree) should actually DO anything. Unlike GC II, the devs attempted to get rid of the idea of "dead techs" that simply unlocked another set of techs without doing anything else. I felt I should stay true to this philosophy of game design, as I realize that spending X amount of turns to research something and get nothing for it is annoying. However, I didn't want to start handing out bonuses/benefits like they were candy, as game balance is going to be threatened enough just by allowing factions to research multiple specialized techs.

I then struck upon the idea of "micro bennies". Each of the techs that unlocks the specializations will increase something in the game by a minor amount. Individually, they won't be much. But when all of the specializations in a tech tree branch are researched, they will add up to a nice amount. Still not overpowering, but a nice addition.

At the moment I am leaning toward having specializations in the Colonization branch increase Raw Production by 2%, the specializations in Engineering branch increase Base Speed by 2%, the specializations in the Military branch increase Strategic Repair by 1% and the specializations in the Diplomatic branch Influence by 2%, as seen below:

These might not sound like a lot, but they'll add up after a while. For instance, in the Terran Tech Tree, this would eventually give an increase of 24% to Raw Production, 34% increase in Base Speed, 24% increase in Strategic Repair, and 26% increase in influence. Of course that is at the end of the tech tree and after researching some 65 techs to get to that point. These values also will probably go down slightly if I decide to eliminate the need for a "bridge" tech at the end of a tree (see below).

Feedback on what these bridge techs could give is welcome, as I am still tinkering with them as I design this mod.

I also have a couple of other design decisions I am playing with. I am almost certainly going to go back and eliminate the need to research a new bridge tech if all the tech does is unlock a set of specializations at the end of a tree. The whole reason for having new techs is that they allow a bridge to the next area of the tech tree while still granting access to a side branch of specialzations. Not much point of the bridge if it leads to nowhere.

I am also toying with the idea of lessening the amount of time it takes to research a bridge tech. I'm leaning against the idea, however, as doing so would allow quicker access into parts of the tree than in the base game as the bridge tech in essense replaces the specializaed techs when it comes to advancing down the tree. I might end up lowering the cost by a small amount, however, since the techs themselves don't grant all that much (small micro benefit and access to more of the tree). Feedback on this point would also be most welcome.

Finally I am also debating whether or not I should convert the tech trees that are found in the DLCs Stardock has released. For most of them, it won't matter too much. Though the idea of Space Monsters being able to eventually research multiple specializations has a wicked sense of appeal, I must admit. No, it more matters for the Snathi and any future full fledged faction that Stardock will release in the future. They would very much be at a disadvantage in this mod, but I am also worried about what Stardock will think about releasing a full tech tree replacement for a DLC faction. Still thinking about that one. Might end up asking Stardock themselves what they think of it.

Nice .. I like to research everything .. or trade for it.  Now if can have a follow on tech that allows you to keep improving things (prod/money ship features etc) so the tree never ends that would also be nice.  ran into this in one strat game, just can't recall which one .. thus research just kept on forever with minor improvements to your fleet/planet (might have been endless space)

PROGRESS REPORT:  

Eliminated the need for new bridge techs that only lead to specializations at the end of a branch in a tech tree and nothing else.  Those specializations can now all be researched once the preceding tech in the tech tree is unlocked.

Drengin Tech Tree converted.

Iridium Tech Tree converted.

Added to the To Do List:  Check all new bridge techs to see if they duplicate the  displayed name of an already existing tech and change the name of either the  displayed name of the new bridge tech or the already existing tech as appropiate.

PROGRESS REPORT:

Kyrnn Tech Tree converted.

Yor Tech Tree converted.

Iconia Tech Tree converted.

==== 

Decided to have a separate set of tech trees without the "bridge techs" where the first specialization choice will always lead deeper into the tech tree. The other specializations will, of course, still be accessible as side branches.

This means the mod will be released in two "flavors", one with "bridge" techs and one without.  

The reason I am doing this is I figured some folks would not want to have to research the mostly useless techs to get deeper into the tree even if they have the so-called micro-bennies.  The problem is though, it is impossible to construct a tech tree where any of the specs will lead deeper into the tree as in the base game (well, technically there is but it leads it duplicated techs all over the tech tree, and I ain't going there ).  So I am also constructing tech trees where the first of the two/three specializations will unlock the next techs in the tree, leaving the other specializations as side branches that can be researched at any time (as soon as the tech that unlocks them is researched, of course).

I realize it's a bit of a pain to "force" people to research the "top" specialization to keep going down the tree, but I don't have many options here.  I certainly ain't releasing 1000+ different versions of this will all the possible permutations.   

The way I figure it, there will be two sets of choices for which set of tech trees to use.  If you want maximum flexibility and don't mind it that all of the specializations are on side branches, use one version of the mod.  If you don't want the bridge techs and still want to go down the tech tree at a normal pace and don't mind being "forced" to choose one specialization over the others to progress through the tree, get the other.

Basically it all comes down to how one feels about the "bridge techs".

Thankfully, doing the bridge-less version is much easier than making the bridge ones, so I can knock those out fairly quickly.

With that announced:

Bridgeless Terran Tree made.

Bridgeless Altarian Tree made.

Still forecasting this to have an initial release sometime next week.

*bites bullet*

*modifies OP*

*takes deep breath*

This mod is now ready for initial release! 

Please be gentle! 

Here is the link for the mod: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=0By8Y969dyvLHZWN4T0NTRmkxZE0

I would suggest reading either the README in the file or the modified original post of this thread, as it explains why there are two versions of this mod, and which one you might want to install.

-----

I do have something things I still want to do with this mod.  One of them is to here what people think of the version that has bridge techs.  At the moment I'm using the base amount of research that one of the specializations had to unlock the tech.  I'm doing this so people can't ignore the specializations and rip through the good parts of the tech tree.  But I am concerned that they might take a bit too much time to research with too little gain.  I am thinking about perhaps cutting the amount of time it needs to research a bridge tech, perhaps significantly.  If anyone plays the bridge tech version of the mod (Generalized Tech Trees), feedback would be welcome.

I am also very probably going to redo all of the Short Decs for the bridge techs so they better describe what they are doing in this mod.  But that's hundreds of Short Decs, so that's something I'm gonna do at my leisure.  I need a bit of a break from heavy duty XML modding after this.

Finally I may attempt to clean up the tech trees a little as they are REALLY spread out.  I can try to compact them a little by where in the XML they are placed.  But I don't know how much I can actually do on this score.  I might throw up my hands and forget about this.  Time will tell.

===

Hope the people who have been wishing for specializations to be nuked enjoy this mod.  It wasn't exactly hard to do, but there was a lot of repetition (which is why I took my time in making this mod) and drudge work.

Please leave any comments you might have, good or bad.  And, of course, let me know about any bugs that might have slipped through so I can squish them ASAP.

Happy Researching, everyone!

Thanx a lot! I finally played GC3 again. I haven't played it since beta when specializations were enforced.

Really dislike them, they ruined the game.

But probably the mod needs an update best when the new expansion is released in 2 weeks with Torians back in the game!

I use the generalized version. I know it's hard to update all techs for all races!

I tried several times (and failed) to create a general tech tree just for humans and it's a very long xml it takes too long even by using notepad++.
But I guess updating doesn't need so much work perhaps fixing some errors there and there. It's the new races that come to the game they will need a new generalized tech tree!

No matter which version you update to 1.6 it will be welcome!

Good News, Everyone!

/Prof Farsworth

I've gone ahead and converted BOTH versions of this mod for 1.5 (though it isn't prettified or ready for release quite yet).  Even better, it looks like the changes in the tech trees for 1.6 will be minimal, so I can plug those changes directly into the mod and release it when 1.6/Merc goes wide.

Found a way to automate some of the steps I make when I convert the tech trees from scratch for the Generalized version.  Still takes too much time but now I can chop it up into manageable pieces and peck away at it in stages in my free time instead of grinding through hours of conversion.

With the release of 1.6 so soon, I'm going to hold off and release the update for the mod when 1.6/Merc goes live.  

I'm also thinking about tweaking the microbennies in the Generalized Tech Tree version of the mod so that the minor incremental increase in repair rate found in the microbennies of the Weapons tech branches also affects starbases and shipyards.  Mostly because I didn't realize that they weren't affecting starbases and shipyards (at least I think they aren't).  

Aside from that I found an embarrassing amount of minor errors here and there in some of the prerequisites for techs in the Generalized version of the mod, and they'll all be fixed when the 1.6/Merc version goes live.

Mostly though, now that I have found a way to make it relatively less painful to convert a tech tree from the base up, I think I can say I'll be updating this mod for the foreseeable future.   I reckon most of the time there will be minor changes to a tree and I can plug them directly into the mod.  But when there are major changes and I decide it's better to recreate the tech trees from the bottom up (like 1.4 => 1.5) I won't be gibbering in a corner like I was.

Quoting alphaprior,

reply 16

Ok Mercenaries are out I'm not starting the game untill you release the updated mod. I'm waiting patiently..... 

Ha!

I've got it all ready to go, mostly. There have been a ton of changes, so I need to write up a nice update to the README file.  Once that is done and I do some double checking of things, I'll upload and share the link.  In a few hours, prob.

Would have had it ready at launch, but I was a little under the weather the last couple of days, which set me back a bit. 

UPDATED TO 1.6/Mercenaries:

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=0By8Y969dyvLHS3RqdkpsLUxnam8

The Full Change Log can be found in the README in the zip file and in the OP.  Here is a partial change log with the most important changes:

1.4 to 1.5 changes (version never released to the public)

    AI weights for dozens of techs changed to reflect their values in the base game.

    Various tags added throughout the tech trees

    Research costs for

        Xeno Commerce
        Commerce Specialization
        Commerce Specialization 1
        Commerce Specialization 2
        Commerce Specialization 3
        Xeno Economics
        Interstellar Banking
        Economic Focus
        Economic Focus 1
        Economic Focus 2
        Economic Focus 3
        Financial Sectors
        Galactic Stock Market
        Interstellar Commerce
        Marketing Masters
        Economic Efficency

    changed to reflect their values in the base game

    Stat bonus for the Kyrnn's The Path Specialization 2 changed to reflect the value in the base game.

1.5 Bug Fixes (Generalized Tech Trees Only) (version never released to the public)

    Removed superfluous Hull Mastery Specialization for the Altarians.

    Fixed prerequisites for
      Altarian Payload Mastery
      Dreadlord Industrial Specialization 1
      Dreadlord Invasion Optimization 3
      Peacekeeper Invasion Optimization 3
      Space Monsters Industrial Specialization 1
      Kyrnn Agricultural Optimization 3
      Snathi Molecular Specialization 3
      Generic Tech Tree Invasion Optimization 3
      Thalan Stellar Folding
      Thalan Defensive Specialization 3
    Fixed text descriptions for
      Altarian Trade Focus
      Kyrnn Armor Focus Specialization
      Thalan Kinetic Acceleration Focus
    Fixed research cost for
      BRAINY'AK Manufacturing Focus
      Dreadlord Research Optimization 3
      Dreadlord Agricultural Adaptation
      Peacekeeper Life Support Optimization
      Space Monsters Weapon Specialization 3
      Space Monsters Beam Weapon Optimization 3

 1.5 to 1.6 Changes

      Created Generalized and Bridgeless Generalized Tech Trees for the Acrean and Torian factions.

      More tags added to the tech trees as appropiate.

      Research cost for Drengin Slave Mills synced.

      Synced the text description of dozens of techs throughout various tech trees

fingers crossed....

UPDATED TO 1.7/Mercenaries

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=0By8Y969dyvLHdF9vUWE3Nng5dG8

The Full Change Log can be found in the README in the zip file and in the OP.  Here is a partial change log with the most important changes:

1.6 to 1.7

Sensor Optimization 1 and Energy Field Focus 1 stat modification changed from Sensor Range to Sensor Power in all tech trees.
Sensor Optimization 1 and Energy Field Focus 1 stat modifiers changed to reflect Sensor Power strength insead of flat ranges in all tech trees.
Kyrnn Tourism Tech cost synced.
Stat modifiers for Diplomacy Tech, Interstellar Alliances, Eminence Tech, and Majesty Tech synced in all tech trees.

===============

Not much this time, so not an immediate download, IMO.  But if one is going to want to use the new Sensor Power system fully, then they'll want to download this for any new games one might start. The other major change in the tech trees is the nerfing of most of the diplomatic bonuses that various Diplomatic Techs gave.  Aside from that the only other game play change of any note is that the Krynn tourism tech is now in line with the other factions.

So the game should run smoothly enough under the old 1.6 Generalized Tech Trees, but for any new games, I'd recommend downloading the latest version of the mod.

Enjoy! 

Glad to hear you're enjoying it!  And thank you very much for the kind words.  Makes me happy to see people are using this.