Thinking, we have two tech charts now, but some techs can be REALLY over powering if you get them too early and some can be REALLY useless if you get them too late and they don’t fit into your current strategy.
So, why not break them up so you cannot get certain ones until later into the game (which would also be a bit more realistic I think.)
Just as an example:
At the start of the game you can get: Rockets (Rockets have been around since forever, this tech just increases the range, realistic that you could have them in 1941), War Bonds (just selling bonds, bonds had been sold for centuries), Mechanized Infantry (just redesigning your tanks to pull carts that carry soldiers, carts have been around for millenia), Radar (America had radar in December of 1941, so it’s realistic to have it at the start of the game), Destroyer Bombard (again, your cruisers and battleships are already doing it) and Jet Fighters (Germany had really good fighters early in the war anyway.)
As far as playability, none of those six techs, early in the game, would make the game drastically harder for your opponent to win. Radar, of course, might discourage some early SBR runs, but that’s not a huge deal since in the early part of the game, you only have one or two (or none) bombers anyway. War Bonds are just Anti-Rockets so the two cancel each other out. Mechanized Infantry can be a boon, but you still are low on infantry and armor anyway early on.
To clarify, I am considering the first 6 rounds of the game to be “early” and that the above technologies should be considered to be all on one chart during that time. (Rocket = 1; War Bonds = 2; Radar = 3; Jet Fighters = 4; Destroyer Bombard = 5; Mechanized Infantry = 6)
After the 6th round is complete (that is Germany Round 7) the other technologies become available. (Paratroopers, Long Range Aircraft, Heavy Bombers, Super Submarines, Advanced Artillery and Improved Shipyards.)
The last six imply improvements to equipment and tactics made from evaluating experiences in the battlefield. Before 6 rounds are up, you shouldnt have too many “experiences” for your soldiers, leaders and scientists to draw on, right? And playability wise, some of these technologies, if gotten early in the game, can be a game ender.
For instance: 1941 America gets Heavy Bombers round 1. That can pretty much end the game for Germany and Italy. Or Japan gets Long Range Aircraft which can end the game for America (since America would basically be forced into going into the Atlantic, Japan would be free to soak up the National Objectives and deny America two of their National Objectives. This being because the 3 aircraft carriers would effectively allow the Japanese fighters the range of the entire ocean while allowing them to still assist in deep country attacks in China/Russia.)
Just some examples.
What do you guys think? I could switch a couple here and there if you think they are in the wrong category. It was just an example after all.