“When you start the game, what we hope that you do is look around for the techs that are relevant to your immediate situation. Lead designer David McDonough discussed how Firaxis hope the tech web is treated: There are also specialisations within each field which can be researched further.Īlthough the web can be overwhelming at first, Beyond Earth allows for a little experimentation in the early parts of the game.
You can, of course, focus on tech catered towards one of the three Affinities, which we’ll get to in a moment, but the game encourages you to explore those which suit your environment.Ĭertain tech cannot be unlocked until more primitive technologies have been researched.
Now, we have the Tech Web: a giant, sprawling mass of options that spans in every possible direction. Previously, technological research progressed along a largely linear path with just a few options to choose from at each juncture depending on your end goal.