When players start a new campaign in Space Station Designer, they only have a handful of essential modules for the LEO station at their disposal and their options are rather limited. In order to be able to build other types of modules and to unlock more advanced capabilities, such as being able to setup orbital outposts in higher orbits and construct Earth facilities, they need to acquire technologies from the technology tree (a.k.a. the ‘tech tree’).
The tech tree features a wide range of technlogies. Players start their campaigns with the ‘Base Space Station Technology’ already in their toolbox and, from that point onwards, they can acquire newer technologies by either paying for them with funds, exchanging them for research points or using a combination of both currencies. If you need a refresher on the currencies available in the game, please refer to this other blog post.
The tech tree can be accessed via the tech tree button, which is located on the right panel of the ‘Global Screen’:
This will open the following screen which, at the time of this writing, is still under development:
The tech tree is quite large and it features some interesting dependencies. Of course, players won’t have to unlock the full-tree technology in order to beat the game, though we’ll certainly grant a significant score boost in the final score computation to those who do!
At the time of this writing, the tech tree features the following 48 different technologies:
- Base Space Station Technology
- Storage Level I
- Storage Level II
- Storage Level III
- Electricity Generation Level I
- Electricity Generation Level II
- Electricity Generation Level III
- Cooling Level I
- Cooling Level II
- Cooling Level III
- Crew Quarters Level I
- Crew Quarters Level II
- Crew Quarters Level III
- Structural Modules Level I
- Structural Modules Level II
- Structural Modules Level III
- Space Tourism Level I
- Space Tourism Level II
- Space Tourism Level III
- Applied Research Level I
- Applied Research Level II
- Applied Research Level III
- Applied Research Level IV
- Applied Research Level V
- Manufacturing Level I
- Manufacturing Level II
- Manufacturing Level III
- Research Level I
- Research Level II
- Research Level III
- Orbital Platform In MEO
- Orbital Platform In HEO
- Lunar Orbit Platform
- Long Term Projects Level I
- Long Term Projects Level II
- Long Term Projects Level III
- Industrial RD LEO Level I
- Industrial RD LEO Level II
- Industrial RD MEO
- Industrial RD HEO
- Industrial RD Lunar Orbit
- Commercial Services Base Technology
- Industry Services Level I
- Industry Services Level II
- Industry Services Level III
- Industry Services Level IV
- Government Services Level I
- Government Services Level II
Most of them allow the construction of new modules, but there are some which introduce completely new game mechanics altogether, such as being able to construct outposts above Low Earth Orbit (‘Orbital Platform In MEO’, ‘Orbital Platform In MEO’ and ‘Lunar Orbit Platform’) or provide commercial services to private companies and the government (‘Commercial Services Base Technology’).
At the time of this writing, we still need to do the balancing regarding the costs of the various technologies. We’ll definitely do that before starting the next closed alpha. What do you think of the tech tree? Do you think it’s comprehensive enough? Are there any technologies that you would like to see in the game that you think we’re missing? Let us know via the comments, the contact form at the bottom of the ‘Space Station Designer’ webpage or twitter!
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