Since the base game was released, I've heard from a lot of players about wanting new tech added to the game. But I also heard from just about as many players that tech, while pretty interesting and novel, wasn't being used that much. They had some issues with it, including that it took too long to research the really good stuff, and that it was too hard to get additional tech in the game. I have wanted more tech from the get-go, but just "adding more" was never a driving factor in the design process. I wanted to make sure that in additional to adding more of a variant, that we also brought something new to it.
There have been many homebrew ideas in the area of new tech, and I didn't see any reason not to tap into that existing space. Thus, several of the new techs in CO are based on or at least inspired by these homebrew ideas. I wanted to focus more energy on what new elements could be brought into techs, and I wanted to address the perceived deficiencies with the mechanism.
Two new types of tech were created to help getting more powerful effects into play more quickly. Mili-Tech and Haz-Techs.
Mili-Techs are not researched with ships, and you can potentially complete one on the very first turn of the game. They require you to discard certain attack cards from your hand during regroup. There are 3 types of Mili-Techs:
X=X : You have to discard two attack cards of the game value, like a pair of 8s.
X+1 : This requires two attack cards with sequential values, like 5 and 6.
≥X : Discard any number of attack cards with a sum that is equal to or greater than the number indicated.
It's true that "luck of the draw" is a factor here, it also opens up rarely used areas of deal making. Who has an attack 6 and wants to make a deal? There's also the soft benefit of being able to discard lowish attack cards to complete many of these techs.
Haz-Techs tie into the Harzard warnings on Destiny cards. You research them normally, adding a ship each encounter, but there's no specific number needed to complete them. Instead, whenever a hazard warning appears in destiny, you can choose to reveal that tech and trigger its effect. It's doubly-hazardous though, because the researching ships are sent to the warp. But the effects tend to be more powerful, and their power scales based on the number of ships you had on there. So, with even just 4 or 5 ships on there, it can pack a pretty big punch.
Being able to get new techs more easily was an important consideration, so I included a concept that we called "Tech Refresh" in the design process. Many of the new techs in the design phase had a "Tech Refresh" bar on it, which meant you would automatically draw a new tech once you completed that one. FFG implemented it more simply by just adding text to certain techs that made this part of its particular effect. The end result is the same: you get to just draw a new one once you finish the old one.
There was a homebrew concept about "Resetting" a tech, which involves completing it normally, then turning it face down so you can research it again. I thought this was a fine idea, so a few of the new tech do this too. I also added a couple more techs that you complete, and then give to a player when you use them.
The last area I wanted to rectify with techs had to do with deals. The normal rules do not allow for trading techs in a deal, but I felt this was a lost opportunity. I love deal-making in Cosmic Encounter, and I always look for new ways to enhance or foster that. I understand why the rules started this way- it wasn't going to be elegant to trade a semi-researched tech, but I came up with something that I think works pretty well. You can trade a tech you started researching, and the receiving player can immediately place up to that many of their own ships on it. The idea being "we did some of the work, so you don't have to start from scratch". You can also trade techs you haven't researched at all, because why not?
Some of my favorite new techs:
- Brainwave Tracer: This is one you both reset AND give to another player when you use it. It lets you steal a random card from another player.
- Nanite Mining: It only costs 2, and from that point on any time you draw a new hand, you get one more card. It also does the tech refresh of giving you another tech card to research.
- Power Radiant: This lets you zap someone with their own flare. Only costs 3 AND lets you draw a new tech. I had this once in a game and got someone to give me the flare of another player who was closing in on a solo-win. I would be able to zap them with their super flare, which I later did. Not sure if we ended up stopping them in the end, but... deals and tech together!
- Station Dock: This one creates a space station in your system.
- Nuclear Missiles: This Haz-Tech lets you take out ships on any one planet. The number of ships you take out is the number you had on the tech. For targeting a foreign colony, you often only need 2 ships here.
- Cosmic Catapult: A Haz-Tech that lets you add 3 to one side's total for each ship you had on the tech. Even if you aren't in the encounter, you can make a big impact. Another great tool for preventing a win.
- Rewards Distributor: This is a Mili-Tech where if you discard attack cards equaling or exceeding a total of 10 points, you can add the Reward deck (and even Ultra Rewards) to the game- and maybe even get some.
- Plasma Coil: A Mili-Tech (discard two equal attacks). It becomes a +5 reinforcement you can use later. And it gives you a new tech card to research.
- X-Lot-L Pod: This is a Dune reference (heh heh), that lets you save one ship each time you lose ships (sending it somewhere else). Research by discarding 13 or more attack strength.
- Galactose Intolerance: Mili-Tech, discarding 25 or more in attacks. Each other player has to discard all of their non-encounter cards, or else lose 8 ships to the warp. Nasty bit of business, but at a steep cost. This card (and a couple of the others) is a reference to the Avalon Hill edition of Cosmic Encounter, where the attack cards had names. Galactose Intolerance is the attack 30.
First published on BGG