Better Tech Progression (Organic Innovations)
Looking for a more "Vanilla" experience? > If you prefer a version that respects character stats (Genius/Scholar) more and keeps the original pacing while still fixing AI lag, check out the Vanilla Taste edition here:
Faster Better Tech Progression (Vanilla Taste)
Faster Better Tech Progression is a comprehensive overhaul of the technology and era systems in Crusader Kings III. It shifts the engine of innovation away from genetic min-maxing and toward the actual growth of your civilization. In this mod, technology is a reflection of your society’s urbanization, cultural exchange, and institutional stability—not just a calendar count-down.
Core Philosophy
Development is Scaling: The prosperity of your land now has a monumental impact on research. Highly developed "Tall" realms can naturally lead the world’s fascination, while stagnant regions will find it difficult to innovate in isolation.
Diminishing Returns on Genius: We’ve moved away from the "Eugenics meta" where a single high-learning ruler could modernize a backward tribe overnight. A brilliant mind now provides a crucial initial spark, but the heavy lifting of progress is sustained by the infrastructure and intellect of the society itself.
Dynamic History: Technology flows more naturally across borders. Lagging nations can adapt and "copy" technologies from advanced neighbors with significantly increased efficiency, ensuring a competitive global landscape.
Key Features
Buffed Development Impact: The contribution of average development to innovation gain has been significantly increased. Building centers of trade and learning is now the most effective path to technological dominance.
The "Superman" Nerf: Ruler Learning skill now follows a strictly balanced diminishing return curve. While the first 10–15 points provide a vital boost, the impact of "mutant" 40-Learning geniuses is capped to prevent game-breaking snowballing.
Climbable Timegates: The rigid "Ahead of Time" penalty has been recalibrated. While still a massive undertaking, a highly advanced society can now successfully pioneer 1 or 2 late-era innovations ahead of the historical schedule if they have the development to support it.
Holistic Era Transitions: Advancing to the next historical era now requires a minimum of 10 innovations. This ensures that a society must build a broad foundation of civic, economic, and military knowledge before undergoing a total era transition.
Empowered Catch-up Mechanics: Penalties for being an era behind have been reduced, and the bonus for researching innovations already discovered by others has been more than doubled. Knowledge is easier to spread than it is to invent.
Compatibility & Usage
Saved Games: Can be added to existing saves, though a new game is recommended to experience the full pacing intended by the math.
Mod Compatibility: Fully compatible with any mod that does not modify the NCulture section in 00_defines.txt. This includes most total conversions (RICE, EPE), though tech-heavy mods like AGOT or Elder Kings may require a patch.
Open Evolution: You are welcome to use, modify, or build upon this mathematical framework for your own projects. I only ask that you share a link to your work in the comments—I’d love to see how you continue the march of progress.
Revisions:
Old revisions of this mod are available below. Click the link to download.
