Sword of the Stars/Technology

Power technology
Power technology is the main branch of technology in Sword of the Stars. Initially, you start with Fission technology, which provides weak instellar travel. Fusion is the next technology in the listing, followed by anti-matter. Research in this tree provides a significant improvement with ship range and speed.

More advanced power technology is also required to unlock many higher technologies, such as Dreadnaughts. (They can only use Fusion or higher engines)

Torpedo weapons
Torpedo weapon technology allows researching energy torpedos.

Energy weapons
Energy weapon technology is the set of technologies that concern energy weapons, such as lasers, cannons, and beams.

Ballistic Weapons
Ballistic weaponry involves kinetic weaponry. While more primitive than energy weapons, they inflict a different damage type that may help against armor or shielding designed to resist energy weapons.

C3
The C3 technology tree concerns communication and sensor technology, improving your ability to handle fleets.

Xenotech
Xenotech is research into the culture of other species. On first contact, aliens are not capable of understanding each other's communication; while visible, they will be modified to have the appearance of another language.

Each species provide their own tree of Xenotech.


 * Translate Level 1: allows signing ceasefire agreements, and disables scrambling from that species' communications. (If it's still appears scrambled as with "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn," most likely they are messing with you.)
 * Translate Level 2: Allows signing non-agression pacts.
 * Incorporate: Allows the species to live within your culture.
 * Translate Level 3: Allows signing alliances.
 * Subjugate: Allows you to force planetary surrender.

Industrial
Industrial technology concerns production. Also contains the upgrades needed to build Cruisers and Dreadnaughts.

Biological
Biological technology places focus on genetic engineering, allowing you to improve growth rates and environmental tolerance of your population. It also allows researching plagues and their vaccines.

Drone
Drone technology concerns artifical intelligence.

Star Drives
Star Drive technology concerns interstellar travel, which improve the range and speed of vessels.

Warhead weapons
Warhead weapon technology concerns missles. Researching in this field improves damage inflicted by missile weapons.

Shield
Shield technology contains defensive technology.