Observation - Heliomance/Uncharted-Horizons GitHub Wiki

_{Focus Areas · Design document §3}

Available from: Game Start

13 breakthroughs — CORE 5 · STANDARD 5 · UNCOMMON 1 · RARE 1 · UNIQUE 1 — Primitive – Early Modern

Builds on: Stonework (1) · Social Organization (2) · Seafaring (1) · Mathematics (1) · Mechanics (1)

Leads into: Fire (2) · Stonework (1) · Animal Husbandry (11) · Mining (1) · Metallurgy (1) · Seafaring (3) · Warfare (1) · Mathematics (2) · Philosophy and the Arts (2) · Medicine (2) · Water Management (1) · Thermodynamics (2) · Chemistry (1) · Electricity (1) · Aeronautics (1) · Energy Systems (1)

_{The numbers count prerequisite links between this focus and the other. How to read the tables.}

flowchart LR
  n_O01["O01 Star Tracking"]:::CORE
  n_O02["O02 Weather Prediction"]:::STANDARD
  n_O15["O15 Mechanical Weather Predictor"]:::STANDARD
  n_O04["O04 Tidal Patterns"]:::STANDARD
  n_O14["O14 Tide Computing Engine"]:::STANDARD
  n_O05["O05 Celestial Mathematics"]:::CORE
  n_O10["O10 Antikythera-Style Mechanism"]:::RARE
  n_O13["O13 Mechanical Ephemeris"]:::STANDARD
  n_O06["O06 Natural Philosophy"]:::CORE
  n_O16["O16 Sacred Astronomy Tradition"]:::UNIQUE
  n_O03["O03 Animal Behavior Study"]:::CORE
  n_O09["O09 Migratory Pattern Mapping"]:::UNCOMMON
  n_O08["O08 Geological Observation"]:::CORE
  n_O01 --> n_O02
  n_O01 --> n_O04
  n_O01 --> n_O05
  n_O01 --> n_O06
  n_O03 --> n_O09
  n_O05 --> n_O10
  n_O10 --> n_O13
  n_O05 -.-> n_O13
  n_O10 --> n_O14
  n_O04 --> n_O14
  n_O10 --> n_O15
  n_O02 --> n_O15
  n_O01 --> n_O16
  classDef CORE fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#1d4ed8,color:#0b1b3b
  classDef STANDARD fill:#f1f5f9,stroke:#64748b,color:#0f172a
  classDef UNCOMMON fill:#dcfce7,stroke:#15803d,color:#052e16
  classDef RARE fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#b45309,color:#3b2005
  classDef UNIQUE fill:#fae8ff,stroke:#a21caf,color:#3b0a3f

_{Prerequisites within this focus. Box colour is the tier (blue CORE, grey STANDARD, green UNCOMMON, amber RARE, purple UNIQUE); dotted arrows are alternatives (“or”); a line can pass behind another box, so follow it from its start. 6 of these 13 breakthroughs also need breakthroughs from other foci, which the overview above lists.}

• Tier: CORE · Era: Primitive
• Prerequisites: None
• Unlocks: ⟨[+1] Movement <for [Scout] units>⟩ (navigating by the stars).
• Leads to: S11 Megalithic Observatory, O02 Weather Prediction, O04 Tidal Patterns, O05 Celestial Mathematics, O06 Natural Philosophy, O16 Sacred Astronomy Tradition, SF04 Celestial Navigation, SF06 Polynesian Wayfinding

• Tier: STANDARD · Era: Primitive
• Prerequisites: O01
• Unlocks: ⟨[+5]% growth [in all cities]⟩ and ⟨[+1] Sight <for [Water] units>⟩ — reading the sky for the field and the sea.
• Leads to: O15 Mechanical Weather Predictor

• Tier: CORE · Era: Primitive
• Prerequisites: None
• Unlocks: Unlocks Animal Husbandry focus; Camp (improvement — hunting grounds; moved here from O09).
• Leads to: O09 Migratory Pattern Mapping, AH01 Dog Domestication, AH02 Herd Animal Domestication, AH03 Horse Domestication, AH05 Camel Domestication, AH06 Elephant Domestication, AH07 Falconry, AH10 Llama/Alpaca Domestication, AH12 Reindeer Herding, AH13 Steppe Rider Tradition, MD03 Anatomy Study, AE09 Ornithopter

• Tier: STANDARD · Era: Primitive
• Prerequisites: O01 + Coastal location
• Unlocks: Tidal Weirⁿ [10/0; ⟨[+1 Food] from [Fish] tiles [in this city]⟩; ⟨Must be next to [Coast]⟩].
• Leads to: O14 Tide Computing Engine, WM12 Tidal Mill, ES10 Tidal Power

• Tier: CORE · Era: Ancient
• Prerequisites: O01 + SO01 (Basic Counting)
• Unlocks: Unlocks Mathematics focus; ⟨[+2 Faith] [in capital]⟩ (foretold eclipses).
• Leads to: O10 Antikythera-Style Mechanism, O13 Mechanical Ephemeris, MA01 Geometry

• Tier: CORE · Era: Classical
• Prerequisites: O01 + SO04 (Writing)
• Unlocks: The Oracle (world wonder); National College (national wonder — the Academy); +5% Insight to all foci.
• Leads to: ME17 Assaying, MA05 Calculus, PH01 Formal Logic, PH12 Harmonious Inquiry, MD03 Anatomy Study, TH09 Caloric Theory, TH13 The Weight of the Air, CH01 Alchemy, EL02 Voltaic Pile (Battery)

• Tier: CORE · Era: Ancient
• Prerequisites: S04 (Ore Identification)
• Unlocks: ⟨Reveal up to [all] [Strategic resource] within a [10] tile radius⟩ (a Triggerable map reveal on discovery — the deposits Ore Identification missed); ⟨[+1 Production] from [Quarry] tiles [in all cities]⟩; ⟨[+1 Production] from [Iron] tiles [in all cities]⟩ (magnetic ore sorting); ⟨[+1 Culture] [in capital]⟩ — the lodestone, a geological curiosity (Magnetism Discovery, merged here in v3.100). Prerequisite for the Compass (SF08). ⟨[+1 Gold] from all [Dye Works] buildings⟩ (bleaching); ⟨[+1 Happiness] [in capital]⟩ (antiseptic, and matches that strike anywhere) — sulphur, gathered where the vents and springs bring it up (Sulfur Mining, merged here in v3.102). Knowledge, not a resource: sulfur was always the available half of gunpowder. Prerequisite for Advanced Pyrotechnics (F07) and Gunpowder (WA10).
• Leads to: F06 Greek Fire, F07 Advanced Pyrotechnics, MI07 Petroleum Discovery, SF08 Compass, WA10 Gunpowder

• Tier: UNCOMMON · Era: Primitive
• Prerequisites: O03
• Unlocks: Circus; ⟨[+1 Food] from [Camp] tiles [in all cities]⟩ — knowing where the herds will be.
• Leads to: AH07 Falconry, AH08 Carrier Pigeon Networks

• Tier: RARE · Era: Classical
• Prerequisites: O05 + MC03 (Gearing)
• Unlocks: Antikythera Engineⁿ [national wonder; 120/0; +3 Science, +2 Culture; ⟨[+15]% [Science] [in this city]⟩]; +15% Insight to Mathematics and Observation. Seed of the Antikythera chain (O13/O14/O15).
• Notes: What if the Antikythera tradition continued?
• Leads to: O13 Mechanical Ephemeris, O14 Tide Computing Engine, O15 Mechanical Weather Predictor

• Tier: STANDARD · Era: Classical
• Prerequisites: O10 + (SF04 (Celestial Navigation) or O05)
• Unlocks: ⟨[+1] Movement <for [Water] units>⟩ (perfect celestial navigation); Ephemeris Houseⁿ [25/0; ⟨[+1 Gold] from each Trade Route⟩ — navigational data sold to all comers].
• Notes: Extending the Antikythera tradition into practical navigation.

• Tier: STANDARD · Era: Medieval
• Prerequisites: O10 + O04 (Tidal Patterns)
• Unlocks: Tide Computerⁿ [105/1; requires a Harbor in this city; ⟨[+1 Production, +1 Gold] from [Water resource] tiles [in this city]⟩; ⟨Must be next to [Coast]⟩; ⟨[+100]% Production when constructing [Seaport] buildings [in this city]⟩] — a Seaport a century early, and so, like the Engine House, an early version that converts: the ruleset derivation gives the canonical Seaport ⟨Remove [Tide Computer] [in this city]⟩, so a Seaport goes up twice as fast where a Tide Computer stands and absorbs it, rather than doubling its yield.
• Notes: Lord Kelvin built one in 1873 — what if it came centuries earlier?

• Tier: STANDARD · Era: Early Modern
• Prerequisites: O10 + O02 (Weather Prediction) + MA05 (Calculus)
• Unlocks: Weather Stationⁿ [250/2; ⟨[+10]% growth [in this city]⟩; ⟨[+1 Food] from [Farm] tiles [in this city]⟩]. Also discoverable through Mechanics.
• Notes: The ultimate expression of the Antikythera tradition — mechanical computers applied to nature.

• Tier: UNIQUE · Era: Primitive
• Prerequisites: O01 + Mountain/highland biome
• Unlocks: Mountain Observatoryⁿ [40/1; +2 Science, +1 Faith; ⟨Must be next to [Mountain]⟩ — an Observatory available from the Primitive era]. Civ unique: ⟨[+1 Science] from [Hill] tiles [in all cities]⟩ — the high country watches the sky.
• Notes: Babylonian/Andean/Tibetan traditions of mountain stargazing.