Technology Advance

Before the game begins, each player is provided with a Technology Sheet depicting all the Technology Advances (with blank spaces to be filled in for the appropriate racial technologies),

When a player has successfully acquired (or received at the start of the game) a Technology Advance, he circles the Technology on the sheet.

Technology Advances are normally acquired during the resolution of the Technology Strategy Card, but can also be acquired via certain Action and Political Cards. Players may not give each other Technology advances.

There are four different technology areas, each attributed the following colour:

• Warfare Technology = Red

• Biotechnology = Green

• Propulsion Technology= Blue

• General Technology= Yellow

Acquiring one or more specific Technology Advances (Techs) may yield Technology Applications (Apps) for free.

ACQUIRING A TECHNOLOGY ADVANCE
In general Technology advances are acquired when the Technology Strategy Card is executed during the Action Phase. The active player receives a free Technology advance, or he may purchase THREE technologies for the price of 5 resources each. By spending a Command Counter to activate the secondary ability, other players may pay 5 resources to acquire ONE Technology advance

Most Techs (but not all) require a certain number of CREDITS of the appropriate colour, represented on the Technology Sheet with one or more coloured shields (red, green, blue, yellow). A Tech may not be acquired before the prerequisites are met.

When a Tech is created it generates a CREDIT, which can be used to satisfy the prerequisites of subsequent Techs.

Some Techs yield credits of one of two colours;  the Tech can be used as one colour to satisfy one Tech's requirements and the other colour to satisfy a different Tech's requirements. A Tech cannot act as both colours at the same time when satisfying a single Tech's requirements.

PLANETARY TECHNOLOGY SPECIALTIES
Technology specialties represent a certain local knowledge or a natural resource important to a specific area of science.

The presence of a technology specialty gives the owner of the planet the ability to purchase a Technology Advance (of the specific type: yellow, red, green, or blue) for 1 less than its normal cost when purchasing technologies with the Technology Strategy Card.

If a player controls multiple planets with technology specialties of the same colour/type, the cost to acquire that technology type is lowered by 1 for each such planet.

Technology specialty discounts do not apply if the contributing Planet Card is exhausted.

It is not necessary to exhaust a planet with the technology specialty in order to receive the discount, nor is it necessary to exhaust that specific planet to buy the Technology advance.

Scientists
A Scientist on a planet that contains at least one technology specialty provides 1 additional technology specialty of the same colour.

RACIAL TECHNOLOGIES
Racial Technologies are special Technologies that are unique to each race – they may not be acquired by other races (except the Nekro Virus, see below). They are not obtained through the Technology Strategy. Instead they are bought in the Status Phase (see page 24). Racial Technologies have no prerequisites. Their base cost is printed on the card. This cost is discounted by the amount of Victory Points that the race currently has, and increased by the cost of previously acquired Racial Technologies.

The Nekro Virus And Racial Technologies
The Nekro Virus do not have their own Racial Technologies. Instead, they may copy up to three of other races’ Racial Technologies if they destroy enemy units in combat. However, they may not acquire Racial Technologies that modify other races’ racial abilities.