Easy enough really. You have your techs sorted by classes, Kinetic, high energy and whatnot. When valid tech for an arm ends, extend it by doing advanced *type*, and put a 5% cumulative boost on that dead arm, adding to the cost each time. You have MANY different categories so you could do it with reactor, shields, various weapon types, food industry science production etc. Keep stacking costs in a category and you feel like you are going someplace, get a minor but noticeable buff. Add in researching assimilated races hulls, and you have alot to sandbox if that's your thing. The issue is how much of a pain it would be to code in...

But was there ever a case in MOO2 where you were researching "deadend" bonus techs, and you were actually in a competitive conflict with another faction (thus making the bonus miniaturization useful)? I never experienced such a case.

Arioch wrote:But was there ever a case in MOO2 where you were researching "deadend" bonus techs, and you were actually in a competitive conflict with another faction (thus making the bonus miniaturization useful)? I never experienced such a case.

They where called "Antarrents".

Usually if you get to endgame you have already won, its more a matter of how it occurs.