"The 4th new bookmark of 7: The Rise of the Ming (20th of September, 1368)

So far, I've spoken about 11 of the XX institutions, so perhaps it is time to talk technology. I will be maintaining the current 29 levels (vanilla 3-32) of technology spanning 1440-1835, but there will be XX new levels added, representing XXXX-1440 and replacing vanilla 0-2 (1350-1440), for earlier dates.

Furthermore, rather than distinguish technologically advanced societies and hunter-gatherer societies by a mere 1 or 2 levels of technology at the start, I am also adding more levels of technology before the earliest possible start date to allow a more dramatic representation of early technological divides. A technologically advanced country will begin at the earliest start date already with tech level 6, while less advanced civilisations may have only 2-3.

At the same time, however, I will be making technological growth somewhat more exponential, with fewer dramatic jumps and no situations where a single level will result in a +50% increase to anything. Generally 1 or 2 levels in technology will result in only a mild advantage, but the new institutions and extended timeframe should result in generally larger technology gaps as well.

Naturally, all related factors will be adjusted accordingly. The first idea will now come at tech level 8, for example, instead of 5. The first artillery, level 11 instead of 7. I'll also be increasing the maximum number of ideas from 8 to 10, and very likely be rebalancing many aspects of technology for optimal balance. All this subject to testing & feedback, of course."