Technology of the Medieval era
|Required techs|| Engineering|
|Leads to||Printing press|
|Units enabled|| Crossbowman|
|Buildings enabled|| Ironworks|
- "The press is the best instrument for enlightening the mind of man, and improving him as a rational, moral and social being."
- –Thomas Jefferson
Previous advances in metal working and science give birth to the concept of a machine, a device with multiple moving parts which work together to achieve a certain end. The practical applications of Machinery are endless, but its immediate effects are faster movement on Roads, thanks to improvements in carts technology, and the creation of the deadly crossbow, a medieval weapon that is represented by the Crossbowmen, the Medieval-era archers.
A machine is a device with moving parts (this is true during the pre-Electronics Age, anyway) that uses energy to perform tasks. A printing press is a machine, as is a loom, a clock and a watermill. Mastery of machinery requires design and engineering skill, of course, but also the ability to manufacture machine parts to precise measurements. A steam engine will leak if it's constructed poorly - that is, if it doesn't explode. The early Machine Age was a hugely dangerous time to work around the devices - if the fumes didn't kill you then you stood a fair chance of getting scalded, sucked into the works or blown to pieces.
On the other hand, once a civilization began to master complex machinery, it gave them unrivaled wealth and power. England went early into the Industrial Revolution, and by so doing the small island nation dominated world trade for a little over two centuries.