Tech Tree for .90

[Loengrinn]

So I browsed for a bit and couldn't find anything about the new tech tree, so I thought I'd go ahead and post the problems I have with the new one. This may get updated as I find new things to "gripe" about. Although to start off, I would like to say I like the change with the books, and how you need them to research new tech. Totally makes sense that you can't just learn whatever the hell you want. However, I had to back out of a few techs to prioritize and I lost the books (they weren't currently being researched, so that was a little frustrating that you can't change your mind on those things).

So far my problem is that you need steel plates to make the level 2 research bench, but you need the research 2 bench to research how to make steel plates. Is this intentional? Are the players expected to have to buy materials to go from each tier to the next and therefore never truly be self-sufficient?