one negative point regarding this update :
chest can only be unlocked once the player has completed the required provinces AND chests lock the way to the following chapter;
they should be rewards and incentives, but not lock the progress of a player just because (s)he is not playing the exact way devs intended;
this is clearly another step in the wrong direction : when a quest is not declineable and requires that you research a technology, well, no problem, you will get there someday;
now why is the progress in the tech tree tied together with the completed provinces on the map ?
these are totally independent sides of the game, and whenever a player has not competed a given amount of provinces, why should this hinder his/her progress through the research tree ?