Technology Trees
Research covers everything from postwar infrastructure to the edge of what's possible by 2010, organized into trees by field. What any given project costs you, and how long it takes, depends on where your country actually stands — the same breakthrough is cheaper and faster for a country that's already positioned for it.
How it works
How the trees are organized
Broad categories — military, economics, natural science — break down into specific fields, like nuclear weapons, nuclear energy, or electronics, each laid out as its own tree. Advanced projects need the groundwork done first; you can't skip straight to the payoff.
How it works
The same project, different for everyone
What a project costs and how long it takes is calculated from your country's actual state — wealth, literacy, existing industry, education, and research spending. A country better positioned to attempt something gets there cheaper and faster; a country starting from further behind pays more for the same breakthrough.
How it works
What finishing a project gets you
A completed project stays completed for good, and its payoff lands immediately — a lasting national bonus, prestige, higher research coverage, a new diplomatic option, or access to projects that weren't reachable before.
How it works
Who starts where
Research availability reflects each country's starting institutions and industry. Emerging economies have some foundational technologies; developing nations have to build things like nationwide electrification before they can attempt computing, modern agriculture, or a modern power grid.
Design choices
Research and national focus lean on each other
The two systems are deliberately intertwined. Some of the biggest state programs — strategic weapons, dedicated space missions — need a specific national focus completed before they're even reachable. In the other direction, many national focuses demand technical groundwork like modern aviation, nuclear physics, or electronics before you can commit to them at all.