Abandon "Research"

[Nocebo]

So first of all, I don't know Tynan's stand on whether he definitely want's research to go this way. Or if anyone else suggested this particular idea. Searching for "Research" brings up quite a lot.

Instead of trying to expand the research. I think we should drop the whole idea.
Why? It is far in the future, we have colony ships going places, space colonies all over the universe probably. We don't need to research how to mine faster. Or how to make different colored carpets. That should already be done.

So I propose this replacement: To stay semi realistic. Your ship will bring 1 quantum entangled bit with it. (For those that don't know this is officially not science fiction anymore.) After collecting a few metallic resources you will build a deep space relay station that will give you basically instant communications with the home world. (assuming it still exists.) Once this has established you can "download" knowledge to your colony, but this will take time and needs decoding. This brings up 2 difficulty options that you can receive data packets in sequence you desire. Or you get semi-random packets of your currently available research. So your scientist can help unpack/decode these. This would also mean your power supply is a bit more important as without it you will lose connection and your colony can't receive more data.

This is another one of my spontaneous idea's that might need some tweaking. but overall I feel this would fit more into the game than the current research system.

EDIT: Added this bit since current RimWorld Lore forbids any kind of FTL stuff

If FTL communications are out though, It could just be as simple as having all the "knowledge" locked on your coms desk and you need to buy paper from trade ships to print it out and actually read it. My main issue is that if you have a civilization that sends out colony ships to the outer rims. There should not be much left to research. At least not things relevant to colony building/life.

[Wopian]

In my opinion that would ruin the game, for me atleast. :/

[Nocebo]

In my opinion that would ruin the game, for me atleast. :/

Could you please explain why?
In my mind it would have exactly the same mechanics for the player as there are now. Only the naming and story telling part of -how- it happens would be different. So which part would you be missing?

[Galileus]

Wopian - but the research is in there, just called differently

This is another one of those "it actually popped in my mind before!" moments. I had a fleeing thought about that but never gave it too much time. It wasn't about research - but about explanations. And I think I can save the world once again! Ekhm... I mean... nvm.

Anyway - as it is idea won't stand. Tynan stated many times space travel is slow like snail on reverse in comparison to the vastness of space. While rim worlds are more or less close together (relatively speaking) any real megacities are old world and generations of space-flight away. BUT! I wouldn't scrap that idea, I like it.

So, what do we do? You know these tech-tools in Mass Effect? Good, we take them. Now we also take the matter replicates from Star Trek - now we have a tool that can repair and modify stuff (ME part) and even build whole new things if it has the blueprints and base material (replicator part). This ties in with the story, explaining why settlers can do that a that - these tools came in with drop pods as survival tools and have some useful for that blueprints - walls, energy plants, meal paste dispensers and defensive turrets (if they stay). But of course they are very limited - these are not the high-standard industrial ones. Now we have two possibilities - upgrading them with new blueprints (design instead of "research") or decoding a database that was in there with them. Why database is coded? Due to crash, security reasons (raiders) or corporate greed (there was supposed to be corporation's helper in each pod to decrypt these).

[nomadseifer]

I'm pretty sure Tynan has described the current system as 'rediscovering', not pure research.  So whats basically happening is someone sitting down and giving the brain power and focus necessary to figure out how something works, not researching it new.  At the end of the day, your system and the current system are really the same thing with different names.  Except the current system is much easier to understand on its surface.  So that makes it better, IMO. 

[Bumblechubs]

I'm not a big fan of static research in this sort of game either, it leads to a single route of optimization and once we've finished researching our scientists and neat laboratories become useless. Instead, how about we brainstorm a more long-term thing?

Instead of static research, we would need to perform maintenance on these new systems. Using the current [extremely basic] research goals as an example, if we researched enhanced turret cooling and get an extra shot on our turrets we'd actually need to maintain this 'research' now and then, lest it degrade to the point where it would be unusable. When the research tree becomes more expansive, this would lead us to needing more technicians to maintain our colony if we choose to use more high-tech means or we could pick single upgrades here and there and need far less manpower ensuring everything is in working order. This would only be for upgrades, of course; regular unlocks wouldn't need maintaining, just the improved bits.

[Nocebo]

And I think I can save the world once again! Ekhm... I mean... nvm.

I don't really think this one needs saving right?
If your only argument is that it would take an aeon before you reached this Rimworld from your home world. If the ship managed to last that long. (which is silly when you think colony walls needs repairing every other day) I'm sure they could have had a space station or satellite that had this knowledge database nice and safe around their system. That could last equally as long.

Your idea does fit in better with explaining how colonists manage to create and build things yes. But from purely a research point of view I do still feel "downloading" the information from your homeworld would feel more realistic in the game's universe.

[Bumblechubs]

Your idea does fit in better with explaining how colonists manage to create and build things yes. But from purely a research point of view I do still feel "downloading" the information from your homeworld would feel more realistic in the game's universe.

I don't think the canon has faster than light communications, so maybe unlocking research topics could be bartered from ships passing through the area for a steep cost; and then the cost of implementing them?

[NephilimNexus]

Note: OP's system is virtually identical to the system used in "X-COM Interceptor" so it is not without precedent.  Instead of labs you built antenna to increase your bandwidth to download all of the preexisting technology faster.

[Galileus]

Nocebo - ships still travel for years upon years. This means it's years upon years till closes satellite and the years upon years before you can even BEGIN download. And that would mean no-one would ever build these satellites, especially in fragile and full of pirates badlands. After all people can somehow work with slow internet, but years upon years upon years upon years to start download! Now, this sounds like youtube!

Bumblechubs - I like the idea of getting basic schematics for further study from traders. Some of research items could be only available through trade or events. This is also a chance to do something different with research than other games - and the concept is so old and covered in moss it just might be a good idea to shake it.

[Nocebo]

Nocebo - ships still travel for years upon years. This means it's years upon years till closes satellite and the years upon years before you can even BEGIN download. And that would mean no-one would ever build these satellites, especially in fragile and full of pirates badlands. After all people can somehow work with slow internet, but years upon years upon years upon years to start download! Now, this sounds like youtube!

I don't see how it should take years upon years. Having a quantum bit that is entangled with your home world base/satellite should provide you with with instant communications. There would be no distance that needs traversed by the signal. The limiting factor would be the speed of the transfer, since there is only one bit. And that is  something Tynan can freely tweak to any number.

If FTL communications are out though, It could just be as simple as having all the "knowledge" locking on your coms desk and you need to buy paper from trade ships to print it out and actually read it. My main issue is that if you have a civilization that sends out colony ships to the outer rims. There should not be much left to research. At least not things relevant to colony building/life.

@NephillimNexus: I had no idea this was similar to an X-COM game! Now I like it even more!

[Galileus]

About rim worlds in Firefly:

The Rim worlds are the latest results of terraforming technology, only recently settled, and raw and untamed. Out on the farthest edges of the system, life can be quite challenging, as the comforts of civilization common to the Core Worlds just aren't so here. Technology and power are far more expensive out on the outer worlds and moons, so folk have to make do without. People ride horseback, farm with handmade tools, and resort to entertainment that doesn't require electricity or batteries to operate. While some folk dream of the luxuries available on the central planets, others enjoy the freedom of open air and hard toil. In their own way, they're as stuck-up as the Core-Worlders, looking down their noses at soft folk who've never dug a ditch or mucked a horse stall.

While the Alliance government has a presence on the Rim, its grip is more than a mite looser here than elsewhere. Folk can't count on help coming right away (or at all), so they are accustomed to taking care of themselves and their own. Frontier-folk are usually armed, ready to draw at a moment's notice. Children learn to aim by shooting cans off a fence post. The lack of government interference and monitoring has made the Rim a haven for outlaws, outcasts, and shady business folk, as well as a middle class who started to feel like their own planets were getting too crowded for comfort. There is money to be made on the outer worlds, something plenty are just now figuring out.

A citizen of the central planets who wakes up on a Rim world might think he's traveled backwards in time: people riding horses and shooting six guns. Yet, here and there, you can still find the technology of the 26th century, from Cortex access terminals to high-security bank vaults.

[theSovietConnection]

Why not incorporate both? Perhaps have "basic" technologies, such as reinforcing doors or walls for example, be stuff that your colonists figure out on their own through the research table, while more advanced tech, like targeting computers for turrets or building reactors, be stuff that has to be downloaded from a comm network.

I have no idea how hard that might be to implement, however.

[Wopian]

Building an antena to download data from homeplanet seems a bit of a hitand miss though. You're on a rimworld, possibly thousands of lightyears away. It'll just be unrealistic to do.

The current research method I like. You're relearning how to do something the colonists once knew how to do and for me it just fits the game of 'survive on a rimworld'.

But that'd just my thoughts. As shown everyone has different opinions. You could once the game is nearer released 2 story mode starters: the current one and this one.

[Nocebo]

About rim worlds in Firefly:

*snip*

So you're throwing me another "Timey Wimey" ball telling me not to get too realistic..
But you see my issue isn't with Technology and power. It's with the knowledge part of the process.
Just because people ride horseback, farm and don't use many electrical devices. That is down to the cost. Not lack of knowledge. That might happen over a few generation of living on a RimWorld. But we just crashed, our knowledge should still be fresh. So sure make using the particle accelerated snow cone machine super expensive in use and operation. But even little space kids should know about it without having to "research" it.

Building an antena to download data from homeplanet seems a bit of a hitand miss though. You're on a rimworld, possibly thousands of lightyears away. It'll just be unrealistic to do.

This is where the quantum mechanics shine. We already have the technology now, and we aren't close to colonizing rimworlds. It is only natural to think a civilization that does also understands quantum mechanics?