Research and leadership mechanics

[peppie]

looking at the lone guy slaving away at the research bench i realized that what irks me about research in games is that:

1) all research items come from one source (some structure, bench, desk, room or building dedicated to research) with no regard for disciplines or methodology.
2) usually research can be solo'd, i.e. there's no need for any of the researchers to discuss or cooperate. This while knowledge production is - with the exception of Newton locking himself in his attic - an intensely social endeavour.

with that in mind i think research in Rimworld could be done more creatively and intuitively:

1) socio-political research items (concerning behaviour, morale, happiness etc) do not come from the research bench, but from (leadership) discussion groups. The governing attribute for this research is the social skill, not the research skill. Research goes faster if there are more people discussing an item, though it should plateau to avoid putting your 20 colonists in a room and steamrolling the techtree.
2) some of these research results could be mutually exclusive policies (with good and bad effects) that a leader or council can implement. Some colonists will be happy with this, others disgruntled. This can lead to internal political turmoil and maybe leadership change.
3) the social component becomes more important as tech becomes more advanced. The further up the research tree, the more scientists need to be working together on benches (or other furniture) within the same room. Other than just an increase in the amount of points needed for certain research items, certain furniture and a personnel quota is also required. This makes teching less straightforward and more resource intensive.
4) Either by locking paths or making costs increase exponentially, research should force choices on the player the further they go into the techtree. This will also stimulate players to replay the game a few times to explore different paths and strategies.
5) Random tech dropping out of the sky or being found in escape pods could open up otherwise inaccessible items/paths

This plan assumes that there will eventually be an extensive researchtree in place. I have no suggestions for the items themselves.

[Produno]

This all sounds a bit complicated to me. I agree i want more research and more meaningful research but i dont want to have to micro manage it. Telling one guy to go do some experiments and research is enough for me. Tynan has already stated everything they research has already been made or built, so all it is is research.

Maybe research could be xcom style if you wanted something a bit more complex, ie, you find something, you research it, it unlocks more research options.

[peppie]

i like your suggestion and added it. I still think that - even if its rediscovery - it's a team effort. And the situation of being marooned on a desert moon requires its own social structure/tech, so that sort of stuff could be developed from scratch.

[starlight]

looking at the lone guy slaving away at the research bench i realized that what irks me about research in games is that:

1) all research items come from one source (some structure, bench, desk, room or building dedicated to research) with no regard for disciplines or methodology.
2) usually research can be solo'd, i.e. there's no need for any of the researchers to discuss or cooperate. This while knowledge production is - with the exception of Newton locking himself in his attic - an intensely social endeavour.

with that in mind i think research in Rimworld could be done more creatively and intuitively:

1) socio-political research items (concerning behaviour, morale, happiness etc) do not come from the research bench, but from (leadership) discussion groups. The governing attribute for this research is the social skill, not the research skill. Research goes faster if there are more people discussing an item, though it should plateau to avoid putting your 20 colonists in a room and steamrolling the techtree.
2) some of these research results could be mutually exclusive policies (with good and bad effects) that a leader or council can implement. Some colonists will be happy with this, others disgruntled. This can lead to internal political turmoil and maybe leadership change.
3) the social component becomes more important as tech becomes more advanced. The further up the research tree, the more scientists need to be working together on benches (or other furniture) within the same room. Other than just an increase in the amount of points needed for certain research items, certain furniture and a personnel quota is also required. This makes teching less straightforward and more resource intensive.
4) Either by locking paths or making costs increase exponentially, research should force choices on the player the further they go into the techtree. This will also stimulate players to replay the game a few times to explore different paths and strategies.
5) Random tech dropping out of the sky or being found in escape pods could open up otherwise inaccessible items/paths

This plan assumes that there will eventually be an extensive researchtree in place. I have no suggestions for the items themselves.

I like the option of:
A. Branching Paths: Choosing Choice A makes you forgo Choice B.
B. Social Engineering a la Civilisation: Choose traits / culture that will determine advantages and disadvantages.

Very much not cheap, though.

[peppie]

i think of it like with the diablo 2 skill tree, and how successful that was because you were forced to make choices. Random events only get you so far, i think mutually exclusive tech trees will allow for loads of replayability.

in Sword of the Stars 2 they even have random tech trees, meaning that apart from a few core techs you'll never know what you're going to be able to research..