The Research System can be used to learn new abilities, give status value bonuses or create items and equipment.
While you can also learn abilities with ability trees and ability development, give status value bonuses using status development or create items and equipment using the crafting system, the research system allows having all that in a single, unified system.
Furthermore, research of individual content can be progressed over time – e.g. instead of immediately learning a new ability, it can take a defined amount of time (e.g. 30 minutes) until the ability is learned.
The core of the research system are the research trees, which consist of individual research items. The player can view, start and stop/cancel research using menu screens with a Research menu part.
Research Types
Research trees are separated into different research types. You can define as many research types as you need. They are created in the ORK Framework editor in Combatants > Research Types.
The research types are used in menus to optionally separate the displayed research trees or create different menus for different research types.
Research Trees
A research tree consists of research items, each item represents a single thing that can be researched (e.g. learning an ability). Research trees are created in the ORK Framework editor in Combatants > Research Trees.
Research Limit
The number of research items that can be researched at the same time can optionally be limited. This only limits items using a research duration.
The research limit can be defined for research items of the research tree or as a global limit (i.e. for all research trees of a combatant).
A research tree’s research limit is set to 3 as a global limit (i.e. for all research trees of the combatant).
There are already 2 research items being researched in other research trees, i.e. you can currently only research 1 research item in this tree.
A research tree’s research limit is set to 1 (not global limit).
Only 1 research item can be researched at the same time, other research trees are ignored for this count.
Adding Research Trees
The research trees are bound to individual combatants and can be added/removed using the event system. When adding research trees to a combatant, you can optionally have multiple instances of the same research tree on a combatant.
A research tree has multiple research items that create various potions, each potion can only be created 1 time.
To create more than 1 potion of a kind, the research tree needs to be added to the combatant multiple times.
A research tree has a research item that creates a short sword, which takes 30 minutes to complete.
Adding the research tree multiple times allows creating multiple short swords at the same time.
Console and Notifications
Adding or removing research trees and starting, canceling and finishing research of a research item can add texts to the in-game console and display notification dialogues.
The default console texts are defined in Game > Console Settings, the default notifications are defined in Inventory > Inventory Settings. Each individual research tree can override these console texts and notifications.
Research Items
Research items are responsible for the actual research that is happening. There are different kinds of research items:
- None
Nothing will be researched (e.g. can be used for requirements). - Ability
Learns an ability to the user. - Status Value
Gives a status value upgrade to the user. - Item
Adds an item, equipment or currency to the inventory of the user.
Research items are added to research trees in Combatants > Research Trees.
Research Times
The number of times a research item can be researched can optionally be limited. E.g. you can limit creating a weapon to 3 times or giving a status value bonus to be available only once.
Learning an ability is automatically limited to 1 time, since abilities can only be learned once.
Research Duration
The research duration defines how long it takes to finish research of a research item. The duraction can be set to:
- None
The research is finished immediately. - Manual
The research progresses manually using the event system. - Time
The research takes a defined amount of time (in seconds).
A research item learns a new ability to the combatant using Time and a duration of 1800 seconds (i.e. 30 minutes).
The new ability will be learned automatically after 30 minutes passed since starting research, excluding pause times. Pausing the game’s time progression (e.g. by pausing the game or using game pausing menu screens) will halt the research time from progressing.
A research item creates a new weapon using Manual and a duration of 3. The game has a custom day system using the event system.
The event system is used to progress research by 1 each time a day passes. The weapon is created after 3 days.
Content Information
The name, description and icon of a research item will automatically come from the researched content when using ability, status value or item. The content information can optionally be overridden for the individual parts (i.e. name, description and icon).
The content of a None type research item has to be defined in the research item, otherwise the content of the research item would be empty.
Finish Variable Changes
Finishing research of a research item can optionally change variables. These variable changes will happen each time research of the research item was finished.
Optionally, the variable changes can happeon using the object variables of the user.
Costs
Researching of a research item can optionally cost Experience or Items. Experience will reduce a defind Experience type status value by a defined amount. Item requires a defined quantity of an item, weapon, armor or currency to be in the user’s inventory – the chance setting determines if the item is removed from the inventory.
A research item creates a weapon and requires 3 iron ore and an anvil.
The 3 iron ores will be consumed in the process (chance set to 100), the anvil is just a requirement and will remain in the inventory (chance set to 0).
Requirements
If a research item is available for research can depend on status requirements of the combatant. Since status requirements also allow checking for research trees and research items, you can use this to create procedural research.
A research tree has a None type research item named Weaponry, which needs to be researched to allow other research items of the tree to be researched.
The other research items need a status requirement, checking if the research item Weaponry has been completed.
Canceling Research
Research items using a research duration (Manual or Time) can optionally allow being canceled. Canceling research can be done in menu screens using a Research menu part.
Canceling research can optionally refund the costs and keep the already finished progress of the research.