Technology and Science

2.5- Technology and the Relentless March of Science
    As the world moved into the Renaissance and modern eras, the proliferation of technology is largely what has made the difference between the world's 'haves' and 'have nots'. A nation that can produce material and goods at a superior rate, and can make bigger and better weapons, tends to dominate it's neighbors militarily, economically, and, in the end, politically. This is represented, in-game, by differing levels of technology ratings in a number of different categories; each of which has a real and direct effect on what a nation produces, how quickly it may do it, and what kind of troops it can arm and equip.

2.5.1- Technological Development Categories
    Each nation possesses a rating in each of the technological development categories; each of which represents a different discipline of study, with it's own implications to the nation's industrial and scientific growth.

1. Agriculture- Agricultural developments improve the speed, efficiency and effectiveness of a nation's ability to farm and raise produce, meats and processed agricultural goods. It has a direct effect on the agricultural production of a nation.
2. Airframes Airframes developments improve the speed, effectiveness, and types of aircraft a nation can field, both in it's civilian and military air arms.
3. Armor- Armor developments are primarily metallurgical enhancements that improve a land or naval vehicle's protection against attack. The more developed a nation's armor technology, the more effective the unit's defensive capability.
4. Electricity- Mastering electricity and electronics enables a nation to make other advancements, and yields many of it's own. Early levels yield telegraph, telephone and wireless technology, while higher ones allow for the invention of radar, advanced avionics in aircraft, and electronic computers.
5. Gunnery- The gunnery developments reflect improvements in small arms and large-bore cannons that improve the effectiveness, firepower, range and rate of fire of weaponry. At the earliest levels, this is reflected in the development of breach-loaders; while at higher levels, it might indicate that a nation has developed sabot or jacketed munitions.
6. Industry- Industry describes those advancements that allow a nation to produce goods quicker, more reliably, and cheaper than their competition. Automation, robotics, assembly lines and the such are heavy indicators in the Industrial levels. The higher an industry rating a nation has, the more industrial and manufactured goods the nation can produce.
7. Land Engines- Land engine developments indicate what type of land-based transportation a nation possesses, as well as the infrastructure needed to support it. From steam engines, to gasoline internal combustion, to diesel trucks and highways; the greater the land engine technology a nation possesses, the better it's land-based trade, the faster it's mechanized and motorized forces, and the better able the nation is able to move goods from one quarter to another.
8. Mathematics- Mathematics developments are indicators of how advanced the nation's automated calculation technology is. From simple adding machines to supercomputers; the more highly-evolved the nation's difference engines, the better it is able to control and utilize other developments.
9. Naval Technology- The naval technological level represents the skill and advancements the nation has made with regards to seaframes, propulsion and tactics. The higher a nation's technological development in naval technology, the more capable the nation is of producing and maintaining sophisticated naval weapons, and advanced merchant marine vessels. From rudimentary submarines to nuclear supercarriers; this is reflected in a nation's naval advancements.
10. Physics/Chemistry- The Physics/Chemistry ratings of the nation indicates how astute and skilled the nation's scientific workers are, how advanced the facilities they operate are, and how capable the nation is as processing and creating new scientific achievements. Examples include the development of weapons of mass destruction such as bioweapons, nuclear weapons and chemical arms; how quickly a nation could gear up it's power facilities to use advancements in coal, oil and natural gas technologies; and how able a nation is to restrict pollution.
11. Rocketry- Rocketry advancements are developments with regards to manned and unmanned ballistic flight. Early developments might allow the creation of weapons of war such as the V-2 rocket, air-to-air 'dumb' rockets and the like; while later developments might include guided missiles, cruise missiles, permanent satellites, and manned 'Moon missions"

2.5.2- Development Ratings
    The technological development ratings run on a scale rate roughly from 0 (equating to pre-industrial age developments), to roughly 200, though ratings will not likely top 160 or 170 in the scope of this game. The higher a nation is rated in a category, the more sophisticated their technology, thought and machinery is- and can be- in that category. A nation with naval technology rated at only 60, for example, may not be able to build a more capable warship than an early iron-clad; akin to the USS Monitor or the CSS Virginia; whereas a nation with their naval technology rated at 145 might well be able to build and maintain the most modern Iowa-class battleships.
    The most important feature of development ratings is their effect on the type of equipment a nation can build, as in the above example. While the United States in 1945 might be perfectly willing and able to share the design specifications for an Iowa-class battleship with Bulgaria; and Bulgaria might well desire to build a few of their own, and take command of the Mediterranean region. However, since Bulgaria's naval rating would likely be likely to be little above 110, that battleship construction is well out of their reach. To state it a little plainer- because the tech needed to build the Iowa-class is greater than that Bulgaria possesses, they could not build it. Bulgaria would need to raise their naval technology level to at least 145 before they could build that Naval Tech-145 rated vessel, regardless of the plans to do so.

2.5.2.1- Research and Development
    In order to increase a nation's technological level, it needs to perform research and development at a research facility. Research requires negligible goods, but requires large amounts of funding; and is not always (though usually) effective.
    To increase a nation's technological rating in any one category, the nation must select a research facility in their nation, state the type of research to be done, and send it funds equal to no less than 1/10 of a cash unit per level of technology the nation already possesses in that category. Thus, if Bulgaria with a that Naval Tech rating of 110 wanted to improve it's rating to 111, it would need to select a facility (say, one in Sofia), and send it 11 cash for the year to perform research. Each quarter, there is a random 10-20% cumulative chance that the research will be successful. The odds continue to accumulate until either the technological development is successful; or funding for the research is cut. In that case, the chance drops back down to zero.
    Once the research is successful, the nation's rating improves to the next level up, and the nation may begin working on the next tech level; in the above case, Naval Tech-112. The most a nation's tech rating can improve in any given field is once per quarter.
    A nation may dedicate more than one facility to any given tech category of research; however, if more than one facility are successful at researching the same category in any given quarter, additional results are wasted.

2.5.2.2- 'Better Living Through Espionage'
    Of course, a nation may also advance their technological level by stealing secrets from other nations. In this case, the spying nation- if successful at stealing a tech level- may simply pay ten times the normal advancement cost for their level, to move up to the next, without the use of a facility. If, for example, in the above case, Bulgaria stole the secrets from the US, they could simply pay their current rating (110), times two; in order to advance to the next level; allaying the need to spend time and effort at R&D. The maximum increase per quarter of one level is still in effect, however.

2.5.3- Patents and Design Specifications
   It is one thing to have the physical and technological capability to create various types of machines of war. It is another thing to actually have designed them; and be able to make the specific examples of them. This is reflected by the patents or designs developed by the countries in question. In this section, the terms design and patent will be used interchangeably, though they do have different connotations in reality.
    Designs are the technical schematics needed for a factory to produce a specific type of equipment; be that a B-17 bomber, a Souma S35 tank, or a Ford F-150 pickup truck. In order to build a specific type of equipment, the nation needs to posses the plans to do so- they must acquire a patent. This can be done either by research and development of an entirely new one, or by purchasing rights to produce one made by another nation.   

2.5.3.1- Common Patents
    'Common' patents hold for those items in which there is little to no differentiation between types, that can be built at will without a specific patent. Examples of this would include the vast majority of naval vessels, automobiles and trucks, half-tracks, firearms and artillery. Items that are held to a 'common' patent are those listed on the general purchase chart, and these may be built at any time, by any nation that has the industrial and technological know-how to do so.

2.5.3.2- Specific Patents
    Specific patents are those bits of equipment, armor, aircraft or the like that are specifically designed and built beyond the scope of the general purchase chart. This will include most military hardware beyond that in use in Europe in 1918, from the earliest metal monowing fighters; to the SR-71 Blackbird.
    In order to build something from a specific patent, a nation needs to have both the capability technologically to produce the item; and must possess the specific patent to do so. This might be for a vehicle designed domestically, or one purchased from a foreign nation. 

2.5.3.3- Research for New Patents
    Research for a new vehicle design, as with all other research, is done at a research facility. When a national leader decides that the time is right for the design of a new vehicle, s/he must commit the time of a facility to the project, and must also decide what the requirements are for the proposed vehicle. If the government were after a heavy, hard-hitting long range bomber; s/he must communicate that to the research team. Of course, with each requirement added to the project, there is some form of logical trade-off. A long-range heavy bomber is likely to be very large and ponderous, making it an easy target for nimble interceptors. Likewise, if a government ordered a particularly speedy tank, it would need to house a powerful engine, and eschew a degree of armor protection, in order to maximize the effectiveness of the horsepower. The government should take such tradeoffs under consideration when requesting specifics from their design team- no one machine can be everything to everyone.
    Research and design of a new patent requires the use of a research facility for at least one quarter; but requires trifling cash expenditure; it does not need to be budgeted.

2.5.3.4- Transferring Patent and Design Rights
    Nations may grant or trade for patents with other states, in any manner that they like. The terms of their agreements are completely up to the nations in the trade compact, though only their own honor- and fear of economic sanctions from nations they've cheated- prevents them from breaking the agreement in any way.