Research Tree pt1: Getting Started on Research

Getting Started
Research is a complex and necessary part of building, production and growth in Brune. It's helpful to know how to research and what path you want to pursue from the first moment you gain control of a research building. Are you a sovereign (or minister) looking to nurture your settlement to self-sufficiency? Or perhaps you're a merchant looking to produce a few high-end goods, or you're a successful adventurer, looking to craft your own equipment and sell the surplus. Are you researching for your home settlement, your group or your coalition? This post should help you point yourself in the right direction and start producing research.

The Printshop from Above

Research Buildings
Not every building can conduct research, in fact only a few specific buildings can. Fortunately for new sovereigns, the Granary, Lodge and Community Center can each support a certain number of researchers per level. Linked (can be built anywhere) buildings that support research are the Library, Spellcrafter and Alchemy Shop. There are several districts throughout the ranks that provide research positions in their Main or Exclusive buildings. The two best districts for Research are Printing and University, as their main and exclusive buildings can all employ researchers.

List of Research Buildings

Inside the Great Library

Outside the Spellcrafter

Hiring Researchers
Once you have a building that can support research, you must hire some researchers to get the research done. These are player positions, NPCs cannot fill your research slots. How you get characters to take your research jobs is your business. You can offer them a salary, make other arrangements through the forums, or simply wait and hope someone bored comes along and takes your job because it's there. Each researcher can produce a certain number of research points per research cycle, determined by their class and level, favoring Casters and Clergy. This means who takes your research positions can influence how much research you make each cycle.

The Research Tree
Finally, you're ready to pick your research topic. Research unlocks in branching chains from 7 basic Sciences from which all other Sciences and Technologies can be unlocked. These first sciences are Aesthetics, Literacy, Magic, Mathematics, Science, Theology and Tactics. 'Technologies' are buildings, pieces of equipment, units of transportation and military units that lie behind research chains, and you must research them to build/craft/recruit them. Each Technology is unlocked by researching at least one pre-requisite Science. In order to increase the research level of any later topic, you must first upgrade your knowledge in the prerequisite sciences.

Web Research UI

How it Works:
As an example, let's say you want to learn how to build a Cargo Dock. From your building or the Research UI, select Mathematics and set your building to study it, then wait. After a few cycles, you'll have enough Research Points (RP) in Mathematics to buy the first level. Now Mathematics is unlocked and you can research all the items immediately beyond it. Next set your building to research Carpentry, then wait until you can buy the first level of it and do so. Your building can now study the Cargo Dock. Wait for the points, then buy it's first level. You can now build a Level 1 Cargo Dock. Here's the tricky part: You can't upgrade your Cargo Dock to level 2 until you already have level 2 Mathematics and level 2 Carpentry.





Sciences and Technologies
The next several posts will illustrate what can be unlocked with research, and where each research path will lead you. Beneath each of the 7 basic Sciences are a few to many other Sciences and Technologies. Some trees are small and some have many sub-branches but don't worry, we'll cover them all. Click Here for Part 2!