Technology

This page discusses the game mechanics for techs and projects. For a list of all techs or projects in Terra Invicta, as well as their stats, see Tech List or Project List instead.

An external tool to visualise tech tree can be found here: Tech tree viewer.

In Terra Invicta, the process of research is divided into science and engineering. Factions must decide how to direct their Research income between public endeavors to advance humanity's understanding of the universe, and narrowly focused private efforts aimed at fulfilling specific objectives or improving their faction's capabilities.

Research & Development

Terra Invicta distinguishes Research from Development. "Technologies" are research into pure science, done to extend worldwide human understanding, while "Projects" are privately applied science and engineering, done to put the new theories into practice in the real world.

Global Research

The human factions collectively research three new scientific principles at once. These are broad understandings of how things like physics, or chemistry, or people, work. Only rarely do they directly lead to some specific change in how events unfold in the game. Instead, their main function is to unlock engineering projects for individual factions, and occasionally allow for new types of orgs to appear.

When a new technology is completed, it becomes available to all humanity.

The faction that contributes the most research to a particular global research will select what is investigated next and will have an increased chance to gain projects based on that research.

The game starts with the following global researches underway: We Are Not Alone, Skywatch and Mission To Space.

Projects

Projects are based off global research, but are developed privately for your faction, to generate effects and advantages in the game, such as unlocking a new component for your ships and habs or providing a bonus to your faction. Most projects benefit only the faction that develops them, and must be independently developed by each faction that wants the benefit.

For example, a scientific principle (global tech) might be Infrared Combat Lasers, which enables factions to develop the IR Laser Batteries project, which in turn unlocks the 60cm, 120cm, and 360cm Infrared Laser Batteries for your ships.

A number of projects are tied to completing objectives that move factions closer to understanding the purpose of the alien invasion or toward their victory conditions.

With sufficient infrastructure, factions may research up to three private engineering projects simultaneously.

The number of slots a faction has determines how many simultaneous projects a faction may pursue and how fast it completes them. Factions get one project slot for free. They receive a second project slot (to work on two projects simultaneously) if a councilor has an org with a project income value. They receive a third project slot if they have built a hab module with a project income value.

Unlocking Projects

Completing a global tech does not immediately make every project available to work on. Each potential project has an "unlock" percentage, which is rolled for each faction to see if they get the idea. Each faction rolls separately, and if you fail your roll, you may be able to Steal the project from an another faction that succeeded (but only after they have researched the project).

For projects with a low unlock percentage, there is a real chance they will never get discovered in your game. (Notably this includes several powerful late-game drive systems. The ideas are "out there", but until all the basic research is done, no one knows if they'll actually work.)

A project's unlock chance can be increased:

• +0.2% * total_councilor_SCI for your councilors' combined research score,
• +10% for each councilor with the Innovative trait,
• +10% if you have the Autonomous Research Groups project, and
• + research_share % for the share you contributed to the global tech that it immediately depends on. If there's more than one global tech, the bonus is your average contribution.

The first 3 modifiers are included in the % shown in the UI for the project under its requirements, though not the research contribution bonus, which is added at the moment the tech unlock roll occurs. Many projects start at 100%, and with most you can easily reach 100%.

"Unlocked" projects are still not available to begin work immediately, though; instead they go into a waiting pool. Each day, there is another roll for each waiting project to see if your people have their grants and proposals written, and if it is successful then the project becomes available for you to start work on. For many (but not all) projects, the daily roll chances will increase with each month that passes.

The starting monthly availability chance is increased by your contribution bonus and your council SCI bonus, and can actually exceed the maximum monthly availability chance but will then never grow. The Autonomous Research Groups project increases the monthly increase by 1%.

The unlock and availability chances vary by project, from 100% for something like Outpost Core down to 20% for the Bering Strait Crossing.

For example, the Dusty Plasma Drive project has a base 20% chance to unlock. Autonomous Research Groups makes it 30%. If you have six councilors with an average of 10 SCI each, that's total 60 SCI, multiplied by 0.2% gives a +12% bonus, bringing the project to 42% chance to unlock. Dusty Plasma Drive depends on the global techs Magnetic Nozzles and High-Tech Superconductors. If you contributed 60% to Magnetic Nozzles and 40% to High-Tech Superconductors, that averages to a +50% bonus, and your chance to unlock Dusty Plasma Drive is 42% + 50% = 92%.

If you do unlock it, it goes into your waiting pool. This particular project has a 0% chance to become immediately available. But your 60 SCI adds +12% to the chance. Each month this chance increases by +5%, plus an additional 1% from Autonomous Research Groups, up to a maximum of 50% chance per month if it still hasn't popped.

Stealing Projects

Some councilors may "steal" completed projects from other factions via the Steal Project mission. A project is eligible for theft if (a) you have all the required prerequisites, and (b) the rival faction has completed work on it. Note that "stealing" a project just makes the idea available for you to work on, if for whatever reason it hasn't unlocked for you yet. You still have to do the work and develop it yourself, so this mission is mostly worthwhile for low-probability projects that you might not ever get, otherwise.

A faction that is struggling with research can get an additional bonus from stealing projects: a lump sum of research based on how much more research the target faction is producing.

Another potentially more powerful alternative is capturing entire research habs using Control Space Asset or Assault Space Asset missions. Among other rewards, these missions can potentially "steal" projects and instantly complete the stolen projects. See Habs#Capturing_Habs for details.

Research Production and Bonuses

Research is passively produced by habs, nations, and councilors (from orgs and traits). Research can also be produced in one lump sum by some random events and councilor missions.

Any time a faction produces research, the research is distributed according to their research distribution settings and then various bonuses are applied. For each research slot X, the actual amount of research contributed to slot X is calculated as follows:

• Start with the Base Research amount produced.
• × (100% + 5% per research slot that has pips assigned.)
• × pips assigned to research slot X.
• / total pips assigned to all research slots.
• × Sum of:
  • 100%
  • Research Category Bonus × 0.9 ^ (Number of research slots of the same category that have pips - 1)
  • Project Engineering Bonus if this is a project.

The Research Category Bonus is gained from the following sources:

• Councilor Traits
• Equipped Orgs
• Hab Modules
• Ships with the Mobile Space Science Lab utility module (only for the Space Science category)
• Alien Activity Investigations (only for the Xenology category)

Except for alien activity investigations, each source will have diminishing returns applied to it separately when its base bonus exceeds 50%. Specifically, if the base bonus is more than 50%, then the actual bonus is set to 50% + 50% × (Base Bonus - 50%) / (Base Bonus + 150%).

The Research Category Bonus is then simply the sum of these actual bonuses from each source type.

The Project Engineering Bonus is gained from the following sources:

• Councilor Traits (Project Manager, Project Director, Project Administrator)
• Orgs
• Hab Modules (Skunkworks, Foundry)

The Project Engineering Bonus is calculated as follows:

1. The first engineering bonus gained from an org is used to unlock the second project slot.
2. The first engineering bonus gained from a hab module is used to unlock the third project slot.
3. Each remaining engineering bonus adds 5%, up to 100%.
4. Each remaining engineering bonus adds 3%, up to 160%.
5. Each remaining engineering bonus adds 1%.

AI First Tech Picks

This section analyzes the early tech choices for the human AI factions. The AI faction will never pick a tech whose tech tier is lower than another tech it could have picked instead.

Note: Techs with Tier 1 only have Tier 1 if the faction is over their mine limit. Otherwise they are Tier 0.

Note 2: When a faction unlocks its victory objective, its Tech Tiers change. This table only shows the Tech Tiers for before the victory objective is unlocked.

Tech Tier for each Tech for each Faction.

Name	Type	Research Cost
Accelerando		150000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Ad Astra		5000	5	5	5	5	5	6	5
Administration Algorithms		50000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Advanced Atomic Manipulation		10000	2	2	2	5	2	2	2
Advanced Carbon Manipulation		1000	5	5	5	6	5	5	5
Advanced Chemical Rocketry		1000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Advanced Fission Systems		25000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Advanced Heat Management Concepts		2500	5	5	6	5	5	5	5
Advanced Hydrogen Containment		20000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Advanced Electromagnetism		1000	5	6	6	6	5	5	5
Advanced Missile Warfare Doctrine		30000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Advanced Neural Networks		5000	2	2	2	2	5	2	2
Advanced Superconductors		3500	0	0	0	5	0	0	0
Antimatter Containment		10000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Antimatter Mass Production		125000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Antimatter Propulsion		100000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Antimatter Weaponry		60000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Applied Artificial Intelligence		25000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Arc Lasers		25000	5	2	2	2	2	2	2
Arrival Culture		20000	2	2	2	2	2	2	5
Arrival Domestic Politics		2000	2	2	2	2	2	5	5
Arrival Economics		2500	2	2	2	5	2	2	2
Arrival Governance		35000	0	0	0	0	0	5	5
Arrival International Development		5000	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Arrival International Relations		5000	2	2	2	2	2	5	5
Arrival Law		5000	2	2	2	2	2	5	2
Arrival Mass Communications		5000	0	0	0	0	0	5	5
Arrival Psychology		5000	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
Arrival Security		10000	5	5	2	2	2	2	5
Arrival Sociology		2500	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
Augmented Reality		1500	2	2	2	2	5	2	2
Biotechnology		1500	2	2	2	5	2	5	2
Carbon Nanotubes		3500	5	2	2	5	2	2	2
Clean Energy		50000	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Climate Change Mitigation		100000	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Coilguns		30000	2	5	2	2	2	2	2
Colony Habs		35000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Cybernetics		5000	2	2	2	2	2	2	5
Deep Space Propulsion Concepts		1000	5	6	6	5	5	5	5
Deep System Skywatch		1000	5	6	5	5	5	5	5
Designer Lifeforms		30000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Deuterium-Deuterium Fusion		75000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Deuterium-Helium- Fusion		75000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Deuterium-Tritium Fusion		50000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Diamondoids		15000	2	2	5	2	2	2	2
Directed Energy Warfare Doctrine		2500	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Directed Space Research		5000	5	5	6	5	6	5	5
Electromagnetic Propulsion		1500	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Electrostatic Plasma Confinement		15000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Electrostatic Propulsion		3000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Electrothermal Propulsion		500	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Extended Space Survival		5000	2	2	2	2	5	2	2
Fall of Empires		10000	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
Fission Pulse Drives		25000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Fleet Logistics		45000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Future TechEnergy		100000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Future TechInformation Science		100000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Future TechLife Science		100000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Future TechMaterials		100000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Future TechMilitary Science		100000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Future TechSocial Science		100000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Future TechSpace Science		100000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gas Core Fission Systems		20000	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Genies		50000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Great Nations		25000	0	0	0	0	0	5	5
Heavy Pulsed Propulsion		50000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
High-Temperature Superconductors		40000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
High-Energy Electromagnetic Propulsion		5000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
High-Energy Lasers		1000	5	0	0	0	0	0	0
Improved Shipbuilding Techniques		20000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
In Situ Resource Utilization		5000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Independence Movements		5000	2	2	2	2	2	2	5
Industrialization of Space		15000	2	2	2	5	2	2	2
Inertial Confinement Fusion		65000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Infrared Combat Lasers		5000	5	2	2	2	2	2	2
Integrated Earth-Space Economy		40000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Interplanetary Polities		50000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kinetics Warfare Doctrine		2500	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Magnetic Force Manipulation		2500	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Magnetic Nozzles		50000	2	2	5	2	5	2	2
Magnetic Plasma Confinement		35000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Mass Drivers		1000	5	6	6	6	5	5	5
Militarization of Space		5000	5	2	2	2	2	2	2
Mind and Machine		35000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Missile Warfare Doctrine		2500	6	5	5	5	5	5	5
Mission to Jupiter		10000	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Mission to Mars		2500	6	6	5	5	6	5	5
Mission to Saturn		25000	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Mission To Space		250	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Mission to the Asteroids		3500	5	5	5	6	6	5	5
Mission to Venus		2500	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Mission to Mercury		15000	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Mission to the Moon		1000	5	6	6	5	6	5	5
Mission to the Outer Planets		40000	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Molecular Assemblers		20000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Molten Core Fission Systems		10000	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Networked Global Defense		25000	5	2	2	2	2	2	2
Networked Propaganda		10000	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
Neutronics		15000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Next-Generation Aerospace		5000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nuclear Fission In Space		2500	5	5	6	5	6	5	5
Nuclear Fusion Methodologies		50000	0	0	5	0	5	0	0
Exoatmospheric Fighters		7500	5	5	2	2	2	2	2
Orbitals		5000	5	6	5	5	5	5	5
Orbital Shipbuilding		1000	5	6	6	5	5	5	5
Ring Habs		35000	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Our Space Future		30000	2	2	2	2	2	5	2
Outpost Habs		1000	5	6	5	6	5	5	5
Particle Beams		5000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Phased-Array Lasers		70000	5	2	5	2	2	2	2
Photonic Computing		1500	2	2	2	2	5	2	2
Plasma Weapons		40000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Predictive Genetics		5000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Principles of Space Warfare		1000	6	5	5	5	5	5	5
Aneutronic Fusion		75000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Proton-Proton Fusion		100000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Quantum Computing		10000	2	2	2	2	5	2	2
Quantum Encryption		20000	2	2	2	5	2	5	2
Railguns		5000	2	5	2	2	2	2	2
Self-Repairing Software		10000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Settlement Habs		5000	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Skywatch		250	5	6	5	5	5	5	5
Solid Core Fission Systems		5000	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Space Agriculture		2500	5	5	5	5	6	5	5
Space Assault Doctrine		10000	2	5	2	2	2	2	2
Space Commerce		20000	2	2	2	5	2	2	2
Space Medicine		2500	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Space Mining and Refining		2500	5	6	6	6	5	5	5
Space Navies		10000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Space Research		2500	5	5	6	5	6	5	5
Space Tourism		1000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Superalloys		5000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Supercapacitors		10000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Superconducting Magnets		10000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Targeted Biological Warfare		30000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tokamaks		25000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Terawatt Fusion Reactors		100000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Terrestrial Military Science		3000	5	2	2	2	2	2	2
Titanic Spacecraft		60000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Trans-Interface Warfare		25000	6	5	5	5	5	5	5
Transform Phages		10000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ultracapacitors		40000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Ultraviolet Combat Lasers		60000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Unity Movements		10000	0	0	0	0	0	5	5
Vacuum Electrostatic Principles		1000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Visible Combat Lasers		25000	5	2	2	2	2	2	2
We Are Not Alone		500	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
White Collar Automation		40000	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Z-Pinch Techniques		50000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0