Research

[P3D]

Researching each technology will cost $1 each half-year.

However, the amount of money a country can invest in research is limited by its industrial capacity, expressed in BP - build points. The maximum is one-third of the country's BP, rounded up to the nearest whole dollar.  This includes research from scratch, developing naval guns and mounts, and digesting technology acquired by tech trade or industrial espionage.
E.g. A country with 12.5BP can spend $5 on research. A country with 18BP can spend $6.

Normal research would take 2-3 years to finish. After 24 months of active research (with funding), the success chance is 20%, rising to 60% after 30 months and 100% (automatic completion) after three full years.  Research projects may be paused for one or more half-year, and resumed later without penalty.

If you want to keep research secret, it costs about twice the time. success chance is 20% after 48 months, raising 20% every six months thereafter.  So-called "Double-time" technologies such as Fire Control work on the same timetable even if done in the open.

To "digest" technology that was obtained from another country, $0.25 must be spent for two half-year turns. Doing this in secret doubles the cost.  One can not begin digesting technology from another country until the half-year after they successfully completed developing it.

Every technology has a year indicating the EARLIEST date research can be started.

You cannot skip technologies by tech transfer, e.g. researching right away the 1909 Ship propulsion technology after you bought the license, when you do not even have the 1905 technology. You have to get that technology first - and that would take only a year to finish.

Once 15 years has passed since a technology's 'first researchable' date, it is considered to be common knowledge. After that point, it may be researched by any nation as though it were being digested from another nation. Or in other words, $0.25 must be spent on that tech for two half-year turns. Techs that require double the time to research may not be digested in this way, nor can techs be digested this way in secret. Otherwise, all other normal research rules apply.

REMEMBER - TECHNOLOGY BECOMES AVAILABLE IN THE FIRST HALF YEAR AFTER SUCCESS IN RESEARCH (OR COMPLETING DIGESTION)

[The Rock Doctor]

RESEARCHING NAVAL GUNS

Gun technology allows the development of better and better guns of the same caliber, represented in gun barrel length from thirty to sixty calibers, as represented in the table below in different colors.  It also allows for movement to larger bore diameters.  The numbers are the approximate muzzle energy in million lbs x ft^2/s^2.  If someone wants to use ahistorical designs, a good correlation for muzzle energy as a function of gun barrel length and bore diameter for guns of the 1900-1945 period is:

ME=0.04 x L x D^3

Where E is expressed in million lb.ft^2/s^2
L length of barrel in caliber
D diameter of barrel bore in inches

One may also opt to use period-appropriate historical guns if they prefer.

You can develop a gun, if:
- you have the relevant gun technology (the row)
- you already have a gun design not more than two spaces away (moving up/down and left/right) in the table above.

Maximum Bore Diameter 30 Tech 18" 16" 15" 14" 12" 11" 10" 9" 8" 35 1885 - - - 2500 2000 2000 1100 1100 800 40 1895 - - - 3200 2500 2200 1700 1500 900 45 1900 - - - - 3000 2700 - - - - 1902 - - - 4200 3300 - 2100 1700 1000 50 1907 - - 5200 4700 3600 2900 - - - - 1911 - 6500 5800 5100 - - 2500 1900 1100 55 1915 9700 7100 6400 5500 3900 3100 - - - - 1921 10300 8200 7200 5900 4200 3300 2800 2100 1200 60 1928 10900 9500 7800 - - - - - -

Costs

For guns larger than 8.27"/210mm, it takes two years to research, at a cost of $0.50 per half-year.
For guns no larger than 8.27"/210mm, the research time is the same, but the cost is halved to $0.25 per half-year.

There is no need to research single deck mounts (+/- hoists) and casemates for guns of 8.27"/210mm and smaller.  Turrets and multi-gun deck mounts for these weapons require six months per gun barrel, at a cost of $0.25 per half-year.

For any type of mount with a gun larger than 8.27"/210mm, six months of development is required per barrel, at a cost of $0.50 per half-year.

Guns and their mountings may be researched simultaneously.

A nation may acquire gun and/or gun mount licences from another nation.  The development time of this equipment is halved (with the half-year costs being unaffected), and the weapons may then be used as the basis for future development of new weapons.

[Guinness]

For 1/1918 (on Oct 29, 2009) edit:
- Added paragraph regarding the digestion of 'common knowledge' or 'obsolete' techs.
- Fixed equation for muzzle energy, which had reversed the definitions of D and L.