Research and Development Rules

[rust]

This is a cross post from SFRPG, I thought it could perhaps be interesting
for some of the users here, too.

It is the first draft of a simple research & development rule for my Pandora
setting, based upon the research rules of MegaTraveller and the Ringworld
RPG.

Research Projects

Research projects can be used to determine scientific data or market data or to develop
computer programs, industrial processes or new equipment.

Research Process
a) The character formulates a hypothesis or describes the intended result of the research project.
b) The referee decides whether the hypothesis is true or the intended result is possible, which kinds
of research steps are necessary, how many research steps are necessary, and which skills and modi-
fiers will apply. He only tells the player which skills are required, but does not give him the other in-
formations.
c) The character plans his research project, decides which research steps he will use and then tests
his hypothesis or develops a prototype through a research step.
d) The character evaluates his research and decides whether to continue or to accept the result. The
referee does not inform the player whether the character really was successful, came to a false conclu-
sion or developed a faulty product.

Research Steps
Research projects consist of a series of research steps. There are four types of research steps:
a) Library Research - usually 100 hours, requires access to a database
b) Laboratory Research - usually 200 hours, requires a laboratory or workshop
c) Field Research - played as a small adventure or requires 1d6 +1 x 100 hours
d) Armchair Research - usually 200 hours

Research Step Results
The player rolls for the success of the character. All normal modifiers (e.g. difficulty, use of an expert
program, support by other characters, special equipment, etc.) are used, but the referee does not in-
form the player about the modifiers used and whether and to what degree the character was success-
ful.

Effect -1 or worse: misleading result, adds another 1d6 research steps
Effect 0 - 3: inconclusive result, no change
Effect 4 - 5: success, subtracts 1 research step
Effect 6+: insight, subtracts 1d6 research steps

Skill Improvement
Each 200 hours of research time (the equivalent of 1 month of work) that did not lead to a misleading
result count as 1 week of training in the skill used during the research step.

Example
Marie Blair wants to find out whether Speeders can be repelled with electric fields. Her hypothesis is
that an electric field of a certain strength will cause a Speeder to flee from the area. She decides to use
five research steps for her project: Library Research to read all the informations already known about
the Speeders, Field Research to capture two living Speeders, Laboratory Research to test how the Spee-
ders react to electric fields, another Laboratory Research to make sure the first one was not misleading,
Armchair Research to evaluate the data and write a paper.

This research project is rather straightforward and requires only Bioscience (Marine Biology) and some
help from other colonists to capture the Speeders and from an engineer for the creation of the electric
field, so the referee will keep the difficulty low and the modifiers high.

After about 1,200 hours / 6 months Marie knows (or believes that she knows) whether her hypothesis is
true, and if nothing went badly wrong, she has learned the equivalent of 6 weeks of training in Bioscien-
ce (Marine Biology).

And now it is time for an engineer to start a research project in order to develop a small, portable, easy
to use device that creates an electric field as a „Speeder Repellant“ - if possible without any nasty side
effects ...

 

[BP]

Most interesting and a great start...

Having been involved in quite a number of research projects spanning multiple disciplines and of various types (applied vs. theoretical; prototype development to software development) - I should give this some thought.

One obvious thing I didn't see is cost (maybe missed it)?

Second is 'permission' (i.e. law issues).

Third (less applicable to your setting perhaps) is TL effects.

Well, I'm sure this will garner a lot more interest and feedback!

 

[rust]

Thank you.

One obvious thing I didn't see is cost (maybe missed it)?
Second is 'permission' (i.e. law issues).
Third (less applicable to your setting perhaps) is TL effects.

I think both costs and permissions are too different from project to project
to try to come up with a fixed rule for them, especially as funding negotia-
tions and attempts to get a permission depend both on the character's so-
cial skills and status and the colony's financial situation - this seems to be
more a roleplaying thing than a games mechanics thing.

Technology level effects are indeed negligible in the Pandora setting, there
is hardly a difference between the technology level of the locally produced
and the imported technology, although Pandora can of course not produce
all kinds of high technology.

 

[BP]

...
I think both costs and permissions are too different from project to project
to try to come up with a fixed rule for them, especially as funding negotia-
tions and attempts to get a permission depend both on the character's so-
cial skills and status and the colony's financial situation - this seems to be
more a roleplaying thing than a games mechanics thing. ...

True, though I would tend to say the same of the rest.

In an attempt to quantify things as a game mechanic - as one is not likely to roleplay out most aspects of research (excepting field research - including test piloting, firing up that new prototype whirly-wig, etc. - that could be fun :twisted I would have a tendency to want to include costs (law I threw in there).

This ties into the part you mentioned that is more subjective - naturally I want to codify that and make up mechanics

So, classify the nature of the project, probably with qualifiers as to type? Just free thinking here...

Virtual - i.e. pure theory, programming. (Admin costs?)
Social - would need subjects. (Admin costs? Personnel costs?)
Biological/Chemical - appropriate lab/test 'beds' (Resource costs?)
Small/Item - handheld widget, augment (solid state?) (Tooling costs?)
Man sized/Vehicular Size - new transport - more costly?
Skyscraper/City/Continental scale?
Planetary scale?
System scale?
Consumer - testing and approval?
Industrial - costly.
Medical - a type modifier.

Of course, my natural tendency is to 'write a book' - i.e. over-complicate things in analysis - but I actually prefer simplicity in implementation.

 

[rust]

Of course, my natural tendency is to 'write a book' - i.e. over-complicate things in analysis - but I actually prefer simplicity in implementation.

In this case, what about 1d6 times the price (estimated by the referee) of
the final intended product for each laboratory research step working on a
prototype, and otherwise just the wages of the hired persons and the cost
of the equipment used ?

 

[Treebore]

Most interesting and a great start...

Having been involved in quite a number of research projects spanning multiple disciplines and of various types (applied vs. theoretical; prototype development to software development) - I should give this some thought.

One obvious thing I didn't see is cost (maybe missed it)?

Second is 'permission' (i.e. law issues).

Third (less applicable to your setting perhaps) is TL effects.

Well, I'm sure this will garner a lot more interest and feedback!

Do you find only 1000 hours acceptable? Thats only 125 work days for one person. I know there are numerous research projects involving hundreds, probably thousands, of people that have taken over 30 years without a major break through.

 

[rust]

Do you find only 1000 hours acceptable? Thats only 125 work days for one person. I know there are numerous research projects involving hundreds, probably thousands, of people that have taken over 30 years without a major break through.

The number of research steps required by a research project is not limi-
ted to one or two of each kind.

For example, while one laboratory research step may be sufficient to pro-
duce a prototype of a more compact sonarcom, the attempt to develop a
hyperspace communicator could well require several thousand research
steps.

 

[Treebore]

Do you find only 1000 hours acceptable? Thats only 125 work days for one person. I know there are numerous research projects involving hundreds, probably thousands, of people that have taken over 30 years without a major break through.

The number of research steps required by a research project is not limi-
ted to one or two of each kind.

For example, while one laboratory research step may be sufficient to pro-
duce a prototype of a more compact sonarcom, the attempt to develop a
hyperspace communicator could well require several thousand research
steps.

Ah, OK. I obviously missed that before. So that is a good guideline then.

 

[BP]

Of course, my natural tendency is to 'write a book' - i.e. over-complicate things in analysis - but I actually prefer simplicity in implementation.

In this case, what about 1d6 times the price (estimated by the referee) of
the final intended product for each laboratory research step working on a
prototype, and otherwise just the wages of the hired persons and the cost
of the equipment used ?

- exactly what I got to thinking sometime after posting! If one subtracts the cost of labor/infrastructure for building prototypes - that is fairly well in line with my RL experience.

I liked the 1000 hr multiplier - half a man year to 3 man years sounds about right to me. Given that there could be multiple iterations of a step and varying degrees of likelihood of success, this seems quite reasonable and can cover a broad range.

Both these aspects speak to the 'scale' and 'scope' of the project - i.e. large structures likely have a high price set by referee, affecting the cost; revolutionary technologies (jump gates; miracle diet pill :lol, biological and terra-forming type projects can require extensive trial and error time...

Thinking there may be an elegant way to classify scale and scope such that multipliers like x10, x100 can be applied (probably one for each). This mechanic would simplify the more subjective part for the ref (and handle the 'several thousand steps' in lieu of lots of die rolls )

Might add some contribution factor handling - i.e. some project types benefit linearly from multiple cooks (ag/bio research) - others don't (programming). In the case of your colonies - this would address the degree to which throwing more resources at a project could reduce times/increase success (or not)...

Another aspect: at least in my own experience, prototypes are often less portable (disparate parts), inefficient (power requirements, heavier mass), and less durable than a production product. I would presume that would be an all together different subject - Production - one that may be less applicable to RP, but sounds like might fit with your setting.

 

[rust]

Another aspect: at least in my own experience, prototypes are often less portable (disparate parts), inefficient (power requirements, heavier mass), and less durable than a production product. I would presume that would be an all together different subject - Production - one that may be less applicable to RP, but sounds like might fit with your setting.

True, but I think there are no real rules needed for this, only a rule of
thumb for the production costs, depending on whether a single item is
produced or a mass production is started, and I can borrow this from
GURPS if I should ever need it. In most cases a character will probab-
ly sell his invention or prototype to the Pandora Cooperative or to an-
other company, and then the production effort and cost disappear into
the Commercial Entity rules from Merchant Prince.

As for projects that require lots of people and resources and take many
years, I think they are a bit beyond the player character scale, as they
would leave the characters not that much time to go adventuring.

 

[BP]

...
True, but I think there are no real rules needed for this, only a rule of thumb ...

Ah - pardon my wording - that is sort of what I meant by 'Another Aspect' - figuring PCs would likely make use of prototypes and, as you say, production would be handled by others and be a whole different time/cost scale.

Using prototypes makes for interesting RP opportunities - more frequent breakdowns (which PC is more adept at fixing perhaps), sudden power issues, and additional encumbrance.

The 1d6 multiplier handles the cost differences quite well (sometimes it is no more costly to build a prototype because less efficient spare and off the shelf parts are used, at a compromise to the things mentioned - been there, done that ).

...As for projects that require lots of people and resources and take many years, I think they are a bit beyond the player character scale, as they would leave the characters not that much time to go adventuring.

Certainly. Was in reference to what treebore posted - thinking that would apply more to chargen (and maybe NPCs, though I tend to create, not generate, such).

Recently wanted to play an 'older' PC, and had the 'pleasure' of taking him through 10 career terms :roll:. Had to work at keeping the skill levels down and won't be doing that again! Thinking this would be a perfect post-career, pre-adventure sort of thing, providing added backstory, creative 'ownership' idea for players, and possibly even adventure seeds.

Probably a lot more 'ambitious' than you are looking for in your campaign, of course.

 

[BP]

Oops!

Had read Treebore's 1,000 hrs question and mistakenly taken

• 
  c) Field Research - played as a small adventure or requires 1d6 +1 x 100 hours

as 1d6 x1000 hours!

Yep - unless one counts certain analysis as research & development - I'd be very hard pressed to recall a project taking less than 1000 man hours.

That doesn't mean the project took 6 calendar months - quite the contraire - researchers & developers tend to work very long hours. One can easily see that as 2~3 months for a sole researcher/developer. Perhaps, less if others are involved.

My adventurers (PC not players ) tend not to have a lot of distractions when they are 'adventuring' - so most of their waking hours are dedicated to 'the job'...

 

[rust]

Thinking this would be a perfect post-career, pre-adventure sort of thing, providing added backstory, creative 'ownership' idea for players, and possibly even adventure seeds.

The player characters of the "first generation" of the Pandora setting will
all be between 30 and 45 years old, older characters would seem a little
implausible as colonists who do not belong to the colony's leadership (a
status the characters would have to earn) and who plan to found their fa-
milies on Pandora. So the normal (although modified) character genera-
tion should be sufficient for these characters.

When it comes to NPCs, I have to admit that I just handwave such things,
both to save time and to get exactly the results I need for the setting - I
often do not even check whether this background for that character would
be possible according to the rules.

So, while I think that your ideas are good ones, they would indeed be a
bit of "overkill" for this setting. :wink:

 

[rust]

Yep - unless one counts certain analysis as research & development - I'd be very hard pressed to recall a project taking less than 1000 man hours.

Yes, if you take the average project with a library phase to gather, sort
and evaluate the available informations (100 hours), followed by either
a field research phase (200 hours to 700 hours) or a laboratory research
phase (200 hours) and finally an armchair research phase to evaluate
the results of the project, document and publish them (200 hours), the
minimum time required by a small project would be about 500 hours.

This would be something simple, like finding out what Grey Gatherers eat
or improving the range of a communicator a bit. Anything more complica-
ted than that will easily run into a long series of different research steps
and thousands of hours.

 

[BP]

Well, I do have Overkill-3! :lol: