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RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY

The continued research of and implementation of new technologies is crucial to survival in Homeworld. If proper time isn't spent on researching new technologies, many of the key ships, drives, shields, weapons and armor will be unavailable to your fleet. A solid understanding of how research works and the types of technologies available can be the difference between victory and defeat.

How Research Works

Homeworld uses a research tree system in which basic technologies can lead to more advanced breakthroughs. This system provides a gradual introduction of technology in single-player games and allows each player in multiplayer games to choose their own technology path. The researching of new technologies is done through the Research Ships screen. It is also possible to acquire new technologies from salvaged enemy ships.

Types of Research

The discovery of new technologies will give the armada the edge it needs to survive against stronger opponents. There are more than 25 different technologies to research in Homeworld. Among these are:

Corvette Chassis:
With an improved engine, engineers were quickly able to expand their initial large utility hulls into a full-fledged combat chassis. This new generation of Strike Craft had large crew areas with multiple control stations that would open the door for heavy, multi-role Strike Craft with full turret capability and superior composite armor plating.

Cloak Generator:
Scientists have taken an entire Frigate hull and dedicated it to housing the electromagnetic field emitters needed to generate the strong light-warping field. The invisibility effect is an impressive one but requires every erg of power not going into propulsion and life support.

Capital Ship Drive:
The advances in Strike Craft drives soon made it obvious that the next step in ship engineering should be drives large enough to achieve self-sustaining fusion torches while accelerating high mass vessels to combat speeds. The capital ship drive finally allows for vessels that do not require refueling.

Fighter Production:
While the armed Scout ship is capable of limited combat duties, it takes a refinement of our Strike Craft technologies to enable us to produce single-pilot ships specifically designed for the space superiority role. This breakthrough in manufacturing systems allows for decreased construction times for all Strike Craft.

Ion Cannons:
High-powered beam weapons are a tactician's dream and an engineer's nightmare. The size-to-power ratios were completely unworkable until the development of the Capital Ship chassis provided the room to employ a truly deadly directed beam of charged ions. The Cannon draws power directly from the Capital Ship's main drive not only to supply the superheated hydrogen ions but also to charge the tens of meters of super-conducting magnetic coil that focus and accelerate the beam. The Frigate chassis is just large enough to mount an Ion Cannon in a spinal arrangement.

Proximity Detector:
Long-range scanning has always been difficult, as most active sensors can be easily fooled or fed false data. To compensate for this, scientists have designed small passive sensor packages that fit onto modified missile engines. These sensor packages can be ordered to take up position anywhere within communication range and then direct-beam-back real-time information about their local area of space.

Plasma Bomb Launcher:
One of the benefits of a larger Fighter frame is the ability to modify a Strike Craft to carry powerful directed-energy payloads. The Plasma Bomb system draws high-energy plasma from the Fighter's fusion torch drive and vents it into a small magnetic containment sphere mounted aboard a direct-fire missile. The plasma venting occurs in the split second between the pilot firing the bomb and the bomb actually leaving its cradle. Upon impact with the target, the bomb's containment sphere ruptures and releases the near-fusion plasma in a single massive burst. While the missile is unable to accurately target fast-moving Strike Craft, it can be devastating to slower-moving Capital Ships. This ornate and powerful weapon system leaves a Strike Craft without any room to mount other weapons.

Guided Missiles:
Missile technology has been available since the dawning days of space exploration but has always been irrelevant for weapons systems because of the slow speed of any kind of non-fusion engine and the lack of a warhead that could effectively harm an armored starship. The Plasma Bomb solved the latter problem but it wasn't until the development of the Super Capital Ships, that a platform existed to house and power missiles that were large enough to carry the reaction mass needed to pursue a combat vessel. Using a variant of the stored plasma warhead, the Guided Missile actually draws superheated plasma into its internal magnetic containment field. When the missile is launched, this field is then shaped and vented to simulate a traditional chemical-rocket exhaust in order to give the missile high speed and maneuverability necessary to engage a fusion-powered vessel.

Heavy Guns:
The final advancement in ships' powerplants opened the door for truly massive-bore mass drivers and the turrets needed to support them. Mounted only on Super Capital Ships, these new turrets are nearly the size of Frigates and pack enough power to cripple or destroy a smaller vessel in a single hit. These heavy gun systems are so massive that the magnetic couplings have to draw power directly from the main drive in order to rotate the weapon mount inside the turret housing.

Research Ships
In order to gain new technology, Research Ships must be built. Each Research Ship is capable of researching one technology at a time. However, it is possible to dedicate multiple Research Ships to the study of one technology. Dedicating more than one Research Ship to a particular technology allows that technology to be acquired at a faster rate. All Research Ships can be accessed through a single Resource Management screen.