Sphere Technology Rules

Technologies in Sphere deal with applications, particularly in the field of military/exploration. 'Civilian' technology is too broad and abstract to be dealt with in any detail, nor would it add meaningfully to the game. It can be assumed to loosely parallel military abilities, though of course just because a nation lacks the ability to build worthwhile tanks doesn't mean it lacks a solid domestic groundcar industry.

Basics

Electronics
Fundamental Electronics increase Sensor and ECM power.

Gear

Missile targeting system: Boosts sensors for missile attacks

Enhanced Detection Grid: Boosts sensors for stealth detection

Propulsion
Fundamental Propulsion limits how many boosters or verniers you can fit on a chassis. Every booster above this limit increases all fitting costs by 50% per level, rounded up.

1st extra thruster costs x1.5

2nd extra thruster costs x2

3rd extra costs x2.5

Simplify this? --Shrike 04:00, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Armor
Fundamental Armor limits how many levels of armor you can fit on a chassis. Every level above this limit increases all fitting costs by 50% per level, rounded up.

Shields
Fundamental Shielding limits how many levels of shielding you can fit on a chassis. Every shield above this value increases all fitting costs by 100% per level.

Fundamental Technologies

Entropy Sinks

Entropy Sinks are a critical part of any modern warship’s heat-control system, replacing clumsy radiators and radiants with sublimely efficient heat-dissipation circuitry. Derived from posthuman technology, entropy sinks directly dissipate thermal energy into the vaccum energy. In essence, they eliminate local entropy at the cost of increasing universal entropy. A relatively old technology, the techniques to build entropy sinks is uncommon in the Rim and most ships there are stuck using older methods of thermal control. The internalization of heat control means that warships are both no longer vulnerable to strikes on unarmored cooling elements and that stealth in space becomes more than a theory.

Wealth Cost: 750

PIP Cost: 0

CIP Cost: 250

Dust Cost: 500

Starting Tech Cost: 100

Development Time: 1 Year

Requirements: None

Effects: Base stealth rating doubles, critical rate halves

Shipbuilding Technologies

Hull Construction

Improved techniques and designs can improve the effectiveness of a ship, allowing for more component space.

Wealth Cost: 750

PIP Cost: 500

CIP Cost: 250

Dust Cost: 0

Starting Tech Cost: 75

Development Time: 1 Year

Requirements: None

Effects: Adds 1 maximum hull expansion per level of Hull Expansion

Hull Expansion II

Wealth Cost: 1000

PIP Cost: 700

CIP Cost: 300

Starting Tech Cost: 100

Development Time: 1 Year

Requirements: Hull Construction

Hull Expansion III

Wealth Cost: 1250

PIP Cost: 900

CIP Cost: 350

Starting Tech Cost: 125

Development Time: 1 Year

Requirements: Hull Construction II

Advanced Hangar Integration

Hangarize (level)

Acts as a hull expansion that can only be used for Compact Hangars.

Reduced cost for both R&D and ship fitting.

Vehicular Construction Technologies

Aircraft Construction

Aircraft Construction (level)

Allows for the construction of larger, more powerful aircraft

Mecha Construction

Mecha Construction (level)

Allows for the construction of larger, more powerful mecha

AFV Construction

AFV Construction (level)

Allows for the construction of larger, more powerful AFV

Power Systems

Fission Powerplants

Fusion Powerplants

Forced Fusion Powerplants

Electron Matrices

Weapon Technologies

Electrochemical Technologies

Standard Electrochemical Weapons

Standard Naval Rifles

Standard Vehicular Guns

Standard Infantry Arms

Augmented Thermochemical Weapons

Thermochemical Naval Rifles

Thermochemical Vehicular Guns

Thermochemical Infantry Arms

Advanced Ammunitions

Feral Acquisition Targeting System

Exotic Propellants

Advanced Design Concepts

Polystage Warheads

Shield-Buster Techniques

Railgun Technologies

Standard Railguns

Conventional electromotive weapons are the bread and butter of 22nd century militaries.

Wealth Cost: 600

PIP Cost: 400

CIP Cost: 200

Dust Cost: 0

Starting Tech Cost: 25

Development Time: 1 Year

Requirements: None

Effects: Unlocks the Railgun tech tree

Standard Naval Railguns

Wealth Cost: 500

PIP Cost: 300

CIP Cost: 200

Starting Tech Cost: 25

Development Time: 1 Year

Requirements: Standard Railguns

Standard Vehicular Railguns

Wealth Cost: 400

PIP Cost: 200

CIP Cost: 200

Starting Tech Cost: 20

Development Time: 1 Year

Requirements: Standard Railguns

Standard Personal Railguns

Wealth Cost: 200

PIP Cost: 100

CIP Cost: 100

Starting Tech Cost: 10

Development Time: 1 Year

Requirements: Standard Railguns

Rhenium Integration

Advanced-materiel electromagnets can significantly improve the performance of electromotive weapons

Wealth Cost: 1000

PIP Cost: 700

CIP Cost: 300

Dust Cost: 0

Starting Tech Cost: 100

Development Time: 1 Year

Requirements: Standard Railguns

Rhenium Naval Railguns

Wealth Cost: 800

PIP Cost: 550

CIP Cost: 250

Starting Tech Cost: 75

Development Time: 1 Year

Requirements: Standard Railguns

Rhenium Vehicular Railguns

Wealth Cost: 600

PIP Cost: 400

CIP Cost: 200

Starting Tech Cost: 60

Development Time: 1 Year

Requirements: Standard Railguns

Rhenium Personal Railguns

Wealth Cost: 300

PIP Cost: 150

CIP Cost: 150

Starting Tech Cost: 30

Development Time: 1 Year

Requirements: Standard Railguns

Gauss Accelerator

Naval Gauss Rifles

Vehicular Gauss Rifles

Infantry Gauss Rifles

Momentum-Transfer Rails

Naval M-T Railguns

Vehicular M-T Railguns

Infantry M-T Railguns

Laser Technologies

Standard Laser Weapons

Standard Naval Laser Cannons

Standard Vehicular Laser Guns

Preliminary Infantry Laser Guns

Adaptive Optics

Adaptive Naval Laser Cannons

Adaptive Vehicular Laser Guns

Adaptive Infantry Laser Guns

Heterodyne Lasers

Naval Heterodyne Laser Cannons

Vehicular Heterodyne Laser Guns

Infantry Heterodyne Laser Guns

Optimized Photon Pulses

Optimized Naval Laser Cannons

Optimized Vehicular Laser Guns

Optimized Infantry Laser Guns

Pulse Technologies

Standard Pulse Weapons

Standard Naval Pulse Cannons

Standard Naval Beam Cannons

Standard Vehicular Pulse Guns

Preliminary Infantry Pulse Guns

Synchronous Acceleration

Synchronous Naval Pulse Cannons

Synchronous Naval Beam Cannons

Synchronous Vehicular Pulse Cannons

Synchronous Infantry Pulse Guns

Supercollider Augmentation

Supercollider Naval Pulse Cannons

Supercollider Naval Beam Cannons

Supercollider Vehicular Pulse Cannons

Supercollider Infantry Pulse Guns

Adapative Focus

Adaptive Naval Pulse Cannons

Adaptive Naval Beam Cannons

Adaptive Vehicular Pulse Cannons

Adaptive Infantry Pulse Guns

Mega Particle Technologies

Standard Mega Particle Weapons

Standard Naval Mega Particle Cannons

Standard Vehicular Mega Particle Guns

Preliminary Infantry Mega Particle Guns

Mega Particle Collimation

Collimated Naval Mega Particle Cannons

Collimated Vehicular Mega Particle Cannons

Collimated Infantry Mega Particle Guns

Mega Particle Compression

Compressed Naval Pulse Cannons

Compressed Vehicular Mega Particle Cannons

Compressed Infantry Mega Particle Guns

Variable Acceleration Control

Variable Naval Mega Particle Cannons

Variable Vehicular Mega Particle Cannons

Variable Infantry Mega Particle Guns

Missile Technologies

Standard Missiles

Standard Antiship Missiles

Standard Anti-Air Missiles

Standard Battlefield Missiles

Standard Strategic Missiles

Missile Upgrades

Feral Acquisition Targeting System

Exotic Propellants

Advanced Design Concepts

Polystage Warheads

Shield-Buster Techniques

Defensive Technologies

Armor Technologies

Armor Construction

Controls how many levels of armor can be placed on the appropriate unit (ship, vehicle, etc). Additional levels require increased space and cost.

Armor Compositions

These are new types of armor, such as Gundanium or Polarized armor. They have superior stats and/or additional abilities beyond basic armor compositions.

Polarized Armor

Phase Shift Armor

Bafflecladding

Dilatant Armor Core

Superconductive Grid

Shield Technologies

Shield Construction

Controls how many levels of shield can be placed on the appropriate unit. Additional levels will have reduced effects. Note that as shield technology is relatively recent and immature, developing the ability to fit truly powerful standard shields to units can be expected to be quite pricy.

Advanced Shields

These are new types of shields, such as Flash shields. These tend to reduce many of the intrinsic drawbacks of shield systems, though some may lead to new abilities.

EM Screen

Kinetic Screen

Scattering Field

Flash Field

Bubble Barrier

Pin-Point Barriers

Bioscience Technologies

Transgenic Technologies

These technologies are the very stuff of life. They are deep and complex understanding of human (and not-so-human) genetics, allowing for the development of new transgene templates and possibly even bio-machinery.

Cybernetic Technologies

Replacing one's body with mechanical components never achieved significant commonality in the human Sphere (beyond, of course, the Posthumans who went far beyond simple bodily replacement), but some people cannot use regeneration techniques and others seek greater ability than biology can provide. For these instances, cybernetic technologies are used.

Miscellaneous Technologies

This is a catch-all field for things that do not fit conveniently into the other categories. Something like improved life support might go here.

Advanced Upgrades

Note that these are highly preliminary.

Delta Dust Upgrade

Integrates delta dust into a piece of technology, loosely analogous to strat mats from Sphere 1. Developed for a specific application.

Theta Dust Upgrade

A more potent upgrade, this time using theta dust. May have more unusual effects.

Exotic Technologies

These are technologies that are oftentimes developed by accident, or else as a counter to a specific problem or threat. Generally speaking they have niche effects, though they will generally be very powerful at that task. They may more rarely lead to a new paradigm. A historical example would be the atom bomb, transistor electronics, energy shields and cloaking devices, though of course all of these have become (with the exception of cloaking devices) commonplace.

In some cases, the acquisition of posthuman artifacts will provide a significant leg up or be required to develop Exotic Technologies.