Since the first abacus humanity has sought computing devices to make research and development easier, this mod brings a selection of those to the Rim allowing your colony to gain the benefits they brought our forefathers.
First up we have the Mechanical Calculator based on Pascal's Calculator, this will provide a modest research buff to your medieval colony. Only one is linkable per simple research bench.
Second comes the very optional Difference Engine. This great pre-electric machine will require a master builder and a hundred industrial components in exchange for a massive research bonus. Just as Charles Babbage's original was left unfunded until the real version was finally completed in the 90's you too will be forgiven for skipping this until you're well into the industrial era. As before your simple research benches can only take one.
Third we have Tape Storage Drives. These bulky machines were all the rage in the 60's before hard disk drives could be built small enough to justify their end. Simple to build and power, you can connect dozens of these to a simple research bench, though the benefits of each are marginal.
Fourth we enter the modern age and with it servers. Your server rack is a straight upgrade over older drives while being the first linkable for high tech research benches. Be aware at this point your computers are pushing out a noticeable amount of heat. You can connect up to four server racks to each bench.
Fifth we have the super computer. Occupying data centres all over the world the research boost they give is vast and there's once again no limit to how many you can connect to one bench. The downsides are even more heat, power draw and the need for water cooling. If you plan to turn your colony into the next google I recommend somewhere with lots of water; or you could choose Rim Arizona, up to you.
Last of all we have the quantum computer, visually based off the IBM Q System One this monster is to the high tech research bench what the Difference Engine is to medieval colonies. Expect a lot of necessary cooling, water, power and construction skills if you ever plan to build one.
Bonus info:
I was on the fence about including an abacus for the tribal era but ultimately I can't call that a computer so left it out. I also would have included ENIAC but AOBA already made an excellent version for his Fortification Industrial mod.
There are other mods on here which add more research linkables however they either feature the fantastical like brain in a jar or focus on a narrow area of computing like Research Assistants. None of them require water cooling which is my door to shove Dubs Bad Hygiene into another area of Rimworld.
This mod features was commissioned with art by Krazy and code by Edern.
