Experimental Research System is a complete overhaul of RimWorld’s research progression.
Instead of passive “researching at a table”, technological progress is achieved through hands-on experiments, real materials, and knowledge sources such as books and notes.
The system is designed to be immersive, flexible, and fully compatible with vanilla and modded research.
Core Features
Experiment-Based Research
Research is performed at dedicated experiment benches.
Multiple bench tiers with different efficiency and safety levels.
Research progress comes from active experimentation, not abstract work.
Real Material Consumption
Experiments consume actual resources and ingredients.
Supports generic material categories to avoid duplicated or overly strict requirements.
Each research project defines its own material setup.
Skill-Based Success
Success chance and efficiency scale with:
Researcher skills
Intelligence-related stats
Skilled scientists experiment faster and safer.
Random Experiment Events
While working at an experiment bench, random events may occur — both positive and negative.
Positive events
Breakthrough — useful notes or data are discovered.
Eureka moment — temporary boost to research speed.
Bench stabilized — improved safety and efficiency for a while.
Negative events
Minor injuries — bruises or small accidents.
Burns / fire incident — heat-related damage.
Exhaustion — overwork causes fatigue or negative thoughts.
Minor illness — sickness caused by unhealthy experiments.
Chemical spill — damage to the bench and/or researcher.
Experiment failure — materials are lost, no progress gained.
Knowledge Sources
Books and notes can unlock or accelerate research.
Found through experiments or other gameplay sources.
Acts as an alternative or complementary research path.
Per-Research Configuration (ResearchProjectDef)
Each research project can be individually configured:
Experiment material requirements
Exact resources or generic categories.
Science field
Example: mechanics, physics, biology, chemistry, etc.
Tech level
Tribal / Medieval / Industrial / Spacer
Allows full control over progression pacing.
Mod Compatibility & Customization
Full support for vanilla and modded research projects.
All values (costs, science fields, tech levels) can be adjusted for:
Vanilla research
Any mod-added research
No hardcoded research lists — everything works through standard ResearchProjectDef.
Faction Tech Level Control (Gear Restrictions)
The mod allows editing the tech level of each faction, affecting:
Weapons they can use
Apparel they can wear
Use cases:
Tribal vs high-tech scenarios
World progression setups
Strongly themed playthroughs
Important:
This does not affect faction buildings or structures — only gear (weapons and apparel) is restricted.
Debug & Testing Tools
Debug options to instantly start or simulate experiments.
Useful for balancing, testing, and mod development
