Research System Framework

Last Updated November 27, 2025

Please refer to the changelog for patch notes.

Hello! This mod is a framework that allows other mods to manipulate the Research and Progression system. It is a replacement of sorts for Equinox's Extendable Research System mod. See below for instructions and available commands.

Add this mod to your savegame along with one or more mods that make use of it to manipulate the progression system. Below is a list of mods that use this framework; I'll try to keep it updated as mods are created / updated for it :)

• AQD - Research
• AQD - Vanilla Tech Tree
• AQD - Conveyor Expansion
• AQD - Armor Expansion

For the Admins

There are a few commands you may find useful. Check them out, below!

All commands are prefaced with /progression

• Unlock <schematicType> - temporarily unlocks the first block that contains <schematicType> in its block definition. Reload the client to revert changes.
• UnlockAll <true/false> - unlocks all blocks for you to enable you to do your admin stuffs
• By default, this will be temporary and can be reverted by simply reloading the client. If you want to permanently unlock all blocks, add true to the end of the command (ie /progression unlockall true
• FactionShare <true/false> - if no argument given, will toggle Faction Sharing on / off, otherwise sets Faction Sharing to whichever is given (true / false). When on, schematics found will unlock blocks for every member of the faction
• ClearOnDeath <true/false> - if no argument given, will toggle Clear On Death on / off, otherwise sets Clear On Death to whichever is given (true / false). When on, dying results in loss of all found schematics
• ResearchTimeModifier <decimal> - modifies the Research Time for all schematics by the given <decimal> (ie 0.5 will cut production times in half, 2 will double them)[/list]
• [h1]Known Issues[/h1]
• As with any new script, there may still be bugs that weren't caught in testing. If you find one, please let me know so I can fix it! You can reach me on here or on Discord (jTurp#7926).
• Log File Locations[list]
• Dedicated Server - will be found in the local storage and will be prefixed by the world save name
• Local Game - will be found in the world storage folder[/list]
• 
• [h1]Overview[/h1]
• Want to add your own tech tree? You can do so by creating and adding an EntityComponents.SBC file to your mods Data folder.
• Here is an example sbc file. You can copy the entire contents of the code section below into your sbc file to ensure it's in the proper format.
• [code]
• <?xml version="1.0"?>
• <Definitions xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
• xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
• <EntityComponents>
• <EntityComponent xsi:type="MyObjectBuilder_InventoryComponentDefinition">
• <Id>
• <TypeId>Inventory</TypeId>
• <SubtypeId>ProgressionFramework_YourUniqueIdentifierHere</SubtypeId>
• </Id>
• <Description>
• [?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?]
• [ResearchGroups xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
• xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"]
• [AutoAdjustAssemblerEffiency]true[/AutoAdjustAssemblerEffiency]
• [ResearchGroup]
• [Item Type="MyObjectBuilder_Component" SubtypeId="AQD_Tech_LOC_A1" /]
• [BlockDefinitons]
• [OverwriteOthers]false[/OverwriteOthers]
• [Id Type="MyObjectBuilder_Wheel" SubtypeId="OffroadSmallWheel5x5" UseBlockVariantsGroup="false" /]
• [Id Type="MyObjectBuilder_Wheel" SubtypeId="OffroadSmallRealWheel5x5mirrored" UseBlockVariantsGroup="false" /]
• [/BlockDefinitons]
• [/ResearchGroup]
• [/ResearchGroups]
• </Description>
• </EntityComponent>
• </EntityComponents>
• </Definitions>
• [/code]
• [h1]Things you need to change[/h1]
• NOTE: You may notice that the inner xml uses brackets ( [ and ] ) - this is required! If you attempt to nest actual xml in the Description field, the game will fail to parse your sbc and it will not be loaded.
• [list]
• <SubtypeId> - This MUST start with "ProgressionFramework" in order for the framework to find it. In addition, each Entity Component must have a unique subtype, so you need to add some info to it so it doesn't conflict with other mods[list]
• Example: <SubtypeId>ProgressionFramework_YourModName</SubtypeId>[/list]
• AutoAdjustAssemblerEffiency - Set this to true and your recipes will be made static (efficiency setting won't matter)
• The meat and potatoes of your tech tree will go in the <Description> field of the xml. Here's a breakdown of what that looks like:[list]
• ResearchGroups - this section contains all of your individual research groups
• ResearchGroup - each of these groups contains an Item that when picked up will unlock one or more blocks for a player. This item can be any physical item that can be created via a blueprint.