Technology tree

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The entire tree as of 1.0.4

The Technology tree allows the player to unlock more advanced parts for constructing craft. It is a branching tree structure composed of nodes, each containing a set of one or more parts. Previously collected Science points must be spent to research a node, which then unlocks its parts for use in the Editor. Funds may also be needed to unlock individual parts depending on the difficulty settings.

The tree is accessible via the Kerbal Space Center Research and Development Facility's “Technology” tab. As part of the Science system, the Technology tree is not available in Sandbox Mode; instead all parts are automatically unlocked. All other modes begin with the initial node “Start” unlocked. Each node beyond it has a prerequisite node or nodes which must be unlocked before it can be researched. Unlocking the entire tree requires 18,468 Science including the hidden nodes, but 16,918 without. Before difficulty modifiers, there are 392,019.3 Science points available from experiments, and 6,055.8 from recovered vessels.

There are two additional placeholder nodes in the stock game which are included in the table below, but have no parts currently assigned to them. The nodes appear towards the end of the Tech Tree, and are only displayed in-game when a mod is installed which use them. These nodes are: Nanolathing, costing 550 Science, and Experimental Motors, costing 1000 Science. While these cannot be unlocked via research, it is technically possible to unlock them via Green Monoliths.

Use

Precision Engineering is an example of a research node with prerequisites. It requires either Advanced Flight Control or Electrics to be unlocked before becoming available.

The technology tree is displayed as a horizontal branching tree structure, with low tech research nodes on the left and higher tech nodes on the right. The root node of the technology tree, Start, is on the leftmost side of the tree and is unlocked by default in all new Career Mode games.

By conducting missions and collecting Science, the player may spend their Science points on available research nodes. In Career mode, depending on the difficulty settings, funds may also be required to unlock each part in the node. Only nodes that have had their dependencies unlocked are displayed on the technology tree. As the player unlocks more nodes, higher tech nodes will become available until the eighth tier of the tree is reached.

Most research nodes have dependencies upon earlier, lower technology nodes. For example, the General Rocketry node requires that the Basic Rocketry node is unlocked before the player may spend 20 Science points to unlock its parts. Some nodes have multiple dependencies that require several nodes to be unlocked before they become available. There are also research nodes that have multiple dependencies, but most only require one of them to be unlocked prior to becoming available. Within the stock tech tree, Nuclear Propulsion and Ion propulsion are the only nodes that require all dependencies.

In Career Mode there is also a further restriction depending on the level of the research facility. The starting building allows only nodes under 100 Science points, the mediocre allows up to 500 Science points, and the final facility has no limits. (These restrictions can be put into Science Mode by editing the save file to reduce the building level)

Research nodes

Icon Level Cost (⚛) Node name Required node(s) Prerequisite for Parts list
1 0 Start

None

2 5 Basic Rocketry
2 5 Engineering 101
3 15 Survivability
3 18 Stability
3 20 General Rocketry
4 45 Aviation
4 45 Basic Science
4 45 Flight Control
4 45 Advanced Rocketry
4 45 General Construction
5 90 Propulsion Systems
5 90 Space Exploration
5 90 Advanced Flight Control
5 90 Landing
5 90 Aerodynamics
5 90 Electrics
5 90 Heavy Rocketry
5 90 Fuel Systems
5 90 Advanced Construction
5 90 Miniaturization
6 160 Actuators

None

6 160 Command Modules

None

6 160 Heavier Rocketry
6 160 Precision Engineering
6 160 Advanced Exploration
6 160 Specialized Control

None

6 160 Advanced Landing
6 160 Supersonic Flight
6 160 Adv. Fuel Systems
6 160 Advanced Electrics
6 160 Specialized Construction
6 160 Precision Propulsion

None

6 160 Advanced Aerodynamics
7 300 Heavy Landing

None

7 300 Scanning Tech
7 300 Unmanned Tech
7 300 Nuclear Propulsion

None

7 300 Advanced MetalWorks
7 300 Field Science
7 300 High Altitude Flight
7 300 Large Volume Containment
7 300 Composites
7 300 Electronics
7 300 High-Power Electrics
7 300 Heavy Aerodynamics
8 550 Ion Propulsion

None

8 550 Hypersonic Flight
8 550 Nanolathing

None

None

8 550 Advanced Unmanned Tech
8 550 Meta-Materials

None

8 550 Very Heavy Rocketry

None

8 550 Advanced Science Tech
8 550 Advanced Motors
8 550 Specialized Electrics
8 550 High-Performance Fuel Systems

None

8 550 Experimental Aerodynamics

None

8 550 Automation
9 1000 Aerospace Tech

None

9 1000 Large Probes

None

9 1000 Experimental Science

None

9 1000 Experimental Motors

None

None

9 1000 Experimental Electrics

None