[Behold the Void]

The problem with defining research is that it's intended to be open ended. Let me break it down as well as I can.

Initially, the idea was a basic, research academy would finish a level of research in as many seasons as the level of research. I believe the system will work a bit like this (I will go through and revise everyone's tech appropriately).

10,000=1 season per level.

Each doubling of the research facility size will knock a season off the research time, so...

20,000=2 seasons equivalent

40,000=3 seasons equivalent

And so on and so forth. This will probably be the standard I'll go with.

As far as what things can do, this is an idea of what they are:

Magitek: Magitek uses machines as a base and powers them with magic. It tends to use gemstones as focuses, and can be applied to any number of materials.

Steam Tech: Steam Tech is pure technology. Steam power provides an efficient energy source which can be used to power different functions.

As far as what you can research, the idea is that anything you can imagine you can potentially research, which is why there's a certain amount of ad hoc in the system. I want someone to be able to say "I want to make a 20 meter tall mecha that breathes fire and levels cities!" and I can respond with "Great! Start pumping money into Magitek 'cause you're gonna need it!"

Does that make any sense to you guys?