Investigation

The tier-2 tree gates the Meteorite-related content, the late-game oxygen kit, and the entire power system. Research is paid for by a Towny town, not a Company — so it's a shared, town-wide effort.

Who can start an investigation

• The mayor of a Towny town, or a resident with the "assistant" town rank.
• Any other resident cannot start research.
• You must be in a town. Townless players cannot use the system at all.

Open the menu

Funding and cost

• The investigation cost is withdrawn from the town's bank account via the Towny economy API. If the town can't cover it, the investigation won't start.
• Some investigations also require materials from the actor's inventory (typically Lunarite Ingots). Materials are consumed only after the bank withdrawal succeeds.

Active investigation

• A town can only run one investigation at a time. Other entries in the menu stay locked until the current one finishes or is cancelled.
• Investigations run on a real-time timer (short / medium / long durations, configurable). When the timer elapses, the item is added to the town's "investigated" list the next time the menu is opened (or a related check runs).

The research trees

There are two prerequisite trees plus a few standalone unlocks. A node can only be researched once its parent is unlocked.

Meteorite / oxygen branch root: Tier 2 Rocket — Lower

Tier 2 Rocket - Lower
 ├─ Tier 2 Rocket - Middle
 │    ├─ Tier 2 Rocket - Upper ── Tier 2 Rocket - Booster
 │    └─ Tier 2 Launch Pad
 ├─ Tier 2 Trading Server ── Biofuel Generator ── Oxygenator ── Oxygen Distributor
 └─ Biofuel ── Oxygen Tank

Power branch root: Solar Panel

Solar Panel
 ├─ Wind Turbine
 ├─ Coal Generator
 │    ├─ Electric Furnace
 │    └─ Power Cell I ── Power Cell II ── Power Cell III
 └─ Oil Pump
      ├─ Oil Storage
      ├─ Water Pump
      └─ Oil Refinery ── Fuel Storage
                          ├─ Combustion Generator ── Anti-Missile System
                          └─ Fuel Pump

Standalone (no prerequisite, but still require their own research): Electric Market Distributor, Oil Market Distributor, Market Buyer.

Effect on gameplay

• Placing a gated machine (any power machine, Biofuel Generator, Oxygenator, Oxygen Tank, Oxygen Distributor, Tier 2 Launch Pad, etc.) without the unlock is rejected with an "investigation blocked" message.
• Tier-2 recipes that produce craftable items behave the same way — you can hold an unfinished blueprint, but crafting/placement is gated.

Admin override

Staff can force-complete a town's current investigation with /investigate finish <town>.