Wiki

trigger · is_researching_technology

Definition

  • Supported scope:COUNTRY
  • Supported target:none

Description

Checks if the country is currently researching a specific technology.
Example: is_researching_technology = mechanised_infantry

Hands-On Notes

Hands-on notes are AI-generated and checked against the vanilla command vocabulary — treat them as a starting point, not authoritative reference. The definition above is the game's own documentation.

Hands-On Usage

is_researching_technology is commonly used to dynamically unlock decisions, trigger events, or grant rewards while a particular technology is being researched. For example, you can pop an intelligence event or accelerate research progress when a nation is researching a specific tank technology. It can also be used in the limit block of AI strategies to prevent the AI from repeatedly triggering research-related behaviors.

# Only allow activating a specific decision when the country is researching mechanised infantry
available = {
    is_researching_technology = mechanised_infantry
}

Synergy

  • [can_research](/wiki/trigger/can_research): First use can_research to confirm whether the technology is legally researchable, then use is_researching_technology to confirm whether it's already in the queue. Using both together avoids logical gaps.
  • [add_tech_bonus](/wiki/effect/add_tech_bonus): Award research bonuses while research is in progress, using is_researching_technology as the trigger condition to implement the "add buff during research" design pattern.
  • [has_completed_focus](/wiki/trigger/has_completed_focus): A common combination is to first check if a certain national focus is completed, then check whether the corresponding technology is being researched, creating hierarchical unlock conditions.
  • [amount_research_slots](/wiki/trigger/amount_research_slots): Use alongside research slot quantity conditions to ensure the nation triggers relevant rewards or events only when resources are sufficient.

Common Pitfalls

  1. Using it as "already researched": is_researching_technology only checks if a technology is currently being researched (i.e., occupying a research slot), not whether it has been fully unlocked. To determine if a technology has been completed, use has_tech instead (note: has_tech is not on this scope's whitelist, but it is a built-in game trigger—do not confuse it with this trigger).
  2. Incorrect technology key: The technology name must exactly match the token defined in the technologies folder (case-sensitive). Using display names or localization strings will cause the condition to always return false without error, making it extremely difficult to debug.