Megaprojects
Megaprojects are one-time national investments — a space program, canal, mega-dam, high-speed rail, sovereign wealth fund or research hub — that pay off years later with permanent growth, prestige or income. You can only build one at a time.
How it works
Each project costs a percentage of your GDP up front (6–11%) and takes multiple years to complete (durations run from 3 to 5 years, at 48 ticks per year). You can only have one project active at once, and each project can be built only once, so choices matter.
On completion the project fires its payoff. Growth-boosters permanently add to your growth rate: the mega-dam gives the biggest single bump (+0.13), then research (+0.08), HSR (+0.07) and space (+0.05). Several also grant stability, approval, leader legitimacy, military tech, or an infrastructure budget shift.
Two projects pay a perpetual quarterly income instead: the canal (trade income coefficient +0.0003, plus an immediate treasury boost and better relations with neighbors) and the sovereign wealth fund (+0.0004). That income equals GDP × (canal + SWF coefficients) every cycle, so it scales with your economy and keeps compounding as you grow.
Formulas
income = GDP × (canalCoeff + swfCoeff), canal = 0.0003, SWF = 0.0004cost = GDP × 0.11, 5 years → +3 milTech, +6 approval, +6 legitimacy, +0.05 growthcost = GDP × 0.07, 4 years → +4% GDP treasury, +0.0003 trade income, +relationsdam: cost 0.06, 4y → +0.13 growth, +4 stability; HSR: cost 0.06, 3y → +0.07 growth, +5 stability, +4 approvalSWF: cost 0.10, 4y → +0.0004 fund income; Research: cost 0.08, 4y → +2 milTech, +0.08 growthKey numbers
How to play
- ▸Since only one runs at a time, sequence deliberately: an early income project (canal or SWF) compounds for the rest of the game, so it often pays to build it first.
- ▸For raw growth, the mega-dam (+0.13) is the strongest single boost and is cheap at 6% of GDP with a 4-year build.
- ▸Time expensive projects for when your treasury is healthy — the full cost is paid up front, and you can't start one you can't afford.
- ▸The space program is pricey (11% of GDP, 5 years) but bundles military tech, approval and legitimacy — value it for prestige and stability, not just growth.