Universal Socio-Industrial Level Rating

(Redirected from USIIR)

The Universal Socio-Industrial Level Rating (USILR or Socio-Industrial Level) is a five-letter code used to provide general statistics regarding a settled world.[1]

Code Explained[edit]

The system is rated with the five letter codes A - F (minus E), with rare but allowable exceptions for Technical Sophistication, above and below the letter codes. The displayed codes, in order, describe the condition of the world in five specific categories: Technological Sophistication, Industrial Development, Raw Material Dependence, Industrial Output and Agricultural Dependence, all relative to the population currently present at the time of the rating's application.[2]

The ratings can be summed up in the following chart:[3]

Rating Technological Sophistication Industrial Development Raw Material Dependence Industrial Output Agricultural Dependence
Advanced Ultra-Tech - - - -
A High-tech world Heavily industrialized Fully self-sufficient High Output Breadbasket
B Advanced world Moderately industrialized Mostly self-sufficient Good output Abundant world
C Moderately advanced world Basic heavy industry Self-sustaining Limited output Modest agriculture
D Lower-tech world Low industrialization Dependent Negligible output Poor agriculture
F Primitive world No industrialization Heavily dependent No output "Barren" world
Regressed Pre–twentieth century - - - -

Comparison[edit]

While there may be some similarities between the Technological Sophistication and Industrial Development categories and the Industrial Development and Industrial Output categories, they each detail very different information. For the former, Technological Sophistication informs upon the general level of common technology present amongst the population of the settled world, without applying that directly to the industrial complexes present (if any), which is handled by the Industrial Development category. Likewise, in the latter comparison, while Industrial Development explains the level of development of the average industrial complex, it is Industrial Output that provides a general quantity figure, describing the number of factories actually present upon the world, without commenting on the level of sophistication.[4]

Notes[edit]

  • The USILR replaces the previous Universal Socio-Industrial Index Rating (USIIR). The codes from the previous system are still applicable, whereas the present system allows for the rating of inhabited systems that have risen above the Technological Sophistication rating of A or fallen below that of F.

References[edit]

  1. Campaign Operations, p. 122, "Colony Creation"
  2. Campaign Operations, pp. 122-129, "Step 2: USILR Codes"
  3. Campaign Operations, p. 126, "USILR Table"
  4. Handbook: House Steiner, p.71, "Universal Socio-Industrial Level Reference Table"

Bibliography[edit]