Research runs in the Research Lab and applies to your whole empire, not only to one planet. A level of Hull Plating strengthens every ship and every turret you own, on all colonies at once. That makes research one of the most valuable long-term investments in this space strategy game.
How research works
- Your empire researches one technology at a time, no matter how many planets you have.
- You start a research on a specific planet. That planet pays the cost, and its Research Lab level decides how fast the research runs. Every lab level adds the same amount of speed, so a level 3 lab researches twice as fast as a level 1 lab.
- Many technologies need a minimum Research Lab level on the planet you start from, for example level 6 for Deflector Theory and level 7 for Warp Theory.
- At equal Research Lab and Assembly Works levels, research takes two and a half times as long as a building of the same cost. As with buildings, only ferrite and crystal count for the duration, and all times scale with the universe speed.
- Most technologies double their cost with every level. Fleet Coordination triples it, Astro Cartography grows by 1.75.
- A running research can be cancelled for a full refund.
Every research card shows what the next level changes for your empire, for example the new drive speed or the new number of fleet slots.
Economy
- Energy Systems is the foundation for almost every other technology. Most research topics, the Habitat Ring and several defenses require it.
- Cargo Logistics adds 5 percent cargo capacity to all your ships per level.
- Extraction Lasers unlocks the Prospector for Mining.
Combat
- Pulse Optics adds 10 percent weapon damage per level.
- Deflector Theory strengthens shields by 10 percent per level.
- Hull Plating adds 10 percent hull integrity per level.
- Plasma Physics is the key to the strongest weapons: the Sovereign Dreadnought and the Plasma Lance require it.
The combat bonuses apply to ships and defenses alike (see Combat).
Drives
Every ship has one drive, and each drive research makes the ships that use it faster:
- Drift Drive, +10 percent speed per level: probes, haulers, freighters, interceptors, Prospector and Reclaimer.
- Ion Propulsion, +20 percent per level: Lancer Corvette, Warden Frigate and Seedship.
- Warp Theory, +30 percent per level: Bastion Cruiser and Sovereign Dreadnought.
A fleet always flies at the speed of its slowest ship (see Fleets).
Intelligence and expansion
- Deep Scan widens the sensor range around your colonies, so foreign fleets show up earlier. Each level adds a quarter of the starting range.
- Signal Masking makes foreign probes reveal less about your planets and raises the chance to detect and destroy them (see Espionage).
- Fleet Coordination allows one more fleet in flight per level, on top of the two base slots and your Fleet Command levels.
- Astro Cartography allows one more colony per level beyond your home world (see Colonies).
Tips
- Upgrade the Research Lab on one planet and start all your research there. Remember that this planet also pays the costs.
- Keep your scientists busy: an idle research slot is lost time for the whole empire.
- Energy Systems early pays off, because so many unlocks depend on it.
- Combat research protects everything you own at once. Even one level of Hull Plating makes all your defenses tougher.