Can research really be saved up?

[willgamer]

If you make research beakers, but don't spend all of them, they are saved and available on later turns.


[&:]
Is there any basis in reality for this?

Doesn't this more or less make the ramping up rules just tedium without real effect?

Would eliminating this help moderate the "super research" problems?

[Paul Vebber]

Yes, they can be saved.

But you can only "push a rope" so fast - so even if you commit large quantities to research, you are still limited by the per turn limits on each individual research project. 1 the first turn, 2 the next and 3 after that (modifed appropriately for being "over state of the art").

Other than "banking some" in anticipation of a turn you anticiate a lot of battle casualties or need a lot of supply to convert damaged infrastructure, I don't see any advantage in saving research.

I don't think anyone is exploiting "saving up" research as a means of conducting super research faster.

[VonTed]

Holy Smokes! You can bank reseach points like you can supplies?! This makes little sense but could be useful in the early game.

[5cats]

Lol! I find it infinitly more useful to bank Supplies and add research later!
Banking research is kinda wasteful, eh? Those supplies (that didn't get made because of the extra beakers) just might come in handy!

[dembe73]

Hi 5cats, it surely doesnt have to be wasteful. Given the fact that you try to keep the populations pools around 0 and there is only so much supply you need, especially in the start, it can be really handy to have a few points lying around. In the first turn where you can open a few new research project by investing 1, you probably want to add 2 to those projects in the next turn.

In the start of the game I hardly build any supply for WA, because they are on the defence. Meanwhile getting superior technology makes the endgame much easier.

[5cats]

True, but I seem to build at least some supply every turn. This is regardless of sides or date. With advanced supply on you're always short somewhere...
Thus for me if I build 2-3 'extra' supply one turn, I can build less next turn & make beakers then Running out of supply is a bad thing! While running out of beakers is just annoying!

[f15eagle]

The other thing I find helpful in the game is the ability to switch back and forth between production and research. Being able to produce research points, allocate them on the research screen, then switch back to production and create more if I need them really helps to maximize my research. If I have more than I can effectively spend, I just switch back to the production screen and cancel the research and convert it to something else. I can do the opposite if I need a few more research points to finish a tech. I just think it was a good design feature to allow you to optimize the production/research balance in that way.