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I do well in most other 4x RTS type games, but there's still one part that escapes me in this. Research; can someone explain it to me like you would to a toddler? So there's maximum potential and then the output. Does this mean I have to build whatever specific research station until that number is as close to the potential as possible? I have to resort to stealing tech later on because I lag so far behind in it.

I guess what I'm really asking is, how do I make my output match my potential? If I build more research stations it doesn't really raise the output.

Best I can tell: Your actual research totals up to the empire potential in the upper left, whereas the maximum potential is the amount of research your stations can actually dish out. I, like many others, just make a super research station....At the start, you can cram about 8 of each into one station if you put some defenses on it. If you drop it near a black hole, it gets you a potential of about 250 in each category, which would mean you'd need an empire potential of roughly 1000 to need a second station.
Later on, you might get colonies that double your effect in certain fields; those seem to only count their undoubled rating towards the empire potential (which is as it should be).



K

Hmm, okay. So by massing 8 stations you mean 8 of each (i.e. weapons, energy, etc.) right?

Actual research increase as your Empire strategic value increase. As for massing station : design a starbase with all research labs on it; it's less expensive to have and more efficient. The only issue with them though is they can't be upgraded; you have to scrap and rebuild them each time you want to update them.

I personally build several research stations regardless. In my current game, my research output is about half my maximum and all my spaceports have research labs on them, clearly beat the output of a single mega research starbase. Of course, in that game my empire has over 100 colonies...

There are many ways to deal with research, but I think you are asking what exactly all the stuff on the screen means, so see below [;)]

Ahhh, thanks guys. Makes much more sense now. [&o]

That picture really helps too, thanks. I finally played a game where I got a decent amount of research from non-stealing tech.

Alright, seem i learned something from this too... Thanks Woodman.

Excellent illustration and narrative Woodman. Helps us noobs greatly! [&o]

Very well done woodman. I cant wait until they come out with the "Modder's Patch" and, amongst other things, we can edit the Galactopedia with cool information breakdowns and info!

No prob glad to help [;)] I think all that is explained in one of the tutorials, but without the picture, I can't remember its been long since I did them.

A couple of things I forgot to mention in the diagram but I'm sure are already known by most players anyway

To crash Research costs a fixed sum of money, you get the option to turn down the crash research after you have seen the cost, for a long time I didn't realise this because first there is a window that tells you it will cost, but doesn't tell you how much, I feared losing all my cash so always said no, but if you click yes it then tells you the amount and you get a chance to say no again [:D]

and the total Empire potential in the top left is not only decided by the Empire population, as shown government style and any race bonus also make a difference, but I'm also pretty sure the intelligence of your race makes a difference too.  So the above picture has quite a good amount because Humans get a 15% bonus and Republic gets a 25% bonus and also Humans are Quite Intelligent, which I think gives them more than for example the Teekan who are Stupid, don't get a bonus for Merch Guild and also don't have a race bonus for Research like Humans either [;)]

Edit: Confirmed that Intelligence does affect the Research, its mentioned in the old Introduction to Alien Races thread.

ORIGINAL: WoodMan

No prob glad to help [;)] I think all that is explained in one of the tutorials, but without the picture, I can't remember its been long since I did them.

It is all explained, but info is split up between the galactopedia and the pdf manual, if I remember correctly. Your graphic is much clear than just plain text in my opinion [:)]

I haven't understood very well the purple bars explanation. AFAIK if you have researched a component wich requires 100k and now the new component requires 180k, the the maximun value that the purple bar is going to reach is the difference between them, in this case 80k. When there are 40k investigated towards the new component it will be at the middle.

If the new component needs 150k for example, and you have researched 40k the bar is going to be almost at the end.

by3z!

When you get a new component from Research the purple bar goes back to the far left.  It's simply a % indicator, the number I only assume is what I mentioned above, it seems this way from my experience, but I could be wrong.

AFAIK you are correct, Woodman.

I don't want to sound tedious, I wish I had an explanation like your image when I started to play the game. The galactopedia doesn't explain very well the research screen and you have done a good work.

It's just the sentence "If it was a component that required less research the bar would still be at the same place..." which I don't agree with.

If your current component is Tech: 100k,
your next component is Tech: 200k,
and you have researched 50k towards the next component,
the number is going to be 50k
and the purple bar is going to be exactly at the middle, 50%.


If your current component is Tech: 100k,
your next component is Tech: 160k,
and you have researched 50k towards the next component,
the number is going to be 50k
but the purple bar is going to be almost at the end, 83%.

So if a component requires less research the bar is not going to be at the same place.


"...but the number would be smaller to indicate that less actual research had been used here"

The number is directly how much research have been done from your current component towards the new one. The maximum this number can reach is the diference between them (New Tech:'Value' - Current Tech:'Value'), which is 100% of the purple bar.


by3z!

Yeah, I hear you b0mber! Again, I cant wait until we can mod the galactopedia (and everything else for that matter).

You have to give them a little credit, though, they did TRY to give a decent explanation (at least more than most games). There is just SO MUCH to cover in Distant Worlds!

So to put it simply what you mean B0mber is that the purple bar lets you know how close you are to the next tech in %.  So in the above picture I have done 70% of the Research required for the Enhanced Recreation Center RC-200.  This bar resets all the way to the left once you aquire a new component and starts again for the next component.

The white number, in this case 40k is how much Research I have done in the Habitation category in total not for the Enhanced Recreation Center RC-200 alone.

Is that what you mean? 

ORIGINAL: WoodMan

So to put it simply what you mean B0mber is that the purple bar lets you know how close you are to the next tech in %. So in the above picture I have done 70% of the Research required for the Enhanced Recreation Center RC-200. This bar resets all the way to the left once you aquire a new component and starts again for the next component.

Yes.

ORIGINAL: WoodMan

The white number, in this case 40k is how much Research I have done in the Habitation category in total not for the Enhanced Recreation Center RC-200 alone.

Is set to zero every time you investigate a new component.

At your image Proton Thruster ZX-3 and Thrust Vector J3 (70k) are researched at Engine category, now heading to Quantum Engine. However the number is zero and it is going to increase until it reaches 15k. When the number is 10k the bar will be at 66%

ORIGINAL: the1sean

Yeah, I hear you b0mber! Again, I cant wait until we can mod the galactopedia (and everything else for that matter).

You have to give them a little credit, though, they did TRY to give a decent explanation (at least more than most games). There is just SO MUCH to cover in Distant Worlds!

It wasn't my intention to criticize the galactopedia I just used it to state that WoodMan's image was good.


by3z!

ORIGINAL: b0mber

ORIGINAL: the1sean

Yeah, I hear you b0mber! Again, I cant wait until we can mod the galactopedia (and everything else for that matter).

You have to give them a little credit, though, they did TRY to give a decent explanation (at least more than most games). There is just SO MUCH to cover in Distant Worlds!

It wasn't my intention to criticize the galactopedia I just used it to state that WoodMan's image was good.


by3z!

Oh, I totally understand. I just cant wait to see how the community will mod and spruce up the galactopedia

OK I don't know how to save a screen picture and post it here. Reference the 9/15/2010 post with the research picture and a description of what it means, here's what I'm not getting:

My "Total Empire Potential" is 601. Yet if I add the four actual output numbers they exceed 601. Also, I have "Maximum Potentials" of over 700 in each category, yet even though I've got a ton of reserach stations built where each column now totals at leat 400 each the numbers of "Actual Output" are around 240, 230, (I've colonized an energy and high nexus planet respectively) and just 180 and 190 from left to right. I'm missing something here.