Research Constellation

Live 3.0: G1, G2, G3 and G4 use Research Points and the Research Constellation. Each galaxy has its own empire, balance and research levels.

Your research screen is a searchable list grouped into Defense, Raiding, Command, Logistics, Engineering, Commerce, Discovery, and Intrigue. Spend Research Points (RP) to develop your empire. These eight categories determine which completed tiers increase other-domain research costs. You can invest in every category without choosing an exclusive research focus.

Research category	Typical benefits
Defense	Armor, shields and defensive technology
Raiding	Weapons, missiles, Advanced Hyperdrive and combat recovery
Command	Fleet coordination
Logistics	Engines, cargo logistics and storage
Engineering	Power, production and manufacturing
Commerce	Resource recovery and production upgrades
Discovery	Station capacity, navigation and exploration
Intrigue	Espionage, counter-intelligence and reconnaissance

Earning points

Each level of a physical Research Lab produces 10 RP per hour. All your physical station labs contribute to one balance in the selected galaxy. Points continue accumulating while you are offline or on vacation. Universe speed does not multiply this rate.

In station-based galaxies, every station also produces a base 5 RP per hour, even with no lab. Your starting station earns this from joining; additional stations earn it from creation. Existing stations start earning the new base income when their research balance is first processed after the update, without retroactive income. Moons do not receive this station bonus. Abandoning a station stops its future base income; demolishing its lab does not.

The top-right balance shows whole RP, rounded down. Fractional points are still saved and accumulate normally. Your income appears below it as RP / hour.

Upgrading a lab does not stop its existing production. Its higher rate begins when the upgrade completes. Demolition and destruction remove only future production; points already earned remain yours.

For example, two stations with physical labs at levels 3 and 2 produce 50 RP/hour from labs plus 10 RP/hour station base income, for 60 RP/hour. Your balance belongs to your empire, not the selected station.

Unlocking and upgrading

Every technology is available from level 0, even when all your research levels are 0.
No other technology, Research Lab level, section threshold, or adjacent node is required to begin research.
Choose any technology for your first investment, or keep improving one you already own.
Each technology's level-one base RP price grows exponentially for each subsequent level using its configured growth factor; completed tiers in other domains can further raise the quote.
Purchases apply immediately. There is no research timer, resource payment or separate research queue.
Research has no prerequisites. Construction and mission requirements vary: most ships require only their Shipyard level, while some ships, facilities and missions also require named technologies. Check the specific item or mission.
Selecting a node only opens its details. The purchase button is a separate action.

After a confirmed investment, the panel updates your RP balance, research level, and bonuses. If the result is unconfirmed, use Retry unconfirmed purchase to check the same investment without spending twice. A rejected investment shows its reason.

Automatic investment

You can start funding any technology below its level cap, including one at level 0, even when you cannot afford its next level. Select it and choose Automatically invest RP. Your available RP goes toward that technology, and incoming RP is applied automatically, including while you are offline. Each galaxy can have one active automatic investment.

Automatically invest RP keeps funding successive levels until you stop, switch targets, or reach the supported level limit. There is no continuation checkbox.
Previously saved one-level investments still finish their next level and stop. Opening the screen does not change them. Choose Automatically invest RP on that same target to explicitly switch it to continuous funding.
While automatic investment is active, the top cancel: tech-name button shows the technology being funded. Click or tap it to cancel directly on desktop, tablet, or mobile, even when another technology is selected. It stops further funding after applying RP already earned; it does not open the technology's controls. Desktop and tablet no longer have a separate Stop button.
Canceling or switching preserves your completed levels and keeps unfinished RP saved on the original technology; it does not refund invested RP. Resume funding that technology later, or pay the remaining RP manually. Saved RP cannot fund another technology.
The progress bar shows funding toward the selected technology; the purchase button shows the RP still needed to finish that level.
The technology being automatically researched has a pulsing blue highlight in the list. Its row fills light blue as RP funds the next level. Stopping or switching removes the animation but keeps saved progress, including when you return to the screen. Desktop rows also show the funding percentage; on mobile, open the technology's details to inspect funding. Reduced-motion settings use a steady highlight instead.
A level grants its full bonus only when funding completes. Partial progress grants no partial bonus.

The server processes automatic investment every minute, and opening research catches up accrued RP. Your balance and research progress update automatically every 15 seconds while the screen is visible. Level bonuses begin when completion is processed; delayed processing does not retroactively change past production or battles. Research still respects supported level limits; no research path needs to be unlocked.

Other-domain tier contributions can change the current level's price until it completes. Saved RP offsets the new quote; excess saved funding returns to your available balance when you complete the level. Repeat mode recalculates the price after each completed level. Partial funding grants no tier or bonus until that level completes.

Research tiers and prices

Every technology reaches another tier at completed levels 5, 10, 15, and every fifth level thereafter. Each completed tier adds that technology's configured penalty to the RP price of technologies in other domains, never its own. The default is 5% per tier per technology. Contributions add rather than multiply: two tier-1 researches in Raiding add 10% to non-Raiding costs. First scale the level-one base RP price by the target technology's own growth factor to the power of (target level − 1), rounding up to whole RP; then apply the other-domain percentage penalty to that scaled base, rounding up again. For example, Energy Technology costs 5, 10, then 20 base RP at levels 1, 2, and 3 before any other-domain penalty.

Completed levels in your selected galaxy determine current tier contributions, not paid RP totals, profile values, queued levels or unfinished funding. Historical payments and conversion receipts are not repriced. The panel shows the tier, next milestone and current other-domain surcharge; completing a purchase rechecks its quote.

Bonus progression

Most bonuses start at level 0 with no effect. Level 1 grants the item's initial effect. For bonuses with tiered progression, levels 5/10/15 and every fifth level add another copy of that item's level-one amount to its tier base, then compound the bonus itself by 1% per later level: initial × (1 + floor(level / 5)) × 1.01^(level − 1). A 5% initial bonus is about 5.15% at level 4 and 10.41% at level 5. Percentage reductions grow the discount rather than compounding the remaining cost; listed caps still apply. Internal percentage values retain two decimal places and display truncates decimals.

Rounded whole-number effects follow their own level-one base and round the tiered result to the nearest whole number (.5 rounds up). Computer Technology's +2 fleet slots at level 1 becomes roughly +4 at level 5. Phalanx range is calculated per facility level before its final whole-number rounding. Frontier Exploration's extra sector-node bonus begins at level 2; its milestone remains level 5. Astrophysics station capacity is not tiered: your starting station counts, and every completed Astrophysics level unlocks exactly one more station. Its expedition and missile-range bonuses still round separately. One-time unlocks remain capped below tier 1.

Separate technologies still combine according to their affected system. Existing levels and assets remain intact; future benefits use the new calculation, while saved runs keep their launch-time snapshots. If an existing asset exceeds a changed capacity limit, it remains, but further expansion requires sufficient capacity.

There is no recurring respec in this release. Choose your purchases carefully.

Moving from old research

Existing research levels are reset when your universe converts. You receive:

A claimable metal, crystal and deuterium refund for the replacement value of the research levels removed, plus recorded payments on unfinished active research.
RP compensation using a published standardized research-time valuation, not a claim that every historical research timer was recorded exactly.
Credit for stored unused research-time entitlement and recorded progress on active research.

Research waiting to start has not paid resources and does not receive a resource refund. Previously canceled/refunded research and levels removed by earlier resets are not refunded again.

Conversion records and any unclaimed resource refunds remain stored. The selected-technology pane shows research effects and costs; it does not display conversion receipts or resource-refund controls.

If your empire was converted from old research, opening Research shows a conversion notice with a brief summary. Close it with Continue or Escape to keep seeing it on later visits, including reopening the mobile Research tab. To stop those reminders, check I acknowledge this research conversion notice at the bottom left and wait for the saved confirmation. If saving fails, the checkbox reverts and you can retry. Acknowledging the notice does not claim or change your refund.

Research conversion preserves your ships and in-flight missions. The separate station conversion consolidated ordinary moons into their parent stations while retaining their assets and history. If a construction item or mission specifically lists a technology requirement, you may need to rebuild that level before using it.

Browsing research

Use the search box to find a technology by name or description. Select a row to inspect its effects, price, and eligibility before investing. There is no map mode, panning, or zooming.

On mobile, all eight categories start collapsed. Tap a category heading to browse its technologies. Compact rows show the technology name with its RP price and level on the right, without separate Owned or saved-percentage labels. Tap a technology to open its details and investment controls in a panel rising from the bottom of the screen to just below the navigation tabs, like Build. Selecting a row never starts research by itself.

The desktop details column shows completed base-RP investment in all eight categories and a descriptive player archetype. Mobile hides the archetype and bar chart. The profile valuation is not a payment record and does not determine tier pricing. See Research Profile.

Strategy tips

Upgrade affordable physical labs for dependable RP income.
Compare completed tiers and the quoted other-domain surcharge before investing.
Select a technology for its useful unlock or next bonus; there is no entry-technology prerequisite.