Editing Reasearch (section)

== Research Points ==
Each technology requires a number of Research Points (RP) to complete. These are obtained through active research projects, according to your [[Leaders|scientist's]] abilities and the number of [[Research Facility|labs]] assigned to the project. RP may also be obtained through [[Ruins]] and conquest.

The more advanced the technology is, the more RP a project requires and the longer it will take. However, there are ways to speed up RP gains.

=== Gaining RP with Research Facilities ===
The most basic way is to assign more [[Research Facility|Research Facilities]] to a project. Each additional lab increases RP gain by the base rate, which is shown at the top of the Current Research Project list. You start with 20 labs by default, though this can be changed at game creation, and more can be built in the Industry tab. Each lab costs 1200 Duranium and 1200 Mercassium.

You can also improve the output of each lab by researching "Research Rate ### RP". This increases the base annual RP per lab. Research Rate projects are listed under Construction/Production.

=== Gaining RP through Researcher Bonuses ===
Selecting a better researcher increases RP gain. Each scientist has:

* A specialization
* A bonus percentage
* A maximum number of labs they can manage

If a researcher works in their specialization, their bonus is ''quadrupled''. A 25% bonus becomes effectively 100% in-specialization.

Scientists can gain skills over time, increasing their bonus or max labs. It can be worthwhile to keep promising scientists active with a single lab to encourage growth.

A scientist’s specialization can be changed, but this cuts their bonus by 75% until they improve again.

=== Gaining RP through Ancient Constructs ===
[[Ancient Construct|Ancient Constructs]] occur on system bodies and are discovered during [[Survey#Geological Survey|Geological Surveys]]. After being [[Ruins#Study|studied]], they remain dormant until a colony of at least 1M population exists on the body.

Constructs provide a 10%–100% bonus in one research area if the research is done on that system body. They also provide one-tenth of that bonus empire-wide.

=== Gaining RP through Ruins ===
[[Ruins]] occur on system bodies and are discovered during [[Survey#Geological Survey|Geological Surveys]]. After being [[Ruins#Study|studied]], they can be excavated by construction units.

Excavated components can be [[Disassemble|disassembled]] for RP. Excavated installations may include associated tech data. Excavated [[Research Lab|Research Labs]] may contain any tech, including blueprints for advanced components or RP toward unresearched technologies.

=== Gaining RP through conquest ===
RP can also be gained by salvaging ship components from [[Ruins]] or [[Salvage|salvage]]. When transported to a planet with research facilities, components can be reverse engineered. Each component provides 1%–5% of the RP needed to advance to the next tech level.