[dogscoff]

Divide points evenly is less efficient that concentrated research (ie one project at a time).

Suppose you are earning 50k points per turn. You have four projects, each requiring 100k points.

With divide points evenly, you spend 12500 points per project per turn. After eight turns all four projects will complete.

With concentrated research, you pour 100k into project 1, then 100k into project 2 and so on until after eight turns you have completed all four projects.

On the surface of it, the two methods appear to be equal: four projects complete after eight turns. However, if you look more closely, you'll see that after turn two, on divide points equally I have exactly zero projects complete. I have four partially complete projects, which are pretty much useless if I want to use that technology NOW. What's more, as long as those projects are incomplete they are vulnerable to intel attacks. Best to get them out of the labs and into production asap.

On concentrated research, however, one of my projects completes on turn two. I can be using that new technology while the other 3 projects are cooking. On turn four I get tech 2, on turn 6 I get tech 3.

For this reason it is far better to have divide points switched off.