A research question

[Repo Man]

I never played SEIII, but the current research model is flawed. It makes absolutely no sense to divide points evenly, since the total time to obtain all the technologies in the queue is equal to the amount of time to research each tech sequentially. By devoting all research to one project at a time, you have the first tech much sooner, and the later techs at the same time as dividing equally.

It would make more sense to give some sort of bonus to tech for researching equally, or penalty for researching one item at a time. For example, if only one tech was researched, only 60% of total research points would be used, the remaining would be wasted. Two items could utilize 80% of all total research, wasting only 20%. However, each item would receive only 40% of the grand total. This would force players to choose between faster results or more efficient but slower multiple item research.

On a related note, it would be cool if a science pod were available for ships. These would be used for special assignments, such as researching black holes. Research points from these ships would be necessary for certain technology. It would also give an incentive to build massive research stations near black holes and other exotic locations, needing some sort of thrusters to keep them stable. These would make great targets in times of war. <evil grin>.