Research
From Starport: Galactic Empires
The occupation of colonists can be set to research in the biodome management screen. Colonial researchers spend their time exploring their planet for special solutions to problems. The research team can work on Environmental Sciences, which helps slow pollution, or they can work on making discoveries.
Discoveries are bonusses that will remain with that colony forever. Each planet has its own, different set of discoveries, even if they're owned by the same character. The following list shows all the types of discoveries that can occur on a colony:
Research discoveries become a little more difficult to make the more discoveries a colony already has. Each type of discovery has 5 levels of upgrade, each counted separately towards the maximum number of discoveries a colony can have, which is 10. The directorship government increases research output 50%.
Making discoveries takes a bit of luck. You need to set your colonists to work on research, and then give them a day or two to come up with something. The more colonists working in research, the greater the chances of making a discovery with each passing hour. You cannot directly choose which type of discovery will come next, since it depends on what the colonists happen to discover about the natural resources of their particular planet.
Strip Mining
Increases Metal Ore harvest by around 35% per level.
Bacteria Farming
Increases Anaerobes harvest by around 35% per level.
Native Plants
Increases Medicine harvest by around 35% per level.
Geothermal Refrigeration
Increases Organics harvest by around 35% per level.
Drilling
Increases Oil harvest by around 35% per level.
Spectroscopes
Increases Uranium harvest by around 35% per level.
Advanced Engineering
Increases Equipment harvest by around 35% per level.
Spice Mining
Increases Spice harvest by around 35% per level.
Industrial Complex
Faster Flak & Laser Cannon production. Built rate of either turret in the colony weapons factory is increased by 35% per level.
Advanced Aerodynamics
Faster Missile production. Build rate for both Nukes and Negotiators is increased 35% per level.
Weather Prediction
Better reproduction. Population growth rate is increased by 0.2% per hour for each level of Weather Prediction.
Channel Descrambling
Improves morale. Morale change rate is increased by 0.36 points per hour for each level of Channel Descrambling.
Commodities Market
Liquidate resources for credits. Commodities market allows you to convert any resource on the planet into cash right from inside the colony!
Stock Market
Any money in the Treasury will be invested in the stock market, at an interest rate of 0.1% per hour for each level.
Military Tradition
Fewer colonists required for military. Military Tradition increases the fighting effectiveness of a colony's military workforce, so that a full 5,000 colonists do not have to be in the military to achieve 100% military strength. Each level of Military Tradition increases the defensive effectiveness of each colonist by 40%. This allows a military to be 100% effective with the following worforce:
| Military Tradition Level | Workforce |
| 0 | 5000 |
| 1 | 3571 |
| 2 | 2778 |
| 3 | 2272 |
| 4 | 1923 |
| 5 | 1667 |
This discovery does not affect weapons production rate.
Advanced Architecture
Increased construction output. This includes building entertainment
Things that affect research
According to starpedia, research is completely random. Since it reflects a planet's natural resources, there is no way colonists could afffect the discoveries they make.
It has been suggested that different governments, settings and the number of colonists involved in research have a certain effect, but no substantial evidence exists to back up this claim.
