In order to make your empire stronger you will want to research essential technologies. Research is performed at the Research Core. Only one technology can be researched at a time. To research a technology, select any research core and click on the technology you wish to research in the information panel.

Each Research Core produces research points that can be applied to a particular technology. All the Research Core's that you build will combine their output to allow you to research faster. Each higher level of research in a given technology will require more research points to complete than the previous level.

By clicking on the Enhance button for each Research Core you can speed up research by 50%. Larger and more powerful units require significantly more energy than the simple machine gun assault vehicles. Researching Energy Technology is necessary for almost all advanced unit construction. Larger units with heavier weapons will require the highest levels of research. Researching Cannon Technology is required for the construction of any ballistic cannon weapons. Cannon Technology also forms a basis for the more advanced plasma weapons. Focused beams of light have great potential as weapons in both planet and space battlefields. Researching Laser Technology is required for the construction of any blaster weapons. Laser Technology also forms a basis for the more advanced beam weapons. Focused beams of energy emit significantly higher power levels and therefore more destructive power over Lasers. These increased power levels make them formidable in both air and ground battles. Researching Beam Technology is required for the construction of any beam weapons. The fourth state of matter provides an excellent way to push a ball of destructive energy toward a target. Researching Plasma Technology is required for the construction of any plasma based weapons. Larger ships require more thrust to attain battle speeds and therefore require more research into Propulsion Technology. Movement of metal and wheels on a planets surface gets harder with larger vehicles. More research into Mechanical Technology is required for larger and heavier tanks. Increased research in the field of Weapon Technology allows for better targeting and accuracy of weapons. This allows weapons to better target weak points in enemy armor. Each level of Weapon Technology you research will add +1 to damage for all weapons on all your units and structures. Increased research in the field of Armor Technology allows for better armor quality for your units. Each level of Armor Technology you research will subtract 1 from damage done to any of your units. Moving between systems requires your ships to cross large distances of space. A minimum one level of Warp Technology is required to allow your ships to move between systems. Increased research in the field of Warp Technology will increase the speed of your ships warping between systems by 2% per level. The command computer requires extensive processing for each base location. Increased research in the field of Expansion Technology allows the command processor to handle the necessary information for an additional base location. Each level of Expansion Technology you research will allow you to start a new base on another planet. The number of bases you can have is equal to the level of Expansion Technology + 1 (for your initial base). For example if you have researched 2 levels of Expansion Technology you can have a maximum of 3 bases.

See Starting A Base for more information on starting a new base location.

Increases in techniques can speed up construction significantly. Each level of Construction Technology you research allows you to build structures 2% faster. The ability to sustain an energy field supporting nano-repair is a scientific marvel. Each level of Repair Technology you research increases the rate you repair buildings and structures by 1 point per second. Scientists have long sought the ability to make structures and units blend with their surroundings. This research allows you to utilize a cloaking field generated by a cloaking tower to shield your base from prying eyes. Each level of Cloaking Technology allows you to build another Cloaking tower to cover more of your base in a cloaking field. How many engineers does it take to screw in a light bulb? Far less than the number needed to design a custom unit. Each level of Engineering Technology allows you to store another custom unit plan. Any computer that uses signals can be scrambled somehow. The navigation gear on space vessels is no different. This technology allows you to scramble the navigation gear on a ship landing within range of one of your Scrambling Towers and re-direct it to a location of your choice. Each level of this technology allows you to build another Scrambling Tower, protecting more of your base from invasion. The more locations your miner stores to mine at once the more processing power is needed. Each level of this technology allows you to queue up another block to be mined by your miners. Energy weapons are among the most powerful ever created, shield technology helps to protect you from them. Research this technology to increase the rate at which your shields regenerate.