Skunk Works.

[BrowneHawk]

I have over 100 hours in and still not quite sure how useful these are. So i know the basics that it unlocks the next tech slot and building multiple gives a boost to global research and has a monthly production of 1 gear thing.

Go to is to build one right away, but then what? Ideally how many of these do you want to have? Currently have 5 operating in 2034. How do I know if I have enough or too little?

Do these offer some other type of benefits?

[Sinsling]

they make you finish your faction projects faster, so decide if that is something you want.

also any hab with one of the dedicated research modules and project income lets you pick the +mining on one of the events.

[AytaL]

It's not bonus to global research but to your faction project.

For quantity it's up to you and the ressources you can funnel into it.

[ulzgoroth]

You know everything there is to know, for the most part. All that remains is to do the math.

Note: exception to that. There's an argument for putting a single Skunkworks on many of your habs, because it sometimes unlocks good event options. Additional note: do not put a Skunkworks in the Earth-Moon system, because enemy councilors will go there to mess with your research.


The math depends on your various budgets and available technologies and other investments. It's kinda complicated.

Mostly, I'd consider a skunkworks to be weighed against a research campus. A research campus gives you +100 research/month. A Skunkworks gives you +5% to your base project research. Both take 1 T2 slot and 30 power.

If you're doing 50% global and 50% faction research allocation, the Skunkworks gives you as much benefit to faction research when you hit 1000 research/month and as much benefit to total research when you hit 2000 research/month. Prior to those points, you'll gain more by adding a research campus.

A research campus has a much higher crew allocation and I think a higher money upkeep, though, so depending on where your shortfalls are it might not be a 1-1 tradeoff.

[Sinsling]

Originally posted by ulzgoroth:

You know everything there is to know, for the most part. All that remains is to do the math.

Note: exception to that. There's an argument for putting a single Skunkworks on many of your habs, because it sometimes unlocks good event options. Additional note: do not put a Skunkworks in the Earth-Moon system, because enemy councilors will go there to mess with your research.


The math depends on your various budgets and available technologies and other investments. It's kinda complicated.

Mostly, I'd consider a skunkworks to be weighed against a research campus. A research campus gives you +100 research/month. A Skunkworks gives you +5% to your base project research. Both take 1 T2 slot and 30 power.

If you're doing 50% global and 50% faction research allocation, the Skunkworks gives you as much benefit to faction research when you hit 1000 research/month and as much benefit to total research when you hit 2000 research/month. Prior to those points, you'll gain more by adding a research campus.

A research campus has a much higher crew allocation and I think a higher money upkeep, though, so depending on where your shortfalls are it might not be a 1-1 tradeoff.

personally i am more than happy to let the ai waste turns trying to mess with my projects on a space station. thats like 3 wasted turns minimum.

[ulzgoroth]

Originally posted by Sinsling:

personally i am more than happy to let the ai waste turns trying to mess with my projects on a space station. thats like 3 wasted turns minimum.

If they blow up 5000 points of my research, I'll have to start murdering people and not stop for a while.

Admittedly in my game that option is perpetually open because I've kept my Megastar for the entire duration.

[Asuzu]

Originally posted by BrowneHawk:

I have over 100 hours in and still not quite sure how useful these are. So i know the basics that it unlocks the next tech slot and building multiple gives a boost to global research and has a monthly production of 1 gear thing.

Go to is to build one right away, but then what? Ideally how many of these do you want to have? Currently have 5 operating in 2034. How do I know if I have enough or too little?

Do these offer some other type of benefits?

In general Skunkworks feel weak af.
Only good to dump those engineering orgs from your councilors to replace with mining % bonus ones.

Having them in earth orbit is pointless because they dont provide any bonuses in LEO like research stations. I usually slap 1-3 stations filled with them on Mars orbit to push 100%-ish bonus to engineering and forget about Skunk.

[BrowneHawk]

cool thanks guys

[Bahrman74]

It adds to all three of your projects and there isn't a point where their bonus starts to diminish. I love em, Rockin +90% to my projects from them now and will probably get more as I get more of the projects with 5 figure costs.

As for where I use em, I mix them and nanfactories on my Mercury mining habs.

[Galroche]

you'll want to spread them on your research generating station rather than having them stacked on the same. they allow you to unlock one event choice giving bonus to space mining and shipbuilding speed when the event trigger for that station.

[=(FGR)=Sentinel]

Originally posted by ulzgoroth:

Mostly, I'd consider a skunkworks to be weighed against a research campus. A research campus gives you +100 research/month. A Skunkworks gives you +5% to your base project research. Both take 1 T2 slot and 30 power.

If you're doing 50% global and 50% faction research allocation, the Skunkworks gives you as much benefit to faction research when you hit 1000 research/month and as much benefit to total research when you hit 2000 research/month. Prior to those points, you'll gain more by adding a research campus.

A research campus has a much higher crew allocation and I think a higher money upkeep, though, so depending on where your shortfalls are it might not be a 1-1 tradeoff.

To add to this, a Research Campus is better for if you're trying to dominate global research (which doesn't benefit from skunkworks) and a skunkworks is better for when you're just trying to push through faction research projects. A research campus will also benefit from advise council missions, meaning a solar-powered T3 hab with research academies in Mercury Orbit and a max science Councilor will likely provide more research than all but a fully democratic China and India.

[Asuzu]

Research campuses are my usual powerplay early game.
1) Max boost. Get USA + Kazakhstan. Gather each and every +boost org you can from the shop and by hostile takeovers.
2) Slap 1-2 bases on Moon to get basic resources so you can build in space instead of sending stuff from Earth to Mars.
3) Jam ALL your boost into Mars to settle all of it before AI even probes it. 16 sites x 10 boost each roughly 180 boost to settle all of it.
4) Mine it all, upgrade to t2, and spam research campuses all over Mars. Nets you around 14k research which is insane at this stage of the game.
5) Congrats, you are now the tech leader of the world and direct every research branch even at 1 pip priority.

When done, you can remove boost priority from all your countries, since future settling requires much less of it.

[marios.richards]

This, but take only the best 6 mining spots on Mars (I've blocked out all the noble metals*) -> then go to Mercury.

I got all 8 Mercury sites up with infrastructure and early Operations Centres to get 79MC asap at about the time Research Campus became available and then suddenly my research income doubles.

* Bonus satisfaction - control global techs just enough that Mission to the Asteroids never happens so my Resistance is literally sitting on the sole sources of noble metals.

[BrowneHawk]

excellent input my fellow Terra Invicta players. Thanks.