what does research stations do for me?

[Lazytophat]

so i know they give me the resources for the science thing but what does that do?

[Zsrai]

The more "resources for the science thing" you have, the faster you research that type of research. They speed up your research. They, and science labs on planets, are good to have.

[Zethril]

Research is critical. You need it to fight. Or even as a pacifist you need it to at least look tough so you don't get walked on and attract stronger allies. Let alone expanding too...

[happyscrub]

Originally posted by Zethril:

Research is critical. You need it to fight. Or even as a pacifist you need it to at least look tough so you don't get walked on and attract stronger allies. Let alone expanding too...

Not really. You can ignore research and mass a giant fleet to defeat better tech empires.... then scan the debris to get the military tech they have for free.

Completely broken mechanic.

[corisai]

Originally posted by happyscrub:

Not really. You can ignore research and mass a giant fleet to defeat better tech empires.... then scan the debris to get the military tech they have for free.

Completely broken mechanic.

Not broken, it's just another game strategy.

To do so you need choise right tech for research, prioritising advancing buildings to increase own income, then directly boosting your fleets technology (you can't get global and industrial technologies from salvage).

Plus wrecks don't give technology instantly to you, in fact you will need a lot of wrecks to fully research tech via them.