Technology is a crucial part of this game. It allows you superior fighting units, base infrastructure, terraforming options, and more. Any player that doesn't concentrate on researching new technologies will quickly be left behind.
Ways to gain technology
- Each faction begins with different technologies.
- Probe teams can still technology from other teams.
- Technology can be given or traded between factions.
- Technology can be researched.
How to research technology
The social engineering menu is where you determine what percentage of your turn's excess energy goes to researching new technology in your labs. The default is 50%. The more energy you produce and allocate for labs, the faster things get researched.
Building certain base facilities will increase the amount of energy sent to your labs from the bases they are built in. Certain Secret Projects will help your lab output as well.
Different factions have various research bonuses or penalties.
Your Political, Economic, Value, and Society choices you make in the social engineering menu will also affect your research rating.
Which technologies appear when its time to choose a research goal, is determined by a complex and rather ridiculous system. At the start, the position of the seven factions on the start menu, affects which techs will appear. Then it is determined by what other technologies you have. Not just which ones you need to have before it though, but a complex system of groups either designed to make things as random as possible or just drive people insane. A fan made spreadsheet exist to help determine the path. SMAC(X)_Technology_Choices_v1.07.zip You can view it with the freeware software Open Office found at: [1]
Base facilities
note: if you have 10 energy produced at your base, 50% is 5. Having a network node, research hospital, and a nanohospital, would give you 15 points total.
- Network Node = Labs + 50%
- Research Hospital = Labs + 50%
- Biology Lab gives you +2 research
- Nanohospital = Labs + 50%
Secret Projects
- The Supercollider doubles the research output at the base it is built at.