Research at the University

Comrades, the colony that researches works smarter every day, while the colony that does not works as hard as it did on the first. In MineColonies, research is done at the University, and it improves everything: the skills of the citizens, the strength of the guards, the output of the workshops, and which buildings may be built at all. This lecture explains how research works.

The University

The University is a hut like any other: place it with the build tool, gather the materials and let the builder raise it. Its workers are researchers. Assign citizens to it in the hut's window. A citizen with a good mind for study makes a better researcher; the citizen's window shows their skills.

Like every hut, the University has levels. Higher levels open the deeper research, and give room for more researchers. Upgrade it as the colony grows.

The research window

Open the University's window and choose research. The research of MineColonies is arranged in branches, each a tree that starts with simple research and leads to greater:

• Civilian: the citizens themselves, their health, happiness, speed and learning, and the buildings of daily life.
• Combat: the guards, their weapons, armour and training, and the defence of the colony.
• Technology: the workshops and production, better tools, and the buildings of industry.

Each research shows what it needs before it can start:

• Earlier research in the same branch.
• A University level, and sometimes the level of another building.
• Materials, which are taken when the research starts.

and how long it takes. Once started, it goes on by itself while the researchers work, even when you are away. When it completes, its effect is permanent for the colony.

What research unlocks

Much of the colony's growth waits on research:

• New buildings. Some huts cannot be built until a research opens them. If the build tool or a hut's window tells you a building is locked, look in the research tree for the research that unlocks it.
• Better workers. Faster work, more output, workers who waste less.
• A safer colony. Stronger guards, better armour, more guards per tower.
• Healthier citizens. Better healing, better food.

The exact effects, costs and times differ between versions of MineColonies; the research window is always the authority, and your colony's own window shows which research is complete.

Choosing what to research

A University cannot study everything at once. Choose by the colony's need:

1. What holds you back? If raiders trouble you, begin in Combat. If builders are slow, look to Technology and Civilian.
2. What does the plan ask for? If the plan sets targets for goods a workshop makes, research that improves that workshop.
3. What opens the way? Research that unlocks buildings or deeper research is worth more than a small improvement.

Research is per colony

Each colony keeps its own research. What one colony has learned, another must learn again. This is why the Academy keeps a programme of research for the whole Commonwealth, so that colonies share the work instead of repeating it. That is the subject of my second lecture: /cw lecture research 2.

Knowledge in the colony

Two other huts serve learning. A library lets citizens study to raise their skills, and a school teaches the colony's children. A colony of learned citizens researches better and works better.

Questions: /cw ask research-director <question>. For the huts themselves, see the Professor of Architecture: /cw lecture architecture 1.