To research new technologies, the operation of a research station is necessary. The upgrade level of a research station is crucial for how quickly a new technology can be researched. The higher the level of the lab, the more new technologies can be researched. To complete research work as quickly as possible, when researching on a planet, all available researchers are automatically sent to this research station and are therefore no longer available on other planets. Once a technology has been researched, the researchers return to their home planets and bring the knowledge with them. This way, the technology can be used on all one's planets.

With the Intergalactic Research Network (Intergalaktisches Forschungsnetzwerk), research laboratories on different planets can be interconnected to shorten research time. The laboratories with the highest upgrade levels are always connected. However, the required upgrade level of a laboratory for the desired research is still a prerequisite. For the calculation of the research time, the levels of all interconnected laboratories are added and considered as one large research laboratory.

The research time is calculated from the amount of the required resources Metal and Crystal. Deuterium is not relevant for research time. The formula for calculating the research time is:

Time in seconds:
= ROUND DOWN((Met + Kris) / (1000 * (1 + Laboratory Level)) * 3600 - 1)
Time in days:
= ROUND DOWN((Met + Kris) / (1000 * (1 + Laboratory Level)) * 3600 - 1) / 86400
In Speed universes, divide by the universe's speed factor before rounding.

Note that the effective laboratory level can be much higher than the highest single laboratory due to the Intergalactic Research Network.

In spreadsheet calculations (e.g., Excel), the following formula sometimes delivers more accurate results by a second:

Time in days:
= ((Met + Kris) / (1000 * (1 + Laboratory Level)) * 3600 - 1) / 86400 – ( 0.5 / (24 * 60 * 60) )

The second bracket describes the half second; this way, for example, in Excel, you get the correct values because Excel always rounds time data and does not round down.

• Research applies to the entire account, meaning what has been researched once is available on every planet, although only one research can be carried out at a time on an account. With the Intergalactic Research Network, however, the research can be accelerated. For this purpose, it makes sense to build the research laboratory on several planets.
• As long as research is being carried out, no research laboratory can be built on any planet.
• As long as any research laboratory is being built, research cannot be carried out anywhere.
• Research orders can be canceled prematurely at any time and thus also serve as a way to save resources.

• Research
• Economics: Research Laboratory and Intergalactic Research Network