Initial Colonization Tech Research

[Cauldyth]

Starting a new game as the Ketarovs, a marshy-planet-loving race of giant space-weasel-bears, the first HighTech & Industrial tech that the automation invariably chooses to research is Marshy Swamp Colonization. Apart from opening up Ocean Colonization later, is there any reason a race that already loves Marshy Swamp worlds should research this tech? Seems like the automation should choose something like Continental Colonization instead, unless I'm missing something.

[Gelatinous Cube]

I've been hoping someone would ask this question, because I just figured that out earlier today.

A race can only live on a planet that is its native type, or that the empire they belong to has researched. So, as Keterovs, you don't need the tech to live on Marshy Swamp planets. But if you conquer some Gizureans who live on a Volcanic planet, they won't be able to emigrate to your Marshy Swamp worlds until you've researched it.

So, it's good to research all the techs. Especially if you plan on having a multi-racial empire.

[Cauldyth]

Ah, thanks. So it's useful to have, but probably down the road a bit, not right at the beginning.

[Erik Rutins]

Basically, you know how to live on your native planet type, but you can't teach other species how to do so until you've research the necessary tech for that planet type.

Regards,

- Erik

[mikeCK]

Is this why I can't build colony ships to colonize a continental world nearby? I'm human and just starting out. Trying to figure out if its that or an inability to build the size ship required.

[LoBaron]

No, there must be another reason mikeCK.

To elaborate on what Eric said:

Every race has a default colonization skill (as opposed to "tech"), e.g. continental, that enables you to colonize
all continental planets without researching the technology required.
But as it is no tech, there exists no recipie in your empire how to survive in such an enviroment in case you
are not from the starting species, and so need help from technology to survive there.

So lets say you colonized a planet with a native population living on a desert planet. This planet will be
unable to build a colony ship for continental colonization unless your empire has researched the respective tech,
even if your homeworld is already perfectly able to do so. OTOH that species will propably be able to send colony
ships to desert planets even if you do not own the tech and so your homeworld cannot.

Only after the tech has been researched all planets in your empire - independent of species - are able to build the
colonization ships for that specific planet type.