Research Capacity, Output, and Potential

[Euler]

I am trying to understand the numbers on the research page and determine whether or not I should build more research bases. Here is an example.

I am starting a new game as Quameno. I just built two Energy research stations and wonder if I should build more. The research summary page says my total research capacity in Energy is 240K, and Actual Output (including bonuses) is 706K. But my Total Empire Research Potential is only 527K.

Should I wait for my Research Potential to go above 706K before adding any more bases? Or can I still get more research output by building more bases. Which takes priority, the Total Empire Research Potential, or the Actual Output (including bonuses).

Here are my bonuses:
+50% from Technocracy government style
+40% from Quameno race

Your scientist Osu Zabros increases the research output of your empire by +20%
Energy Research: +40% from Sciibu Research Facility (+0% from location, +40% from scientists at location)

Thanks for any comments.

[Deathball]

From what I understand empire research potential is how much research your empire can do in total. Energy research capacity is how much of that can go to energy research, determined by the amount of energy labs you have. If you have more empire potential than weapons+energy+hightech potential or vice versa the surplus potential goes to waste. The actual output shows you the actually utilized research with all the bonuses applied. See also this thread: tm.asp?m=2988238

[Euler]

Ok thanks. So I just want to keep the sum of my Total Research Capacity (Weapons+Energy+HighTech) = Total Empire Research Potential. If one or the other is greater, then the difference is wasted. The "Actual Output" is what actually gets applied to my research after capacity and bonuses have been applied.

The other thread was very helpful as well, thanks!

The only thing that seems a little mysterious is the Total Empire Research Potential being somehow related to the "Strategic Value" of your empire. I note for example, my Research Potential going down at the beginning of the game, presumably because other empires are growing. Yet my empire is growing as well. It's not a big deal but seems counterintuitive that my research potential would be going down when my empire is growing exponentially at the beginning of the game (but so is everyone else).

Thanks!

[Fenrisfil]

I often get that early dip in potential. It is kind of annoying but it's never too dramatic.

On a side note don't forget to plan your bonuses. You only get the highest rated location for each field (with the scientists adding to the location they are at). A good tip is to put a couple of each type of lab on research stations rather then just having it filled up with one type (you can still put more of one type on, just make sure you have a couple of each of the others), that way you can gain both a location bonus and a bonus on all the stats a scientist has (providing you don't have another locations with a higher total bonus). That's also handy if you don't want to risk scientists in neutral territory locations, but still want their bonus to stack with at least one location. The best placement will vary with each game, but I find that adds a lot of flexibility.

Also don't bother building research stations where there are no bonuses, just add more labs to your capitals space port. It's cheaper, better defended and really hard to sabotage. The AI has to build extra bases to meet it's research potential (especially in pre-warp), but it doesn't have the luxury of editing designs to throw in more of what is needed.

There are arguments for building extra research stations where there are bonuses however (redundancy or blocking enemies building them), but personally I run with three research stations total and my main space port.

[CyclopsSlayer]

Warning; Math ahead...

See this page on the Wiki for the full explanations.
http://distant-worlds.wikispot.org/Research_and_Technology