Tell me about the Research Bonuses

[Sigma]

I'm asking about the Techcost and Research Modifiers. How do values entered for them compare with simply adding +Research as a social modifier?

[Yitzi]

The only real difference between the techcost modifier from alphax.txt and the faction-based techcost modifiers (called research modifiers in the faction editor) is that techcost affects everyone whereas the research modifier affects only one faction.  But I'm pretty sure that giving 50% techcost modifier to everyone is exactly the same as a techcost modifier of 50%.  (They might handle rounding differently, but that's it.)

There are, however, a few significant differences between a research modifier and +RESEARCH as a social modifier:
-If you start with -RESEARCH, you don't get any tech points until turn 10.  A techcost modifier over 100% has no such effect.
-Modifiers due to SE RESEARCH can only range from +50% to -50%, and only increments of 10%.  Techcost modifiers are more versatile.
-Any social modifier, including RESEARCH, counts as one of your 8 "standard" faction effects.  Techcost modifiers do not count toward the 8.
-A faction bonus or penalty to research affects the costs of technologies, essentially giving +1 or -1 to your "techs already discovered" value in one of the places in the formula that it shows up.  Techcost modifiers don't do this.
-If you run an SE choice that affects RESEARCH, such as fundamentalist or knowledge, this is added to your faction RESEARCH bonus but the effects do not affect each other; for techcost modifiers, they do. 
For example, -2 RESEARCH and 125% tech cost have the same effect (discounting the things listed above) of taking 1.25 times as slow to research things.  However, if you run Fundamentalist on top of each of those, the -2 RESEARCH becomes -4 research for 1.66... times as slow to research things, whereas the 125% tech cost becomes 125% tech cost and -2 research for 1.25X1.25=1.5625 times as slow to research things, a bit faster.  Conversely, if you run Knowledge, the -2 research is cancelled out for normal research speed, whereas 125% tech cost becomes 1.25/1.2=1.041666... times as slow to research things, a bit slower.  (Boosts work in the opposite direction; Fundamentalist will be more harmful, and Knowledge more beneficial, with a techcost-based boost.)

[Dio]

TECHCOST, n with n= a number between 0 and some very high integer.
It increases or decreases by a percentage the tech cost to discover a new technology. In reality this means that you need to accumulate more research points to discover a new technology. For example, TECHCOST, 75 would cause the faction's tech cost to be 75% of normal.

RESEARCH, # with # = a integer value
The Faction Bonus RESEARCH, # gives an additional + or - # labs to each base controlled by the faction. This bonus is added to the starting lab score while determining the bonus from facilities like Network Nodes even though RESEARCH appears under the bonus category. For example, a base with a Network Node controlled by a faction with RESEARCH, 2, and with 4 Labs from energy production would have a net total of 9 labs output instead of 8 labs output.

SOCIAL, RESEARCH: + and - effects
This catergory effect multiplies your Tech per Turn by a percentage equal to the SOCIAL RESEARCH score times 10 and then adds/subtracts that product from your Tech Per Turn. In addition, starting the game with a postive research score decreases the starting tech cost for discovering a new technology. On the other side, starting a game with negative SOCIAL RESEARCH score not only increases the inital tech cost for discovering a new technology, but also causes you to not accumulate tech per turn for x times 5 years. The value of x equals the Social Research Penalty. For example, a starting value of SOCIAL, RESEARCH -3 would cause a faction to not accumulate any of their tech per turn for 15 Mission Years.

TECHCOST and SOCIAL Research effects can be tracked by looking at the F2 Laboratory Summary screen during gameplay under "Tech Cost", "Accumulated Tech", and "Tech Per Turn". Tech per turn is the sum total of all your bases labs output. Tech per Turn is normally added to Accumulated Research barring specific circumstances. Once the Accumulated Research score exceeds Tech Cost you will make a breakthrough the following turn.

[Sigma]

Hmm okay, I think I understand.

The reason I ask is because I'm updating some of my Factions, and I'm considering giving one of them RESEARCH# and I wanted to know what sort of effect that would have. I've never used RESEARCH# before, so I'm wondering what kind of number would be reasonable as a bonus. Moreover, I'm curious as to how RESEARCH# and SE RESEARCH interact with one another.