There should be a possibility to interrupt a research for more important tech or if you cannot create the needed items (I think in most cases science pack 3, the blue ones).
But on the other side it should not be THAT easy, cause it is an important part of the game to plan the research.
So I want to introduce the Research-Center.
I think this should be a special ability ... that needs to be - uhm - also researched.
This is how it works:
- Research "Advanced Research"
- Enables a new building "Research-Center"
If you build this Research-Center and place it and power it, it works, like if you have a second research-bar with a second progress-meter.
- The tech-screen works as before, but you need to assign the research either to your "personal research-center" (= like now) or if it is researched in one of you built Research-Centers (and which one)
- If you assign to your "personal research-center" (the known method), it will override all Research-Centers, see down!
- you can also control the research centers from the tech-screen (and/or research bar?)
- Every Research-Center can be instructed to research one technology.
- That tech can be deep in the research tree, but will be researched automatic, like with crafting, it will then research the previous techs needed.
- The Research-Center delegates the research to the labs (like now)
For the labs it works so:
- If a lab creates one research point for that tech, that point is "transfered" (invisble) to the Research-Center and then the lab waits for the next instruction.
- For multiple Research-Centers the Lab changes the Research-Center after each research point.
And the Research works so:
- The assigned research-center collects the research points. There is no magic, this works identical to now.
- You can pause a Research-Center. The labs work to the end, research is assigned.
- You can pause or interrupt them by researching own tech (see above, tech-screen).
- If you choose to pause when researching own, see above points.
- If you interrupt (= stop!) them, all assigned labs stop the current research (progress for this research point gets lost, think this is fair). You need this, when you have for example no blue potion and want to research a simple thing first, to stop the labs waiting for that.
- You can reset a Research-Center, then all current research for this Research-Center is canceled and the unfinished research points get lost. But you don't loose the meanwhile achieved research-points for that tech!
So in endeffect you can do the following things:
- research "in a row": You want to rush for logistic bots? Just click on them, assign it to a Research-Center, the needed research is done "from left to right".
- Research two things at once (but with half speed of course)
- interrupt the Research-Center with your immediate needs.
- Pause/stop/reset a Research-Center, if you are low on resources. But you still can do the low-cost research.
I think this can also be implemented as mod.