THE TECHNOLOGY SCREEN (CONT.)

Acquiring New Technology: Technology can be acquired in several ways: resource points spent on technology research, stealing technology from other races, exchanging technology with other races, or finding remnants of technology from conquered enemy planets.

Review Technology: A list of advances acquired in each area of technology can be displayed by clicking on the respective button in the upper left corner of the screen. The button highlighted in red is currently active. The advances acquired in the active area are listed in the section below the buttons. Clicking on a particular technological advance will give a detailed description of that advance at the bottom of the screen.

Technology Ratio Bars: The technology ratio bars on the right allow you to divide up the total research points accumulated from all of your planets between the six areas of science. To adjust the current ratios, click the mouse icon on the appropriate bar position that you wish to change. The arrows at either end of the bar can be used for exact adjustments. The full length of the bar represents 100% of the total research points and the total allocations between all six sciences cannot exceed the 100% limit. Therefore, increasing allocations for one science will decrease the ratios for the other areas.

If you wish to lock an area so that it cannot be altered, press the ratio description to the left of the bar. This will change the description and bar colors to red signifying that you can no longer change that technology ratio bar. Press the description again to unlock the ratio bar.

Each device has a base research cost that must be spent before the device can be completed. The light bulbs by each technology bar show how close you are to reaching that cost by filling up. Each year you spend money on research after the light bulbs are filled, you get a chance, shown as a %, of your scientists completing that device. The % chance continues to go up as you continue to allocate research to that area, but stops entirely if you stop spending on that field.

Reduced Costs and Miniaturization: Advances in technology will reduce the cost and the size of technological devices. The higher your technology is above the minimum required level, the less it costs to build and the less space it takes on your ships. Although there are no new devices above the 50th level, you can still decrease the size and costs of producing existing technology.