Researching is one of Rail Nations key features. Without researching new upgrades and engines, you will fall behind your fellow players.
Your main resource for researching are the research points, generated by the Laboratory. If you want to know all the details to the Laboratory building itself, you can have a closer look at our Laboratory article.
On the right side of your screen, you will always find the Research button. Use it to open the research menu and have a look at the overview:
The Research menu will show you all the engines available for research in your current era as well as buttons for all the past and future eras. You can also see your available research points as well as the time needed to generate more of them.
To research a train & its upgrades, click on any train you like.
Further information, like the stats, cost & available upgrades will apear and you will be able to invest research points for the engine itself or any missing upgrades.
You are only able to put research points into an unlocked train. If you want to research locked engines, you need to resesearch the needed upgrades on its unlocked predecessor. The required upgrades are always marked with thick white arrows which are linked to the next engine.
Once you made your decision, you are ready to put some research points to work. Simply click on the engine or upgrade you want to research and accept the following dialog. Once you put all the needed research points into the engine or upgrade, its unlocked and ready to use. Make sure to install new upgrades manually after unlocking them.
The researcher can be found at the bottom right of your screen once you are inside the research menu:
The researcher increases the speed at which new research points are generated by 25 percent for the next 24 hours, once you unlocked it. You can hire him for 40 Gold. The Researcher is included in the plus account!
Make sure to follow these tips & tricks if you want to maximise your profits by using your research points:
- Dont research unnecessary engines & upgrades - these will just cost you valuable points which you might need later on. You can always invest some spare points later in the game once you have everything you needed.
- Make up a plan before researching - this way you will know beforehand what engines and upgrades you need and youwill not waste any points on unused engines & upgrades
- Always use your points - research points have a limit so make sure to use them frequently so that you always have space to generate new points
- Use your packages wisely - the Starter package and all the Era packages will fill up your research points once you purchased them. Make sure to use up all points before buying those, that way you dont waste a single point
- Dont waste your points before the next Era - sometimes its wise to stack some points shortly before the new era starts. That way you can get a kickstart on newly unlockable trains
- If you start late into the server, skip early Eras - starting the server when its already in a later era is hard enough, dont waste your precious research points on earlier eras with outdated engines. Always start by researching engines from the current era.
- Plus Account is usually better than just the researcher - think twice before you hire the researcher. Most of the time its abetter decision to get the Plus Account right away since the researcher is included. That way, you will save gold in the long run.
Now you are ready to plan out the next steps and research all the trains you want to. Have a look at our Engine Comparison Tables to compare all the ingame engines to get the most out of your valuable Research Points:
Go to the Passenger Engine Comparison
Go to the Cargo Engine Comparison