If I want to add a research item to the queue, it uses the scientist that is currently researching something. As in, I can't assign a different scientist to the research queue. Is this intended?
As far as I can tell, yes, it is working as intended. Projects in a queue are linked to a particular set of labs and the scientist using that set of labs. There is no way, to the best of my knowledge, to queue up scientists to take control of a particular set of labs as research projects are completed. If there
were such a way, Mr. Walmsley - the person writing this game - would need to take into account what happens if and when a researcher dies on the job. Would you really like to see a missile project being handled by, say, the biologist you have lined up for the next project, and
his project now scheduled to be researched by the sensor expert originally lined up for the project after that?
Another question, is it better to use all your labs on a single project, or spread the labs out amongst multiple projects? Which way is typically the most efficient?
That is an interesting question, as there is another item to take under consideration - improvements to your scientists. As any officer or scientist performs his or her job, there is a periodic check to see if the person gets a boost to the relevant skills being exercised; for scientists performing research, the improvements are generally in the form of higher research bonuses and greater number of labs that may be placed at their disposal. As such, it generally pays off to have as many scientists as possible performing simultaneous research, as they will all have the chance to improve their applicable bonuses. Your mileage may vary, of course, as there may be times when one simply
must have that shiny new sensor suite,
now!On a completely unrelated note, is there any particular reason that my quote blocks appear so ugly, with mangled URLs being displayed?