Is it worth neglecting one or more of the military development paths, missiles, fighters, shields, etc... early in the game?
Some of the military techs also boost the economy. Improved engines improve economic expansion. Improved armor increases the space available on ships for economic growth stuff. Improved shipyard construction reduces the time that overhauls take, making fleets more cost efficient.
Some technologies within a given field are essential, some are less so.
Increasing the range mod on lasers is an essential for a beam strategy. Increasing the capacitor recharge tech is also essential for lasers. Increasing the size of laser beam weapons may not be essential.
So I would expect that Capacitor Recharge rate and Range Mod projects that cost more research points would be completed sooner than a laser size increase tech was researched.
In terms of industrial research, I expect that the cost of the research project would be proportional to the amount of facilities devoted to that type of production. There are huge numbers of mining facilities, and therefore I would expect very high levels of research in that field. There are a lot fewer ordnance factories and so research in them would be a lower priority for research points.
So are there going to be 10,000 research point projects in Industry first, or military first?
