In Devices Tycoon by Roastery Games, you earn research points primarily through active device and software development, where hired staff generate points while working on projects. You can also produce points automatically by investing in Research Labs and lab assistants, upgrading your employees to increase their point generation rates, or picking specific starting countries during company creation for an initial pool.
Developing Devices and Software
The baseline method for generating research points (RP) in Devices Tycoon is keeping your staff actively engaged in product creation. When developing devices such as smartphones or operating systems, your team earns points progressively as work proceeds.
Key observations regarding active development:
- Active Work Requirement: Points are accumulated while staff members—such as designers, programmers, and engineers—are actively working through a product development cycle.
- Product Completion Yields: Players report earning research points across the duration of each completed product run, though exact yields vary depending on production time and team size.
- Continuous Creation: Because idle employees do not produce baseline development points, maintaining a steady pipeline of devices or software keeps your research income flowing.
Upgrading Employees for Higher Point Output
Official developer announcements confirm that employee upgrades directly impact your research output. Investing in your workforce improves both product quality and technical yields.
- Employee Upgrades: Upgrading staff members increases their overall performance. The developer's hiring guide notes that improved employees generate more research points compared to entry-level staff.
- Recruitment Quality: When hiring through HR agencies, you can choose to recruit higher-skilled specialists immediately or hire less experienced candidates at a lower upfront cost and train them over time.
- Wellbeing Management: Staff members experience fatigue and burnout over time. You must balance their condition by sending them on vacation to recover or issuing bonuses for quick morale boosts to keep point production efficient.
Unlocking Research Labs and Lab Assistants
For dedicated point generation outside of active device creation, the PC version of Devices Tycoon introduces Research Labs.
| Feature | Function in Research Labs | Source Confirmation |
|---|---|---|
| Lab Assistants | Specialists hired to autonomously generate Research Points over time | Official Developer Announcement |
| Staff Capacity | Expanding the lab increases the number of researchers you can employ | Official Developer Announcement |
| Researcher Upgrades | Upgrading lab personnel increases the rate of passive RP generation | Official Developer Announcement |
| Manual vs. Passive Yields | Players note lab investments require balancing initial costs against output efficiency | Steam Community Reviews |
Expanding and upgrading the research lab allows your company to accumulate points autonomously, providing an additional research stream alongside your factory and device pipelines.
Starting Country Selection Bonus
When founding a new company, your setup configuration influences your initial resources:
- Starting Country: Steam community discussions note that the country chosen at the start of a playthrough affects the initial pool of research points available to your company.
- Setup Customization: Alongside your starting capital and company identity, selecting your operating region can provide an early boost in research points before your first device goes into development.
What Research Points Are Used For
Research points act as the core technical currency in Devices Tycoon. Once accumulated, they can be spent in the research lab or editors on:
- New Features and Hardware Specs: Unlocking advanced device components, screen options, processors, and graphics capabilities.
- Device Upgrades: Applying unlocked technology to make subsequent product releases more attractive to consumers and achieve higher review scores.
- Software and Ecosystem Capabilities: Unlocking advanced features for mobile, TV, or smartwatch operating systems.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you buy research points directly with money?
Available developer materials do not document a direct cash-to-point purchase button. However, you can invest in-game money into hiring lab assistants, expanding Research Labs, and upgrading employee skill levels to increase point generation rates.
Do employees generate research points while on vacation?
No. Official developer guides state that sending an employee on vacation temporarily removes them from active work to restore their condition, pausing their contribution to development and point generation until they return.
Why are some technologies greyed out in the research tree?
Community discussions note that specific technologies in the research tree may be unavailable due to in-game timeline restrictions (such as year-based availability in historical modes).
