What R&D is
R&D is how your company grows its options. Researches unlock new markets (wholesalers and the products they sell), raise how often customers order your products, cut your costs, and open parts of the warehouse. Nothing is automatic: you pick what to research and pay for it with company money.
R&D is for registered companies. If you have not registered your company yet, the tablet tells you to do that first.
Opening R&D
- Press B to take out your tablet (on a gamepad: D-pad Right).
- Open the Company app.
- Choose the R&D page (the R&D center).
You see a list of researches, sorted from the lowest company level to the highest. The first research is selected for you. Each row has a picture and a name. Pending researches show their price in the list. The chip on a row tells you its state:
- Completed: you already have it.
- Researching: it is running now.
- Level Requirement: N: your company level is too low. These rows are dimmed.
A pending research that you are allowed to start has no chip at all.
The side panel
Select a row and the panel on the right shows the details. Which lines you see depends on the state:
- Status: Pending, Researching or Completed, plus a short description of what the research does.
- Level: the company level you need. It is colored red when you are below it.
- Cost: only while the research is pending. The color changes with what you can afford.
- Time left: while it is pending or running. It is hidden once the research is done.
- Requires: other researches that must be finished first. Only shown for pending researches that have prerequisites.
- A progress bar for a running research.
The details scroll. When you pick another research the panel jumps back to the top.
Starting a research
- Select the research you want.
- Press Research.
That is all. There is no confirmation window. The cost is taken from your company money right away and the research finishes on its own while you play. You can leave the tablet, drive, restock, anything. When it starts you see "Research started: ...", with the name, and when it finishes you see "Research completed: ...". Co-op partners get both messages too, and finishing a research gives some XP.
Starting plays a short sound. If two players press Research at the same moment in co-op, you are only charged once.
One at a time
Only one research runs at a time. The line under the description of other researches says "Another research project is running. Wait for it to finish." Plan your order.
The reason line and the messages
A line of text under the description tells you why a research cannot be started right now. A completed research says it is complete and has no Research button at all. A running research says "Researching now. It finishes on its own."
Some limits only show up when you press the button. They appear as a short message:
- "Please research requirements first." A prerequisite is missing. Check the Requires line.
- "Another search is in progress..." Something else is already running.
- "You need more money." Your company balance is short. The button stays pressable, the game checks when you press it.
- "Please complete current task first." The very first market research, Toy Market Research, waits for the tutorial step that asks for it.
The research families
Market researches (new wholesalers)
You cannot buy a product category from its wholesaler until you research that market. Each one is named "... Market Research": Toys, Grocery, Sports, Outdoor, Music and Electronics. They open from the lowest level to the highest in that order: toys first, electronics last. Grocery also needs Warehouse Solutions I.
Finishing a market research gives you the matching achievement.
If you try to restock from a wholesaler you have not unlocked, the tablet tells you the basket holds products of a locked wholesaler and offers an Unlock in R&D button that opens this page.
Expanded Market
Unlocks international orders. Until you own it, customers abroad do not order from you. It does not make every product international: groceries stay in-city.
Warehouse Solutions I to IX
Each one raises your warehouse level by one, from level 1 up to level 10. They are a chain: each needs the one before it. Higher levels give you more room and unlock delivery automation. See the Warehouse page for what each level opens. They are also the key other researches ask for: Grocery needs the first one, and Brand Awareness I needs the second.
Product popularity researches
One chain of five for each category: Toy Seller, Athlete (sports), Outdoor, Music, Grocery and Electronics. Each step raises the chance that customers order that category. A chain needs its market research first, then each step needs the one before it. The bonuses add up, they do not replace each other.
Brand Awareness I to V
The same idea for all categories at once. Brand Awareness I needs Warehouse Solutions II, and each later step needs the one before it. The category bonus and the general bonus are combined when the game works out how often orders come in.
Contracted Cargo I to V
Discounts on your local shipping costs. Each step needs the one before it.
Tough Bargain
Five researches, all simply called Tough Bargain, with discounts on wholesaler purchases. They are not a chain: none needs another one, so you can take them as your company level allows. You see the saving in your basket on the restock screen as the R&D discount row.
Scheduled Delivery I to V
These raise how many units of each product you may put into one Auto supply schedule. Scheduled Delivery I needs Warehouse Solutions IV, and each later step needs the one before it. Opening the Auto supply tab itself does not need them, see below.
Smart Delivery (retired)
You may remember Smart Delivery researches. They are gone from the list. Delivery automation now comes from your warehouse level instead, so there is nothing to research for it:
- Local deliveries by truck: from warehouse level 3.
- In-city orders by drone: from warehouse level 7 (the drone appears when you reach it).
- International manual delivery lane: from warehouse level 8.
- International automation: from warehouse level 10.
See the Warehouse and E-commerce pages for how to set up the delivery spot.
Auto supply
Auto supply is a tab of the restock screen on your tablet where you schedule repeating wholesaler deliveries.
- It opens at Warehouse Solutions IV. Until then it says "Auto supply is locked".
- The wholesaler you pick must be unlocked too.
- To create a schedule, park your truck in the parking area first: "To start a schedule, please park your truck in the parking area."
- A schedule needs a description, at least one product and at least one day. The game tells you what is missing: "Write a description for this schedule.", "Add at least one product." and "Pick at least one day."
- The schedule table shows Schedule, Wholesaler, Days, Units and Per delivery. You can edit a schedule (Save changes) or Delete it. You see "Schedule created", "Schedule saved" and "Schedule deleted".
- You see a Setup fee with a breakdown: the products, your R&D discount, the service and the base fee.
- The page also shows how many schedules you have against the maximum allowed.
What to research first
- The toy market. The tutorial asks for it and it opens your first wholesaler.
- Warehouse Solutions I, II and on. They open the grocery market, more room and then Auto supply.
- Tough Bargain and Contracted Cargo. They lower costs on your orders.
- Whatever your orders keep asking for. If a category sells well, take its popularity chain.
Tips
- Check the level and the Requires line before you save money for a research.
- Start a research before a long errand. It runs while you do other things.
- Keep some money in reserve. The cost is taken at the start.
- Locked wholesalers on the restock screen point you to what to research next.
- In co-op everyone sees the same R&D and the same running research.
Screenshots needed:
- Company app, R&D page, list with a Completed, a Researching and a Level Requirement row
- Side panel of a pending research (Status, Level, Cost, Time left, Requires)
- A running research with the progress bar and the busy line under another research
- The "Please research requirements first." message
- Restock screen with a locked wholesaler and the Unlock in R&D button
- Auto supply tab: locked state, and a schedule with the setup fee breakdown