How many scientists is too many?

[CapnKill]

Is there an amount where its just overkill?

 

I have 80 Scientists on my main base right now and I usually just have them all working on one thing, but I'm wondering if 50 is just as good as 80 and if I can use those extra scientists on something else?

[Pete]

You can never have enough, although I find costs prohibitive after about 200. You get things researched quickly, but they cost you a fortune every month to employ!

 

My max ever was 250 to clear my entire research list and then I swapped them out for 250 engineers at a later date >:]

[FullAuto]

I don't usually top 100. I've had about 320 at most, but the cost was painful, even though I had a lot of money. After they cleared up a few important projects I got rid of most of them.

 

Like Pete, once the most important research is done, it's time to get producing war-winning craft, armour, items, and so on, so I hire loads of engineers.

[NKF]

If you have played through the game a number of times, you'll eventually know which technologies you like to use, so you'll have a specific set of items to concentrate on. Most of the research topics can be left off for later. In such a case, 50 scientists with specific goals can get a heck of a lot done, and won't hurt your wallet in the short run.

 

100 seems to the be standard for a lot of players, and there's nothing wrong with that. 200 to 250 just breeze through the research topics, but they cost a lot of money. Too much is really when they become too costly for you to maintain within your means.

 

- NKF

[Matri]

Personally, I wouldn't have more scientists than I free laboratory space, but that's just me.

[Bomb Bloke]

There isn't any penalty to assigning groups of scientists to different projects (unlike manufacturing jobs, which eat up additional workshop space even without personal assigned).

 

In fact, you can start all available research projects, sell all the items associated with 'em, then just leave them until you're ready to "really" start work. Note that this may not work so well in TFTD, where selling certain items can get you in trouble (even if the tech tree there wasn't outright broken, it'd still at least be weird).

 

I aim for 50 right off the bat, then when I've got enough spare change I make the jump to 100. Don't often go any higher then that.

[Sgt. Strike]

I keep 200 scientist at all times. I know it's prohibitive, but I also have the lab space to occupy them, when I have gotten a second base that ends up my workshop base. I'm debating right now to modify my bases so that all but my initial base has some manufacturing in them. That way, they can make their own stuff, after a certain point. But I think the time would be the most prohibitive factor doing something like that.