Investments

Investments are one of the major ways your empire will be spending its wealth over the course of the game. Investments generally represent government-funded lasting improvements to your bureaucracy and to the lives of your citizens.

Investments generally have some level of compounding to them, so the more you spend early, the greater the total payoff will be down the road.

How it works
Investments can be updated at any time using the google document provided to you by M.A.X. In fact, you are encouraged to regularly update your investments given a changing galactic climate.

At the end of every round the amount you spent on all 5 categories of investment will be subtracted from your current wealth (if you invest more than your wealth, no investments will be taken this round, and you will not receive any of the benefits from any past investments this round such as income increases from investments in infrastructure).

Types of Investments
There are 5 categories of investments:


 * 1) Culture - Increases the spread of culture to nearby planets, and planets with which you have friendly relations based on the amount of population you have. This increases the rate of gifts and peaceful annexation. Investments of culture also mildly increase morale in a compounding way.
 * 2) Defense - Increases the healing of damaged units and can produce random squadrons. Defense also decreases the likelihood that rebellion interferes with your income or ore supply.
 * 3) Infrastructure - Steadily and multiplicatively increases the income of future rounds. Also has a chance to increase morale.
 * 4) Propaganda - Sharp, short-term increase to morale. The society that invests most in propaganda each round is unlikely to have any planets peacefully annexed by another empire. Unlike the other investment types, continued investment in propaganda yields decreasing results.
 * 5) Research - Increases the rate at which the empire receives new tech. Investments in research are multiplied by the amount of science the empire has.