Research center

Codex
A Research Center is a research and development platform normally assigned to outposts and some select Initiative starships. Advanced minifacturing capability (small-scale manufacture) and information processing allows the Research Center to develop new technology and build it almost on the spot. They are also used to build powerful augmentations that enhance the capability of equipment.

Given the Initiative's current limitations, bandwidth and resource allocation to Resource Centers is carefully monitored. The Nexus underlines the importance of new discoveries by rewarding scans and information gathered via a points system. Commonly referred to as Research Data Points (RD), these can be used for access time at Research Centers to discover or create new blueprints.

First Availability
There are two places where Ryder can initially activate a research center and learn about the process of crafting. One is located on the Tempest and one will be encountered on Eos.
 * The Tempest research center is located in the Research Room and will be available as soon as Ryder boards the Tempest. As Ryder approaches the console in the Research Room, Liam remarks about the new "toy". Engage in conversation with him and after a brief chat about using what's available, the R&D interface will open.
 * If for some reason Ryder chooses not to speak with Liam on the Tempest, the next opportunity will be the Eos research center located at Site 1: Promise. After turning on the power at the failed outpost during A Better Beginning, there will be a new mission marker in a building that will start the mission Task: Research Center Development.

First Activation
Whichever research center is activated first, a small amount of development materials are added to Ryder's Inventory:

These free resources support the development of the following Andromeda Initiative-issue weapons at Tier I:

If the blueprints have been collected from the Special Delivery Cache terminal, the following Pathfinder weapons may also be developed at Tier I:

Initial Research and Development Abilities
After activating a research center for the first time, only certain projects will be available for research and/or development. Under Research:
 * Milky Way - All Milky Way weapons, armor, and augmentation projects are available to research.
 * Heleus - Kett weapons, kett armor, and all heleus augmentation projects are available to research.
 * Remnant - No projects are available and the menu space is occupied by a question mark.

Under Development:
 * Milky Way Weapons - All Tier I blueprints for all Andromeda Initiative-issue weapons are available.
 * Milky Way Armor - All Tier I Initiative, Maverick, and Pathfinder armor pieces are available.

Unlocked Research and Development Abilities
Some of the research projects are locked. Certain milestones need to be crossed before those research areas can be unlocked.
 * Heleus - All Angaran weapons and angaran armor are locked until returning to the Tempest after meeting Evfra de Tershaav during A Trail of Hope.
 * Remnant - All Remnant weapons, armor, and augmentations are locked until the Northern Monolith is activated during A Better Beginning.
 * Nomad - All ND1 Nomad projects are unavailable and the menu space is occupied by a question mark until the Nomad has been acquired during A Better Beginning on Eos, which can happen before or after Ryder activates the research center at Site 1: Promise.

Locations
There are research centers available for Ryder's use wherever the Initiative has established a presence. However, no research center is available at Port Meridian. Each forward station located in an outpost also includes a research center.