Direct answer

Research in 1.0 covers production devices, upgrades and recipes. Non-production devices (buildings, decorations, service items) no longer sit in the Tech Tree — they unlock at the Workbench instead. See Where is the Workbench? for the exact migration notes.

Official 1.0 research change

From the official 1.0 patch notes

“Research Tree: Removed all non-production devices from the Tech Tree. These devices must now be unlocked at the Workbench.” — plus: “Upgrades: reworked shop sales upgrades and removed purchase contract upgrades; these bonuses have been integrated into the Shop Recognition system.”

Known research nodes

NodeUnlocksEvidence
PipelinePipe logistics“Plumber” — Complete research of Pipeline (58.5%)
CauldronCauldron machine“Traditional Alchemy” — Complete research of Cauldron (20.7%)
Automatic CashierShop automation“Automatic Cashier” (69.3%)
CatapultThrowing deviceUnlock guides — see Catapult
World TreeWood automation“Grow, Little Tree, Grow!” (5.8%)

Research economy

Research costs are paid in coins and/or materials. Recommended order is opinionated — see the Research order guide built from unlock-rate data. In 1.0, expect rebalanced costs due to the “Removed the base heat cost of all heating devices” change.

Skills & perk points

Players search for “how to get skill points” frequently. The game tracks an alchemy skill line (community-confirmed) with skill points spent on production boosts; the exact 1.0 earning rules are PENDING verification — treat builds posted for Early Access as leads.

Evidence boundary

Tree rework and upgrade merge: OFFICIAL (1.0 patch notes). Node costs, skill point rates: PENDING.

Independent fan reference for Alchemy Factory. Game data refers to the current official 1.0 build (Steam, PC). Field-level evidence is flagged on each page with OFFICIAL / OBSERVED / COMMUNITY badges; amounts shown without a badge come from the official 1.0 patch notes or store descriptions.