Ok, after I posted, someone found: https://forums.galciv2.com/?ForumID=346&AID=106943 Which means that we understand how it works... But the reason we had so much trouble figuring it out is that it just doesn't make any sense at all. I understand that everyone plays under the same rules, but at the same time this is supposed to be some kind of a model of reality... Not to mention that, as the other post says, it's not clear how building factories or labs alters the balance. Ugh.