How much research does a tech really cost?
ResearchMedium
The research tree adds up a tech's whole prerequisite chain by research type. Smelting alone costs 35 Novice and 30 Advanced points, and 100 Novice and 50 Advanced with its chain.
What does a tech really cost?
The research screen shows each tech's own cost, and picking a tech queues its unresearched prerequisites without adding them up. The research tree adds up the whole chain from a new colony. Smelting alone costs 35 Novice and 30 Advanced points. With Employment, Brute-Force Refinement and Refined Renovations before it, the chain costs 100 Novice and 50 Advanced.
Which research building makes which points?
Each point type comes from its own building. The Research Station makes Novice Research, the Super Computer Advanced Research, and the Materials Study Terminal Applied Sciences Research in Spaced Out!. Data Analysis Research comes from the Spaced Out! Virtual Planetarium, and Interstellar Research from the base game's Virtual Planetarium.
Advanced points need a Super Computer, which the Advanced Research tech unlocks for 20 Novice points, and a Duplicant with the Advanced Research skill to run it. On the way to Smelting, Refined Renovations is the first tech that asks for Advanced points.
When should I plan the path?
Plan it when a building you need is still several techs away. Smelting unlocks the Metal Refinery, and the chain total shows how many Novice and Advanced points stand between the colony and it, so you know how long to staff the Research Station and when to build the Super Computer.