Guide to Research and Development

Research and Development

This is the bread and butter of science. The science department can hardly do anything without Research and Development being set up.
Research and Development primarily uses the 4 Machines that are set up next to each other the entrance to the Science Department. (Core RnD Console, Destructive Analyzer, Protolathe, and Circuit Imprinter)
This page is to be a comprehensive guide so a new or seasoned player could refer to either get started or to look up what can be researched, what level is needed to print, and how to get to the maximum research levels.

Core RnD Console

This computer console will allow you to access the three other devices attached to it. The three devices should be automatically linked to the console at the start of the round. The console has a number of settings which do various things:

Main Menu

This is where you will start on the Core RnD console when you first click it. If you are not on this page and wish to be on it, there is an option always present in the top left of the device labeled MAIN MENU click it to return to this menu.

• This menu has a number of clickable options that allow you to navigate the RnD Console. The options are as follows: Current Research Levels, View Researched Technologies, Disk Operations, Destructive Analyzer Menu, Protolathe Menu, Circuit Imprinter Menu, and Settings.

Current Research Levels

Clicking this shows the current levels of research stored in the console. Research levels range from 0 to 10.

• The console automatically starts with level 1 in the following areas: Materials Research, Engineering Research, Phoron Research, Power Manipulation Technology, 'Blue-space' Research, Biological Research, Combat Systems Research, Electromagnetic Research, and Data Theory Research.
• If the console has 0 in any level, it will be hidden. The research that starts hidden is: Illegal Technologies Research, Precursor Technology, and Anomalous Technologies. (don't worry, you'll learn how to unlock these technologies later)
  

There is another option on this page labeled PRINT THIS PAGE which will do exactly as advertised and print the current research levels. This allows you to show someone else the research levels without having them see the RnD console.

View Researched Technologies

Clicking this option shows all current printable technology. It shows all designs printable by both the protolathe, Circuit Imprinter, Exosuit Fabricator, AND the Prosthetic Fabricator

• This menu also has a PRINT THIS PAGE option which allows you to show anyone else the complete list of printable technologies. This is useful for showing people the complete list of printable items.

Disk Operations

Normally, this option is blacked out an unable to be pressed. However, in the RnD room there should be some yellow floppy disk looking objects labeled "Component Design Disk" and "Technology Disk" If one of these disks are inserted into the core RnD console, this option becomes available. With a disk inserted, you get the options to copy from it if it has something loaded on it, eject it, clear whatever is loaded onto it, or upload new designs to it. Each disk can only hold certain things listed here:

• Component Design Disk: With a Component disk, you can manually select a single component design to upload to the database. This is useful for moving only a few component designs to a new location.
• Technology Disk: With a Technology Disk, you can upload a single researched technology level onto the disk. This is useful for selectively moving certain types of research to a new location.

Destructive Analyzer Menu

Clicking on this menu will bring up a blank page that says "No Item Loaded. Standing by..." by default. When there is an item with a tech origin inserted into the Destructive Analyzer, the menu will display the item's tech origins along side the current research levels. Two options become available Deconstruct Item and Eject item. Ejecting the item simply ejects it from the Destructive Analyzer. Deconstructing item will make a pop-up appear asking if you're sure. Clicking yes will destroy the item and add the research levels to the console. Research levels only go up in certain ways:

• Equivalent: If the item's tech origin's are the same as the current researched levels, the researched level will go up by one.(Item's tech level is 1 while research level is 1 will result in a research level of 2. Then you need an item level of 2 to bring it up to 3, so on and so forth.)
• Over:If the item's tech origin is higher than the current researched level, it will raise it towards that level. There are a few factors in this: If the current research levels are just below the item, (item's tech level is 7 while the researched level is 6) than deconstruction of the item will result in adding one to the researched level.
• Far Over:If the current research is considerably lower than the item's tech origin, the research level will be raised to 1 below the item's tech origin.(IF the current research level is 1 and you deconstruct an item of tech origin 7. The resulting researched level will be 6)
• Under: Does nothing to research levels and just destroys the item.

Protolathe Construction Menu

Clicking on this menu will show everything that is currently printable by the Protolathe. If a design has the materials to print, it will be highlighted. Clicking on it will start the protolathe crafting. You can queue up multiple items to be crafted in a series. There are also a few options in the top left. Those options are:

• View Queue: This shows all items currently queued to be crafted by the protolathe. If an item is not currently being crafted, you can remove it from the queue here.
• Material Storage: This will show you the current amount of material stored inside the protolathe. You will notice it is in centimeters cubed. Any single sheet of a material is equivalent to 2000cm^3
• Chemical Storage: If there are any liquid reagents inside the protolathe, they will show up here.