What Does This Button Do? Commnet Edition.

[AndrewBCrisp]

So: I'm adapting well to the new CommNet, but there's something I don't quite understand.

The right-click context menu for antennae while in flight reveals two or three buttons depending on the antenna.  "Extend Antenna" and "Transmit Data" buttons are pretty self-explanatory, but there's another that has me befuddled: "Require Complete".  

I've found no explanation in any of the documentation so far on what this button is or what it does.  

Can anyone satisfy my curiosity about this?  What does the "Require Complete" button do?

[Gaarst]

I think it changes the way science is transmitted. Normally, when you transmit science, you transmit everything, and if your battery runs out you continue transmitting as it reloads (but it's a lot longer and in the meantime you can't control your ship since EC is always at zero). This button make it so that it checks that you have enough battery to transmit your science in one go, without running out.

Or not. I haven't been playing career/science for several months so I'm just guessing. I'm also too lazy to start KSP and see what it does.

[bewing]

Gaarst came close, but not quite. If you don't have enough EC to transmit a single science experiment there are two possible outcomes based on that setting.

If you have it set to "Require Complete", then the experiment that failed to transmit gets put back in your ship for you to try transmitting again later.

If it's "Allow Partial", then the transmission that got cut off at 42% or whatever gives you 42% of the specified science and completes.

It's probably supposed to do this for science transmissions from an MPL, too -- but there is a bug with that. No matter how you have it set, it acts like "Require Complete" on a failure in the MPL.

[Tex_NL]

Close @Gaarst. But not quite.

There are two settings 'Allow Partial' and 'Require Complete'.
'Require Complete' is the standard and the most reliable. Once you start transmitting it will consume the necessary power until the transmission is completed. If you run out of power before completion the transmission will fail. The science will be stored but the electricity is lost. Once you have restored your power you can try again.
'Allow Partial' can be buggy but will allow you to transmit large packets even with small batteries. When 'Allow Partial' is used the transmission starts as normal but when you run out of power the transmission is paused until you have generated enough power to resume. However this will keep your power levels between zero and almost nothing leaving you with a pretty much dead craft until the transmission is completed.

Edited November 5, 2016 by Tex_NL

[AndrewBCrisp]

A-hah!  This sounds useful.  I don't think I've run into a situation where I've needed this function before, but it's good to know it's there.

Thanks to @Tex_NL and @bewing for your answers!