Analysis of Scientist Levels

[LittleBlueGaming]

UPDATE

Alright, a few things after KerbMav's comments and a bit more testing. The multipliers I got at the launchpad were skewed because I was only using 1 data. Running the tests over on Minmus with 100 data, the multipliers were 1x, 5x, 9x, 13x, 17x, and 21x.

Also, the 6x data per experiment is caused by a different bug, see KerbMav's post. It's generally better to run the experiments internally, not on EVA. For instance, on Minmus, the gravity detector would give 100 data on EVA, and 138 data when ran internally.

So the still valid points are:

• You can leverage more than 2 scientists, you will get the cumulative science research for all scientists on-board.
  
• Lab report processing and power consumption don't scale with either time warp.
  
• There is no science bonus from experiments. It doesn't matter if you run the test with a scientist in the command module, lab, or on EVA. It doesn't matter if you transmit the data, or recover it. It's the same for every level.
  

Gravity detector on Minmus:

[TABLE=width: 900]

[TR]

[TD]Lvl[/TD]

[TD]IVA Sci[/TD]

[TD]EVA Sci[/TD]

[TD]IVA Data[/TD]

[TD]EVA Data[/TD]

[TD]Data Processing Rate[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]0[/TD]

[TD]100[/TD]

[TD]100[/TD]

[TD]138[/TD]

[TD]100[/TD]

[TD]1x [/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]1[/TD]

[TD]100[/TD]

[TD]100[/TD]

[TD]138[/TD]

[TD]100[/TD]

[TD]5x [/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2[/TD]

[TD]100[/TD]

[TD]100[/TD]

[TD]138[/TD]

[TD]100[/TD]

[TD]9x[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]3[/TD]

[TD]100[/TD]

[TD]100[/TD]

[TD]138[/TD]

[TD]100[/TD]

[TD]13x [/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]4[/TD]

[TD]100[/TD]

[TD]100[/TD]

[TD]138[/TD]

[TD]100[/TD]

[TD]17x [/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]5[/TD]

[TD]100[/TD]

[TD]100[/TD]

[TD]138[/TD]

[TD]100[/TD]

[TD]21x [/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

---

I've read different things about how scientists work, so I decided to test and record everything for each level.

Data below, but a few oddities I discovered:

• The lab gets data processing bonus from a second scientist in a different module(crew module). Edit: Actually both scientists can be somewhere else.
  
• Lab report processing and power consumption don't scale with either time warp.
  
• The 6x data per experiment is impossible to get with a single scientist. You need one on EVA, and one in the lab.
  
• There is no science bonus from experiments. It doesn't matter if you run the test with a scientist in the command module, lab, or on EVA. It doesn't matter if you transmit the data, or recover it. It's the same for every level.
  

Here's the data I found, using the Gravioli detector on the launchpad.

[TABLE=width: 900]

[TR]

[TD]Lvl[/TD]

[TD]IVA Sci[/TD]

[TD]EVA Sci[/TD]

[TD]IVA Data[/TD]

[TD]EVA Data[/TD]

[TD]Data Processing Rate[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]0[/TD]

[TD]6[/TD]

[TD]6[/TD]

[TD]1[/TD]

[TD]6[/TD]

[TD]1x - 0.0001/Data/Day[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]1[/TD]

[TD]6[/TD]

[TD]6[/TD]

[TD]1[/TD]

[TD]6[/TD]

[TD]7x - 0.0007/Data/Day[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2[/TD]

[TD]6[/TD]

[TD]6[/TD]

[TD]1[/TD]

[TD]6[/TD]

[TD]12x - 0.0012/Data/Day[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]3[/TD]

[TD]6[/TD]

[TD]6[/TD]

[TD]1[/TD]

[TD]6[/TD]

[TD]18x - 0.0018/Data/Day[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]4[/TD]

[TD]6[/TD]

[TD]6[/TD]

[TD]1[/TD]

[TD]6[/TD]

[TD]23x - 0.0023/Data/Day[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]5[/TD]

[TD]6[/TD]

[TD]6[/TD]

[TD]1[/TD]

[TD]6[/TD]

[TD]28x - 0.0028/Data/Day[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

So, if you want to maximize science from a given location, always run the tests from EVA to fill up your data more quickly, and use 2 high level scientists. You can't get more science from a single experiment type no matter the scientist's level.

I've also decided to try and give back to the community by helping update the wiki, and this is what I started with.

Edited June 1, 2015 by LittleBlueGaming

[KerbMav]

The EVA scientist does not get a bonus, EVA kerbals are just not subjected to specific multipliers for the experiments' data values.

On Kerbin's surface data value gets a penalty of 90%, you only receive 10% of what you would get elsewhere as a negative incentive to launch your lab at least into Kerbin orbit and not just park it on the runway.

Also kerbals on EVA do not get the 25% bonus for being in the same SOI the experiment was taken originally.

It is considered a bug.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/123784-Intended-Behavior-MPL-LG-2-Mobile-Lab-EVA-vs-Cockpit-Science-Activation?p=1986714#post1986714

This has no obvious influence on your findings regarding data to science conversion of the lab though.

Have you run tests with more than two scientists in the same vessel?

Also keep in mind that the amount of available data influences the conversion rate by some obscure math-magic.

[magnemoe]

Now, using an kerbal on eva has some serious bonuses in in practical use in that you can store science for later analyze. have kerbal collect data, store one copy in lab for later analyze, one in an pod for return to Kerbin, you also transmit one copy.

This also has the benefit that you can send out an small easy to fly lander and do science and return the data to the lab.

And you don't want to empty out the lab, an lab with 250 data give half the science/ day as one with 500.

[LittleBlueGaming]

The EVA scientist does not get a bonus, EVA kerbals are just not subjected to specific multipliers for the experiments' data values.

On Kerbin's surface data value gets a penalty of 90%, you only receive 10% of what you would get elsewhere as a negative incentive to launch your lab at least into Kerbin orbit and not just park it on the runway.

Also kerbals on EVA do not get the 25% bonus for being in the same SOI the experiment was taken originally.

It is considered a bug.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/123784-Intended-Behavior-MPL-LG-2-Mobile-Lab-EVA-vs-Cockpit-Science-Activation?p=1986714#post1986714

This has no obvious influence on your findings regarding data to science conversion of the lab though.

Have you run tests with more than two scientists in the same vessel?

Also keep in mind that the amount of available data influences the conversion rate by some obscure math-magic.

Ah, that explains things. I thought it was a different kind of bug where the IVA data amount was wrong.

I'll check out the math magic. At 100 data the multipliers were 5, 9, 13, 17, and 21, so it's looking like those are mostly different with very low data levels.

Yes, having more than two scientists is cumulative. I had 5 scientists on board on Minmus, levels 1-5, and the lab was processing at their total combined rate.

[KerbMav]

.

Did you notice at some point a difference in the rate displayed before and after starting the processing?

Some players reported discrepancies between these too and I also have seen this once.

[problemecium]

How do you do experiments "in IVA?" I have yet to see a button or anything to run experiments inside the lab.

[LittleBlueGaming]

Did you notice at some point a difference in the rate displayed before and after starting the processing?

Some players reported discrepancies between these too and I also have seen this once.

I didn't notice that on Kerbin, and something went wonky on Minmus before I got a chance to finish(first time trying hyperedit, I think I killed it). I'll see if I notice that in the future.

How do you do experiments "in IVA?" I have yet to see a button or anything to run experiments inside the lab.

I just mean running the experiments while everyone is on-board, not sure what else to call it.