Engineers do anything for mining? (Got two on a ship - and I can't tell what benefit they're providing)

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

I've read that they do - but I cannot tell.  Going to assume the problem is on my end, so here's where I'm at:

I bought a new, base level engineer and flew him in a mining craft to the Mun (yeah I know) - and landed the craft next to another engineer I'd landed there previously.  Started up the mining craft with the base level guy and checked the numbers.  Then I brought over the other Engineer - thinking two on board would improve things.  Didn't happen.  The new engineer didn't change the numbers (either on the drill or the convertotron).

 

So - is mining only dependent upon one engineer?  Does stacking them do nothing?  Both of them are in the ship - do I need them to be out?  (And does the fact that I have a probe core controlling the ship affect anything?)

 

The whole reason I took the ship to the Mun in the first place was to pick up the second engineer to make a Minimus mining mission more efficient... but that doesn't seem like a good idea now.

 

What am I missing? 

 

Game is mostly vanilla (except for Alarm Clock and Real Burn Time mods)

 

For what it's worth - Thermal efficiency is 100%, Batteries are full, three XL solar collectors active and sun at high noon.  There's no problem with the ship - it's merely that I don't see any change from the mining or refining with one Engineer or two.

Edited January 24, 2016 by JoeSchmuckatelli

[Tantalus]

I'm not sure if the base levels give any bonus at all. You can try get them to lvl 2 or even 3 (requires leaving kerbin soi) and check again. The engineers must be aboard the same vessel than the drills / ISRU. 

Regards

Tantalus

[dangerhamster]

I think the skills aren't stacked but averaged, by adding a "no star" you actually reduced the effect. Someone more familiar with the actual mechanics of this should be along with a more definitive answer.

[Snark]

Pretty sure they don't stack. I think (though am not sure) that it just uses whichever engineer is highest.

[Plusck]

Also pretty sure it is the higher-level engineer which gives the bonus. As for the other questions, no a probe core will not change anything, and yes the engineer needs to be actually on board.

However, the ISRU doesn't actually benefit from having an engineer on board. It is just the drill.

With different engineer levels, you should have seen a difference in the ore extraction rate on the drill. Send one at a time and then both out on EVA and compare the numbers when you right-click the drill part. If there is really no difference, then something is wrong.

[sal_vager]

You get the bonus of the best engineer in the area to the drilling and conversion efficiency, but no they don't stack (they don't subtract either)