Question about the science base

[MajorMushroom]

I literally just unlocked it, (that rockomax size science base) so I slapped in a random scientist I'd never used before (I've actually never used scientists before) so he was zero stars. Anyway, I first stopped off at orbit. Realising I had extra fuel left, I went for a moon orbit. Annoyingly, I must have already activated the science jr, as I couldn't do anything with it while flying over the moon. I collected the mystery goo, thermometer and barometer, and my scientist is researching away. So far he's collecting 0.7 science a day. Is this low? I assume if I had a higher level scientist it would be a higher production. What can I do to get a higher science rate? The rocket was quite pricey for me, so I'll wait before I get another one. Would it be worth working out for a better scientist and then posistion a base around minmus? Or first try and land one on the mun? Thank you 

[OhioBob]

Having better and more scientists (the module can hold two) will provide a better conversion rate.  Also having more data to start with helps greatly.  For instance, if you have close to the max. 500 750 data, you'll get a much higher conversion rate than if you have, say, 100 data.*  The lab also allows you to level up Kerbals immediately without having to return them to Kerbin.  If your Kerbal is now in Mun orbit, he probably has enough experience to level up to one star.  Right-click on the lab and you should see an option that says something like "level up crew".

* I believe the data to science conversion rate is a percentage of how much data you have.
 

Edited September 26, 2017 by OhioBob
added footnote.

[MajorMushroom]

1 minute ago, OhioBob said:

Having better an more scientists (the module can hold two) will provide a better conversion rate.  Also having more data to start with helps greatly.  For instance, if you have close to the max. 500 data, you'll get a much higher conversion rate than if you have, say, 100 data.  The lab also allows you to level up Kerbals immediately without having to return them to Kerbin.  If your Kerbal is now in Mun orbit, he probably has enough experience to level up to one star.  Right-click on the lab and you show see an option that says something like "level up crew".

Yes I've levelled him up. What is this data? I feel I should know...

[OhioBob]

Science experiments produce "data", which is converted into "science" using the processing lab.  The conversion factor is 1 data = 5 science.  To convert the data into science requires that the lab be crewed by at least one scientist, and you must have ample electricity.  Select "start research" to begin the conversion.  The rate at which the conversion takes place depends on how many scientists, their level, and the amount of stored data (there could be other factors that I can't remember).  After the data has been converted into science, you transmit the science to Kerbin.

 

Edited September 25, 2017 by OhioBob

[bewing]

Actually, your lab can hold 750 data in its buffer. Open the context menu for the Lab, and it says exactly how much data has been converted from experiments. To fill the MPL with data, you need to click the yellow "process" button on experiments to turn them into data.

 

[MajorMushroom]

7 hours ago, bewing said:

Actually, your lab can hold 750 data in its buffer. Open the context menu for the Lab, and it says exactly how much data has been converted from experiments. To fill the MPL with data, you need to click the yellow "process" button on experiments to turn them into data.

 

Ah ok. Once my data runs out, can I use the same mystery goo etc to fill it back up, or a different one?

And also is 0.7 science a day particularly low? I'm still early in the game so I'm not asking for much, but since I'm looking at the 160 sc upgrades, not even 1 a day is quite insignificant. 

[bewing]

8 minutes ago, MajorMushroom said:

Ah ok. Once my data runs out, can I use the same mystery goo etc to fill it back up, or a different one?

A unique experiment consists of a reading, a situation, and usually a biome. So a mystery goo reading in the water is different from a mystery goo reading on the shore. Or in space low over Kerbin, or in space high over the Mun, etc. Each unique experiment can be processed through each of your labs one time. If you have already processed that experiment in that lab, the "process" button will be unavailable the next time you try.

8 minutes ago, MajorMushroom said:

And also is 0.7 science a day particularly low? I'm still early in the game so I'm not asking for much, but since I'm looking at the 160 sc upgrades, not even 1 a day is quite insignificant. 

As said above, if you fill your lab all the way up to the 750 number, it will give you science a little faster.

But no, .7 per day is not particularly low. You will hear many arguments about how the MPL is overpowered or not. But it all depends on if you timewarp through a lot of time. If you don't, then the MPL only gives you a trickle of science points, day in and day out. If you timewarp, then it becomes a flood. But timewarping is cheating.

 

 

[TheMal-T]

Also, there is a 25% bonus for having landed on a celestial body that the experiment was taken around and then doing the mobile lab analysis. So, feed the beast by doing experiments in different biomes and then land your Lab on Mün.

You can actually reset the Goo and Science Jr. experiments with your onboard scientist (during a short EVA) as well as through the Lab itself! So, gather the data, transmit to Kerbin, regather, store in the Lab to create data, rinse, repeat... I believe a polar Mun orbit should allow you to gather experiments in low/high altitude of all Mün biomes, which count as separate sources of data for the Lab.

[Snark]

On 9/25/2017 at 11:42 AM, MajorMushroom said:

So far he's collecting 0.7 science a day. Is this low?

Yes, it's low.  No, it's not unusual. 

Things that will boost your science conversion rate:

• Put another scientist in there!  It'll double your conversion rate.
• Use higher-level scientists.  It makes a significant difference.
• Keep the lab filled up as close to the 750 data limit as possible.  The science conversion rate is proportional to how much data you have in there.

On 9/25/2017 at 11:33 PM, MajorMushroom said:

Once my data runs out

Careful about that-- if you're waiting for it to "run out", you'll be waiting a very long time.  Because the conversion rate goes with the data content, it means the lab will be converting slower and slower as it gets closer and closer to empty-- it's like radioactive decay.  That last little bit takes forever.

The moral of the story is, don't think of it as "put stuff in, wait for it to fully process, put the next thing in".  It looks like you're thinking of it kind of like a "laundromat for science"; that's not how it works.  Best to think of it not as a science laundromat, but as a science farm, where you want to keep every acre filled up and growing all the time.

You want to fill it up, and keep it full, to maximize the conversion rate.  Stuff as much science as you can in there, and go back to the lab from time to time, and whenever you see that the data content has dropped enough that there's room for more... stuff some more in.

On 9/25/2017 at 11:33 PM, MajorMushroom said:

can I use the same mystery goo etc to fill it back up, or a different one?

Yes and no.

A given science lab can only process any particular science "result" just once.  However, it can process other "results", with no problem.

By "result", I mean the intersection of:

• experiment type (goo, temperature, EVA report, etc.)
• celestial body
• biome
• situation (e.g. landed, low space, high space, upper atmosphere, etc.)

So, for example, if a particular science lab has already processed "Mystery Goo landed in the Mun's Highlands", then that particular lab can never again process "Mystery Goo landed in the Mun's Highlands".  It could, however, process any of the following:

• Mystery Goo landed in the Mun's Lowlands.  (different biome)
• Temperature landed at the Mun's Highlands (different experiment type)
• Mystery Goo landed at Minmus (different celestial body)
• Mystery Goo in space near the Mun (different situation)

...Note that although experiment type matters, the actual part that it came from doesn't matter.  If you've already processed "Mystery Goo landed in the Mun's Highlands", then you can never again process that result, even if it comes from a different goo canister.  On the other hand, if you moved to a different biome, you could process another goo result, even if it came from the same goo canister.

Also, note that in all of the above, I said for a particular lab.  If you've got two labs on your ship (or you send more than one ship), then they're independent of each other-- processing a particular science result in one lab only "uses up a slot" in that particular lab.  You could still process the same result in a different lab.