Beginner and cannot progress in science/research

[FABIODONATO]

I have just started KSP (shame, I know), enjoyed a lot of the trainings (until mun 1 which I find difficult). But... 

I have just started a game in science mode, easy level, but I just cannot figure out how to get some progress.

I have the 3 first badges, I seem to have launched straight rockets and science things as high as I can and returned safely, but cannot find how to get more research points and tech progress.

I see no guideline or challenge indication, the tech I have access to is minimal and I have no clue what to do to improve. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

Many thanks. 

[darthgently]

4 hours ago, FABIODONATO said:

I have just started KSP (shame, I know), enjoyed a lot of the trainings (until mun 1 which I find difficult). But... 

I have just started a game in science mode, easy level, but I just cannot figure out how to get some progress.

I have the 3 first badges, I seem to have launched straight rockets and science things as high as I can and returned safely, but cannot find how to get more research points and tech progress.

I see no guideline or challenge indication, the tech I have access to is minimal and I have no clue what to do to improve. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

Many thanks. 

You need to run experiments using parts from the tab in the editor with the atomic symbol.  Thermometer, pressure meter etc.  Also, right click on capsule to do a Crew Report, r-click on Kerbal on EVA to do an EVA report. 

Experiments can typically be uniquely done landed, flying, in low and high space, and across biomes and across moons and planets so if you have a scientist aboard you can typically run each experiment several times each mission.

[Cavscout74]

There is quite a bit of science available at the space centers (original KSC, desert space center, Woomerang, Island Airfield, desert airfield).  Early on the "easiest" way to gather that science is a pair of Mk1 pods turned sideways and used to roll through each area using the reaction wheels, with the Mk1 pods being the wheels.  So you can collect data on the runway, at the spaceplane hangar, at the admin building, etc.  It adds up but is a pain in the tail section.

Also, every biome (grasslands, highlands, shores, water, etc) has science you can gather both on the surface & at low altitude if you didn't realize that yet.   High altitude & in space tend to be once per planet/moon with a few exceptions.  Launch in different directions to cover other biomes and make sure to grab reports in flight & after landing.  Hope this helps.

EDIT:  Here is an example space center science gatherer:

Edited February 26, 2023 by Cavscout74

[Nazalassa]

18 hours ago, FABIODONATO said:

(shame, I know)

There's no shame in playing KSP :)

As suggested above, the best way to quickly get a lot of science is by rolling pods all around the KSP, which have plenty of experiments strapped on them - all that can fit. At your tech level you can probably have the mystery goo things, termometers and barometers. Therefore in each biome (= building) you can do up to six experiments: crew report (r-click the pod), thermometer, barometer, mystery goo, EVA report (EVA a Kerbal and then r-click it) and surface sample (again, EVA a Kerbal and then r-click it). Note that as long as the Kerbal touches a vessel that touches a biome it can take a surface sample in this biome.
You may want to bring a scientist (like Bob) in order to be able to reset the mystery goo things, which are expandable (they can't be used twice if they are not reset[ted?]). If you have the Science Jr. you should include it (it's expandable as well, but it gives lots of science).

You may want to include some batteries (if you have some) to increase range (the built-in batteries in the command pods are rather weak).

There's one different biome per facility (SPH, Runway, R&D, Crawlerway, etc.), plus a KSC biome (there are several instances of it, I remember one being between the VAB and the Tracking Station) and the nearby Shores, Water and Grassland ones. These are the obvious ones.
Hidden ones are at least as many, and are many buildings (not facilities, buildings) which you need to touch in order to be "in that biome". These include the dishes and the hub of the Tracking Station (4 biomes), the flagpole (in front of the Astronaut Complex), the VAB and SPH main buildings (2 biomes), etc. The complete list of these biomes can be found here: https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Biome#Kerbin

And more info about science here: https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Science
 

Oh, by the way, welcome to the forums!

[Gargamel]

Moved to gameplay questions.  

[Zhetaan]

On 2/26/2023 at 10:06 AM, FABIODONATO said:

I have just started KSP (shame, I know), enjoyed a lot of the trainings (until mun 1 which I find difficult). But... 

Don't worry about coming to KSP late.  Orbits are periodic, after all.  Also, welcome, new person!

On 2/26/2023 at 10:06 AM, FABIODONATO said:

I have the 3 first badges, I seem to have launched straight rockets and science things as high as I can and returned safely,

Those badges would be from the World's Firsts milestone achievements.  You do get a nominal amount of science from that, but you're right, it's not enough.  You'll need to do scientific experiments to go farther.  I will explain something that I have not yet seen other people here say, which is to tell you that, with a very few exceptions, the science experiments do not work automatically.

On 2/26/2023 at 10:06 AM, FABIODONATO said:

but cannot find how to get more research points and tech progress.

I see no guideline or challenge indication, the tech I have access to is minimal and I have no clue what to do to improve. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

When you start a new game, the experiments available to you are EVA Report, Crew Report, Surface Sample, Mystery Goo Observation, and Temperature Scan.  Mystery Goo Observation and Temperature Scan require special science parts to be attached to your rocket; these are available under the Science tab in the VAB.  You can unlock new science parts (and thus new experiments) in the Research and Development Complex, but it requires science points to do so, so we'll not focus on that just yet.

To perform an experiment, you need to right-click on the appropriate part and find the experiment in the Part Action Window.  Note that for crew reports, the appropriate part is the crew pod or command module, and for EVA Reports and Surface Samples, the appropriate 'part' is a Kerbal on EVA.  Usually, the experiment is obvious in context (to take a surface sample, the button is the one labelled Take Surface Sample).

It may seem difficult to run science experiments while you're also flying an untested rocket.  It probably won't make you feel any better, but real astronauts flying real rockets thought so, too.  There are some tricks that you can use to make things work a bit better:

• For one, you can run science experiments right on the launchpad:  don't ever say that KSP didn't give you anything for free.  That will get you some easy science and let you see how the experiments work without needing to split attention between that and flying the rocket.
• You can open the Part Action Window on a part before you launch.  If you click the pin button in the corner, you can keep the window from disappearing when you click on something else.  This way, you can have the window open and shoved off to the side while you get the rocket in the air, and can then run the experiment without needing to find and right-click on the part while in flight.
• Experiments work in certain combinations of biomes (roughly, locations on the planet) and situations (roughly, how high off the ground you are).  Some experiments give one global result in certain situations, and some won't work at all in certain situations (there's a seismometer that won't work unless it's on the ground, and a deep space telescope that needs to be in deep space, for example).  The early experiments all give unique results (and more science points) when landed in different biomes, and most of them give unique results when flying over different biomes.  Don't be afraid to turn a rocket to the west or north to catch some of those biomes, even if only in flight.  Rovers and precision landings can wait for better rocket parts later in the game.
• Situations are considered on an immediate basis:  what that means is that an experiment that gives new results in low space will give those results if you run it as soon as you leave the atmosphere.  You don't need to be in a stable orbit.
• When you run an experiment, the result is stored in the part until it is transferred to a science container.  There's a dedicated part for that, but command pods also count as science containers.  Transferring a result to a container generally requires a Kerbal to go on EVA, so it's not advised to do this while flying through the atmosphere.  Transferring the result lets you reset the experiment so that it can be run again.  There are exceptions and caveats to this.
  • The Mystery Goo does not reset unless you have a Scientist do it, and for early rockets, you'll often have only a Pilot.
  • Crew Reports necessarily get stored in the command pod where they are generated, but the experiment storage is not the same as a science container, even though both are on the same part.  This means that you'll need to exit the pod with an EVA Kerbal, take the data from the pod, and put it back in the pod, whereupon it will go into the science container and let you take another crew report.
• Transferring data to a command pod is useful because with large, multistage rockets, the pod is often the only part that comes back:  the science parts are abandoned to burn up in re-entry or on the Mun or wherever.  However, if you're recovering the entire rocket, then you can leave the experiments in the science parts and recover the whole thing when you land or splash down on Kerbin; recovery will extract the science data from the experiments without you needing to do anything more.
• This means that if you want more science on fewer flights, it may be worth your time to attach multiple thermometers and multiple Mystery Goo containers to your rocket and run each one in sequence as you reach new situations.
• Also note that you can repeat an experiment in location/situations that you have visited before, but there are sharply diminishing returns.  Mystery Goo stops generating useful results after the third time, for example.  EVA Reports and Crew Reports give you all of the science they can the first time.
• Don't bother with transmitting results in the early game.  There is a time and place for it, but transmitting reduces the Science you can get from the experiment:  you always get the most Science per mission from recovery of the data, either from the experiment part or from the science container.

Should you have any other questions, or anything was unclear or unhelpful, please feel free to ask.

Have fun!

[Charley]

On 2/26/2023 at 5:06 PM, FABIODONATO said:

I have just started KSP (shame, I know), enjoyed a lot of the trainings (until mun 1 which I find difficult). But... 

I have just started a game in science mode, easy level, but I just cannot figure out how to get some progress.

I have the 3 first badges, I seem to have launched straight rockets and science things as high as I can and returned safely, but cannot find how to get more research points and tech progress.

I see no guideline or challenge indication, the tech I have access to is minimal and I have no clue what to do to improve. Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Such complexities of the scientific mode only increase my curiosity and my interest in the game increases. It even reminds me of the events from the work "The Rogerian Argument" for which I recently wrote several essays https://graduateway.com/essay-examples/rogerian-argument/ There, the main character also encounters trumpets that he does not know how to solve, but from this his motivation only grows. So I don't quit my gameplay, but I still would like to make better progress, so I wanted to ask if someone could give me some advice.

Many thanks. 

Have you tried running multiple science experiments on each mission?

Edited May 3, 2023 by Charley

[Vanamonde]

9 hours ago, Charley said:

Have you tried running multiple science experiments on each mission?

That helps a little but the 2nd run only gets a fraction of the first test, and after that the return is so small it's not worth bothering with. I usually do 2, though. 

[Kryxal]

I tend to take two of the mystery goo, mostly for symmetry.  I also tend to put them inside a parts bay that's part of the returning craft for now, this will probably change later on.