Question about the SCIENCE.

[Levelord]

If I brought 2 materials bay to the Mün and activated both, both will read for example, 40 science each. Now, if I brought the materials bay back to Kerbin, will I get a total of 80 science, or will the game only count 40 and discard the other as a repeat experiment?

Edited October 27, 2013 by Levelord

[vexx32]

Moved to Gameplay Questions and Tutorials.

[AlamoVampire]

I think it will return the given amount PER container, but, I am not sure. 99% of my science, was spam fire data in flight from the goo containers, materials bay and crew reports. I never looked at my reports that closely to see if it does return the same for each if says like 400 science <as an example> an you get it on 2 items, then land said items back at kerbin...

[Oddible]

I don't think so. I suspect this is a bug actually. For instance, I often have 2 Goo canisters (for balance) set up on a hotkey. Because they were both triggered simultaneously, they both say 40, but if you did them one after the other they'd say 40 then 32 I think.

That said, to optimize science, transmit a few times from the Mun and from the Mun's lower orbit and higher orbit and bring back only your last untransmitted data. Remember science is a fixed pool and you never lose it by transmitting, you just only get a smaller portion of what you've collected, the rest goes back into the pot.

[Levelord]

I don't think so. I suspect this is a bug actually. For instance, I often have 2 Goo canisters (for balance) set up on a hotkey. Because they were both triggered simultaneously, they both say 40, but if you did them one after the other they'd say 40 then 32 I think.

That said, to optimize science, transmit a few times from the Mun and from the Mun's lower orbit and higher orbit and bring back only your last untransmitted data. Remember science is a fixed pool and you never lose it by transmitting, you just only get a smaller portion of what you've collected, the rest goes back into the pot.

I have mine hotkeyed too. I'm wondering if it's just a display bug, or if the game actually calculates this into the final result.

[Oddible]

I have mine hotkeyed too. I'm wondering if it's just a display bug, or if the game actually calculates this into the final result.

Watch when you transmit, the bug is in the dialog box for the science mission. Then you transmit, the green text shows the actual (lower) value.

[Levelord]

Watch when you transmit, the bug is in the dialog box for the science mission. Then you transmit, the green text shows the actual (lower) value.

Interesting. One more question. Perhaps the act of transmitting the data updates the storage values for the science, which is why the true values appear on the transmission lists. How about when you return the physical device to Kerbin? Perhaps the values don't get updated when you return and it counts double science? I might want to test this myself...

[Wayfare]

Interesting. One more question. Perhaps the act of transmitting the data updates the storage values for the science, which is why the true values appear on the transmission lists. How about when you return the physical device to Kerbin? Perhaps the values don't get updated when you return and it counts double science? I might want to test this myself...

Having brought back doubles, I can confirm that their actual science yield is calculated one at a time when they're "processed", whether by transmission or recovery. As repeat experiments are encountered, the game lowers their scientific value accordingly and your yield drops.

From what I've seen I believe the science process works this way:

- The biome has a pool of Science to draw from.

- An experiment run will yield X Data at Y Value. This translates into Science (Data * Value * Transmission Loss) when the experiment is processed (with no Transmission Loss calculated for recovered experiments).

- Upon processing the experiment, the Science yield is drawn from the biome's pool.

- Experiments are always processed in sequence. One experiment is calculated, and its yield drawn from the pool, before the next experiment.

If you keep a lot of unprocessed experiments from the same biome around, your actual Science yield can therefore differ wildly from the initial readouts. Multiples of the same experiment will diminish in Value and you may even drain the pool before all experiments are processed, resulting in zero yield for the excess experiments.

This could be tested fairly easily at the launchpad, which seems to have a very tiny Science pool.

[Levelord]

Having brought back doubles, I can confirm that their actual science yield is calculated one at a time when they're "processed", whether by transmission or recovery. As repeat experiments are encountered, the game lowers their scientific value accordingly and your yield drops.

From what I've seen I believe the science process works this way:

- The biome has a pool of Science to draw from.

- An experiment run will yield X Data at Y Value. This translates into Science (Data * Value * Transmission Loss) when the experiment is processed (with no Transmission Loss calculated for recovered experiments).

- Upon processing the experiment, the Science yield is drawn from the biome's pool.

- Experiments are always processed in sequence. One experiment is calculated, and its yield drawn from the pool, before the next experiment.

If you keep a lot of unprocessed experiments from the same biome around, your actual Science yield can therefore differ wildly from the initial readouts. Multiples of the same experiment will diminish in Value and you may even drain the pool before all experiments are processed, resulting in zero yield for the excess experiments.

This could be tested fairly easily at the launchpad, which seems to have a very tiny Science pool.

Thanks, that was very helpful and insightful. Now I can make my science missions a bit more efficient.