How does the Science Laboratory work?

[Curaodo]

SO tired of searching now. Been at it for several hours. Neither google, nor youtube nor anything I've found so far on this forum has ANYTHING to offer a noob in how to use the Science Laboratory module.

I click "Begin Research" and it appears to do nothing. Google has offered a HINT that it is supposed to do awesome stuff with the gathered experiments from your various devices, enhancing the science value of it before you transmit it back to Kerbin. Please help! Totally lost...

[Sof]

Hmm, I don't know.

How about waiting until tomorrow when it comes out?

[bsalis]

This was covered pretty well in a KerbalKon stream...

http://www.twitch.tv/ksptv/b/487009621

[Curaodo]

Oh, it seems I don't get the transmit to lab button option when I activate my different science modules. That stream was somewhat unclear about what recovery was, and what it means for the overall science. Do you loose science?

What's this "Power" counted in Megawatts doing for the science lab? Anyways, my lab doesn't seem to work at all, so...

[Curaodo]

I'll take that back. That stream wasn't "somewhat unclear" it was entirely way out there in the oceans of wierdness. It doesn't look like anything at all like what I have.

[purpletarget]

Oh, it seems I don't get the transmit to lab button option when I activate my different science modules. That stream was somewhat unclear about what recovery was, and what it means for the overall science. Do you loose science?

What's this "Power" counted in Megawatts doing for the science lab? Anyways, my lab doesn't seem to work at all, so...

That's because the Lab of which you speak has not been released yet. Wait till your game updates on the 17th, and then give it a try.

ETA: If you're looking at the Materials Lab Jr. in .22....it just gets the regular blue transmit button....no upgrading values in that version.

ETA again: Also moving to Gameplay.

Edited December 16, 2013 by purpletarget

[FatboyTim]

Useful stuff, thanks.

[bsalis]

I didn't find the stream that confusing.

Basically the Lab allows you to pre-process the data for extra science yield when you transmit it. Furthermore, diminishing returns is pretty much gone. There is also science that cannot be accessed unless you bring the data home to Kerbin.

[Taki117]

...Furthermore, diminishing returns is pretty much gone. There is also science that cannot be accessed unless you bring the data home to Kerbin.

Hopefully they either upped the returns, or lowered tech tree cost, otherwise there's going to be lots of players who can't get beyond a certain point because they can't get out of kerb in SOI, and having higher tech makes this easier. (To a point.)

[FatboyTim]

So what will be the new 'most-efficient' method of gathering the most science without leaving un-gathered science behind?

[Drakenred]

I Inadvertatnly found that you could graveity Sling shot a Probe out into solar orbit. If you set up the solar panels to always get sunlight (Probe/Comand then a batttery stack then wrap that in the basic solar pannels then orient the bloody thing to always have at least one pointed at the sun) its posible to always get a decent report back home.

Granted I also found out that useing a "Cheep" probe to practice landings with when properly set up have a chance to at least send some info home when you ineitably crash or gravity sling them in crazy orbits on your first few attemps to land the blooking things.

[Curaodo]

That's because the Lab of which you speak has not been released yet.

Thanks! That answered everything. I didn't know they had not released the science lab yet. It must have come from one of my mods, tho I didn't know mods worked in career mode. Again, thanks.

[Taki117]

Thanks! That answered everything. I didn't know they had not released the science lab yet. It must have come from one of my mods, tho I didn't know mods worked in career mode. Again, thanks.

Its very probably the science lab from KSP interstellar, and mods will appear in the tech tree if they have certain bits of code in the config files.

[Javster]

Well consider yourself lucky you're not going away on the day it gets released