Stackable labs

[Minarkhaios]

The new lab part allows to gain a small bonus to science transmission.

But actually, two linked labs does only allow the same bonus (in fact, the second one is just useless).

The suggestion is to add a stack logic to the labs so that :

- Each lab can add it own bonus to transmission.

- Each lab increase the 'max science cap' for each experiment (increase the total amount that can be transmitted).

The first point is to replace the 'do the experiment => bonus => transmit => reset => restart at step one until the science cap is met' by 'only one transmission'.

We gain time to transmit, but it's still a huge effort to create a multiple labs station. An we still have to redo the experiment for each different biome.

The second point is to reward huge station in far away places. Think about behemoth stations around Moho, or jool.

Maybe the cap increase can be based on distance. The longer the better.

And of course, the main reason is because it's cool to have huge stations that also have a meaning (expect the 'it's cool rule')

[Ralathon]

I support this idea. Sounds great and gives modular space stations a real purpose. Only concern would be that the space station would look a bit monotonous if it's just 6 science cans strapped together. Maybe scale the power requirements exponentially so that a large station needs some gigantor panels to feed it.

[Kasuha]

I don't think it's a good idea as I don't think reanalysing the same sample or data brings a lot of new information in real life, either. Sometimes it does but most of the time it doesn't.

Stacking lab modules could speed up the analysis, though. Each lab could work on its own experiment so if you need to analyse a lot of data fast - e.g. during descent - you could be done sooner with more lab modules.

[Dvarx]

Side question: Don't you think that science transmitting penalty is to big? Like you should better bring all science back to Kerbin than transmitting it?

[Minarkhaios]

Using the labs in a hurry is a very specific use of the stuff.

The need to use more than one in a hurry is even more strange.

And needing a time bonus to do it willingly is ... well ... maybe there is some blue frog pills that someone forgot to take this morning.

So it's something we need (the time bonus, not the blue frog pills), desperately.

But it is not enough to transform the lab into something we need more than once.

Edit : On the science penalty subject, it is big actually but I don't think it is too big.

In fact with a high penalty, stackable labs are more needed and thus we have a real good reason to try building huge station. At least on remote location (mun or minmus are easy to came back from, but not moho)

Edited December 18, 2013 by Minarkhaios

[Kasuha]

My opinion is, two ships with one lab each should have about the same scientific performance if they are separated and if they're docked together. With current implementation they're technically more powerful separated than docked because when docked, one of the two labs stops working.

[boomerdog2000]

Maybe we could have smaller modules that require a lab to work but up the transmission value.

The thinking being, the new module contains more equipment for the kerbals to use in their analysis. You could up the power requirements as well. I'm wondering if there should be multiple different modules so you still can't spam them. e.g. You have the lab for the base transmission value, having module 1 connected to the lab boosts the transmission value but having a second module 1 will not. Having module 1 and module 2 connected to a lab will boost the transmission value even more.

[Themohawkninja]

This doesn't really make much sense. Your idea implies that processing the same experiment in two different areas of the same environment will cause you to gain more knowledge.

If you do an experiment in one lab, and then repeat it in a different lab with all of the same equipment that the first lab had, you won't learn anything new.

To quote Einstein: "Insanity is doing the same thing over again, and expecting a different result."

[Minarkhaios]

It's more about building a big lab (indeed using multiple instance of the same lab part) than having two labs redoing the same thing.

4 (or more) scientists working on the same project are better than one.

This applies for anything IRL where more people mainly means better work (except making babies, multiple fathers can complicates more than it helps).

Even KSP is better since SQUAD have more devs (and slave monkeys hidden in the backyard).

IT's not about making things easy, just to make huge stations relevant with a small modification.

[Themohawkninja]

Well, assuming that this isn't already true of the lab, you could get away with having multiple labs process experiments at multiple times the speed that it would normally take, since that would make sense from the standpoint of having more scientists working on the various experiments.

That being said, multiple people working on the same experiment won't give you more information overall, just more information faster. More developers on a video game is different, because you some are good with coding, others animation, and still others sound. In KSP, the only data that needs any sort of "thinking" is the materials bay and the goo canister (everything else is just reports and numerical data). That's two things, and two Kerbals to fit.

[UberFuber]

I would go with the option that adding more lab improves the amount of science that can be recovered using transmission.

The idea is that instead of speed, more labs means more equipment to process the sample to get more science out of them.

It could be implemented as a tweakable of sort. Each lab, during construction and/or landed on Kerbin, can switch between different set of equipment. Each sample can only be processed through an equipment once, and each time a sample is processed the transmission recovery rate is increased. So, if you so desire, you can build a space-station with enough science equipment that your transmission efficiency is near 99% (essentially, you've the entire lab on Kerbin moved into space). You might get a ship that has a mass of a few hundred tons, but now you can move it all over the Kerbol system, doing science without every returning the samples all the way back to Kerbin.