Recovered Tech- how do I break it down?

[Elvin (OP)]

After salvaging 45 ion engines from some ruins, I feel like I should be doing some research on the technology to actually mass produce them. I've seen multiple references in fictions to this, but I cannot find how to do it in game. Is it something along the lines of shipping the components to a research lab, and then it's automatically an option?

Thanks

[Shadow]

Take the components to some colony and unload them. Then, in the Industry window of said colony, click on the Stockpiles button and you'll get a list of the non-installation things stored there. The drives should be there: select them and click on Disassemble. I think the chance to obtain a new technology is pretty low, but with 45 drives you have 45 chances.

I don't know if the presence of research labs help, but just take it to your main research planet to be sure.

[UnLimiTeD]

Damn, I never thought of this option, despite reading about it in campaigns.
Thx for the reminder.

[Elvin (OP)]

Take the components to some colony and unload them. Then, in the Industry window of said colony, click on the Stockpiles button and you'll get a list of the non-installation things stored there. The drives should be there: select them and click on Disassemble. I think the chance to obtain a new technology is pretty low, but with 45 drives you have 45 chances.

I don't know if the presence of research labs help, but just take it to your main research planet to be sure.

Thanks, and the percentage chance must be really small. After dismantling all 45 of them, not a bit of research found towards the tech.

Anyone know if it's a higher % chance for each subsequent disassembly, or if it's just a flat rate? Personally I think it should be a cumulative probability, increasing with each one destroyed, as that seems sensible.

[Steve Walmsley]

Take the components to some colony and unload them. Then, in the Industry window of said colony, click on the Stockpiles button and you'll get a list of the non-installation things stored there. The drives should be there: select them and click on Disassemble. I think the chance to obtain a new technology is pretty low, but with 45 drives you have 45 chances. . It is definitely a 1 in 40 chance.

I could add a specific cumulative chance but in effect that is already built in. Disassembling ten items gives you ten times the chance of new tech compared to disassembling just one (well slightly less than that but close enough - it would be a (39/40)^10 chance of failure for 10 compared to a 97.5% chance for 1)

Steve

[Shadow]

Well, every dismantled component could give a bonus to further dismantling of the same kind of component (perhaps the exact same). Having the same 2.5% chance per try implies your engineers are constantly bashing the thing with wrenches as opposed to learning more about it with every try, even if they can't quite grasp the whole technology. You'd think they'd know more about an advanced drive when reverse-engineering their 20th specimen, as opposed to the first.

Alternatively, instead of providing an invisible bonus to a chance for complete discovery, every dismantled specimen could provide a fixed (or somewhat variable) number of said technology's* RPs. This way, you could eventually unlock the technology or have the scientists use the engineers' insight to research the tech in question with a headstart (or even with most of the work done, if a lot of RPs have been collected beforehand).

*Or a previous, related technology if the component's so advanced you can't research its immediate tech right away.

[sandman662]

Another option, (assuming it doesn't already do this) would be to at least get some minerals from it.  A small amount, but at least something that takes the sting out of 40 failures in a row   !!

[Steve Walmsley]

Alternatively, instead of providing an invisible bonus to a chance for complete discovery, every dismantled specimen could provide a fixed (or somewhat variable) number of said technology's* RPs. This way, you could eventually unlock the technology or have the scientists use the engineers' insight to research the tech in question with a headstart (or even with most of the work done, if a lot of RPs have been collected beforehand).

I think your idea would work better than the current system. At least disassembly would give some indication of progress rather than nothing almost all the time. I'll change it for 5.1 so that disassembly provides from 1-5% of the required research points for each eligible background tech

Steve

[sandman662]

Yes Steve, I do like Shadow's suggestion.  That would make sense AND be awesome

[UnLimiTeD]

Does that mean we normally only have one?  

[Shadow]

Alternatively, instead of providing an invisible bonus to a chance for complete discovery, every dismantled specimen could provide a fixed (or somewhat variable) number of said technology's* RPs. This way, you could eventually unlock the technology or have the scientists use the engineers' insight to research the tech in question with a headstart (or even with most of the work done, if a lot of RPs have been collected beforehand).

I think your idea would work better than the current system. At least disassembly would give some indication of progress rather than nothing almost all the time. I'll change it for 5.1 so that disassembly provides from 1-5% of the required research points for each eligible background tech

Steve

Excellent!

[Shadow]

Oh, and by the way, this may be a given but if a component makes use of technologies less advanced than yours, those fields shouldn't be aided by said component's disassembly.

I mean, for instance, let's say you retrieve an active sensor that uses Active Grav Sensor Strength 21 and EM Sensor Sensitivity 6, and your current technologies in that area are AGSS 16 and EMSS 8. In this case, disassembly should contribute to AGSS research, but not that of EMSS.

[sandman662]

I just got a "Tech Data Scanned" Event type from a wreck salvaged.  It told me that I got 800 research points for Ceramic Composite Armour & 1500 research points for Ceramic Composite Armour.  I don't have the tech, nor am I researching it, but when I go to the research panel, I see that Ceramic Composite Armour costs 10000 RPs.  Shouldn't that be 7700/10000 now?

[Elvin (OP)]

I just got a "Tech Data Scanned" Event type from a wreck salvaged.  It told me that I got 800 research points for Ceramic Composite Armour & 1500 research points for Ceramic Composite Armour.  I don't have the tech, nor am I researching it, but when I go to the research panel, I see that Ceramic Composite Armour costs 10000 RPs.  Shouldn't that be 7700/10000 now?

I think the ship has to make it back to your colony- check out it's info tabs, somewhere I seem to remember it listing research tech.

[sandman662]

Ok, will do and I'll let you know if that works

Thank you!