Guide to R&D on /tg/

GUIDE TO R&D ON /TG/
BY JOE GILLIAN (BYOND: TIMRODDX)

So, you're the RD and you have no idea what you're doing. Before you go asking Robotics to waste all their metal on syringe guns and tasers, you should know that there's a better way. Sure, you CAN use the syringes/tasers, but this is more efficient.

Step 1. As the RD, or a Scientist, get into Tech Storage. You want to take:

- 3 Subspace Ansibles
- 2 Subspace Transmitters
- 1 Subspace Broadcaster Board
- 1 Subspace Receiver Board
- 1 PanDEMIC 2200 Board
- 1 Health Analyzer
- A yellow toolbox. Empty it of everything but the screwdriver and crowbar, and take a multitool.


On your way back, get into the Teleporter (optional). Decon the Teleporter Station and Teleporter Hub with the screwdriver and crowbar, and take the Teleport Station and Teleport Hub boards and an Artificial Bluespace Crystal.

If you are not able to get into the Teleporter (either you aren't the RD or the AI is being shit), break into the RD's office/ask the RD for his Intelicard and AI Core Board.

You should also take a single sheet of Solid Plasma. There's one in the Testing Lab, and four in Xenobio.

Step 2. Go into Settings -> Device Linkage Menu and make sure the Protolathe, Circuit Imprinter, and Destructive Analyzer are connected.

Step 3. Deconstruct the stuff. This is the correct order:

- 3 Ansibles
- 2 Transmitters
- Receiver Board
- Broadcaster Board
- Health Analyzer
- PanDEMIC board
- One of the shitty capacitors from R&D
- One of the high-cap power cells from R&D
- Teleporter Station Board (if you have it)
- Teleporter Hub Board (if you have it)

If you don't have the Station/Hub Boards, instead use the Intelicard and the AI Core Board.

Step 4. Now, it's time to upgrade the Protolathe. It will have a small amount of materials in it from all the DA use, so what you want to do is print out two pico-manipulators and two super matter bins. Next, upgrade the Protolathe by using a screwdriver and crowbar to take it apart. Throw away the old micro-manipulators and basic matter bins, then replace the board and the beakers and add the pico-manipulators and super matter bins. This will cut resource usage by roughly 2/3, and waste a lot less metal and glass on an RPED (7000/3000 compared to 15000/10000 or so) Be sure to re-sync using the Device Linkage Menu (see Step 2).

Step 5. Put 5 to 7 sheets of metal and 5 to 7 sheets of glass into the Protolathe. Build a Rapid Parts Exchange Device, as well as:

- 1 Advanced Scanning Module
- 2 Pico Manipulators
- 1 High-Power Micro-Laser
- 1 Super Matter Bin

Use these parts to upgrade the Destructive Analyzer and Circuit Imprinter. To do this, put the parts into the RPED (either click a pile of parts with the RPED in-hand or feed them into the RPED one by one) and use a screwdriver to open the machines. Click the parts-filled RPED onto them, then screwdriver them back and re-sync using the Device Linkage Menu (See Step 2).

Step 6. Put 6 or so sheets of glass and the beaker of sulfuric acid into the Circuit Imprinter. Print off the following:


If you used the Teleporter Boards:

- 3 Durand Weapons & Targeting Boards
- 2 Power Turbine Boards (not the Power Turbine Computer, the Turbine itself)
- 2 Teleporter Hub Boards

If you didn't:

- 1 Sleeper Board
- 1 Turbine Computer Board
- 1 Power Turbine Board
- 3 Durand Weapons & Targeting Boards
- Complain to the AI for the Hub/Station boards to get Bluespace up to 5.

Step 7. Now that you've done all of this, R&D is VERY NEARLY done. However, there's one pressing question everyone has: "How do I get Materials to 6 without needing Mining?" The answer is simple. Once you've done Steps 1-6, assuming you have upgraded everything, print out a pico-manipulator. With the upgrades and research levels, it should go through and get you Mats 6.

Step 8. Sync your computer, and upgrade Robotics. To do this, you need 2 pico-manips, 2 super matter bins, and a high-power micro laser per exofab. You can also upgrade their imprinter with a pico-manipulator and a super matter bin. Get Robotics to give you two mech syringe guns. You don't NEED these per se.. unless you have a blob and mining has gotten you materials, at which point you can make X-Ray Lasers. You will need a Combat Shotgun from Cargo to get Combat 6 though.

Research is now maxed.

There's also the old "3 syringes, 2 tasers" method, which involves using three mech syringe guns and two mech tasers from Robotics to get R&D up. This isn't the best method, as it wastes a lot of metal and glass, but it's an alternative if something fucks up or R&D somehow gets deleted.