How to be a somewhat useful Researcher

[Arachnidnexus]

So you're the researcher and you want to breach the Sulaco with chem nades help out the doctors. Well, without a pAI you can't talk to xenos and there's only so much RP you can do with dead xeno corpses before you become insane IC and OOC. Also, marines are unlikely to bring a xeno alive back on the Sulaco. They're also highly unlikely to bring back needed materials (diamonds, silver, etc.) or gadgets so most rounds the researcher will have to make do with the things on board the Sulaco. So, where to start?

A. Get enough useful Research levels quickly

1. If you spawn in cryo, grab the wire on the south bench. If someone took it, bug a MT or squad engineer for a coil of wire. Take the hyper-capacity power cell from the table upstairs from the medbay ladder. Also take a health HUD from medbay and one of the Large Chem Grenades in the R&D lab.
2. Go to the R&D console, re-sync all linked devices
3. Put 120u of sulphuric acid into the Circuit Imprinter. Fill it with 12 sheets of glass.
4. Fill the protolathe with 20 sheets of metal, 14 sheets of glass.
5. Deconstruct all of the following: Some come from the Protolathe [P] or Circuit [C] Imprinter.

• matter bin, micro-laser, capacitor, health analyzer, HealthHUD
• Large Chem Grenade
• [P]2 x tracking beacon
• [C]Arcade Machine, [C]Gas Heating System Board, [C]PanD.E.M.I.C. 2200
• [P]mining drill, [P]chem sprayer, [P]nanopaste, [P]Optical Meson Scanners, [P]Security HUD
• 3 x M39 SMG
• [C]RUST fuel controller, [C]Subspace Broadcaster, [C]Relay Mainframe, [C]Cloning Pod
• hyper-capacity power cell

6. Make basic laser scalpels for the doctors, get arrested spraying briefing room marines with space drugs, make Large Chem Grenades to cause havoc, made super-capacity power cells to help out the combat engineers and the Sulaco if nobody bothers setting up or blows up the SM, and components for the machines mentioned below. Also make a stun revolver so that you can shoot trespassers into R&D.

7. If marines bring back needed resources, research the following:

• 1 sheet of uranium (to get from Materials 5 to 6), 1 sheet of diamond/diamond ore (to get Material 6 to 7)

B. Autolathe

You'll want to set up one (or I guess even more) of these babies to make some useful things.
1. Get research to the level where you can produce an [C]Autolathe circuit from the Circuit Imprinter. Grab the console screen at the table south of the medbay ladder.
2. Fabricate 3 [P]matter bins and 1 [P]micro-manipulator. Usually research should be at a level where you can use Super Matter Bins and Pico-Manipulators for this
2. Select a spot to put a machine frame at. Just left of the Circuit Imprinter and upstairs up from the disposal are good places. Grab some metal sheets and put down a metal frame (costs 5 sheets).
3. With wire in active hand, click on the metal frame. Add the Autolathe circuit to the machine. Put in the 3 matter bins, 1 micro-manipulator, and the console screen.
4. The east medbay storage has a blue toolbox. Use the screwdriver in there to finish the machine. Feed it some glass and metal sheets and click to it fabricate what you want. [A]Welders for cybernetic limbs, some surgery tools, 120u large beakers, and RCDs if you hack them.

C. Upstairs Cloner

An upstairs cloner is convenient for multiple reasons with one of them being that it's a lot easier to keep track of new clones when they're sitting within sight distance of the cryo cells. Doctors could ask you to do this, but most of them don't care enough to bother a researcher to get the right circuits made.

1. Get research to the point where you can make the [C]Cloning console, [C]Cloning Scanner, and [C]Cloning Pod circuit boards
2. Make 2 [A]console screens with the autolathe or get them from the RO. Make sure you have ~10 wires and 2 sheets of glass handy
3. Use the protolathe to make 3 [P]micro-manipulators, 3 [P]scanning modules, and 1 [P]micro-laser (higher tiers of these should be available)
4. Grab at least 15 metal sheets and head upstairs. Make a cloner set by putting a machine frame, computer frame, and machine frame adjacent to each other.
5. Get the scanner running:

• Add cable coil to the frame, insert the Cloning Scanner circuit
• Put in cable coil, 1 micro-laser, 1 scanning module, 1 micro-manipulator, 1 console screen
• Finish with screwdriver from blue medbay toolbox

6. Get the console running:

• Wrench console in place with blue medbay toolbox
• Insert Cloning (console) circuit
• Use the screwdriver on the console
• Add wires
• Add two glass sheets
• Screwdriver the console again to finish it

7. Get the pod running:

• Add cable coil to the frame, insert the Cloning Pod circuit
• Put in cable coil, 2 scanning modules, 2 micro-manipulators, 1 console screen
• Finish with screwdriver

Viola. Now all you need to do is wait for the doctors to fill the pod up with synth meat.

D. Large Chem Grenades

To be able to crank these out at a reasonable rate, you have to have an Autolathe to produce 120u large beakers and to get the Protolathe to the level where it can produce the Large Chem Grenades. Save one stack of your metal for the Protolathe and one stack of glass for the Autolathe and you should be fine. So how do you make a chem nade?

Steps to a remote detonated chem nade that will cause a significant explosion
1. Fabricate 2 [A]large beakers from the Autolathe
2. Produce 1 [P]Large Chem Grenade shell from the Protolathe
3. Grab 2 remote signalers and 1 igniter from the vendor in the lab or make them from the Autolathe
4. Put 120u of potassium in one large beaker using the chem dispenser, put 120u of water into the other beaker using the sinks upstairs in the operating rooms (while moving using ladders do not hold open beakers in your hands, the contents will spill) [Thanks to WyattH for the tip about using the sinks]
5. Place both containers into the empty Large Chem Grenade shell by clicking on the shell with the beaker in your active hand
6. Use a screwdriver (from Autolathe or blue medbay toolbox) on the igniter until it says it's ready to be attached
7. Set both signalers to the same frequency and same code. DO NOT use the defaults since someone will probably send signals for fun and end up triggering your grenade at a bad time
8. Use a screwdriver on one signaler until it says it can be attached. Pick up that signaler and attach it to the igniter. Now use the screwdriver on that assembly to make it 'ready'
9. Put the ready signaler-igniter assembly on the ground. I like to use the maintenance tunnel west of R&D just in case. Send the signal on the other signaler. The assembly should spark.
10. Add the ready signaler-igniter assembly to the chem nade by clicking on it. Use the screwdriver to ready the grenade. The grenade should turn green.
11. Do NOT send the signal unless you want to breach R&D like an idiot. Give it to a competent marine and tell them not to use it on the Sulaco because it WILL breach the ship. Also label both the detonator and the grenade the same thing.

Try out different mixes of chemicals. You can make a Peridaxon smoke cloud grenade or one filled with polytrinic acid. Just remember that certain combinations will create instant reaction and should not be allowed in the same beaker. For instance, if you filled one beaker with 60u potassium and tried to add 60u of water, the explosion would begin immediately and blow up in your face.

The igniter can also be combined with other things like the timer and the signaler can be combined with things like the proximity sensor or the infrared laser. This can hypothetically be used to make really crafty traps, but in practice you're probably better off making remote detonator combos.

E. More research stuff

TBD. Lorem Ipsum and all that. But any tips and tricks on how to be a researcher would be appreciated since CM is the first server I've done research on so I bet my knowledge is a bit limited. Also need to add screen shots at some point.

[WyattH]

ugh no wonder you don't max out research available to you on station T_T

you're missing several circuit boards to max out your highest research levels as well as the plasma sheet for your plasma research, and the hyper cell should only be after you maxed out your power research through other methods ~_~

also you forgot to say to get 4 SMGs from marine prep to max out combat research

[Sir Stabby]

Nice guide, but could you add a guide to grenade making for chumps like me who can't figure out how to make them?

[TopHatPenguin]

also you forgot to say to get 4 SMGs from marine prep to max out combat research

You can just go to the firing range and collect the weapons there as it's nearby.

[WyattH]

You can just go to the firing range and collect the weapons there as it's nearby.

Eh I see that as kind of a dick move compared to getting the guns from the vending machines. Since no one will notice those missing.

[Arachnidnexus]

I really haven't seen the benefits of moving slowly and maxing out the research levels that way. You get a few more items but none that are really useful. Am I missing a combo for something like bluespace beakers?

[WyattH]

I really haven't seen the benefits of moving slowly and maxing out the research levels that way. You get a few more items but none that are really useful. Am I missing a combo for something like bluespace beakers?

The benefit to the fully advanced levels considering you can't do alot on this server is the rare moment a marine DOES bring you the silver/gold/uranium/diamonds/etc mid-round or you get a CL that knows how to bribe you right and gives you gold and diamonds. Wasted research when that happens comes back to bite your ass cause you can make some cool shit then.

Also in the rare chance - higher research levels will give you higher efficiency and speed in item creation if you use an exosuit fab to build anything.

Beyond that it's just because you might as well actually max it since switching a few steps and making a few more items isn't that time consuming once you know the ones and order to make them.

[TR-BlackDragon]

Also you only need 3 smg's or M41A rifles not four to max it

[Inaf]

Should I add here recipes of exlplosioves that do not breach Sulako?

[WyattH]

Should I add here recipes of exlplosioves that do not breach Sulako?

>implying such explosives exist that are of any use

[Inaf]

>implying such explosives exist that are of any use

I stunned the Queen with such one today. ANd I would kille her if I had my magnum.

[Arachnidnexus]

Should I add here recipes of exlplosioves that do not breach Sulako?

Yeah, that'd be cool. I don't really know much about interesting grenade combos so anything different would be nice to add.

[hall]

i remanber on the old sulaco when the marines cap a xeno and me as a researcher start to test things in them and talk with them, and i was reporting everthing for comander.
and when i see a mp with orders to kill the xeno and the comander say he kill our man and he have to die, and i shot kill the mp and release the xeno and he help me and me and the others xenos kill the staff and marines
AAHHH good days

[Stivan34]

Great guide. Now i know what to do as a Researcher.

[Smov]

You made my life better .... thank you ! :P