Starfield:Research Laboratory

The Research Laboratory provides a mechanism to expend materials to acquire new crafting recipes for consumables, outpost components, and equipment upgrades.



Most projects require completion of previous projects in the research tree before they can be started. Some projects also require the player to possess certain Skills. There is no limit to the number of in-progress projects, either within or across categories.

Mechanics & Game play
Interacting with a Research Lab opens the main Research menu, which displays the projects currently in progress for each category. Selecting one of the categories will open the projects list for that category, which displays all currently-visible projects. The current status of each project can be quickly assessed by the colored bar to the left of each entry:


 * Solid green bar - project completed. There will also be a large "Completed" label to the right of the entry.
 * Checkered green bar - project is in progress.
 * Checkered yellow bar - project is in progress, and the player has materials in their inventory that can be contributed to the project.
 * No bar - project is blocked or not started.

All level 1 projects for each category are visible by default, and have no skill requirements or prerequisites. Higher-level projects become visible as lower-level projects in the tree are finished, even if the player does not possess the skill needed to start the next project. For instance, the Performance Enhancement 2 project requires the Chemistry Rank 1 skill, and becomes visible after the player completes the Performance Enhancement 1 project even if the player does not possess Chemistry Rank 1. In these cases, the project is marked as Blocked in the Research Projects list, but the Required Skills, Required Materials, Research Tree, and Description for that project are still viewable. This allows players to plan their skill development and search for ingredients to craft items of interest.

Research projects are progressed by adding materials to the project. The numbers of required materials, and the amount of each material already added, are listed in the Research Materials window. The number of available materials in the player's inventory is also listed where applicable. When a player uses a Research Lab inside of or within range of their Home Ship, the inventory of the Home Ship is also considered.

Similar to the materials tracking system in Fallout 4, the materials required for each project can be tracked using the Track Project button. This will add magnifying glass icons to each material in the project's list, allowing the player to identify tracked items when they are encountered in the world.

Sudden Developments


When adding a material to a project, there is a small chance of triggering a Sudden Development, which adds a random number of missing materials to the project. These "Overflow" materials allow the research to progress faster, even for projects which require rare or difficult-to-find materials. The chance of triggering a Sudden Development can be increased by acquiring ranks in the Research Methods skill. The chance of triggering a Sudden Development also seems to increase when adding many items to the project at once, e.g., adding 10 Titanium has a higher chance of triggering a Sudden Development than adding 3 Titanium (verification needed).

Pharmacology
Pharmacology projects provide new recipes for synthesizing enhanced drugs, medicines, and other medically-related consumables. It has at least 12 projects.

Food and Drink
Food and Drink projects provide new recipes for crafting foods and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. It has at least 16 projects.

Outpost Development
Outpost Development projects provide new recipes for crafting resource fabricators and extractors, furniture and decorations, power systems, flora and fauna management, outpost defenses, and other outpost-related items. It has at least 20 projects.


 * Manufacturing 1
 * Requires no trained skills
 * Materials: Zero Wire 2, Adaptive Frame 3, Iron 3, Sealant 3


 * Manufacturing 2
 * Requires Outpost Engineering at level 1
 * Materials: Zero Wire 10, Reactive Gauge 5, Adaptive Frame 30, Iron 30, Tungsten 20,Sealant 20, Lubricant 10


 * Manufacturing 3
 * Requires Outpost Engineering at level 2
 * Materials: Zero Wire 20, Reactive Gauge 10, Positron Battery 5, Adaptive Frame 30, Iron 40, Tungsten 30,Sealant 30, Lubricant 10


 * Resource Extraction 1
 * Requires Outpost Engineering at level 1
 * Materials: Drilling Rig 5, Mag Pressure Tank 8, Adaptive Frame 10, Aluminum 30, Copper 20, Chlorosilanes 10


 * Resource Extraction 2
 * Requires Outpost Engineering at level 2
 * Materials: Aldumite Drilling Rig 5, Microsecond Regulator 8, Adaptive Frame 20, Aluminum 40, Caesium 20, Chlorosilanes 20


 * Decoration 1
 * Requires no trained skills
 * Materials: Structural 3, Fiber 3, Ornamental 2


 * Decoration 2
 * Requires Outpost Engineering at level 1
 * Materials: Structural 10, Aluminum 10, Fiber 10, Pigment 10, Adhesive 10


 * Decoration 3
 * Requires Outpost Engineering at level 2
 * Materials: Structural 30, Aluminum 30, Fiber 20, Nickel 20, Adhesive 30, Luxury Textile 5


 * Horticulture 1
 * Requires Outpost Engineering and Botany at level 1
 * Materials: Mag Pressure Tank 8, Adaptive Frame 10, Tungsten 10, Nutrient 10, Metabolic Agent 10


 * Horticulture 2
 * Requires Outpost Engineering at level 2 and Botany at level 1
 * Materials: Mag Pressure Tank 10, Adaptive Frame 20, Tungsten 20, Nutrient 30, Metabolic Agent 30, Amino Acids 10


 * Domestication 1
 * Requires Outpost Engineering and Zoology at level 1
 * Materials: Molecular Sieve 5, Adaptive Frame 10, Aluminum 30, Sealant 30, Adhesive 10


 * Domestication 2
 * Requires Outpost Engineering at level 2 and Zoology at level 1
 * Materials: Substrate Molecular Sieve 8, Adaptive Frame 20, Aluminum 40, Sealant 30, Adhesive 30, Hypercatalyst 10


 * Power Generation 1
 * Requires Outpost Engineering at level 1
 * Materials: Zero Wire 10, Isocentered Magnet 8, Adaptive Frame 10, Silver 30, Copper 20, Cobalt 10


 * Power Generation 2
 * Requires Outpost Engineering at level 2
 * Materials: Zero Wire 23, Tau Grade Rheostat 5, Supercooled Magnet 3, Power Circuit 3, Caesium 20, Beryllium 30, Titanium 30


 * Power Generation 3
 * Requires Outpost Engineering at level 3
 * Materials: Paramagnon Conductor 10, Tau Grade Rheostat 10, Isotopic Coolant 10, Nuclear Fuel Rod 10, Control Rod 8, Supercooled Magnet 5, Power Circuit 5, Tungsten 30, Lead 30


 * Power Generation 4
 * Requires Outpost Engineering at level 3 and Special Projects at level 1
 * Materials: Tasine Superconductor 8, Tau Grade Rheostat 30, Isotopic Coolant 20, Vytinium Fuel Rod 10, Control Rod 10, Rothicite Magnet 5, Power Circuit 10, Tungsten 40, Lead 50


 * Robots 1
 * Requires no trained skills
 * Materials: Zero Wire 2, Aluminum 3, Beryllium 3


 * Robots 2
 * Requires Outpost Engineering at level 1
 * Materials: Positron Battery 8, Zero Wire 30, Austenitic Manifold 8, Titanium 30, Chlorosilanes 30, Cobalt 30, Polymer 10


 * Outpost Defense 1
 * Requires Outpost Engineering at level 2
 * Materials: Zero Wire 8, Positron Battery 3, Aluminum 30, Titanium 10, Copper 5, Fluorine 5


 * Outpost Defense 2
 * Requires Outpost Engineering at level 3
 * Materials: Positron Battery 8, Veryl-Treated Manifold 3, Power Circuit 3, Titanium 30, Aluminum 40, Copper 10, Neon 10

Equipment
Equipment projects provide new recipes for enhancements (mods) to Equipment, including Helmets, Spacesuits, and Packs. It has at least 9 projects.


 * Helmet Mods 1
 * Requires no trained skills
 * Materials: Tungsten 3, Cosmetic 3, Polymer 3


 * Helmet Mods 2
 * Requires Spacesuit Design at level 1
 * Materials: Sterile Nanotubes 5, Postitron Battery 5, Zero Wire 8, Titanium 10, Adhesive 10


 * Helmet Mods 3
 * Requires Spacesuit Design at level 2
 * Materials: Microsecond Regulator 8, Indicite Wafer 5, High-Tensile Spidroin 8, Caelumite 10, Tungsten 30, Polymer 10


 * Spacesuit Mods 1
 * Requires Spacesuit Design at level 1
 * Materials: Polytextile 8, Copper 5, Cosmetic 5


 * Spacesuit Mods 2
 * Requires Spacesuit Design at level 2
 * Materials: Semimetal Wafer 5, Positron Battery 5, Polytextile 10, Titanium 10, Adhesive 10


 * Spacesuit Mods 3
 * Requires Spacesuit Design at level 3
 * Materials: Microsecond Regulator 8, Indicite Wafer 5, Positron Battery 8 Caelumite 10, Tungsten 30, Lubricant 20


 * Pack Mods 1
 * Requires Spacesuit Design at level 1
 * Materials: Monopropellant 5, Mag Pressure Tank 8, Aluminum 10, Beryllium 10


 * Pack Mods 2
 * Requires Spacesuit Design at level 2
 * Materials: Zero-G Gimbal 5, Monopropellant 10, Beryllium 10, Polymer 8, Sealant 10


 * Pack Mods 3
 * Requires Spacesuit Design at level 3 and Special Projects at level 1
 * Materials: Zero-G Gimbal 10, Monopropellant 20, Tau Grade Rheostat 10, Beryllium 20, Biosuppressant 10, Amino Acids 20

Weaponry
Weaponry projects provide new recipes for enhancements (mods) to Weapons. It has at least 19 projects.


 * Barrel Mods 1
 * Materials: Iron 20, Nickel 20, Sealant 10
 * Barrel Mods 2
 * Grip Mods 1
 * Grip Mods 2
 * Grip Mods 3
 * Optics and Sights Mods 1
 * Optics and Sights Mods 2
 * Optics and Sights Mods 3
 * Muzzle Mods 1
 * Muzzle Mods 2