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[edit]
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[edit]
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, by taking certain chems, and by wearing certain apparel. 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[edit]
Pharmacology projects provide new recipes for synthesizing enhanced drugs, medicines, and other medically-related consumables. It has at least 12 projects.
Project Name | Prerequisite | Required Skills | Materials Required | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Performance Enhancement 1 | None | None | Argon x2 Tetrafluorides x2 Metabolic Agent x3 |
Discover how to create Amp and Red Trench at a Pharmaceutical Lab. |
Performance Enhancement 2 | Performance Enhancement 1 |
Chemistry Rank 1 |
Solvent x10 Carboxylic Acids x10 Membrane x5 Hippolyta x5 Infantry Alpha x5 |
Discover how to create Panopticon and Paramour at a Pharmaceutical Lab. |
Performance Enhancement 3 | Performance Enhancement 2 |
Chemistry Rank 2 |
Ionic Liquids x10 Stimulant x10 Toxin x10 Squall x5 Synapse Alpha x5 |
Discover how to create Whiteout and Neurajack at a Pharmaceutical Lab. |
Performance Enhancement 4 | Performance Enhancement 3 |
Chemistry Rank 3 |
Stimulant x20 Aurora x10 CQB-X x10 Squall x10 Whiteout x8 |
Discover how to create Frostwolf at a Pharmaceutical Lab. |
Medical Treatment 1 | None | None | Antimicrobial x3 Amino Acids x2 Aluminum x2 |
Discover how to create Antibiotic Paste and Infused Bandages at a Pharmaceutical Lab. |
Medical Treatment 2 | Medical Treatment 1 |
Chemistry Rank 1 |
Amino Acids x10 Analgesic x10 Antimicrobial x10 Battlestim x5 Heart+ x5 |
Discover how to create Antibiotic Paste and Infused Bandages at a Pharmaceutical Lab. |
Medical Treatment 3 | Medical Treatment 2 |
Chemistry Rank 2 |
Sedative x10 Metabolic Agent x20 Antibiotics x10 Sealant x10 |
Discover how to create Antibiotic Injector and Repairing Immobilizer at a Pharmaceutical Lab. |
Medical Treatment 4 | Medical Treatment 3 |
Chemistry Rank 3 |
Immunostimulant x5 Membrane x20 Heart+ x10 Trauma Pack x10 |
Discover how to create Panacea and Junk Flush at a Pharmaceutical Lab. |
Innovative Synthesis 1 | Medical Treatment 4 Performance Enhancement 4 |
Chemistry Rank 3 Special Projects Rank 1 |
Alien Genetic Material x3 Carboxylic Acids x5 Mercury x10 Solvent x5 Tetrafluorides x5 |
Discover how to create Black Hole Heart and Dwarf Star Heart at a Pharmaceutical Lab. |
Innovative Synthesis 2 | Innovative Synthesis 1 | Chemistry Rank 3 Special Projects Rank 1 |
Alien Genetic Material x5 Solvent x5 Carboxylic Acids x10 Dwarf Star Heart x5 Aurora x5 |
Discover how to create Subgiant Heart and Giant Heart at a Pharmaceutical Lab. |
Innovative Synthesis 3 | Innovative Synthesis 2 | Chemistry Rank 3 Special Projects Rank 1 |
Alien Genetic Material x10 Ionic Liquids x8 Solvent x10 Carboxylic Acids x10 Subgiant Heart x5 Black Hole Heart x5 |
Discover how to create Supermassive Black Heart and Hypergiant Heart at a Pharmaceutical Lab. |
Food and Drink[edit]
Food and Drink projects provide new recipes for crafting foods and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. It has at least 16 projects.
Project Name | Prerequisite | Required Skills | Materials Required | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Old Earth Cuisine 1 | None | None | Bread x3 Red Meat x2 Cheese x2 |
Discover how to prepare a Reuben and Meatloaf at a Cooking Station. |
Old Earth Cuisine 2 | Old Earth Cuisine 1 | Gastronomy Rank 1 |
Spice x5 Cheese x5 Egg x5 Butter x5 Poultry x5 |
Discover how to prepare Carbonara, Chicken Marsala, and Latkes at a Cooking Station. |
Old Earth Cuisine 3 | Old Earth Cuisine 2 | Gastronomy Rank 2 |
Spice x10 Nutrient x20 Beer x10 Poultry x10 Dairy x10 Egg x10 |
Discover how to prepare a Barbacoa Wrap, Chapaguri, and Chicken Tikka at a Cooking Station. |
Beverage Development 1 | None | None | Spice x2 Fiber x3 Water x3 |
Discover how to prepare Alien Tonic, Yellow Giant Splash, and Boba Alien Tea at a Cooking Station. |
Beverage Development 2 | Beverage Development 1 |
Gastronomy Rank 1 |
Aromatic x5 Benzene x5 Spice x5 Metabolic Agent x10 Tranquilitea Sunray x5 |
Discover how to prepare an Alien Energy Drink and Sunray Tonic at a Cooking Station. |
Mixology 1 | None | None | Aromatic x2 Alkanes x2 Spice x3 |
Discover how to prepare Alien Liquor at a Cooking Station. |
Mixology 2 | Mixology 1 | Gastronomy Rank 1 |
Aromatic x10 Spice x10 Liquor x5 Can-Uck! Poutine x5 |
Discover how to prepare Colonel's Choice and Lumberjack Julep at a Cooking Station. |
Outpost Development[edit]
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.
Equipment[edit]
Equipment projects provide new recipes for enhancements (mods) to Equipment, including Helmets, Spacesuits, and Packs. It has at least 9 projects.
Weaponry[edit]
Weaponry projects provide new recipes for enhancements (mods) to Weapons. It has at least 19 projects.