What do other stations have that we don't?

[Frank_Stein]

maybe rather than having to invent new items to research and develop in the rnd zone

we could consider locking some currently existing goodies behind a research interface? that will at least cut down on having to think up and code in new prizes. hopefully nothing too needed for station operation but if its useless extra junk then nobody will bother researching it. what items do you think would be good candidates for it?

it could have some crossover with artifact research in allowing you to research and replicate good artifacts you find too, maybe eventually culminating in the development of those artifact organs that ppl liked a while back

or maybe research a doohickey that you install in the telesci computer does the drat math calculations for telesci for you. its no loss, i know all you guys already have your spreadsheets and shit for it

I've been playing Skyrim recently and the way enchantments work could be an interesting direction to take R&D in.

In Skyrim, you take enchanted items and destroy them to learn that enchantment. Then you can take learned enchantments and apply them to other items, along with a resource cost of soulgems of varying quality

How about for R&D, you take artifacts and destroy them to store their effects and apply them to other mundane items?

For instance, a healing touch artifact could be destroyed, the healing effect stored, and then applied to a baton for weapon that heals on hit. Or a noise maker applies to shoes to make something similar to clowshoes, where each step makes a noise.

Granted, this would probably mean greatly altering artifacts.