Make Scientist into a bunch of different jobs.

[Grek]

There's been a sticky up recently about how we players need to keep a better eye on chemists making hellchems. This prompted a lot of discussion about how chemistry doesn't really interact with other departments enough and how it would be nice if there were more reason for people in medbay to care what the chemists are making. I feel like this is a good idea and that the same general principle applies to Toxins and Telescience. It also strikes me as really weird that the Research department isn't subdivided. Medbay has Roboticists, Geneticists and Medical Doctors. Engineering as Miners, QMs, Mechanics and Engineers. Service has the Chef, the Barman, Hydroponics and the Chaplain. Even Security has Officers and a Detective. Why would Science just have one job for all the different departments?

Split Scientist into 3 different jobs, of which two of each can spawn each shift for a total of seven scientists if you count the RD:

• Pharmacist: The Job of the Day job! Except now without Maintenance access, because there has to be some reason to want to be an MD. Loses Tech Storage because why do they even have this? Your job is to create medicines. Or drugs. Or other chemicals.
  
• Space Explorer: Gets Research, Telescience, Mining, Maintenance and Artifact Research access. Basically the Solarium Nerd job mixed with the Space Patrol job that gets suggested every once in a while. Starts without a labcoat, because they're rugged.
  
• Gas Scientist: Gets Research, Toxins, Mining, Mining Outpost, Engineering, Tool Storage and Tech Storage. Use ore to build like 20 Oxygen tanks. Prepare burn mixes for the engine, bombs for mining and breathable gas for hull breaches.

For this to work, though, Science needs a few small structural changes. Put a miniputt and a Ship Fabricator into the Artifact Research hangar. Maybe make it a bit bigger, too. Move the Artifact Research cargo pad into the Guardbuddy room, and rename it the Research Telepad. Put a Gas Extractor (like they have in Engineering) in Toxins. Add 2 space suit/jetpack/mask combos like found in Mining to Telescience.

[Anticheese]

Chemists used to be their own separate job, and them being rolled in with the rest of science was the best thing to have happened to the job. In the old days, fiercely territorial chemists would jealously guard their sanctum and murder anyone who came near, or ask that they do something useful.

Plus, all the other jobs you listed are all about interacting with people in some way. Science is largely an isolated thing, and you might get bored of artifact research and want to try something else, or try and put together a telesci expedition and find that no one is biting. On top of that, basically every job can be a space explorer in addition to their regular job, since all the pod stuff is open access. Which is a good thing.

I totally appreciate the intent here, but this isn't the way to bring chemistry in line.

[poland spring]

a different but similar idea: A lot of the scientist activities don't really need to be kept in seperate rooms, think of the jolly cooperation that could be fostered by having artifact researchers side by side with chemists, telescience jockeys, and bomb makers! I mean whatever the legitimate use of plasma research is supposed to be

[salix_catus]

Whilst a space specific job would be good. I think the amiguity of the scientist job is what makes it so good. I'd be more in favour of getting rid of geneticists and replacing them with chemists. Chemistry is moved to medbay and genetics is moved to research. It makes more sense...

[salix_catus]

Chemists used to be their own separate job, and them being rolled in with the rest of science was the best thing to have happened to the job. In the old days, fiercely territorial chemists would jealously guard their sanctum and murder anyone who came near, or ask that they do something useful.

I forgot about this... Yeah chemistry is fine being a part of research. In fact I think the location of chemistry in cogmap 2 (closer to the entrance)will help things.

[Erev]

I'm still rooting for a physical vs biological sciences split. It seems simplest and keeps one job from having too many toys. While, as a rule, more toys are better right now research far outstrips all other departments when it comes to messing with things. (Mechanics being an arguable exception with thier tinker-toy contractions.)

Physical Sciences:
Chemistry
Toxins
Material Sciences

Biological Sciences:
Genetics
Pathology

Either/or (or SPACE):
Telescience
Artlab

[atomic1fire]

I could see scientist being split into different jobs, provided that the jobs were made more fun as a result.

As a whole, scientist feels very much like a hard mode where you're really free to do whatever you want, but the toys you have access to are kind of difficult as a result.

I'm probably guilty of only picking scientist because chemistry, but science is only ever given attention when something is overhauled.

Toxins is kinda hard to use unless you're already an expert.

Telesci requires a knowledge of good locations to even remotely be interesting. I think you could rectify this by leaving "research notes" that give one or two locations away, and give people something to crack x and y for, but I don't know if admins would be up for that suggestion. Personally I think it would be cool if there was a series of notes hidden around several zlevels that gave you the locations for other zlevels. Like a series of puzzles that all continiously lead up to a final zlevel. Unless I'm dumb and that breadcrumb trail already exists somewhere.

Lots of ways to have fun with chemistry, but it's challenge mostly relies on finding secret recipes.

I guess my point is that if science is going to get split into several roles, those roles need to be more fun as a result.

I would love a science based adventure role. Especially if it had access to a limited selection of guns for killing zombies and ghouls.

[Grek]

Unless I'm dumb and that breadcrumb trail already exists somewhere.

Space GPS. The majority of starting signals on it are places on the Adventure Zone Z level that you can teleport to.

[atomic1fire]

Welp I never figured that out.

I guess I have some telescience to do eventually.

[Vitatroll]

Sounds logical. It'd probably end in people hacking the doors between departments, similar to how people break down that table in chem/pharm every round.

As for why science is the way it is; it probably has to do with the amount of coders who mained scientists. It's also probably more fun to code and make stuff for science than, say, mining, or the chaplain. Science holds the most puzzles. It holds the endgame. I started out avoiding science like the plague but wound up floating over there when when I got bored of playing careless whisper as a drunken, one armed monkey wearing a dress (it took a while).

Below is just fluff opinions on science jobs:

Toxins: Used to make bombs. Literally no other reason for toxins. Not even the engine. There is nothing this department can do for engineering that engineering can't handle. You need that burnmix lit ASAP. Like, 2 mins in if you can help it. Waiting on a scientist would be murder for engineers.

Telsci+Artlab: Could be standalone if paired with artlab. Low level telsci is looting z1 and z3. High level telsci is looting z2 and solarium. It's basically all about the loot in the end.

Chem: Low level chem is very easy to learn. Heals: get a 100u beaker. Aluminium+2xHydrogen+2xOxygen+Sulfur makes 40u Styptic Powder, isolate the styptic then remove 10u of it. Then add 30 Carbon. Eject the beaker and add 30u of clean blood, which gives you 90u of synthflesh. Takes about 30 seconds. Kills: Sugar+Mercury+Lithium makes Space Drugs. Spacedrugs at 674k makes Neurotoxin. You can smoke it by making smoke powder: Iron+Oxygen+Hydrogen makes stabilizer, which keeps it from smokin in yer face. Potassium+Phosphorous+Sugar makes Smoke Powder that smokes when heated to 374k. You can make this into a grenade by adding 30 of the Neurotox and 20 of the Smoke Powder to a 50u beaker, then heating it to around 350-360k. Then you attach a timer/igniter assembly to the beaker. That's it. There are better or worse (depending on how you look at it) things you can make, naturally, but the simple things go far. I don't understand why it's viewed as hard. That being said, lots of small, oft used chems could use a poster on the wall. Like diethylamine and acetone, for instance.

I'm still in favor of giving chem access to MDs. Captain Goon, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Station and Nanotrasen, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Goon, open this gate. Mr. Goon, tear down this table!

[atomic1fire]

TG has a vending machine that connects botany and kitchen, so they can dispense vegetables.

I think it would be P cool if scientists could make their own pills and dispense them with custom names to medbay. Medbay has a reagent scanner so it's not like they can't trust chemistry.