Science Station: Player Guide

Science: Abilities and Responsibilities

• Science can do the following things:
• Use the cursor pointer to "sweep the sector" looking for information. Clicking on objects in the sector will bring up an analysis screen which will show:
• Distance and bearing to friendly ships and bases. The type of ship or base and its shield strength will also be displayed.
• Distance and bearing to enemy ships. Enemy ships and BioMechs will at first appear as unidentified white markers, and their identity and shield strength will not be displayed.
• Distance and bearing to monsters and other creatures such as whales. In Artemis 2.1 and earlier, monsters and whales will appear different and the information screen displays their ID. In Artemis 2.2, all monsters, including whales, appear the same and their ID is hidden until the monster is scanned.  
• Distance and bearing to anomalies. (Artemis 2.3+)
• Objects that cannot be clicked on, such as mines, asteroids, black holes, etc. can be hovered over with the cursor pointer, which will also show distance and bearing to that point.
• Science can see through nebulae, and it can see ships that have the ability to hide from Long Range Scan.
• Unidentified enemy ships and Biomechs have to be scanned using the Scan button, located to the bottom right. The scan process takes a few seconds, during which a progress bar will appear around the ship. The scan may be interrupted if another scan is started before the first is complete. 
• After an enemy ship is scanned, the analysis screen shows the race and class of each ship, and the strength of its front and rear shields. Once scanned, an enemy ship can be scanned again to show shield frequencies and system damage.
• A bar graph depicts the shields' ability to absorb damage at different beam frequencies. The higher the bar the stronger the shield at that frequency, and conversely, the lowest bar is the weakest shield frequency (and therefore the optimal beam frequency to do maximum damage). A detailed explanation of this system can be found on the Beam Frequency page.
• Intel on the enemy can also suggest which taunts Comms can use to have the best effect on that enemy. 
• In Artemis 2.2, monsters have to be scanned as with enemy ships, and a scan will identify the monster and display its type. Monsters have no shields, but a bar will appear which represents that monster's health. This bar was added in Artemis 2.3, along with a description and some "scientific" information. Monsters cannot be scanned twice, and there is no need for a second scan.
• As of Artemis 2.3, anomalies can be selected by the Science console. Scanning the anomaly will reveal the Upgrade it will provide when picked up.

Science: Basic Play

• As a Science Officer, remember that scanning is your friend - it gives you a wealth of information on your target. Scan everything you can as soon as you can. The second scan of a ship is the most important as it shows the frequency the Weapons Officer's beams should be set to for the most damage.
• The Science Officer has access to more information than any other player. Develop a sense of what information would be helpful to who, and be ready to provide it at the moment it is needed. Handy things to be ready to provide:
• If coming out of combat in battle-ready shape: Bearing to the next cluster of targets
• If coming out of combat damaged: Bearing to the nearest starbase (and/or the nearest starbase with nukes)
• If getting ready to make a long transit: Location of any anomalies near the route to pick up on the way
• If entering combat: Composition of the fleet, most dangerous ship, weakest ship, and shield frequencies for each. 
• The long range scan only shows colored blips with target designations. Only Science can see the type of ship that each blip represents. Remember the hierarchy of enemy ships and help your captain pick his or her battles carefully:
• Cruisers are weakest,
• Battleships are in the middle,
• Dreadnoughts are the strongest.
• If scan range is limited, you may need to get close to targets before you can see them. However, all bases in a sector will share their sensor information with you, and you can scan enemies that are in range of a base. Once an enemy ship is scanned, it will always be scanned, even if it moves out of scan range and back. The same holds for enemy ships that have the ability to cloak.  
• Don't get impatient. You must finish a scan before you start the next one. If you try to scan another ship too soon, your previous scan will be aborted. Fortunately, if you click on the same ship too soon, the extra click will be ignored. The scan will complete as normal, and then you can start a second scan.  

Science: Advanced Play 

• In combat, knowing the enemy's shield weaknesses is very important. In fact, poor use of beams can result in dealing just 37.5% the damage that would otherwise be possible. Therefore, it is imperative that the Science officer coordinate with the Weapons officer to adjust the ship's beams to match the weakest frequency of the enemy shields. This requires that the Science officer keep track of the various enemy ships and their frequencies. 
• The ability to scan anomalies, added in 2.3, adds to the strategy of using Energy Upgrades to extend the ship's range. Make sure you know not only what anomalies are nearby, but what type they are. The Captain should never have to guess whether an anomaly will provide energy or not.
• Science is one of the few consoles that can be selected by multiple players. It is highly recommended, however, that the extra players select a Captain's Map instead. Otherwise, the extra players could interfere with the Science officer's ability to select targets and scan them. 

Science: Multiple Ship Play 

• When multiple ships are working together in a fleet, they share Science intel automatically. Each ship has their own selection cursor, but all ships can see enemy targets being scanned. Science officers in a fleet may want to coordinate to work together to scan a sector, or they may assign a single Science officer to accomplish the task.

Science Station Hotkeys

• F1: Help

• F9: Prev Console

• F10: Next Console

• Y: Closest Contact

• U: Next Contact

• I: Prev Contact

• Enter: Scan Contact