From
a different thread on certain library and scholar bugs:
I need a medical library! All my medical staff are discussing Geology and reading books about Surveying instead of the diagnosis and suturing books...
This illustrates a different function of labs: exerting control over which topics get researched at your fort, and possibly forcing certain types of research to occur.
- Observatories: For Astronomy, or the observation of astronomical bodies by the Astronomer
- Laboratories: For the study of experimental sciences and technical fields
- Chemistry laboratory: For the Chemist and his Chemistry
- Mechanical laboratory: For Engineering and the Optics and Fluid engineers
- Cabinet of curiosities: For the study of Natural science on biological material - live and dead vermin and non-sentient creatures and parts of bodies
- Anatomical theater: For dissecting corpses of creatures or parts of cadavers to advance Medical science
My own comments on the lab types:
1. Observatory: Probably won't require much setup; telescopes would probably help, but require fairly advanced optics engineering to produce lenses or curved mirrors. Almost certainly will need to be placed outside, with clear vertical access to the sky (I'm not sure if the game engine is sophisticated enough to allow glass roofs for this).
2. Chemistry lab: Probably will require fairly substantial setup. A lot of chemistry is best done, or even exclusively done, with glass apparatus, which can be quite difficult (or at least slow) to acquire in sufficient quantity if you don't have local sand.
3. Engineering lab: Proper research will probably require a few mechanisms, ropes, and other supplies to remain in the lab.
> Allowing the order to "make rock mechanisms" (from the current Mechanic's workshop) somewhere in the Engineering lab location interface could make the setup phase significantly simpler. Otherwise, a functional Engineering lab will most likely require a Mechanic's workshop on the premises.
> Most Optics research (anything requiring lenses) will probably require a glass furnace to be placed inside the lab. Experiments will consume sand and fuel.
> I'm not sure what supplies would be required for fluid engineering.
4. Cabinet of Curiosities: The list of examples given left me unsure how this one is supposed to be distinct from "Dissection lab" (which you called "Anatomical Theater").
> Going over
the wiki's Topics list suggests this to be something to the effect of "Biology lab" or "Zoology lab." Not sure what supplies would be required, and getting animals to study might be somewhat problematic.
5. Dissection lab: I would prefer to implement this as a permission at the Hospital (tying into
this suggestion about moving the Hospital to the Locations list). The full list of relevant permissions is probably off this topic.
> A medical Dissection would consume an animal and train medical skills (at least Surgeon, Suturer, Wound dresser, and Bone doctor; not sure about Diagnostician). May or may not provide the typical butchering products.
> As such, dissections would require the normal Hospital furniture and supplies: Tables for surgery; and cloth, thread, soap, and maybe other things for their respective functions.
> Medical dissection might be a consumer of rabbits, cavies, and other animals too small to reliably yield butchering products.