Factorio Forums

Am I the only one, who considers using Prod3 Modules in science pack production before launching the first few rockets?
At least it seems that noone else seems to use prod3 mods in science, at least noone, who posts their setups online at the stage of still having belts and only at around 1 science/sec.

So my question is: why not?
Is it just not viable - which at least for purple and yellow science seems illogical, as prod3 should be able to save quite a few input resources...
Or does just noone posts belted mid/late-game 1 science/sec setups?
Or am I just not able to google such setups?

Your logic makes sense. Still, in my case I didn't even think about it, mainly because my science research always outpaced my other progress and I rarely feel resource-constrained. I will probably consider it now.

EDIT: Having read the responses below... I now seriously doubt I'll use any level 2/3 modules before the first rocket.

The standard speedrun strat is to use productivity 1 in labs and yellow/purple science. Then collect them all and merge them for 4x productivity 3 in the rocket silo.

Productivity 3 gives 2.5x the bonus compared to Productiviy 1, but costs 50x as much. So you need to do a lot of infinite research for it to pay off.

Productivity math: viewtopic.php?t=5705

The answer is: it depends. Prod 3 takes much longer to break even than prod 1, but will net 2.5x the return after they break even. Speedrunners don't bother with prod 3 in science because, frankly, they're not going to be around long enough or doing enough research to see the return on investment for prod 3 in anything but the rocket itself. On the other hand, if you're going to stick around for more than a 1 and done launch, putting them in earlier you can start seeing pure returns sooner as well.

You can launch a rocket for the price tag of placing Prod3's in all your labs. The cost is simply too high and the payoff is too far beyond the first rocket launch. Prod1's on the other hand pay off extremely fast. Prod2's also have a respectable time to pay off.

If you see someone online try to place gigantic Prod3 setups before the first rocket it's time to tear it down because it will NEVER get built. Some players don't understand just how large a factory it takes to plant down prod3's.