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Fix the "dead grid" problem

lkjnmko shared this feedback 6 years ago
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This is a very well-known problem among players, especially on small grids where the small reactors have a single inventory/conveyor port:

  1. You have a grid that uses reactors for power, where reactors are (obviously) connected to the conveyor system.
  2. The grid uses up all uranium from the reactors, and goes offline.

Result:

  • You find it impossible to get the grid back online, because you can't fill the reactors with uranium, since the conveyor system doesn't work when the grid is offline...
  • This can be particularly frustrating (and not user-friendly at all) for new players who have no idea about this issue until it happens to them.

As a workaround, what currently experienced players do is to place an additional, outward-facing small reactor on our builds, which is rather wasteful, and adds unnecessary weight, since that reactor is normally not in use, and is only there for emergencies.

Would be nice to see some solution to this problem.

Solutions (or mitigation) I can personally think of:

  • Add a second inventory/conveyor port on the small grid small reactor as well. This would allow us to leave an outward-facing inventory port of a reactor for emergencies, and still connect that reactor to the conveyor system.
  • Add a new, special block that can be placed on the exterior of the ship and accepts e.g. energy cells to provide power for the conveyor system.
  • Add a small, 1x1x1 solar panel block that we can place on the grids to provide the emergency power required for the operation of the conveyor system. (This block is sorely needed anyway according to many players.)
  • Simply allow the manual filling of reactors through the conveyor system even when the grid is offline.

7 I like this feedback

Replies (6)

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lkjnmko ● 6 years ago

Oh yes, another idea for a solution (and an explanation how could the conveyor system still work when the grid is offline):

  • Using some of our suit power when we put items into an inventory through the conveyor system while the grid is offline.

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No Thanks ● 6 years ago

I can honestly say that this problem has happened to me only enough times to start making emergency reactors (Or alternatively reserve batteries) mandatory on all of my builds. Large grids I usually have a small percentage of batteries locked in recharge, small grids I Always have one small reactor with the port facing out (seems a bit... dramatic to think of a single small reactor as dead weight... its weight is negligible compared to even the smallest grid and it's not really dead weight if it lets you start up a grid that is otherwise a giant paperweight). To me it fits the vibe of the game, but I can see how it frustrates people. I, and many others still believe there should be some bottled version of energy, like H2 and O2, which would help solve this problem in a reasonable way without dumbing things down.

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Warlord ● 6 years ago

Could always install a battery on the grid and leave it off except for emergencies.

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ismail YUMAK ● 5 years ago

I like these ideas, especially 1x1 solar panel.. But I want to ask, if we put sorter just before the reactor? Since long time I couldn't play properly or I might misunderstood the issue (as I understand, conveyor system takes/pulls all uranium from reactor and leaves it empty, then no uranium, no reactor fuel, no energy.. rigth? Does sorter keep uranium in reactor? (just an idea if I understand correctly..

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NovaEngie ● 2 years ago

While I do agree this SHOULD be fixed, I will say there's an even worse problem: hydrogen engine powered vehicles. If you somehow manage to let them completely eat up all their ice, hydrogen reserves, and batteries, You. Are. Screwed. You need the O2/H2 generator to generate hydrogen for the engine, and you need the engine to provide power for the O2/H2 generator. These vehicles CANNOT start themselves back up again without a reactor, solar panel, or external help.

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andersenman ● 2 years ago

Nothing to fix here, because nothing is broken. It's your task as the engineer to engineer yourself a solution, and the game does not withhold anything from you to letting you do just that. Use a jumpstart battery you otherwise keep on recharge or turned off. Carry those few uranium ingots by hand and stuff them in the reactor by hand. "But what if I built everything in so that no port is available for stuffing?" Use your grinder and make one accessible. Or don't build everything in in the first place.

This game is called Space Engineers, not Space Whiners Who Need Everything Served On A Silver Platter. It's frankly embarrassing you would unironically permit yourself being caught complaining about how the game doesn't play itself for you.

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NovaEngie ● 2 years ago

You know, being an elitist doesn't make you cool. It just makes you seem like a jerk. Really, just keeping the conveyor system live so you can manually move stuff into the reactor from the connector or exposed cargo container is enough. Not everything in a grid requires power as it is; merge blocks and connectors work regardless unless explicitly turned off. It's not much of a stretch to extend that.

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andersenman ● 2 years ago

Yes, because those blocks are arguably latches, only requiring power to be available to change states, not to maintain them. (Yes, even in the face of the game's visual simplification that makes connectors, landing gears, and mag plates look magically frozen in place.) Whereas conveyors actually need to do work to move things from A to B.


Elitist? Oh, please. Let's imagine the game of football, shall we? You have a foot, you have a ball, you have a field, you have a goal. What you are asking here is to have the game of football "fixed" by reducing the size of the field with the sole reasoning that the goal be far too far away for your convenience, bullying you into getting your lazy ass in gear to gain the ground and get the round thing from here in the square thing over there. (I mean, it's not much of a stretch, is it? Other ball games use smaller fields, too, no? Some are even small enough to fit on a table!) Now what do you think does that make you look like? And do you actually believe getting likened to a jerk by someone like that ought to be something for me to be concerned about?

"You need the O2/H2 generator to generate hydrogen for the engine, and you need the engine to provide power for the O2/H2 generator. These vehicles CANNOT start themselves back up again without a reactor, solar panel, or external help." Wee, wee, wee. Welcome to reality. That's exactly what happens in a car when you manage to run out of fuel and drain your battery. You can put fuel back in the tank, but you also need to jump-start it electrically for the fuel pump to be able to move it to where it's used. (And to power the starter, of course.) Either way, you need external help. (Even for those old junkers you can start by running them down a hill. After all, unless they already happen to sit on a slope, they don't push themselves, now do they?) Deal with it. The next time you build a ship, instead of whining and demanding the game be changed for all players, including those players who don't see powerless conveyor networks not conveying anything as a life-ruiningly, soul-destroyingly insurmountable obstacle to fun in a video game, and therefore withhold their vote on this request, … bring a spare power source.

I mean, it's not much of a stretch, is it?

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