Hydrogen Engine

1, it's literally called 'Hydrogen Engine' 2, irl generators also don't make any noise when they aren't producing power ;)

Depends on the design or the generator.

When it has litle to no load it runs idle, when it is beeing fully loaded it burns more fuel so it under more stress which results in vibration and more noise.

It doesn't really matter what it's called. It matters what it is. And it is a generator.

I also think they should rename it to hydrogen generator, because it would avoid confusion. But it's not very hard to understand the concept of it, if you just think about it for a second.

They didn't because it'd cause confusion with the h2/o2 generator.

@Malware Man, Keen really f***ed themselves this time! Thrusters are also 'engines' so it's confusing either way. The simple solution would be to just call everything by the correct name in the first place! O2H2 generator = electrolyzer; Hydrogen engine = hydrogen generator; Thruster can remain thruster idc.

It is a generator that uses a combustion engine. Not only that, but it isn't at full use all the time when in use.

Edit: A piston combustion engine for clarity.

True, but I think people's intuition will win out here, even if it is physically incorrect. Ironic since it will actually take more work to make it incorrect than to leave it correct.

I haven't worked on generators, so I'm curious. You say the sound changes which I assume is because more fuel is being released to create a more powerful combustion even though the RPM doesn't change. So my guess is that some aspects of the sound get louder while others don't? Moreover, the pitch stays the same?

That's pretty much the reason. More fuel, louder explosions, but the crankshaft is still rotating same speed. There are a lot of nuances that go into power production that have more to do with electricity than the engines themselves. I would like rovers that sound like cars but this item is a generator and should behave as such.

Yeah, I'm studying to be a physicist in college so I understood what you meant as soon as you said it. I hadn't thought about how a generator would vary its output before. And, of course, I know what changing the RPM would actually do. It would change the frequency of the generator's AC output (something not described in game) whereas the change in fuel combusted is what is needed to keep the voltage constant as the resistance (due to the devices being operated) changes. In other words, to increase current, which is what they are measuring in game.

I got all that. I was hoping you'd indulge me and describe the difference in the sound, but that's okay. I found examples. Thank you, Robert.

I come from a country where we regularly rely on Generators, due to an unstable power grid... and this is Indeed how they work.

I'm here to say:

I like that idea. That would open the door for scripts to manage the engine output. It would also give me a consequence for always forgetting to turn my ships off!

In a real generator the RPM is constant. Without going into too much of the gritty details a generator uses more fuel to "push harder" has the electrical load increases. Fuel consumption should depend on demand. Generators often have idle speeds but normally are either off or on and only idle to warm up or cool down.

@Robert Yeah, I don't actually care. They named it 'engine' so I will view it as such. I will continue to criticize until they either change the name or the behavior of the block.

To get rid of this tantrum, it's easier for Keen to put the right name on it. For this is (and always will be) a power generator.

You will never have mechanical energy extracted directly from it.

And the rpm should be constant. Such a good energy generator should be. They can boost the audio volume when it is providing more load.

It would have made way more sense if it were a metane generator. Methane can be combusted in an engine alike diesel. Hydrogen works best on fuel cells or large turbines. This model is a lost oportunity to give shine to an generaly forgotten block, the oxygen farm. Which could have been modify to produce methane as a by product of the plants inside, making it a rewenable chemical power suply and ease the use of baterys to hold large amounts of power.

Also the fact that you're heating and electrolizing water to esentialy revert that last step and somehow produce more energy that the cost of heating and separating it on the first place is beyond me. Hi 5's for a eternal motion machine I supose...

Definitely B - sound based on % output.

In fact all blocks should be changed based on whatever they output or the internal speed, range etc, of the block itself. the only thing that should change based on grid/player speed is, wheels, wind noise, and doppler effects.

• Refinery/Assembler - based on % of max speed with 4 speed modules
• Gravity Generators/mass - based on % of min/max power consumed or strength/polarity of Field direction.
• Thrustrers - based on % of min to max thrust force.
• Wheels/rotors - speed of rotation (coasting) additional sound if braking or accelerating under power and not accelerating/decelerating due to gravity while coasting.
• Pistons - Altered (distorted) if under/overdriven by slider change.
• Suspensions - Squeaking/creaking on bumps.

I think this is a great idea, and would add a lot to the game's immersion.

Also, perhaps cryo chambers could produce a slightly louder noise when occupied.