Solid Rocket Boosters
Hello,
One thing I would like to see, both for realism aspects and for additional content that was missing in SE1 added to SE2 would be a solid rocket booster, in all 5 sizes the Hydro, Ion, and Atmo engines come in.
User applications could include:
-Single stage planet to vacuum rockets for cargo or personnel transport, or to get a ship from a planetary shipyard to vacuum.
-Missiles, either dumb or guided
-Stage separation assist or ejection seats/compartments
-Assisted Take Off similar to a JATO rocket for heavy objects that need to get airborne but may not have enough initial thrust, specifically a vehicle with enough thrust to maintain altitude, but not enough to get it airborne in any sort of a hurry.
This could be done one of two ways in my opinion, either with a single component booster with a set fuel level, which means adding more thrusters to get the job done for the mass of the object to be moved, or with an engine head and corresponding fuel "tanks" that can be added onto a single thruster to give it enough juice to get where it needs to go.
Booster separation can already be done with merge blocks or connectors.
Let me know what you think, I feel like this would make the game way more immersive and fun.
I like this feedback
hydrogen thrusters are a sort of "solid rocket engine"
the idea of "throw-away" boosters to escape planetary gravity is neat though. and applying it to a weaponsystem is another thing all together.
all in all, i think this may be more "flash" less useful. the idea is neat, and grounded in practical applications, but i dont want to gather a crapload of resources for a system that is not going to be useful again, let alone would need to be rebuilt for the next use with new materials.
hydrogen thrusters are a sort of "solid rocket engine"
the idea of "throw-away" boosters to escape planetary gravity is neat though. and applying it to a weaponsystem is another thing all together.
all in all, i think this may be more "flash" less useful. the idea is neat, and grounded in practical applications, but i dont want to gather a crapload of resources for a system that is not going to be useful again, let alone would need to be rebuilt for the next use with new materials.
Hello!
I think your idea would be better off as a optional mod, and would be best experienced in conjunction with some kind of hardcore realism mod pack.
Currently with how things are balanced in Space Engineers 2, there is no practical or useful reason for such propulsion method to exist, so adding it would require substantial changes to the game's design and balance, otherwise it'd just end up being a cosmetic gimmick.
The changes and re-balancing required to make disposable single use rocket boosters viable or beneficial would most likely also adversely affect existing ship designs, and would heavily restrict aesthetic freedom.
In addition, disposable rocket boosters can already be built by the player as sub-grids, by creating small rocket shaped grids, and merging them onto their main ship via merge blocks.
Kind Regards,
Kiera Rose
Hello!
I think your idea would be better off as a optional mod, and would be best experienced in conjunction with some kind of hardcore realism mod pack.
Currently with how things are balanced in Space Engineers 2, there is no practical or useful reason for such propulsion method to exist, so adding it would require substantial changes to the game's design and balance, otherwise it'd just end up being a cosmetic gimmick.
The changes and re-balancing required to make disposable single use rocket boosters viable or beneficial would most likely also adversely affect existing ship designs, and would heavily restrict aesthetic freedom.
In addition, disposable rocket boosters can already be built by the player as sub-grids, by creating small rocket shaped grids, and merging them onto their main ship via merge blocks.
Kind Regards,
Kiera Rose
An amusing thought, but merge-blocks + connectors + hydrogen thrusters/tanks + the event-controllers can do all of this without adding a whole new propulsion-system, and I don't think 1-off builds such as player-made missiles will be a big enough niche to support something like this.
An amusing thought, but merge-blocks + connectors + hydrogen thrusters/tanks + the event-controllers can do all of this without adding a whole new propulsion-system, and I don't think 1-off builds such as player-made missiles will be a big enough niche to support something like this.
I don't think solid-fuel engines make sense in the "SE universe." After all, even "unguided rockets" powered by solid fuel are nonsensical in the SE universe as presented.
First and foremost, solid-fuel engines require enormous amounts of solid fuel, and solid fuels are predominantly organic substances. A solid-fuel engine’s propellant is manufactured all at once, as a single object or a few objects of considerable size and mass (SRB: ~500 metric tons of propellant in four segments, each segment ~3.7 meters in diameter and ~10 meters long). It cannot be manufactured “piece by piece”; the material for a single segment must be gathered and then processed in a single step.
In reality, a large solid-fuel rocket engine is technologically more complex and demanding than liquid-fuel engines of equivalent power.
As previous commenters have noted, hydrogen engines are more advantageous as booster engines in the SE universe.
The reasons for using solid-fuel boosters in the U.S. space program are military-economic and military-political.
I don't think solid-fuel engines make sense in the "SE universe." After all, even "unguided rockets" powered by solid fuel are nonsensical in the SE universe as presented.
First and foremost, solid-fuel engines require enormous amounts of solid fuel, and solid fuels are predominantly organic substances. A solid-fuel engine’s propellant is manufactured all at once, as a single object or a few objects of considerable size and mass (SRB: ~500 metric tons of propellant in four segments, each segment ~3.7 meters in diameter and ~10 meters long). It cannot be manufactured “piece by piece”; the material for a single segment must be gathered and then processed in a single step.
In reality, a large solid-fuel rocket engine is technologically more complex and demanding than liquid-fuel engines of equivalent power.
As previous commenters have noted, hydrogen engines are more advantageous as booster engines in the SE universe.
The reasons for using solid-fuel boosters in the U.S. space program are military-economic and military-political.
Sounds like something for Kerbel Space.
Technically, you can achieve a multi-stage launch, though you won't use solid fuel. It'll be complex and difficult in SE2's current state, but once merge blocks are added, it'll be more feasible:
1. Use both atmospheric and hydrogen thrusters. Attach the atmospheric thrusters to merge blocks (connectors at the current state).
2. Proceed with launch, with atmospheric thrusters at maximum. Once at altitude where the atmospheric thrusters cut out, detach and discard them. This gives the advantage of losing the mass that would affect the ship under solely hydrogen thrusters.
Sounds like something for Kerbel Space.
Technically, you can achieve a multi-stage launch, though you won't use solid fuel. It'll be complex and difficult in SE2's current state, but once merge blocks are added, it'll be more feasible:
1. Use both atmospheric and hydrogen thrusters. Attach the atmospheric thrusters to merge blocks (connectors at the current state).
2. Proceed with launch, with atmospheric thrusters at maximum. Once at altitude where the atmospheric thrusters cut out, detach and discard them. This gives the advantage of losing the mass that would affect the ship under solely hydrogen thrusters.
I feel this could have value, but only in the specific niche of small player-made weapons. Offer one size only, and the benefit would be to reduce build cost and size in small disposable items where a 150x150x150 cm tank + separate thruster + "docking port to fill the hydrogen tank" would be a disproportionate amount of volume and parts compared to the rest of the missile.
I feel this could have value, but only in the specific niche of small player-made weapons. Offer one size only, and the benefit would be to reduce build cost and size in small disposable items where a 150x150x150 cm tank + separate thruster + "docking port to fill the hydrogen tank" would be a disproportionate amount of volume and parts compared to the rest of the missile.
Replies have been locked on this page!