Power Management needs to be clearer

Jarod997 shared this feedback 24 days ago
Not Enough Votes

This is a suggestion which borders on being a bug.

I built a refinery on my starter gird and when I went to build something it "shut down". I couldn't for the life of me figure out what was going on. I only had one "tiny" battery. I built 2 more, no good. I built a Reactor, still no good. Surely I should have enough power from one reactor. But then I built the largest battery pack, and lo-and-behold, the refinery sprang to life.

I think it would be EXTREMELY handy to for there to be some sort of power management UI (screen, module/block, however you want to imagine it) where players can see what is trying to consume power, what is creating it, and the power status's of those blocks. So if I was in that UI and I clicked on my reactor wondering why it's output is zero, I could see whether or not it was turned on or off, and if it has fuel (and what kind it needs). Speaking of which, do reactors NEED fuel? What kind of fuel? It's not painfully clear to me what if any it is, and where to get it. AND I'm playing through the "tutorial" / survival story arc.

Replies (3)

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This is the LCDs 2 Script in SE1 that designed by MMaster as a script mod. I suspect when we get more integration, LCDs and Scripting Tools, we will see a script mod very similar in SE2. As for whether it will be built into the vanilla game - unlikely.

For reference:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=407158161

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I've seen some of the scripted systems - they're nice.

But even if they explain how they reference power consumption and usage in SE2 better it would help.

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I think the Refinery should scale with power input within a certain range. The more power you supply, the faster it refines ore.

You might still need more than one refinery for large-scale operations — but not hundreds of them, or dozens running for real-life days.

Speed modules could significantly increase both power consumption and refining speed. There could also be unique modules that provide a massive speed boost while consuming extreme amounts of power (I made a suggestion about that earlier).

In this system, power becomes the real limiting factor, rather than the sheer number of refinery blocks you’re forced to build.

Of course, there need to be a clear and transparent indication of power usage, so players understand exactly what’s happening. For that, we’ll likely need to wait for proper automation tools — event controllers or perhaps something even better.

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Reactors run on Uranium =)

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Yes, and if I had my SE hat on I would have thought about that first. I DID eventually remember that and was pleasantly surprised to find my reactor running. Mind you, I suppose it would have helped if I had it connected to my conveyor network as well, it would have pulled the uranium in itself.

BUT - Imagine my surprise when I find "Uranium Fuel Rods" in the production system. To which I immediately think - these must be used to run the reactor! And then my surprise and dismay when I couldn't put the fuel rods INTO the reactor. "If the reactor doesn't run on fuel rods, what the heck DOES it run on!?" and then, hours later... "Oh... plain uranium."

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