Aurora 4x
VB6 Aurora => Aurora Suggestions => Topic started by: Maharava on March 07, 2013, 02:03:34 AM
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How about an engine tech that doesn't use fuel, instead 'recharges' (or refuels) when within x of a Sun? Perhaps with less Power Output than a fuel-powered ship, but it would be ideal for fleets or ships that operate far from home on a regular basis, like survey ships
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Even if you could capture 100% of solar energy the surface of solar panels would have to be massive to even consider running a spaceship.
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Logistics are a big part of the game, but if you want a self contained fleet, you can get that with maintenance vessels,fuel harvesters, automines(freighters), and construction brigades(troop transports). Steve has also mentioned plans for ship sections that build missiles, and probably fighters as well. Gas giants are scattered all over, and have much more sorium than before.
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Even if you could capture 100% of solar energy the surface of solar panels would have to be massive to even consider running a spaceship.
We shoot lasers and jump between solar systems in seconds. I'm sure we could make a Trans-Newtonian Solar Harvester :D
Logistics are a big part of the game, but if you want a self contained fleet, you can get that with maintenance vessels,fuel harvesters, automines(freighters), and construction brigades(troop transports). Steve has also mentioned plans for ship sections that build missiles, and probably fighters as well. Gas giants are scattered all over, and have much more sorium than before.
Oh I know, but that's not what I had in mind, and I know I could just plug a Sorium Harvester on my survey ships but that can take a while It'd be cool (I think) to have ships that may be a little slower, but recharge faster ala Destiny from Stargate Universe
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Sorry, but that is not the same thing. Shooting lasers and jumping (ok this one is not covered by modern physics, but is somewhat plausible) between solar systems are not restricted by what is our best approximation of the universal physical laws. Gathering energy from empty void however is. Thus solar panels are not plausible means of gathering energy in Aurora.
On the other hand refueling/recharging a la Stargate Universe by dipping into a star might be possible if somewhat inefficient.
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@Maharava, keep in mind that the SG:U Destiny was functionally scooping raw material from appropriate stars and then refining its' fuel, not recharging powercells.
That does not neccessarily invalidate your suggestion.
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Yeah, Power and Fuel are different things. If Solar Panels were added to Aurora, they'd produce power like reactors do instead of refueling your tanks.
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Though I believe a "sorium-scoop" has been requested previously. Just scoop up some Sorium from a gas giant and refill the tanks. Though there should be some penalty a la Traveller's refined/unrefined fuel.
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Gathering energy from empty void however is. Thus solar panels are not plausible means of gathering energy in Aurora.
just playing devil's advocate here:
the real limitation is not actually the size of the solar panels, it's the size that intercepts light decreasing in intensity by the square of the distance to the sun. you can increase the energy you take in in two ways, by increasing the size of the panel (vastly, for practical effect) or increasing the proximity of the ship to the sun (vastly again)
now, I dropped out of my college physics program because I have the mathematical abilities of a 7-year-old, but I think you'd get a pretty sizable power boost if you opened up a building-sized solar panel very, very close to the sun...like if you ship was parked right over it.
and obviously we could never build something like this using normal physics, but transnewtonian materials? They might just work for that. Transnewtonian physics makes solar power like this practical because it allows greater proximity to the sun, not more efficient solar panels.
I don't like it as a game mechanic though, simply because these ships really don't run on "energy" in the conventional sense. I don't care how much nuclear fuel or fusion stuff you're towing...no ship that weighs 20,000 tons is going 6,000 kps in any sane amount of time. It's not acceleration due to added energy...it's some kind of spacebending flux-charged field, maintained by flux capacitors of course, that uses the tachyon annihilation in the hyperfine interactions of sorium nuclei.
I think that's how it works anyway. You'd have to ask steve. Like I said, I dropped out of my college physics program, long before the classes we took on Sorium. I recall one professor saying that Corbomite was a deadly explosive, but as I understand it, opinions are divided on that.
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As I said, my suggestion is for it to be inefficient as opposed to a conventional Trans-netwonian engine, just not needing to be refueled with Sorium-fuel. Whether it would be a solar-panel the siuze of a building sitting on the sun for 30 days or massive shielded scoops ripping refined sorium from the sun wouldn't matter overly much in my opinion, it's just more the idea of it
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We need an energy resource for the ships and buildings as another layer of micromanagement! How glorious would that be!
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Well, sorium harvesters do already exist. They're also the best way to make fuel by a significant margin. As such, any faster way to make fuel is likely going to be overpowered.
Having several years of fuel isn't terribly difficult anyway. Crew duration isn't too hard either, but maintenance for a gravsurvey ship quickly becomes prohibitive.
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aurora is micromanagement. Thtat said u cna create in some form slowly an expansionst based space fleet that can operate far from home ( fuel harvestors, maintence, asteroid miners, construction bridgades, geo ship, grav ship, throw in a colony ship and freighter and away u go)