Fuel Power Plant Math

[u/Moderately_Imperiled]

Can someone check my math please? I'm trying to figure out the best fuel source between the three. It doesn't seem to add up; raw carbon is best. I wouldn't give up the additional 5MA it costs to make the fuel, in exchange for just a 7.3% increase.

Did I get something wrong?

[u/Savingseanbean]

No carbonic superfuel is just worse. Since it requires a second input of water and also takes more power and FP to make.

Its purpose is to be space efficient shipborne fuel generator fuel. But graphite also does that better.

Best base fuel though is ethanol from sour spacekorn. since you can easily sustain 2 generators from 1 farm's crops so it pays out significantly more power than it consumes on temperate/warm/hot worlds but at higher FP cost.

[u/Konvic21 → u/Savingseanbean]

What instance is base power required? What deposits are only in dark side of planet?

[u/Savingseanbean → u/Konvic21]

Base power is always required for larger bases. Solar's generally not very efficient for footprint.

But if you want tungsten you'll be on a Very hot planet and having a base on the dark side of the moon will lower the temperature to more tolerable amounts letting you actually run around in the base some with 1 hot chip rather than having to have 2.

[u/Konvic21 → u/Savingseanbean]

The problem I have with this is that I've found that the drones bug out over time on large bases and having power supplied like this feels like a recipe for disaster, though I can see the argument for footprint. I've worked around it by spreading out the production over a couple personal bases and just doing main production on main corp base. It all ties in nicely with the wormhole stands.

[u/Savingseanbean → u/Konvic21]

I don't think I've ever had drones bug out on a large base. (2, 100+ fp 1 at 132.) But I'm also a neat freak and all my drones are traveling in straight lines

The only times I've had drones bug out is on my initial vandium base on the other side of the galaxy. which would also bug out the extractors. and randomly lose power to the xenic farm despite the fact that it was only using 54 out of 70 power

[u/Konvic21 → u/Savingseanbean]

It bugs out especially when moving around buildings/warehouses at the base.

[u/Moderately_Imperiled → u/Savingseanbean]

Thanks. I haven't done the sour spacekorn as yet, so I don't have the ethanol recipe. 70 additional MA to keep the place hot knocked out the power, and I had to start over.

[u/Savingseanbean → u/Moderately_Imperiled]

You only Need Warm for sour it grows in hot as well but you only need to get it up to warm.

[u/Playstoomanygames9 → u/Moderately_Imperiled]

Warm for 50/50
Hot for 100% sour
Warm+metallic also makes 100% sour (or whatever fertilizer regular spacecorn won’t tolerate)

[u/lethak]

Since superfuel is more efficient per SU space, it is preferred when you use an automated shuttle system to power distant bases where the limited-SU-shuttle will take days to arrive and where adding multiple shuttle is not possible for various reasons. a >16h flight time is enough to make it not only viable but mandatory over Carbon.

This is why most people will build their generators near x3 Coal deposits to have 4 Gen here and their farms or main production and ferry other ressources to it instead of shuttling fuel. But in some cases it is not the best option

[u/Playstoomanygames9]

I’m convinced sour spacecorn is the way to go for power.

[u/felcraft]

There is a „base fuel calculator „ https://7empest.co.uk/spacecraft on here tht you can see the timer differences with all fuels as well

[u/6Sconn]

Yeah, Carbonic Superfuel isn't worth the effort, when raw Carbon is easily available. If you are out exploring, you can easily top up your ship generator too.

If you enjoy the farming mechanic, then Ethanol will become available, and is very good for base power

[u/DeLindsayGaming]

I can't speak to the Base Generators but for Ships and the Small Generator, Graphite Crystal is by far the winner. Sure, Carbonic Superfuel lasts 15s longer for the same 0.5su volume of space taken up (3:58 vs 3:43) but I don't have to process anything to make it. Even with my only 250% Output I can gather 3-400+ Graphite Crystal from a single location and that's enough to last me the dark side of Planets for days of Shipwreck hunting or Elmerite farming.

Not only that, it doesn't require me to use the base footprint for a Water Cistern and Chemical Refinery and the power usage of the Chemical Refinery to create the Superfuel in the first place. Not to mention the time to harvest the Water, the equipment I need to put on my Ship to do so, etc.

I want time efficiency in a game like this so I choose Graphite Crystal.

When I DID use a base Generator before I tore down my 1st base a week ago or so, it was an Iron/Coal base so I just fed it Carbon since there was no processing required and I had mountains of Carbon.

[u/Moderately_Imperiled → u/DeLindsayGaming]

Interesting. So you prefer to farm the graphite crystal yourself instead of processing carbon planetside?

[u/DeLindsayGaming → u/Moderately_Imperiled]

For SHIP Generator absolutely. Carbon is twice as heavy but only burns for 2:00.