Power

Power is the system by which ship components are supplied with electricity to function.

Generator

The Power Generator is a key component of the ship. It perpetually produces power so long as it is supplied with sufficient Coolant. Players can manually set the power output value of the Generator. The final measurement used is to be determined ( kWh, MJ, etc ) but internally we'll just use a flat integer for now.

Consumption of Coolant is static below a specific Production Threshold. This means that, if the threshold is at 600, producing 600 or producing 450 units of power requires the same amount of Coolant per second. Going above this threshold will start increasing the amount of Coolant required per unit of power produced, becoming less and less efficient the higher the reactor is set. The reactor will have a maximum power output beyond which it cannot be set. We do however plan on having different kinds of reactors and upgrades eventually, so this value is not fixed.

The Production Threshold is also subject to change, and will do so as the reactor accumulates Decay. This means a reactor set to the threshold output will start requiring more Coolant per second once decay has reduced the threshold.

The Generator slowly builds up Decay as it is running.

Prototype Test Values

Production can be set between 0 and 4000 units. Production Threshold is at 2000 units. Accumulates 1 point of Decay Rating every 2 seconds. Every Decay Level reduces the Production Threshold by 150. Coolant use is 0.5/s per power unit produced while below or at the Production Threshold. For every power unit above the Production Threshold, increase Coolant/s rate by 0.002%. ( This is a linear increase, we really want a rising increase, but I need to go into the math for that and I don't have the math right now )

Batteries

The ship comes equipped with a number of Batteries (specific amount TBD and supposed to be modular for the player). Batteries store excess power produced by the Generator. If the Generator fails to meet the power demands of the ship, the batteries try to supply the required deficit.

Batteries accumulate Decay as they are discharged, but not while they are charging. For each Decay Level they gain, their max charge capacity is reduced. Batteries will automatically discharge their stored power when a shortage occurs, but players can manually disable this behaviour for individual batteries.

Prototype Test Values

A Battery can store up to 30.000 power units, this is it's Charge Capacity. A Batteries Maximum Output is 500 units per second. A fully charged battery lasts for 1 minute when outputting it's maximum amount of charge for the full duration. Each Decay Level reduces the batteries Charge Capacity by 1500. The ship has 6 Batteries.

Junctions

Each ship section has it's own Junction at which power can be regulated. Players can freely set the amount of power the Junction draws from the Generator. Each Junction will attempt to draw the specified amount of power, irregardless of the Generators supply. Ship components behind each Junction can only draw the amount of power the Junction dictates. If components behind the Junction draw more power than the Junction provides, the component is disabled. Any time this happens, the Junction accumulates Decay.

Cables

Each Junctions power throughput is limited by it's Cable component. Cables have a maximum throughput that is safe. A Junction pulling more power than the Cables throughput allows will accumulate Decay on the Cables. Each Decay Level on the Cables further reduces their maximum throughput. Fully Decayed Cables stop working, leading to a full power outage in that area of the ship. Later plans include cable fires and other such complications.

Insufficient Power

If the Junctions of the ship try to draw a combined total of power that exceeds the current production of the Generator, they will attempt to draw from the ships Batteries to make up the difference. If the power demand is still not met, the ship component with the highest current power demand will be shut down automatically. When a component shuts down like this, it decays the associated Junction. This continues until enough components are shut down that the current power output is higher than the remaining demand. Life Support systems are the exception to this, as they are always the last components to be shut down, even if other components draw less power.

Power Excess

When the Generator produces more power than is currently being drawn by the Junctions, the excess is stored in Batteries. If all available Batteries are fully charged, the excess builds up Decay in the Cable components.