TomKerbal Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 (edited) <> Edited May 19, 2023 by TomKerbal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenryBlatbugIII Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 (edited) Isn't your entire argument here based on your assumption that "I think [1 unit of EC] is approx. 1 kW kJ"? Leaving aside the fact that a kW is a unit of energy per second and not a unit of total stored energy (I think you meant kJ?), you haven't presented any evidence for that conversion rate. You could estimate the conversion rate of EC to Joules by looking at the ion engines (or the solar panels, but I think that requires more assumptions). (Of course, you might still find that all the numbers are tuned for gameplay purposes rather than for physical realism.) Edited May 3, 2023 by HenryBlatbugIII misread OP, corrected Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimera Industries Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 Even though they are way underpowered when compared to real life, fuel cells in game are still one of the quickest ways to get electricity, the fastest being engine alternators, of course... Very nice math! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomKerbal Posted May 3, 2023 Author Share Posted May 3, 2023 (edited) <> Edited May 19, 2023 by TomKerbal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimera Industries Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 Just now, TomKerbal said: Then the factor shrinks from 150 to 15. Still enough, isn't it ? Yeah, that's still significant, but I can't say KSP is perfectly realistic, something strikes me as being just a little bit off from reality... Interesting observation, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomKerbal Posted May 3, 2023 Author Share Posted May 3, 2023 (edited) <> Edited May 19, 2023 by TomKerbal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenryBlatbugIII Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 2 minutes ago, TomKerbal said: But, o.k., if you like, we can think of 1U = 10kJ. Then the factor shrinks from 150 to 15 My point is that we have just as much evidence for that conversion factor as we do for the factor of 1U=150 kJ. You need to compare this calculation to other measurements (maybe the energy storage per volume in a battery, or the output of a solar panel, or the power requirements of an ion engine or even a lamp) before you can claim there's any kind of physics or chemistry mistake. (But you're right that you didn't make the kW=kJ mistake. I misread your first sentence as "electric charge unit" since "electric power unit" isn't displayed anywhere in-game.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimera Industries Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 16 minutes ago, TomKerbal said: I thought about bringing this into the discussions, but then I decided on the bug because it is such a big departure from reality. Besides, I find the subject very interesting. Fuel cells are indeed quite interesting. The only time I see them used is in the in-game stock propeller-powered aircraft, and when making the service module for a Saturn V Apollo CSM, but they have a lot of potential, though- for example, ion-powered craft could really benefit from the quick power generation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomKerbal Posted May 3, 2023 Author Share Posted May 3, 2023 (edited) <> Edited May 19, 2023 by TomKerbal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimera Industries Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 It's almost like the game Astroneer- electricity is just measured in mysterious "Units" of power- EX: a rover might use 1 Unit of EC per second it is running, but since there's nothing to base it off of, it's super ambiguous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Aziz Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 2 hours ago, TomKerbal said: You see now why you clearly prefer solar cells and nobody uses this useless FC... perhaps No, it's because solar panels are available from day 1 and generate enough EC to power a spacecraft almost all the way to Jool where the RTG takes the job. And I ain't wasting a drop of fuel on electricity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HebaruSan Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 1 hour ago, chimera industries said: electricity is just measured in mysterious "Units" of power- EX: a rover might use 1 Unit of EC per second it is running, but since there's nothing to base it off of, it's super ambiguous. Maybe it's not a coincidence that multiple games do this. An intentionally unspecified unit with unknown conversions to other more familiar units could serve as a way to hide discrepancies for purposes of game balance. Either way, this is less of a bug report than a disagreement about design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomKerbal Posted May 3, 2023 Author Share Posted May 3, 2023 (edited) <> Edited May 19, 2023 by TomKerbal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomKerbal Posted May 3, 2023 Author Share Posted May 3, 2023 (edited) <> Edited May 19, 2023 by TomKerbal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimera Industries Posted May 4, 2023 Share Posted May 4, 2023 20 hours ago, HebaruSan said: Maybe it's not a coincidence that multiple games do this. An intentionally unspecified unit with unknown conversions to other more familiar units could serve as a way to hide discrepancies for purposes of game balance. Maybe someone just put in some numbers and called it good. I wouldn't be surprised, especially considering what other things in the game are over/under powered- and what's been approximated or oversimplified so life isn't impossible. If KSP were perfectly realistic, then it wouldn't really be that fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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