Improve engine effects beyond 4MW?

[backifran]

So with many people now being able to get extreme levels of power (today I achieved 5.5 EW, that's 5,500 PW) it would be nice if the engine had a few more effects?

Currently it goes purple at 4MW, and stays the same at every point beyond that. There's also no more damage beyond that point if hotwired, and i'm not sure if there should be unless applied to the CE's power gloves.

Say for every tier after MW (GW, TW, PW etc) the gloves will do more than just vaporise people, causing increasingly large explosions (and thus making the gloves more dangerous) and arc flashes that cause more damage to the station?

[backifran]

Even if the levels of damage/destruction were maintained, it'd be really nice to get a few more colour effects and perhaps events with extremely high levels of power. Currently the only reason to chase the big numbers is for bragging, and there's not really that many people that care about it.

[Sundance]

New color changes would be cool. Perhaps a brilliant white light for 5MW? Anyone in the vicinity of the brilliant white light is stunned unless they are wearing sunglasses/meson's (preferably mesons). This could make the hotloop room a hazardous area for non-traitors, and a trap area for traitors.

Honestly more uses around the station when the engineers have did a good job, like energy-sapping portals in telescience, for example. But the advantage of it should benefit engineers more so, because it was them who did in the first place, including people without powergloves. The arc-smelter room is curious, but that is definitely something engineers could play with. A SWITCHROOM TO MAKE SERIOUS MONEY *SCREAM

One issue is the actually the arc flashes for non-traitor engineers. There has been many rounds where an engineer has potentially made the engine too powerful and causes arc flashes, which made crew members attempt to sabotage the engine because they're tired of getting stunned and whipped by the arc flashes. The AI is well in it's laws to help the crewmembers under law 1.
So arc flashes are stopping non-traitor engineers from making the engine a mega-death-burn, and that's kinda bad.
On default arc flashes should occur from APC's. There should be a method using insulated gloves, something made from electronics to ground the APC's to stop arc flashing, so non-traitor engineers can continue their quest for infinite power.

[Spy_Guy]

I would like this a lot. Watching the engine go ballistic was the primary reward for working the engine prior to the pumps being removed. Now it hits the top level almost instantly and the new reward is ungodly high numbers. Watching the engine go absolutely batshit would rock and improve the experience significantly.

New color changes would be cool. Perhaps a brilliant white light for 5MW? Anyone in the vicinity of the brilliant white light is stunned unless they are wearing sunglasses/meson's (preferably mesons). This could make the hotloop room a hazardous area for non-traitors, and a trap area for traitors.

The hotloop room is already extremely hazardous during any self-respecting hellburn.
(and so is the inner engineering circle, engine core, cold loop room, engineering control, port primary hallway, tool storage and a large portion of the catwalks above engineering)

Honestly more uses around the station when the engineers have did a good job, like energy-sapping portals in telescience, for example. But the advantage of it should benefit engineers more so, because it was them who did in the first place, including people without powergloves. The arc-smelter room is curious, but that is definitely something engineers could play with. A SWITCHROOM TO MAKE SERIOUS MONEY *SCREAM

It would be swell to have a switchroom. Telescience stealing your stuff? Flip the switch, then demand money and a written apology. It's already possible for a good setup to provide power to a permanent telesci portal.

One issue is the actually the arc flashes for non-traitor engineers. There has been many rounds where an engineer has potentially made the engine too powerful and causes arc flashes, which made crew members attempt to sabotage the engine because they're tired of getting stunned and whipped by the arc flashes. The AI is well in it's laws to help the crewmembers under law 1.
So arc flashes are stopping non-traitor engineers from making the engine a mega-death-burn, and that's kinda bad.
On default arc flashes should occur from APC's. There should be a method using insulated gloves, something made from electronics to ground the APC's to stop arc flashing, so non-traitor engineers can continue their quest for infinite power.

This is not how arc flashes work at all. What makes you say that?

The power reaching the station at large is regulated by the SMES. They receive the raw power from the engine, and output a fixed amount (excess is discarded *scream). The power in the grid needs to be >2,5 MW for the APCs to start arc flashing. Even if all the SMES were set to max output they would not reach that number.

That's why you can walk around and beat crime over the head without worrying about an APC souring your fun, in spite of hearing the growl of an engine outputting >4 MW / GW / TW / PW / EW (nice job)

Now, why does this happen sometimes? Simple answer: an engineer has decided, either out of malice, good intentions or stupidity, that the power going to waste is bad and have wired the main station grid directly to the engine output cables, bypassing the SMES (referred to as hotwiring the engine).

Why do you think arc flashes happen randomly, again?

[Sundance]

It would be swell to have a switchroom. Telescience stealing your stuff? Flip the switch, then demand money and a written apology. It's already possible for a good setup to provide power to a permanent telesci portal.

That's not the way I was thinking of earning money, although the thing you mentioned is one of the benefits. I'm drafting a switch-room idea, I'll post it on suggestions when I'm finished, rather than hijack this thread!

Now, why does this happen sometimes? Simple answer: an engineer has decided, either out of malice, good intentions or stupidity, that the power going to waste is bad and have wired the main station grid directly to the engine output cables, bypassing the SMES (referred to as hotwiring the engine).

Why do you think arc flashes happen randomly, again?

I was one of those nerds who got to 4MW and was happy with the void-like state, and then never touched it since as there wasn't anything really imo to keep me coming back. I knew about the hotwiring, but I didn't know it was the cause of arcflashes

[Clarks]

Currently the only reason to chase the big numbers is for bragging, and there's not really that many people that care about it.

I care <3

When the engine is REALLY hot

• Lights every once in a while could pop or flash everyone in range.
  
• SMES could discharge EMPs, or have their magnets go haywire and start pulling in everything that is not bolted down.
  It would be cooler if they foamed battery acid, but electromagnetic storage is apparently the future, EH.
  
• Fabricators working at max speed could work so fast they spit out objects on fire.
  
• Overloaded cloning could spits out half-baked dudes ready to gib. Or grow so much extra tissue that living walls make a comeback.
  
• Pulsing the electrification wire on a vendor would make it discharge so hard it tips.
  
• Terminals could sparkle every so often. A terrorist traitor could use them to trigger a fueltank explosion.
  
• Wires could melt the cover on their tile and deliver some burn to everyone who steps on them, if it doesn't require a TON of resources.
  
• Borg docking stations and robuddy docks would cause powercells to explode if a borg/buddy stays in too long after their cell has reached 100% charge.
  
• Airlocks would snap shut so fast that being on their tile when they close would crush you.

[DrivetimeMozol]

When the engine is REALLY hot

• Lights every once in a while could pop or flash everyone in range.
  
• SMES could discharge EMPs, or have their magnets go haywire and start pulling in everything that is not bolted down.
  It would be cooler if they foamed battery acid, but electromagnetic storage is apparently the future, EH.
  
• Fabricators working at max speed could work so fast they spit out objects on fire.
  
• Overloaded cloning could spits out half-baked dudes ready to gib. Or grow so much extra tissue that living walls make a comeback.
  
• Pulsing the electrification wire on a vendor would make it discharge so hard it tips.
  
• Terminals could sparkle every so often. A terrorist traitor could use them to trigger a fueltank explosion.
  
• Wires could melt the cover on their tile and deliver some burn to everyone who steps on them, if it doesn't require a TON of resources.
  
• Borg docking stations and robuddy docks would cause powercells to explode if a borg/buddy stays in too long after their cell has reached 100% charge.
  
• Airlocks would snap shut so fast that being on their tile when they close would crush you.

Yea but since it happens nearly every round this would probably become annoying as shit very fast. It should only happen if the grid is hotwired or something, just so someone has to take that extra step.

[Karakoran]

I care <3

When the engine is REALLY hot

• Lights every once in a while could pop or flash everyone in range.
  
• SMES could discharge EMPs, or have their magnets go haywire and start pulling in everything that is not bolted down.
  It would be cooler if they foamed battery acid, but electromagnetic storage is apparently the future, EH.
  
• Fabricators working at max speed could work so fast they spit out objects on fire.
  
• Overloaded cloning could spits out half-baked dudes ready to gib. Or grow so much extra tissue that living walls make a comeback.
  
• Pulsing the electrification wire on a vendor would make it discharge so hard it tips.
  
• Terminals could sparkle every so often. A terrorist traitor could use them to trigger a fueltank explosion.
  
• Wires could melt the cover on their tile and deliver some burn to everyone who steps on them, if it doesn't require a TON of resources.
  
• Borg docking stations and robuddy docks would cause powercells to explode if a borg/buddy stays in too long after their cell has reached 100% charge.
  
• Airlocks would snap shut so fast that being on their tile when they close would crush you.

There should probably be something traitorous a person has to do to make this happen, like if you emag the SMES or something. Otherwise the station would probably implode in on itself every round.

[Clarks]

Why? It's not like anything in that list is particularly disruptive (well, except for cloning, but then again cloning is not a right).

If the power requirement is sufficiently high the engine won't ruin each round, and the malfunctions won't start until 30-40 minutes into the round. Not everyone can even reach Terawatts; certainly not without an engineer being around to do some engine babysitting.

[Lavastage]

just some effects the engine can have on its main screen when it reaches certain power gens that I have been tossing around in my head for a while:
at 10 MW: the engine screen starts flashing white, with white lighting effects.
at 1 GW: the engine screen has little sparks flying from it
at 5 GW: the engine screen cracks, just a little.
at 1 TW: the engine screen cracks some more, not enough to cover the image, but still there
at 5 TW: it just gives the "snow" static effects, like how that happened on tv sometimes, and it is extremely cracked.
at 1 PW+: it somehow fixes itself and plays "Its happening.gif" (for those who somehow make it that high )

I would sprite these myself but A: it would probably look terrible, B: I never have spirited things anyways.

[Spy_Guy]

Why? It's not like anything in that list is particularly disruptive (well, except for cloning, but then again cloning is not a right).

If the power requirement is sufficiently high the engine won't ruin each round, and the malfunctions won't start until 30-40 minutes into the round. Not everyone can even reach Terawatts; certainly not without an engineer being around to do some engine babysitting.

It's extremely disruptive, and I think those ideas would be great as additional effects during a hotwire.

Hellburn effects should stick to only affecting those brave or foolish enough to walk into engineering, however. Otherwise hellburning would be crossing the line into traitor territory. Especially that business with the cloner. Sure, cloning isn't a right, but go and sabotage the cloner to spit out someone half-baked as a non-traitor and I imagine you'd get yelled at.

[atomic1fire]

What if the more dangerous effects were caused by emagging.

You'd still need to make the engine burn that hot, but a emagging would disable any safeties designed to keep the engine from interfering with the rest of the station.

Someone could walk in, emag the engine, and now everyone blames engineering for it.

It would be the furnace equivalent of releasing the singularity.

[Cogwerks]

I've been meaning to get around to adding a bunch of new high-level effects and hazards, just haven't done it yet. Soon though.
Also wasn't really sure of where to go past purple-state yet. I'll sit down sometime this week and focus on the engine again.

[Archenteron]

Also wasn't really sure of where to go past purple-state yet.

Make it go to plaid.