Engine Bonuses

[Erev]

So, we used to have it so that the station was constantly without power if the solars weren't set up and the engine wasn't on. Now the solars are automatic and the only thing that pulls enough power to be impacted by having a functional engine is telescience. Frankly, telescience isn't using their portals enough to make it worth it most of the time and I was trying to think of other ways to encourage engineers to get the engine running. So, if the stick was a bit much, how about a carrot. Bonuses for various departments when the engine is above certain levels, though capping out to prevent them from being ludicrous when we are hitting galaxies worth of power levels with the engine. Some ideas:

Genetics: Reduced cost/research speed with additional power. Perhaps reduced clone vat time as well.
Robotics: Reduced re-writer time. Increased power charging on borgs. (Actually, all power chargers on the station might get a boost.)
Quartermaster: Additional traders able to be contacted due to increased power to communications. (Maybe also allows an optional slightly shorter shuttle call?)
Botany: Better lighting means healthier plants (finally a way to boost endurance!) or larger plants.
Science: Telescience same as it is now. Reagent heater/coolers work faster (as does the chef's).
Mechanics: Some new, fun, high energy components?

More suggestions are certainly welcome for other roles as well!

[RAWK_LAWBSTAR]

I'd certainly like this since I'm a CE a lot.

It'd also be pretty cool if we could put energy in space mega-batteries for QM to sell. Or you know, make horrible electrified floors/walls/contraptions with.

[babayetu83]

introduce electrified flooring into the brig for high stakes prisoner bum fights with this

[BeardedElectron]

You can literally set the engine up in 5 minutes, I don't think it needs incentive.

Consider the following:

Put 1 CO2 in coldloop aux port, 1 CO2 in cold loop gas supply, put 1 plasma in cold loop aux port in engine room... put 1 plasma in hot loop aux port, drag all char into one box, put char into one furnace, set all 4 SMES output stable for 1.2-1.4mw indefinitely as long as you have char.

Super easy super fast, almost no fuss, no cracked pipes.

I think people should just know how easy it is to do it instead of needing an incentive.

[BaneOfGiygas]

The problem isn't that people find the engine hard to set up, or at least, that isn't the MAIN problem here. The MAIN problem is that there is literally no point to setting up the engine aside from figuring out how to do it, setting up a hellburn to throw people in, telescience expeditions (which most people just get around by stuffing supercharged power cells in the APC), or insurance in case someone decides to snip the solars which almost never happens. In almost all rounds, there is absolutely no major reason to do it whatsoever except just for the hell of it or to give yourself something to do that round.

[BeardedElectron]

The problem isn't that people find the engine hard to set up, or at least, that isn't the MAIN problem here. The MAIN problem is that there is literally no point to setting up the engine aside from figuring out how to do it, setting up a hellburn to throw people in, telescience expeditions (which most people just get around by stuffing supercharged power cells in the APC), or insurance in case someone decides to snip the solars which almost never happens. In almost all rounds, there is absolutely no major reason to do it whatsoever except just for the hell of it or to give yourself something to do that round.

I must be a minority because I spent 12 hours trying to get the engine to run properly, the wiki example didn't work and people trying to explain it to me were speaking in an alien language. Now though I start it every round or even go to great lengths to fix it. I have it down to a science. I don't need an incentive, my incentive is doing it because nobody else does <part of your problem here, some don't realize that the teleporter was changed even and try to use telesci anyway meeting failure.

[Paineframe]

The problem that led to solars being auto-hotwired in the first place was that in small rounds where there were maybe only five players and all of them had their pick of jobs, none of them would choose engineer and none of them would bother to go spend a few minutes messing around with the engine or solars, because the only reason anyone joins the small games is to mess around with one specific thing without having to worry about the workings of the station as a whole. So each and every one of them would completely ignore the power systems until the station shut down, and then they made a huge deal about it because apparently having to crowbar doors, wear a flashlight, and occasionally swap APC power cells made the game completely unplayable for them?

[BeardedElectron]

The problem that led to solars being auto-hotwired in the first place was that in small rounds where there were maybe only five players and all of them had their pick of jobs, none of them would choose engineer and none of them would bother to go spend a few minutes messing around with the engine or solars, because the only reason anyone joins the small games is to mess around with one specific thing without having to worry about the workings of the station as a whole. So each and every one of them would completely ignore the power systems until the station shut down, and then they made a huge deal about it because apparently having to crowbar doors, wear a flashlight, and occasionally swap APC power cells made the game completely unplayable for them?

again I must be a minority, I used to hotwire solars, now I just set the engine up, swap out the telesci battery, cut the fire alarm, put the secbuddies on patrol mode and leave the ID in the console, it's a thankless and tiring job, but I do it because nobody else does.

[BeardedElectron]

again I must be a minority, I used to hotwire solars, now I just set the engine up, swap out the telesci battery, cut the fire alarm, put the secbuddies on patrol mode and leave the ID in the console, it's a thankless and tiring job, but I do it because nobody else does.

I forgot to mention, adding budget to research (even if nobody uses it) and frankly, I am a bit nostalgic when it comes to pre-hot wired solars, I miss the station wide brown outs and black outs, I enjoyed prying open corridors and breathing life back into a station full of whiney nerds complaining about no power, then when I gave them power it was a satisfying feeling. (also we need an edit button, why?)

[Mageziya]

You can literally set the engine up in 5 minutes, I don't think it needs incentive.

Consider the following:

Put 1 CO2 in coldloop aux port, 1 CO2 in cold loop gas supply, put 1 plasma in cold loop aux port in engine room... put 1 plasma in hot loop aux port, drag all char into one box, put char into one furnace, set all 4 SMES output stable for 1.2-1.4mw indefinitely as long as you have char.

Super easy super fast, almost no fuss, no cracked pipes.

I think people should just know how easy it is to do it instead of needing an incentive.

I'm going to have to say thank you for this. This tiny guide you made has been more helpful than any other guide for the engine I've ever seen.

[BeardedElectron]

You can literally set the engine up in 5 minutes, I don't think it needs incentive.

Consider the following:

Put 1 CO2 in coldloop aux port, 1 CO2 in cold loop gas supply, put 1 plasma in cold loop aux port in engine room... put 1 plasma in hot loop aux port, drag all char into one box, put char into one furnace, set all 4 SMES output stable for 1.2-1.4mw indefinitely as long as you have char.

Super easy super fast, almost no fuss, no cracked pipes.

I think people should just know how easy it is to do it instead of needing an incentive.

I'm going to have to say thank you for this. This tiny guide you made has been more helpful than any other guide for the engine I've ever seen.

Yes well, I'd add it to the wiki if I could, maybe I should make a diagram or something. Maybe someone else can do that.