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[Suggestion] Steam engines

Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 12:29 am
by rk84
I hope in future steam engines will work with steam instead water. Making 100°C too low temperature for engine to work. Maximum temperature could be 500°C.

I also would like to suggest adding higher tech steam turbine. Steam turbine would output more power than steam engine, but would require more heat. Steam engine's maximum effiency could be at 250°C (happy medium?) and steam turbine's at 500°C.

For extra flavor for power management. Generators could take small damage when used in wrong temperature (Steam engine's materials can't take the extra heat. Droplet condensation in lower temperature would wear down turbine's rotor).

Re: [Suggestion] Steam engines

Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:33 am
by kovarex
The higher tech steam turbine is something we surely want, everything should have tiers in the future :)

Having higher maximum temperature? Why not, but keep in mind, that the 100 cap is just a number, we don't even write °C there, it could also mean % of the maximum heat, where maximum heat is 500.
What I wanted to say is, that it is just question of changing the way the player is informed about the temperature.

If the steam generator needed some minimum heat to work, it would be logical, but it would create some strange problems.
You set some setup, boilers + steam engines it all works fine. Then, your energy consumption increases, those steam engines start working faster, they use more water, so the water goes faster through boilers, so it doesn't heat enough, so the whole system breaks.

I like the idea, that boilers could heat up to some temperature (250), while some nuclear reactor could heat more, while steam generator couldn't handle the higher temperature.

Re: [Suggestion] Steam engines

Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 3:40 am
by rk84
kovarex wrote:The higher tech steam turbine is something we surely want, everything should have tiers in the future :)
Yay. Good to hear.
kovarex wrote:Having higher maximum temperature? Why not, but keep in mind, that the 100 cap is just a number, we don't even write °C there, it could also mean % of the maximum heat, where maximum heat is 500.
What I wanted to say is, that it is just question of changing the way the player is informed about the temperature.
ah. Wiki uses °C and "water temperature: 100" in game makes you think its 100°C.
kovarex wrote:...If the steam generator needed some minimum heat to work, it would be logical, but it would create some strange problems.
You set some setup, boilers + steam engines it all works fine. Then, your energy consumption increases, those steam engines start working faster, they use more water, so the water goes faster through boilers, so it doesn't heat enough, so the whole system breaks. ...
I take your word for it :)
kovarex wrote:I like the idea, that boilers could heat up to some temperature (250), while some nuclear reactor could heat more, while steam generator couldn't handle the higher temperature.
nuclear reactor! gimme!

Re: [Suggestion] Steam engines

Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 8:59 am
by Rapio
While we are being technical and shit: Nuclear reactors actually generate cooler steam("wetter") than combustion power plants. pressurised are better than boiling reactors but they are both shit and ruin their low pressure turbines.

Re: [Suggestion] Steam engines

Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 3:37 pm
by Mysteria9
I like the idea of different generators, but there should be no damage in my opinion.
Also, I don't think our pump and pipes could maintain the pressure required to get a water temperature of 500°C... ;)

Re: [Suggestion] Steam engines

Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 6:16 pm
by rk84
Mysteria9 wrote:I like the idea of different generators, but there should be no damage in my opinion.
Also, I don't think our pump and pipes could maintain the pressure required to get a water temperature of 500°C... ;)
haha yea. You would need alot of pressure to keep water from vaporizing in that temperature. But if we use steam we don't need that kind of pressure. Since pressure of pipes should not depend on temperature, but from load of the generator.

Is noone else botherer by "water temperature"? Because there is difference between water and steam. Water is liquid and steam is gas. Steam engine should use steam, right?

Re: [Suggestion] Steam engines

Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 2:34 pm
by Mysteria9
rk84 wrote:Is noone else botherer by "water temperature"? Because there is difference between water and steam. Water is liquid and steam is gas. Steam engine should use steam, right?
I did note that too, but I didn't reflect any more on the subject. You are right, of course.
I assume that when the water gets into the steam engines it vaporises, this would of course only work when the water is hot enough... ;)

Re: [Suggestion] Steam engines

Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 1:32 pm
by Bigspanners
If a power station get destroyed I think is should have some sort of explosion and damage the surrounding area. Especially Nuclear :o

Oh and steam is a hot vapour not a gas, sorry its the engineer in me.

Re: [Suggestion] Steam engines

Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 2:03 pm
by Rapio
Vapour is gas. What you might be thinking of is mist. Mist is droplets of water and is not steam.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/steam
Read the three first sentences.

I for one would prefer a more realistic system of explosions and damage. So beating on a boiler untill it breaks would cause a big steam explosion. But beating on a nuclear reactor would just break it and then you have to deal with the radiation. Oil burns, hydrogen explodes, fertilizer explodes. There are alot of shit that explodes when you mess with them nuclear reactors generally don't.

Re: [Suggestion] Steam engines

Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 8:20 am
by cube
The way steam / liquids work is one of the things I find the most annoying in this game, so I'm planning to fix this. Soon. Much more important than boring stuff like multiplayer, right? (you people have to talk kovarex into this first, though) :-D

Re: [Suggestion] Steam engines

Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 10:09 am
by rk84
cube wrote:The way steam / liquids work is one of the things I find the most annoying in this game, so I'm planning to fix this. Soon. Much more important than boring stuff like multiplayer, right? (you people have to talk kovarex into this first, though) :-D
You are my hero. I made special cube for you. :D
cube's cube
cube's cube
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