One weird trick to make power generation more interesting

[GotLag]

Devs hate it!

Proposed changes/additions:

• Rename 0.14-style boilers to "heaters" - no change in behaviour
• Rename 0.14-style steam engines to "Stirling engines" - no change in behaviour, runs off any warmed fluid
• Add proper boilers (already planned for 0.15) - uses energy from fuel/heat pipes to convert water to steam
• Steam - 1 unit water yields some larger amount of steam, higher heat capacity and/or temperature range than water
• Add steam turbine (I believe also already planned) - more efficient than a Stirling engine, but only runs off steam, not hot water

Gameplay progression:

1. Start out the same as 0.14, with wood/coal/solid-fuel-fired heaters producing hot water for Stirling engines. So far, so vanilla.
2. Research boiler technology, rebuild your power plant to take advantage of these. Boilers can produce steam from cold water, but perform much more efficiently when fed pre-heated water from heaters. Running this steam through your Stirling engines produces more power than hot water.
3. Research steam turbines. Replace your old Stirling engines with turbines, increase power output further for the same fuel input.
4. Optional step: research nuclear reactors. Heaters no longer required, boilers run off reactor heat pipes.

As you can see, this allows for a series of technologies to upgrade the starting power generation set, without any one step rendering all previous work obsolete: each step builds on what already exists. Having steam effectively multiply water also mitigates the rather extreme water requirements that current steam arrays have.

[Xeanoa]

What benefits does this have over place-and-forget solar/accu power?

[GotLag]

Density, also not boring as shit, the same reasons players might choose to use steam or modded nuclear already.

[Yoyobuae]

What benefits does this have over place-and-forget solar/accu power?

It's not powered by magic unrealistic solar panels (and to lesser extent, the perfect efficiency accumulators).

[Xeanoa]

What benefits does this have over place-and-forget solar/accu power?

It's not powered by magic unrealistic solar panels (and to lesser extent, the perfect efficiency accumulators).

Density, also not boring as shit, the same reasons players might choose to use steam or modded nuclear already.

So the only reason to use it is because it's more fun? Sign me up

[ssilk]

With 0.15 the boilers will produce real steam and so steam engines will really work with steam.

This is explained in some of the FFF's: https://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-164 and following.

[GotLag]

Yes, I've seen that, but you'll notice that's not exactly what I'm suggesting.

Expand upon the current system, rather than replacing it.

Edit: I've just realised an unintentional effect of this suggestion, if implemented: existing power setups would continue to work in 0.15

[Yoyobuae]

With 0.15 the boilers will produce real steam and so steam engines will really work with steam.

"steam", but that's only in name. They could produce cool-aid and then make steam engines run on cool-aid, gameplay would be no different.

[Xeanoa]

With 0.15 the boilers will produce real steam and so steam engines will really work with steam.

"steam", but that's only in name. They could produce cool-aid and then make steam engines run on cool-aid, gameplay would be no different.

I'd like to see them actually running on heated crude oil or something some time.