Local power connector module for modular armor

[bobucles]

search around the forums and mods for "induction" chargers. They pull energy from the power grid to power your armor.

[Koub]

[Koub] Did a bit of merging : this is amongst the oldest suggestions, that come back from time to time
BTW it was also suggested in mixed suggestions topics :
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=12891
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=24330
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=25961

[Impatient]

Haha, I have to laugh, because this is what I expected to be the way to charge the batteries when I built a power armor the very first time. I had batteries in it and other stuff and I was standing next to a power pole and waited for the batteries to charge.

+1 for your suggestion

[Taipion]

TL;DR

I guess this has been suggested before, so just to make sure:
Enable modular armors to connect to the electric network to:
- quickly charge batteries to full (even without any power source on the armor), or
- supply excess power to the electric network from the armor

What ?

This could either be done by:
- a building that connects to the armor, when a player wearing a modular armor (with batteries / power source / modules that can store energy) is in range
- a module to be equipped to the armor, which would connect to the electric network via any electric pole in range
- none of the above, connection can be simply switched on/off in the options, and (if on) always happens when a player wearing a modular armor with modules that can store or produce electric energy comes in range of an electric pole

The building would probably have the most "cool looking" effect, and provides a sort of "home feeling".
The module would be cumbersome for taking away precious slots.
The third option, enabling this without any special item/building would be most convenient.

Why ?

convenience, mostly

Would also allow for different play styles.

Would also allow for some specific scenario settings where you need to fulfill a certain goal (production, survival,...) while only having your armor to power your factory, or only have your factory to power your armor.

[Koub]

I guess this has been suggested before

... but too lazy to search, so I post my suggestion, and some one else will do the research and post a link or merge the topics .
[Koub] Topic merged into older one with same suggestion

[Darinth]

I kept wanting this... along with fuel-burning generators of some kind. There feels like there's a disconnect going from the extremely low power solar panels to the fusion reactors.

[bobingabout]

along with fuel-burning generators of some kind.

0.17 will add burner as an energy source to the generator entity, and fluid energy source as a new dynamic source, which should open up many more modding possibilities to do what you're suggesting.

[Taipion]

I guess this has been suggested before

... but too lazy to search, so I post my suggestion, and some one else will do the research and post a link or merge the topics .
[Koub] Topic merged into older one with same suggestion

Totally guilty of not looking back to 2014! -.-

Damn, this has been suggested 4 years ago, about time we'll get something like this.

[Koub]

I guess this has been suggested before

... but too lazy to search, so I post my suggestion, and some one else will do the research and post a link or merge the topics .
[Koub] Topic merged into older one with same suggestion

Totally guilty of not looking back to 2014! -.-

Damn, this has been suggested 4 years ago, about time we'll get something like this.

Actually, last suggestion was in february 2018 (and btw, I also hope this will be added to vanilla, it would improve so much early bot building (instead of waiting for 20 minutes for a pair of PSP to charge 2 MKI roboports).

[AnthonyForPOTUS]

So basically you want two entities. A Charging station to recharge teh suits batteries while standing on it, and a discharge station for powering a network from the suits panels/reactors/batteries. Shouldn't be too difficult to write a mod that implements that behavior. Perhaps require a suit item that looks like an extension cord.

[darkfrei]

Perhaps require a suit item that looks like an extension cord.

Like electric chain?

[mudcrabempire]

I find it slightly strange/irritating that, despite doing exactly the same (producing, storing, transferring and using electrical power) the personal power grid (in modular armor) has no relation whatsoever to the "normal" power grid.

I see no reason, why one should not be able to take a wire and simply link the two. The power output of later personal grids is comparable to what a small factory uses, so difference in power should -fluffwise, "it would fry your circuits"- not be an argument.

So, I propose to introduce a small item (or a set of two items) to permit you to connect your personal grid to the factory grid. For example, a 1x1 item (an "adapter") to put into your armor and a link which connects you to an electric pole if you click it with the link in hand. There should of course be a range limit for the link and moving too far automatically removes it.
(note: please make the link free to use, not something like when you manually connect poles and you have to "waste" a cable for every connection, but you never get it back).

It wouldn´t be a drastic change, but I think it would open some small but usefull/nice possibilities, like charging your batteries faster (especially early, when you otherwise only have portable solar panels), or on the more fun side, being able to power your own little laser tower fortress, without trailing electric poles all the way to your base (and no worries that a smart biter will destroy a pole).

[Koub]

[Koub] Merged into the "armor connector to local power grid" topic

[mudcrabempire]

"Whenever you think you have a good idea, 5 minutes later you discover someone already had that idea."

Me, 5 minutes ago on another post.

[roothorick]

I'm sure this has been brought up multiple times before, but has it been discussed from a balance perspective?

Even with all the changes over the past few major versions to make modular and MK1 armor more interesting and viable, I find myself not bothering until MK2. I expect 0.17 to be more of the same in this respect. Why? Because PSPs just plain don't do much. You put in a single MK1 roboport and one MK2 battery, fill the rest with PSPs, wait an ingame week, and have enough runtime to put out maybe a hundred tiles of rails before having to wait an ingame week for another full charge. You can add more batteries for longer spikes, but have given up PSPs to do so, so now it takes even longer to get the same runtime. For exoskeletons or shields it's even worse -- exoskeletons need fusion to be useful. Without fusion reactors, modular/power armor is useful for nightvision and basically nothing else. Worse, draining your batteries kills your nightvision, further disincentivizing using other modules (especially personal roboports due to their massive internal buffer and the fact you can't "turn them off" without removing them and destroying that entire buffer). And once you have fusion reactors, you probably already have the MK2 armor.

In real life, electronic devices designed to be worn or carried on your person have no power generating capabilities of their own; instead, they have a large internal battery and rely on periodic connections to an external power grid to keep them going; this seems like an elegant solution. There'd be a (probably 2x2) "charging station" building that when interacted with rapidly recharges the batteries in the player's currently equipped armor, drawing power from the connected electric network. Every personal equipment module becomes viable, even in the basic modular armor, but at the same time retains the balancing factor of a limited runtime away from home.

The speed of the charge, efficiency (therefore demand on the electric network), and possibly battery capacity as well would be tuned to keep this balanced.

[Koub]

I'm sure this has been brought up multiple times before, but has it been discussed from a balance perspective?

It has been suggested before, and despite in "ideas and suggestions" subforum, there have always been balancing nuggets in the discussion. That's why I'll merge your post into the older topic : to keep things together.

[Koub] Merged into older topic with same discussion

[Tekillaa]

TL;DR

USB charger for Armor's Battery

What ?

This is a way to recharge armor's batteries via an electric pole

Why ?

in the game, there is no other way for the armor to generate energy with solar panel or fusion reactor, just with some use of roboports and night vision for just construction, my batteries was discharged (first version), but electric pole full of electricity was just on me, kinda frustrating. so the "USB charger" is like a way to wait for the fusion reactor and autonomy, and allow player to enjoy more often, if electric pole is near, the personnal equipment

[Tekky]

This has already been suggested in the following thread:

viewtopic.php?t=6866 Local power connector module for modular armor

EDIT: Meanwhile, the threads have been merged. Therefore, my above link now points to the current thread.

[mrudat]

There's RealVictorPRM's Suit Plug Continued.

For 0.16 (and the one I'm more familiar with) there's also Raeon's Induction Charging

[Tekillaa]

Ok ty for all your answer, it puts a term to the question for me.