I’ve created a system that allows you to easily control fuel consumption for your thrusters.
Why This System?
Thrusters are more efficient when they run on lower fuel consumption. According to Factoriopedia, the lower the consumption, the higher the efficiency.
This means players are incentivized to reduce fuel consumption to increase efficiency. Here’s how to achieve that:
How to Set Up
In the image below, you’ll see how to configure the Constant Combinator with the parameters required for controlled fuel consumption:
Set the constant F to 1200. This value represents the flow rate of a single pump. If you’re using a larger ship where one pump isn’t enough, you can use two pumps in parallel and change the constant F to 2400.
The constant E indicates the number of engines in one wing. In this setup, we’re using 4 engines per wing, for a total of 7 engines (one thruster is shared between both wings).
The parameter C specifies the total fuel consumption. In this example, we set C to 23, meaning each engine consumes 23 units of fluid per second.
Don’t forget to connect the top-right Decider Combinator to the Space Platform Hub and check both "Read Moving From" and "Read Moving To" in the hub. This connection isn’t included in the blueprint, but you can see it in the screenshot. This is important for recognizing that your spacship is ordered to fly.
After edid: If you are rushing space usage you can use one less combinator for computing parameters from given constants. Instead of setting F, E, C you can put numbers into other combinators directly. Use it carefully tho. Also you can rearange combinator placement into any suitable gap on your platform.
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