Limiting Thruster Fuel

[Terukio]

Hi everyone,

I'm curious to know the techniques you're using the limit the fuel consumption of your thrusters.

I've heard of clocks, using the velocity, etc etc. Is there a better way? A less clunky way?

[adam_bise]

My first thought is a wired pump off your fuel tank going to another tank set to enable if fuel = 0 Haven't tried it tho, it might also need a timer to actually limit the fuel. I'd start by trying on a decider fuel in tank between thruster and pump = 0 and 30 second timer.

Curious why you would do this instead of just deleting a thruster or unhooking its pipe? Or are you wanting some kind of variable limiter?

[mergele]

Thrusters with limited fuel become a lot more efficient per fuel.

[Terukio]

My first thought is a wired pump off your fuel tank going to another tank set to enable if fuel = 0 Haven't tried it tho, it might also need a timer to actually limit the fuel. I'd start by trying on a decider fuel in tank between thruster and pump = 0 and 30 second timer.

Curious why you would do this instead of just deleting a thruster or unhooking its pipe? Or are you wanting some kind of variable limiter?

I have fully automated ships dropping off requested items and going back to home planet when required. Limiting fuel intake makes the thrusters much more efficient. This would allow less wait time at planets for refueling

[WOOL]

I went for a clock resetting every 60 ticks and the pump activates if

-Clock under 3 (60 fuel /s for 3 thrusters)
-Speed greater than 25

It's not truly automated as it needs to be primed first and could technically fail if there wasn't enough fuel left in to accelerate back to 25 before the pumps kick in but it has worked well enough so far for a nice gentle cruise

[adam_bise]

I have fully automated ships dropping off requested items and going back to home planet when required. Limiting fuel intake makes the thrusters much more efficient. This would allow less wait time at planets for refueling

Oh I see. I wonder if making your ship longer horizontally would also help. Seems most of the 'roids come at the front.

[sushi_eater]

IMO, buffering fuel is the wrong way to go. Waiting in orbit to collect asteroids is the really wrong way to go, you get far more resources while traveling.

This Nauvis-tech ship is 100% self-sufficient and can continuously travel at 300km/h without any stops. There are 2 asteroid collectors. The thrusters run at 80% efficiency. No tank or pump can be found on the ship. Asteroid chunks on belts are a pretty efficient storage option.

For its maiden voyage, I waited a couple of minutes for the turrets to have a bit of ammo and sent off the ship (the collectors happened to get built last). It quickly collected enough resources to run at full speed.

[mrvn]

If you ever stop that ship is going to get destroyed from the sides and back. Might be problematic if loading takes too long.

There is one thing going for buffering fuel (and ammo): You have to wait in orbit for loading to complete and you might as well keep producing fuel to get a quick start when you leave. Or, as in my case, the spaceships sit around Nauvis waiting for the science packs to get slowly unloaded and used up. When empty they (I have 3 dedicated ships for this) go to Gleba / Vulcanus / Fulgora and get more. And in Nauvis orbit you can create ammo without having to use up any. If the ship sits in Nauvis orbit half the time then you only need half the production facilities.

I think the best way to control the fuel is by the number of chemical plants. With the first fuel recipes you get a nice slow burn, about 50-60km/s for me. Speed modules let you go faster. Productivity modules let you go slower. And if you want finer control you can add a clock and enable/disable the chemical plants so they run at any fraction of speed you like. Personally I think making the ships more destructive is the way to go though. If you need to throttle the thrusters the you need to build more turrets / ammo. Don't be afraid to make a big belt loop with 1 side filled with asteroid chunks and the other side with ammo.

With the advanced recipe though you get a lot more fuel per recipe cycle so control via the inserters is less workable. On the other hand with the higher throughput throtteling via pumps becomes more workable.

[mrvn]

This is my first attempt to go to Aquila:

ship-aquila.png (1.49 MiB) Viewed 546 times

I actually manage to arrive but the ship got pretty much destroyed in the last few seconds of traveling. That rocket turret is too far back and should probably be 2 side by side for a safer trip. Need to make the ship a little bit wider for this.

[sushi_eater]

If you ever stop that ship is going to get destroyed from the sides and back. Might be problematic if loading takes too long.

My ship has 100% turret coverage. There is a turret in the middle and one in the back. That's enough to keep the ship safe, when it's parked in orbit.

I very deliberately didn't put turrets towards the side. That cuts down on ammo usage. Going at 300km/h, you through quite a lot.

[mrvn]

If you ever stop that ship is going to get destroyed from the sides and back. Might be problematic if loading takes too long.

My ship has 100% turret coverage. There is a turret in the middle and one in the back. That's enough to keep the ship safe, when it's parked in orbit.

I very deliberately didn't put turrets towards the side. That cuts down on ammo usage. Going at 300km/h, you through quite a lot.

Sorry, didn't spot all the turrets.