In lieu of update 0.40.5

[SirChuckles]

I'm glad that Chris has been able to find a way to change his focus away from person-to-person tech support and over to production. That being said, he states "Top of my list is to add the walls back (with different a AI perception around it), add fuel/wind influence to generators, and add lots more research tiers and crafting. I'm not sure which order I'll do them in yet though."

The way he stated it sounds like the best way to do it.
Walls are ever-important, and would increase the ability to create towns.
Adding in the fuel/wind influences would cause some amount of adjustment, but it's probably best to get that adjustment out of the way before we find ourselves bogged down with five MKIII wells and mass produced t-shirts eating away at our five generator, which then hurt us when we need fuel.

Anyone have any musings toward the newest announcements.

[CalPal]

Won't lie here, I had no idea that generators were going to need fuel (although that does make sense, in hindsight).

With that out of the way, I like it. Never got the chance to actually build walls for myself, so it's going to be nice to see how that changes the settlement building.

[Melchya]

Won't lie here, I had no idea that generators were going to need fuel (although that does make sense, in hindsight).

I hear ya, i didnt see that coming either. Yet i dig it, its gonna be some very interesting months which we'll be heading towards.

[Dansk]

Pretty sure in the video on Steam there's wind turbines, so if fuel is another way to power generators then perhaps the wind won't always be consistent? Or provide more power at greater cost?

[SirChuckles]

Pretty sure in the video on Steam there's wind turbines, so if fuel is another way to power generators then perhaps the wind won't always be consistent? Or provide more power at greater cost?

I currently have two generators and three windmills, so yes, windmills are a thing.

The thing is, though, that a MKII generator has a power output of 20, meaning one of them can power a MKIII stone processor at max output.
The Windmill only puts out 5 power, which is NOT enough to power the same stone processor at half power. (you'd need two)

Windmills cost 6 building materials, where as generators only cost 5.
When I saw this, my thoughts were IMMEDIATELY "There's going to be fuel later, and these generators will be a luxury".

[tkobo]

we were told a while back generators would need fuel,and windmills come with batteries,so power can be stored to help at least alleviate any wind shortages.

A funny sidenote...theres a real life company called shiano kenshi that makes windmill parts

[TheCowabungaKid]

Well seeing that my suspicions regarding generators were justified (there had to be a drawback), I'm glad I built those 18 wind generators
And same as CalPal, I never got to build walls myself, because I got the game from steam and there it was 0.40 from the start. So, really looking forward to all the stuff mentioned in the announcement.

[Edril]

Pretty sure in the video on Steam there's wind turbines, so if fuel is another way to power generators then perhaps the wind won't always be consistent? Or provide more power at greater cost?

I currently have two generators and three windmills, so yes, windmills are a thing.

The thing is, though, that a MKII generator has a power output of 20, meaning one of them can power a MKIII stone processor at max output.
The Windmill only puts out 5 power, which is NOT enough to power the same stone processor at half power. (you'd need two)

Windmills cost 6 building materials, where as generators only cost 5.
When I saw this, my thoughts were IMMEDIATELY "There's going to be fuel later, and these generators will be a luxury".

That was precisely my reasoning. I saw the prices and the power outputs and I was like "those generators are going to HAVE to run on something".

[Zhivago]

I just built myself some windmills, and there's something I'm wondering about.

Let's assume that the wind will be shifting in strength and direction. When I was building my first windmill, the thought of which direction I was gonna aim it occured to me. As I was building it, I noticed that the "head" of it seemed to be a model apart from the tower.

So, does this mean, that when wind characteristics enter into the game, the windmills will adjust the direction of the blades in the direction of the wind by themselves? As in, the head will turn on it's own in the direction of the wind?

Maybe I'm overthinking this... It's been known to happen.

[Meynolt]

the windmills will adjust the direction of the blades in the direction of the wind by themselves

That's what windmills usually do, so I'm sure that's the plan.

I wonder if there'll be sand whisking around with the wind too. That would look pretty cool.

[Zhivago]

Windmills, yes. they can turn with the wind. Wind powerplant, which is really what we're talking about, I don't think so?

[Edril]

Windmills, yes. they can turn with the wind. Wind powerplant, which is really what we're talking about, I don't think so?

They absolutely do.

[Zhivago]

Well, I stand corrected.

[Smiley]

To my knowledge of windmills dont they need power to startup aswell?

As the massive blades cant be started just by the wind itself. And need power to keep going.
Or did i just dream about it.

[Ishaye]

I know that he plans to make generators require fuel however does he have any plans on us manufacturing our own fuel. Perhaps have some primative oil derick or oil pumpjacks so we can refine our own fuel?

I would love the hell out of some primative pumpjacks in your town. Would fit in with the wind power too, just the sound of that in my head makes me want it so bad.

[Death _Saved]

Well seeing that my suspicions regarding generators were justified (there had to be a drawback), I'm glad I built those 18 wind generators

Unless the area in which you placed them does not get much wind

[CalPal]

To my knowledge of windmills dont they need power to startup aswell?

As the massive blades cant be started just by the wind itself. And need power to keep going.
Or did i just dream about it.

They will have batteries built into them to store some power. As for getting the first batch of power running, well, I would think it would be as simple as giving it a good twist on the ground - crank start, maybe? - and letting the wind take over.

[TheCowabungaKid]

Are we talking about real windmills or in-game now? Because I really think this goes too far in terms of realism. Build it, it starts producing electricity. If we start questioning whether or not sth. like that is realistic, how about the fact that we are building generators out of building materials that are entirely made up of rocks and whatever mineral residue you could find in there. I'm for realism most of the time, but you have to draw a line somewhere.

[Captain Deathbeard]

Most of the theories here are right. Wind direction and strength will vary, so generators will be more reliable but need fuel. Also altitude will affect windiness, and you'll have different windmill types for different winds (more blades= better in light wind areas but less likely to handle strong winds).

[Jake_j_a]

I would just like to say thank you to Chris_The_Great, it's been a long time since I've been on a game forum where the game's designer even looked at it, nevermind actively participated. I'm sure you have your hands full working the game, and dont really have allot of spare time, it's good to see you dont ignore your fans!

On topic though, has there been any thought of hydro-electrics? I mean, assuming there will be rivers, it's really a relatively simple tech compared to the windmills depicted in this game. It wouldnt have the conventional draw-backs of unreliable wind or need fuel, but there would be drawbacks. For starters, rivers, in general, are a highly desirable commodity, so building on a river would invariably draw more attention from other factions then building out in the wastes. Especially so if the desert will remain the primary environ, but even still, to a lesser extent, any terrain type. Similarly, building a mine on a rare resource would get peoples attention, everyone wanting what you have is a drawback all it's own.