Read by Council Fusing (not nuclearly) Fuel with Current Game

[Daeridanii]

So, yes, I know fuel has been suggested to death. Personally, I don't want fuel, but I think it isn't all bad either. Here's what I'm proposing:

A new resource would be able to "supercharge" all of a ship's systems by ~10%, but be consumed while doing so.

So, why? Right now, factories are solely devoted to making blocks, and it basically devolves into who has the most asteroids to mine. With a resource that is regularly consumed by battle rather than loss of ships, asteroids, planets, etc. can be conserved.
Currently, most battles are determined by which ship has the most shields or guns. Although skill with flying does have an impact, eventually a frigate will beat a fighter. However this depends on one crucial point:

The blocks that hold this quasi-fuel must be more powerful than just adding more guns/shields/thrusters.

But neither am I suggesting that all battleships should just have huge cargo holds full of quasi-fuel: if you could elude that battleship for long enough, you could then strike.
So, we could approach this two ways, either

• Having power increase by the amount of this quasi-fuel
• Having duration increase by the amount of quasi-fuel

To those of you who have read Dune, think of the quasi-fuel as the spice; a highly priced commodity with practical value that is given to those who mine it most. To those who haven't read Dune, read it now.

In essence, I'm proposing another method of individuality in ship design, another style.

So, questions, comments, praise, complete denial, or discussion are welcomed. Thanks for reading this text.

 

[dwwojcik]

I like this idea. It's consistent with Schine's opinion on food- if it's implemented it'll be a buff, not a requirement. Fuel as a way to overdrive power production would be really cool.

Maybe the fuel-based system should be a separate system? Let's say the current power reactors are some sort of advanced fission reactor, with fuel that lasts a long time and is effectively inexhaustible for the sake of gameplay. The new ones would be 'fusion powered', so you have to feed them with a constant supply of hydrogen. I assume the fusion reactors would be made to be much more space efficient and potentially optimal, so a large ship with sufficient supply lines might be designed to run off fuel exclusively. It would be an interesting trade-off. More space for guns and shields, or self-sufficiency?

 

[Daeridanii]

Let's say the current power reactors are some sort of advanced fission reactor, with fuel that lasts a long time and is effectively inexhaustible for the sake of gameplay. The new ones would be 'fusion powered', so you have to feed them with a constant supply of hydrogen. I assume the fusion reactors would be made to be much more space efficient and potentially optimal, so a large ship with sufficient supply lines might be designed to run off fuel exclusively. It would be an interesting trade-off. More space for guns and shields, or self-sufficiency?

Yes, this is exactly what I'm proposing! Trading inexhaustibly for better efficiency, on most, all or just one system. (Sorry for late reply, stuff IRL.)

 

[the_Grey_Sky]

I like it. Would need to be done (like you already said) with the size of the reactor being significantly smaller, maybe it has specific storage blocks for the fuel that react like the warheads.

May be a possible solution to replace docked reactors. Accompanied by a much hated but possibly nessasary debuff to power produced on a docked entity, as an incentive to stop the use of said docked reactors.