Upgrade Solar Flare to Major Event

[ScytherLottery]

I propose that solar flare events should be upgraded to a significantly more complex and dangerous event.  The current event is relatively simple:

• total loss of all electric flow in your power grid, and the shutdown of all electronic devices.

A more interesting (and realistic?) event might involve power grid overload based on total length of wire in a grid, for example:

• Several electrical "explosions" at random points on wire, similar to Zzzt...
• damage to all electronic equipment that is switched "on", based on the total length of wire in the grid that it is connected to

This would make massive, long wire grids very dangerous and make using strategic grid separation with the wire switches an interesting counter-measure.  Extremely massive and interconnected grids may even cause total destruction of equipment. 

I don't know what class of event solar flares fall under now, but they currently feel very flat.  Admittedly they are a very powerful event when combined with other major dangers, and provide an interesting counter-balance to heavily fortified defenses reliant on advanced technology (power).  Outside of those combinations, and the occasional loss of hydroponics, they are very shallow events that are just an annoyance, like eclipses.  That's not really a problem and maybe some other event could be designed to replace the "suddenly no power" gimmick, but it feels like a waste of what could be an opportunity for a significant event that brings another dimension of catastrophe that doesn't rely on direct combat. 

[Call me Arty]

Nah.

   Best case scenario: Your tribe's fine. Worst case scenario? You break open an ancient danger and Mech/Insectoids walk past all of your turrets and eviscerate all of your incapable of violence pawns.
   It's not a horrendous event. Most of the time, it's a mild inconvenience. If you get hit with a solar flare, you have to hunt or harvest a little more to make-up for some food lost to heat, oh well.  Toxic fallout? Wide-spread illness and famine, if you don't have food or medicine you're probably screwed. The two aren't comparable.

[BetaSpectre]

IRL solar flares don't cause massive damage. The worst that happens isn't even a fire it's the breakdown of equipment. Rimworld electrical grids are 17th century grade, not even kidding. Insulation is what causes fires to happen with high levels of resistance in the wires. If the wires are super conductors an electrical fire is essentially impossible. Fires are caused by heat, heat by friction, friction in wires being resistance. No resistance  = super conductor.

Physics wise the longer a wire is from the generator the less power is able to be used. But in rimworld it's not the case. Meaning they're using super conductors which means electrical fires from bad wires are impossible.

All in all though the situation as is makes sense. If you really like terrible solar flares you could rig your game scenario to let both shorts and solar flares occur in tandem.