Anyone know a better way to protect power lines from lightning?

[BoogieMan]

Lightning appears to deliberately target your outdoor power lines.. I'm currently in a desert region and there are several geothermal vents scattered about that I have set up generators on with long power lines going back up to the base. Just about every storm that has lightning, the conduits are struck and the fire just climb along the lines. It happens with such precision and regularity (often in the same few spots) that it doesn't seem random at all. I added a redundant power line so two entirely separate lines have to be severed before power from the generator is lost. It reduced it, but it still happens on occasion.

I tried putting concrete flooring down over a section of lines that is usually hit and it still burns the lines under the flooring. I did discover that walls over lines will prevent the tile from catching fire though the wall still take damage. However, it's not economically feasible for the amount of line I need and the disruption to map pathfinding would be highly undesirable.

So is anyone aware of another way to protect power lines from lightning strikes, and to a lesser extent, mortar raiders? They seem to target lines as well. Is anyone aware if perhaps removing the home zone from an area will make it less likely to be targeted? Does that even play a factor for targets?

Thanks!

[JimmyAgnt007]

Im in the concrete camp for protection, 3 tiles wide keeps it from spreading.  I dont like to remove the home region because then they dont get fixed when damaged.

Personally I generally make antimatter reactors build-able inside and use them inside my mountain fortress.

Maybe have two lines from each power station, so when one is struck the other is working.  Use concrete to keep the fire from spreading and it might work out better.

[OldVamp]

yeah make sure its surrounded by 2 tiles of no vegetation, put 2 wide firebreaks ever so often to keep them from burning a long way.

covering them with something may help, especially walls

https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=9852 shows a picture of my power setup

[BoogieMan]

Maybe have two lines from each power station, so when one is struck the other is working.  Use concrete to keep the fire from spreading and it might work out better.

As I wrote I tried both of those already... Even if the concrete is on the tile the cable still burns and despite the redundant cable sometimes both are targeted in the same storm.

yeah make sure its surrounded by 2 tiles of no vegetation, put 2 wide firebreaks ever so often to keep them from burning a long way.

covering them with something may help, especially walls

https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=9852 shows a picture of my power setup

There is nothing but sand around them, which doesn't seem to burn. And as I said, the number of walls it would take would be excessive considering the amount of ground to cover. However a few firewalls every 10-15 tiles could help in some cases. After the next update they probably won't be needed anymore since the firefighting task was improved.

[JimmyAgnt007]

We need laser power relays.  Then all we need is line of sight.  But lightning is always gonna hit something, the relays or the generators themselves.  I think the best solution is lightning rods we can stick next to important stuff and bury the power lines.

[milon]

Fire only needs something burnable in order to spread.  Fire will spread across fireproof tiles if there's something burnable sitting on them.  Like power lines.  Firebreaks are pretty useless when it comes to the power lines themselves.

The only way to stop power lines from burning (to my knowledge) is to put something fireproof over them, like a stone wall or an Overhead Mountain.  Not sure about Constructed Roofs.  I haven't had much trouble with lightning strikes myself.

[skullywag]

ive got stuffified conduits in my OmniConduits mod. Uranium conduits have reduced flammability (they may even not burn).

[Sion]

In one of my worlds I had the lightning strike the EXACT SAME TILE 3 TIMES (coincidence? I think not!).
So I assume that it is similar in your map, then you can either build Stone Conduit Walls where the lightning strikes, and also at regular intervals over your power lines, to stop a fire from spreading.

You can also add some cross sections between your lines (1 in each section between the fire breakers) so both of the lightnings has to target the same section, else the power will "snake around" to the other line, and back again.

If you know exactly where the lightning hits, and it is always the same tile, then you can build a little room that is at least a 3x3 inside, and place it so the tile that is hit is in the center of the room, so the lightning hits the roof instead.

[skullywag]

Lightning is random:

Code Select Expand

this.strikeLoc = GenCellFinder.RandomCellWith((IntVec3 sq) => sq.Standable() && !Find.RoofGrid.Roofed(sq));

Just finds a non roofed cell, if you saw lightning hit the same spot it was either pure luck or a bug.

[PhenomTaker]

I don't know how big your map is or how long the lines are, but if you got some metal try multiple lines, like one or two backup lines. Maybe connect them in between like a little network, so there is always a way that leads to rome (your home).
Otherwise get a lot of stone and make a stone wall around the line.

[milon]

It might be relevant to ask about this in the Bugs subforum.  Maybe even upload your world & save.

[BoogieMan]

Lightning is random:

Code Select Expand

this.strikeLoc = GenCellFinder.RandomCellWith((IntVec3 sq) => sq.Standable() && !Find.RoofGrid.Roofed(sq));

Just finds a non roofed cell, if you saw lightning hit the same spot it was either pure luck or a bug.

I can't believe it's random. There is no way that with 98% of the outside tiles being not my power lines that it keeps hitting them, often in the same few general places. In one storm I had 2 or 3 strikes directly on to power cables. I've played the current game long enough that it must have happened on at least 6 or 7 different occasions. Sometimes 1 line strike, others  times 2 or 3. I've had generators with 2 different lines that are far apart get cut off in the same storm.

I believe that's enough to think that it may not be entirely random, but instead has some weighted factor in there somewhere.

[ZestyLemons]

The code kind of states that it's totally random. Random-ness is going to tend toward the middle of the map anyway (and tend away from the edge).

[TheSilencedScream]

I don't know how big your map is or how long the lines are, but if you got some metal try multiple lines, like one or two backup lines. Maybe connect them in between like a little network, so there is always a way that leads to rome (your home).
Otherwise get a lot of stone and make a stone wall around the line.

This is actually what I do for my entire grid, just to doubly ensure that I don't lose power due to a storm or attack. It's pretty effective, for sure.

[milon]

The code kind of states that it's totally random. Random-ness is going to tend toward the middle of the map anyway (and tend away from the edge).

Actually, any good RNG will have an equal chance of picking literally any area on the map.  Poor quality randomness would be what you're describing.  It may be that one or more mods are resetting it manipulating the RNG, or that it's a poor RNG, or that there is some kind of weighting to it. Or a combination of any of those.