Snow should cover solar generators

[REMworlder]

+ = Snow-lar Panels

When snow falls it covers everything -- or it should. Right now solar generators get a free pass. Alpha 8 added two features that set up snow-covered solar generators: snow that falls in layers, and snow clearing zones. To drive home the hostility of winter on an unforgiving RimWorld, snow should accumulate on panels.

What's the effect?
As more snow covers the panels, solar generators will lose efficiency and produce increasingly less electricity, requiring colonists to go out and clear the panels. Requiring colonists to clear after snow storms helps deter against turtling, and encourages players to have multiple types of power generation.

Not unlike wind turbines requiring open area to function efficiently, solar panels should require clear, unobstructed panels.

Other details
To compensate for snow clearing, a small boost could be added to solar generators when snow covers nearby ground. IRL, it's found that the reflectivity of snow results in efficiency gains when nearby solar panels are cleared. Low temperatures could also cause power boosts, as photovoltaic systems are most efficient in colder temperatures.

Background
Snow, dust, and other debris covering solar panels are pretty big issues. At least until we get cleaning robots. Since snow is the easiest problem to work with, it's a good starting point for mirroring this common problem with photovoltaic solar and for driving home the hostility of RimWorld winters.

[Bolgfred]

Warning: this topic has not been posted in for at least 120 days.
Unless you're sure you want to reply, please consider starting a new topic.
I noticed that, but I ignore it


It's a shame this thing was liing around ignored for ages. It's a good idea and I like it. There is too much hospitality by snow falling from the sky. It needs to be more obtrusive and interruptive.
After a blizzard anything should be covered in snow and might get lost until spring.

[sick puppy]

i've always thought that solar generators (combined with batteries of course) are a too easy solution for most maps.

adding this snow-lar panel thingie to it would help a lot in my opinion. just like you have to regularly remove trees from your wind turbines, you should also have to remove at the very least snow, if not all kinds of dust and debris.

[Harry_Dicks]

This is one thing I REALLY wish was addressed throughout the entire game on the vanilla level. But I also don't have high hopes of this getting done by Ludeon anytime soon, really. I at least don't expect them to have it in by 1.0, let's say that.

I've been trying to get people to update the mod Snowy Trees. It last worked for A17, and holy crap, when I first saw it, it finally made so much sense to me what the environment was lacking when it snowed! As it is right now, most trees and plants have a "leafless" texture that they switch to. I'm not sure if this is decided by just the temperature and the flora's duration in it, or if it has anything to to do actual snow. I'm thinking it's the former, because I want to say I've seen the leafless graphics without snow.

Anyway, I think this would be one huge step, one of the last final remaining big ones, in my opinion, to complete my winter landscape immersion. I think I saw in Nature's Pretty Sweet that they added in cold breath to pawns. It's little stuff like this that when added up makes such a big difference.

Honestly I really do believe if Ludeon were to at least PLEASE ADD THE ABILITY TO LET US HAVE A "SNOW TEXTURE" ON ANYTHING WE WANT! Ludeon wouldn't even have to make ANY of the art, the community could come up with everything! We've already got most of the trees and the bushes done, haha.

I don't know if this is really what Ludeon should be focusing on the most right now. Get that final bit of polish in before 1.0, or continue to open up new ways to make things even easier for modders? I'm thinking it will be that bit of polish. Maybe we will at least get snowy trees, if anything. Keeping my fingers crossed for this one!

I think what I really want is if they could even have a new graphic class that is super easy to change around in just xml, depending on any condition your object/thing is in. We could have an option to have a "snowy" texture. Maybe a "wet" texture, "burned" texture (similar to burned floors), "sandy" texture (solar panels will look very dusty/dirty in the desert!), and I'm sure there's other great ones. Maybe allow mods to insert their own new "class" of textures for objects depending on whatever condition the mod sets for this class of textures. It could all be xml too, make it so easy.

It sucks knowing now how beautiful it can look, knowing now what I'm missing out on. Check out how awesome RimWorld looks with snowy trees, and just imagine what it could look like if we could have snowy textures for everything else that might need it.

[BlackSmokeDMax]

Dub's Mars mod has sand cover the solar panels and need to be cleaned, wonder if he could be convinced to make a winter version for regular Rimworld.