Does electrical equipment break down too frequently?

[enragedcamel]

In my current game I just went for an entire season (15 days) repairing more than 20 equipment breakdowns. That means flushing 20 components down the drain at totally random times and for no apparent reason.

I find this a bit ridiculous, especially around mid-game on flat maps with few compacted machinery nodes. There needs to be a way to prevent equipment from breaking down. Maybe a regular "maintenance" task where pawns regularly perform preventive maintenance on equipment, which in turn prevents breakdowns. Either that, or change the component requirement to 20 steel or something similarly reasonable.

[MisterVertigo]

Fluffy Breakdowns is a mod that does exactly this: https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=16120.0

You can set it up so when machinery gets to a certain percentage, a pawn will go maintain it. It requires pawns to go do the job, but the trade off is that it does not take any components. If you let the machinery degrade too far it will still break down and need components, but as long as you keep them up you will be set. This is a must-have mod that I hate to play without.

[Limdood]

I wouldn't mind it nearly as much if "breakdowns" could be disabled like other events in the scenario editor.  It REALLY annoys me that I can't disable them (i dislike the Zzzzt event even more, but at least with that i can just edit the scenario to remove it and BAM, never a problem again)

[BetaSpectre]

IMO breakdowns should be based on degradation from use.

[TheMeInTeam]

How much is too much?  What is a reasonable anticipated breakdown rate and why?

I ask because this is an issue of scaling with # of devices you make.  You can run bases into the very late game on 2-3 windmills with 3-6 solar panels + work stations that use power, in fact that's more power than the main base needs by a margin most likely...unless you are relying very heavily on turrets or hydroponics.

With that setup 20/season isn't happening under normal circumstances, but if you have 100+ electronic devices it might.

In essence component replacement is a maintenance mechanic, and the rate at which you lose components to it is dependent on how much you rely on the constructs that use that maintenance (electronics).  If you're regularly cycling traders in a mature base you can buy components at a greater rate than 20/season, so it's possible to afford the upkeep if you go that big.  However, you don't have to go that big.

[Robb]

I wouldn't mind it being based on usage......I would expect an air conditioner being used all the time at high power to fail more often/quicker than an a/c that only turns on for a couple days during a heat wave.

Also being based on the pawn's skill at construction should matter too...I would expect a shoddily made solar panel to fall apart, while an excellent one should last for years without any issues

[Limdood]

I wouldn't mind it being based on usage......I would expect an air conditioner being used all the time at high power to fail more often/quicker than an a/c that only turns on for a couple days during a heat wave.

Also being based on the pawn's skill at construction should matter too...I would expect a shoddily made solar panel to fall apart, while an excellent one should last for years without any issues

As far as the first part, I think that already kind of exists in the game already....i'm pretty sure unpowered items can't break down.  If said AC is turned OFF during the non-heat-wave times, it can't break down.  Admittedly, this is a lot of micromanagement (turning on and off every production bench, crematorium, light, uninstalling batteries, etc.)....much of it probably SHOULD be automated though...a machining table breaking down even though it hasn't been used in 3 days, and won't be touched for another week, shouldn't really happen...in all honesty, it should only be even drawing power when it is in use.

[Robb]

Poor choice of words on my part. Better example is I have 2 a/c's cooling my freezer. One set at 32 degrees and the other at 30. Typically only the one set at 30 will be actively cooling, with the other on standby and drawing minimal power. The only time the 2nd a/c is in use is during a heat wave ( or if the main one breaks down).

In that scenario I would expect my primary a/c to have a much higher failure chance/maintenance upkeep

[ChillinVillian13]

I hate how i will have my fueled generators turned off and i they will still break down its like WTF GAME!!

[AngleWyrm]

Maybe mean time between failure could be a part of item quality?

[Bozobub]

^Exactly this.

Simply roll an "hours to failure" rating for each component when the item is made or a broken component is replaced, on either side of some base value.  If the component is not in use, it does not use up this time.

Problem easily solved at this level but it requires coding...

[Mkok]

Well, its kinda random. I had 1 failure the first 1,5 years, and now suddenly I have like 2 failures a day for the last week.

[Gohihioh]

Things should not break if they are turned off - this is super annoying.
I kinda get that breakdowns are a way to sink components but I really like Fluffy's breakdown mod idea where you just have to maintain things to prevent they from breaking.
Although I must say that with the mod I'm drowning in components so it needs balancing.

[Snafu_RW]

For electrical/electronic devices IRL the /most/ likely time for them to break down is full power-up (hence the amount of 'standby/sleep' trickle-power options on things such as TVs, comms & computers): consider the 'filament lamp test' for MTBF. Also a device under constant load is less likely to break than a device with wildly-varying loads (IG due to usage)

Physical items such as stonecutter's bench, art bench etc should have HP degredation WRT the work they see + the work material cost(/density?) So a stonecutter's bench would degrade relatively quickly over use (requiring repair/replacement) as would an art bench billed to make stone sculptures; however the later would degrade less if the billed material was changed to (say) gold or silver (more fine detail; less wear & tear on the bench. Drugs labs may degrade due to the reagents used & the material they're constructed from (marble/wood being very susceptible to acid)

Similar game mechanics could be used for other benches/items: thermocouples/heating elements burn out in AC, stoves etc; most buildable 'job creation' items (not simple 'spots') have some sort of wear & tear associated with them depending upon construction materials etc..

Is there a 'nympho/satyriasis' trait? That may make things harder <heh!> on beds.. (or judging by movie output, maybe even comfy chairs!)

[corestandeven]

In my current game, Cassandra - intense, breakdowns are way too common imo. One play through this afternoon (2 hours) and had 4 breakdown events - hydoponic basin x 2, geothermal generator and a heater.

I would rather keep the breakdown rate as it is and remove the requirement to fix with a component, or replace it with a little steel instead. I have hardly any components in my map, few traders pass by (and those who do never seem to have components), so it just sucks that I cant build anything more advanced in the game given I have little components and the stuff I do have just keeps randomly breaking. My constructer is level 16, so its not as though it can be argued that my builder is to blame. I hope this is looked at for A18, as it just seems to me a way of draining components from the player.