[MOD] (Alpha 7) Electric Generator ( v0.7.0.1 / 01.10.2014 )

[bolti1703]

Version 0.7.0.1 update for Alpha 7. Just a quick update, nothing new ( hope no new bugs, but should work well so far )

[SyberSmoke]

I have read through the thread and have some thoughts for you.  First, Ethanol is a shitty fuel.  It has a low ignition point, low evaporation point, crappy energy density, and burns very hot.  Even using blending in gasoline the engine runs at higher temperatures.

Second, Ethanol conversion rate is also crap.  Using corn as a baseline, you can expect a bushel of corn (apx 56lbs) to make only 2.66 gallons of fuel.  So potato's would be much the same as it to is a very starchy material.  To run a generator off of ethanol using starch would be unfeasible.  That is also why Brazil is using sugar cane, but even with this better source of conversion, it is still a loosing battle.

I would suggest getting away from the Ethanol process as it is just bad science and economics.  That said, there are two paths that can help your balancing and be a little better.  First, Bio-Diesel made from oily plants like Canola.  Canola is a hardy fast growing plant that can be pressed for oil and then distilled into bio-diesel.  This is even in use in certain areas in the US as off season farmers are growing canola for truck stops that are making bio-diesel.  And it has a far better conversion rate (each bushel of Canola produces 5.666 gallons of fuel) with that fuel having a energy density of approximately double that of ethanol.

The second method would be to take the green matter from harvested crops (new item called waste greens from each plant) and converting that using bacteria to break down the cellulose and convert it into sugars or ethanol.  This means the player could grow food for the pawns to eat while then using the waste greens to make fuel for the generators.  This would be more efficient and is a technology in design.  After all why wast perfectly good farm land growing a plant when you waste 80% of the plant.

I suggest more research on the part of the developer in this to make sure the mod has a good scientific grounding.  In fact researchers are also working on using algae to make light crude oil that can be processed (link).  Fight the myth and bad science of ethanol.

edit: The last could be a type of solar generator that makes algae during the day.  Then that algae (pipes like wires) is pumped into the bio-reactor to pump out fuel. 

[bolti1703]

Hi,

i really like the idea of making the generator on the basis of a scientific ground. as you say this mod lacks the researches but this was a design choise. my intention was to make a simple mod which adds a small generator with a minimum of new parts and ressources. i made it in the time when everybody was waiting for the Better Power+ mod update. A small mod with the focus on playability and fun, adding an alternative to the existing power generators till Better Power+ is updated. The goal was not to be scientific accurate, since this requieres much more time ( this is why i spare to make empty fuel canister instead the generator spawns metal. not very scientific i know but for expanding this i had to make new ressources, make new textures -- i'm terrible at painting on pc-- , and balancing this all).
After the development of Better power+ is stopped i reflect about the way this mod should go and as i said i really like the idea to be more realistic. I want to monitor the other modmakers, as far as i know ther is at least one other ethanol generator at the moment Superior Crafting and an other in the making More power, and decide then which way i go.  a possibility could be to keep this mod as simple as it is and make a new more complex generator mod. to all: any thoughts about this?

[SyberSmoke]

I think there is room for many different mod types.  The natural go to is reactors or solar cells, you have a different approach and it should be looked at in its own right.  I can appreciate looking at some one else work, but in the end this is your idea, your thought and it deserves to be brought to fruition as its own tilt on the idea of power. 

The above is really an artists perspective.  I can draw in a room full of other people sketching a model, all of the images will be of the model, but the perspective and interpretation will be different.  So overt your eyes from the others and make this your own.

basing this on some science would also solve some balancing issues based on RL factors.  That being you could have an Ethanol generator but it would gobble fuel because the fuel is inefficient even as it is also easy to access.  That is why I suggested using plant fibers over potato's.  You harvest potato's for food, you get mats for fuel that you can not eat.  On that note you could make the bio-reactor for this able to use hoppers.  Plant matter in one, metal in the other, out comes fuel and you save a little on your pawns work time.

After the research is done you can move up, getting access to more efficient fuels, better generator designs, things like that.  There is a lot of room to run with here and a very interesting idea.  Run with it and see where it goes.

[bolti1703]

Thx for your feedback, as i said i really like the idea and i agree in the most points. The next time i will be much less active here in the forum and the development of the mod will be stopped ( exept bug fixing )for a while but i want to collect ideas and suggestions in this time. if you and any other have ideas, PM me or post here. I think i release then a complex version of the generator mod ( but this will take some time). If you want you can do the research and/or develop the design concept.

Greetings

[InfiniteRemnant]

the outputs on these generators are ridiculously low... most brands of gas generators don't seem to go below 1000w for a refrigerator sized machine irl, at least most that are available in the stores here, and can go well above that output. I realize ethanol would probably be half that, and chew through fuel faster, but even that makes your strongest machine comparable to my home town's weakest...

it frankly seems absurd that your machines are larger than that yet so much less powerful.

[SyberSmoke]

the outputs on these generators are ridiculously low... most brands of gas generators don't seem to go below 1000w for a refrigerator sized machine irl, at least most that are available in the stores here, and can go well above that output. I realize ethanol would probably be half that, and chew through fuel faster, but even that makes your strongest machine comparable to my home town's weakest...

it frankly seems absurd that your machines are larger than that yet so much less powerful.

There is a line to reality applying to a game.  While I believe things should be based on a scientific base.  There is something to be said for making thing to realistic.  If your after a better explanation...I suppose you could say it is because the generator is using ethanol and is made out of improvised materials.  After all generators now a days are built with certain standards in mind.  But in the game...I do not see heavy industry at play so the generators are being made with out that precision and potential gains in efficiency are lost.

And to the mod maker, it was late but challenge accepted.  I have been scratching out some thoughts on a pad of paper since I woke up.  Damn...after reading your last post I had dreams about the game...[sarcasm]you such man...you really really do.[/sarcasm]     I will see if I can come up with a doc in a couple days.

[SyberSmoke]

the outputs on these generators are ridiculously low... most brands of gas generators don't seem to go below 1000w for a refrigerator sized machine irl, at least most that are available in the stores here, and can go well above that output. I realize ethanol would probably be half that, and chew through fuel faster, but even that makes your strongest machine comparable to my home town's weakest...

it frankly seems absurd that your machines are larger than that yet so much less powerful.

There is a line to reality applying to a game.  While I believe things should be based on a scientific base.  There is something to be said for making thing to realistic.  If your after a better explanation...I suppose you could say it is because the generator is using ethanol and is made out of improvised materials.  After all generators now a days are built with certain standards in mind.  But in the game...I do not see heavy industry at play so the generators are being made with out that precision and potential gains in efficiency are lost.

And to the mod maker, it was late but challenge accepted.  I have been scratching out some thoughts on a pad of paper since I woke up.  Damn...after reading your last post I had dreams about the game...[sarcasm]you suck man...you really really do.[/sarcasm]     I will see if I can come up with a doc in a couple days.

[bolti1703]

the outputs on these generators are ridiculously low... most brands of gas generators don't seem to go below 1000w for a refrigerator sized machine irl, at least most that are available in the stores here, and can go well above that output. I realize ethanol would probably be half that, and chew through fuel faster, but even that makes your strongest machine comparable to my home town's weakest...

it frankly seems absurd that your machines are larger than that yet so much less powerful.

there was a discussion about the power output. and i think it is  a point in which the opinions are devided. in the end i have to find a compromise beetween reality and playability.  for now the generator produce power beetween 125 W and 600 W. the design goal with the generator was to make it not to powerful but an alternative source of power in certain situations ( eclipse, solar generator is destroyed, during the night). As SyperSmoke wrote it's difficult to compare things in the game with the Real world ( for example the Solar generators a much to powerful compared with real world solar gens). And of course the generator has some pros : small, doesn't expolde in the rain like batteries, can produce power in times when solar gens are down)

[bolti1703]

And to the mod maker, it was late but challenge accepted.  I have been scratching out some thoughts on a pad of paper since I woke up.  Damn...after reading your last post I had dreams about the game...[sarcasm]you such man...you really really do.[/sarcasm]     I will see if I can come up with a doc in a couple days.

Cool  ,take your time as i said the next time i will slowdown the development , but you can write here or PM me, i just don't code anything the next weeks. But when we have the concept it should take not to long to code the mod...

Greetings

[bolti1703]

noone tested this mod with his A2B: conveyor belts & co.. It works just fine, no update necessary

[Rascher]

My archive is corrupted. I can't download mod. What am I doing wrong?

[Clibanarius]

Nothing. It's the server, go look at the news forum.

[Defection]

I've downloaded v0.7.0.1 and when I try ti open the zip file it says that file is corrupted. Is there any chance that it didn't upload correctly or something else is problem? 

[skullywag]

all mods need reuploading if they were on the website, due to the moving of servers by Tynan earlier.