Limit on solar flares?

[Cassey]

Its rare, but I have lost people due to hunger/darkness during a solar flare day.  Since there is NOTHING I can do about that, it seems relatively pointless.

If something is planned, great!  If not, how about knocking out outside generators and devices, but leaving those buried deep in mountains functional?  The mountain should protect the devices - if the flare was strong enough to penetrate the mountain, it would kill all living things!  (Something like what happened in the "Knowing" movie (think that was the title)).

[NephilimNexus]

This is a good point.  N.O.R.A.D. is built into Cheyenne Mountain for a reason, after all.  Even nuclear EMP blasts can blocked by enough tonnage of good, solid rocks.

[ThomasA]

And additionally, solar flares should not happen while in an eclipse too ;-)

[Cyclops]

And additionally, solar flares should not happen while in an eclipse too ;-)

I don't understand. An Eclipse does not turn the Sun off, merely prevents light from reaching the Earth. Solar radiation can still effect electrical devices.

Also, how about a Solar-flare detector? It shouldn't be too hard to build something that can detect forming solar flares before they happen.

[Galileus]

I agree with nerfing solar flare, but limiting it to outdoors makes it puny and barely important compared to the horror it is now.

But taking into account we'll have much, much, much more storyteller incidents, this will all get reworked I believe

[ThomasA]

And additionally, solar flares should not happen while in an eclipse too ;-)

I don't understand. An Eclipse does not turn the Sun off, merely prevents light from reaching the Earth. Solar radiation can still effect electrical devices.

The dangerous part of a solar flare are the fast and loaded particles (ionized gas/plasma) thrown torward the little moon which in case of an eclipse is hidden behind a huge gas giant so straight traveling particles can't easily reach your base. At least it would get heavily weakened by the heavy magnetic field of an gas gigant between your base and the sun.

But a +1 for a Sun-Telescope for predicting solar flaressome hours before it happens

[Produno]

Or, just use steam engines? Though joking aside, it has been mentioned these planets consist of all sorts of technical generations. So maybe in the future steam generators or another kind of fuel generator could be plausible.

[Cassey]

I agree with nerfing solar flare, but limiting it to outdoors makes it puny and barely important compared to the horror it is now.

But taking into account we'll have much, much, much more storyteller incidents, this will all get reworked I believe

Well.... here is a thought, but I have no idea how one would implement it...  If you experience a solar flare, you somehow get "horror credit" and nothing else bad will happen to you for a few days.

[NephilimNexus]

Or, just use steam engines? Though joking aside, it has been mentioned these planets consist of all sorts of technical generations. So maybe in the future steam generators or another kind of fuel generator could be plausible.

It does seem strange that solar flares knock out my geothermal generators.  Unrealistic, too, to be honest: Any EMP effect strong enough to knock out all of the power in a base is strong enough to kill human beings as well.  The human body has it's own electrical field, after all (look at how pacemakers work) and shutting down that field will shut down the person real quick and real permanently.

[Lamilac]

I agree.  I have been puzzled by the effect of solar flares on geothermal generators (at least those inside rock).  Outside, exposed to a flare, I can understand not working.  How is it that a geothermal generator, inside of rock, can be knocked out by a solar flare?

[Vastin]

I'd vote for some advanced tech that allows you to either harden individual rooms against solar flare effects and/or allow you to continue to use some equipment at an increased risk of fires or shorts.

Right now the flares are pretty crippling - as the game develops there will presumably be a lot more stuff dependent on power, and they'll get far worse.

[Coenmcj]

Perhaps the addition of adding a layer of shielding over individual items makes it less susceptible to EMF's however makes it more prone to fire or less susceptible to repairs in turn?

[colonistPally]

At the very least if your base is buried inside a mountain where electromagnetic frequencies can't even penetrate..

But yeah a "faraday cage" upgrade for like a more expensive wall (and vicariously your roof)... I don't know.

Honestly I don't mind it having teeth, because they all can kill you in combination with other factors. But at the same time I think there needs to be like, "yes you're emp'ed... and a ship is crashing down to drop crap for you" or something like that.

Why doesn't it EMP with a ship in orbit so I can get freeee stuff! Anyway this was a fun thought. I didn't come here to talk about this but it would be really cool!

[Untrustedlife]

Seems, liek it would completely remove the point of solar flares, which is to provide a unique challenge.

Removing it in the games current state would only serve to make the game easier, nothing more.
And currently if you play well the game gets ridiculously easy once you have blasting charges/killbox with turrets.
So no, do not nerf them until we have other threats.

[Galileus]

Seems, liek it would completely remove the point of solar flares, which is to provide a unique challenge.

Removing it in the games current state would only serve to make the game easier, nothing more.
And currently if you play well the game gets ridiculously easy once you have blasting charges/killbox with turrets.
So no, do not nerf them until we have other threats.

Not as much easier, as fair. I was wiped by "boom! no power, know what? eclipse! Done... or is it? FLARE IN THE FACE!" combo, and being able to barely do anything to help poor sods. Its pointless in the end, if you have a threat that you can do nothing against.