B42 Generators

[Sckribbik]

Generators in project zomboid are the single worst thing in the game; you always find them at 100% condition which makes no sense and the manual for them you cant find anywhere. So you're telling me that a hardworking Kentucky citizen is too lazy to keep the manual for a generator, and that every single warehouse in the game doesn't store any of them either? BS. I'm pretty sure that generators aren't that hard to use anyway. So why do you even need the manual to begin with? Manuals should be common for households with generators or there shouldn't be the need for the manual at all. Devs, please change with B42.

[Puppers]

Were getting new generators in build 42, i dont know about how they operate but I don't think it should be something as simple as real life for game balance reasons. I kind of like having to go look around and have a goal like finding a gen mag.

[Animalman]

the variation of generators suggests a huge generator game overhaul. With generators more prone to starting fires. Possible they will be easier to obtain and use. Its possible at least some models may not require mag.

[Eightball]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNhShmwXT4E

Do keep in mind these things are from the 80's when the game is set. You aren't hooking up a modern generator that is basically plug and play. No computers here.

Really think you could start that thing without that youtube vid? I don't think I could.

They also need maintenance like a car engine does, very similar inside.

And even after all that i'm not sure i'd know how to hook it up to a house.

Also people that know how things work generally don't keep the manuals anymore. That'd be like saying I should have a manual for my washing machine, my fridge or my dish washer somewhere because I have one. But I don't. I know how it works, it's in the bin. I never cared to keep them. Anyone experienced enough to use and have the generator probably never even opened the manual when it was new and just chucked it in the trash with the rest of the packaging.

Sure, some people are anal about keeping manuals like that, but not that many in my experience.

None of any what I said really matters towards game balance anyway, a games a game and it can be anything, just trying to show it's not as easy as you seem to think it is, nor would manuals be as common as you seem to think they would.

[Quill]

Originally posted by Eightball:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNhShmwXT4E

Do keep in mind these things are from the 80's when the game is set. You aren't hooking up a modern generator that is basically plug and play. No computers here.

Really think you could start that thing without that youtube vid? I don't think I could.

They also need maintenance like a car engine does, very similar inside.

And even after all that i'm not sure i'd know how to hook it up to a house.

At my work we currently have a 1960s Civil Defense Gasoline Generator that you start with a Hand Crank

I really hope the new Generator types comes with all sorts of differences and maybe a sign of different fuel types coming to the game

[Eightball]

Originally posted by Quill:

Originally posted by Eightball:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNhShmwXT4E

Do keep in mind these things are from the 80's when the game is set. You aren't hooking up a modern generator that is basically plug and play. No computers here.

Really think you could start that thing without that youtube vid? I don't think I could.

They also need maintenance like a car engine does, very similar inside.

And even after all that i'm not sure i'd know how to hook it up to a house.

At my work we currently have a 1960s Civil Defense Gasoline Generator that you start with a Hand Crank

I really hope the new Generator types comes with all sorts of differences and maybe a sign of different fuel types coming to the game

They just don't make them like they used to. I bet nothing made today would last the 64 years that thing has so far, lol.

[Quill]

Originally posted by Eightball:

Originally posted by Quill:

At my work we currently have a 1960s Civil Defense Gasoline Generator that you start with a Hand Crank

I really hope the new Generator types comes with all sorts of differences and maybe a sign of different fuel types coming to the game

They just don't make them like they used to. I bet nothing made today would last the 64 years that thing has so far, lol.

I mean it's pretty hard to screw up something so heavy you gotta mount it on a trailer but so basic if it was in PZ probably would use Metal Scrap to fix lol

But would make for an interesting addition for the game; even if it had to come in the form of a mod

Actually come to think of it we need more civil defense/prepper stuff in PZ. It's 1993. We just got out of the Cold War. I go to Estate Sales and people casually have full Civil Defense Radio Stations in their garage. We need some of that Canned Water to come across in a random garage or a random gieger counter in a Survivor home

[Puppers]

Originally posted by Eightball:

They just don't make them like they used to. I bet nothing made today would last the 64 years that thing has so far, lol.

yeah lol i grew up in the 80's and even todays cars are made like tinfoil in comparison and so many different things are just easy to break like WHY

[Beltneck]

I can pretty much guarantee you would not be able to use a generator without some instruction first. Its not as simple putting in gas, pushing a button, and plugging your wires in.

You could probably figure out opening the fuel line, since its a valve marked 'Fuel Open/Close' and located right under the fuel tank.

Turning on the breaker? could probably figure that out too, since thats an on/off switch right beside the outlets.

Pulling the cord is simple enough - but you could flood the engine if you don't get it started within 3-4 pulls. Then if you keep trying without letting it drain, you'll just keep flooding it and never get it started.

Then even if you do manage to get it started, unless you understand the purpose of a choke and how ambient air temperature affects it, the generator will stall within minutes. Its not some clearly marked lever either, its a component most people who've never used a generator before think is extraneous. Its not some on/off thing either, you need to listen to your engine's RPMs and adjust it accordingly.

Then for regular maintenance; if you don't know how to change oil, take out and clean the carburetor and air filter, or clean your injectors - you're not going to be using that generator for very long. Also if you don't understand the effect ethanol has on engines like that, you'll ruin it in no time, or at least be cleaning those injectors after each use.

Man-portable generators are much more finicky than car engines, or even fixed emergency generators. The automation of airflow and robustness against fuel impurities add weight. So to keep it portable, a lot of those things need to be done manually.

[Sckribbik]

Originally posted by Beltneck:

I can pretty much guarantee you would not be able to use a generator without some instruction first. Its not as simple putting in gas, pushing a button, and plugging your wires in.

You could probably figure out opening the fuel line, since its a valve marked 'Fuel Open/Close' and located right under the fuel tank.

Turning on the breaker? could probably figure that out too, since thats an on/off switch right beside the outlets.

Pulling the cord is simple enough - but you could flood the engine if you don't get it started within 3-4 pulls. Then if you keep trying without letting it drain, you'll just keep flooding it and never get it started.

Then even if you do manage to get it started, unless you understand the purpose of a choke and how ambient air temperature affects it, the generator will stall within minutes. Its not some clearly marked lever either, its a component most people who've never used a generator before think is extraneous. Its not some on/off thing either, you need to listen to your engine's RPMs and adjust it accordingly.

Then for regular maintenance; if you don't know how to change oil, take out and clean the carburetor and air filter, or clean your injectors - you're not going to be using that generator for very long. Also if you don't understand the effect ethanol has on engines like that, you'll ruin it in no time, or at least be cleaning those injectors after each use.

Man-portable generators are much more finicky than car engines, or even fixed emergency generators. The automation of airflow and robustness against fuel impurities add weight. So to keep it portable, a lot of those things need to be done manually.

Understood, I also forgot that the game is set in 1993 so generators wouldn't be as simple then as they are now, but the manual still shouldn't be so rare it feels like a 1:40 ratio of magazines to generators

[Chilli Dog Dave]

good thing electrical skill will be aiming to bypass the magazine if its high enough

[Shurenai]

Originally posted by Sckribbik:

Originally posted by Beltneck:

I can pretty much guarantee you would not be able to use a generator without some instruction first. Its not as simple putting in gas, pushing a button, and plugging your wires in.

You could probably figure out opening the fuel line, since its a valve marked 'Fuel Open/Close' and located right under the fuel tank.

Turning on the breaker? could probably figure that out too, since thats an on/off switch right beside the outlets.

Pulling the cord is simple enough - but you could flood the engine if you don't get it started within 3-4 pulls. Then if you keep trying without letting it drain, you'll just keep flooding it and never get it started.

Then even if you do manage to get it started, unless you understand the purpose of a choke and how ambient air temperature affects it, the generator will stall within minutes. Its not some clearly marked lever either, its a component most people who've never used a generator before think is extraneous. Its not some on/off thing either, you need to listen to your engine's RPMs and adjust it accordingly.

Then for regular maintenance; if you don't know how to change oil, take out and clean the carburetor and air filter, or clean your injectors - you're not going to be using that generator for very long. Also if you don't understand the effect ethanol has on engines like that, you'll ruin it in no time, or at least be cleaning those injectors after each use.

Man-portable generators are much more finicky than car engines, or even fixed emergency generators. The automation of airflow and robustness against fuel impurities add weight. So to keep it portable, a lot of those things need to be done manually.

Understood, I also forgot that the game is set in 1993 so generators wouldn't be as simple then as they are now, but the manual still shouldn't be so rare it feels like a 1:40 ratio of magazines to generators

Unfortunately, many people from the era in question tended to internalize the info they read and then throw the packaging and manuals away... The ratio of finding them is pretty spot on.

Heck, People still do that even now- That's why everything now also has instructions printed on the product itself and not just on the box or in a separate manual, 'Cause people will just toss the box and the manual full of warnings and keep the product itself.

[Beltneck]

Originally posted by Chilli Dog Dave:

good thing electrical skill will be aiming to bypass the magazine if its high enough

Yeah, i would expect an electrician or mechanic to know how a generator works. Even most construction workers since they need generators for their powertools before the building gets hooked up to the grid.

[Nordil(Hun)]

Originally posted by Beltneck:

Originally posted by Chilli Dog Dave:

good thing electrical skill will be aiming to bypass the magazine if its high enough

Yeah, i would expect an electrician or mechanic to know how a generator works. Even most construction workers since they need generators for their powertools before the building gets hooked up to the grid.

How it works:) But not necessarily how to operate one:P

[Beltneck]

Originally posted by Nordil(Hun):

Originally posted by Beltneck:

Yeah, i would expect an electrician or mechanic to know how a generator works. Even most construction workers since they need generators for their powertools before the building gets hooked up to the grid.

How it works:) But not necessarily how to operate one:P

Semantics.

Construction workers of often required to use generators and other gas powered tools. Because they don't have site power yet, but they still need to do their work, and its not like a horse is going to generate that torque for them.

Mechanics fully understand what a carburetor is, so the choke and it's purpose wouldn't be a mystery to them. Also taking apart small engines and putting them back together is mechanics 101.

[Primedew]

is the generator variations introduced in the unstable b42 release?