Tips for managing mech power

[Racellette]

Hi,
Are there any tips for a newbie on how to manage the power consumption for the mech?

I seem to spend way too long digging up plants to burn for fuel, and I am sure there is a better way to manage this.

I did find a coal vein, and have now added that as fuel, but is there something I should be building? Can I plug myself into the Grid to get a charge?

Thanks

[Bobucles]

Plant power is trash and can becomes obsolete within the first 10 minutes of the game. There is an alt recipe that uses plants, skip that one too. Sometimes plants can have rare organic crystals, but it takes a ton of effort to get even one "free" research out of it. Don't worry about it.

Chase down the first coal node you find. Drop a miner on there, and place some coal output into a storage box. That will keep Icarus charged for the first half hour. Eventually you'll unlock energized graphite. Take the coal, smelt it, and put the graphite into a box. A full generator of graphite is good enough for Icarus' first space flight (always save before your first flight!).

There are wireless transmission towers, which are blue poles. They have very long wire connection range, and will charge a nearby mech. The recharging zones also stack up, which is nice.

Beyond that, just keep exploring and trying the new stuff. Fully exploring the starting system is pretty much mandatory before going beyond.

[Garp02]

If you are able to convert Coal into Energetic Graphite using Smelters, use that instead. its the next progression in the fuel ladder, and Deutron Fuel Rods will most likely be the next in-line after Energetic Graphite. Finally you will be able to make Antimatter Fuel Rods.
Personally I had an excess of Graphite from all the X-Ray Cracking I had setup and used that excess to power my mech for a long time. However travelling between planets and systems burns more fuel than you have experienced before so make sure to take plenty with you.

[yes]

yes you can "plug" yourself into the grid with "wireless power towers" (plus their area stacks and allows you to recharge even faster)

also have a look at items stats. in general the more joules (whereas 1J = maintaining 1W over the time of a second aka Ws) the better. the "fuel chamber gen."-value means how fast your mech is able to convert the energy to usable power (the base value is shown in the upgrade screen) - it has no effect on powerplants.

[Racellette]

Originally posted by Bobucles:

Plant power is trash and can becomes obsolete within the first 10 minutes of the game. There is an alt recipe that uses plants, skip that one too. Sometimes plants can have rare organic crystals, but it takes a ton of effort to get even one "free" research out of it. Don't worry about it.

Chase down the first coal node you find. Drop a miner on there, and place some coal output into a storage box. That will keep Icarus charged for the first half hour. Eventually you'll unlock energized graphite. Take the coal, smelt it, and put the graphite into a box. A full generator of graphite is good enough for Icarus' first space flight (always save before your first flight!).

There are wireless transmission towers, which are blue poles. They have very long wire connection range, and will charge a nearby mech. The recharging zones also stack up, which is nice.

Beyond that, just keep exploring and trying the new stuff. Fully exploring the starting system is pretty much mandatory before going beyond.

That's perfect for where I am in the game - much appreciated - thank you.

[umop-apisdn]

Another thing to notice is the Upgrades tab in the technology/research tree; there's a couple items that deal with the mecha's maximum charge capacity and recharge rate that you should beeline for so you don't have to refuel every 3-5 minutes.

[Racellette]

Originally posted by umop-apisdn:

Another thing to notice is the Upgrades tab in the technology/research tree; there's a couple items that deal with the mecha's maximum charge capacity and recharge rate that you should beeline for so you don't have to refuel every 3-5 minutes.

Excellent - thank you.

[vkobe]

wait deuterium rod before to use warp ^_^

and invest in better core ^_^

[GAMING_Alligator]

Originally posted by vkobe:

wait deuterium rod before to use warp ^_^

and invest in better core ^_^

Nah, energetic graphite is fine. Just make sure that it's topped up and you have a full refill's worth in your inventory before setting out.

[Legion One]

Originally posted by Racellette:

Hi,
Are there any tips for a newbie on how to manage the power consumption for the mech?

I seem to spend way too long digging up plants to burn for fuel, and I am sure there is a better way to manage this.

I did find a coal vein, and have now added that as fuel, but is there something I should be building? Can I plug myself into the Grid to get a charge?

Thanks

You could use power accumulators as well if you wanted.

[Markus Reese]

One thing I set up is a "Gas Station" So whatever is making fuel is routed to an easily locatable area. To help visibility, you can make a crate stack and turn down automation slots a bit to not over fill/waste.

[RandomEnchanter]

Do note that you should NOT burn Energetic Graphite in thermal power stations as it results in a loss of energy from coal. Instead just make a small line for red research and put an overflow box on that line for you to pull from for your mech.

[Riot]

One of the first things I do after the game starts is find a coal patch, and put down a miner. After I get logistics shortly thereafter, I connect a short belt & storage box. That way, you can come back and grab a bunch of coal from time to time. Load the coal into the mech & you're good to go. Do this before you start doing a lot of heavy crafting early game, so you have some energy available & recharging at all times.

If the said coal patch happens to be a decent walkable distance from your main build, then as soon as you're able, build a conveyor belt bringing the coal nearby and put the storage box at the end so it's easy/convenient to grab.

As soon as you have the tech, process the coal into energetic graphite and use that to power the mech. It recharges a lot faster.

The next step is when you get the upgraded electricity transmission towers. After you build them you can recharge the mech from the grid by standing underneith them. Keep some in your inventory and drop down 2-3 and charge up whenever you need to.

This will get you through to the next stage which is eventually hydrogen fuel rods (requires titanium & will become available to you around the time you're getting yellow tech), and then subsequently deuterium rods. They will be more than adequate right into the very late game (antimatter rods are the final step, but aren't really needed to complete the game).