Faster Engines ARE WORSE

[Eppiox]

Done some testing with engines, exact same ship, same cargo amount and crew- only difference is the engine, the more powerful the engine is the LESS you can travel in one fuel unit, the problem is this amount is quite large!
Notable tests I’ve found are that the (Cotterell & Hathersage 'Manticore No.4') $2000 engine which gives +2000 engine power, consumes fuel so much faster that you get under HALF the travel distance of the beginning engine and it does not even feel all that much faster.

This ultra inefficiency does not seem right to me and makes the faster engines worse imo :(
Edit: Without the sunbox route, I find it's not sustainable.

[darren]

The faster engines decrease the amount of terror you get, make dodging enemies easier as well as killing them. I've been going with a higher end engine for a while and it may cost a bit more but my runs take less time and I'm still piling up cash.

[Wlerin]

It may not "seem right" to you, but it's pretty realistic. Basic rule of thumb is don't use a larger engine unless you have a larger ship, with a correspondingly larger cargo hold.

[Wondervice]

I agree, it is quite annoying how stupidly unusable the engines are. If they are only useful for larger ships then it should be included in the description of the engine.
Instead the tutorial tooltips RECOMMEND buying a new engine for your ship when you gain a bit of money, when it is actually sort of suicidal to do so until you have a lot of money to compensate for the amount of fuel you will need.

[MagicHp]

Originally posted by wlerin:

It may not "seem right" to you, but it's pretty realistic. Basic rule of thumb is don't use a larger engine unless you have a larger ship, with a correspondingly larger cargo hold.

Do you really wait between 7K and 14K echoes before changing engines? I guess that means stuck with the starting speed for around 10 hours? Boring or is it just me?

[darren]

Originally posted by Wondervice:

I agree, it is quite annoying how stupidly unusable the engines are. If they are only useful for larger ships then it should be included in the description of the engine.
Instead the tutorial tooltips RECOMMEND buying a new engine for your ship when you gain a bit of money, when it is actually sort of suicidal to do so until you have a lot of money to compensate for the amount of fuel you will need.

Honestly, I'm a little annoyed because I decided to go for fuel efficiency and get the 2500 horsepower engine instead of the Caminus Yards 3500 for the same price. Sure fuel would be a bit more costly but between certain story events and upgrading to the cargo ship it doesn't really make a dent in my pocket book. Especially considering that you get fuel for port reports now.

[Wlerin]

The one from Caminus Yards is a cruel joke (with no sell price, even), but the others are all varying degrees of useful. More useful on a bigger ship, though.

Originally posted by MagicHp:

Do you really wait between 7K and 14K echoes before changing engines? I guess that means stuck with the starting speed for around 10 hours?

Most of my first few captains died long before I could even think of upgrading. By the time I knew enough to survive I also had found ways to make enough money for the Merchant Cruiser within a couple of hours. Maybe you're playing it too safe? Playing it safe will kill you more surely than running into Mt. Nomad on 1 hull.

[MagicHp]

Cruel joke? Care to explain?
Edit:There must be something I miss, care to explain your methods? I go for Vital info made from 2 Strategic ones, nets me 500 to 600, but takes me an hour to make (before setting up spy networks) a single trip.

[siyidan]

Kill stuffs with a dreanaught. A Mt. Nomad is worth 2000. Now you NEED a good engine

[Wlerin]

It's never going to be worth it, and once you find that out, they won't buy it back. That's what I mean when I say it's a cruel joke.

[darren]

Originally posted by wlerin:

The one from Caminus Yards is a cruel joke (with no sell price, even), but the others are all varying degrees of useful. More useful on a bigger ship, though.

Didn't do any long runs with the Caminus Yards one, but in the short tests I did it didn't seem like it'd be that bad compared to my Admiralty Special. Haven't gotten the Impeller yet but that seems the way to go from here.

[MagicHp]

How it is not worth it then ^^ I mean it is the most powerful I can see at first, I guess the one from the tireless mechanic is better but haven't got it yet. 5K for 3500 engine power seemed not that bad.

[Wlerin]

Eh. The Admiralty Special is borderline. These days I try to get the Impeller ASAP, until then equipping the... Manticore I think? On either the Cruiser or the Frigate.

For future reference, on the 2nd throttle setting, fuel consumption is equal to Power/1000 % of a barrel per second, so the Compulsion uses 3.5% per second, the Admiralty 2.5% per second, etc. Speed isn't linear and also depends on weight... I'm afraid I don't have a formula yet.

[Wlerin]

Originally posted by MagicHp:

How it is not worth it then ^^ I mean it is the most powerful I can see at first, I guess the one from the tireless mechanic is better but haven't got it yet. 5K for 3500 engine power seemed not that bad.

Because by the time you have a large enough hold to fuel the Compulsion, you also have an Aft slot for the Suppressor, and can get the same speed provided by the Compulsion by just running the starter engine at FULL POWER all the time, using less fuel.

Compulsion is only 1.75x faster than the starter engine on the Merchant Cruiser/Dreadnought, less on smaller ships, but uses 4.375x the fuel.

[siyidan]

Originally posted by wlerin:

It's never going to be worth it, and once you find that out, they won't buy it back. That's what I mean when I say it's a cruel joke.

Nah I just bought one and killed 3 Nomad, now it's 6k back now XD. Plus it's the best kit to kill Nomad , and the best life insurance. Better than heirloom cuz you just wont die!

[Wlerin]

Eh, it's your bank account's funeral ;)