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.

[MagicHp]

Huh? FullPower depletes your fuel even faster... But I suppose slower than a standard use of the 3500 one? If I get it right, you can't play this game efficiently without doing maths... Urgh, the fun is going away so much faster than my ship ;)

[Krag]

Less terror, less supplies used, faster trading routes, able to visit more port in less time (so more free fuel back in London), what's not to like?

Ever since I got the merchant ship, my supplies have been draining faster than the fuel even with 15-17 crew so I'm glad I got the better engine. Get a tireless mechanic and the spooky aft from Khan's Shadow and you're good to go.

[Wlerin]

Escrito originalmente por MagicHp:

Huh? FullPower depletes your fuel even faster... But I suppose slower than a standard use of the 3500 one? If I get it right, you can't play this game efficiently without doing maths... Urgh, the fun is going away so much faster than my ship ;)

Nah, I just like doing maths. Just guess at it and you'll be fine. Except when you aren't, at which point you can always go mad and eat your crew.

[Hieronymous Alloy]

Going faster burns more fuel? This isn't something that should surprise people?

There are several quest-reward engines if it really bothers you.

[James Tatsumi]

You need to build the tireless mechanic engine. it gives 5k power and 50% less fuel consumption. that will make your ship go fast using the same amount of fuel as the cheapest engine. add the milebreaker (aft) ad tireless mechanic and you get 65% fuel saving reducing the usage of fuel further

[siyidan]

Escrito originalmente por wlerin:

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

I bought Deadnaught and 1k engine yesterday and had 2k. Now Ive 10k already

[Wlerin]

I was referring to the 3500 engine.

[Eppiox]

EXCLUDING the sunbox route.

More testing with all engines (except the efficiency saving ones).
1) Fuel consumption rates seem directly tied to engine power in that there are no efficiency gains, this does not reflect real life and is not even a proper 'upgrade'.
2) Cargo hold of 120 even on the cargo ship does not feel enough, I’m rapidly consuming fuel/supplies. I've found it's NOT SUSTAINABLE without the cheaty sunbox route, show me a route that works. Perhaps more cargo space should be provided? Maybe not.
3)Not really a proper point.. But no bulk buy bonus of fuel/cargo(lol).

I've downgraded from the cargo ship, back to the crappy starting engine and I’m making MORE money on runs.

I feel like if I were to speed hook the game to run at 2x or 3x speed it would be WAY LESS cheaty than the sunbox route.

[Wlerin]

A lot of the people commenting here aren't using sunlight (I'm not one of them).

Fuel consumption rates seem directly tied to engine power in that there are no efficiency gains, this does not reflect real life and is not even a proper 'upgrade'.

What universe do you live in? More powerful engines are *not* more efficient in real life. If anything they should burn hotter and require *more* fuel for the power, but instead we just don't see as big a speed increase.

[Eppiox]

Well, I mean in weight/power ratio.. but I'm wrong on that one really, googeling tells me that it's pretty negligible.

[RDR]

Escrito originalmente por 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.

Sounds exactly as it shoud work IMO.

Less terror, faster travel, more speed, more fuel.

Can't have everything. Plus if it worked the way you wanted you would end up with a net surfeit of fuel after every trip (from port reports).

Why would it use less fuel, thats fuel efficiency, not speed or power?

Don't disagree with your findings, but disgaree whole heartedly with your expectations.

[Eppiox]

I was expecting to travel at least a similar distance but at a faster rate relative to fuel consumption, not use less fuel.

That is the key to my findings that fuel consumption is directly related to engine power but NOT to the speed of your ship.

What I got was seemingly a -slightly- faster ship, feels like 1.2x the speed instead of 2x, but DOUBLE the fuel useage.

Of course a larger engine would use more fuel, but then the ship should at least move DOUBLE the speed.

That is the crux of my gripe.

[Wlerin]

Why would you expect that? The faster a ship moves, the more drag the zee and the air exert on your ship, and so, the more power your engine has to exert to maintain that speed. This drag doesn't scale linearly, but starts negligible and rapidly increases. Increased weight should also increase drag from the zee. Fuel consumption, on the other hand, does scale linearly with power, both in real life and in this game.

Now, there are some other factors involved with ships that don't affect e.g. cars, like the fact that the prow of the ship creates a wave, and the wavelength increases the faster your ship moves, until it overlaps the stern and you start travelling uphill... but I doubt the game accounts for that.

Point is, while what the game does isn't perfectly realistic, it is much more realistic than doubling the power == doubling the speed.

Also, "feels like" is never reliable, though on the starter boat you might be right.

[Krag]

I went from the stock engine on my merchant ship to the 2000 power engine and the difference in speed was its own reward, the fuel consumption was a bit higher but not much with Tireless Mechanic + Milebreaker, the supplies consumption was a lot lower though and you don't get those for free by handing port reports.

Now I'm using the SPOILER engine and holy crap, the furthest islands are 3 mins away from London and trips rarely eat more than 10 fuel / 7 supplies. I always end up with more than when I left by killing pirates and delivering port reports.
Game is pretty much over at this point.

[Eppiox]

That was pretty much the same progression I had with engines, begginer, 2000, mega SPOILER engine, it's great. I unlocked that one before the magicians one.
I tried the 5k engine, wow the fuel burn, I can see why it sells back for 0 ha.