Help! What time is "night time" and when should I put on the generator??

[GanjaCommando]

I've read some tips saying the generator only needs to be on during night time but which time is that in-game? Is it from 22:00 to 06:00 or .. ?

And does the generator take time to startup/shut down? If so how much, should I be turning it off and on daily until the coal supply gets stable?

[Shadow_Wolf]

"I've read some tips saying the generator only needs to be on during night time but which time is that in-game? Is it from 22:00 to 06:00 or .. ?"

Of the first day yes, i believe that what the person who told you that really meant was "Free Time", when the people come back from work.


"And does the generator take time to startup/shut down?"

Yes it does, and the higher the power setting, the longer it takes for it to come fully online and reach the power setting.
As for the time, i'm uncertain, but you can see it powering up or down from a barr on the hud of the generator, whihc indicates its current heat level.

On one hand, if your generator power out at a time of need, it will take a while for it to return to full power once reactivated, and there is also an extra cost of fuel to reactivate it and reach a certain heat level.
On the other hand, this also means that when the generator runs out of fuel, you've got some time before everything starts freezing.


"should I be turning it off and on daily until the coal supply gets stable?"

Preferably, it should remain on, i suggest you keep an eye on the amount of coal you have, which is displayed at the top left side of the screen, if you put your cursor over it, you will get an estimation of how long that's going to last.

Also, i suggest you frequently monitor the temperature of your city through the temperature overlay [its a small thermometer icon below the day's temperature display], you have to at least keep the homes and work places in the yellow for people not to fall sick, i suggest you regulate the temperature base on that, keep the generator at a power setting that is enough to keep them yellow until you've got the coal production to sustain higher temperatures, that will buy you a little extra time for you to set up your coal production.

Make sure to change the temperature setting and turn the heaters on and off depending on the temperature of the day, that will save a lot of coal.

And last, but not least, build storage facilities for coal, the more you have of something, the better, try avoiding to let storages gettign full, its its about to fill up, or full, build more storage facilities, that go SPECIALLY for food and coal, which are vital for your people's survival, specially in the first scenario, the end is brutal, and the more coal you have in storage, the higher the chances that you will survive, and the lesses people are going to die.

[GanjaCommando]

Originally posted by Shadow_Wolf:

Aaah I see, so I need to have the generator on the moment free time begins/work ends?

Thanks a lot for your valuable tips!

[socratessoul]

"Nighttime" is essentially when your workers knock off work then go back to work in the morning. Before extended shift that would be 6pm-8am. After extended shift it would be 8pm-6am. It's really up to your discretion based on what your workers are doing.

It's super useful not to have your generator on during the day if all your people are out working. Since they're working there's no need to heat the homes. When you start getting shift workers that's when you have to keep the generator on during the day.

Also depends on what scenario you're playing. It's a great technique in Refugees, I think it's a good one for A New Home too. Not one you'd do for Winterhome.