Wind Turbine progression

[Nostromo]

I found a functional Large Wind Turbine out in the wild. Haven't yet built one of my own. But, making use of the one I found, has me wondering about the Wind Turbines.

I'm pondering the value of the Large vs. the Medium:

Large Wind Turbine power output is 10U/s

Medium Wind Turbine power output is 5U/s

Smalll Wind Turbine power output is 1.5U/s

Two Mediums take the same "footprint" as one Large, and generate the same amount of power; but can fit into two Medium slots instead of one Large slot.

Two Mediums are easier to pick up and move around. They package up smaller. Easier to transport via shuttles. Etc.

Offhand I'm not seeing the advantage of the Large (vs. two Mediums). Save a nugget of Laterite (which is plentiful so far)?

The power output "progression" doesn't "follow". Two Small Wind Turbines take the same footprint as one Medium; but the Medium produces more power (giving it more "value").

Seems like perhaps the Large Wind Turbine ought to produce more power - like say, 15U/s.


What am I missing?

[Material Defender]

The amount of power the wind turbine gives is only dependent on 2 things, if it's spinning at all, and which planet it's on. How fast it's spinning has no effect on how much power it gives.

The amount of power it says in the tooltip is based on planets with medium wind, like Sylva. Planets with higher wind speed will make more power than what the tooltip says, and planets with lower wind speed will make less power than what the tooltip says.

[CubicBerserker]

You're not missing anything, the large wind turbine, like the large solar panel, just isn't a good deal with current stats.

I don't think it would be easy for the devs to really fix this, in a way all four wind turbines are competing with both each other and other methods of generating power. It's almost inevitable that some just won't be as good. I'm honestly already impressed that the other three wind turbines all seem to have their own niche.

Originally posted by Material Defender:

The amount of power the wind turbine gives is only dependent on 2 things, if it's spinning at all, and which planet it's on. How fast it's spinning has no effect on how much power it gives.

The amount of power it says in the tooltip is based on planets with medium wind, like Sylva. Planets with higher wind speed will make more power than what the tooltip says, and planets with lower wind speed will make less power than what the tooltip says.

I used to think this as well, but it's actually wrong, the power generated does not depend on the planet unlike with solar panels. What does change is how often the wind is blowing on average. On Glacio your turbines will be spinning a larger percentage of the time compared to Desolo for instance.

[Nostromo]

Originally posted by Material Defender:

The amount of power the wind turbine gives is only dependent on 2 things, if it's spinning at all, and which planet it's on. How fast it's spinning has no effect on how much power it gives.

The amount of power it says in the tooltip is based on planets with medium wind, like Sylva. Planets with higher wind speed will make more power than what the tooltip says, and planets with lower wind speed will make less power than what the tooltip says.

If so, are you saying 1 Large Wind Turbine would outperform (produce more power than) two Medium Wind Turbines on the same planet at the same location at the same moment in good winds (for instance, if I placed all three turbines on a single Large Platform B)?

Originally posted by CubicBerserker:

You're not missing anything, the large wind turbine, like the large solar panel, just isn't a good deal with current stats.

I don't think it would be easy for the devs to really fix this, in a way all four wind turbines are competing with both each other and other methods of generating power. It's almost inevitable that some just won't be as good. I'm honestly already impressed that the other three wind turbines all seem to have their own niche.

I haven't yet looked closely at the Large Solar Panel, but will watch for a similar value-equation on them.

It seems they could fix it by giving the Large Wind Turbine, say, 13U/s to 15U/s instead of just 10U/s. The Extra Large doesn't need that "progression", because it's standalone - which is the "extra value" it has.

Thanks!

[Material Defender]

Originally posted by CubicBerserker:

I used to think this as well, but it's actually wrong, the power generated does not depend on the planet unlike with solar panels. What does change is how often the wind is blowing on average. On Glacio your turbines will be spinning a larger percentage of the time compared to Desolo for instance.

technically it does depend on the planet, as shown on the wiki: https://astroneer.wiki.gg/wiki/Wind_Turbines#Power_Table

[CubicBerserker]

Originally posted by Nostromo:

If so, are you saying 1 Large Wind Turbine would outperform (produce more power than) two Medium Wind Turbines on the same planet at the same location at the same moment in good winds (for instance, if I placed all three turbines on a single Large Platform B)?

No it wouldn't. The windiness of the planet only affects how often the turbines generate power, not how much they generate while spinning, and it would affect all turbines equally. This is different to how solar panels work, which do generate more u/s on sunnier planets. (the sun is of course only shining half the time regardless)

Originally posted by Nostromo:

I haven't yet looked closely at the Large Solar Panel, but will watch for a similar value-equation on them.

It seems they could fix it by giving the Large Wind Turbine, say, 13U/s to 15U/s instead of just 10U/s. The Extra Large doesn't need that "progression", because it's standalone - which is the "extra value" it has.

Thanks!

What I'm saying is they would have to compete with other power generating options regardless. And there's just a few too many of those to give each their own place to shine. For all of them to be relevant they each need their own scenario where that specific wind turbine is the best, and there's just not that many distinct use cases.

They certainly could, and perhaps should, buff the large wind turbine as you say. But I think it would either remain underpowered or make some other wind turbine obsolete.

I actually think 15 wouldn't even be enough, but at the same time it would seem strange for the large wind turbine to generate more than the XL wind turbine, even if the advantage of being stand alone would make up for it. If I'm not going to use it either way, does it really matter if it's 10 or 15 u/s?

[CubicBerserker]

Originally posted by Material Defender:

technically it does depend on the planet, as shown on the wiki: https://astroneer.wiki.gg/wiki/Wind_Turbines#Power_Table

That's exactly what I'm trying to say. The u/s generated while active stays the same, but the amount of downtime changes from planet to planet so it does make a difference.

[Marck]

Power progression is only one aspect of the different wind turbine sizes. There's also an aesthetic side to it: Some might find that the large wind turbine looks cooler, sounds more pleasing, or animates in a more interesting way than the smaller ones. I think it's nice to have options.

[Nostromo]

Originally posted by Marck:

Power progression is only one aspect of the different wind turbine sizes. There's also an aesthetic side to it ..

Indeed, very true.

Still, it's good to know the differences between all the various devices. I just wanted to check if I was "missing something" (as a senior citizen, that happens to me more and more LOL).

[Eileventh]

I recently got a LWT and I just put it in my hydrazine farm. if you have high-energy requiring farms, I suggest you put it along there.

[Bay6🔰]

Hai anyone can help me with multiplayer achievement? Please sent me an invite

[Marvin]

I just fill up a medium silo with 24 small wind turbines and get 36 u/s
That takes the same space as a medium turbine with 5 u/s and half the space of a Large turbine that provides 10 u/s

Personally, I think the power of each increase in size should be increased significantly. Not necessarily to match or exceed the previous size, it's a pain to print 24 small turbines from your backpack, but much closer than it is now.

Put that medium storage silo atop a tall platform with some floodlights and it looks great too.

[CubicBerserker]

Originally posted by Marvin:

I just fill up a medium silo with 24 small wind turbines and get 36 u/s
That takes the same space as a medium turbine with 5 u/s and half the space of a Large turbine that provides 10 u/s

Personally, I think the power of each increase in size should be increased significantly. Not necessarily to match or exceed the previous size, it's a pain to print 24 small turbines from your backpack, but much closer than it is now.

Put that medium storage silo atop a tall platform with some floodlights and it looks great too.

The other turbines except the large one are fine in my opinion. Compactness is only one factor and it often isn't the most important one to consider. You have an entire planet to build on and platforms are cheap. In fact, wind in Astroneer moves in patches so you want to spread out your wind turbines so they don't all stop spinning at once. That way you don't need as many batteries.

[tojamn]

My mindset is that if I find large turbines or solar panels as I'm exploring then sure I'll incorporate them into my power generation otherwise I don't feel they really are worth the effort to print.

I don't care for the smalls attached to a medium silo because it makes little sense to me but I use it anyway. The power output vs footprint required is just too good to ignore.

Once you get to the RTG stage this is all redundant anyway so for me I only put in place what I need to keep moving forward. A single tower of power can usually meet and/or exceed a modest base needs.