[Spoilers] Holy crap, these cooling modules

[w@ke_]

Maybe I'm not understanding this correctly, but holy hell these Coalition heat sinks! They just seem so powerful, even accounting for the power drain. Is there something I'm missing?

Browsing the other species' tech, these actually stand out as kind of a sore thumb. I'm not done with the game yet (done everything AFAIK up to the pause after taking out Avalon), but having such powerful cooking kind of puts a damper on some of the species' outfits. Tech that focuses on heat efficiency, such as the Remnant's, doesn't account for much when it only means you're saving a few tons on Coalition heat sinks. It also seems to flatten the value of Korath shunts. (Relatedly, while much weaker, the Remnant active cooling seems to strike a better balance.)

Abyways, just asking again: am I missing something with how these work? I recently learned that doesn't work as I'd assumed it does, so that could factor into it. Or are these really just the cure-all that make sacrificing heat efficiency pretty much the always-right strategy?

[jafdy]

They are "active" modules. When they are cooling your ship they use more power, the power usage ramps with the amount of cooling previded.

[w@ke_]

Originally posted by jafdy:

They are "active" modules. When they are cooling your ship they use more power, the power usage ramps with the amount of cooling previded.

I know; "They just seem so powerful, even accounting for the power drain." It feels like the pure efficiency of the cooling more than cancels out the power cost, since so much cooling for so little space = bigger reactor = more energy than you're consuming with less heat and more space left over.

[Amazinite]

Well they do have engines which produce a terribly large amount of heat.

[Areze]

They'd be awkward to use by themselves, but as an augmentation to passive cooling they work very, very well.

[w@ke_]

Originally posted by Areze:

They'd be awkward to use by themselves, but as an augmentation to passive cooling they work very, very well.

Interesting. How so? I've actually been using them exclusively for a little while now and they're working well since they let me use extra space for energy generation. Although again, I don't have a firm grasp on how heat actually works.

[Ker]

Something to consider in balance is that you are one of very, very few with access to everything. Hodge-podging seemingly overpowered gear is how you - a member of a tier 1 species will progress after the t1 story

[Reaperrazor]

In terms of passive cooling, Korath heat struts are unbeatable. But if you got energy to spare (and are still having heat issues in fights for one reason or another) than Coalition cooling helps a great deal. However 2 large Korath cooling are usually all anyone needs.

[w@ke_]

Originally posted by Kiko:

Something to consider in balance is that you are one of very, very few with access to everything. Hodge-podging seemingly overpowered gear is how you - a member of a tier 1 species will progress after the t1 story

Oh for sure; I have nothing against hodgepodging. It's just that this piece of the podge seems out of proportion. :)

Originally posted by Reaperrazor:

In terms of passive cooling, Korath heat struts are unbeatable. But if you got energy to spare (and are still having heat issues in fights for one reason or another) than Coalition cooling helps a great deal. However 2 large Korath cooling are usually all anyone needs.

Hmm, I mathed them out yesterday and I thought the Coalition beat even the large shunts out pound-for-pound (including the energy drain). It would make more sense if I were wrong about that, since the Korath are supposed to be have the best cooling.

[Reaperrazor]

Your not wrong on the pound for pound of cooling, but for a ship rocking atomic engines, repair/shield systems, and than stack 4 of those most powerful lasers you can buy and energy costs make a Coalition cooler less attractive than a Korath one. If I got tons of spare energy, than yeah Coalition for the win, if I dont the Korath are being hit hard.

[Avior]

I do not consider using cooling modules to be a good idea once you have access to Korath heat shunts.
The energy drain does build up.

[mtboy6698]

In my opinion, passive cooling does best to counteract the passive heat of generators, while active cooling does best at keeping your engines/weapons from overheating the ship during long fights.
Now, some might argue that it's pointless since most fights do not last for more than a minute or two. And if they do, it's because you're on a losing edge already.
I don't know how long it really takes for weapons/engines to actually heat up to their full value, but it does take more than a couple minutes. You may just as well give up the difficult fight till you're sure you can finish it in more efficient timing.

...Then again, there could be another reason to keep your ship actively cooled: Heat weapons. Things like Plasma Cannons that add another layer of heat that has no set limit. In which case the active coolant will keep you going till the guys with cannons are disabled.
But again, this is assuming you're locked in a staring contest for more than a few minutes. Which is a rare situation, in my experience.