On energy display

[Karsten75]

During development I actually tried a range of energy displays.  Things similar to CW3 or total annihilation, etc.  I even used the dashboard display from a hybrid car as a model at one point.  So yeah, I can show information is range of different ways and it can look nice.  Useful is another problem...

Take a look at a regular old mission.  Mission 8-12 in the story for instance.  Watch the amount of green packets on the screen.  They represent the amount of energy demand (so long as you have sufficient energy of course).  During a mission start you often do (because of energy pods).  Energy demand is highly irregular.  When a ship is building the CM, it needs 2 pps.  When it is building the hull it will demand energy as fast as it can, based on what it is building.  That demand is based on the shape of the hull.  Mix in multiple ships at multiple stages of build/repair plus weapons fire and you get energy consumption that looks like an earth quake on a richter scale.

Right now you can of course tell if you have energy pod energy and you can look at the energy storage and tell if it is full.  If you have more than enough energy production for most sustained operations you know that.  If your energy store is empty, though, you don't know by 'how much' you are under producing.  The challenge is showing that in a way that has any meaning or is actionable. 

There are also some technical concerns that make calculating a deficit challenging.  Ships, for instance, don't queue up requests for packets.  They ask for a packet when they need one.  Only once it is dispatched will they ask for another one.  So if you have a production of 1 and have 24 carriers all building hull at the same time the deficit (looking just at packet requests) appears to be around 24.  Of course knowing what the near future demand is would be more useful in that case.

Anyway, just some thoughts for consideration.  I have some ideas and will be trying some of them out very soon.

[Kharnellius]

The new display is great!