energy consumption\generation

[thepenguin]

I was just thinking about exactly how much energy each thing uses, (if there is another topic like this, tell me where)

T is the amount of time the object is built for (assume constant firing and collection) (also assume frames)
A is the amount of terrain cells the colector can access
F is the number of times the weapon fires

collector	10-0.004*A*(T/32)
relay	20
speed	20
storage	35
reactor	40-*0.3*(T/32)

blaster	25+(T/35)
mortar	50+4*(T/105)
sam	20+4*F
drone	50+24*F
thor	160

[Echo51]

Hover over the building and it shows

[thepenguin]

but the energy consumed per second and payback time for collectors and reactors changes it a bit

[SPIFFEN]

Hover over the building and it shows

That only show how much it cost to build , unless im missunderstanding something again =P

[Echo51]

As far as i understood, that was what he wanted to get :P

[Pyxis_GeeK]

I think he wants to know what the energy consumption is per unit. We all know how much it takes to build units but what is the energy consumption per minute of a particular unit. For instance what does it cost to "run" a storage unit....

[thepenguin]

I think he wants to know what the energy consumption is per unit.

yes

We all know how much it takes to build units but what is the energy consumption per minute of a particular unit.

exactly

For instance what does it cost to "run" a storage unit....

and how much does it earn you

[UpperKEES]

Build packets are requested every 0.89 seconds (without the +20% build speed upgrade). The collection and depletion displayed on your screen are also measured per 0.89 seconds, see here.

[Kapoios]

Build packets are requested every 0.89 seconds (without the +20% build speed upgrade). The collection and depletion displayed on your screen are also measured per 0.89 seconds, see here.

Actually, I'm pretty sure this is wrong. Wrong in a way that doesn't matter for this particular thread. Anyway, build packets (without the upgrade) are requested every 0.8333 seconds, not 0.89. In other words, every 30 frames, not every 32.

There are a few ways to see this. A good way is to start building for example a Thor (with plenty of energy production) and count how many packets get dispatched in a minute. You'll find they are 72 (or 71 or 73 because of some inaccuracy of the experiment). Certainly more than 67.5 which is what would be expected if build request was every 0.89 secs, i.e. every 32 frames.

Another way is to simply observe something that you have probably already observed yourself. When the COLLECTION display says 3.0 or even 3.1 production of energy (meaning that the last production that happened, which happens every 32 frames was 3.1), it is still possible to be building 3 reactors and have starvation that is increasing. If the reactors only requested building packets every 32 frames, starvation would be decreasing and eventually storage energy increasing. What happens is the opposite, i.e. storage energy decreases with time and eventually increasing starvation occurs. This is because the three reactors actually need 3.2 COLLECTION (3 every 30 frames, i.e. 3.2 every 32 frames).

I discovered this when making reactor farms and then thoroughly tested it. It is kind of sad. I wish the COLLECTION display and building packet request were equal, as in both every 32 frames. It would make things much simpler.

[UpperKEES]

Nice observations! I guess the Game Mechanics Quiz could have been something for you as well.... :)

Virgil said there are other subrhythms (as he calls them) than the one based on 32 frames, so this could be one of them.

Edit 1: just tried it myself and you are right.
Edit 2: now I think of it, I already asked questions about this in March this year, see here.

It's indeed sad, because it makes it hard to understand the game and optimize your gameplay. Let's hope CW2 will be entirely 30 frame based.

@ The Penguin: I don't know how you got those values for the energy collection of collectors and relays, but they are both wrong, whatever subrhythm you use. For collectors it depends completely on the projected surface + overlap, so you can only work with an average.

[DethbyIT]

Oops!
[Wrong thread - sorry]