Solar power and other power sources for running tech in homes (and other buildings)

Not entirely sure where to post this idea but here seems like a good place. (please move to appropriate place if needed)

so yes solar power, my thoughts are that seeing as there is electricity in the game and it powers different items and mechanics (from what i can see with the info that's posted) would it be a viable idea to have a solar power generator that is required to power you devices.

that's the basics but here are some other more in depth ideas around it.

* different planets have different solar radiation,higher the radiation the fewer solar plants required to power tech etc.

* it was mentioned that different planets may have varying day/night cycles this could incorporate the radiation mechanic meaning that if you have a shorter day cycle to night. then you would require more solar plants to charge up enough power for the night cycle.

* solar only works during the day, causing you to build a series of large power cells (battery's) to store power for the night cycle (aforementioned idea about amount of stations required for day/ night length)

* solar plans having to be built on top of buildings or outside to work leaving them open to attack by hostile creatures. and adding a base defense game mechanic

* may work at a reduced rate through glass

* improving tech tree ( or how you wish to class progression) leading to higher quality solar stations needing fewer of them to charge power cells or making them more defensible

* if there are turrets and automated guns in the game to help protect against hostile threats then careful planing is required so they don't run out of power and stop working, (see other threat for base defense)

these are just a few ideas on solar power but can be used with any type of power source

other ideas for power sources such as thermodynamics. using lava or other lava like substances. this would work great for an underground base close to a planet core for example, but could be late game (in terms of tech progression. this could incorporate the ideas mention above of having to power your base and any defenses you have.

using a planets natural body of water for a power source (not sure of its scinetific name here), for the aquatic race this could fit into the "lore" and tech of the game.

or using posable hot springs found at deepest parts of the sea.

other ideas for power sources for early game may be the burning of fossil fuels, coal as a prime example of this with a low coal amount to power output ratio making moving to the next level of power source a higher requirement.

using combinations of power sources such as solar for during the day and coal through the night as an option.

anyways im going to stop here for now as i can go on with even more ideas around this.

well maby one more, using the animals you have tamed to run on a treadmill device to power your base defenses.... they gain no exp whilst there and will die if neglected.

 

We definitely need some kind of electrical or power system for an element of realism, not even asking for the (somewhat) complexity of all of those mods for minecraft that utilize electricity and such, though if it was in-depth it'd be pretty cool.

 

I like the idea.

 

I like what I read! And it would also add a cool aspect to the game: imagine running out of power in the middle of the night, and then all the lights goes out! That could be prevented by having something like an emergency generator or something. Actually, it could work somehow similar to Industrial Craft (a minecraft Mod), which requires you to generate and store power by utilizing different types of generators (wind, water, geothermal, coal, solar and even nuclear).

 

That was my thoughts exactly, passably adding in post release mob AI's that focus on killing generators or solar arrays .

 

Most other posts about solar (and other kinds of power) have been posted in this subforum as I recall, so it seems correctly placed. But anyhow, I will agree with your thread and the many others suggesting solar power, it would be a neat addition to the game.

Other threads about this topic:
http://community.playstarbound.com/index.php?threads/mechanisms-and-power-generators.1798/
http://community.playstarbound.com/index.php?threads/motors-and-fuel-thread.10804/

 

I support this.
I suppose having a nuclear reactor to power your little hut won't be a good idea...

 

thanks for the support, and the links to the other power source threads, seems like this is a popular idea, who knows what may happen later in the game life cycle.

and kirby i now have a mental image of a full scale power plant powering a single light-bulb in a mud hut, so thank you for that

 

I'm going to power the lights in my mud hut with lemons!

 

It's a nice plan, I like the idea!

Hey now...this is the future! We should have moved to green energy already!

 

don't let the Floren hear you talking bought "green energy" like that they might get the wrong idea!

 

I loved the idea!

 

not only is it a good idea, i think the game would suffer greatly without machines and things they need to operate. just moving blocks and interior decorating gets boring. even quests , if the ultimate goal is just to collect blocks for decorating will get old. the idea of complex bases with power supplies, fuel caches, and defensive weapon systems opens a door for simi-RTS pvp and that has unlimited replay. as well as adding a new purpose to resource collection

 

i like the idea more stuffs all over my houseeeeeee

 

I would absolutely love an extensive power system for this game. I mean, in terraria, after you got all the rooms for your npcs and your obsidian generator, hellevator and whatnot, base building gets boring ( at least for me). Simple wiring, while nice to have, isn't that great. A power management "minigame" could help liven things up alot. Make it simple for basic stuff, then more complex as the game goes on

A tekkit style system with different generators, storage units, and a bunch of cool machinery would really be awesome for the builders in us, I think. Also, automated sentries (like suggested very often) would be cool too, perhaps have them use a lot of energy to shoot, so you'd have to wage making its own reactor to linking up to your general purpose reactor... or perhaps a chest sorting machine like you can do in tekkit. Maybe even an assembly line?

On a side node, high level planets should totally have extraordinary hostile wildlife/natives that constantly attack your outpost, if that gets implemented. I think it would be really cool to do stuff in your base, then suddenly your sentry turrets start shooting.

 

I fully support having power sources. They could implement 3 different sizes or "classes" of generators. Small (class 1) for generating low levels of power for small outposts or basic mining tunnels and may be portable, Medium (class 2) for moderate power generation for large outposts with robust security or large mine shafts with power hungry equipment or multiple smaller buildings and would be a stationary generator or possibly a extremely high tech portable, Large (class 3) for maximum power generation for only the largest and most power hungry settlements such as a home planet, space port, or planetary mining facility and also would be stationary.

They would also play a part for balancing facility size since only so much equipment can run off of a certain size generator. Larger more power hungry equipment would be restricted to larger facilities where resource intensive medium and large generators are built. Wiring can be as simple as connecting the wiring directly to the generator or have a distribution block that everything connects to.

 

Wait... what about planets which have low sunlight? Can we go the nuclear route? ;] or power by satelites?!

 

lovely idea

 

im so glad this is still getting praise who would have thought a random idea at 3 am would intrest so many