Bringing back electricity, or... generators.


veraziul

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Here's this craaaazy idea I've had for a long time...

Why not be able (at high enough skill) to find scattered throughout the world parts, and put them together in making a manual-ignition (crank trigger) generator, which uses kerosene/gasoline to produce electricity? This will not be in violation of the geomagnetic storm effect - as it is stated in actual articles about these storms, that generators can be used during blackouts.

Specifically, I mean crafting it for the shelter you use, and being able to power a cabin/coastal house with it. Of course you'll need to find fuel and keep it loaded to operate. Like the lantern. It would have to be built on place, and remain static however - because carrying a generator through that weather and wildlife would be impossible.

And for that I suggest using the toolkits for disassembly/reassembly (being able to move it in parts) and using scrap metals (and/or other items) for repairs.

Advantages of the functioning generator (for the time being operational):

- House heating (we just accept that the house has electrical heating units - average 20 deg C indoor temperature)

- Being able to cook on the electrical stove

- Working fridge (keeps raw meat/snacks/drinks @ 100%)

- Have indoor lights (working light switches)

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My take is that all electricity systems (including just basic wiring) are out of commission due to the geomagnetic event. Whether or not articles claim generators will work under such a situation (and we currently know next to nothing about the event happening in the game), the devs have the freedom to take as much or a little inspiration from reality as they so choose.

From what we have seen so far, it looks like the intent is to force the player to live without modern conveniences provided by electricity. And, I have to say I like their idea, and I'm not keen on introducing a generator.

edit: Why would we need a fridge anyway? It's plenty cold outside! (also known as the Ukrainian beer fridge ;) )

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There may be plenty of cold outside, but devs also decided to simply ignore effects that sub-zero temperatures have on food. So, not really a factor.

While idea about electricity is iffy, since we have no idea what happened, is it still happening or what is magnitude of the event, past or ongoing. I would like to see an option to bring ovens back online, there are plenty of propane tanks adjacent to some houses with no way to use them.

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True, we have absolutely no idea of the state the event currently is.. ongoing or aftermath, but that can easily be yet decided by the dev team. If it's aftermath then it's just blackout and you can even restore power plants, but if it's ongoing we would have to define the extent of the storm and how much it affects even the smallest electro-mechanical components.

Still, a small crank-triggered generator seems nice at least to have indoor heating and cook on the stove. Even house lights would be very useful. I admit the fridge doesn't have much use in that climate, but we're talking about "cultivating" life as we know it, which adds a whole new level of immersion.

Question: If a piezo-electric DC trigger ignites fuel in the lantern, why wouldn't an AC generator heat the tungsten wire in a light bulb?

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im not keen of this idea, myself. however, it is an interesting one :)

a generator would kind of ruin the atmosphere of the game, in my opinion. the long dark would suddenly not seem so dark anymore :P

i can't say i haven't ever had this idea, myself, though. it would be REALLY nice to have some light in the old cabin.

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In my opinion it wouldn't ruin the game so much, because you'll have to constantly stack on fuel/kerosene to have it operational (it would consume much more than your average lantern) - meaning you'd have to go wide-perimeter fuel hunting, collecting Jerry Cans and bringing them back. And what happens if you're... say on the Coastal Highway, you get the few close-by jerry cans, but they run out? Either you completely migrate to another area for a new shelter, or go there in search of fuel... I think it would make you do more walking in the wilderness, which means adding a new chore to your basic food collection, thus making the experience more interesting and more carryweight-dependant. :)

And if you completely run out of Jerry Cans, or are too lazy to hunt for them - Harvest the generator for repair parts to keep your equipment sharp and sparkly.

And I'm not saying put the generator parts on a single pile in the Dam, or be able to craft it on a skill of 30... Plus you can always NOT craft it, and collect firewood for your heating needs :)

I haven't paid attention if crafting is a buildable skill, or just a toolkit-requiring chore, but they can always implement building the generator with the repair skill - since you would have to put together the parts, not make them.

Why does a single cabin with a light bulb seem like ruining the experience? You go out of there at night, hunting a deer - or better wolf, or a bear, while hungry - see how much it ruins your experience :)

A lit lantern on the table emits as much light as one light bulb, but does that ruin your experience? No, because you know that if you leave it there for a few hours its fuel is gonna run out, then you have to refuel it. Same thing with your generator.

latest?cb=20151106060856 >>> Winco%20HPS6000HE%20Portable%20Tri-Fuel%20Generator%20pi_270.jpeg

Pur-pur-pur-pur-pur :)

Start it up, cook your meal, get warm, then shut it down to preserve fuel - since it's getting harder and harder to come by.

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Finding and repairing exiting generator, maybe. Building one from scrap, most definitely no. Youd need a degree in electrical engineering for that.

Maybe adding an another variable to fireplace/workbench/bed/forge combo.

At some point i proposed, one of the ideas to make world more dynamic(instead of just looting area dry and moving on), is to add fuel to engines(and they can store a LOT of fuel) in Timberwolf Mountain, so that player would have a reason to return here. That would go rather well with generator option, since jet fuel is essentially a high quality kerosene.

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In my opinion it wouldn't ruin the game so much, because you'll have to constantly stack on fuel/kerosene to have it operational (it would consume much more than your average lantern) - meaning you'd have to go wide-perimeter fuel hunting, collecting Jerry Cans and bringing them back. And what happens if you're... say on the Coastal Highway, you get the few close-by jerry cans, but they run out? Either you completely migrate to another area for a new shelter, or go there in search of fuel... I think it would make you do more walking in the wilderness, which means adding a new chore to your basic food collection, thus making the experience more interesting and more carryweight-dependant. :)

you make a REALLY good point there. i wasn't thinking about the long-term need for fuel, and the difficulty of finding said fuel. when you put it that way, it sounds like a really good idea :)

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High quality kerosene is great and it should be harvestable... if the plane hadn't crashed. Fuel tanks for planes are in the wings. Once those are smashed open there won't be anything left to harvest.

Lights and small appliances can easily be run off a generator. However, unless you have an industrial generator you won't be able to run a stove. Most portable generators are 120V, 10 or 15 amp, and 1000 or 1500W. Just my little space heater in my apartment is 750W. To run a stove is 30 amps, 240V and 4000W. Unless you get the dam running (which would require an engineering degree) you won't be running a stove.

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High quality kerosene is great and it should be harvestable... if the plane hadn't crashed. Fuel tanks for planes are in the wings. Once those are smashed open there won't be anything left to harvest.

Lights and small appliances can easily be run off a generator. However, unless you have an industrial generator you won't be able to run a stove. Most portable generators are 120V, 10 or 15 amp, and 1000 or 1500W. Just my little space heater in my apartment is 750W. To run a stove is 30 amps, 240V and 4000W. Unless you get the dam running (which would require an engineering degree) you won't be running a stove.

I don't know man, but 61957512.raider-rd-gg03.jpg

this little prick offers 5,0 KW while running at 220V/50Hz and I have absolutely no idea what kind of appliances they use in Canada, but in Bulgaria everything works on 220V AC, and depends on what stove you're using it could be a little below 4000W consumed power.

P.S. That's our cheapest generator on the store, considered complete crap. I think you'd easily use the hot plates with a generator, if not the stove. Say... 2kW for a house heating unit, 2kW for the hot plates and you got an extra 1kW to run 10 light bulbs. Yay! Well, sorry to say this guys, but with that config you won't be eating roast venisons. Only fried ones.

P.S.S. Who's to say it has to resemble real life 100%? This, my friends, is a game. So why not your generator be able to provide 8kW of power at 50 amps on 240V ? It's a game... And it's gonna be fun to have.

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It all comes down to the amps. Most generators can't take the load unless they're designed for it. But you're right, a generator should be able to run almost everything else except maybe the microwave and toaster oven (both have huge surge loads when starting).

Personally, while the game needs some form of light that isn't the lantern (candles please!) I don't think the generator would work well with what's been hinted at for the game's backstory. Batteries though shouldn't have a problem but as I understand it anything with a circuit board should be fried. That being said you can take apart a car and turn an alternator into a battery charger if you know what you're doing... but I don't think people want that level of realism :)

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Fuel tanks in the planes can be located in various places besides wings, plus fuel is pumped from fuel tanks into engines and there is rather significant amount of it there.

We could have access to tail tank, that should be intact. Not to mention that wing fuel tank is segmented, to prevent oscillations, loss of fuel in case of breach or spread of fire.

And crash or not, those things are designed to hold, so its a really good chance that theres plenty of fuel left.

Also there are portable generators that have output of 5500W that would be enough for all those ideas, and while setting it up would require quite some knowledge about electrical systems, if its already set, it would require to just flip a switch. That was one of the reasons why i was against actually building damn thing.

Would be nice to know what plane crashed in the mountains tho, to make specific assessment. Its a mid-size, (at least) twin-engine cargo plane. But thats 2 general and figuring out what plane it is purely judging by the shape of its tail is beyond me. I spent like 2 hours looking at various pictures, trying to match, but no luck.

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You know, my first response was 'hell no'

However, I think you make a legitimate point. Game balance wise finding a lantern and then finding fuel gives you light, then finding the bits to fix your generator then finding fuel and being able to power a couple lightbulbs....and then you are in the same basic situation, light = ability to find fuel.

Sure, why not.

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Yeah, devs! If you won't make that, at least...

...isn't the lantern (candles please!)...

Or allow me to make my own torch hangings so I can put em on walls (preferably away from curtains)! Wall torches will light our way along with candles! And Amnesia lanterns. That is.. if for some reason generators blow up and create nuclear clouds of radiation from the mysterious geomagnetic storm.

Fir Firewood and Wolf pelts for everyone! Cheers!

Hm... planes.

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From what I know geomagnetic storms, yes they do knock out practically everything electrical, so, big bloody EMPs, but eventually things if they weren't completely destroyed and could automatically come on, it would start gradually, most computers and generators aren't capable of that so... yeah, maybe after day 14 days of surviving and if the building had a generator, and you had like a litre of fuel, then maybe the lights could come on.

But please do not take those first two lines as proof.

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EM overloads circuitry, introducing much higher current that circuitry can withstand, frying it. There is no coming back from it if charge was big enough.

Considering that Event had global(probably) effect, it means that chances for anything electronic surviving that are slim to none, unless were talking military-grade shielded equipment.

Also generator probability of survival an intense em burst largely depends on what kind of generator are we talking about. Altho if that generator would belong, say, to a "crazy" survivalist dude(who build an underground bunker), then it would probably be placed in Faraday cage, allowing it to survive Event effects with high probability.

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EM overloads circuitry, introducing much higher current that circuitry can withstand, frying it. There is no coming back from it if charge was big enough.

Yep. I've mentioned this in a few forums as one of the reasons why all those vehicles we pass (that likely have computer controlled fuel injection engines) are never going to drive again. Still, batteries will still work (chemistry hasn't changed) and you may be able to make a generator from scavenged parts that would still work to power small lights, etc. The question than becomes do the devs allow the option? I think it will come down to imposing some limits on what the character can do (do they know how to fix/repair/modify engines/alternators?) versus what the player can do (with the power of the internet at our finger tips).

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There may be plenty of cold outside, but devs also decided to simply ignore effects that sub-zero temperatures have on food. So, not really a factor.

Instead of ignoring cold weather effects on food, simply do something that is much easier to program.

There are metal storage crates on Timberwolf Mountain. There are other metallic containers in other places on many maps that are open to the climates. Simply add a tag/condition to those containers that decrease the condition effect by 50% or 75%, or however much.

So on Timberwolf, putting raw meat in the Hut Hatch might degrade the condition by 10% per day. A metallic crate could increase this to only 5% per day, keeping the food preserved longer since the temperature is very often near freezing.

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A metallic crate could increase this to only 5% per day, keeping the food preserved longer since the temperature is very often near freezing.

Doesnt really matter what container is used(altho wooden ones are considered better), since ambient temperatures are always(unless player makes a fire in the area) below zero and thats pretty much all that matters.

Realistically player should be able to just store all excessive meat in one of nearby huts and it would stay edible for months, if not years.

Instead we got some weird feature that decreases spoilage by half when food is in the (any)container, instead of player backpack. What was the logic behind that choice i probably will never know.

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Realistically player should be able to just store all excessive meat in one of nearby huts and it would stay edible for months, if not years.

Instead we got some weird feature that decreases spoilage by half when food is in the (any)container, instead of player backpack. What was the logic behind that choice i probably will never know.

It's a trade off for being able to eat it while it's frozen .. ;) jk, I don't know why either

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You know what, having electricity does not mean having the world back. So what you powered up your shelter hurrah you are modern man, you can watch TV put some beer in the fridge order pizza oh wait NO you can't the world is still gone. On the other hand yes it will be helpful in some other ways like having this:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/6 ... L1500_.jpg

I could see the use of electricity now, as for having fridge or stove pfft not a big deal. If electricity is coming back in this world I imagine that it would be something like this:

-New region some old factory with back up fuel and coal generators.

-New resource Fuel which can be harvested form the cars in jerry cans with a tube.

-New powered up crafting station. here you could refine your crude tools make them fine tools which last longer or upgrade them in to regular tools with wooden handle.

-New crafting tool Pick axe only available at this station (For mining large quantity of coal for the generators) Coal is no longer on the ground you have to mine it. (maybe mine some iron and flint too just as a flavor)

-New Electric tools sharpener household item which needs power to work.

- can craft simple tools and upgrade them into quality tools which takes time.

- you can use simple and quality tools to repair the generators, also they are required now to repair all the other tools which do not need sharpening.

- everything you do on the new crafting station requires simple or quality tools, just like making clothes does require sewing kit or fishing tackle.

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A fixed generator in a certain spot would be kinda neat, a place like the broadcast tower in pleasant valley would have one. Not sure what purpose it would serve us in the sandbox though.

I would rather have a little coleman camp stove...

Sam

Now that you mention it, a Coleman camp stove would be really nice :)

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