Shipwright Archive
Thread: Engine questions
Comes down to the fact that we can't experiment the YPR on crafted engines high enough to compete with the reward/REd engines. Where the crafted engines shine is raw speed. Looted can't top us in that respect.
When I craft, I tend to either max out speed and the rest go into YPR, or 5 each into YPR. Depends on the customer.
I prefer high YPR, so I use REd engines, but a lot of people like speed. Means your best cornering speed is higher.
Just tell them to stop trying to corner at 100% throttle 
I offer 3 different engines for each level:
One "speed" with maxed speed, rest in p/y/r.
One "maneuverability" with all experimentation in p/y/r.
One "hybrid" with an even distribution.
My sales generally go like this:
Mark III: maneuverability 33% speed 33% hybrid 33%
Mark IV: maneuverability 10% speed 45% hybrid 45%
Mark V: speed 80% hybrid 20% (I don't even offer the maneuverability version now unless special ordered).
Personally, I max out speed and then put all the remaining points into pitch and yaw (not roll).
My theory is that (a) a crafted engine with speed left alone and PYR experimented will be pretty unremarkable, wheras a crafted engine optimised for speed will at least do *something* well; and (b), that roll isn't anything like as important to space combat as pitch and yaw.
I may be wrong in my theory, of course. But I do get sales.
Draveel wrote:
I need some input here.
Engines seem to be a point of contention with some people. They demand speed, but get abnoxious when they cant turn fast at high speeds. I know RPY plays a part in this.
Question is, what is a good experimentation and/or assembly scheme to ensure optimal performance of speed and RPY?
First, the level of success during assembly only affects how far you'll be able to experiment on any given experimentation track. If you want to be able to experiment as much as the resources allow, you want a "Great Success" on assembly.
Second, the degree to which you'll be able to experiment will very much depend on the resources you're crafting the engine out of.
Third, the speed and maneuverability of a ship will depend on depend on two things: the final stats of the engine's speed and YPR and the stats of the chassis the engine has been loaded into.
Finally, it is worth noting that I personally keep very few components stocked. Almost all my business is custom in nature, for the simple reason that the "casual browsing" type of customer typically doesn't have a clue. I like to take the time to understand the customer's needs and desires. Working from there, I try to determine what to best provide them, and this sometimes requires a bit of education. Where it comes to engines, I will ask what chassis they're going to load it, and I'll look up the stats on that chassis. After which, I ask the customer if they prefer speed, maneuverabilty, or a balance. Once I understand their requirements, I explain what I can make for them and how it will behave in the chassis they're going to load it. While this might seem time consuming, in the end my customer and I both come out ahead for two reasons. First, I can charge them a premium for the custom-order service. Second, they end up with something they actually wanted to begin with, and being satisified, they will come back (over and over again).
Im proud to say Im a 17 point crafter now on chassis and 16 points on engines and weapons.
So there are various options:
Bear in mind that EO4 multiplies the drain of the engine by 10
RO4 multiplies reactor output by 1.9
So multiply these out first if you are kitting out a specific ship, for instance my Krayt currently has:
Level 9 crafted engine with overcharger experimented fully for drain to get it down to 2150 (ish) drain the remainder in top speed for 60/60/60/112
This lets me run 3 advanced blasters each with a quick shot upgrade then experimented for drain and then refire rate, level 8 reward shields RE down to 30k mass (not the best) and 2250 ish drain
Then I got a non RE level 10 DI with 10.1 speed and 495 drain a level 9 booster experimented for 10 seconds boost then the rest in top speed with 708 drain.
This gives me an average maneuverable heavy fighter with a cool top speed (no boost) ofover 1400and a boosted top speed of over 1800
Its fair at dropping npc ships for loot (total DPS is around 9k with the 3 guns) and since old tub isnt too good at dodging anyway I rely on raw speed for getting out of trouble with player ships and hope that if I have to fight the spread of fire from the krayt can knock my opponent out on a single pass.
Message Edited by Tsumitsuki on 06-22-2005 07:37 PM
I started buisnes with just custom order requests but my custies wanted the option to just stop in and grab stuff. So I opened my shops. Sales have been pretty good.
Thank you everyone for the input. Has anyone made a chart with the stats with the performance impact of chassis on engines?