Two fuel gauges?
- Thread starter Ackoman
- Start date
Hi,
The gauge above the main one is your reserve, which is automatically replenished from the main tank as required.
You can force the replenishment of the reserve in a station, if you feel like it, although there's no need.
Regards
No. It refills from the hyperspace tank automatically when it's empty, so you only have to worry about keeping the one tank full.
EDIT: Ninja'd
EDIT: Ninja'd
That is not entirely true.
The top fuel gauge is your reserve fuel tank, this tank is used to fuel your power plant. This means that this tank is used to power normal travel, hyperspace travel, weapons, systems, and etc.
The second fuel gauge is your main fuel tank and this one refuels the first AND provides fuel for your Frame shift drive jump (the star to star interstellar drive). Fuel scooping refuels this tank but not your reserve.
The top fuel gauge is your reserve fuel tank, this tank is used to fuel your power plant. This means that this tank is used to power normal travel, hyperspace travel, weapons, systems, and etc.
The second fuel gauge is your main fuel tank and this one refuels the first AND provides fuel for your Frame shift drive jump (the star to star interstellar drive). Fuel scooping refuels this tank but not your reserve.
Yeah......took me a whlie to work out.........same as above...
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The thick dashed line, is your main tank.........if that gets empty, you are screwed..........also, when you set up a star jump, you will see part of your main tank readout turn blue....thats how much fuel you will burn with your currently planned jump.......the thin line above, is your reserve tank........if your main tnak goes, and then that goes.....start walking.......
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The thick dashed line, is your main tank.........if that gets empty, you are screwed..........also, when you set up a star jump, you will see part of your main tank readout turn blue....thats how much fuel you will burn with your currently planned jump.......the thin line above, is your reserve tank........if your main tnak goes, and then that goes.....start walking.......
In practice as long as you keep scooping enough to keep the big tank full enough so it can refill the reserve you're OK.
If otoh you let the big tank empty and then the reserve empties it's sidewinder time.
a) You drop out of SC
b) All systems shut down including life support.
c) When the oxygen runs out the ship explodes
EDIT:
Probably worth restating the old wisdom - not all stars are scoopable, so it's a good idea to keep the main tank well topped up.
If otoh you let the big tank empty and then the reserve empties it's sidewinder time.
a) You drop out of SC
b) All systems shut down including life support.
c) When the oxygen runs out the ship explodes
EDIT:
Probably worth restating the old wisdom - not all stars are scoopable, so it's a good idea to keep the main tank well topped up.
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For convenience, there is a self-destruct feature. In the right panel.
So nobody knows the difference between a reserve tank and a reservoir, huh.
ED ships have no reserve tank, only the main tank (which is just storage) and the reservoir (which actively feeds your power plant). Your ship will run if the tank is completely dry so long as the reservoir has some fumes in it, but I think the main tank display actually includes the reservoir amount for some reason. I think you can even hyperspace on empty if there's enough fuel in the res to cover it.
ED ships have no reserve tank, only the main tank (which is just storage) and the reservoir (which actively feeds your power plant). Your ship will run if the tank is completely dry so long as the reservoir has some fumes in it, but I think the main tank display actually includes the reservoir amount for some reason. I think you can even hyperspace on empty if there's enough fuel in the res to cover it.
atak2
A
On my first day I decided to go see the universe. I flew from star to star refueling at stations. I had no idea there was a fuel scoop then. Everything was going great until I hit several stationless sectors in a row...
Ok, you win today's "Patronising Post of the Day" award
You present good information, for which I will +Rep you, but there was no need for the opening line?
Ok, you win today's "Patronising Post of the Day" award
You present good information, for which I will +Rep you, but there was no need for the opening line?
Statement of fact which I declined to sugarcoat because I'm not a baby and neither are you. I wouldn't have to have posted at all if anyone who did actually knew what they were talking about instead of just, I don't know, guessing or assuming.
I've wondered that myself. The reservoir is basically just magnifying a small section of the fuel tank gauge, so it doesn't technically do anything other than to be there for immersion. The thing I've always wondered is how much fuel the imaginary res supposedly holds, and if it scales up with bigger fuel tanks.
On my Python, it holds around 4% of the main tank's 32t, since when my reservoir dries up, my main tank drops to 96% (after scooping it up to 100% before), which would be 1.28t but I guess it's 1.0t flat because the 96% are probably rounded down. Haven't really kept an eye on this while in my Clipper, which was my first ship with a fuel scoop.
I tend to fuel scoop whenever I'm down to 25 or 30% full while out exploring. Saves me unpleasant surprises.
Which is fine if you know that the next system you visit has something scoopable. Personally I prefer to keep things well topped up to avoid unpleasant surprises.
The reason for the reserve, and the two gauges is simple. The main tank is used for a hyperspace jump and it does also replenish the 'working' tank. The 'working' tank drives all the other systems. When it is empty it replenishes itself from the main tank. This we all know. However, at least one commander has fallen into the trap of only having enough fuel in the main tank for one more hyperspace jump, the star was a brown dwarf (so he could not scoop it), and he decided to explore. Unfortunately he did not realise (until it was too late) that the 'working' tank was low, and when it replenished itself he was no longer able to leave the system. By the way, it was not I who made that mistake, but I did read it on this forum.
It seems many posters have it right - the main tank (fat line) handles the hyperspace jumps, and the reservoir handles many other things. Below is the information from the manual. But, my question is, "Why even show a seperate reservoir if it refills automatically and as such seems to work in effect from the main tank too?
Page 30 of the manual
4 Fuel Gauges: Your ship’s fuel supplies are displayed here.
Your ships fuel is stored in two reservoirs. The segmented bar represents fuel capacity in your ship’s main tank. This fuel is used directly to perform hyperspace jumps, which require significant amounts of fuel per jump.
When you have a hyperspace destination targeted your main tank fuel gauge will highlight to show you how much of your current fuel capacity will be used by the jump.
The active reservoir capacity is represented by a thin bar that sits directly above the main tank display. The active reservoir is drained by your ship’s power plant to run all of the systems in the ship. When the active reservoir is drained, it is automatically refilled from the main tank if possible.
Warning! Remember to refuel appropriately. Should your main tank and active reservoir become empty, your ship’s power plant will be unable provide power for life support functionality
Page 30 of the manual
4 Fuel Gauges: Your ship’s fuel supplies are displayed here.
Your ships fuel is stored in two reservoirs. The segmented bar represents fuel capacity in your ship’s main tank. This fuel is used directly to perform hyperspace jumps, which require significant amounts of fuel per jump.
When you have a hyperspace destination targeted your main tank fuel gauge will highlight to show you how much of your current fuel capacity will be used by the jump.
The active reservoir capacity is represented by a thin bar that sits directly above the main tank display. The active reservoir is drained by your ship’s power plant to run all of the systems in the ship. When the active reservoir is drained, it is automatically refilled from the main tank if possible.
Warning! Remember to refuel appropriately. Should your main tank and active reservoir become empty, your ship’s power plant will be unable provide power for life support functionality
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The proper name is "Active Reservoir" or "Active Fuel Reservoir".
Ok, you win today's "Patronising Post of the Day" award
You present good information, for which I will +Rep you, but there was no need for the opening line?
Steady on, the night is still young !