Understanding module priority

Nic727

N
Hi,

I’m not sure to understand module priority. I’m trying to use the less energy possible on my ship and I was always deactivating my modules like Hangar, weapons, etc. when not using them, but I read on the wiki that it’s automatically deactivating them if not used and on another priority other than 1.

The thing is that it’s not working. I put everything useless as #3 and 4, but it’s still activated and use all my energy.

Thank you for helping. I’m just tired to manage my modules manually.
 

Mole HD

Mole HD
Nic727 said:
Hi,

I’m not sure to understand module priority. I’m trying to use the less energy possible on my ship and I was always deactivating my modules like Hangar, weapons, etc. when not using them, but I read on the wiki that it’s automatically deactivating them if not used and on another priority other than 1.

The thing is that it’s not working. I put everything useless as #3 and 4, but it’s still activated and use all my energy.

Thank you for helping. I’m just tired to manage my modules manually.
Click to expand...

I always saw module priority as a means to circumvent pre-engineers power plant deficiencies in combat ships...or in the main to ensure high priority stuff like thrusters and power distributors were high and ancillaries like the cargo hatch were low in case of power plant damage...since everything else is secondary to being able to GTF out of it when needs call.

I set my priorities in groups in an order that makes sense to my usage...note that combat settings will differ greatly from trader or exploration settings. Below is a general setting for every day use.

1) thrusters/Power distributor
2)shields/FSD/Life support
3)chaff/Heat sinks/Shield boosters
4)weapons/Point defense
5)Cargo hatch/hangars

Depending on what I'm doing, I may have one or more modules, like the hangars or AFMU (if fitted) disabled... although it's strictly unnecessary with an engineered power plant these days.

There's no automatic priority setting...except if you run out of power due to having an undersized PP or damage, everything set at lower priority will be disabled first. In the case of not setting priorities...essential stuff like the thrusters will fail when taking power plant damage.
 
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Speedcuffs

Speedcuffs
Nic727 said:
Hi,

I’m not sure to understand module priority. I’m trying to use the less energy possible on my ship and I was always deactivating my modules like Hangar, weapons, etc. when not using them, but I read on the wiki that it’s automatically deactivating them if not used and on another priority other than 1.

The thing is that it’s not working. I put everything useless as #3 and 4, but it’s still activated and use all my energy.

Thank you for helping. I’m just tired to manage my modules manually.
Click to expand...

Depends on exactly what you mean by 'use all my energy'.
 

Nepeta Uchiha

Nepeta Uchiha
Nic727 said:
I’m trying to use the less Fuel/h possible.

But I understand now that’s just shutting down stuffs if you use more power than what you can generate.
Click to expand...

You really won't save enough fuel to care by turning most things off. Only big A rated shields, cell banks and beam lasers draw a crap ton of power. Stuff like kinetic weapons and hangar bays only draw enough power to burn like a couple 0.1 a hour so don't care to much. Besides fuel scooping is free so if the cost of fuel bugs you that much.......
 

Bob Lighthouse

Banned
Bob Lighthouse
Nic727 said:
I’m trying to use the less Fuel/h possible.

But I understand now that’s just shutting down stuffs if you use more power than what you can generate.
Click to expand...


It's also useful if you damage your powerplant, but yeah, don't worry about the fuel consumption.
 

SCSkunk

SCSkunk
I usually go with:

(1) PD, Thrusters, Shield Generator
(2) Sensors, Weapons
(3) Utility Slots, Life Support, Fighter Bay, Limpets, etc.
(4) FSD, (sometimes Cargo Hatch)
(5) Cargo Hatch, Fuel Scoop, SRV

Basically, if my Life Support activates in combat then something has gone terribly wrong. Immediately stow Hardpoints, which "should" return power to the FSD and it's time to go.

Or something like that...
 

dreampage

dreampage
Nic727 said:
Hi,

I’m not sure to understand module priority. I’m trying to use the less energy possible on my ship and I was always deactivating my modules like Hangar, weapons, etc. when not using them, but I read on the wiki that it’s automatically deactivating them if not used and on another priority other than 1.

The thing is that it’s not working. I put everything useless as #3 and 4, but it’s still activated and use all my energy.

Thank you for helping. I’m just tired to manage my modules manually.
Click to expand...

In my opinion, you really don't have to care about power priorities. When you set a module's priority other than 1, it means that if the power consumption exceeds of the power plant's capacity (for example when you deploy your hardpoints, or in case your power plant gets damaged and the power output decreases) then the lower priority modules will be switched off automatically in order for the rest of the ship to remain powered.

However, your best bet is to use a power plant (or engineer one) that can cover the power usage with deployed hardpoints. You can see that value on the outfitting screen. Just make sure that even deployed power usage is within the power plant capacity and you'll be OK.

It's not worth looking at fuel consumption, either. Most modules use very little fuel so it will never be a problem. Only hyper jumps can cause fuel problems but that's what a fuel scoop is for. You never have to really pay attention to fuel consumption otherwise. It really doesn't matter if your ship consumes 1.6 or 2.1 tons / hour. The only thing you'll want to switch off modules for is heat levels. Shields, for example, when exploring. But other than that you really don't need to bother.
 

Colossus1921

Colossus1921
If you want to cut down your fuel usage, turn modules off. Power groups are pretty important for combat ships, but less so for traders.

What kind of ship are you running, if you don't mind my asking?
 

Clanky Munge

C
^

I set all modules that require or don't need hardpoints deactivated; FSD, fuel scoop, cargo hatch etc

That way, before engineers, I used to be able to get my vulture to around 104% without having to shut any systems off as the priority did it all for you.
 

GODofDUTY83

GODofDUTY83
TGAM said:
^

I set all modules that require or don't need hardpoints deactivated; FSD, fuel scoop, cargo hatch etc

That way, before engineers, I used to be able to get my vulture to around 104% without having to shut any systems off as the priority did it all for you.
Click to expand...

I remember those days. The only way I could get my Vulture to fire was by shutting down life support. It was fun though.
 

Nic727

N
Something I don’t understand. I put hangar at priority 4. My ship normally is using 75% power. If I turn off the Hangar manually, a small ⚠️ is showing, but I still use 75% or less, so I don’t understand why I have a warning...
 
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