Space Engineers

Space Engineers

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VMOD Physics Fixing
   
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Type: Mod
Mod category: Block
Tags: NoScripts
File Size
Posted
Updated
652.155 KB
25 Nov, 2019 @ 8:41pm
31 Jan @ 11:56am
5 Change Notes ( view )

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VMOD Physics Fixing

Description
This mod aims to fix the game's broken lack of physics. The lack of any scientific accuracy that the developers did because they didn't do any research at all. The KeenSWH Mission Statement proclaims, no magic or fantasy allowed, but the entire core of the game is built on magic and fantasy.

Does this mod change the game's actual physics engine? No. It aims to fix the laws of physics by disabling blocks that defy them. Its a rebalancing mod. Unfortunately the game is too hard coded to actually change these things or actually change the physics engine. I had to put this here because some idiot came here to call me an idiot for making this mod.

Quick version of changes this mod does:
All below blocks are disabled and then nerfed in case you try to use existing grids that can't be fixed, like cargo ships. Nerfs are as follows;

Reactor
Output decreased by 10x.
Build time increased 10x.
Moved Warhead under turrets for progression.
*Now includes Warfare DLC!

Sphere Generator
Reduced min/max gravity dramatically.

Artificial Mass
Reset virtual mass to zero.
Reduced power usage to minimal levels.

Space Ball
Reset virtual mass to zero.

Ion Thrusters
Cut thrust by 4x.
Multiplied power by 2x.
*Now includes Sparks DLC!
*Now includes Warfare DLC!

Long explanation of why these things were disabled.

Sphere Gravity Generator
Well this one's rather simple, I disable it because it allows you to exploit gravity in various ways. The only reason I don't disable all gravity generators is because there's no realistic way to make ships walkable in the orientation you mean for them to be and I leave them in for gameplay's sake.

Artificial Mass & Balls
I disable these to prevent abuses with gravity drives and other such. There's no other way unfortunately. You don't really need these anyway under normal circumstances, the only people who really need them, are those that abuse gravity to make infinitely propeling ships, aka gravity drives.

Now for some really long things;
Reactors
Well this one should be obvious. A reactor on earth that produces 900MW takes a very large area to do it, requires a ton of coolant, and uses different methods in order to produce that extremely high output of power.

Reactors in the game however, even the smallest possible one, produces 500kw, its the size of a basketball, and can power 250-300 houses. It can't even logically hold more than 1 pellet of plutonium in it which produces about 16 watts of electrical energy and more in thermal energy which I can't quite remember off the top of my head. Its ridiculous.

The reactors in the game are based on a sort of RTG design, which uses passive cooling and requires radiators and uses alpha decay, converting thermal energy to electrical energy. This is not a very powerful process, and will produce little energy. A reactor the size of the smallest would barely get you 16 watts, maybe at most 32 watts. The biggest size, 4-10kw at the very absolute most. With a larger volume of plutonium in it, it would be much hotter and need more passive cooling on it.

If reactors in the game want to be as powerful as they seem to be, they need cooling, they need turbines, multiblock reactors would be a great start. Connecting the reactor core to a heat pipe leading to some sort of water tank, that connected to steam pipes with enclosed turbines connected with water pipes sending the water back into the water tanks. However, I don't think this game can possibly do such things at all. Nor has anyone tried.

A singular block that is only buildable on large grids would be nice, a very heavy and large block say 3x3x5 minimum. An input slot for ice, an input slot for fuel, a closed loop system with a storage tank of water. The system would initially take in ice and require power to melt it into water. This water would fill the internal coded tank with it. This water can't exit the reactor ever unless it is deconstructed below the red line. Once you put fuel in it and turn it on, it can't be opened again till it cools off. The reactor will build up heat over time, internal heat that locks the reactor from being able to use conveyor networks. This will begin the power making process once the reactor has reached a certain temperature. Once powered down, the reactor keeps producing power till it has cooled off, this means no instantly turning off your station. If the reactor is damaged while in operation, below the red line, it has a thermonuclear meltdown. If deconstructed while in operation, same thing. Thats what I envision a proper reactor for this game would work like, but the devs just can't or won't do it, nor would any modder want to do this.

Ion Thrusters
An ion thruster is not a pure energy thruster as the game devs have given you. It is a thruster that uses gas as a propellant to a far lesser degree. This ionizes the particles rather than ignites them. The best fuels for this are Xenon or Argon which can be found in planet atmospheres like Earth. Things like Hydrogen or Oxygen can work too, to a lesser degree.

How I'd like to see this changed and rebalanced, is adding a special tank to the game thats specifically for ion thrusters. This tank will have a conveyor port on it for inputting gas into it. This gas can not be used by any thrusters or life support or really, be taken out at all except manually. Only Ion Thrusters can use the fuel from this tank, and they don't need to be connected via conveyors to use it, thrusters will just use their nearest tank or the global tank storage pool in total. Once drained, ion thrusters will stop working.

Another item added to the above, would be a collector, a minor one added for flying through a planet's atmosphere. The faster you fly, the faster you collect, while at a specific altitude level or atmosphere level. Another in space, that collects hydrogen based on how fast you are moving. Both would take energy, the small atmo one a minor amount of energy as its collection range only needs to be small. In space, the range needs to be scaled way up, and so does the power requirement. I have other ideas for this, but eh. I'd really like to see something like this, but I lack the skills for it.
Popular Discussions View All (2)
3
1
14 Nov, 2024 @ 11:18am
Thrusters
Vas
2
14 Nov, 2024 @ 11:20am
Reactors
Vas
80 Comments
Vas  [author] 15 Nov, 2024 @ 12:02pm 
As per jump drives, I don't mind them. We have experimented with warp technology in the lab already and have successfully warped a few particles a few inches or someodd small lengths of distances.

In gameplay sake, warp drives are fine. I already upped the speed limit in my game to around 700m/s which still breaks a lot of NPC ships and such. Normally when I create a planet too, I go into the files and edit its gravity falloff to be twice as large even. One planet I placed had gravity so wide it affected you 700KM from the ground. xD

I disabled some things, and left some things for gameplay sake. We can't fix everything, but we can bring it closer.
Vas  [author] 15 Nov, 2024 @ 11:59am 
Not sure you were rude. :P Disagreement isn't rude after all.

There's not really a way to nerf artificial mass blocks, you see any gravity they provide can be used by a gravity drive. If you disable large grid ones, people will exploit the small grid rotor attachment or just attach a small grid ship somewhere inside the ship, and use small artificial mass blocks. Though that will require one hell of a well positioned system to make sure the whole ship moves evenly with center of mass. :P

Space Balls I might be fine with, due to the infinite ranged firing capability of them. Removing their gravity components while allowing them to somehow be fired from a ship would be interesting though.

The sphere one wouldn't really simulate ring stations unless you can invert the gravity but that is an interesting idea. I'll probably enable them again.
Leo_Draconus 15 Nov, 2024 @ 8:39am 
Regarding jumpdrives, I wouldn't mind if they were disabled. Just crank up the speed limit and fix the gravity falloff .
While near-instantaneous travel is useful, we're probably not going to develop FTL anytime soon unless it's gifted to us or we discover it by accident.
Leo_Draconus 15 Nov, 2024 @ 8:33am 
I do agree removing gravity generators would break gameplay.
Spherical GGs were meant for artificial planetoids and round ships/stations. For the latter you could build a centrifugal ring instead but the physics are janky and the automatic mag boots interfere. For the former... yeah I don't see us achieving that in ~52 years.
Leo_Draconus 15 Nov, 2024 @ 8:29am 
Apologies for being rude. I have no right to tell you what you should or shouldn't do. I'd like to redeem myself by making a suggestion instead.

What if you disabled large grid mass blocks and nerfed small grid?
Space balls really shouldn't exist.

The only uses I can see for spaceballs:
>Decor as the only sphere in the game (build a solar system model or something)
>Zero-G sports
>being hurled by a mechanical contraption
>having their lack of power requirement exploited as ammo for "gravity guns"
Vas  [author] 14 Nov, 2024 @ 5:15pm 
Ah hmm. I'm not sure how to solve that. The problem is to prevent gravity drives.
Leo_Draconus 14 Nov, 2024 @ 8:30am 
I don't know if this has been adressed already, but Artificial Mass can be used for rovers or mechs/walkers so that they can operate on stations outside of natural gravity.
Keen's "Sparks of The Future" world has a rover on a asteroid which requires artificial mass.
I don't mind you nerfing mass blocks, but don't disable them.
Vas  [author] 11 Nov, 2024 @ 7:41pm 
More pages to come later.
Vas  [author] 11 Nov, 2024 @ 7:41pm 
Here you go Yoshi, a discussion on reactors too. Including the submarine reactors.
Vas  [author] 10 Nov, 2024 @ 11:23pm 
I stayed up and did Thrusters topic first. I'll tackle reactors next, but tomorrow or something. I'm exhausted.