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The big bite when using B2 power plants in smaller hulls is that they use so much more fuel in the smaller hulls. The formula is: fuel=10Pn (where Pn is the power plant performance number in that hull). Thus, a Power Plant A would give Pn=2 and fuel=20 for a 100 ton hull. A comparable PP from HG would be PP=2 and fuel=2 (one per EP). They also tend to be larger for equivalent performance. Just to make things a bit more balanced, and to make B2 power plants at least vaguely competitive, I propose the following two rulings:
1. HG power plants require fuel at 1 ton per EP produced. B2 power plants produce 1 EP per ton of fuel required.
2. HG power plants are reduced by one factor for each power plant-1 hit. B2 power plants are reduced by one drive letter for each power plant-1 hit.
This would give B2 power plants at least niche applications in a few warships.
- Joseph
1. Well, the only problem I can see with this is that it makes B2 power plants unworkable above 1000 dtons displacement... where, ironically, they otherwise become wonderfully-efficient... (nominally as published, a model-X plant in a 5000-dton hull produces 50 EP for 4 weeks on 10 dtons of fuel, for example...)
2. Now this, OTOH, makes a good ol' B2 plant suddenly a very attractive proposition... extend this to all B2 drives, and you have opened up a new avenue of high-survivability in combat vessel systems... a key selling point...
- Chad
I never really had a problem with the B2 power plant fuel consumption. They were just less effienent but more reliable drives. These drives have a fixed number of EPs per letter not a fix Pn
Drive letter A B C D E F G H J K L M N
EP 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26
P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
28 30 32 34 36 38 40 50 60 80 100
And I've always concidered the pp-1 hit to reduce the drive by one letter not by one Pn. But then again I've always like B2.
Rev. Thomas W. House
I have uploaded a spreadsheet that compares B2 and HG power plants. It appears that from a ship size of about 600 to 5000 tons, B2 power plants are the better buy in most cases.
I like Rev. House's EP conversion scale better than mine, so I would use that instead (I included both in my spreadsheet).
Since I was addressing power plants specifically, I only referred to them in regards to combat, but I would use the same rule for all B2 engineering systems (JD, MD, PP).
- Joseph
I made a goof in my chart below. The Z drive should produce 120 EP not 100.
There are two problems with the EP conversion chart I suggest. B2 states that a pp-J is the entry level power plant for a 2000 ton ship. A 2000t ship mounting a pp1 should produce 20 EP. The conversion chart I suggest list a pp-J as having only 18 EP. If I change the pp-J to 20 EP it will throw off all the other PP which follow. Also B2 state that a pp-X is needed for an 800t ship to mount a pp6. A pp-X produces 60 EP according to the chart while the HG2 formula state a pp6 produces only 48EP. Otherwise the chart works out well for all other tonnages at the entry level for each pp number.
Rev. Thomas W. House
Please tell us your formula for power plants past V. It is clear that up to that point you give 2 more EP per letter. I wouldn't mess with the nice progression of EP to try and match the HG numbers. The way I view B2 drives is they are optimized for civilian use and are extremely standardized whereas the HG drives are designed for a specific ship class. Because the standardization is in the drive rather than the ship class, the EP produced might be a bit different than what HG would give you.
- Joseph
Its not really a formula, just an observation. I use the HG2 formula for calculating the EPs necessary for the entry level of a ppn at x tonnage. In other words the first time a given power plant number appears for a given tonnage I apply the HG2 EP formula. That proved to be a steady 2 ep gain each letter except for G, L, N, P and S (where no entry level powerplants existed.). The numbers worked out at various pp numbers at verious tonnages except where mention before at J for 2000 tons and W for 800 tons.
Power plants A through F are pp1 to 6 for a 200 t ship EPs 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
Power plant H is pp2 for an 800 ton ship EPs 16
Power plant J is pp3 at 600 tons EPs 18
Power plant K is pp2 at 1000 tons EPs 20
Power plant M is pp3 at 800 tons EPs 24
Power plant Q is pp3 at 1000 tons EPs 30
Power plant R is pp4 at 800 tons EPs 32
Power plant T is pp6 at 600 tons EPs 36
Power plant V is pp4 at 1000 tons EPs 40
Power plant W is pp5 at 1000tons EPs 50
pp-X is pp-6 at 1000 tons, thus 60 EP
pp-Yis pp-4 at 2000 tons thus 80 EP
pp-Z is pp-6 at 2000 tons thus 120EP
What I was trying to do was keep the EPs equal between HG2 and B2. If in HG2 a 200ton ship with a 2 g manuever drive needed a pp2 which produced 4 EPs, I figured that a 200 ship 2g ship in B2 need a pp that produced at least 4 EPs.
Hope that makes sense, it made sense to me when I first did it.
Rev. Thomas W. House
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