Heat is a manifestation of kinetic energy (it's the movement and/or vibration of atoms and molecules). But the conversion of that energy into work is never going to be 100% efficient - usually much less so - and lots will be lost to the surroundings and atmosphere.
For an average combustion motor in cars with pistons it is about 15% work and 85% heat !. Recently the Michigan State University presented a prototype of a drastically different engine without pistons that had an efficiency of about 60% and was 20% less in weight. Still no 100% efficiently, but 4 times the current average looks interesting.
Oolite 2… a really good concept, and it has my wholehearted approval… I look forward to its launch with great anticipation. Using Griff’s ships for the core set is not entirely unexpected, but it’s very good to hear, nevertheless. As you’ll know, I’ve always been a big fan of Griff’s ships and this news put a broad smile on my ugly face.
There are a few things that I’d like to see happen (which I’m pretty sure don’t happen now), either in Oolite 2 or sooner, and all involve npc behaviour: npc ships should gal-jump very occasionly; main stations should occasionly launch offender/fugitive npc ships; and offender/fugitive npc ships should occasionly emerge at the witchpoint of any given system.
Oh… 1.75.1 runs real sweet on my new machine, btw. I had to go five weeks without playing ‘the great game’, but I’m catching-up on flight time now… it’s glorious!
I would advise stilts for the quagmires, and camels for the snowy hills
And any survivors, their debts I will certainly pay. There's always a way!
1 of the things that comes up sometimes is that the the 3 main oolite platforms treat folder/filenames differently with regard to case.
Maybe oolite 2 could define a standard to avoid this ?
example :
foldernames always start with a capital
filenames are always lower case.
For OXZ writers an external program (python ?) could be written that converts all folder/filenames below the current folder to comply with this standard.
There are a few things that I’d like to see happen (which I’m pretty sure don’t happen now), either in Oolite 2 or sooner, and all involve npc behaviour: ... main stations should occasionly launch offender/fugitive npc ships; and offender/fugitive npc ships should occasionly emerge at the witchpoint of any given system.
extra feature that I would like to see (because it would be incredably useful for an OXP/OXZ I would like too make, no further details at this stage):
the ability for an oxp/oxz to add a new galaxy (9,10, or a different name entirely) with a custom deifined map, planets, and ships that the npcs of that galaxy fly. possible?
Or similarly, an Improved Galactic Hyperdrive that can take you to your choice of the Galaxy Charts. Or a "backwards" Reverse Galactic Hyperdrive -- that takes you to the previous Galaxy Chart. They're all still 1-shot use, to retain some sense of game balance.
...And maybe reach a special Galaxy by way of a "misjump" of the Galactic Hyperdrive? Or only the Improved Galactic Hyperdrive can reach Galaxy Chart 9 and 10?
Oh for a SarcMark(tm)...
