Ship reactor

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Ship reactor

Ship reactor

Powers a ship on its journey between stars. Takeoff requires a long powerup process that is likely to attract raiders.

Base Stats

Type
BuildingShip
Market Value
5440 Silver [Note]
HP
500
Flammability
0%
Rotatable
True

Building

Size
6 × 7
Minifiable
False
Placeable
True
Passability
impassable
Cover Effectiveness
75%
Blocks Wind
True
Terrain Affordance
Heavy
Power
1000 W

Creation

Required Research
Starship reactor
Skill Required
Construction 8
Work To Make
65,000 ticks (18.06 mins)
Resources to make
Steel 350 + Plasteel 280 + Uranium 70 + Advanced component 8
Deconstruct yield
Steel 175 + Plasteel 140 + Uranium 35 + Advanced component 4
Destroy yield
Steel 87 - 88 + Plasteel 70 + Uranium 17 - 18 + Advanced component 2

A ship reactor is a ship part needed to take off. Activating the reactor causes 15 days of raids but must be done to launch, creating the primary challenge of the Ship launch ending.

Acquisition

Ship reactors require the Starship reactor research project to be completed in order to be constructed. Each requires Steel 350 Steel, Plasteel 280 Plasteel, Uranium 70 Uranium, Advanced component 8 Advanced components, 65,000 ticks (18.06 mins) of work, and a Construction skill of 8.

Summary

A ship reactor must be activated in order to launch a ship. The activation process takes 15 days, during which the colony will be attacked by many raids. The raids will stop once the reactor is fully activated. There does not need to be a completed ship in order to start activation; you can start as soon as the reactor is built.

Otherwise, a ship reactor will provide 1000 W of power at all times, regardless of activation.

Analysis

It's best to activate a reactor before building the rest of the ship. Doing more construction will increase your colony's wealth, increasing the strength of raids. This also gives you more flexibility in defending the reactor, as you can surround it with walls, making it a non-target for most raiders. After the raids are done you can build the rest of the ship at your leisure.

Power

As a power source, its cost and size makes it extremely inefficient, even in the endgame.

In the extreme endgame, where you have an infinite amount of resources from deep drills or long-range mineral scanners, then ship reactors provide eternal, "free" power without space restrictions or any amount of colonist work. If you're just trying to launch a ship, then there's no reason not to build a reactor whenever possible, and link to your main power supply.

Version histor

  • ? - Recipe changed from Steel 300, Plasteel 500, Uranium 150, Component 25 -> Steel 500, Plasteel 500, Uranium 100, Advanced Component 20
  • ? (Possibly 1.0) - Recipe changed from Steel 500, Plasteel 500, Uranium 100, Advanced Component 20 -> Steel 350, Plasteel 280, Uranium 70, Advanced Component 8