Varity of Electric Engines

Miloch · 2013-04-23T01:11:45.000Z

How about we make the electric engines have sizes in L’s like gas engines? This would lets us have a wide variety of electric engines instead of the two that current exist.

detahramet · 2013-04-23T02:56:16.000Z

Please Flesh out this concept. A little bit more detail would be nice.

system · 2013-04-23T03:33:02.000Z

Lets add another tier of electric engine: The Solaris Sail!

A future sail that rides on sunlight and gets up to 30 mph.
however
It easily breaks with a chance every time the vehicle hits a bump or zed and requires silver sheeting to fix.

But yeah, he wants more variation like with gasoline engines.

Mrnocamera · 2013-04-23T12:47:58.000Z

The L’s are liters as far as I know. I dont think it is possible to put gasoline in a electric engine.

Sheb · 2013-04-23T13:34:10.000Z

Or rather there are no pistons in Electric Engines. We could have Watts ratings of engines.

Miloch · 2013-04-23T13:35:45.000Z

L is for Liter but it represents the total size of the engine to the best of my knowledge.

Williham · 2013-04-23T13:45:07.000Z

Actually, it represents the internal size of the cylinders into which gasoline is pumped for ignition.

Otaku · 2013-04-23T15:02:28.000Z

Williham is correct, at least to the best of my knowledge. As for the op’s topic about variable electric engines, I think it should be possible. This is because there are difference between electric engines. For example there is the 3V (three volt) engine that is common on the RC plane or car, or there might be a 15kV (fifteen kilovolt) engine, but those are more common on trainsand railways. And they can go even higher. I am no physicist/electrician, so I do not know what a regular car voltage is.

kilozombie · 2013-04-23T15:36:03.000Z

The “liter” of an engine actually represents how much liquid it displaces.

It’s used for accurately describing how big an engine is. Since they’re never actually just a single shape, using lwh calculations are literally impossible.

Miloch · 2013-04-23T15:39:49.000Z

So anyway, it seems like we should use a voltage measurement for the engine then? Still seems like it could use almost identical code for randomizing the engine.

Williham · 2013-04-23T16:48:30.000Z

The issue with that is that electric engines, being a much newer technology than ICEs, are far more standardized.

While we could randomize it using kV measurements or whatever, I’m not sure it actually makes sense.

Miloch · 2013-04-23T17:52:36.000Z

We have electric engines in hybrid cars. these are standardized too?

Williham · 2013-04-23T18:02:53.000Z

Miloch:

We have electric engines in hybrid cars. these are standardized too?

A quick once-over of the wikipedia page on electric motors, the terms “highly standardized dimensions and characteristics” jump out at me.

So I’m going to go ahead and say “yeah, probably”.

I haven’t done the appropriate legwork, but my guess is that hybrid car performance variation comes from other sources than the electric motor itself, such as battery tech, alternator tech, ICE tech, etc.

Sheb · 2013-04-23T19:04:59.000Z

But cataclysm is in the future, with plasma guns and bionics. Surely the electric tech has progressed and is as diverse as the ICE tech.

Williham · 2013-04-23T20:33:37.000Z

Technology tends to settle on standardization.

Besides which, the two motors available covers pretty much every use-case.

TaintedHolyWater · 2013-04-23T21:17:04.000Z

Standardized isn’t bad. I just need to start finding them and not just batteries…

Also.

The L’s are liters as far as I know. [U]I don’t think it is possible to put gasoline in a electric engine.[/U]

Not true, just HIGHLY unrecommended and a quick way to invalidate your warranty.

kilozombie · 2013-04-23T21:34:51.000Z

Again, L’s represent Liters which is the liquid displacement of that engine.

Theoretically, electrical engines would be measured in this same way.

Tripsky · 2013-04-24T00:40:45.000Z

i haven’t played much with electric engines yet. can storage batteries piggyback? so if i have two storage batteries on my “car” will it use both as a fuel source? it might be an idea to bring in a ‘large/advanced storage battery’ to the game with this expansion as well. or alternatively ‘advanced solar panels’ with a faster charge rate. i know i know, balance etc - but green energy is the future (of ploughing down walking cadavers).

Otaku · 2013-04-24T11:29:21.000Z

[font=comic sans ms]
I am no electrician but from what I understand from my basic electrical understanding electricity is cumilative. So if you like up 2 storage batteries in series than either the voltage or current would be added. But that is too complex and I dont feel like researching that now. I think that for the uses of cata we just need to know that infinately (or at least as many as you have) storage batteries can be used at the same time, sort of like having multiple gas tanks on a regular car. I am wondering if there is a limit to how many gas tanks can be added to a car? I would say that that is the number of storage batteries that should be mountable on electric cars. As for it being in the future, when then I guess that you can make up fun little bonuses that future scientist will invent.
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Nopkar · 2013-04-24T11:38:43.000Z

why not have 4 basic models of engines: Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large

Small electric motors would be used consistently with Mo-peds and scooters

Medium motors on most family sedans and cars

Large motors would be used on trucks, varying from pickups to utility vans

Extra Large motors would be exclusive to industrial applications and most ‘Big Rigs’ or Tractor trailer type vehicles

each type of motor pulls a different amount of energy and converts it into a different amount of power, much like the number of cylinders on a car engine.

maybe a medium motor with a larger power draw (watts maybe?) would have more power than a lower one, giving electric motors much the same variation as gas engines?