Engines
Engines are specifically represented on ships as they have combat gameplay interactions. Engines can be temporarily disabled by sufficient regular or EMP damage as well as malfunctions from critically low Combat Readiness (CR), similar to how individual weapons can be disabled. For information on how stats impact how a ship moves check the Movement page.
Durability
Engine durability is based on hull class and size of the engine plume, with bigger engines on bigger ships being more durable.
Exact engine durability is a baseHP of 100/200/400/600/800 for fighter/frigate/destroyer/cruiser/capital and the following formula, where "size" is engine glow width + height, clamped to [0, 100]: maxHp = baseHP * (0.75 + (size/100 * 0.5))
Flameout
If 50% or more of the engines on a ship are disabled then the ship will suffer a flameout, causing all engines to immediately fail. This is represented by a floating "Flameout" text notification. The ship will maintain its current velocity, can still fire weapons or use shields but cannot deliberately adjust trajectory or facing until the engines repair themselves.
Repair
Engines will always repair themselves given enough time. The exact current engine HP is distinct for each engine and is a hidden stat. Engines will individually repair themselves at a fast rate if they have not taken damage within the last 10 seconds, or at a slower rate regardless (needs confirmation).
Notable interactions
A some ship systems & hullmods have notable interactions with engines:
- Engine-enhancing systems will prevent a flameout due to engine damage while the system is active.
- Maneuvering Jets & Plasma Jets both increase engine plume size, temporarily increasing engine durability.
- Burn Drive and Plasma Burn increase the engine plume size dramatically, temporarily increasing engine durability. However they also have a scripted effect to trigger a Flameout if the ship collides with a ship of equal or high size class while the system is active.
- Safety Overrides will drastically increase engine plume size.
- Ill-Advised Modifications can trigger malfunctions in engines.
- Insulated Engine Assembly boosts engine durability by 100%..
- Resistant Flux Conduits boost engine resistance to EMP.
- Automated Repair Unit reduces engine repair time by 50%.
Engine Styles
There are three (commonly used) different engine styles; Low Tech, Midline (Mid Tech) and High Tech. Shown here along with typical movement boosting ship systems from each.
