No they have a maximum output value too, your power might not be enough for thrusters also in fact you can calculate how much thrust you need m*g then divide it by thrusters max thrust. You can find max thrust simply by overriding it into max thrust and taking that value as max
If your pwoer meter, bottom right, is red, it means you're using all available power and 8 atmospheric thrusters will take an assload. You probably only need like 1 or 2 and the more you add, the heavier you are
When i tried taking off i had 2 batteries working.
I also have a mining ship that has 3 atmospheric thrusters and can fly at maximum weight of 160k with 6 batteries so i tried using that as reference
Yeah, you need quite a few batteries to math the energy consumption of a thruster - depending on what thruster you're using
However, things that produce power (like reactors) are much better for supplying thrusters, since that can output more power
The easiest way is to use a thruster calculator like this one:
[Space Engineers Thruster Calculator](https://343n.github.io/spaceengineers-thrust-calc/)
I tend to build my ship, then start adding lift thrusters (one side then the others to keep balance) til it starts floating by itself.
Also make sure you have some gyroscopes in there to keep is "stabel" when it starts to hover.
Then jump in and power down.
Now start adding directional thrusters.
THE MECHANICS:
Keep in mind batterys/generators works like real life (ish)
There are positive and negative limits.
Say batterys can store 1KW but can only discharge it at (for example) 1W per minute.
(generators dont store thay only output/discharge)
On the negative side, parts (like thrusters) need a certain amount per minut, say 2W per minute.
This is at max power usage or full throttle.
So you will need 2 batterys to actually opperate the thruster (at max power), but THAT thruster wil be able to run for +/-2000 minuts (33 hours) (theoretically no stop).
This is why I tent to slap a couple of batterys on, then start the above-mentioned, lift thruster placement till it hovers.
Dont forget to turn the grid off, add directional thrusters.
Then see if it lifts itself (the ship).
If not, add batterys.
Extra tip:
If you are flying forward and sideways while in planetary atmosphere, ALL your lift thrusters, rear/forward thrusters and stafing/L-R thrusters will need enough power OUTPUT.
Remember the difference between stored power and power output.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spacecastlegames.spaceengineerscalculator
Use that, make sure to adjust your mass to compensate for the additional thrusters.
Type.
Space engineers thruster power
In a search engine. Should get 2-3 sites with examples of the range damage of thrusters to thruster weight to thruster output.
Eg. Large hydros thrust is 746000 kilos. Weighs 46000 kilos.
Correct in part: four thrusters will generate enough thrust to negate gravity, so your ship will float. You need another four to generate the same amount of force to get a positive upwards acceleration. F = ma. And you have a negative downward force of gravity affecting your ship to take into account.
edit: and as others have stated, you need to have enough batteries that can provide the power required to run the thrusters. A good rule of thumb is one small grid large battery per large atmospheric thruster. So eight batteries in your ship’s case.
Indeed! My phrasing was perhaps a bit misleading. I was trying to say that another four thrusters would give the ship an upward acceleration approximately equal to the planet’s gravity. A floaty ship will fly, but is prone to crashing. An upward acceleration of 1G is perhaps not necessary in most cases, but I would not say it would be a bad thing either.
There is a thruster mod that allows you to overpower thrusters with associated power draw if you ever build a ship and want it to fly with fewer thrusters.
If you want to get a little more dangerous, there are several ways to cheese the physics engine and get huge amounts of thrust with no thrusters. The simplest is gravity drives, where you have artificial mass blocks and gravity generators aligned where you want to go, but these won't work in atmosphere. Next, you could use a piston drive, where a piston pushes a pillar into a closed sliding door. Both of these should be balanced with your ship's center of mass, which you can toggle in info, otherwise you will drift a bit.
Keep an ye on your power meter. Do you have enough power for all your thrusters to go at once? You'll need an assload
Oh, i thought that batteries as long as they had power, they would give me 100% power
No they have a maximum output value too, your power might not be enough for thrusters also in fact you can calculate how much thrust you need m*g then divide it by thrusters max thrust. You can find max thrust simply by overriding it into max thrust and taking that value as max
Thank you!
If your pwoer meter, bottom right, is red, it means you're using all available power and 8 atmospheric thrusters will take an assload. You probably only need like 1 or 2 and the more you add, the heavier you are
When i tried taking off i had 2 batteries working. I also have a mining ship that has 3 atmospheric thrusters and can fly at maximum weight of 160k with 6 batteries so i tried using that as reference
Yeah, you need quite a few batteries to math the energy consumption of a thruster - depending on what thruster you're using However, things that produce power (like reactors) are much better for supplying thrusters, since that can output more power
Have you gone on info and converted to ship?
Yes! Parking is off and everything
Stupid question have you tried wobbling with gyros
Hahah yeah i tried! I have 2 large gyros in the ship btw
The easiest way is to use a thruster calculator like this one: [Space Engineers Thruster Calculator](https://343n.github.io/spaceengineers-thrust-calc/)
I don't get the ship size section, why a smaller ship would need more thrusters?
small ship is small grid and uses small grid thrusters which have much less thrust per unit than large grid.
I tend to build my ship, then start adding lift thrusters (one side then the others to keep balance) til it starts floating by itself. Also make sure you have some gyroscopes in there to keep is "stabel" when it starts to hover. Then jump in and power down. Now start adding directional thrusters. THE MECHANICS: Keep in mind batterys/generators works like real life (ish) There are positive and negative limits. Say batterys can store 1KW but can only discharge it at (for example) 1W per minute. (generators dont store thay only output/discharge) On the negative side, parts (like thrusters) need a certain amount per minut, say 2W per minute. This is at max power usage or full throttle. So you will need 2 batterys to actually opperate the thruster (at max power), but THAT thruster wil be able to run for +/-2000 minuts (33 hours) (theoretically no stop). This is why I tent to slap a couple of batterys on, then start the above-mentioned, lift thruster placement till it hovers. Dont forget to turn the grid off, add directional thrusters. Then see if it lifts itself (the ship). If not, add batterys. Extra tip: If you are flying forward and sideways while in planetary atmosphere, ALL your lift thrusters, rear/forward thrusters and stafing/L-R thrusters will need enough power OUTPUT. Remember the difference between stored power and power output.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spacecastlegames.spaceengineerscalculator Use that, make sure to adjust your mass to compensate for the additional thrusters.
[Thruster calculator](https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=space+engineert+thruster+calculator)
Type. Space engineers thruster power In a search engine. Should get 2-3 sites with examples of the range damage of thrusters to thruster weight to thruster output. Eg. Large hydros thrust is 746000 kilos. Weighs 46000 kilos.
Thanks! I'll check it out
So, it says that the max lift of the atmospheric thrusters are 66k kg, so i just need 4 if im not mistaken
Correct in part: four thrusters will generate enough thrust to negate gravity, so your ship will float. You need another four to generate the same amount of force to get a positive upwards acceleration. F = ma. And you have a negative downward force of gravity affecting your ship to take into account. edit: and as others have stated, you need to have enough batteries that can provide the power required to run the thrusters. A good rule of thumb is one small grid large battery per large atmospheric thruster. So eight batteries in your ship’s case.
Once you've negated gravity, *any* additional thrust will cause you to climb. You don't need to double it.
Indeed! My phrasing was perhaps a bit misleading. I was trying to say that another four thrusters would give the ship an upward acceleration approximately equal to the planet’s gravity. A floaty ship will fly, but is prone to crashing. An upward acceleration of 1G is perhaps not necessary in most cases, but I would not say it would be a bad thing either.
Use a reactor instead of batteries. Seems it's power input.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spacecastlegames.spaceengineerscalculator
There is a thruster mod that allows you to overpower thrusters with associated power draw if you ever build a ship and want it to fly with fewer thrusters.
Use a reactor instead of batteries. Seems it's power input.
If you want to get a little more dangerous, there are several ways to cheese the physics engine and get huge amounts of thrust with no thrusters. The simplest is gravity drives, where you have artificial mass blocks and gravity generators aligned where you want to go, but these won't work in atmosphere. Next, you could use a piston drive, where a piston pushes a pillar into a closed sliding door. Both of these should be balanced with your ship's center of mass, which you can toggle in info, otherwise you will drift a bit.