Power Engineering – Guide

Power Engineering (Stromtechnik) adds four new devices with their own 3D models: three Gas Generators (5, 15 and 25 kW) and a Power Distributor with Storage. All four fit on one frame. The key feature is the protection: every output has a circuit breaker that never lets through more than the weakest cable in the network can handle. Burnt-out cables are a thing of the past, at least on these devices.

Overview#

Device	Output / Storage	Tank	Outputs	Size (W × D × H)
Gas Generator 5 kW	5 kW	100 L	3	1.5 × 1 × 0.85 m
Gas Generator 15 kW	15 kW	200 L	3	1.5 × 1.5 × 1.3 m
Gas Generator 25 kW	25 kW	300 L	3	1.5 × 1.5 × 1.7 m
Power Distributor with Storage	27 MJ (as much as three Station Batteries (Large))	–	9 (plus 6 inputs)	1.5 × 1.5 × 1.75 m

Requirements#

• Stationeers 0.2.6428
• BepInEx 5.4.23.5 and StationeersLaunchPad 1.0, see Installation
• Mod in the active mod pack
• In multiplayer: the server and all players

Building and recipes#

All kits come from the Electronics Printer, tier 1, no printer upgrade needed. Each kit has its own icon.

Kit	Cost
Kit (Gas Generator 5 kW)	10 iron, 10 copper, 15 steel, 5 constantan
Kit (Gas Generator 15 kW)	10 copper, 30 steel, 10 constantan, 5 electrum
Kit (Gas Generator 25 kW)	5 gold, 15 copper, 50 steel, 15 constantan, 10 electrum
Kit (Power Distributor)	30 gold, 60 copper, 60 steel, 15 electrum, 10 silicon

The costs are in GameData/strom.xml in the mod folder. The distributor doesn't need a frame underneath.

Gas Generator#

Connections#

• Bottom rear: fuel pipe and exhaust pipe.
• Rear, above that: three power outputs marked in red. Each output is its own network; the networks are never connected to each other.
• Front: green data port and all the controls.

Operation#

1. Press START: the engine starts up (with sound, louder under load). STOP shuts it off.
2. Set the main power switch to EIN (on): only then do the outputs open.
3. The three circuit breakers on the front belong to the three outputs. Flipping the lever switches a breaker on or resets a tripped one.
4. AUTO/MANUELL (auto/manual) controller (button under the rotary knob): AUTO supplies whatever the networks demand, up to full power. MANUELL limits the output, with - and + in 5% steps.

Tank and fuel#

The base frame holds a tank (100, 200 or 300 L). A pump refills it from the fuel pipe, up to 20 MPa. The display shows litres, percent and how long the supply will last, from minutes to days.

The generator burns any mixture that burns in the game. 25% of the combustion energy becomes power, the rest heats the exhaust. For comparison: the game's own gas generator manages 17%. It only burns what the networks actually draw, plus 2% idle.

Buffer battery and standby#

• A built-in buffer battery stores one minute of full load. It bridges start-up, faults and sudden load steps.
• The battery charges first. Distributors and batteries on the outputs only get the surplus after that; normal consumers always get power right away.
• Standby mode: when the battery is full and the networks need less than the battery can supply, the engine shuts off and saves fuel. At 15% battery (or when more power is needed) it restarts on its own. Blue LED STANDBY.

Room conditions#

The generator needs room air for cooling: at least 20 kPa, at most 60 °C. If exhaust backs up in the pipe above 40 MPa, it shuts down before the pipe bursts. After a fault it restarts on its own.

Display and LEDs#

The display has four pages, switched with the arrow buttons: Overview, Outputs, Tank, Engine.

LED	Meaning
Betrieb (running)	engine running
Standby (blue)	engine in standby
Störung (fault)	see display text
Tank	green = full, orange = reserve, red = empty
Akku (battery)	state of the buffer battery

Power Distributor with Storage#

Connections#

• Rear: 6 inputs. Each input only charges from the surplus of its network. So no consumer there goes dark because the distributor is charging.
• Top: 9 numbered outputs for 9 separate networks. The cables run up to the ceiling.
• Front bottom: data port.

Operation#

• Display with three pages (arrow buttons): overview with remaining time, inputs 1–6, outputs 1–9. Plus a charge bar.
• Main switch and 9 circuit breakers, laid out like the outputs on the roof.
• Name plate next to each breaker: click it and type a name, e.g. "Lab lights". A single - clears it. The name also shows up on the display and in the tooltip.

Circuit breakers#

• No output supplies more than 95% of the weakest cable (or the weakest fuse) in its network. With normal cable that's 4.75 kW, with heavy cable 95 kW.
• If the consumers want more for longer than 2 seconds, the breaker trips: sparks, a bang, the LED flashes red. Flip the lever to switch it back on.
• Batteries, transformers, APCs and distributors don't count as overload.

Breaker LED	Meaning
green	supplying power
yellow	ready
flashing red	tripped
orange	network fault (see below)

IC10#

The prefab hashes for lbn/sbn:

Device	Prefab	Hash
Gas Generator 5 kW	StructureStromGenerator5	72891784
Gas Generator 15 kW	StructureStromGenerator15	62569861
Gas Generator 25 kW	StructureStromGenerator25	681045574
Power Distributor with Storage	StructureStromVerteiler	-1601116900

Generator: LogicTypes#

LogicType	Read/Write	Meaning
On	R/W	main power switch
Activate	R/W	engine: 1 = START, 0 = STOP
Mode	R/W	controller: 0 = AUTO, 1 = MANUELL
Setting	R/W	power limit in W; writing switches to MANUELL
PowerGeneration, PowerActual	R	delivered power in W
Maximum	R	rated output in W
Ratio	R	load (delivered / rated output)
Error	R	1 = fault
Charge	R	buffer battery in J
Pressure, Temperature, TotalMoles	R	tank contents

Generator: memory (get/put)#

Address	Meaning
0–11	one block of 4 addresses per output, see below
12	engine: 0 off, 1 starting, 2 running, 3 waiting, 4 standby
13	tank in %
14	tank in litres
15	remaining runtime in s
16	consumption in mol/s
17	display page 0–3 (writable)
18	operating hours
19	idle power in W
20	battery in %
21	battery in J
22	battery charging (+W) or supporting (−W)
23	standby mode: 1 on, 0 off (writable)

Distributor: LogicTypes#

LogicType	Meaning
Charge, Maximum, Ratio	stored energy in J, capacity, fill level 0–1
PowerPotential	charging power in W
PowerActual	output in W
Error	1 = short circuit or tripped breaker

Distributor: memory (get/put)#

Address	Meaning
0–35	outputs 1–9, 4 addresses each
36–59	inputs 1–6, 4 addresses each
60	display page 0–2 (writable)

Block per connection#

The start address of an output is (number − 1) · 4; on the distributor the inputs start at 36. So output 3 sits at 8 to 11.

Offset	Meaning	Write
+0	switch: 1 on, 0 off	1 also resets a tripped breaker
+1	limit in W, 0 = per cable	yes
+2	current power in W	no
+3	state: 0 off, 1 on, 2 tripped, 3 no cable, 4 bridged, 5 short circuit	no

clr sets all limits to 0 (i.e. back to "per cable").

Example: load shedding on a low tank#

The generator is on pin d0 of the IC housing. If the tank drops below 10%, output 3 is switched off so more fuel is left for the important networks on outputs 1 and 2. Above 30%, output 3 comes back on. The chip only writes when it switches, so it doesn't keep resetting a tripped breaker.

# Load shedding: output 3 off when the tank runs low
# Generator on pin d0 of the IC housing
define TANK_LEER 10         # below 10% output 3 off
define TANK_OK 30           # above 30% back on
define ADR_TANK 13          # get: tank in %
define ADR_AUS3 8           # put: switch for output 3
alias tank r0
alias abgeworfen r1
move abgeworfen 0
start:
yield
get tank d0 ADR_TANK
beqz abgeworfen pruefen
bgt tank TANK_OK zuschalten
j start
pruefen:
blt tank TANK_LEER abwerfen
j start
abwerfen:
put d0 ADR_AUS3 0
move abgeworfen 1
j start
zuschalten:
put d0 ADR_AUS3 1
move abgeworfen 0
j start

Console commands#

Open the console with F3. Except for status, all commands only run on the host or server, or in single player.

Command	Effect
strom status	overview of all generators and distributors
strom tanken 100	fill the nearest generator's tank to the given percentage
strom brennstoff 10000	fill the nearest generator's fuel pipe to the given pressure in kPa (methane and oxygen 2:1)
strom start / strom stop	start or stop all generators
strom laden 50	set the storage of all distributors to the given percentage
strom reset	reset all tripped breakers
strom schild 3 Licht	name output 3 of the nearest distributor, - clears it
strom eingang	all inputs of the nearest distributor in detail: state, demand, received, cable limit, generators and demand in the network – helps with bug reports

Configuration#

File: BepInEx\config\dominik1199.stromtechnik.cfg, or more conveniently through the mod settings in LaunchPad.

Key	Default	Meaning
WirkungsgradProzent	25	share of the combustion energy that becomes power
MindestRaumdruckKPa	20	below this the generator won't run (0 = runs in vacuum too)
MaxRaumTemperaturC	60	hotter room: the generator overheats and stops
AbgasHoechstdruckKPa	40000	exhaust pressure at which it shuts down
LeerlaufProzent	2	fuel use without load, in % of rated output
TankHoechstdruckKPa	20000	the pump fills the tank up to this pressure
PumpeMolJeTakt	2	pump rate in mol per tick (0.5 s)
AkkuSekunden	60	size of the buffer battery in seconds of full load (0 = none)
AkkuLadeProzent	20	at most this % of rated output goes into charging the battery
StandbyAutomatik	on	standby when the battery is full and demand is low
StandbyAbProzent	100	standby from this battery level
StandbyBisProzent	15	the engine restarts at this battery level
SpeicherMJ	27	storage of the distributor, applies after a restart
KabelReserveProzent	95	an output supplies at most this % of the weakest cable
AusloeseZeitS	2	how long an overload may last before the breaker trips
AutomatischAusloesen	on	off = the output only limits, consumers then shut off as usual in the game

Multiplayer#

New devices: the server and all players need the mod in the same version. See Multiplayer.

Known limitations#

• The outputs of a device are always separate networks. Put two outputs on the same network and you get the "bridged" state.
• If the same network is connected to an input and an output of the distributor, it reports a short circuit.
• Changes to SpeicherMJ only take effect after a restart.

Troubleshooting#

Display text / symptom	Cause	Fix
Engine off – press START	engine stopped	press START or set Activate = 1
Distributor: input takes no power, storage does not charge (Power Cable+ or Fluix Unlimited on the input)	bug up to version 1.1.0	update to 1.1.1
Connect the exhaust pipe (back)	no exhaust pipe	connect a pipe at the bottom rear
TANK EMPTY – refuel	no fuel	fill the fuel pipe, the pump tops up the tank
Mixture does not burn	fuel without oxygen or nitrous oxide	feed in a combustible mixture
Not enough room air for cooling	room below 20 kPa	fill the room with air or lower MindestRaumdruckKPa
Room too hot – generator overheats	above 60 °C	cool the room
EXHAUST BLOCKED – empty exhaust pipe	exhaust pipe full	carry the exhaust away, empty the pipe
OVERLOAD	the networks want more than it supplies	spread the consumers or use a bigger generator
Breaker keeps tripping	consumers need more than 95% of the cable	heavier cable or split up the consumers
Output only supplies 4.75 kW	normal cable in the network	run heavy cable all the way
SHORT CIRCUIT on the distributor	network is on both an input and an output	separate the networks
STORAGE EMPTY	distributor empty	check the inputs, create surplus in the networks
Save won't load (stromgeneratorsavedata)	mod missing from the pack	see Mod Packs