v6 and v8 engines have the same 'power' rating

[ianestrachan]

Seems like this has been around since forever, as when I moved over vehicle parts in #2641 they both had '800' in the huge static initializer. This basically means that there's no reason to take a v8 over the lighter v6 engines.

The v8's power rating should be bumped, but the $64,000 question is: by how much?

[EkarusRyndren]

What's the difference between a below V6 and V6? ...Can we get some V10 and V12 Engines while we're at it? XD

[ianestrachan]

Sure, here's a full comparison of the 'engine' slot items:

1cyl: 40 power
v-twin: 120 power
Inline-4: 300 power
v6: 800 power
v8: 800 power

electric motor: 70 power
large electric motor: 350 power
plasma engine: 400 power
foot pedals: 70 power

V10 and V12 engines just need new JSON entries for the vehicle parts and their item representations.

[EkarusRyndren]

@ianestrachan with the exception of the non-gasoline engines it seems each engine is just over double (as to keep you from going "Well two V (whatever) engines are just as powerful as one V (whatever) why install two?)" So maybe the V6 should either be lowered to 500 or the V8 raised to 1200.

Alternatively a rebalance along the lines of 100, 200, 400, 600, 800, so on. and then non-gas 80, 300, 1000 (Because why is a plasma engine weaker than the V6?) and if someone wants to do the (pardon the pun) legwork, stranth determined power for the foot pedals.

[ianestrachan]

Generally it's better to install a bigger engine than two engines of the same type, due to a huge ramp-up in difficulty for installing multiple engines into a vehicle.

[Rivet-the-Zombie]

IRL, there's often a negligible difference in actual power output between a V6 and a V8.

The main differences come about in terms of torque output at varying speeds, with the V8 being capable of greater torque at slower RPMs, and a more even torque increase as engine speed increases. The lighter weight of V6s can somewhat contribute to a superior power-to-weight ratio, but this is usually a moot point once the rest of the vehicle's systems are taken into consideration.

Of course these are very generalized statements, and can vary immensely from one engine to another.

However, since C:DDA doesn't simulate torque, simply bumping up the V8's power output seems like a good solution.

Source: I'm an ASE and ASME certified engineer IRL.

[ianestrachan]

Strictly speaking, a 0.47-liter 1cyl engine and a 1.32-liter 1cyl engine also have identical power.

Perhaps the power rating should be based off the capacity (in the 'bigness' variable) instead of the raw engine size?

[ianestrachan]

Here are some more numbers:

1cyl: 40 power | Bigness: 0.28-Liter to 0.75-Liter
v-twin: 120 power | Bigness: 0.65-Liter to 2.60-Liter
Inline-4: 300 power | Bigness: 2.20-Liter to 3.50-Liter
v6: 800 power | Bigness: 2.50-Liter to 5.20-Liter
v8: 800 power | Bigness: 3.80-Liter to 7.00-Liter

For the first few, "0.01 Liters per unit of power" works well enough and keeps the current power level roughly at the middle of the bigness range. For the v6 and v8, however, it breaks down. Some quick googling shows that those are the right capacities for those engine types, more or less.

But, if we added v10 and v12 engines, they could easily take the role those engines for providing huge amounts of power: v10s would be somewhere around 8.4 Liters, and v12s would be... even more, I guess? They actually seem to be smaller (from my hasty googling) as they're used in aircraft and racing cars. This is getting out of the range of my limited car knowledge, and while I like the "0.01 Liters = 1 power" model, it doesn't seem to scale.

[EkarusRyndren]

While we're here I have to ask... ...Would it be worth the trouble of adding "bigness" to the electric engines?

[ianestrachan]

Right now, the bigness is for flavor only (and I electric engine capacity wouldn't be measured in "Liters") so there's little point - but it could be done, yes.

[EkarusRyndren]

@ianestrachan I'm talking more along the lines of energy consumption, I have no mechanical knowledge at all so for all I know that'd just make a rolling block of heated steel but presumably pumping more power into the engine would put more out right?

[ianestrachan]

Fixed by #5277.