Echelon mirrors

[Beör]

This has probably been discussed in a previous thread, but here goes!

What is the most efficient use of echelon mirrors if you want to maximize energy production?

How big is the ecological damage caused by an EM, and is it only caused if the mirror is within the production radius of a city?

[WhiteElephants]

Googlie bumped a echelon mirror thread, bless his/her little soul, so I don't have much else to say about that. The eco damage can be signifcant unless you already have hybrid forests planted or have a high enough planet rating (3 or better I think?).

If you look in the data links under advanced concepts it gives you a formula for eco damage. I've never actually sat down and worked out the formula so I can't tell you the exact effects (perhaps we could spur Marione and Adam Smith into a eco damage debate to get to the bottom of this?).

[Riv/\ /\En]

let's hope it will not be as one-sided as the one for the hurry formula.

------------------
I got my troubles
An' my troubles they got me
Ain't easy bein' an object
In a game called ZZT
-The Jazz Man

[Googlie]

LOL, WhiteElephants - you stirrin' things up again?



G.


[This message has been edited by Googlie (edited August 09, 2000).]

[Adam_Smith]

I prefer not to go through that again.

I never have really gotten around to creating an energy park, but I use Echelon Mirror's a lot. It just takes too much terraforming. I think the closest thing that I have done is building solar panels on Mt Planet and putting Echelon Mirrors just outside of the panels. What I usually do is just figure out where a Mirror would be handy. I think the maximum additional energy that a mirror can create is 8. That doesn't count the nutrients that you get from the square. You also get some evergy on the square and maybe a mineral. You get the mineral and the nutrients whether you have a solar panel or an EM so you just need to figure out which one will give you more energy and build that one. It helps if you think about it early on so that you don't have to reterraform things.

[Enigma]

Hey Adam!

It is possible to get a lot more than 8 energy from a square, but they all have the same graphic so it is difficult to tell on the base screen- it just says "8+". Anyway in one very excessive builder game I built a tremendous mirror park (80 crawlers with 50% solar panels). Most of my squares were 10-12 energy. This is one reason I dislike huge maps... it is pretty disgusting having that much space to waste time.

Anyway I usually build echelon mirrors wherever there are rainy squares with decent elevation. They seem a lot more practical than terraforming up cause they don't alter rivers, cost anything, and will increase the energy of ALL surrounding squares.

[Adam_Smith]

Welcome back Enigma!

I know. You are right. I was trying to say that, but you cleared it up. Thank You. I didn't mean that you get the 8 energy from the square with the EM. I meant that you can contribute 8 energy to surrounding squares. That is one extra to each surrounding square.

[Stalker0]

I usually use mirrors in the early game to get my +1 energy squares to +2 before I get into tree farms. The nice thing about them is that they act just like collectors, you can even farm them. However, once I have tree farms I usually start to destroy them in favor of forests.

[wneubert]

You say 10-12 energy per square in the energy park! I have started building some energy parks and I usually get only 5-6 energy per square. I terraform a 3x3 grid of squares to >3000 elevation, then cover with solar collectors and a mirror in the middle. Then I get the energy with crawlers. What am I doing wrong?

[Beör]

quote: Originally posted by wneubert on 08-15-2000 08:26 AM You say 10-12 energy per square in the energy park! I have started building some energy parks and I usually get only 5-6 energy per square. I terraform a 3x3 grid of squares to >3000 elevation, then cover with solar collectors and a mirror in the middle. Then I get the energy with crawlers. What am I doing wrong?

The effects of echelon mirrors are additive. In principle a single square can be adjacent to 8 echelon mirrors for 8 extra energy. If it is at elevation 3000+ it produces a base energy of four. A river will give one more, and +2 econ will give another one. This could yield 8+4+1+1=14 energy. It can probably be increased further, but this illustrates the point.

The reason I posted the thread is that this arrangement with one solar collector surrounded by 8 echelon mirrors may be optimal for that one square, but rather ludicrous considering the other squares. The bumped thread suggests some interesting arrangements, although I have not had time to test them yet.


[This message has been edited by Beör (edited August 15, 2000).]

[Darius]

Try alternating rows of mirrors and collectors. (A row of echelon mirrors, then a row of solar collectors, then another row of mirrors, etc.) This gives you six mirrors adjacent to every collector, and as Beor pointed out, they are additive. If a collector os on a 3000 meter square worth 4 energy by itself, the mirrors will add another 6.