Skyranger

[Pumpkinhead]

That's because Jormugand had already mentioned them

[FullAuto]

Would speed affect the fuel consumption? When vehicles go faster they generally use more fuel, top fuel efficiency is usually at low speeds for a vehicle. Were you flying them constantly, or were they patrolling at times?

[Pumpkinhead]

They were patrolling at times because I wasn't sure if the game would have incorporated variable fuel consumption rates.

 

I'm guessing that it simply has a set flying time based on fuel consumption per craft, as in 20nm per fuel unit, and then uses a percentage modifier the same as every other stat in the game seems to

[NKF]

Have you tried comparing an Interceptor in motion against a patrolling interceptor?

 

If you launch two ships to have them compared at the same time, you may have to take into account the short delay between launching the ships.

 

- NKF

[cyrus]

When vehicles go faster they generally use more fuel, top fuel efficiency is usually at low speeds for a vehicle.

Uhmm, as far as I remember, top efficiency is at a cruising speed, and that is...oh I forgot, 70-80 percent of the top speed maybe.

 

And Pumpkin, the fuel consumption is constant, if I remember right. Skyranger uses 1 unit, no 1 percent of it's fuel every 20 minutes, that's right. Since it has the capacity of 1500 units of fuel, 1 percent is 15 units. So it may fly at top speed for 33 hours and 20 minutes. That is same ever. But when it's patrolling, it uses less fuel (half as i recall).

 

By the way, refuelling speed is 100 fuel units per hour for all ships (human). Not that fast, huh?

[Pumpkinhead]

So it takes 15hrs to refuel a Skyranger!?!

 

If it took that long for the Airforce to refuel their planes, I don't think they'd be very happy

[cyrus]

Yep! The best Earth technology available, the best men available...hmm

[NKF]

Well, your men are still better than your common civilian. Hence the bragging rights. It's just that no matter how good you think you are, there's room for improvement.

 

I assume that time's for a Skyranger that has completely spent its fuel tank? Terrible.

 

I got the same Skyranger to attack two infiltrator battleships that landed nearby. I think it less than an hour or so between assaults. I kept checking the intercept menu (I was nervous; the lightning was in the shop).

 

From this I'm lead to believe that actual refueling time is based on how much extra fuel the Skyranger needs for a top up. Good thing the time isn't fixed. 15 hours would be somewhat overkill if it were for every trip!

 

- NKF

[FullAuto]

Yes. It often takes a while to refill your tanks after you've used your whole load.

Fnar fnar.

[Jman4117]

Gotta consider maintainence after flying the thing too. Don't want it breaking down mid-flight do you?

[The Sultan]

Must be all the time it takes to prepare the in-flight movie.

That and replacing the sick bags, all my guys were complete panzies.

[Zombie]

I had some time today so I looked up my CSG data for craft fuel usage and craft refuel times. To compare the figures accurately, I built a base in northern Mongolia with 5 hangars to house each of the crafts. Then I sent each of the craft to something that wouldn't disappear for some time. In this case, an alien base at the North Pole worked quite well. The distance between my base and the alien's base was 6105 miles one-way, or 12,210 miles round trip. In every instance, once the craft reached its destination, it returned home. So this data is for flying times - not patrolling times.

 

Fuel Usage for X-COM Craft

Craft        Fuel Cap.   Elapsed Time   % Fuel Used   Actual Fuel   Calculated Fuel
Skyranger      1500        13:42:00         39%           N.A.             585
Interceptor    1000         5:01:00         63%           N.A.             630
Lightning        6 *        3:25:00         67%            4               4.02
Firestorm        4 *        2:33:00         75%            3               3
Avenger         12 *        2:00:00         20%            3               2.4

* The fuel capacity for the advanced craft is in terms of Elerium-115.

Just so you know, craft always arrive back at base with whole minutes, not minutes and seconds - hence the :00 for elapsed times. The Skyranger uses 1% of its fuel every 21.08 minutes, the Interceptor uses 1% every 4.78 minutes, the Lightning uses 1% every 3.06 minutes, the Firestorm uses 1% every 2.04 minutes and the Avenger uses 1% every 6 minutes. So, the order of fuel efficiency (from best to worst) is: Avenger (20%), Skyranger (39%), Interceptor (63%), Lightning (67%) and the Firestorm (75%).

 

X-COM Craft Refueling Times

Craft     % Fuel Used   Elapsed Time    Fuel Used     Refuel Units/hour
Skyranger      39%         5:57:55         585              98.07
Interceptor    63%         6:08:50         630             102.49
Lightning      67%         1:44:55          4                2.29
Firestorm      75%         1:06:55          3                2.69
Avenger        20%         1:09:55          3                2.57

When I average the Skyranger and Interceptor Refuel Units/hour I get 100.28, or rounded, 100units/hour. This agrees with cyrus' data exactly. Averaging the Lightning, Firestorm and Avenger Refuel Units/hour I get 2.51, or rounded, 2.5 units/hour for the Elerium fueled craft.

 

NKF Posted: Aug 2 2004, 02:56 AM

From this I'm lead to believe that actual refueling time is based on how much extra fuel the Skyranger needs for a top up. Good thing the time isn't fixed. 15 hours would be somewhat overkill if it were for every trip!

Yep, refueling times are directly proportional to the amount of fuel used on the trip!

 

Ok, I guess my next job is to find out how long a craft can patrol before running out of fuel. This would give fuel efficiency for patrolling craft. I'll check back later with my results.

[Pumpkinhead]

So based on your figures, each craft should be able to cover the following distances on a single tank of fuel:

 

Firestorm: 14,280 n.mi

Lightning: 15,810 n.mi

Interceptor: 16,730 n.mi

Skyranger: 26,701 n.mi

Avenger: 54,000 n.mi

 

Or, if nautical miles mean nothing to you, then this far around the globe:

 

Firestorm: 0.66x

Lightning: 0.73x

Interceptor: 0.77x

Skyranger: 1.24x

Avenger: 2.50x

 

Because you have to halve these numbers to calculate a one-way trip, it means that the Skyranger and Avenger are the only craft that can reach any part of the Earth no matter where they originate. The poor Firestorm can only travel a third of the way around the Earth before having to turn back!

 

One thing to note, however, is that none of these calculations take acceleration into account. Although I doubt it would have much effect anyway.

[Zombie]

I come up with the following (using exact times, not rounded):

 

Skyranger: 27,697 n.mi

Interceptor: 16,722 n.mi

Lightning: 15,808 n.mi

Firestorm: 14,280 n.mi

Avenger: 54,000 n.mi

 

Since we are using my numbers, acceleration is factored into the result. The craft left from my base and headed to the aliens' base accelerating to top speed and then turning around and returning to the starting base. I would not even know where to start to remove the acceleration from my result since the acceleration given by the game is in numbers like 2, 3, 8, 9 and 10 with no units attached! These numbers are probably relative, based off the Avenger, but who knows? These units could be anything because the game does not provide them!

[Zombie]

Yes, I know this thread is over a year old, but I just uncovered some more information.

 

In a previous post I stated the approximate fuel units/hour that is replenished (~100 units/hour for conventional craft and ~ 2.5 for Elerium powered craft). Recently, I was trying to figure out the exact rates that each craft refuels. I figured that the best way would be to edit a docked craft (via Hatfarms editor) so that it had 0 for fuel and was currently refueling. Unfortunately, this method didn't work as the craft theoretically never left the base.

 

Fine, I'll send each craft out and manually edit the fuel to 0 just before it reaches home. Then I'll count the number of hours it takes for a complete refueling. Sounds simple, but there were some difficulties with this approach also. See, a craft can return back home at any time, not just whole hours. This screws things up because refueling is always finished either on the hour or half-hour. You cannot get an accurate figure using this method either.

 

Then it hits me: "Why don't I just purchase or manufacture the different craft"? They always start at 0 for fuel and aren't affected by refueling "rounding" like flying craft are. Surprisingly, this worked! So without further ado, here is a table listing the info:

 

X-COM Craft Refueling Times

Craft        Fuel Cap.   Hours to Refuel    Refuel Units/Hour
Skyranger      1500            15                  100
Interceptor    1000            10                  100
Lightning        6 *            3                   2
Firestorm        4 *            2                   2
Avenger         12 *            6                   2

* The fuel capacity for the advanced craft is in terms of Elerium-115.

See the nice round number for the hours to refuel column? Purchasing/manufacturing craft are the only way to get them to "true" 0 fuel, and to refuel at a constant rate without rounding rearing its ugly head.

 

Now we also know the exact rate at which Elerium powered craft refuel at: 2 units/hour. I was close when I calculated an average rate of 2.51 last year - just take the INT of each answer!

 

- Zombie

[NKF]

So Zombie, if I'm reading you correctly, this means the Lightning is the fastest troop carrier (not counting the XComutil firestorm) to refuel itself? If so, then that's another score for the underdog of the troop carriers. Granted, it won't stay up for long, but it could be quite an ideal craft if you've got a lot of landers near your base.

 

Can I also assume that the craft are allowed to top up any left-over fuel as opposed to refuelling from 0? I get the feeling that is the case as I know I was able to take out two battleships with the same Skyranger after an amazingly rapid refuelling session (the first infiltrator battleship was almost on top of my base).

 

- NKF

[Jasonred]

The AVENGER is the fastest to refuel between missions. Because it's FLYING SPEED is the highest, it uses the least amount of fuel to get there. (reverse logic, I know)

This means it uses the least fuel to get from Base to point A and back to base.

Therefore, since refueling RATE is constant, the craft that uses the leaast fuel is the fastest to refuel. Ie the Avenger.

 

NKF, it's pretty obvious that craft top up instead of starting from 0.

 

... do aircraft actually take more than an hour just to refuel? In real life I mean.

 

Anyone know how long aircraft take to rearm? In the game I mean.

[FullAuto]

... do aircraft actually take more than an hour just to refuel? In real life I mean

 

Nope. Not their internal tanks, anyway, not if they're fighters/interceptors.

 

Anyone know how long aircraft take to rearm? In the game I mean.

 

Missiles seem to take AGES, but cannons/beams seem to reload rather quickly. Perhaps the rearm time is inversely proportional to the amount of ammunition the weapon holds?

Perhaps it's just my impatience once again tightening its grip.

[Danial]

Kudos to you, Zombie, for your fine research as always.

[Zombie]

Thanks much, Danial! I appreciate it.

 

So Zombie, if I'm reading you correctly, this means the Lightning is the fastest  troop carrier (not counting the XComutil firestorm) to refuel itself? If so, then that's another score for the underdog of the troop carriers. Granted, it won't stay up for long, but it could be quite an ideal craft if you've got a lot of landers near your base. 

 

Can I also assume that the craft are allowed to top up any left-over fuel as opposed to refuelling from 0? I get the feeling that is the case as I know I was able to take out two battleships with the same Skyranger after an amazingly rapid refuelling session (the first infiltrator battleship was almost on top of my base).

Right. Based solely upon fuel capacity and the constant rate of refueling, the Lightning is the fastest troop transport to gas up. Say you purchased/manufactured/transferred all 5 craft to one base. The first ship to refuel would be the Firestorm, then the Lightning, followed by the Avenger, Interceptor and Skyranger.

 

But as Jasonred pointed out, the Avenger is the fastest ship in the game. In terms of getting from Point A to Point B, the ship that has the highest fuel efficiency/speed ratio wins. Because the Avenger consumes approximately the same amount of fuel/hour as the other Elerium powered craft, speed is the overriding factor. Since the trip takes less time than the other craft, overall use of fuel is smaller per unit distance. The Avenger will therefore refuel faster due to decreased fuel usage.

 

Finally, yes, all craft in the game will refuel from the point at how much is left in the tanks when it returns to base. If a Firestorm uses up 50% of its fuel on a interception, the time to refuel is half as long since the tanks are already half-full.

 

----------

 

As for the rearming sequence, it usually takes 30 minutes. I say "usually" because rearming seems to be buggy. The Interceptor-type craft sometimes rearm and sometimes don't. It doesn't depend on ammo used, so there has to be something else. Skyrangers can rearm too. Don't know why this even possible since it doesn't have any craft weapon pods. It's possible that rearming is also known as reequipping for the Skyranger.

 

- Zombie

[Blehm 98]

So, Lightning refuels faster is Lightning and avenger both start at... say, 50% fuel

But that would never happen because the lightning would get to 50% fuel in.. about 7/10 the amount of time the avenger would take to get to 50% (3200 to 5400, i know i'm a little off) so the avenger is to the naked eye actually faster to refuel

[Zombie]

All the Elerium-powered craft refuel at the same rate. If a Lightning and Avenger were both down one unit of Elerium, they would finish refueling at exactly the same time.

 

Fuel usage has nothing to do with speed, I'm afraid. For instance, the Lighting's speed is 3100 knots, while the Avenger is 5400. 3100/5400 = 57%. Theoretically, the Lightning should use 57% less fuel than an Avenger since more speed is traditionally associated with lower fuel consumption.

 

The one variable that affects fuel used to any measurable degree is flight time. Since all of the Eleruim-powered craft have roughly the same rate of consumption, the one that goes the fastest will use the least fuel per unit of distance. It therefore will refuel the fastest since it was airborne for the shortest amount of time.

 

- Zombie

[kai]

I like the skyranger, because it doesn't need elerium. I always keep a few convential ships on standby. Plus the skyranger is useful against raids on small ships when they are close to the base (and base raids since I use the blocking the elevators trick)

[Jasonred]

Hey, if you keep getting supply ships showing up on your Hyperwave Decoder, and you KNOW there's a base there, but you just can't see it on the map, you have two choices:

 

1. Patrol over it with a Skyranger

2. Hope and wait for X-com intelligence to find the craft during their monthly sweeps.

 

AFAIK, no elerium based craft hold enough fuel, therefore cannot stay in the air, long enough to detect an alien base. Well... it's jolly difficult anyhow. Might be possible if you fine tune the change of hour thing and all that, but it's a boatload easier just to send a skyranger to patrol there.

 

 

 

Missiles take ages to reload probably because they tend to use up almost their entire payload during each mission! Whereas Beam/cannons might have 100 or so shots, but they probably use up, mmm, 10? I'm sure the time PER missile is larger than the time per Beam/ cannon round.

[Blehm 98]

any aircraft can detect bases, Avenger i think has almost as much range as the skyranger, and i think that hybrids have better radar detection