C-Ship Tasks

Load & Unload Cargo

In VB6 Aurora, ships load or unload cargo, colonists, etc. on arrival and then undergo a wait period before their next order (based on how long it takes for the load/unload process).

In C# Aurora, the wait period will take place first and then the cargo will be loaded or unloaded at the end. Because of this change, if the fleet abandons the order before it is complete, no transfer of cargo will have taken place. Date 02.10.2016

Refuelling

In C# Aurora, refuelling is no longer instant and ships without specialised equipment cannot exchange fuel in space. A ship can only refuel at a Spaceport, a Refuelling Station, a ship with a Refuelling System or a base with a Refuelling Hub.

A new technology line - Refuelling Systems - provides the basis of the rate of refuelling and allows ships to mount systems to refuel other ships. The baseline system (Refuelling System: 50,000 LPH) sets the racial refuelling rate at 50,000 litres per hour and allows the use of the first ship-mounted Refuelling System. There are ten further steps in the tech progression with the highest tech system allowing refuelling at 500,000 litres per hour.

Spaceports, Refuelling Stations or Refuelling Hubs will always use the highest tech refuelling rate and can refuel an unlimited number of ships simultaneously. However, the ships being refuelled must be stationary.

Spaceports have doubled in cost to 2400 BP but can now be moved by freighters. They are equal to four research facilities for transport purposes (or 80 factories). They retain their existing bonuses to loading and unloading cargo.

Refuelling Stations are a new installation with a cost of 1200 BP. They do not require workers and can be moved by freighters. They have a transport size equal to 10 factories. Essentially, they are a cut-down version of a spaceport intended to facilitate refuelling in forward areas, transferring fuel from the surface of a planet to the waiting ships. They have no bonuses for loading or unloading cargo.

A Refuelling Hub can be mounted on a ship. It is a commercial system with a research cost of 10,000 RP, build cost of 2400 BP and a size of 100,000 tons. In practical terms, this is likely to form part of a large, deep-space station, due to the size and cost, rather than being deployed on tankers that will accompany fleets

A Refuelling System is 500 tons and has a cost ranging from 10 BP to 100 BP, depending on the tech level. A ship with a Refuelling System can refuel a single ship at once, so will take some time to refuel a whole fleet, although this will improve with higher technology. At the early tech levels, the Refuelling System can only be used if both ships (tanker and target ship) are both stationary. Another new tech line, Underway Replenishment, allow the refuelling to take place while both ships are in the same fleet and underway. Priorities can be set for the refuelling order when multiple ships are involved. The first Underway Replenishment tech allows refuelling at 20% of the normal rate (2500 RP), rising to 100% with the highest tech (40,000 RP).

Refuelling order types will be adjusted to deal with the new requirements. Fuel will be transferred during each movement increment as time passes until the target ship has full tanks. I may add some other options regarding partially filling as well.

I will be adding some rules along the same lines regarding ordnance transfer. Date 20.07.2017