New Context Command: Fuel Rod Count

[proven mesa]

Bots have a bit of anti-troll built in where engineers remove fuel rods in excess of 1 unless you order them not to touch it. Obviously a lot of players set up reactor controllers so they can use 4 fuel rods, and this means the only way to do this with bots is to tell them not to touch it. I wish we had an alternative: Telling them how many fuel rods to load into it (and perhaps what kind of fuel rods). This context order would save and bots would now try to fill it up to the amount desired rather than only complying with 1 rod.

[olive ravine]

I think its less anti-troll more bots cant be trusted to properly operate a reactor but yeah its annoying

It doesn't help with the myth that those 3 extra slots exist only for trolls that bots treat it like that

[tulip remnant]

Obviously a lot of players set up reactor controllers so they can use 4 fuel rods
Note that you don't need a wiring-based reactor controller to do that.

Unless you're running four volatile rods at once, maybe.

I don't know if bots being unable to use more than one rod is some kind of a weird balancing decision or if whoever was writing the system fell for the myth too. Though the latter is unlikely.
It'd make sense if the higher the bot's electrical skill was, the more rods they'd be able to put in without messing up.

[proven mesa]

I think making it so the bots can't is a good thing, since it incentivises using circuits. That said, I'd prefer if they could work better with the circuit systems.

[zinc sequoia]

screenshot of doom

[tulip remnant]

Don't believe his lies.

[proven mesa]

This feels like a complete misunderstanding of why we use more than 1 rod, if not a deliberate misrepresentation of the point of such a thing. It's not about generating more power at all, it's just about the reactivity of the reactor and the convenience. More rods mean less adjustment is needed for the reactor to correct itself, as smaller changes in fission are needed to meet the new load.

The point was never "More power." in any regard.

That said, he's not wrong. 4 rods on auto isn't a good idea. That's why we make reactor controllers: so they work better with 4 rods.

[zinc sequoia]

sorry but god has spoken on the matter

(god was drunk that day)

[tulip remnant]

4 rods on auto is a great idea, I do it all the time.

[hot laurel]

It just needs to be manually stabilized up front, but once it settles it's fine