Fuel Pods are they worth it?

[talon]

I've been going over the topics on aerial combat and the point was made that the fuel pods are useless

fuel pods slow craft down= more time in the air= burn more fuel
+ possibility of being too slow to catch ufo before tracking lost
+plus takes longer to refuel

Stiletto with fuel pods are just to slow unless the ufo is flying towards you base

My sacarens ten to have either ecm+ armour for the decoy or target computers for the heavy hitters

In my old game 2.1 by firebird had fuel pods which gave it greater range but it was very slow and also took long time to refuel

maybe 1 fuel pod would not slow the aircraft too much

Could we decrease the time it takes to refuel.
A top of the line military base would have high performance fuel pumps
It would not take hours to refuel a craft 

what are your views?

Do fuel pods need to be fixed?

[talon]

that reminds me could we possibly start with 2 stilletos instead of one
yes old x-com player i know
but one just is not enough especially on the higher difficulty ,

 you have to imedately build a hangar to start working towards getting a second
It just seems like a waste of time and resources

[Edi]

that reminds me could we possibly start with 2 stilletos instead of one
yes old x-com player i know
but one just is not enough especially on the higher difficulty ,

 you have to imedately build a hangar to start working towards getting a second
It just seems like a waste of time and resources

You can start with two hangars if you choose to start with no buildings. You have more money and in the initial build screen, all buildings you build are instantly complete, so you can get that second hangar. Just remember to leave enough money to buy vehicles, weapons and equipment. That way you can start with two interceptors, though you'll be really short of money at first.

Oh, and fuel pods in the 2.3/2.4 version are useless.

[keybounce]

and in the initial build screen, all buildings you build are instantly complete

THAT sounds like something that should be emphasized. I thought "Don't start with buildings" was a way to make the game much harder -- you start with just an entrance and have to build everything over time.

[Edi]

THAT sounds like something that should be emphasized. I thought "Don't start with buildings" was a way to make the game much harder -- you start with just an entrance and have to build everything over time.

I thought so too at first, but then decided to test it just for the hell of it. Never going back to the prebuilt base again.

[homunculus]

[...] Never going back to the prebuilt base again.

you might have to.
i remember a discussion where it was said that being able to build your initial base yourself would be an unfair advantage to the player, and the feature would be removed.

about fuel pods, if your craft can reach everywhere you need, why would you need fuel pods?
i guess the range of crafts will be significantly reduced in the future to make the fuel pods more meaningful.
or else it is assumed that by 2084 aircraft would easily travel around the globe.
however, by 2084, the problem might be fuel, not the pods (maybe not really).

[geever]

Oh, before I forget. I should remove Fuel Pods from 2.3. But first check&modify the code not to break saves again.

-geever

[Duke]

however, by 2084, the problem might be fuel, not the pods (maybe not really).

'Peak Oil' will be history then. Oil probably too. Let's assume those crafts will run on some synthetic fuel generated from some renewable energy source

[Hertzila]

'Peak Oil' will be history then. Oil probably too. Let's assume those crafts will run on some synthetic fuel generated from some renewable energy source

Maybe they just use hydrogen? Synthesized oil would probably be made from fission energy (neither renewable nor polluting) but I doubt that it would be used as fuel much.

[Brasher]

I personally strap fuel tanks on my transport.  Ive run into days where there are a crap load of crashes and a terror pop-up within several game hours of each other and hit 'em all without having to refuel.  It would other wise have been costly as far as national relations go by wasting time going back for more fuel.  You lose faction the longer events like terror or a crashed UFO is active, especially in the beginning when all you have is the first base.  Just make sure you have pleanty of storage space before the transport returns lol.  I make specialist bases, though, usually one Research and several Workshop bases with 8 troops stationed in case of invasion.  My workshop bases continuously pump out ECM units for profit interupted only by priority work orders like weapons/ammo/ dismantle UFOs(I practically build my UFO hangers on top of em and surround them with SAMs).  The rest of my bases are war posts loaded with aircraft and pissed-off troops split equally across the map to disperse fast and effective air/ground battle.  Just for the hell of it, I build a radar tower in antarctica so the aliens have no where to go un-seen except in the mid Pacific Ocean.  I love 2.3 so far, but there have been no spider bots or any other creatures in my game and I've researched everything.  My alien containment units are full and nothing has happened since the serum was made, so I'm not even sure if anything more is in the game besides Tammys and Green Schwarzeneggers (Get to de Harvestahhhh!).  But I haven't quite dismantled a Harvester yet, maybe everything is pending on that?  It's not letting me use the Plasma Blades even though they're researched, and I'm surprised to not have stumbled over an alien base yet.  Maybe I'm bugged though, I have no idea.  I'm not a programmer, just a huge fan.

[Edi]

The Firebird has 246 fuel units and each pod only adds 7 more. You can fly several times around the world on just the normal fuel load and you can do more than one mission before going for a refueling.

[vedrit]

i dont even waste the space with the fuel pods. I sell them right from the get-go. They slow the craft too much, and provide too little boost to fuel.

[Brasher]

Well crap, I'm sticking my foot in my mouth now, yea they're pretty pointless.  Who's idea was that, for real?  weigh yourself down to hell for what, only enough fuel to maybe hit Mc Donalds along the way?  EPIC FAIL.

[jerikojerk]

they have some use: it's a trap for beginners.

[geever]

Well crap, I'm sticking my foot in my mouth now, yea they're pretty pointless.  Who's idea was that, for real?  weigh yourself down to hell for what, only enough fuel to maybe hit Mc Donalds along the way?  EPIC FAIL.

C'mon, man, don't be a moron! Of course it's not intentionally useless. It's just a minor balancing issue compared to other bugs we have to fight. In 2.3 (next upcoming release) Fuel pod will be removed. It will get back into a release once we fixed the issues about it.

-geever