The only “fuel source” for generators and power is petroleum. I think that in II, there could be a few different means of generating power, which would prove more efficient depending on your surroundings.
Traditional petroleum/gasoline - this would just be like what you have in 3.0, petrol powering a generator. I think that these would prove useful if you live in an area where the sun can’t get to, and low-level areas such as valleys, without much wind, or have the resources to build pump jacks.
Gas Power. I think that this shouldn’t be just for generators, and that there should be butane canisters which can be picked up from mechanics, petrol stations, and construction sites. These would work for gas-lit stoves, which would need to be attached to the gas canister. Aside from this, there would be gas powered electric generators, which would provide electricity for electric stoves, lights etc, just like petroleum-powered generators. These would also prove useful in the same conditions as a petrol one, if you’re close to gas spawns and the like.
Wind Power- These would work using windmills, which would prove useful only in high, non-sheltered areas, such as mountains and high hills. These would generate power when attached to a generator.
Solar Power- This would work only in sunny, non-sheltered areas, such as flat plains. These would work when attached to solar panels on the roof of a base, or on the ground in close proximity to the base.These would require generators to function just like the windmill (I know that’s not how they work in real life, but it would make it balanced and more simple).
Solar and wind power we’re on the 4.x Wishlist Trello. I think it’s safe to say Nelson is aware of these.
I do have some other somewhat niche and interesting power source concepts though, such as rigging electromagnets and wire coils to a stationary bike so you can burn up some calories and get some electricity out of it.
it would be cool, but then somebody could attach C4 to it detonating it and possibly destroying the entire base because of it being a Nuke and then lowering your immunitie
what if there was a fallout 76 styled nuke thing instead of having deadzones in the map.
Like the map could be split into two copies where one is all deadzone and the other is the normal map. When the nuke launches wherever it hits gets turned into that section of the deadzone map variant. Imagine the map making potential! entire parts of the map could be hidden unless triggered by an atomic misfire.
Fusion has taken years of research by the best scientists in the world, and is also incredibly inefficient in its current form. I doubt a really smart person could make a worthwhile fusion reactor from just books, while you can make a nuclear reactor. (With the right parts)
That one boy scout took years, as well as extracting fissionable material from rare ores and metals such as pitchblende, posing as a teacher or professor. And he was far from getting a working reactor.
You’d need concrete, preferably reinforced with steel rebar, to make a containment unit. Fission reactions are started by either radioactive decay, which requires sourcing even more rarer and hard to find metals, or a particle accelerator, which the most simple of require multiple electromagnets and subsequent electricity to power said machinery. You’d also need an adequate cooling system, and given the size of the system, regular water simply won’t do. The entire assembly would either need to be submerged in liquid, which would require waterproofing and other protective measures, or an extremely cold substance to act as a coolant, such as liquid nitrogen or oxygen.
Finally, you need to design and build a valve system for releasing pressure, a condenser, which needs to be near a natural body of water, multiple pumps, a steam turbine and generator, as well as emergency power supply in case of redundancy.
All in all, you’d need a huge amount of materials, resources, and power in order to keep a nuclear reaction running, and given that time you might as well just use the existing power instead of building a project like this, especially given the dangers of nuclear meltdown. And I haven’t even mentioned the disposal of nuclear waste, good luck with that! So, I’m not saying it’s impossible, just that’s it’s so impractical and time consuming that it wouldn’t be a good option for UII.
Also if you were going to make a nuclear reactor it would definitely not be a full sized one. The kid and the old dude both used thorium dust for the containment unit, as small ones dont actually produce that much radiation, The rarer and hard to fine ones are just radioactive materials, like the ones the boy scout got from clocks and fire alarms, which would be even easier during an apocalypse because no one can point out how suss you are, for the cooling the old guy used a bunch of pc fans, and again, because a reactor that can power a couple of houses doesnt need to be bigger than a table or so, you wouldnt need a massive cooling system. For the last bit, thats just a steam engine which isnt hard to jury rig, and when you have a good water pump (hundred bucks at hardware stores) that is actually being powered by the reactor its self, it wouldnt be all the rough. In terms of disposing the minimal amount of radioactive waste, its the apocalypse, just dig a hole a ways away and chuck it in. In terms of nuclear meltdown, that would be rough, as you would probably be crippled by radiation poisoning but hey just keep it watered and you are fine. This only actually started because AJ wanted to know why someone would want to build a nuclear reactor, and I said why. I dont really want to see nuclear power in U2, although it depends on the setting and general theme of the game, because if it really cares a lot about the end game, I dont really see why not, as it would be the end game power source.
