Reactor

Reactor
Grid size	3 x 3
Base cost	100
Fuel consumption	200 L
Inputs	Fuel
Outputs	100 MW of Power

The reactor is the main power generator on a ship and is essential for all ships. Reactors require a pipe connection to a Fuel Loader and a cable connection to whatever devices they are intended to power.

A reactor does not change output power instantly. When the power demand of the ship rises (e.g. because the player just fired the engines), it takes some time for the reactor to spool up. During this time, the engines will be operating at reduced power. This momentary excess of power demand can be offset by connecting batteries to the power grid.

After placement a reactor requires 10 fuel to start up. When idle, it produces 2MW which costs 0.02 fuel per tick. At the full capacity of 100MW, fuel consumptions increases to 0.1 fuel per tick.

A Tank can be connected to the fuel piping between the reactor and the Loader. This saves cargo space because crew members will preemptively unload fuel canisters into the tank and also prevents the reactor from going offline as the crew members replace spent fuel canisters.