Rail Mass Enhancer

Rail Mass Enhancer
Hit Points	25
Reactor Hit Points	0
Mass	0.05
Luminosity	none
Data Value (ID)	671

Rail Mass Enhancers are modules which increase the maximum mass any rail can move without slowing down. They are not necessary to allow large entities to dock to rails and are only relevant when rails on an entity must move a docked entity.

Item Description

"This block is used to combat slow down on rails. There is a certain mass free to place on each rail, but in case that is reached, the rail movement will slow down immensly. Each 'Rail Mass Enhancer' adds more possible mass to all the rails on your structure."

Production

Production Info
Produced in a			Standard Factory
Requires			To create
Sintyr Capsule	x10		Rail Mass Enhancer	x1
Crystal Composite	x10

Usage

As players dock larger and larger entities to their rails, they will find that these entities move more slowly than usual. This is because the speed at which rails on a given entity (referred to as the "host" entity herein) can move a docked entity is dependent on the docked objects mass. In particular, if a docked entity is too massive, increasing its mass further will significantly decrease the speed which rails can move that entity at. Rail Mass Enhancers serve to increase the maximum mass that a "host" entity can move at maximum speed. Note that, if the rails on an entity are used exclusively as static docking points, adding Rail Mass Enhancers is not necessary.

Every entity has a default maximum mass threshold of 50. This means that any docked entity of 50 mass or lower will be able to move unabated along all rails. However, anything with a mass greater than 50 will move at less than maximum speed, with entities significantly larger than the cap barely moving at all. Each placed Rail Mass Enhancer increases the "host" entity's mass threshold by 5, allowing larger docked entities to move at maximum speed along its rails. Each mass enhancer, as an example, adds support for an additional 50 system blocks (0.1 mass apiece) or 20 Advanced Armor blocks (0.25 mass apiece). Mass enhancers are a standalone block with no controller, and function immediately after being placed. Mass enhancers consume 50 power per second per module (e/sec/block), and only work if the entity they are on has sufficient power.

It is worth noting that the mass threshold works as a "ceiling", it is not a pool from which units are drawn, to be depleted by, for example, a great number of small docked entities. It simply defines the maximum mass, of an individual docked entity (or chain of docked entities), which the "host" entity can move along its rails at maximum speed.

Chain docked entities will also require mass enhancers to move their respective docked entities. While this rule can have an effect on all rail systems, it is of most frequent significance when working with turrets. Turrets, being composed of two entities in order to have a full range of motion, will often need mass enhancers on the first section, the "base", to support the motion of the turret's "barrel" section. The entity which the turret is docked to must have enhancers enough to support the total mass of the largest turret on it.

Formulas

This section summarizes the formulas mentioned in the text above, which govern the mass threshold provided by, and the power consumption of, a group of Rail Mass Enhancers.

The mass threshold of an entity is defined as follows:
MassThreshold = NumberOfEnhancers * 5 + 50

Therefore, the formula for the number of mass enhancers required to reach a certain mass threshold is given by the following formula, with the result rounded up:
RequiredEnhancerCount = ( DockedMass - 50 ) / 5
Note: "DockedMass" is the total mass of the heaviest docking chain which the entity must be able to support.

The power consumption, in energy per second (abbreviated e/sec), for a given number of Rail Mass Enhancers on an entity, is simply:
PowerConsumption = NumberOfEnhancers * 50