Thrusters
Thrusters are the default component of a ship that allows movement. So far, only two types of thrusters have been introduced, and, short of ramming into other ships, there is no way to move your ship in a direction parallel to the XYZ plane. (Gyroscopes handle your turning)
Contents
Small Thrusters
These are the smallest thrusters available to be put on a ship. They provide a minimal amount of thrust, and with it, a minimal amount of energy consumption.
Small Ship
On a small ship, thrusters take up the space of 2x1x1 small armor blocks. This allows them to be the ideal means of transportation on a small ship, as they can both easily fit in size and in means of energy consumption.
Small thrusters on a small ship are ideal for any movement, because they fit well with the size, and do not require much energy; more often then not, you can get away with 3 or so small reactors on a small enough ship.
Large Ship
On a large ship, thrusters take up the space of 2x1x1 standard armor blocks. These larger version of the small thruster can only be put on the large ship, and are disallowed on any station.
Small thrusters on a large ship are more adept for left-to-right and up-to-down movements. Because of their size, they can also be concealed easily, allowing for an illusion of a ship without such capabilities, and able to retain external aesthetic appearance.
Large Thrusters
These thrusters are 3/2 times bigger, and provide much more thrust. They do require more energy, and the space they take up is larger. Their consumption of energy usually merits the use of a large reactor, but with enough small reactors, you can easily support several of these.
Small Ship
A large thruster on a small ship is often out of place. The small ship must be a tad large to be able to support such a large component, and if one is placed on the ship, then there is likely to be no room for any sort of large reactor. The thruster will take up a 2x3x3 space of small armor blocks, in place of the the usual 2x1x1.
Large Ship
The large thruster is ideal for large ships, as large ships often have both the capacity to bear one on it, and the capacity to power it. The space that it takes up is equal to 2x3x3, or 9 times bigger than a small thruster. Aesthetically, this thruster is also the most suited for an average large ship.
Statistics for Thrusters based on ship size
Small Ship Stats
| Small Ship Thruster Characteristics | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Force (N) | Power (GW) | Mass (Kg) | ||
| Small Thruster | Max | 18,165 | 2.52 | 93 |
| Maneuvering | 12,110 | 1.68 | ||
| Large Thruster | Max | 218,250 | 30 | 721 |
| Maneuvering | 145,500 | 20 | ||
Large Ship Stats
| Large Ship Thruster Characteristics | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Force (N) | Power (GW) | Mass (Kg) | ||
| Small Thruster | Max | 150,660 | 42 | 3384 |
| Maneuvering | 100,440 | 28 | ||
| Large Thruster | Max | 1,815,000 | 504 | 43212 |
| Maneuvering | 1,210,000 | 336 | ||
Trivia
Something a interesting about the thrusters is that they appear to use no fuel, only electricity. This suggests it could be a 'near-future' advanced form of ion propulsion, which uses very little fuel. This can also be noted in the appearance of the "flame"; its sharp blue cone is concurrent with that of ion engines. It would make sense, given the premise of the game and the developer's apparent goals, that the technologies behind the systems are meant to represent an extrapolated near-future equivalent to existing technologies, making it all the more likely that the thrusters are meant to represent an imagined future for ion propulsion, where its lack of power has been overcome to make it the most viable thrust option for space travel. Or, of course, this could be a complete coincidence, and they use no fuel purely for gameplay purposes. Who knows? (The devs)
