Energy keeps going up despite negative net value

[jomarmont]

Hello,

I noticed that my energy total value keeps going up despite the fact that a red negative value is being reported (on the top right corner of the UI). This happened at the beginning of my last game.

[Kyzrati]

Hello, and thanks for the report!

The run log won't be helpful in this case because it's not caused by a serious error.

Instead, to solve this one I need to know your particular loadout at the time, so either have the /user/save.bin file (exit and save/send the file as soon as you see it happening) or possibly even just a screenshot that would enable me to recreate the same loadout and test it.

In the end the game (internally) is always calculating your energy correctly, so if it was going up it should go up. What the HUD shows is only a semi-accurate prediction of what will happen. Obviously we'd like the prediction to be perfectly accurate, but it's somewhat difficult to calculate due to how energy and turns work (independently). In fact, if you were in combat or moving extremely slowly or quickly then you can't even really trust that value because you'll pass many turns (or only fractions of turns) and there may be changes mid-turn that affect the outcome! The value calculation has to make some assumptions, but those assumptions may not always hold true depending the circumstances.

This may not be a bug, after all, but I'd like to see specifically how serious it was in your case and possibly tweak some things if necessary.

[jomarmont]

Hello,
Thanks for the quick reply. If it happens again I will send you the files but I can tell you from memory. The load out was the early game one with small lasers, improved terrain scanner, seismic analyzer, aluminum legs and light ion engine. Actually this happened in the very first level after the tutorial one.
Hope it helps.

[Kyzrati]

Huh, and that's it? I'll test it out and see what it looks like. Do you recall how large the negative number was? If close to 0.0, it was probably just slightly unpredictable, especially if you were in combat. Were you shooting at the time?

[jomarmont]

Nope, no shooting...just walking around.
The number was very low...like -1.5 or so.
It did not happen again...maybe it was a small inconsistency as you described.
Forgot to say one last important thing: congrats on an excellent game! It has been a while since I saw something so top notch. Cannot wait to see what you will do with X@COM.

[Kyzrati]

Okay, thanks for the extra info. I'll look into it, but yeah probably just a bad prediction due to the circumstances. I can see how that could be confusing for a new player, which is why that feature is actually under the special "tactical HUD mode" for advanced users, but I decided that so many of those features are really useful and turned it on by default . You can actually disable it in the options menu, but I wouldn't

And thanks! I am really excited about X@COM, too--I still daydream about it occasionally--though it is probably several years away... And by the time it's done? Who knows, we may all be old and gray, but I hope not =p

[Kyzrati]

Hm, I tested this layout and don't see anything out of the ordinary. It's a steady +1.0 for me.

I'll leave this thread here for now and if you or anyone else encounters it repeating over multiple turns for no apparent reason and can give me a save file to investigate that'd be great. (Reminder: You'd have to exit the game so it saves properly first.)

[Ghost73]

Something I noticed that might help:
The energy value at the top right = energy supply + upkeep + movement for 100 units of time.
If the energy total is negative that means you are losing energy while moving.
However, it could be that you are gaining energy when you are not moving if the energy supply is more than the cost of upkeep.

For example:
Loadout: Aluminum Leg, 2x Targeting Computer
Supply: 5
Upkeep: -4
Move: -2
The top right would read -1.0, but if not moving you would still gain energy at a rate of +1.0, which might explain what is happening here.

Hope this helps

[Kyzrati]

Ah yes, very good point I'd forgotten! This definitely plays a role here, because I only wanted to show one prediction, and erred on the side of showing the most power-hungry scenario, i.e. assuming constant movement. (Also naturally a different scenario from remaining stationary and shooting, for which it will be even more off depending on many other factors.)

Thank you very much Ghost73. I think I'll close this issue... and also try to remember that next time someone brings it up

[Reiver]

Is there any way to instead see the resting energy consumption? I mean, I get that moving will drain my batteries, and I get that shooting twelve ion cannons simultaneously might just put a lie to that "+2" in the top corner...  what's harder to tell is whether I'm going to go flat sitting quietly in the parking lot because I've got too many Utilities running simultaneously.

That's the number I thought the figure in the top corner meant until I read this thread.

[Kyzrati]

There's no way to see that now, no, mostly because the design looks cleaner and less confusing without yet another number string up there. Volley costs are not included in the calculations since they have their own separate readout in the volley window, and the HUD prediction would be way off if they were included.

I do see the advantages of allowing you to know your at-rest drain, but adding it requires that extra number for both energy and heat (the latter to remain consistent).

I'll look into it.

[Kyzrati]

Regarding this, for Alpha 2 the "tactical HUD mode" now shows both energy and heat change when stationary (per turn) and mobile (per move). The latter is somewhat inaccurate on a move-to-move basis because some factors must be averaged over an entire turn, but now you can at least tell the general difference between your energy/heat changes depending on whether sitting around or are on the move.

It's pretty useful, especially when you want to go stationary for combat and turn off as few utilities as possible when otherwise low on energy.

Edit: Attached an example where I'm flying.