Okay, definitely got problems with my Hardwar(p)

Swallows have always been a "free" moth, meaning you can still peoples hard earned (or as luck has it) Swallow in online games, you can avoid this by,

A) Parking you Swallow in a PRIVATE Hangar,
B) Or by having Ye' Ol' Thug manning the thingypit, whenever you are not in said cockpit.

This have been a test of your local censorship agency.

Well you can edit the properties of every item in the game, if it got changed, just change it back...

But it's a common misconception that one cell is better than others, and it's simply not true. Like most things in hardwar each is built for a different purpose/style of play.

#1 is just supposed to get you to the cell shop to buy a better one, and hence is dirt cheap. But for the decent charge it gives, it's not that bad although the recharge rate is terrible. Don't ever give your thugs these, they will be sitting in a light well with their ai shut off more often than their fighting. But it is dirt cheap, and more help is usually better...

#2 has by far the largest charge. However it's recharge rate for a storage bank of that size is awful... You sit in a light well for what seems like forever before it's charged. On a thug this means his ai is down for what seems like forever and is wide open for attacks during this time. I only mount this when I'm patrolling near my hangar so I can swap out cells instead of sitting in the well for eternity... But it's large capacity makes it ideal for pirates and crater raids.

#3 is probably my favorite cell. It charges so fast you can charge this thing purely in the daylight. While not the best choice for pirates as it's capacity is the same as cell #1, it's by far the very best option for the traders and scavenger types. With proper throttling and care in your adventures you can use this cell like a fusion cell and never go near a light well again. And if you do get into an extended scuffle you can hop into a light well and fully recharge in seconds. At night you have to be careful however, as your vulnerable to sustained fights.

#4 I really think this cell has a typo in it's charge capacity. It's currently 1,500,000 which is less than cell number one and it's recharge time takes longer to charge than a cell #3. It's also the heaviest of the cells too. So it really has no purpose that I can see. But if you changed the capacity to 2,500,000 it would fit squarely in between #2 for an improved capacity while still having a decent recharge rate of a #3 cell. (well maybe give it a slight boost in charge speed too) What I do like about this cell is that at night your only going to get one, maybe 2, (if you have missiles) kills with it. So if you come across an ideal "opportunity" the question is do you let your greed overcome your better judgment of how much power you really have left? Or do you take a gamble for a potential haul of a (or more likely "that" ) lifetime... THAT is the core foundation Hardwar is built upon and it's at it's finest with a cell #4...

On top of this you have your engine selection which is a constant draw on your power. You will see that pairing up an engine #1 with an cell#3 will allow the ship to fly at half throttle and still give a surplus in charge. And this is before software upgrades take into effect... so you can go almost 3/4 throttle and still have a surplus charge.

Engine stats are like this:

Engine #1 is by far the most efficient engine for the thrust it provides, it's also the lightest as a bonus further benefiting it's design. It's also got the lowest output though, but for traders and scavengers where time is money, and sitting in a light well with a full load is a very bad idea, there is none better.

Engine #2 has the highest idle draw, but it's full throttle power draw is more efficient than an engine #3. So If your constantly flying around at high throttle this is the engine for you. It's great for doing ore runs because it's slightly more efficient than an engine #3 but more thrust performance than an engine #1, and you want to get their and back in one trip without having to stop to recharge in light well at relative speed. It's weight is right smack in the middle of the other engines making it a good compromise for thrust/power usage. (note the power usage difference between #2 and #3 is small, but enough to be noticeable in combat.)

Engine #3 offers the highest thrust output, but it also has the most full throttle power draw. However it also has the least power draw at idle, making it ideal for ambush style get in and get out tactics. Users often in combat with this engine almost have to have a cell #2 to survive for any length of time.

Additionally each number of engine offers different directional thrust outputs, however they all use the same power despite the performance boosts of each higher numbered engine. So heavy moths like a deathshead or a hawk, should almost always mount a high level engine just to maneuver into hangers and such.

The overall weight of the engine has to push around effects your energy millage too. Choose a lighter moth, pod, and other equipment to make a surprising difference. And hauling around heavy things like ore will pummel your efficiency.

All too often I think people buy a hawk, or neo tiger, slap an engine #3 and cell#2 in the thing, point the moth in the direction they want to go and floor it. After a couple battles, once their pants are down and vulnerable, they desperately seek out the nearest light well and go sit it in it for a while hoping no one comes after them, and then they go out to do it all again. But do you realize who else flies like that? The AI... Food for thought...

Actually, I didn't know about those details about the Cells and Engines. Those are very nice additions. It would be nice if you could have a better overview over your crew, and modify their equipment as to suit their function/skills.

OT: I also saw a que building up in front of Psycho Bobs #2 in one game, since about day 35. Weird thing was, only 1 guy was in the hangar, and whether I went in or out, they all just kept queing. I could kill someone, but they would just move up in the que, but not get in position to enter it..

Also W7 x64 here. Other buildings didn't have that problem btw.

By unmodded exe, you mean 2.01/2.04? No. Unmodded/unenhanced? Yes, same result.