Note: I assume that the suggestions forum section can also be used to suggest addons, right? If this isn't the appropriate place for that, then can some moderator please move the thread instead of deleting it?
So, I've decided to revive an archived suggestion... specifically this one:
QuoteSuggestion: re-using empty cells
Now, before anyone points out that it has already been denied in the past, specifically by Alblaka-
QuoteCells were coded to be cheap one-use containers, for the sake of simple, stackable coding. No further discussion.
I already know that... but that only means no further discussion for "vanilla IC2", yes? So, I suggest an addon that simply causes empty cells to be dumped/created in a chest (if there is one) that is adjacent to the machine that is "using up the cells." So, for example, if you put a chest next to a canning machine that is filling fuel cans from fuel cells, than the chest will have one empty cell added to it for each fuel cell used to fill the fuel can. This way, coal and bio-fuel energy uses fuel, NOT tin, to create EUs. In fact, the real annoying thing about cells being used up in the process of creating fuel, is that it is an additional, unneeded nerf to biofuel as opposed to coal.
If you do the math it comes out that one bar of tin must be used up per about 11,000 EUs of energy created from biofuel! And since I know no one else wants to do the math that I already did, here it is:
One bio-fuel filled fuel can outputs 26040 EUs in a generator and uses up 6 tin cells, or 1 1/2 bars of tin. However, it costs EUs to compress the plantclumps, and extract the bio cells into biofuel cells. It also means that the plants used to fill the cells can't be used to simply be burned for EUs in a generator. I will consider a scenario where reeds are used to make the biofuel. One fuel can needs 6 biofuel cells, so that is six compressor operations for the compressed plantclumps, six extraction operations for the biofuel cells and foregoing 54 reeds burnt in a generator (6 plantclumps is 6*9 reeds). That is (6*625 + 6*313 + 54*120) EUs or (3,750 + 1878 + 6480) EUs. The total energy cost (not including canning machine) is 9108 EUs just to make the fuel can which gives you 26040 EUs. Thus it really only gives you 16,932 EUs for one biofuel cell filled can. Thus the exact amount of EUs produced per tin is 11,288.
This means that now biofuel, which already gives you only 1/4 the output per effort to make fuel cans of coal, but now it also uses up a significant amount of tin just to produce any EUs?!? I completely agree with how weak the energy per resources used must be for balancing purposes:
-coal is non-renewable and used for many valuable things, so it makes lots of energy when turned to fuel, epecially if you adulterate it
-biofuel takes lots of effort (or use of forestry mod) for the amount of EUs it generates, but uses renewable resources, thus kind of like the water mill, because it is a renewable, but effort requiring energy source
However, the use of cells means that for any energy needs whatsoever, using biofuel is somewhat tin-intensive and thus NOT renewable resource friendly! That completely takes away the point of biofuel. So, if anyone is willing to make an addon that just puts empty cells into chests after machine operations that use up cells (or even just from canning operations to fill fuel cans), I for one, would be very grateful.
Note: I'm assuming here that this addon would be relatively easy to code.
If you don't read the whole post, then please don't make comments, particularly ones like this:
QuoteNope, already denied noob.
Or posts like this:
QuoteCome on, it barely uses up any tin to do anything that requires cells. 8 tin ore creates a whole stack!
Like I said in the whole post, when attempting to use biofuel (not with forestry), tin usage DOES become a significant nuisance, and I'm suggesting an addon, so "denied" comments are pointless.