Technology · Item
Power cables
Small power cables carry 10 kW, large ones 250 kW: laid in a line from what makes power to what uses it.
In the game
How to get it
At the metal mill: 4 copper wires and an insulation give 8 small cables; 8 copper wires and 2 plastic or tar give 4 large cables. Lay them like a trail from port to port.
What it is for
Bring power from generators, panels, turbines and batteries to lamps, machines and motors; the hyperbaric press needs a large cable.
Why it exists
Power is useless where it is made. Two sizes only: the small one for a home and a workshop, the large one for heavy industry and long distances.
The same text the game shows in its progress tree and on the item's sheet (I).
Electricity in Openworld has a voltage and a current. Cables carry it from whatever makes power to whatever uses it.
How to get them
| Cable | At the metal mill | Gives | Carries | Span without a node |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small power cable | 4 copper wires + 1 insulation | 8 | 10 kW (400 V) | 5 km |
| Large power cable | 8 copper wires + 2 plastic or tar | 4 | 250 kW (10 000 V) | 200 km |
Insulation: leather, fur, wool, a fabric, plastic or tar.
Laying them
- Hold the cable and lay it from one port to another, like a trail.
- A cable never divides: to share power, place a Junction.
- Past its current a cable trips for 5 s, like a breaker.
- A small and a large cable meet only through a Transformer.
Colours
A dye vat colours up to 16 cables per dye in 4 s (bone meal takes the colour off). Colour is only a label: a red cable joins a blue one of the same size.
Why it exists
Big plants send their power far on thick, high-voltage lines; a home only needs a thin one. Copper makes cables and transformers expensive: power is a real investment.
On the progress path
EN2EnergyMain path
- BeforeEN1 · Generator
- This stepEN2 · Cables
- NextEN3 · Aluminium