Guide to Drives

Drives FAQ.
What all drive types are there?

All ships run off of one of three drive types, combustion, impulse, and hyperspace. From the research page:

Combustion Drive
The development of this drive makes some ships faster, although Each level only increases speed by 10 % of the base value.

Impulse Drive
The impulse drive is based on the reaction principle. Further development of this drive makes some ships faster, although each level only increases speed by 20 % of the base value.

Hyperspace Drive
Hyperspace drive warps space around a ship. The development of this drive makes some ships faster, although each level only increases speed by 30 % of the base value.

What type of drive does ___ use?

A ship uses whatever drive is required for you to be able to build it, with two exceptions, small cargos and bombers after they are upgraded (explained later). Or you could check the list below.

I hear that if I upgrade an drive, my ships will get faster. Is this true?

Yes. Each drive gives a bonus to the base speed of a ship using that drive. Combustion drive adds 10% per level of research to the base speed. Impulse likewise gives +20% per level, and hyperspace gives +30%.

How do I determine the actual speed of my ships?

You have two options. Go to the fleet screen, and hover your cursor over the name of the ship. It should bring up a tooltip saying your current speed. Or you could always use this formula:

Actual Speed = (Base Speed) * (1 + ((Drive Level) * (Drive Bonus Factor))

Drive Bonus Factor is 0.1 if the ship is using a Combustion Drive, 0.2 if using an Impulse Drive, and 0.3 if using a Hyperspace Drive.

So, for example, here is a large cargo's speed with level 7 combustion drive:

7500 * (1 + ((7) * (.1))
7500 * (1 + .7)
7500 * 1.7
=12750

I hear that certain ships change what type of drive they use. Is this true?

Yes, small cargos and bombers do get upgraded. Once you research impulse drive 5, a small cargo's drive is upgraded from combustion to impulse, its base speed goes from 5000 to 10000, and its fuel consumption is doubled to 20. Once you research hyperspace drive level 8, your bombers are refitted with hyperspace drives, their base speed increases from 4000 to 5000, and the fuel consumption remains the same.

No other ship receives such an upgrade.

Do ships use less deuterium with each drive upgrade?

Yes and no. A ship traveling a set distance at 100% speed will use the same amount of deuterium for fuel whether the drive is level 1 or 100. However, if you were to scale back the speed of a ship to approximate the flight time of the same flight with a lower level drive, you will see that you use less deuterium than before.

For example, you are deploying a battle ship from 1:1:1 to 1:1:15. With hyperspace drive level 4, it takes a flight time of 0:40:50 and has a fuel cost of 62 at 100% speed. If you upgrade your hyperspace drives to level 6, the same trip at 90% speed takes 0:40:16 for a fuel cost of 58.

How are IPMs and and Impulse Drives related?

Your IPM range is dependent upon your impulse drive. The forumla is:

Range in Systems = ((Level of Impulse Drive) * 5) - 1

So, at level 5 impulse drive, you would be able to send an IPM a maximum of (5 * 5) - 1 = 25 - 1 = 24 Systems in either direction of your planet.

----

Here's a list of ships, drives, and speeds (Actual Speed is its speed at its required drive level):

Small Cargo
Drive Type (level): Combustion (2) (Impulse (5))
Base Speed: 5000 (10000)
Actual Speed: 6000 (20000)

Large Cargo
Drive Type (level): Combustion (6)
Base Speed: 7500
Actual Speed: 12000

Light Fighter
Drive Type (level): Combustion (1)
Base Speed: 12500
Actual Speed: 13750

Heavy Fighter
Drive Type (level): Impulse (2)
Base Speed: 10000
Actual Speed: 14000

Cruiser
Drive Type (level): Impulse (4)
Base Speed: 15000
Actual Speed: 27000

Battleship
Drive Type (level): Hyperspace (4)
Base Speed: 10000
Actual Speed: 22000

Colony Ship
Drive Type (level): Impulse (3)
Base Speed: 2500
Actual Speed: 4000

Recycler
Drive Type (level): Combustion (6)
Base Speed: 2000
Actual Speed: 3200

Espionage Probe
Drive Type (level): Combustion (3)
Base Speed: 100000000
Actual Speed: 130000000

Bomber
Drive Type (level): Impulse (6) (Hyperspace (
Base Speed: 4000 (5000)
Actual Speed: 8800 (17000)

Destroyer
Drive Type (level): Hyperspace (6)
Base Speed: 5000
Actual Speed: 14000

Deathstar
Drive Type (level): Hyperspace (7)
Base Speed: 100
Actual Speed: 310

Battlecruiser
Drive Type (level): Hyperspace (5)
Base Speed: 10000
Actual Speed: 25000