AFTER HOURS / THE ENGINEERING ARCADE

Power Runner

The same battery-powered detour, with room of its own. Road, launch, orbit, photography and a grid-balancing loop.

Looking for Rocket Pong? →

Road → spacecraft → orbit → grid

Where does my power go?

Outrun the backlog. Reach orbit. Bring the grid back into balance.

  1. 01 · Road
  2. 02 · Launch
  3. 03 · Photograph
  4. 04 · Balance
Charge 100%100%
Distance0 / 1,000 m
Backlog gap145 m
Power modeCruise

Reach 1,000 m to earn one orbital booster. The tasks will not follow you to space. Probably.

0 m/sBreak contact with each pursuer.
    Run to a launchpad, guide a rocket to orbit, photograph a fictional planet and balance a fictional electricity grid.
    One battery. A much longer day.

    The backlog is gaining.

    Three pursuers, different tricks. Pick up charge, dodge barriers and drones, and use boost to break contact. At 1,000 m, brake into the spacecraft — then fly it to orbit and bring home photographs.

    Best road run: 0 m · Loops: 0

    Hold Eco or Boost; tap Jump. Click the canvas for keyboard controls. P pauses. Road, flight, photography and grid models use simplified arcade rules, not engineering predictions.

    Open the original power budget calculator
    A small engineering sandbox

    Where does the power go?

    Change a load or its duty cycle. See what it costs in battery life.

    Estimated runtime
    9h 14m
    Average load
    1.95 W
    Battery draw
    2.17 W
    Conversion loss
    0.22 W
    Peak load ceiling ⓘ
    5.15 W

    Radio uses 41% of the average load power.

    How this estimate works

    Average load = Σ(on-state power × duty cycle). Battery draw = average load ÷ converter efficiency. Runtime = usable battery energy ÷ battery draw. Peak load ceiling assumes every load with a nonzero duty cycle can turn on together; it is measured at the load, before converter losses.

    The values are an editable example, not measurements from a project. This simple model assumes constant conversion efficiency and zero off-state power. Enter usable energy after any battery derating; standby draw, temperature effects, startup surges, and changes in efficiency need a more detailed budget.

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