Thrusters/Engines

Thrusters (Engines)
Thrusters, commonly referred to as engines, are used to move ships across the map. They use energy to move your ship. Currently there are 5 different thrusters in the game.
 * Scout Thruster
 * Bulk Thruster
 * Fighter Thruster
 * Cruiser Thruster
 * Interceptor Afterburner

Each thruster moves the ship with a different speed. Speed is calculated in meters per second (m/s). You may use more than 1 thruster\ in your ship, thus stacking up the speed of them. The thrust of the engines are measured in kN (kiloNewtons), which pushes a given amount of weight in T (tonnes) to give you your final m/s speed. Speed=9*Thrust/Weight

Notable Facts

 * Thrusters also increase the Turn Speed of the ship by a small amount.
 * A ship without an engine cannot be fielded (spawned) in-game.
 * If the engine exhaust is blocked, you will not be able to field the ship in question. (image)
 * Each engine is designed for a specific purpose. That means that the expensive thrusters may not move a specific ship at a higher speed than the lower cost thrusters.

Scout Thruster
Scout Thruster is the cheapest and lightest thruster (tied with the Fighter Thruster) and is ideal for moving scouts/drones and light fighters because of it's low price. Best for when you have a very light ship, usually with no more than a single 1x1 battery. It can also be useful for tuning to the exact speed you want on fighters, since it comes in very small multiples. * These stats will be used in order to compare the thrusters fairly (scroll down to view the comparison table)

Bulk Thruster
Bulk Thrusters are ideal for moving heavy ships at a low speed because they offer a high thrust very cheaply, but have a high weight. A large amount of their thrust goes to moving the thrusters themselves, but can take a lot of extra weight without as much speed loss. They are also by far the most energy efficient engine, making them also good for battery based weapon platforms and designs where minimizing drain is important.

* These stats will be used in order to compare the thrusters fairly (scroll down to view the comparison table).

Fighter Thruster
Fighter thrusters, as their name suggest, are ideal for fighters and generally for lightweight ships that need to move at a high speed, like bombers. They are as light as the Scout thruster but stronger, and offer the second best kN/T after afterburners, making the best engine for fast, light ships. This comes at the cost of a relatively high price. * These stats will be used in order to compare the thrusters fairly (scroll down to view the comparison table)

Cruiser Thruster
Cruiser Thruster is a balanced engine with a high thrust that can move relatively heavy ships and a medium speed for a reasonable amount of energy. * These stats will be used in order to compare the thrusters fairly (scroll down to view the comparison table)

Interceptor Afterburner
Afterburner is a thruster with a high thrust but with a tremendously high energy drain. It takes the output of 3 large reactors to power continuously, which is often the whole power output of even the largest ship. As such, it is best on ships that need to move in short bursts before stopping to regenerate or on ships with massive battery reserves. While it offers a high turnspeed, the mass of the engine itself and whatever powers it will more than offset this advantage. * These stats will be used in order to compare the thrusters fairly (scroll down to view the comparison table)

Comparisons
Here's a table with the efficiency of each thruster and how good it is for a specific purpose and for general use

The Interceptor Afterburner average score indicates its low efficiency. While it comes first at kN per T and kN per dollar, which means the best thrust for its weight and price, it comes last at kN per E/s which means it consumes far more than other engines.

Results
Interceptor Afterburner is not recommended unless your ship has loads of energy resources or can afford to only move in short bursts.

So, without taking the Interceptor Afterburner under consideration since it's a niche use, here are the final results:
 * The highest value of kN per dollar goes to Bulk Thruster, which means it is the most efficient.
 * The highest value of kN per E/s with a huge difference from the rest, goes to Bulk Thruster as well. This means it consumes little energy compared to others.
 * The highest value of kN per T goes to Fighter Thruster which easily dominated on this one, which means that it gives the most thrust for its weight.

Scout Thruster
Scout Thruster features a high thrust for its weight and cost but it consumes some more energy than it should and this is why it is recommended to be used on relatively light and cheap ships.

Bulk Thruster
Bulk Thruster is wildly efficient when it comes to cost and energy consumption but it's also too heavy for a fighter, scout, or drone design. Which leads us to the conclusion that it fits perfectly in an already heavy ship which wouldn't mind the extra weight.

Fighter Thruster
Fighter thruster might not be as efficient when it comes to cost and energy consumption but its low weight and high thrust makes it ideal for lightweight ships like fighters, of course. But remember, it's thrust is lower than the Bulk Thruster's so do not use Fighter Thruster for heavy ships as it is going to be a waste of money.

Cruiser Thruster
Cruiser Thruster is balanced in everything, cost, weight and energy consumption. That's why it's ideal for ships that are neither heavy nor light.

Interceptor Afterburner
This thruster is ideal for huge ships with huge energy resources (see Energy). But beware, despite being too powerful for its cost and weight it consumes way too much energy and that's why it's not recommended to be used on fighters, scouts or drones or any other ship that can't handle the engine drain.