Not sure if/how it can be done.
I've only simulated multiple engines by adding exhausts, not engines.
If it can be done, I'd suspect that perhaps changing some engine value in the constants.ini file would do it, but I have no idea which one.
(The entries with a semi-colon are not used in standard Freelancer, but are valid entries, simply add an equal sign, and a value.)

[EngineEquipConsts
CRUISE_DISRUPT_TIME = 5
MAX_DELTA_FX_THROTTLE = 0.250000
THROTTLE_STEADY_TIME = 0.500000
THROTTLE_ATTEN_MOD_RANGE = 8.000000
DELTA_THROTTLE_ATTEN_MOD_CHANGING = 8.000000
DELTA_THROTTLE_ATTEN_MOD_STEADY = -1.000000
CRUISE_STEADY_TIME = 2.000000
DELTA_CRUISE_ATTEN_MOD_STEADY = -1.000000
CRUISE_ATTEN_MOD_RANGE = 8.000000
CRUISE_DISRUPT_TIME = 10
;MAX_DELTA_FX_THROTTLE
;THROTTLE_STEADY_TIME
;THROTTLE_ATTEN_MOD_RANGE
;DELTA_THROTTLE_ATTEN_MOD_CHANGING
;DELTA_THROTTLE_ATTEN_MOD_STEADY
CRUISE_STEADY_TIME = 5
;DELTA_CRUISE_ATTEN_MOD_STEADY
;CRUISE_ATTEN_MOD_RANGE
;MAX_ENGINE_FX_THROTTLE
;CRUISE_DRAG
;CRUISE_ACCEL_TIME
CRUISING_SPEED = 400


Edited by - warzog on 4/7/2006 9:30:37 PM

Why would you have more than one engine mounted on to a ship? Surely you could just add to the num_exhaust_nozzles and get all of the effects working ok?
I think i heard somewhere that there is a maximum of 8 nozzles, but i'm really not sure.

Edited by - M-A-C-E_166 on 4/7/2006 9:25:23 PM

Maximum is 12 exhausts.
The Drayman, and Galaxy ships, in my Wing Commander FL v2.7 mod, both have 12 working exhausts.
The Drayman is supposed to have 14, but FL won't let it.
(Placed marker lights over the last two engine exhausts)

Watch your 6!

I have a ship that has over 40. It does work in FL, you just need to name the hardpoints after HpEngine09 with an extra 0, i.e HpEngine010.

@Vital - you can destroy the other engines with {destroy_hp_attachment} put in a fuse that is activated by the engine collisiongroups destruction. btw i went through and enabled all the engine collision groups myself not too long ago - but i didn't observe the effect you describe. anyways i eventually gave up on it as counter productive to balancing my mod since mod ships can't be disabled like that, and eventually i decided to remove all fighter subgroups to put new mod ships and original FL ships on a level playing field.. but thats just my 2 cents

@ Vital, the vanilla ships come with destructable engines as it is, thats what the Simples and CollisionGroups are for. However what you and everybody else is forgetting is that HpEngine is the exhaust hardpoint and not the engine's. The engine isn't even attached to the model as it uses a ghost hardpoint that doesn't exist inside the mesh, only by destroying all of the exhausts on a ship will it be helpless. Like CV said this will only work on vanilla ships as the custom ones don't have the destructable parts in the meshes.

**shuffles of with a new headache**

I'm a bit confused though, in Omega 11 when radiation is quickly eating up your ship, as soon as the engine blows up the ship is destroyed too. So, whats all that about?

ya - anyways, destroy all the hpattachments on the engine points and that should kill the ships ability to move - outside of thrusters. BTW have you noted that opening the inventory when an engine is destroyed = crashola? same thing with shield hardpoints on destroyed groups

Edited by - Cold_Void on 4/8/2006 4:27:46 PM

@ M-A-C-E, it's called collateral damageI try and avoid fire fights in radiation zones as I usually end up sucking vacuum, the ships just don't last long with both radiation and weapons damage.

@ Cold_Void, I wouldn't know as when my ship starts to loose bits I'm normally to busy trying not to die to look at my inventory screen.

@ Vital, there may be a way of getting what you want but I haven't tested it myself so I can't guarentee it, and it won't work on custom ships. In the Goods.ini are a pile of packages-

[Good
nickname = gf5_package
category = ship
hull = gf5_hull
addon = ge_gf5_engine_01, internal, 1
addon = ge_fighter5_power01, internal, 1
addon = ge_s_scanner_01, internal, 1
addon = ge_s_tractor_01, internal, 1

If you cross reference each package with the shiparch you'll see how many exhausts the ship has, you then stick an engine on each engine hardpoint like this-

[Good
nickname = gf5_package
category = ship
hull = gf5_hull
addon = ge_gf5_engine_01, HpEngine01, 1
addon = ge_gf5_engine_01, HpEngine02, 1
addon = ge_fighter5_power01, internal, 1
addon = ge_s_scanner_01, internal, 1
addon = ge_s_tractor_01, internal, 1

However if the ship has only one exhaust then don't change the package, you will also have to do this to every ship loadout as well.
Atm every ship with more than one engine will go at warp speed when you use the engine kill key. This is the part I haven't tested so I don't know if it will work or not, each entry in the shiparch has a "linear_drag" setting, what you need to do is multiply this number by the number of engines you have on the ship. This should stop the warp speed but it will probably drop the speed on the thrusters as well, my only real concern is what happens when an engine is destroyed, will the ship drop a lot of speed or will it take of at warp. Like I said I haven't tested this myself so please no comebacks if it doesn't work.

no comebacks

@Nightstalker67
1.What do you think is the maximum?
2. Why does your ship have so many exhausts?
3. Can you give us a picture?