Ion-Beam Accelerators

General Information

UFOpaedia entry

Ion Beam Accelerators Official Entry "Alien flying submarines rely on complex power systems to drive them at incredible speed through the deeps. The basis for their technology is the ION DISPLACER, utilising Zrbite as a catalyst, the engines displae 100 times their own volume in water per second. This enormous power means that the aiens' are capable of outrunning most Earth subs. We can replicate this system of propulsion using aqua-plastics and Zrbite power cells."

Source:

A row of Accelerators, some with Zrbite crystals sitting on them.

Ion Beam Accelerators are the engines for propulsion of all Alien craft. Unless shot down, expect to always see one on every enemy sub. They can also be found stored in the interior evirons of an Alien Colony. Ion Beam Accelerators are a crucial component for researching and producing advanced submarines and Ion Armor.

Some Ion Beam Accelerators contain Zrbite clusters that are worth 50 units of Zrbite. Identifiable by a yellow bar/ovoid superimposed over the base of the Ion Beam Accelerator. Basically, the IBA is a tile, the Zrbite is an object, so the object (Zrbite) will appear on top of the tile (IBA). Ion Beam Accelerators explode when damaged; and being the the only means of obtaining Zrbite, try not destroy these just to kill nearby aliens. IBAs explode when damaged in an unusual pattern: They only have a 1 tile blast radius, but the force of the explosion is (maybe) that of a sonic pulsar.

This item appears in Terror from the Deep. For the UFO: Enemy Unknown equivalent, refer to UFO Power Source.

Notes

• Ion Beam Accelerators cannot be manufactured in TFTD V1.0. They can be manufactured after being patched with the v2.0 update. The Collectors Edition of the game is v2.0 by default.

• Because of their explosive nature, the trick in Enemy Unknown where you could liberate power units of their fuel by destroying them is no longer possible.