The fuel consumed when moving a starship at warp speed can be calculated by the use of the formula on this page.
It should be noted that the fuel use estimate in the Client application does not employ all of these factors in its calculations, nor does it properly implement all of those factors that it does employ. It is an estimate only, which, under certain circumstances, may be inaccurate. A list of the known errors in the client's fuel estimate can be found here.
The mass of a starship when it moves consists of the following:
The sum of the above masses is the total mass to be moved.
These masses are checked after the following events in the Host Order have occurred:
For most starships (those not traveling with a Command Ship), the following events also occur prior to the fuel usage calculation:
The formula for fuel use of moving a mass is as follows:
Fuel Use = TRUNC((Fuel Factor) * TRUNC((Total Mass) / 10) * TRUNC(Distance Traveled) / (Max Distance Per Turn) / 10000)
The "Max Distance Per Turn" is the square of the warp speed with normal engines. If the starship is equipped with a Gravitonic Accelerator , that value is doubled. More information on engine tech vs. starship distance traveled cab be found on the starship engines page.
Looking at the above equation, it can be seen that a Gravitonic Accelerator doubles engine efficiency.
If the fuel required to get to the turn's waypoint is greater than the fuel available, the actual distance traveled will be prorated. As an example, if a specific 60 light-year trip requires 12 KT of fuel, and the ship only has 11 KT of fuel, the actual distance travelled will be 55 light-years, even if the ship could travel 59 light-years with the 11 KT fuel it has.
Fuel Factor Engine W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 W9 Stardrive 1 100 800 2700 6400 12500 21600 34300 51200 72900 Stardrive 2 100 430 2700 6400 12500 21600 34300 51200 72900 Stardrive 3 100 425 970 5400 12500 21600 34300 51200 72900 SuperStarDrive 4 100 415 940 1700 7500 11600 24300 31200 72900 Nova Drive 5 100 415 940 1700 2600 10500 14300 23450 72900 HeavyNova Drive 6 100 415 940 1700 2600 3733 12300 21450 72900 Quantum Drive 7 100 415 940 1700 2600 3733 5300 19450 42900 Hyper Drive 8 100 400 900 1600 2500 3600 5000 7000 42900 Transwarp Drive 100 400 900 1600 2500 3600 4900 6400 8100