If I am tearing down a damaged wall, why must I repair it first?

[Allworld]

I enjoy ICARUS. Maybe there is something I am unaware of but it annoys me that when I destroy/dismantle a damaged wall it tells me I have to repair it first? Seems counter intuitive.

Example: I want to remove a damaged wooden wall so I press Y to remove it so that I can replace it with a stone wall instead. It gives me a message saying that I have to repair the wall that I will be taking down?

[Gamerzilla]

Because the devs thought it was a good idea. TBH, they have bad ideas they think are good alot. The only reason I can think of is that destroying an item gives mats back, and destroying a worn item and remaking it might invalidate repairs. But honestly, why is that a bad thing? Just have a repair station take up little room and cost less than a station that makes new things. Bam.

The real reason is because the devs need as many time sinks in the game as possible to pad an already thin gaming experience, at least in my opinion.

[Rekal]

Why repair a damaged wall that's being replaced? Because damage is not tracked in your inventory for these building pieces. If they were they would not stack on top of each other like the fortification walls won't stack unless they're fully repaired.

It also prevents players from exploiting the building mechanics which are instant in combat. Plop I just put a 4000hp wall in front of you Mr Bear. Look your head pops through while you growl and I get to swing my knife at it. Oh look you've almost broke that wall so pop I'll just pick it up and put a new one down for you.

The fortification walls cannot be picked up instantly but you can still pick them up while they're damaged.

Upgrading tip for you: If you have a repair hammer to repair the wall, it can also be used to upgrade building pieces in place without picking them up first. When holding the hammer all the commands are on the right side of your screen. Hold the R button to bring up the radial menu you want to upgrade the building piece too and then right click the piece. As long as you have the replacement in your inventory they swap without dropping anything sitting on them or breaking structural integrity.

[william_es]

You're right! that's incredibly unrealistic.

Ya know what's also unrealistic, being able to pick up the building parts in the first place.

So, I guess they should take that away. Make it super legit realistic. Then you will be HAPPY!

The real reason you have to repair them is the dev's don't want to have to record to durability for each one separately. If they're at 100% health, they stack. Fortification walls and spikes CAN be picked up while damaged, and it does record their health individually. Which is incredibly annoying when 5 fortification walls end up taking 5 spaces in your inventory.

[Allworld]

All these answers are good. Thanks guys

[Spaceminnow]

To prevent "panic" spamming "Y" to save shelter pieces that are on fire... :)
If a shelter fire starts...
Your prospector must fight the fire another way...! :D lol

[william_es]

Originally posted by Spaceminnow:

To prevent "panic" spamming "Y" to save shelter pieces that are on fire... :)
If a shelter fire starts...
Your prospector must fight the fire another way...! :D lol

Ooh, good point. Being able to pick up building parts is nice, but it could be exploited.

Last thing I will add is plan on carrying a repair hammer all the time. It comes in handy for other things too.

I have a repair hammer on my hotbar at all times, and I don't move it. If you build things out of wood around your map, like ramps and bridges, they take damage over time. You will find them reduced down to a skeletonized version (just the support poles), but they can be quickly repaired back to full form. Stopped to whack them with a hammer few times is cheaper and quicker then making new ones, or replacing them with something more permanent like stone.

[Spaceminnow]

Originally posted by william_es:

Originally posted by Spaceminnow:

To prevent "panic" spamming "Y" to save shelter pieces that are on fire... :)
If a shelter fire starts...
Your prospector must fight the fire another way...! :D lol

Ooh, good point. Being able to pick up building parts is nice, but it could be exploited.

Last thing I will add is plan on carrying a repair hammer all the time. It comes in handy for other things too.

I have a repair hammer on my hotbar at all times, and I don't move it. If you build things out of wood around your map, like ramps and bridges, they take damage over time. You will find them reduced down to a skeletonized version (just the support poles), but they can be quickly repaired back to full form. Stopped to whack them with a hammer few times is cheaper and quicker then making new ones, or replacing them with something more permanent like stone.

I love that^ feature of the game :)
The "shelter" can take a lot of damage...
If the "frame" is still good...

Just repair it^ :)