Looking for a Good Colony Location

[Eternie]

I'm at the stage of looking for a good location to build a base again.

Was looking for a river or beach location for the water access. I found a spot which seemed good however had critters spawning every 10 seconds. Which is annoying even just to build a base.
Then thought I'd make a deep harbour for boats to dock and discovered that we get dropped out under ships if there's room underneath.

Past attempts somehow have some how had critters like the rhino spawning over the base and falling into it on a very regular basis.

Is finding a good location just luck? All helpful suggestions considered

[dtt.scanner]

which map are you playing? MP official server Adventure map? Planet Maria Story map?

Finding a good location is both luck and skill, but if you observe migration and spawning patterns before you build, you can sometimes reduce the impact on your colony shield. (Less frenzy from the colonists pulling them away from work.)

I like positioning inside of mountains, because it is a tricky build... you could build a canal to the nearest waterway and have a port hollowed out of the rock... a secret base like Captain Nemo. Many ship designs are narrow/small enough to fit through the factory gate, so you could even size the entrance to open and close with a factory gate to allow ships into the secret base.

If you can combine this with proximity to a map locator (town or event marker) then it is easy for people to FT close to your build. Creatures will not normally spawn in an underground base, and if they spawn above, they just spawn and drop onto the ground above your base. Building an underground base requires a lot of patience and skill, since the ground has to be excavated, colony built, and then cover replaced with the appropriate terrain.

On the Maria map, there are a few places that could prove highly interesting. The giant sinkhole has a pillar of sorts in the middle, and this could be hollowed out and terraformed into a "skyscraper/tower" build out of the natural terrain, with bridges leading to the various caves on the outer wall, if you wanted to do that. I think the Andhera cave also has an "exit" somewhere in that sinkhole, so you could actually use the cave as an entrance path to your tower in the sinkhole. Similar "underground tower" multi-level builds could be made out of many of the mushroom formations, and they provide a natural defense if you use buried laser cannons. (You can build into terrain using the free camera mode, and once you build a platform underground, you can place your turrets directly inside the rock.) I discovered that if they are completely encased, they can shoot freely through the rock to anything that is not blocked by another structure or formation, so you have a nearly invincible defense (even colonists can't reach them to destroy the turrets, so they are immune to colony implosion if you place them out of reach.)

EDIT: the terrain and underground platform has to be in place before you place the turrets. You can't place turrets and then encase them in rock. (You can't place terrain through objects.)

There is also a cavern on the Maria map south of the Giant Tree which is close enough to the surface to actually break through at one point. You could excavate the roof, build a colony on the cavern floor, and then cover it over again with terrain. Access could be via ramps to the surface. The area above does spawn a lot of creatures, and the deep caves do also spawn creatures, so I don't know what the frequency would be in that spot.

Keep in mind that when you build, your colony can, and probably will be attacked by mortar fire, so you want to have defenses set up to protect any position of elevation around you. While very picturesque, you do not want to build under a land bridge. Enemies will use it as a platform to attack you with missiles/mortars outside of range of your own defenses. You could, however, build a colony ON a land bridge, and rain down fire upon the enemies below. Do not build missile or cannon turrets... they destroy your terrain.

Basic builds are easy. Building a platform over water with a gated bridge will protect against any land or water-based creatures. You will need a few turrets or decent colonist weapons to protect from aerial attacks.

Building in the air is also an option. Similar to water bases, they protect against nearly all creatures that spawn on the ground. There is a problem in all builds of occasionally falling through the floor due to load lag. Naturally-generated terrain is not subject to this problem, as it loads before everything else. This is another reason I like using natural terrain features for interesting builds, but you still need a good wall and underground turret placements around the perimeter to really have an impenetrable fortress. A lot of people will say to build turret towers (and this is something that I commonly use for quick builds) however a buried turret cannot be hit by creatures at all, and can hit anything in line of sight, on either side of your wall, if you place them well. FYI there is approximately a 15 block radius for placing turrets, to give you an idea of how deeply you can sink your turret. Once placed, if placed well, they cannot be picked up again or interfered with without digging down to them, since the "interact" radius is much shorter than the placement radius. That makes them very dangerous in PvP, and deadly to any interloping creatures. Even a single turret can eventually take down a Layerback (assuming they don't run away), as long as the turret is out of range of the Layerback's radius attack.

FYI, if you want to build a round colony platform: google a voxel plotter on the internet. Your initial build will probably be dirt block and/or wood. You can get fancy when you have better materials, and have the ability to place voxel blocks unlocked.

Obviously, a tower that allowed for your colony sphere to not interrupt with creatures on the ground would have to be quite high in the air. The full radius of the sphere is approx 165 blocks at max radius, and you would want to clear the heads of tall creatures... so figure building at least 200 blocks off the ground for an effective aerial build.

Edit: If you have an aerial build, you always want to have a charged jet pack, parachute, or glider equipped... in case you fall for any reason.

[Eternie]

Wow what a great description thank you dtt.scanner.
Lots of ideas there, wouldn't have thought of the sinkhole as a base as it is very large!

I'm playing story mode on Maria in Single player. I have done about five or six new starts often getting to the colony ... then slowly becoming unhappy with the location or the results. Critters spawning over the base and dropping into internal rooms such that colonists attempt to get between walls to get to the critters.
Finding the colonists not finding their way ... with my too complicated build. Trying to build up to 6 to 8 levels to make the most of the sphere of protection. With pyramid shaped levels with ramps running up and down either sides.
Several starts were near mining ores with a tunnel dug to bring water to under the base. That would be easier if the square digging tools could be rotated to align with terrain ... rather than just north - south direction. With closest water often being at 45 degrees and making terrible tunnels.

I realised that Marble is the most common material ... just from the amount I've harvested.

I thought voxels were available straight away ... or at least didn't notice that they became available at one stage and have used them several times. They do look way more natural than just the normal blocks.

I did start digging into a mushroom in one restart ... that does take so much digging ... probably time to upgrade to diamond tools as copper ones were way too slow. Is there any difference in digging speed with different tools? What are the best digging tools?

Was a bit dissapointed that ramps created going upwards force a step between ramps whereas that doesn't happen if starting ramps from the top and ramping down.

[Eternie]

Tried the cave near the Big tree ... Kept getting the message the rules of colony building prevent building underground. To open the cave roof up up to be considered Not in a Cave would require removing an area 200 to 400 blocks wide over 60 to 80 blocks deep and probably still not work. Removing that much terrain would probably also cause loading issues.
Will have a play in some mushrooms or the sinkhole.

Pity that the devs do all this just to create drama with endless attacks ... for no reason.

[Eternie]

Very dissapointed that we cannot use caves like the one near the large tree. It has so many levels would be excellent as a base. (Even if it would need a load of digging out!
For a game that is a sandbox builder to have silly rules due to enemy AI not finding us ... so what ... who needs or wants constant attacks. That is a developer misconception of what their job is.

[dtt.scanner]

The trick to building is that the area directly above the equipment has to be completely clear in order to place the equipment. You can't "tuck it into a corner." If you knew, or planned out the entire placement before hand, you could excavate just those spots directly above where the equipment would be placed, according to the size of the equipment footprint. Once covered, you would not be able to move anything without digging it out again. I never really explored that cave... just made a mental note of it, and that it seemed interesting. It is rare to have one of these caves actually have an opening to the surface.

Obviously, it still requires a lot of digging, and YES, you want to have the best digging tools. In adventure mode that is energy tools... in story mode I think the max is diamond tools. If you are clearing terrain, a shovel has a larger hit box, but if you are gathering materials, a pick has a higher yield. The higher level the tool, the better the hit box and the more damage it does per hit. You can also increase the efficiency by increasing your stamina, chop/dig power and comfort using different types of clothing sets. Finally, you can enhance the tools to improve the damage per hit, making it even faster, using the enhance machine.

I usually play on the MP server in adventure mode, with skill tree active, so you have to unlock the skill to place the terrain. I think you are correct that in story mode you can place terrain voxels right from the start, if you have the materials.

There is a trick to getting more resources that you may be interested in: There are five types of terrain blocks that you can place: dirt (grass), sand, stone, limestone, and marble. When you use resources from your inventory to create these blocks, and then use a pick (always use a pick to get resources) to excavate them back into inventory, you gain many more resources than it takes to create the terrain voxels. So, if you want to build with particular materials (I personally like the whiter shade of limestone), you can purchase as little as 2 from a vendor, and then have an infinite supply by placing that terrain type and mining it back up again.

A nice benefit is that you get trace elements of other materials, just like digging in normal terrain. You will pick up a lot of copper from limestone, and iron is commonly found in marble, in small quantities.

I create a stack of voxels (on a platform above the ground so that I don't disturb the natural terrain) using the size of the pick (1x1, 2x2, 3x3) and as high as I have resources to make it (max is 40 voxels). Jet pack or use ladders to climb to the top and then use gravity to move you as you mine down the stack. Using this method, you can gather a large amount of building material without having to destroy anything in the process. You still have to mine for ores and chop for wood, but common building materials are basically free and unlimited, and you don't have to hunt for deposits.

PS. I did say that underground builds were difficult!!

PPS: if you make a platform the footprint size of the equipment, you could mark the corners and put a stack of blocks all the way to the surface, so that you can see exactly where you need to dig. Of course, you need to know the footprint of each piece to mark the spots. If you are doing several stories and have certain equipment directly above others, that would reduce the amount of digging you would need to do.

I don't know if it is still there, but you might still be able to see one of my mountain fort builds on the VS server (Team 2), if you log in on team 2 and fast travel to the colony. It was not complete... I was still excavating the lower level when I got side-tracked by another project, but you can get the idea. Don't forget to use free camera to see the defensive platforms and other hidden things (strategic placement for PvP). You can also log in on Team One with another character and try to assault it to see how effective the defenses are, if you are inclined to give it a go. Mainly, just to show you that something can in fact be done in that type of terrain that can be quite interesting and defensible.

[Eternie]

Did some preparatory work in the sink hole. Made an arch bridge to get to the middle. Cleared out at a level where the I would contemplate placing the core. Did that before I checked out the width of the sinkhole. Which at a radius of 150 - 160 blocks would be further than the shield can reach; even with all upgrades. Also with the central hub being close to the width of the initial shield. That would suggest to get shield support near the floor the core would need to be placed quite low in the hub.

So although it is an interesting idea the amount of digging makes it off putting. Then again maybe I need to build it more than dig it. As it is better to be higher than any attacking enemies

I find it a pity that if I play in build mode that I cannot play on Maria, Such that testing a build ... say in sinkhole would be handy.

[Eternie]

Dam just realized all the machinery we need to place especially the fusion plant is so F'ing huge. With no real way of discerning what we need. Some that won't place without power ... other parts that need to be within a certain distance of something else and no way to learn all that without playing guessing games or continuously swap playing between build mode and game. So much for the thought of placing stuff inside a contained area. Of course also any that get placed incorrectly will lose 10% if I need to relocate them ... so need to continuously save and reload.

Even the wiki only states what half the machinery sizes are, (and don't mention any other restriction for placing), the rest need to be guessed at or create a 3D block ruler to measure each against. Hrmmm

[dtt.scanner]

You kind of have to keep your own notepad as a builder. When you are in a build/create world, you can place all of the equipment and measure the dimensions. The Fusion Plant is by far the largest, and I usually place it directly beneath the core, so that it covers the largest area inside the sphere. Once you have the measurements you simply mark that size on the floor, post the corners and go mark the next piece. You don't need anything to place the building blocks... it's only the actual placement of equipment that is restricted. Essentially you can lay out your entire city before placing any of the equipment. When laying out the floor plan, I usually use a different color block to mark where the equipment will sit. If it bothers you to have mismatched tiles, you can replace the colored blocks just before you place the equipment. It helps to have colored tiles or border blocks to place the equipment exactly in the space. I have building ISOs that I use for the core pad and fusion pad, so I don't really recall the exact dimensions... I just place the pads and build out from there. I want to say the fusion pad is 28x32 and is ~28 blocks high (three stories high if you build your floor levels 10 blocks apart). BTW you can use ramps to do odd distances, but the object stairs are 2 blocks high, so building in even numbered levels is recommended if you want to connect with stairs. I think the core pad is 22x25? but it has another 3 blocks jut-out on one end. In any case, it is a good idea for fast building to actually save the dimensions in an ISO. The core has a depth of 2 blocks into the floor... meaning after you place it you can't change or add anything within 2 blocks beneath it. Make sure, if you are building anything directly beneath it, that you finish that before placing the core. This is why I use a platform and place the core pad on top of it, giving it a depth of 2 blocks. I then don't have to worry if I am doing something on the level below. All of the rest of the equipment has a depth of 1 block, but I think a few have a depth of 0 (i.e. you can replace the blocks directly beneath it). You have to experiment with this.

I don't recommend building underground as your first build.
Building underground is one of the hardest things you can do. Channeling water is probably the hardest, because it is extremely hard to control. You could easily flood your entire base if you miscalculate the elevation. It is also very difficult to 'pipe it in" where you want it to be. You may actually want to do the water first, to build the channels and see the level where the water is stable, before building anything else... assuming you already have a good grasp of the rest of the build. You can only channel water using terrain, and once you place terrain you have to dig it up if you make a mistake (unless you use ctl-z immediately after placing it to undo before you exit build mode).

Most of the equipment requires power to run, with the exception being the beds and the farm plots. You may place those anywhere in the sphere. That makes a city build essentially a core industrial area with surrounding homes/cottages/farms. The incubator has to be in the powered section, but it will farm any fertilized unoccupied block within the sphere. You can also manually fertilize and plant outside the sphere... so you can "decorate" with plants around your base... even build a "garden" of sorts... outside the sphere and it won't be interfered with by your incubator or harvesting. There is really a great deal that you can do that most people probably never think about. One of my friends liked to build racetracks in the desert with obstacles like jumps and moguls for rocket-assisted bike racing.

[Eternie]

Thanks Gladi8er65 that does help a lot
Your pictures really tell a story of your whole build. The building itself is probably a bit like one of my restarts with several improvements and a great layout. Neat idea with the turrets on the second level for easy access to repair from the inside.

I agree with both of you on changing the block colours to define positions of machinery and putting corner pillars up to outline the large fusion plant.

Boy this is going to give me some stuff to work on. I have levelled part of the hub in preparation of building the base in the sinkhole. It does seem like a good location. Being a round wheel hub I'll may see if a round or hexagonal building can work .... though I'm a bit skeptical about that.

In steam screenshots there are a couple of a build in the sink hole with it like a village with separate houses. Good inspiration ... now where did he have the power plants.

[Gladi8er65]

Originally posted by Eternie:

Thanks Gladi8er65 that does help a lot
Your pictures really tell a story of your whole build. The building itself is probably a bit like one of my restarts with several improvements and a great layout. Neat idea with the turrets on the second level for easy access to repair from the inside.

I agree with both of you on changing the block colours to define positions of machinery and putting corner pillars up to outline the large fusion plant.

Boy this is going to give me some stuff to work on. I have levelled part of the hub in preparation of building the base in the sinkhole. It does seem like a good location. Being a round wheel hub I'll may see if a round or hexagonal building can work .... though I'm a bit skeptical about that.

In steam screenshots there are a couple of a build in the sink hole with it like a village with separate houses. Good inspiration ... now where did he have the power plants.

Sorry about removing my post from here as, on my end, it looked like the screenshot links weren't properly displayed... I had planned on rewriting the whole thing but got busy... Perhaps I will create a community guide as a tutorial... Anyhow as I stated in that post, I find it very convenient and helpful to create and save buildings in Build world and then it's saved and able to be used on any other game mode / map, for a quick easy base when i find somewhere I want to build the colony.

[Eternie]

Originally posted by Gladi8er65:

Originally posted by Eternie:

Thanks Gladi8er65 that does help a lot
Your pictures really tell a story of your whole build. The building itself is probably a bit like one of my restarts with several improvements and a great layout. Neat idea with the turrets on the second level for easy access to repair from the inside.

I agree with both of you on changing the block colours to define positions of machinery and putting corner pillars up to outline the large fusion plant.

Boy this is going to give me some stuff to work on. I have levelled part of the hub in preparation of building the base in the sinkhole. It does seem like a good location. Being a round wheel hub I'll may see if a round or hexagonal building can work .... though I'm a bit skeptical about that.

In steam screenshots there are a couple of a build in the sink hole with it like a village with separate houses. Good inspiration ... now where did he have the power plants.

Sorry about removing my post from here as, on my end, it looked like the screenshot links weren't properly displayed... I had planned on rewriting the whole thing but got busy... Perhaps I will create a community guide as a tutorial... Anyhow as I stated in that post, I find it very convenient and helpful to create and save buildings in Build world and then it's saved and able to be used on any other game mode / map, for a quick easy base when i find somewhere I want to build the colony.

@Gladi8er65 Your post could make a helpful guide for newbies starting out!
I can understand you not wanting to have all of your screenshots in a general discussion thread.
I would suggest in a guide it would be very handy for new players. Especially with making and placing windows and turrets and general colony layout.
Which still makes me wonder how to go about putting windows in ... although I did it years ago. There's always something to nut out.

[Eternie]

Thanks to dtt.scanner and Gladi8er65
Both of you have quite a bit of experience to share and this will help me get started at least I've found my location in the sinkhole. So will see what comes from it.

[Gladi8er65]

Windows are very easy... In replicator go to resources tab and find Glass Small.

Glass Small is a component for many other things including the Assembly core so you should already have that recipe.

When you are in world and press B to build your walls etc., you should see those same glass blocks as one of your options as a material used in building and used exactly the same as building a wall.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1571151686

[Eternie]

Oooh thanks Gladi8er65
That is so simple I have windowed my base with that excellent advice.
So that the colonist can look out and enjoy the view ... and structurally the glass material should add to the building safety? Well with the windows being as thick as a wall ... lol

My next task is trying to work out how to send a sick person to the doctor when they briefly show symptoms but don't ever go to the doctors. Does it help having Dr. Carter in a particular medical device?
Though I could imagine needing to use the doctors would be part of a quest

Having selected the sinkhole as the base will probably make the monorail slightly more involved ... unless I dig it underground .... ehr or is that contravening colony rules again

[Eternie]

Another question ... With the processor when I first set it up and put a load of materials into storage and Allocated a colonist (I think I put Adisa in ) it worked and did a lot
ButI have no idea what or how it worked. Now it does nothing that I can see regardless if I put materials into storage or not.
So the question is how to best use the processor?