Allow two or more blocks to occupy the same space

[BenieTheDragon]

Currently, you put a block, say an angled window in an area. You also want to put a flat window in the same space, to simulate having double pane glass. But the game will not allow this. You're not allowed to have two blocks in the same space.

Why not? I think we should be allowed to do this.

[RoboLamp]

Yes. Good idea. But you have to think that some blocks in good posisions can look cool in the same space. But! What if there is two identical blocks in the same place. It would either crash the game, glich out or explode (beacause of the coding that two things in the same area would cause collision.). But i know what you mean, and it would be cool. So therefore i like it.

[BenieTheDragon]

I'm sure there would be some collision issues. But the way you build stuff now, I just don't see why it's not possible. It just hurts my creativity when I can't do things like this.

[RoboLamp]

Thats true. This is a game for creative people... so why hide some of the things the people can use. Maybe they havent thougth enough on that... well thats why you are commenting on this. So they can think over it. (Hopes it becomes real.)

[Bozzman]

What needs to happen is the collision box for a part needs to be calculated by its model, and not by the standard 'block' size.

I just want to put an interior light above a catwalk - is that too much to ask? haha

[4onen]

The issue isn't with collisions or explosions, its with saving. The game is saving like Minecraft, in that each block has an ID that tells you what block is there, and some metadata for rotation and contents. Mods for Minecraft have worked around this one-block-per-block by using the extra metadata for contents to store additional blocks. However, so-called "microblocks" that allow more than one sub-block into a block rely on the game being able to load and render the metadata quickly. If the server lags, the microblocks will dissapear or randomly swap.
Space Engineers can be likened to an incredibly laggy minecraft server, because each ship is a chunk and each asteroid is several chunks. There simply isn't enough speed to load the metadata and perform the same calculations on those sub-blocks as all the other normal blocks.
For now, anyway.
TL;DR: Minecraft modders solved it, SE is too slow for the solution right now.

P.S. Minecraft modders didn't even solve it until beta, so I wouldn't expect similar mods for SE until then.
P.P.S. Block's collisions aren't computed by "block" size, they're saved by "block" size.

[BenieTheDragon]

In other words to your reply, 4onen, is hopefully if a SDK for SE is released in the future (probably the far future) to allow modders to get to work, is the only way to have this.

[4onen]

Yeah, probably.
Basically, minecraft multiblocks can be thought of as placing down a chest, then using each block inside the chest for rendering the block at where the chest should be. The metadata (for torch rotation and stuff) is stored in the damage values of the objects in that 'chest.'
The lighting system bugs out around mutliblocks, but it's way prettier for fitting piping systems under certain circumstances.

EDIT: I'm sure it would be possible to implement all the existing lighting and physics systems from SE into a multiblock structure, because somehow modders got REDSTONE of all things to function under multiblocks, but the computations and memory requirements would be INTENSIVE (more than SE already is) so I can't see proper connection of the multiblock to all SE physics without divine developer intervention.

[Pacifist Floran]

a simpler (but not nececarily better...) solution would be to have certain compatable 'pairs' of blocks, like a vent window and a glass window, be replaced by a third block (not listed in the build list to save on clutter) when combined while under construction...

The only down side this would have is the same one "more half blocks", "slope block" and "more stairs" mods for minecraft ran into: dozens of new blocks needing to be added to the block table to acomodate the variations, and prior to the Forge mod's apearance during beta, toomany for the engine to handle.

i worry the same might be true here.

[4onen]

That's why they moved on to metadata and damage values for storing additional blocks.
In creative minecraft, there were 16 colors of wool however Minecraft proper didn't get the 16 colors until beta 1.2_1. Why? The block table couldn't handle it.
And back then it wasn't a block 'table' it was a block 'index' that could only store... What was it... 128 different block types.
I think.

[Pacifist Floran]

64 in some of the pre-alphas like indev, 128 in alpha and most of beta, 256 in the remainder of beta after the world save format was changed. no idea what it is now.

at least i think those were the numbers... could be wrong, it's been a few years...

[4onen]

I'm pretty sure it's 1024 now, plus 1024 in damage values per block.

[Pacifist Floran]

either way, point is, this kinda thing has been done before a few different ways, and they all have their issues that SE is not yet equipped to deal with.

[General Furry]

any mod that does that in 2023? or they didnt fixed it yet 10 yrs after?