Structural Stability tips?

[.l3lackstar.]

So I've been playing 7D's for awhile now, but just within the last couple of months, I've started building my own homes instead of using a POI all of the time. I don't think I understand structural stability at all. Particularly when it comes to a multi-story building. I've already had a few collapses on some rather nice bases, where the second floor takes everything with it. Tbh a simple beam in the middle to support the floor does the trick, but I hate it aesthetically lol.

What am I missing here? or doing wrong? Building the frame support deep underground is nice, but it obviously does nothing for the support of a second/third floor. Does anyone have any tips or tricks? because my last collapse made me rage quit lmao.

[Clay-Pigeon]

I've had gravitational pockets where blocks behave oddly.
Usually, I believe, because I've hollowed out underground, and even after refilling with cobblestone / concrete it somehow still registers as a week point when building up.
Double block floors seems to help though.

[aY227]

Enter debug mode (F1 / dm / enter)
Than press Esc and on the right side you will see "Show stability"
This should give you overview of building stability.

You can make a copy of a save game
C:\Users\USER_NAME\AppData\Roaming\7DaysToDie\Saves

Not sure what an exact problem you have - blocks have their mass and their horizontal stability - you need support every few blocks, that's it.

[Shurenai]

I did a big ol writeup on this not too long ago.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/251570/discussions/0/3371530631540268241/#c3371530631540580882
Read it over, and watch the video linked- The vido is from A15, so it's a bit old, the mass and max load values presented within are going to be inconsistent with current alpha values. But the actual Mechanics of structural integrity haven't changed since the videos creation, so it is still absolutely a great resource for understanding building in 7DTD.

[.l3lackstar.]

Originally posted by Shurenai:

I did a big ol writeup on this not too long ago.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/251570/discussions/0/3371530631540268241/#c3371530631540580882
Read it over, and watch the video linked- The vido is from A15, so it's a bit old, the mass and max load values presented within are going to be inconsistent with current alpha values. But the actual Mechanics of structural integrity haven't changed since the videos creation, so it is still absolutely a great resource for understanding building in 7DTD.

Thank you, ill check this out!

[.l3lackstar.]

Originally posted by aY227:

Enter debug mode (F1 / dm / enter)
Than press Esc and on the right side you will see "Show stability"
This should give you overview of building stability.

You can make a copy of a save game
C:\Users\USER_NAME\AppData\Roaming\7DaysToDie\Saves

Not sure what an exact problem you have - blocks have their mass and their horizontal stability - you need support every few blocks, that's it.

Tbh I just think I have issue with making it look good without all kinds of supports and things lol.

[Clay-Pigeon]

Originally posted by Shurenai:

I did a big ol writeup on this not too long ago.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/251570/discussions/0/3371530631540268241/#c3371530631540580882
Read it over, and watch the video linked- The vido is from A15, so it's a bit old, the mass and max load values presented within are going to be inconsistent with current alpha values. But the actual Mechanics of structural integrity haven't changed since the videos creation, so it is still absolutely a great resource for understanding building in 7DTD.

So that's where the CPU performance hit comes from.
Jokes aside. Anyone on TFP looking into machine learning for a potential reduction in CPU load ? Probably a crazy idea, but not necessarily a bad one - or the other way around.

[CatPerson]

Not taking this game's stability into account specifically, but remember even in real life there's a reason why buildings are designed the way they are - walls in certain places, or parallel lines/walls re: rooms on one side. You often see homes where people removed walls for a more "open concept" and still left support poles in certain places. If the wall was short enough sometimes a horizontal ceiling support can take the extra load, sometimes not.

In terms of the game, as mentioned, equal numbers of support pillars every certain number of blocks - N, S, E W, not just N and S, so to speak - is usually key. This is going to limit your ability re: having one huge empty space. You need pillars or walls sectioning things off here and there.

And don't get me started on large sloping roofs. I almost never bother with those. Too much work. I've seen people build giant - like city block sized -pyramids for fun, which looked neat, but I have no idea what kind of inner support system they had to keep the top/roof from caving in. I'd imagine it would end up looking kind of maze-like on the inside, with a large center room or something.

[KayDawg13]

you can use frames initially to frame out your build but you should switch to something stronger. the structural integrity, SI, or strength of frames is pretty low, so frame out your initial build and then upgrade them. the higher the upgrade, the better the SI will be. you can make completed blocks from cement mix and place them instead of frames and your SI will be able to support more sideload weight.

[.l3lackstar.]

Originally posted by CatPerson:

Not taking this game's stability into account specifically, but remember even in real life there's a reason why buildings are designed the way they are - walls in certain places, or parallel lines/walls re: rooms on one side. You often see homes where people removed walls for a more "open concept" and still left support poles in certain places. If the wall was short enough sometimes a horizontal ceiling support can take the extra load, sometimes not.

In terms of the game, as mentioned, equal numbers of support pillars every certain number of blocks - N, S, E W, not just N and S, so to speak - is usually key. This is going to limit your ability re: having one huge empty space. You need pillars or walls sectioning things off here and there.

And don't get me started on large sloping roofs. I almost never bother with those. Too much work. I've seen people build giant - like city block sized -pyramids for fun, which looked neat, but I have no idea what kind of inner support system they had to keep the top/roof from caving in. I'd imagine it would end up looking kind of maze-like on the inside, with a large center room or something.

You know.. I didn't consider sectioning off spots and making rooms. Which is funny.. because I do that with my horde bases ..I do like the open spaces, but having a room or two would solve some problems. My horde bases have never failed me....only my homes lol. wow

[Kattla]

One thing i used to do, is to make sure my more valuable stuff are stored in containers that have full support all the way down to bedrock, or at least to the ground.