Can you really build however you want?

[Browser_ice]

Or the layouts of things have specific limited locations to be built on?

[JohnnyGoblin]

You can build wherever you want so long as you put down some sort of Hearth

[RPG Gamer Man]

Originally posted by Browser_ice:

Or the layouts of things have specific limited locations to be built on?

Yea, just got the game myself and i can build anywhere. Heck i buit a candleabra in the middle of a dark room, away from my camp. Pretty cool actually.

[Tristan Kalaman]

You can pretty much build in any area, but for the majority of items you'll need to be within the range of a hearth for them to be built (this includes walls, doors, etc), when trying to place down an item it will say if it needs a hearth or not.

Otherwise there is a small amount of items that can be built without a hearth. Floors, some light sources, platforms, rope ladder platforms and piers.

In sandbox the hearths tend to unlock more building options, so always try to build the next largest hearth you can if just to unlock more recipes. You can deconstruct the hearth if it is not needed.

Some building items will however require to find the 5 forges, they too unlock some building recipes.

Lastly, ingots can also unlock certain recipes as well, ingots are random drops from enemies and chests.

[william_es]

You can free build anywhere you want, with the exception of certain areas that are protected.

It's also possible to repair existing structures.

Many of the buildings in the game that seem to be part of the map, are actually built out of separate parts. You can dismantle and rebuild whole sections of buildings, which is really cool. It's also possible to repair damaged parts, and the they will change appearance as they are restored. Scarred damaged crumbling parts become clean, shiny, and new looking.

My main base started as a 2 story pre-existing structure with a roof. The second floor was mainly open air, with railings. I destroyed the railings and replaced them with solid walls. I added a staircase on the second floor (all of these were parts players can build), and then ripped off the entire roof and built a 3rd floor. Then added a roof back on top of the 3rd floor.

I built foundations in front of the building to make a courtyard, and then across from my base building I started to build a completely new building, as a workshop. Started as one story, and eventually reached 3 stories high. I added a skybridge linking the two buildings.

The only downside is that the only rotation for parts is 90 degrees at a time. Some of the existing buildings are at different angles, and it's impossible to rotate player parts to exactly match. But a lot of structures are on the same alignment as player parts will be. The entire part I described above perfectly lined up with parts I built. It was literally impossible to tell what parts were already there, and which ones I added later on.