Is there a way to make true flat terrain now?

[Flytrap]

I seem to remember around 2-3 years ago i tried and even the cheat engine method wasnt actually flat, has anything changed, can we actually make terrain that is 90 degrees compared to the core of the world?

[Marck]

That's what the Leveling Block does: It creates a cube of terrain whose sides are aligned with a planet's voxel grid. After its introduction for use in Creative Mode in March 2020, the Leveling Block was also made available in Adventure Mode with the Jet Powered Update in June 2021.

[Flytrap]

Originally posted by Marck:

That's what the Leveling Block does: It creates a cube of terrain whose sides are aligned with a planet's voxel grid. After its introduction for use in Creative Mode in March 2020, the Leveling Block was also made available in Adventure Mode with the Jet Powered Update in June 2021.

Is it actually flat even if i make it a wide area? I recall hearing that it was somehow bugged or janky when it was put into the game

[Blueberry Muffins!]

Is it actually flat even if i make it a wide area?

You know anything large isn't really flat on Earth, either, right? The Golden Gate Bridge is not particularly long, and its towers can't be parallel because the Earth's surface curves under it. The Astroneer planets are smaller, so the curve is in play quicker.

[Marck]

I can't tell, I'm afraid, because I am not a "true flat" enthusiast and don't ever use the Leveling Block myself. I don't understand the desire for it at all. When I choose a location for a base, then I try to build organically by incorporating the given landscape as much as possible, instead of plastering grey concrete parking lots devoid of any vegetation or other features over the planets' surfaces. Not only do I find this much more pleasing, it also saves me some additional work, e.g. for re-coloring such artificially flat grey areas with terrain analysers.

In short, I am sorry, but you either have to experiment with the Leveling Block in the game by yourself or wait until someone else who is in the know answers your questions.

[Flytrap]

Originally posted by Blueberry Muffins!:

Is it actually flat even if i make it a wide area?

You know anything large isn't really flat on Earth, either, right? The Golden Gate Bridge is not particularly long, and its towers can't be parallel because the Earth's surface curves under it. The Astroneer planets are smaller, so the curve is in play quicker.

Yes, i know. But the difference is, that in Astroneer, its *supposed* to actually be flat, hence why its called trueflat. But last time i checked it was a bit jank

Originally posted by Marck:

I can't tell, I'm afraid, because I am not a "true flat" enthusiast and don't ever use the Leveling Block myself. I don't understand the desire for it at all. When I choose a location for a base, then I try to build organically by incorporating the given landscape as much as possible, instead of plastering grey concrete parking lots devoid of any vegetation or other features over the planets' surfaces. Not only do I find this much more pleasing, it also saves me some additional work, e.g. for re-coloring such artificially flat grey areas with terrain analysers.

In short, I am sorry, but you either have to experiment with the Leveling Block in the game by yourself or wait until someone else who is in the know answers your questions.

Ehh, thats fine. Thank you for your response

[Blueberry Muffins!]

Originally posted by Flytrap:

Yes, i know. But the difference is, that in Astroneer, its *supposed* to actually be flat, hence why its called trueflat. But last time i checked it was a bit jank

If you want "true flat" and "vertical" as in "perfectly normal to the gravity vector", well, you can't get that in real life either.

Nothing will stay parallel to any planet's surface, on teeny-tiny planets like Astroneer's ones that's true over any appreciable distance, like, within your avatar's *reach* the curvature shows up.

So, what are you talking about? You can make "true flat" surfaces, that's what flatten control does, that's all it does, make things "true flat". And the alignment mod lines terrain surfaces up with local gravity as close as the terrain grid can represent.

Earth being about a bajillion times bigger than the Astroneers planets means the way "down" literally changes direction with every step is hard to sense on Earth but easily sensed in the game, but there's a word for what you're reacting to: Astroneers gravity is sensible. The planet's small, the planet's curved, you kinda got to give up on anything being flat and vertical over any sensible distance.

[paradox5]

The "true flat" concept of mighty Astroneer's is explained quite well in this video (IMHO):

https://youtu.be/qeWvkxgJRNs?feature=shared&t=55

[Blueberry Muffins!]

Okay, I get it, you can easily make nice level flat floors, and just as easily add nice flat vertical walls if you want, none of that could get much easier, what people are obsessing about is the corners of these walled-in rooms are rough-looking if you don't place platforms or whatever to draw the eye away, or start at one of the six gates so level and vertical align perfectly with the coordinate axes.

[Drinkcup]

The answer is no.

[barbrady123]

I'm not sure what the big issue was with this question, it's valid, and yes you can get " true flat" fairly easy now with the leveling cube. A couple things first though:

- You probably still want to do this at a gate, so that the voxel "grid" aligns fairly well and you don't get your leveling cube at like a 45 degree angle from the planet surface "flat".
- The "janky" part you mention, which is that true flat leveling is not reliable once you take your finger off the mouse or move your character, is still true
- If you are making a BIG area, you'll want to dig down below the surface a bit (or maybe you just want to make your base below a gate underground), because otherwise you'll reach the "edge" of where true flat meets the curve of the planet and you'll run out of roon and/or start having your flat surface above the surface of the planet (typically not what you want).

Anyway, assuming you are at a gate (or close enough that it doesn't matter much), you can use a leveling cube to give you a perfectly flat 2x2x1 area aligned to the voxel grid. I find it's helpful to then move the cube to the sides and branch it out a bit more for a larger working area, but you don't have to do this...

Start your leveling tool based on this area (I just stand on it so I have maximum range all around it) and DON'T move or let go of the mouse button until you've got a good range all around.

Now, because of the "janky" part, you can't just move further out and continue...this is how you get those "wrinkles" that are never 100% perfect. Instead you want to take the leveling cube with you out to the next area to work on and plop down another "perfect" section to continue working on. However, because the leveling cube always gives you 1 voxel unit ABOVE what it's set upon, you want to dig out a little hole first and drop it in there, then use it.

Once you have another "perfect" spot, you can repeat the process (level a large area without moving or letting go of the mouse)...also you can remove the cube and fix the little spot you just dug.

If you keep repeating this process and ONLY working off a perfect start area that the leveling cube created, you can get a really large area perfect. Also, if at any time you find you've made a mistake and you are seeing a "wrinkle", just dig a little hole there, plop down the cube, get a perfect level again in that area, and fix it.

Also be sure you're using the default "flatten" mode, and NOT the Alignment Mod...which will flatten based on the sphere's curve. Also using the "narrow" mod seems to make things easier for some folks.

[Player 1]

I spent some time playing. did the end game from start to finish after each new update. I came to the point where I found that 'flat' isn't the answer but achieving a perfect surface that is contoured to the planet was my answer to a good base. When I could step back and it looked like a giant eggshell that was what seemed to work for me.

[barbrady123]

In that case you just want to use the alignment mod then. My problem with using that is that I also found it a bit janky, and while the instructions I wrote above always give you a fix for problems during creation of "true flat"...there's really no fix when you're using the alignment mod (that I know of) for a flat-to-sphere area. You'll get some wrinkles and there isn't really much adjustment you can do to "fix" large areas.

[Drinkcup]

Originally posted by barbrady123:

I'm not sure what the big issue was with this question, it's valid, and yes you can get " true flat" fairly easy now with the leveling cube.

100% lie.

[Mirakle]

For real, for what the hell you need 100% flat terrain? It is never needed! The point is to have a flat place, not important it is in angle with the core and not following the planet surface. It is more important when in China is dropping a bag of rice to the ground. Too much time for silly things!