Suggestion for players to build more manageable bases

[darkSol]

I sort of stumbled upon a technique for how to put my base together that I thought I would share in case it can help other Stationeers out there.

So one of the early challenges that I ran into was how best to run my wires to all my devices, and keep it organized and accessable. I used floor grates to coneal it, but quickly recognized how tedious it is when you need to make changes, to have to prybar the grates up, and then put them back again, only to have to do it again and again as you continue to tweak things, and so on.

I think most of us probably slap down an area of frames, make that our floor, and then build on that basic platform, and if you're planning to go pressurized, likely that first row of frames is welded up to the 2nd upgrade stage.

I recommend a bit of a different approach however. Instead of that first row of frames being your floor, do one of 2 things. Put a row of frames below that first layer (dig out some if you need to), and weld that lower set of frames up to hold pressure. Then place floor grates on top of your initial layer of frames, and angle grind the entire layer out from under it. Now the grates are your floor, but under that you have a workable area beneath it where you can put pipes and wires.

The second option would be to weld up your initial layer of frames, put another layer on top of it, then your floor grates. This results in a base that is further up off the ground, so that's a personal preference type of thing.

In addition to this method for an accessible sub-level, you should do the exact same thing above your ceiling. This will let you run wiring for your lights, logic circuits, and more piping, etc... You will also benefit from standardizing your room height throughout your base early, and I suggest a 2 frames height between the floor grate and ceiling grate. The reason for that is that you can then access all your rooms without needing to go up and down stairs all the time. It's also helpful for getting primary power from one part of your base and distributing it to APC's or transformers throught your entire base, or likewise piping gas or ventilation etc..

Sorry if I've just posted something that's common knowledge, but for me it was a bit of a revelation once I started using this method, and I wish I'd planned it out that way from the start.

[Zothen]

Theres that fantastic subforum for suggstions. I guess its for...suggestions...

[darkSol]

Uhh, that subforum is suggestions to the developer for additions to the game. This is a suggestion for players. You have a problem with that?

Edit: maybe you needed a TLDR. Sorry, I don't do that. Perhaps try to read at least one sentence.

Edit 2: there, I made the topic heading more obvious. Happy now?

[darkSol]

Here's a couple screens of my in-progress filtration room where I use this technique. Not sure how clear it is, but you can see the stairs down to the sub-level. There's a 2nd level inside the room (benefit of using 2 frame room height). Above that you can see some logic circuits which are inside the ceiling space.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1258124137

This one shows the piping below the floor, it's in the midst of being re-routed, so kind of messy ATM.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1258097366

[Quron]

I agree with your approach, it is highly efficient and easy to add new devices/systems onto the existing ones and even redesign an area quickly. I even made a special 'maintenance access area' where I simply have some stairs to go to the above ceiling and below floor area, with some storages in it. Makes the base nice and clean too!

[Fridge Lord]

Awesome technique DarkSol! A proper maintenance area. I have thought for a while about doing something like this. Especially useful when you build a lot of things and start to run out of space. Because then you have to do a lot of routing between pipes and cables to avoid sticking them up into the air and crisscrossing them, creating unwalkable space in the room. Or grinding out floor frames 1 by 1 when you need to use the floor as routing space, then packing them back up. And of course, if you need to service those components down the road, you risk depressurizing your base, should the area now be pressurized.

We seem to have similar engineering strategies. As always in Stationeers, the best planning is the key to the best and most serviceable systems. Oh yeah, along with a ton of resources :) Once you have the maintenance corridor staged it must feel pretty awesome.

[Ullatec]

Great idea. I was thinking of doing something like this on my next base. My current one i dug down into the ground and was going to do everything at a lower dept, but ive ran into some snags.

I really like the idea of grinding out that one level with floor grating on top of it. I wasnt sure on how i was going to do the access tunnel part and this suggestion is perfect for it.

Wished i could thumb up post #2 of yours. ;)

[Sasquatch]

I can dig it!

[askovdk]

Thank you for sharing.

[Fridge Lord]

Thanks darkSol. This made my furnace room and gas filtering plant much easier and much better. It's a real station now. :)

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1260193386

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1260193450

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1260193485

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1260193537

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1260193572

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1260193592

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1260193642

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1260193697

[darkSol]

That's nice Fridge Lord, your piping looks neater than mine for sure. I have to do some cross-overs, but luckily you can still walk underneath a pipe that's 1 space down from the top of a tile.

My over-all room construction has taken a back seat while I've been trying hard to work out my gas storage system. I think I've got it working now, but I have yet to apply it to all the gasses.

I plan to post a topic with a clear illustration of how I did it, because I think it's a good setup. The idea is that you will have a removable canister that will maintain full pressure, a portable tank, that will be kept full as well (provided you have enough gas to keep it full), and then a primary large tank to take the rest, and safety venting to prevent overpressure, as well as a waste tank set up if you run out of capacity. Takes some analyzers, pumps, and backpressure regulators, along with logic to turn the pumps on or off and keep it all maxed.

[Fridge Lord]

Thanks! Only sad that half my rooms will now take double the steel, because this is too much fun :)

That would be good, do show when it's ready!

[darkSol]

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1261244163

here's the topic I created with details:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/544550/discussions/0/1621726179576996837/

It looks a bit of a mess spread out like that, I have it much neater in my base, though the room is unfinished, and I have to apply it to the rest of my gasses.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1261304554

[Adam De Beers]

advanced base will get you 30 fps max

[Arran Chace]

Originally posted by NickyNick:

advanced base will get you 30 fps max

Spread out more, my first advanced base of 5000+ items but was all build on a very small footprint, rooms bordering each other, whole base was compact as possible, with every option thinkable in it, and FPS rate crumbled from 120+ to a meager 15 FPS...

Now i use as minimal 9 blocks space between big parts of my base, spreading it all much more out, when at one point of my base the other side isnt even seeable due cut-off of the game view range, and my FPS is much higher in my base, around 50 to 60 FPS..

But true, i have big distrances to cover between certain area's like melters and machines, but this again is solved by automatisation/chutes and coveyors, and remote control of these machines by logic circuitry, thus making the big distances in operation a non issue again.

But downside is, it made my 5000+ item base, now a 10.000 item base, still FPS rate is higher as in that 5000 item base..
I now calculate in my builds viewrange, and such... think thats part of designing a efficient base.

[Adam De Beers]

yeah, doable, but we need some game optimization, still early access and I am happy for it