Building airlock with initial materials

[valenti_scott]

Hello-
Can you build an airlock with the materials you are given at the start of the game? I had assumed that you can. However, I only see one vent...

[JeanDeaux]

You can, but you just pump air into and back out of pipes as storage instead of into a room, as you're likely thinking of on a completed system. One or two pipes can easily hold the atmosphere required in a small airlock.

[valenti_scott]

Thanks for the reply. I'm just wanting a simple room where I can eat and drink in the early game.

So it's not really an airlock, but the room would be evacuated when I enter/exit, and when I'm inside I'd fill the room with O2. I've been playing the game off and on for a few years, and I can figure out how to make this kind of room.

[Blueberry Muffins!]

Build a real airlock, otherwise you're wasting either power or oxygen.

You can operate the vent and doors manually in a single-frame airlock with a one-pipe-segment buffer, crowbar the doors, push the buttons on the active vent, don't bother even placing the control panel yet, let alone stringing or powering it, that's ... not as urgent as food, or air.

[JeanDeaux]

I do the same early game, I make a sealed frame floor (usually a 1 x 2) and use the iron walls and door kits to make what will eventually be my airlock. I'll install and power the active vent and door(s) and seal the room up. With the doors powered, I can open and close at will and use the active vent by hand, turning on/off and controlling direction. I'll get the initial atmosphere after sealing the room either by dropping some oxite or the O2 bottle and get above 20 kpa, drop a flare or two to warm up and there's my atmosphere. Eat, drink, then turn on the active vent and store all that air into some pipes until it's needed again. Once the vacuum is back, I'll hit the doors and exit until it's time to eat or drink again.

Get the placement just right and you can keep your build for your greenhouse's airlock. The advantage to just using the iron walls allows you to continue building on both sides to get your electrical and plumbing as you like them without the mad rush.

[Hitman82]

JeanDeaux's suggestion should work just fine for your early game needs as long as the room is small. You'd only need one active vent if you're on Moon, as I assume you are based on another thread you posted. Make a 1x1x1 with door(s). Add active vent and a bit of pipe to it. Go in the room, close the door(s), dump a little O2 (oxite during day or crack the O2 tank briefly). Open helmet, eat and drink, CLOSE HELMET (haha), set the active vent to pull air from room. Once it's done you'll have 0kpa atmosphere and nil temperature. Turn off the vent, open the door and you now have a safe place to eat and drink.
Edit: two other responses while I typed this, both good answers.

[argenex]

I started a new game and that old method of airlock doesn't work at all.

It constantly ignores the doors and they don't exist in the panel, I gave up after tearing
it down and rebuilding it 30 times.

So I'm forced to wait and build an advanced airlock, but because of all the time I blew troubleshooting something I've literally built 60 times over the last year with no resolution,
well now I'm dead due to lack of water to drink.

[JeanDeaux]

Originally posted by argenex:

I started a new game and that old method of airlock doesn't work at all.

I haven't fired up after the last patch, but I haven't had any issues with either the basic or advanced airlocks, short of multiplayer issues. A solo game shouldn't be giving you any headaches, a multi-player game tends to make the non-hosting player(s) terminal grayed out and unusable.

[valenti_scott]

Thanks for the replies. I'm still on this play-through; I used the method you all suggested of building a "manual" airlock as a place to eat and drink.

I used to always use the method where the airlock moves air to an adjacent room; it makes sense to me now that you can just store the air in a pipe, and I'll save on a vent and piping.

[Limmin]

Restarting my focus on this game recently, I'm doing a new playthrough. I can confirm I just built a simple airlock (not advanced) along the lines described by JeanDeaux, which also follows a steam guide--still valid. Don't even bother with venting the pressurization system except inside the airlock through the controlled active vent. With enough piping, it just stores the small volume of air just fine.

In fact, it's one of the best airlocks I've ever built, in terms of functionality, and using the starter materials to boot.

[argenex]

Originally posted by Limmin:

Restarting my focus on this game recently, I'm doing a new playthrough. I can confirm I just built a simple airlock (not advanced) along the lines described by JeanDeaux, which also follows a steam guide--still valid. Don't even bother with venting the pressurization system except inside the airlock through the controlled active vent. With enough piping, it just stores the small volume of air just fine.

In fact, it's one of the best airlocks I've ever built, in terms of functionality, and using the starter materials to boot.

That's great.
Now maybe someday my control panel will see the doors it's attached to.
But since this has been a problem for over a year and no amount of rebuilding, restarting the game has ever fixed it, I've abandoned the game.
Thanks.

[JeanDeaux]

Originally posted by argenex:

That's great.
Now maybe someday my control panel will see the doors it's attached to.
But since this has been a problem for over a year and no amount of rebuilding, restarting the game has ever fixed it, I've abandoned the game.
Thanks.

You really need some pictures to backup/show-off your issues, especially the wiring connections. The airlock console has been a rock solid performer for a very long time now, I'd really like a look at your setup.

[valenti_scott]

One issue people sometimes have is not having a power controller next to your airlock, and the airlock controller then has access to more than two doors, or more than one vent or sensor.

[Blueberry Muffins!]

When it's finally time to hook up the automatic console and power the doors, use the labeller and name the doors. It makes it hard to get wrong when you're looking for "Greenhouse Outer" and "Greenhouse Inner".

But early on? Like, the first week or three?

Don't bother powering the doors. Don't even place the console. Only thing that needs power is the active vent. Red for i dunno, blue for breathe.

Put the power controller for it indoors, inside the greenhouse so the battery never loses charge in the cold. You can reach steel and full solar on just the starter basic solar with just a little bit of care, turn off devices you're not using and build a real furnace first thing, it's literally the first thing you print, then never use that dog-slow abomination they call an arc "furnace" ever again.

You can use a single-vent airlock on Mars just fine, it's near-perfect vacuum and you're already venting your waste tank for greenhouse CO₂ anyway.