Tips for building ship?

[BSNB]

Can I get some tips on how to design/layout of ship before I build it? It'd be nice if there was a way to design the ship before building. Or am I missing something?

[best bulliet target]

are we talking pause the game, build alot with walls, and fill it out with stuff. nit-pick/move stuff and then nod. So you unpause? or are we talking ship hull type of deal? i usally hav a over head plan then use papir (outside the game) and then build, And when i exspaned or need to improve a room.
i also try to do those massive type where everything is dismantled and rebuilt instead of move this here, oh i need to wait to then relocat this. it took forever and didnt work at times.

[Keni]

Be mindful for your airlock and storage. Currently there are no pre design tools. Think a bit forward on placement, and you can create efficient ships easy. Experiment in sandbox mode first until you get the general idea of the inner workings of the ship. General tips I found working for me:

Life support:
- 1 O2 generator for every 6 person
- high traffic and gathering areas should have more o2 gens
- gas scrubbers are less important and can be spaced out, but they help a lot with fires
- more thermal regulators on the top right ship area for high radiation systems

Near airlock area:
- small closeable area to fend of boarders, they will not shoot, until they see you
- plan for at least 2 airlocks, this speeds salvaging and trading
- a general storage unit for logistics boost
- access to medical area
- straight path at least 2 wide to larger storage area and prison, crew can get stuck behind eachother

Storage area:
- easy access from airlock, industry and botany
- check storage direction, the point where your crew operates it, it should have enough space for walking to them
- uncheck direct food consumption on most of them, preferably have a small storage for prepeared food, and only allow for that one

Industry area:
- space for large powernodes due to high energy drag
- space for specialized (proper rules setup) storages, this eliminates the logistics problem almost entirely that everyone is complaining about
- gas scrubber

Botany area:
- should have no power outlets in them (!!!!), they can catch fires during a solar flare
- it produces oxygen, so it can help around crew quarters
- easy access to composters
- specialized storage for food, fibers and biomatter

Kitchen area:
- a spacesuit locker near in case of kitchen fires
- a small storage for quick food resupply
- a gas scrubber and o2 gen near because fires and high concentration of crew

Bridge area:
- quick access from any part of the ship until you can have dedicated crewmembers, in case you have to quickly jump away or attack enemies

Shuttles and pods:
- at least 2 shuttles, preferably more, to speed up trade and transporting
- stop one of the shuttles (button on the shuttle bay), so it is ready at all times for your crew
- at least 2 pod hangars, can be bunched up
- small storage near them with a couple hullblocks for building ship parts

Prison area:
- separate the toilet to increase comfort
- algae for food is sufficient ( this goes for refugees aswell)
- a medical bed only for prisoners
- spacesuit lockers, so they don't wander away when the ship is on fire or loosing air
- arcade machine or jukebox so your crew goes there, and talk to thep for more frequent recruitment tries

Power area:
- at least 2 power generators, one is feeding only the other with oneway power but not the grid
- solar should be cheained oneway and to a battery

[E-Wolf]

Once you have opened the edit mode, you can use the "Sketch" function. This allows you to make a layout without building for real or until you decide to "activate" Sketch.

Also, I recommend you to be sure about your Airlock, Generator, thrusters, and Storage areas, because theses areas are tricky/difficult to relocate.

When planning I cut my ship into half, and start from the rear border in the middle. I put my generator in the rear next to thrusters and a airlock close to a storage are and then start to build the 1st half of the ship, relocating/adding the more easier facilities to move as I grow through my journey.

[BSNB]

Originally posted by E-Wolf:

Once you have opened the edit mode, you can use the "Sketch" function. This allows you to make a layout without building for real or until you decide to "activate" Sketch.

Also, I recommend you to be sure about your Airlock, Generator, thrusters, and Storage areas, because theses areas are tricky/difficult to relocate.

When planning I cut my ship into half, and start from the rear border in the middle. I put my generator in the rear next to thrusters and a airlock close to a storage are and then start to build the 1st half of the ship, relocating/adding the more easier facilities to move as I grow through my journey.

Can I use edit mode in normal gameplay mode with the station start?

[E-Wolf]

You can always use it... it's a help for building and planning your ship.

[BSNB]

I haven't played since the game came out. I think I was using pause before.

[E-Wolf]

Here you go :

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2438907143

[climbingeastofwinter]

It's hard not to just write up a wall of text, when it comes to tips for ship design. In the interest of not making anyone's eyes bleed, I'll try to keep this short.

Efficiency really is key. Building compact and minimizing the number of active components on your ship will minimize power waste (components that are not switched off still consume small amounts of power -- power components also bleed power from their capacitors over time regardless of whether they are being drawn from). Optimizing you logistics (as far as reasonable) can improve the rate at which your crew perform tasks by orders of magnitude -- pay attention to the placement of your stockpiles relative to the work areas, airlocks, and wherever stored supplies will be needed. Consider relocating your main generator early such that it is central to your ship (albeit surrounded by walls to reduce discomfort spread), so that critical devices can more easily be placed within your generator's 5 tile power radius -- anything you can do to reduce the number of power nodes you use to build your ship's power grid will extend the life of your fuel crystals/fuel rods, which can be extremely important in the early and mid game.

On the topic of food, don't turn your nose up at the algae dispenser. Your crew shouldn't have to live off of it, but if you set your kitchen's food item ratios to 8% Meat/Nuts/Vegetables/Fruit, your 4 person crew on harsh mode can survive with 1 kitchen meal every 5-7 days, and algae dispenser meals for the in between days. Toggle off your stockpile 'DIRECT FOOD CONSUMPTION' option, so crew won't just stuff a crate of meat in their mouths. At the 8% setting, and using algae to fill food value needs between kitchen meals, your crew should be able to last something like 30-40 days on harsh mode without any found, traded or grown food, and without consuming the prepared meals you begin the game with. You should be able to quite comfortably research botany, possibly solar power, meat, metal refining and assemblers in the mean time.

One fine tip -- build any area with industrial components in a separate and sealed environment. It will be sufficient to just wall it off against the hull, or even in the middle of the ship, with 'spacesuit door' access and no in-wall vents. This will keep toxic gas from escaping the room, and no fires will start even in the case of an accident.

I was hoping to make this shorter, but some of these tips needed a little explaining I felt, and the whole thing just ballooned. Sorry. Good luck finding your own design style. Once you learn the mechanics, the design process gets a lot less tedious and stressful.

[Storm]

The 8%, is that each "item" 8% of the "prepared meal" 8%?

If I put each item at 8%, then the meal is at 32% (excl. monster and human meat).

I can see the monster meat shows toxins, is it safe to allow a very small amount of that in each meal where the toxins will dissipate (like it is in us humans) or does it build up over time and require medical attention eventually?

I JUST started playing, so still feeling my way around.

Thanks!

[MonkehMaster]

start the game using the mining station if you want to plan out your ship from the start of the game (imo best start as you can plan your ship and you get extra resources after abandoning and coming back to recycle the station), or you can use the ship start and be ready to start moving around the solar systems.

you can edit other settings, like resources, starting research, ect.., but its best to go default to learn the game, after that mess with settings any way you please.

for ship size and shape, thats on you, but "big giant square" always wins in my book, its got the most space and easiest planning, other than that, i usually go for 2x3 which leaves you with enough points for either a 1x2 or 2 1x1's (i prefer the 1x2).

hull stabilizers create more ship health and shields create an extra layer of protection, scanners i barely ever use, jammers keep enemies from shooting you, but you cant shoot at them while yours are active, weapons are just a choice imo.

engines provide carry capacity/mass and travel distance, the more you have the farther you can jump, the more you can store/carry

thermal regulators should be placed strategically to control temps across your ship, ie... a few in each room on your ship, also i personally only use the wall regulators, they take up less space.

airlocked (rooms with zero air, spacesuit doors and no wall vents) wont have any fires in them, ie... fires cant start without air.

airlock (use spacesuit doors and no wall vents) any room with industry machines, dont put any o2 producer in said rooms, this way if any accidents happen, they cant start fires.

most industry machines can be placed ini 1 room, but a few others you may want more than a single machine for it to work on stuff quicker than others, ie... energy refinery (you will need tons of energy rods and hyper fuel), recycler (you will want to recycle all the scrap you pick up quickly), composter (fertilizer is created quite slowly) and possibly water purifier (they produce quickly so you may not need a bunch of them, but having a bunch helps produce them in large quantities very quickly).

airlock (use spacesuit doors with no wall vents) your botany room (the room with grow beds), dont put any o2 producer, but you can add co2 producers in it.

as for the kitchen unit, you could place the kitchen unit in a small airlock (spacesuit door with no wall vents) in your kitchen/entertainment area so it cant cause a fire, or simply close the door vents (regular doors) to that room so smoke cant leave the room, along with placing a o2 producer and co2 remover in the room, i usually place a spacesuit locker in this room as well if you are not airlocking the kitchen unit.

also for your kitchen/entertainment room, i set my kitchen unit ingredients setting to...

(my personal preference in settings)

12% fruits
10% veg
10% meat
7% nuts/seeds

which keeps everything in the green at 101/15/11/20/11/0 and 39%, simply because fruits and veg grow the fastest, meat slightly slower and nuts/seeds grow very slow.

as for the botany room, everything in even numbers except nuts/seeds being slightly more, to try and compensate for how slow they grow, and maybe 1 grow bed for fibers to create soft blocks or another source of fertilizer.

other than those mentioned above, the rest can be all open vented rooms.

i usually build a room just for o2 producers and co2 removers and it usually spreads quite nicely to my whole ship (spreads to all open vented rooms, be it just vented doors or even adding wall vents here and there).

i usually place storage units in rooms that need specific items and set rules to "if" for those items, while not allowing any other items, it helps your logistics run smoother, to note... "almost" everything needs certain items to run or too create other items.

place a centralized storage area around your airlock and shuttle/mining bays, this way everything can be dropped and stored immediately, then shuffled out to other areas according to other storage setting rules.

as for your electricity/energy grid, i usually try to keep certain things on their own grids, so others dont lose power from heavy use, ie.... industry room, o2 producer/co2 remover room, botany room, engine room, hull stabilizer/shields/scanner/jammer and energy gun room(s) all can be separated on their own grid, the rest of the rooms are mainly low powered rooms which can run off the same grid.

i personally use "in-floor power nodes" they are the best option in my opinion as they can be placed almost anywhere and dont really take up any space.

also try not to go over board on batteries (aka.. power capacity nodes), they are helpful, but having bunches of them can take up lots of space on your ship.

also you can use solar, but i prefer power generators, they produce more and dont rely on sun and batteries (aka.. power capacity nodes)

have at least 2 or more airlocks so you can trade and do your own things without having to wait, also have at least 4 or more mining pods so you can mine quickly.

each room can have a water collector in early game if you are having issues with getting enough water, keeping in mind that composters also create water, but both create water very slowly, later game you may or may not have issues getting water.

logistics bots are very helpful in keeping stuff running and as well keeping your logistics in check, either place them strategically or you could make a separate room for them, salvage bots i tend to place in my shuttle/mining bay room, as to how many thats up to you, but about 6 seems to make salvaging derelicts go quite fast.

other than that, plan your rooms accordingly (i usually plan around a main corridor) and off shoot my rooms to the sides of it, but thats up to you.

as for crew, i tend to keep my crew color coded and set to do certain tasks and spread out in schedules so they are always handy or doing certain stuff you need being done continuously, for example..

i have my captain for "roleplay" purposes ;)

i have a crew for the bridge (navigation/shields/operations/weapons consoles) and only doing those things, so they are almost always there when you need them to be and if not there will be some stand-ins to have it manned at all times.

i also have at least 2 security/away crews, not only will they be handy in protecting your ship from boarding parties, but as well have them handy when exploring derelict ships.

i also keep doctors handy and doing only certain things so they are around in case they are needed for injuries,ect..

as for any others, i usually have them as "plain" crew, doing everything but bridge and doctor tasks.

as for prisoners/slaves/refugees, i tend to make a smaller ship to keep them on, this way they dont cause issues on your main ship, i also have a doctor and security team to man the ship and keep things in order, i also dont place any industrial machines on this ship except composters, grow beds and kitchens, other than that the ship is mainly to transport prisoners/refugees, i dont really have a need for slaves as logistics bots provide all the help i need, that and tons of crew.

all of that said, everything is on you to plan out, you may have other ideas you want to do, or not... but thats all i can think of atm.

sorry for the format of this comment, dont feel like doing all that, anyway...have fun

[Storm]

wow, thanks for all that, very much appreciated!

[JohnNav]

Agreed :) Thanks guys, tips were very much appreciated

[zamotivator]

Originally posted by Keni:

Be mindful for your airlock and storage. Currently there are no pre design tools. Think a bit forward on placement, and you can create efficient ships easy. Experiment in sandbox mode first until you get the general idea of the inner workings of the ship. General tips I found working for me:

Life support:
- 1 O2 generator for every 6 person
- high traffic and gathering areas should have more o2 gens
- gas scrubbers are less important and can be spaced out, but they help a lot with fires
- more thermal regulators on the top right ship area for high radiation systems

Near airlock area:
- small closeable area to fend of boarders, they will not shoot, until they see you
- plan for at least 2 airlocks, this speeds salvaging and trading
- a general storage unit for logistics boost
- access to medical area
- straight path at least 2 wide to larger storage area and prison, crew can get stuck behind eachother

Storage area:
- easy access from airlock, industry and botany
- check storage direction, the point where your crew operates it, it should have enough space for walking to them
- uncheck direct food consumption on most of them, preferably have a small storage for prepeared food, and only allow for that one

Industry area:
- space for large powernodes due to high energy drag
- space for specialized (proper rules setup) storages, this eliminates the logistics problem almost entirely that everyone is complaining about
- gas scrubber

Botany area:
- should have no power outlets in them (!!!!), they can catch fires during a solar flare
- it produces oxygen, so it can help around crew quarters
- easy access to composters
- specialized storage for food, fibers and biomatter

Kitchen area:
- a spacesuit locker near in case of kitchen fires
- a small storage for quick food resupply
- a gas scrubber and o2 gen near because fires and high concentration of crew

Bridge area:
- quick access from any part of the ship until you can have dedicated crewmembers, in case you have to quickly jump away or attack enemies

Shuttles and pods:
- at least 2 shuttles, preferably more, to speed up trade and transporting
- stop one of the shuttles (button on the shuttle bay), so it is ready at all times for your crew
- at least 2 pod hangars, can be bunched up
- small storage near them with a couple hullblocks for building ship parts

Prison area:
- separate the toilet to increase comfort
- algae for food is sufficient ( this goes for refugees aswell)
- a medical bed only for prisoners
- spacesuit lockers, so they don't wander away when the ship is on fire or loosing air
- arcade machine or jukebox so your crew goes there, and talk to thep for more frequent recruitment tries

Power area:
- at least 2 power generators, one is feeding only the other with oneway power but not the grid
- solar should be cheained oneway and to a battery

Thank you so much for this message! Could you please show the screenshot/example of ship like that?

[Lminith]

Originally posted by zamotivator:

Thank you so much for this message! Could you please show the screenshot/example of ship like that?

Master necromancer :O
That post is 2 years old, many things changed like the power grid but the general hints still apply. The game has better QoL and measures your needs on the UI.
Let it RIP.