***Due to the 25 picture limit per blog, this article will be posted in 3 parts. The link to the next segment will be at the bottom of the article***

Base Construction 101: A guide

From The Desk of Iouzip

Preface:

This article is meant to be used as a tool for reference in constructing your own base in No Man's Sky. I will be outlining several key points in the article: object classification, building methods, architectural principles and - with the help of ReptillionFreak - interior design. The building methods and architectural principles components will be fairly in depth. The use of 'Cuboid' objects as well as 'Infrastructure' objects will be covered extensively, as I believe these are the most confusing for most, and are also the most powerful object groups to be used in base construction. I will also be covering the specific 'complexity' value each object carries, and will also discuss base footprint and height limits. Lastly i will be discussing the “Do's & Don't's” of placing and deleting objects, as well as base relocation. Please keep in mind this is only a GUIDE. Take what you have learned in this article and let your imaginations apply it to your own projects. I will try and be as in depth as I possibly can, and I hope this article helps you all!

Important Note:

'Base Footprint' refers to the area within which you are able to build, the boundary designated by a blue circle around the outskirts of your base. This is merely the name I have given it, it may not be correct, but for the purposes of this article it is defined and named as i have described it.

'Snap Point' are indicated by red or green spheres with an arrow protruding from them, and designate the position in which an object automatically snaps in place and attaches to another object. Snap points can merge rooms and parts together. Also snap points can be exploited to get parts into places or positions they were not necessarily meat to be in - conventionally speaking. This will be covered later.

Section 1 - Object Classifications, Descriptions and Purpose:

Objects in the construction menu are divided in to eleven categories.

These categories appear in-game as follows: Tech, Decoration, Specialist Terminals, Room Parts, Structure, Infrastructure, Containers, Decals, Cuboid Rooms, Lights, Farming.

The purpose of this section is to clearly outline the various groups objects belong to, their basic dynamics, functionality, uses, and characteristics.

Tech:

Tech objects perform various functions to enhance game-play based on their in-game description. They can be placed either inside or outside your base footprint with the exception of 2 these. There are 4 objects which can be placed at any time while disembarked from your ship and on solid ground regardless of proximity to your base. These are the Beacon, Save Point, Signal Booster and Communications Station. The two exceptions are the Landing Pad and the AMU. The landing pad is only available while you are within your base footprint, while the opposite is true for the AMU. Tech objects like the Beacon can be placed indoors or outdoors within your base footprint, and it is important to note that these objects have no snap points and can only be placed inside a base if they are either on top of a decoration object on Cuboid Room Flooring. Tech objects can be coloured in the Colour/Delete menu. Please note that changing the colour of the Beacon will also change the colour of its icon in the HUD. Landing pads have their own set of specific dynamics. They can be placed at a Snap Point or independent of one. They can be rotated while snapped to orient the ship recall panel in which ever position is desired. The landing pad can only snap to 4 other objects (and vise versa): Glass Roofed Corridor, Straight Corridor, Cylindrical Room, and Door.

Decoration:

Decoration objects are meant to add some flare and life into what would otherwise be a shell of a base. Decoration objects have no Snap Points, and can be mounted freely. Any Decoration object that is meant to be mounted on a wall can also be placed on the top or side of another object, as well as on the floor or ceiling of a room. The exceptions with this are tables, chairs and beds, which although can be stacked, can only be placed on the floor. Any decoration object can be placed indoors or outdoors, on top of structural objects, and can intersect with other Decoration objects. Decoration objects at this point in time cannot have their colour changed.

Specialist Terminals:

These terminals can be placed anywhere inside your base, at a maximum of 1 per cylindrical room, or 1 per Cuboid Room. There are 4 different terminals available currently: Construction, Weapons, Science, Agricultural. These terminals must be staffed by NPCs which can be recruited at space stations. The construction and agricultural terminals must be staffed by Gek NPCs, which can be found in Gek controlled systems. The Weapons terminal must be staffed by a Vy'keen NPC, and the science terminal by a Korvax NPC, both found in systems controlled by their respective races. These terminals allow you to complete missions for which the rewards are blueprints for buildable objects, constructable products, and starship technology. Please not that the missions are not linear for each terminal, and you will require rewards from all 4 terminals to complete all the missions. For example, the first mission available is from your construction terminal. You will be asked to build a beacon. To do this you will require a blueprint for a Voltaic Cell, available only by completing a mission from the science terminal.

Room Parts:

Room Parts allow you to add accessibility within your base. The parts consist of the door, access ramp, ladder, window and trade terminal. The window can be added to cylindrical rooms, as well as to the tops and sides of corridor objects.

The door can also be added to the end of corridor objects and cylindrical rooms. The ladder can be added to Cuboid rooms where a Cuboid Room Flooring tile is installed above the ladder, or where a cylindrical room is installed above the ladder.

Access ramps can be added to the snap point at the base of a door, or the snap point at the base of an existing access ramp. Their slope can also be adjusted when snapped.

Trade terminals can be added to the inside of a base within a cylindrical room or within a cuboid room.

Structure:

Structure objects consist of Several Corridors (Straight, Glass, L, X), the Cylindrical Room, and a Foundation. Corridor objects are very versatile.

They can be added to cylindrical rooms, Cuboid rooms, to one-another, and some can be added to launch pads.

Corridor objects also cannot be placed freehand, they must be snapped to the prior mentioned objects to be placed.

Corridor objects must be used to connect Cuboid Rooms to Cylindrical Rooms on the same level. Cylindrical Rooms can be stacked on top of one-another, or on top of Cuboid Rooms, or can be placed directly on the ground within your base footprint.

Cylindrical Rooms cannot attach to cuboid rooms that are directly above them. The Foundation object can be placed directly on the ground or attached to the snap point at the bottom of an elevated Cylindrical room. Legs protrude from the bottom of the object and extend downward automatically until they intersect with the ground or another object.

Infrastructure:

Infrastructure objects are very powerful in terms of their many possible applications. They consist of paving tiles, structural walls, floors, posts, a gate, as well as stackable block, sphere and cylinder components. The most powerful aspect of the infrastructure components is that the wall, floor and gate objects can be snapped to the exterior of cuboid rooms, and can also intersect with structural objects which make up a base.

Later, creating various architectural elements will be discussed in detail using these objects.

Infrastructure components can be placed freehand, then snapped together from a root object, or they can be snapped to a cuboid object and snap to each other thereafter.

It is important to note that the block, sphere, and cylinder components can snap to each-other, but cannot snap to any other objects in the game. They cannot also be placed on top of structural objects, and cannot be placed inside them.

Paving tiles behave in the same fashion. They can snap to one another, but cannot snap to any other objects in-game, and also must be placed on the ground within your Base Footprint.

Containers:

Containers are a storage object. They can be interacted with in the same manner as a trade terminal. They are equal in size to a Cuboid Room, and behave in the exact same manner when being placed. Although it may serve no practical purpose, Corridor objects can be snapped to the sides of a container object, regardless of their orientation to the iris on the front of the container. Containers are numbered 0 to 9, and only 10 containers can be built at any one time during game-play. This total of 10 is SHARED between your base and your freighter. If at any point in time you choose to delete a container with items placed inside of it, those items will reappear when the container is rebuilt at a later time. Containers can also snap to Cuboid Rooms, and can be accessed from with a cuboid room if properly oriented, with iris wall facing into the room.

Decals:

Decals are static images of symbols and numbers which can be placed anywhere on a preexisting object, or can be placed directly on the ground anywhere within your Base Footprint. Decals can be rotated, and can be placed on uneven surfaces. It should be noted that they also weigh towards the total complexity limit of your base. When placing a Decal on a moving object such as a door or a gate, the Decal will not move with the object, it will remain in the position it is placed in. For example if a decal is placed on the centre of a door, it will not split and move with either side of the door when it opens. The door will open and decal will disappear. Decals have no collision so the aforementioned decal will not impede your ability to move through the door should you choose to place it there. At this time, the colour of a decal cannot be changed.

Cuboid Rooms:

Cuboid Rooms can be used in a variety of different ways and are also a powerful object group, working perfectly with Infrastructure objects to allow for a diverse and profound range of architectural designs. Cuboid Rooms consist of seven objects: Cuboid Room, 3 types of windows, Cuboid Room Foundation Strut and Quad Strut, and lastly the Cuboid Room Flooring tile. Cuboid Rooms can be snapped to one-another on any one of their six sides. Once attached, the rooms will merge to form a larger room. This can be thought of as a modular room. It is important to note that when Cuboid Rooms are stacked vertically, their floor will disappear. This gives you the ability to create tall ceilings, or large open-concept spaces.

Cuboid Room Flooring tiles will allow you to separate your vertically stacked Cuboid Rooms into different levels. The tiles can be placed at snap points located on the walls of the room, where Cuboid Rooms separate. The tiles can also be snapped to one-another at the snap points on the sides of an existing tile. Tiles can also be placed by aiming at the ceiling above where a tile is desired to be mounted. This ceiling could be that of the top of a cuboid room, or a Tile directly above the desired location.

In some cases, when placing a Tile on the same level as a Cuboid Room with no Cuboid Rooms below it, you will notice a difference in the height of the floor between the two modules. At this time game dynamics do not allow a tile to be placed adjacent to correct the gap.

Tiles can be placed directly beside windows, and underneath Containers which are located inside a Cuboid space. Cuboid Room Foundation Struts can be placed either directly on the ground, or mounted underneath a Cuboid Room. Legs protrude from the bottom of the object and extend downward automatically until they intersect with the ground or another object.

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