Stationeers News

The Airflow Update

Atmospheric Simulation

Today we’re going to go into detail about the atmospheric simulation in Stationeers. We’ll give a short walkthrough about how we identify issues, think of solutions, test and iterate until we’ve solved problems or added new features. Specifically World Atmospheres, and how they move gas throughout the game, and especially how fast vacuums form.

Of the many complex systems Stationeers models, the atmospherics simulation is the most defining. Two times per second; pumps move gas, filters split compositions, pipes check for bursting, and much much more. A lot of the gas the player interacts with comes from the world, or ends being vented there. Unfortunately, the speed to pull a vacuum in world has always been one of the largest bottlenecks for Stationeers.

[h3]Table of times of original vacuum times[/h3]

6 Tile Airlock Test

100kPa to 10kPa*

10kPa to 1kPa

100Pa

10Pa

1Pa

Legacy Code

28s

18s

37s

1m32s
2m05s

Medium Room (5x5x5) Test

100kPa to 10kPa*

10kPa to 1kPa

100Pa

10Pa

1Pa

Legacy Code

10m

3m10s

6m45s

10m15s
13m45s

*The initial 100kPa to 10kPa time is solely driven by the active vent speed, and this is not summed into the proceeding columns.

These tables demonstrate the power of the active vent. 90% of the air can be pulled rather quickly, but as soon as the World Atmosphere hits the vacuum floor, removing the remaining 10% of the air can take 200%-400% more time than the original 90%.

Twice per second, every World Atmosphere in the game mixes with its neighbors. In world atmospheres, are large 2m*2m*2m cubes containing 8000 liters of gas, and do a multistep job of equalizing itself and any of its 6 neighbors every half a second. This has worked well for distributing air around in the game, but has its limitations, when one tile is being vacuumed.

Even if one tile was very low pressure compared to its neighbor, the high pressure tile would still take a tiny part of the low pressure tile for itself. In very low pressure situations, this effect was significant. So what happens if we pick a fixed value, and say tiles cant take from smaller than 80%, and also wont give to tiles bigger than 120%. Not only might this speed up vacuum mixing, but it would also allow high pressure flows, to keep low pressure gasses from mixing upstream, a bonus feature.

[h3]Comparison with First Attempt[/h3]

6 Tile Airlock Test 10kPa

1kPa

100Pa

10Pa

1Pa

Legacy Code

18s

37s

1m32s

2m05s

Attempt 1 (No upstream mixing)

6s

13s

22s

30s

Medium Room (5x5x5) Test 10kPa

1kPa

100Pa

10Pa

1Pa

Legacy Code

3m10s

6m45s

10m15s

13m45s

Attempt 1 (No upstream mixing)

2m10s

4m45s

7m15s

9m45s

In a 6 tile large airlock, the vacuum stage of cycling performance is 300% better, and in our large room its 40%. The large room doesn't see as much of a time decrease, because that amount of air is just able to keep the vent more saturated, but at 4 minutes faster, it's still a huge improvement.

However, with our over simplification of the problem, and first attempt at a solution, we’ve introduced a slight issue. Since the taking, or giving of air, isnt just the comparison of two atmospheres, but instead 6, we can find ourselves in a situation where all the higher pressure atmospheres give us a portion of their air, and we end up being higher pressure than any single one of the atmospheres. Then the next tick, the situation has reversed, and the air exclusively moves away. This mass rebounding would only happen in certain setups/configurations, but created a vortex of death when it did.

So, lets add some math to reduce the mixing amount so no single tick can make an atmosphere overshoot its neighbor’s pressure and see what happens.

[h3]Comparison with Second Attempt[/h3]

6 Tile Airlock Test 10kPa

1kPa

100Pa

10Pa

1Pa

Legacy Code

18s

37s

1m32s

2m05s

Attempt 1 (No upstream mixing)

6s

13s

22s

30s

Attempt 2 (Fixed 14% mixing limit)

15s

31s

47s

1m3s

Medium Room (5x5x5) Test 10kPa

1kPa

100Pa

10Pa

1Pa

Legacy Code

3m10s

6m45s

10m15s

13m45s

Attempt 1 (No upstream mixing)

2m10s

4m45s

7m15s

9m45s

Attempt 2 (Fixed 14% mixing limit)

2m30s

5m25s

8m20s

11m15s

This fix addresses the problem while maintaining no up-pressure mixing, but directly counters our biggest desire to have vacuums pull faster.

Compromising on the first theorized ‘solution’ of eliminating backwards mixing to speed up vacuums. What if we still take large portions, but scale it based on how many neighbors, and change the 20% bigger/smaller take limits, into linear interpolations, where we just start scaling and taking/giving less, instead of taking none/all.

[h3]Comparison with Third Attempt[/h3]

6 Tile Airlock Test 10kPa

100kPa to 10kPa

10kPa to 1kPa

100Pa

10Pa

1Pa

Legacy Code

28s

18s

37s

1m32s

2m05s

Attempt 3 (1/open+1)

27s

7s

15s

24s

31s

Medium Room (5x5x5) Test 10kPa

100kPa to 10kPa

10kPa to 1kPa

100Pa

10Pa

1Pa

Legacy Code

10m

3m10s

6m45s

10m15s

13m45s

Attempt 3 (1/open+1)

9m 30s

2m16s

5m

7m40s

10m10s

This third attempt nearly has the speed of our first attempt, while fixing issues with bouncing pressure waves.

So while our test case mainly focused on pulling vacuums, these changes dictate the general movement speed of gas even when in a sealed hallway. Gas leaks spreading through your base, holes exposing your atmosphere to the outside, or any other period of high pressure differential, should feel more significant, and happen quicker.

While our solution didnt fully prevent ‘up pressure’ mixing, many situations, such as accidentally opening a window on europa, now behave in a much more expected manner. Very little cold air will leak in while your nice base air blows outwards, but as soon as the wind dies down from the dropping pressure, the ice europa air will overtake the room.

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this peak into just one portion of the many simulations we need to constantly run to keep your stations ticking. Revisiting core functionality can be risky as we could suddenly break everyone’s bases, but when we have clear goals, and reference points to aim for, this is the sort of careful approach we like to take.

And by the way, we recently added two new devices to the game, the powered vent, and large powered vent. These vents are allowed to traverse neighbor atmospheres when pulling a vacuum to do so even quicker. At the low pressures we’ve been talking about in the test data, they pull vacuums in a matter of seconds. But even in a fully pressurized room, they are 2x, and 4x the strength of a standard active vent, and can evacuate large amounts of gas very quickly.

[h3]Large Powered Vent Test[/h3]

6 Tile Airlock Test

100kPa to 0kPa

1 Large powered vent

8s

Medium Room (5x5x5) Test

100kPa to 0kPa

1 Large powered vent

2m40s

Counterflow Heat Exchanger

The counterflow heat exchnager was not ready in time to be released with the other new heat exchangers but is finally ready! By drawing down the pressure of the outputs with a pump or regulator and regulating input pressures, the temperatures of two counter flowing networks can be effectively exchanged. Balancing the throughput of both inputs is key to creating a good exchange of temperatures.

New Powered Bench Variants

Four new powered bench variants have been added to give you more options when building your various rooms in your base and give you more variety.

Artwork Wallpaper

[expand]

[/expand]

[hr][/hr]

We need you!

[h3]Stationeers is a small niche project. We know times are tough and our project isn't for everyone. So if you like the work we do, we would love to encourage you to spread the word, grab our supporter DLCs, and watch Stationeers content creators on places like twitch and youtube. We want to keep developing this game for many years, well beyond any early access release and to do this we need your support[/h3]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2089290/Stationeers_Human_Cosmetics_Pack/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1038400/Stationeers_Zrilian_Species_Pack/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1038500/Stationeers_HEM_Droid_Species_Pack/

[h2]Change Log v0.2.4294.19984 [/h2]

[h3]We do not filter or redact our patch notes so these patch notes include work we are doing on the rockets that are not yet available in the game.[/h3]

Updated suit and helmet for main menu scene and character customization scene
Fixed spelling errors in new heat exchanger descriptions
Updated uvs and textures for hardsuit
Fixed spelling mistake in character customization menu
Fixed spelling mistake for heat exchanger kit
Fixed fan blade direction not representing the flow of gas for the Powered Vent
Fixed wall heater color not changing when turned on
Added input blocker to pause menu to stop in-world screens from being interactable while paused
Fixed inconsistent naming for pipes and pipe kits
Fixed incorrectly sized collider on low volume pipe kits
Improved behaviour of PassthroughHeatExchanger. Now implements a crossflow behaviour where-by it is possible to have the two inputs come close to swapping temperatures.
Added RemoveToEqualize to AtmosphereHelper.cs This calculates the amount of gas required to Equalize input pressure with output pressure, removes it from the input and returns it for further calculations.
Refactored MoveToEqualize to call RemoveToEqualise.
Renamed AtmosphericsManager.TickSpeedMs to AtmosphericsManager.TickSpeedSeconds as this was what it was actually returning.
Changed Heat Exchangers to show energy exchanged each tick in kJ.
Fixed AtmosAnalyser only runs analysis code when held in hand of local player.
Changed Moved AtmosAnalyser value generation to main thread to prevent flickering values, it now reads the cached values.
Improved tooltips around spray gun fail states
Added new models for small tanks. This is purely an aesthetic change. No change to functionality.
Fixed wind turbines being functional inside frames
Fixed issue with re-connecting after a client disconnects. The disconnected client no longer needs to restart the game before reconnecting
Optimised PassthroughHeatExchanger simulation function.
Fixed Gas Mixer tooltip rounds Setting wheel to whole number, now shows decimal places.
Tweaked mesh for basic suit helmet
Fixed insulated tanks being offset incorrectly after model update.
Added bobble heads for future content
Restructured Gasses Mixing in world, to allow better flow control. Gasses in world now will move towards lower pressure areas faster, with speeds to pull vacuums with normal active vents increased by 300% in best cases, and 150% in more typical large rooms. The amount of gas which 'moves' up pressure gradients has been reduced, reducing the amount of 'reverse gas spread' happening between large pressure differential world grids. Gas spreading in narrow tunnels will also see an increase in movement.
reverting wind(Direction vector) calculations to previous state, to address downwards wind on pressureized planets. Atmospheres will still mix according to new mixing rules.
Added prototype assets and behaviour for rocket datalink logic devices.
Changed separated Data and power device dirty process for cable networks.
Removed un-needed process in RecalculateDeviceListSorted Function.
Removed un-necessary step in GetNextValidThing function.
Fixed Null-collider in broken build-state of arc furnace.
Fixed mix in world wind calculations not using a cached pressure value, causing wind coming from global atmospheres to be incorrectly strong.
Fixed unusually strong wind when mining on Venus, as wind strength should now scale with volume extracted.
Fixed small insulated tank blueprints
changed datastructure for atmospheric mixing data caching to reduce garbage creation.
Fixed face mounted structure placement placing on the wrong side of the supporting structure if the player was standing on it.
Added 1st pass of rocket location data authoring system.
Tweaked overalls mesh rig
Added WIP placeholder launch pad pieces
Refactored landing pad networks to allow for a generic modular structure and added the launchpad structure using it
Improvements to Rocket Location data authoring.
Added Concept of space map to rocket location data.
Added Data validation and error logging to rocket data location parsing.
Added Instanced classes for rocket locations.
fixed issue where close to global atmospheres could flicker their neighbours into existence every other tick,due to not caching atmos state prior to attempting to mix in world, causing memory issues.
A mixing atmosphere will spark its neighbours if it is ignited, which should cause more flash fires, instead of slow isolated flames in one tile.
Fixed a number of devices instancing new materials every-time their anim state changed.
Zrillian lungs now have a wider safe temperature range, and dont take damage between -20c to 80c, up from -10c to 50c of humans. Warnings remain unaffected, as the zrillians dont necessarily like these temperatures.
Added first pass on rocket control motherboard and ui
Added missing message factory changes
Renamed ReferencableHelper.cs to Referencable.cs
Added SpaceMap and SpaceMapNode data synchronisation to clients.
Added WIP code for Rocket travel between SpaceMap nodes.
Added IRocketPath and IRocketDestination Interfaces to handle leaving and returning to launch pad.
Disabled prototype launch animation.
Changed Mass to be a property. And implemented placeHolder mass values on rocket fuselage, pipes and inline tanks.
Added Method to get starting map to SpaceMap.cs
Added LaunchPadNetwork now caches its centre piece in the same way as LandingPadNetwork.
Updated rocket location icon
Fixed NRE from rocket.
Fixed Prototype LaunchPad prefabs
Added CounterFlow heat exchanger to tier two pipe bender. The counter-flow heat exchanger passes gas and liquids from the input to the corresponding output passively based on pressure differential (or volume ratio differential in the case of liquids). Matching the flow rate of both inputs will allow for around 70% efficiency of heat reclamation (this allow for the swapping of temperatures between to pipe networks. Multiple exchangers can be daisy chained together to increase the heat reclamation efficiency.
Updated WorldManager source prefabs in scene.
Fixed Pumps and other pipe devices changing color on load.
Removed Outline effect demo scripts.
Added first pass on star map ui for rockets
Added rocket can now path to orbit.
Changed all pipes can now be built in a fuselage
Fixed Stacking PureIce would zero out the spawn contents.
Added Logic variables to avionics Device.
Changed a number of single-grid atmos devices to be allowed to be built in rockets.
Added rocket command to print destination IDs.
Added support for dynamically created and destroyed SpaceMap nodes.
Changed Launch pads now generate a new node once they have a valid centre piece.
Fixed An uncommon crash when running the StateChange fix on a custom world save.
Added dynamic locations to map view (wip)
Fixed gas being created from spray cans being created with 0 energy
Reverted the ability to use a spray can to paint the object in the other hand as this behaviour is confusing and not communicated.
Portable generator no longer continues providing power once the canister runs out
Fixed the blueprint for the Hydroponics Station kit
added missing blueprint for automated hydroponics kit
Added Pathfinding algorithm so rocket can path to/from any destination on the space-map.
Added Pathfinding testing command for validating authored data.
Added Rocket movement logic has collection of Node-connections and can path through multiple nodes to reach target destination.
Fixed Some nodes being registered twice to the space-map.
Fixed some merge errors with map view
Fixed modular structure networks not registering devices correctly
Updated new rocket kits to be not spawnable
Fixed launchpads being registered as landing pad networks
Changed star map to use grid based panel for dynamic locations rather than a radial layout. The position of these can be authored in the xml to achieve a nice map layout
Fixed Some devices would allow interaction even when in a locked state or when the player didn't have the correct access card.
Fixed Some cases where things could be interacted with when destroyed or incomplete.
Added temporary method for rocket to link to a landing pad node
Fixed launch pad networks not being cleared when unloading
Fixed Device Locking fix prevented airlock cycling using door interaction panel.
Fixed Null reference exception on server when writing DynamicPanelData.
Fixed Can't interact with slots when device locked (beta only)
Fixed Settable Atmospheric devices show incorrect tooltip on setting wheel when locked.
Fixed launch pads not deregistering correctly on destroy
Fixed space map nodes not removing all their connections when deregistering
Added 4 new bench variants
Removed some temp images from rocket info canvas
Fixed incorrect calling placement of base.OnDestroy in LandingPadModular.
Fixed Pipe mounted LiquidDrain throws error when pipe removed.
Small Clean up of DevicePipeMounted code
Removed Prototype launchpad pieces from kit (LandingPadBasic)
Fixed A save with a Pad Network with no saved networkId would not load.
Changed UpdateThings on GameStart to run once gameState is set to running (this was the behaviour on clients, should also be behaviour on server)
Moved some classes into an appropriate namespace
Added temporary method to refresh rocket internals when you modify the rocket network
Added rocket refresh command to help with debugging rocket behaviour
Fixed rocket engines being registered multiple times in rocket network
Fixed TurbineGenerator Animation and sound not synced to clients.
Added Some WIP electrolysis code.
Fixed Unable to turn on/off light or flush locked helmet using interactable buttons (beta only).
Fixed MAX_ENERGY Constant being too low causing large tanks with too much liquid in them to have their contents deleted on load.
Fixed Incorrect serialisation type for network messages for Setting and Quantity of digital chute devices.
Added PlaceHolder Rocket Mining device.
Added OnFishedLoad call to StructureNetwork.
Fixed Rocket doesn't find launchpad on load.
Added hashing of Id to spaceMap node.
Implemented IRocketInternals on Chutes.
Removed prototype launchpad tower base from incorrect kit

The Powered Vent Update

We had a couple of things that didn't make it in to the last update that we wanted to get finished off before moving. These mainly centered around pain points to do with slow process cycling larger airlocks, and a few oddities of the heat exchanger.

Powered Vents

We’re introducing Powered Vents as a way to get around some of the limitations of speed in our atmospheric system. These powered vents can move a lot of gas by drawing from atmospheres beyond the grid that the device is actually in, and they can output a very large amount of gas as well. This can help with pulling a vacuum or filling a room fast.

These vents have a flow rate indicator to let you easily tell if the vent is being provided with enough gas to be working at full capacity. This feature has also been added to the active vent.

Direct Heat Exchangers

The direct heat exchangers have two inputs and act directly on the two input networks' atmosphere allowing you to equalize the energy between two networks in a straightforward manner. There is a large and a small version, each coming in three variants: gas + gas, gas + liquid, liquid + liquid.

Updated Suits

We’ve revamped all the suits! The basic suit and hard suit have kept the same look but have been updated with much higher fidelity! The emergency suit has been given a complete rework to make it obviously different from the basic suit.

Key Bug Fixes

Fixed safety limits being ignored on active vent.
Addressed error spam from plant cartridge when trying to display the value "1000".

Artwork Wallpaper

[expand]

[/expand]

[hr][/hr]

We need you!

[h3]Stationeers is a small niche project. We know times are tough and our project isn't for everyone. So if you like the work we do, we would love to encourage you to spread the word, grab our supporter DLCs, and watch Stationeers content creators on places like twitch and youtube. We want to keep developing this game for many years, well beyond any early access release and to do this we need your support[/h3]

Fixed Error spam from plant cartridge when trying to display the value "1000".
Fixed Index out of range exception thrown by StringManager.
Fixed Re-sizing stationpedia window displays phase-change diagram on pages where it should be hidden.
Updated helmet visor materials
Reenabled active vents being able to burst pipes. The concept of internal pressure limiting has been removed. Active vent was overloaded with functionality. The problems it solved can be overcome using other systems.
removed internal pressure logic type as a read/write for active vent
Reverted active vent changes
Added a few assets to the game
Fixed safety limits being ignored on active vent
Moved some assets into their correct folders
Renamed HeatExchanger.cs to HeatExchangerDeprecated.cs
Fixed new suit shader to correctly use specular and smoothness
Fixed mask texture and made specular map muted for hard suit.
Fixed Mask texture on basic suit and helmet.
Fixed compile error caused by a script name change
Fixed duct tape stops working after repairing solar panel
Reverted accidentally commented out code
Added three variants(gas+gas, gas+liquid, liquid+liquid) small direct heat exchanger. Tooltip needs to be added to info panel.
Refactored content management in preparation for new content
Fixed Direct Heat Exchanger input connection orientation causing the pipes to be connecting from the wrong end.
Added energy exchanged to tooltip to physical input panel
Updated incorrectly set smoothness values for some materials
Matched dark rubber parts to waist rubber part.
Added passthrough heat exchanger (3 variants)
Added Powered Vent. New 2x2 vent designed for larger airlocks, it is able to efficiently vacuum out small-medium sized rooms.
Added FlowRate indicator to PoweredVent. will glow Orange/red when flowrate is limited by output pipe pressure or capacity.
Added Kit (PoweredVent).
Added IPoweredVent interface for hooking up powered-vents to Circuit boards that interact with active-vents.
Moved DataDisk to using correct class.
Updated Airlock, AirControl and Logic motherboards use IPoweredVent for vent device connections.
Cleaned up ResetVent function calls for active vent. Was not being called from correct function.
Fixed CondensationChamber had pipe tooltips flipped.
Added large direct heat exchanger
Fixed backpacks invisible in suit storage
Removed redundant set wearable visibility call
Moved some hardcoded tag strings to appropriate constants class
Updated basic suit helmet material on head lamp
Updated basic suit helmet material on head lamp for FPV view
Fixed tooltip not syncing for clients on direct heat exchanger
Removed ItemKitRoverMKI recipe from the electronics printer
Added PoweredVent Large. A 3x3 variant of the PoweredVent for pulling vacuums on Large airlocks and hangers.
Added Kit (PoweredVent) recipe to tier2 PipeBender.
Added missing large direct heat exchangers to world manager
Added missing broken states to large direct heat exchanger
Fixed invisible build states on large direct heat exchanger
Tweaked balance for direct and passthrough heat exchangers
Tweaked heat exchanger balance
Improved PoweredVent MultiGrid venting algorithm. Medium and Large PoweredVents will now draw gas from their surrounding grids in a more predictable fashion.
Added Sounds to Powered Vents.
Changed How powered vents move gas into the world such that they may temporarily exceed their target external pressure.
Changed Medium and Large Powered vents now only pull from neighbouring grids when its local grid is close to vacuum.
Fixed inputs and outputs on large and passthrough heat exchangers
Updated Heat exchanger values to be in line with radiator values.
Fixed large direct and passthrough heat exchanger not requiring frame support
Fixed Condensation Valve Blueprint.
Fixed powered vent mode switch in incorrect colour state when 1st placed.
Fixed Passthrough heat exchanger construction consumes welder instead of steel sheets.
Removed Old heat exchanger from kit.
Changed Kit (heat exchanger) back to original values.
Added Kit (SmallDirectHeatExchanger) and added recipe to pipe bender
Added Kit (LargeDirectHeatExchanger) and added recipe to Tier 2 pipe bender.
Changed recipe of existing Kit heat exchanger to require Invar and moved to Tier 2 pipe bender.
Changed existing heat exchanger internal area to be the same as Large Direct heat exchanger.
Updated UVs for basic suit mesh
Fixed incorrectly named heat exchanger kit that was causing an error when populating the Stationpedia
Added missing description to the heat exchangers
Removed unused heat exchanger kit prefab
Fixed thumbnails for large direct heat exchanger kit
Removed Split Interactables from Large Direct Heat Exchanger Kit.
Fixed Mixer would not throughput gas when set to 100 and other input pipe was empty.
Added flow rate indicator to Active vent and added flow-rate tooltip to Active vent.
Updated smoothness for new suit materials
Fixed incorrect position on the powered vent blueprint
Fixed PoweredVents build and broken states using incorrect material.

Hotfix v0.2.4225.19745

Fixed Water filters don't filter steam.
Fixed Tooltips on EvaporationChamber and CondensationChamber pipe connections.
Fixed Pipe damaged/destroyed by freezing tooltip.
Fixed Atmos-Analyser sometimes doesn't show the correct StateChange symbols.
Changed CondensationChamber and EvaporationChamber will continue to exchange heat with the heat exchange connection when turned off.
Fixed HeatExchangers not correctly applying save migration functionality.
Changed Limited evaporation when Temperature of liquids has dropped below its freezing Temperature.
Changed Increased the amount of damage freezing gasses and liquids cause to pipes.
Fixed broken states of station batteries not rendering.

The Phase Change Update : Liquids, gases, solids

Stationeers has the bold aim of modelling many very complex systems, and trying to do so in a way that will run acceptably on most computers. For a long time we have wanted to better model phase change (movement of state between gases, liquids, and solids). This will allow us to make more interesting mechanics such as rocket fuels in future updates. The task has come with significant challenges, trying to maintain support for existing worlds and not make the game even more complex for new players than it already is. This is the first step in making our overhaul of Rockets, as it was necessary to do this work before continuing with the work on Rockets.

Description

Gasses now can phase change, when under different pressures/temperatures. Normal Atmospheric pipes break from the stress/weight of condensing liquids, so use a condenser valve to ensure liquids can drop safely into liquid pipes. You can reference a phase diagram in the Stationpedia to figure out what a gas or liquid wants to be at a given temperature and pressure. Liquids are all incompressible, and don't generate pressure themselves, so any isolated liquid will boil off, and create a vapor pressure to stay stable even in liquid pipes.

Boiling a liquid takes energy, so things get colder (condensing gas, releases the same energy). If you were to use a purge valve to constantly remove the boiling off gasses from a liquid pipe, you'd notice that the liquid will keep boiling until it's cold enough to reach its freezing point. Freezing liquids in pipes will burst the pipe and create ices in world. Conversely, Pressurizing a gas can Condense it into a liquid, which will release energy, causing it to heat up, and the liquid can be tapped away with a condensation valve. Moving the liquid around, and controlling where it condenses and evaporates will let you control what should be hot, and what should be cold.

There are two structures built from the Phase Change Kit, the Evaporation Chamber and the Condensation Chamber, that can assist in helping you control phase change. They act like tanks with an input pump, pressure regulator, and heat exchanger, so that you can control the temperature of a fluid (taking the energy, or giving more energy) while trying to make it phase change. These do the same thing as building a system of pipes, pumps and heat exchangers yourself, but the cost of this more stable environment, comes at a hit to throughput, and scalability.

A specific example (with ball-parked numbers) is on Mars, where pollutants exist outside around 0c as gas. Collect Pollutants from outside, filter, and pressurize them and they will become liquid around 2000Kpa. You can then move the liquids to a place you want cold, then vent off the gas off. The pollutants will start around 0c and boiling half of them by creating a vacuum, will drop the temperature to around -20c. You now have made a basic cooler.

It starts to get more interesting when you then use the waste vented gas, to cool off the incoming liquid, and that now becomes -20c, and when it vents, the new gas is closer to -40c. There are many decisions to make, and problems to solve with phase change and there are countless systems to build, that we haven't even dreamed of.

[h3]Despite this sounding, and being, very complex, most starting out gameplay remains the same, with condensation and evaporation really only showing themselves as problems AND solutions in larger builds and on extreme worlds. On Europa, the Co2 you've been breathing out can freeze out of the air and fly around during a small accident. Gasses on Vulcan might be fine to slowly pump around, but over collect and pressurize them too much, and the liquidized fluids will burst through your stressed pipes.[/h3]

Liquids in world

Currently liquids can exist in the world and behave and mix like any other gas. They are visualized by a vapor particle effect. In the future we may explore a more liquid-like behavior in the atmospheric system and a more traditional way of visualizing them. Liquids can often end up in world after a pipe has burst. Gas pipes have a max pressure of 60Mpa, but get stress from liquids existing in them, and have had their volume reduced to 1/10th of their former value. Liquid pipes however have larger volumes, and don't take stress damage from liquids, but only support up to 6Mpa of pressure. Both pipes will rupture very quickly if liquids start to freeze in them.

[h3]We have some ideas about how to truly represent liquids in world, but we don't want to rush out solutions for this without carefully thinking them through. This is a lot of work, and we need to make sure it's performant. We will update on possible steps in future updates.[/h3]

Gas Pumping

With the changes to pipe volumes, gas movement speed on pressure regulators, mixers, and filtration machines has been changed to no longer increase with pipe network volume. Instead pressure differentials increase the speed, meaning if you actively pump, or pre pressurize the inputs, these machines will let large amounts of gas through. Conversely, if you let their outputs build up to pressures higher than their inputs, they will slow down, and forced pumping will be needed to clear their output. This also means back pressure regulators now function very well as safety release valves.

New Devices

A range of new, but familiar, devices have been added to help deal with the new liquid behaviors. These are mostly different types of pumps, valves, and vents to help control the flow of gasses and liquids.

[h2]Condensation and Evaporation Chambers[/h2]
The Evaporation Chamber and Condensation Chamber are integral devices for safe phase transitions between liquids and gasses. Together, these chambers can be utilized to construct a DIY air conditioner, capitalizing on the phase change properties of gasses.

[h2]Inline Tanks[/h2]
Inline Tanks are basically just oversized pipes with a large volume. With the reduction of normal pipe volumes these can be used in the specific places where you may have just used a number of pipes by themselves.

[h2]Passive Liquid Inlet[/h2]
The Passive Liquid Inlet will quickly remove liquids from the world into the connected pipe network while equalizing gasses between the world atmosphere and the pipe network.

[h2]Expansion Valve[/h2]
The Expansion Valve allows for a one way movement of liquids from a liquid pipe into a gas pipe. This can be used to allow liquid into a gas pipe to evaporate.

[h2]Condensation Valve[/h2]
Allows for the one way movement of any liquids from a gas pipe into a liquid pipe.

[h2]Pressurant Valve[/h2]
Pumps gas into a liquid pipe in order to raise the pressure.

[h2]Purge Valve[/h2]
Allows for the removal of gas from a liquid pipe, and behaves similarly to the back pressure regulator.

Gas States

Each gas now has a solid, liquid, and gas form. Each gas has different temperatures, in relation to pressure, that define which state it will be in. You can see the relationship between temperature and pressure in the Stationpedia using the phase change diagram on the gas pages.

Save Migration

With so many changes around atmospherics, including changing the properties of gas mixes as well as some volume changes of devices and pipes, it was necessary to provide a tool to modify saves when they are opened. This tool will do its best effort to put everything in a stable state allowing you to safely load your games. The old default version has been shifted to “previous” so that if you need to load the game to make modifications to your saves you can do so there before loading it on the current version.

Artwork Wallpaper

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We need you!

[h3]Stationeers is a small niche project. We know times are tough and our project isn't for everyone. So if you like the work we do, we would love to encourage you to spread the word, grab our supporter DLCs, and watch Stationeers content creators on places like twitch and youtube. We want to keep developing this game for many years, well beyond any early access release and to do this we need your support[/h3]

Change Log In Comments

Character Movement, Bitshifting, and a new Spray Gun

We have been working hard at our reworking of Rockets, but we have removed those changes from this build as they aren't ready, but we wanted to get out changes to the character controller and particularly fixes to the Linux Dedicated server. There is really a lot of different things in this updates so even some really good changes are glossed over outside of a brief mention in the changelog.

Camera and Character Movement

For a long time players have requested fixes for the dreaded "getting stuck on corners". This update features a complete rework of the colliders and rigidbodies for controlling the character. In the test scene the character easily got stuck on things before the changes, and after the update there was zero getting stuck on things. We anticipate those frustrated with this in the past will find this much better.

We've enhanced the player's camera movement once again in an effort to further minimize stuttering. Additionally, we've made a series of refinements to the player movement mechanism. These cumulative changes aim to ensure a smoother in-game experience, reducing instances of getting snagged on corners or minor ground protrusions. The end result is a more fluid and seamless navigation throughout the game environment.

The reason this has been so challenging is the many layers that involve controlling a stationeers character. The user input, the winds in the cells as the player moves, the different frictions of the environment, complex player made colliders, and differing gravity - all combine to make it very complex for us to move a character compared to your average game. Additionally we have to do all kinds of "fudgery" to make the character feel right when moving. We have for example a "grounding" system which, when close to ground, holds you there more. Without this system on lower gravity environments like the moon, running over a small rise would invariably launch you into the air for some time which was very frustrating.

Integrated Circuit Additions

[h2]Binary Notation[/h2]
We've added a Binary notation preprocessor macro that allows binary numbers to be represented with a leading '%'. Binary numbers such as %1011011 will be precompiled to 91. To improve readability, binary values can be separated with underscores; however, they will still concatenate together, so %10_11_011 will similarly precompile to 91. These underscores hold no functional use and are purely for readability. This feature is applicable wherever a number is used, such as in defines, move, or instructions that permit numbers.

[h2]Hexadecimal Notation[/h2]
For hexadecimal numbers, a similar notation preprocessor macro is in place. It utilizes a leading '$' to indicate that the following valid hexadecimal characters are to be parsed together as a hexadecimal value. For example, $F will be precompiled as 15. Just like binary notation, underscores can be used for readability but hold no functional value, so $A_B can be used to represent 171.

[h2]Bitshifting[/h2]
Furthermore, we've incorporated 'Shift Left/Right Logical' (SLL/SRL) and 'Shift Left/Right Arithmetic' (SLA/SRA) instructions. The SLL and SRL operations perform a logical shift on the binary representation of a value, shifting bits to the left or right and filling the leftmost vacancies with zeros. On the other hand, the SLA and SRA operations execute an arithmetic shift, also moving bits left or right, but filling the vacated bits with a copy of the sign bit. These enhancements are designed to offer you more control and flexibility over your IC code operations.

We need you!

[h3]Stationeers is a small niche project. We know times are tough and our project isn't for everyone. So if you like the work we do, we would love to encourage you to spread the word, grab our supporter DLCs, and watch Stationeers content creators on places like twitch and youtube. We want to keep developing this game for many years, well beyond any early access release and to do this we need your support[/h3]

Spray Gun

The Spray Gun allows for faster and more efficient painting. Simply load a spray can into the spray gun and get more out of each can.

Manual Hatch Welding

We've introduced the capability to both weld and un-weld the Manual Hatch using a Welder. While this operation will consume some time and fuel or power, it allows you to secure the hatch either in an open or closed position. This new feature proves especially handy if you wish to establish a hatch for maintenance purposes but deter its routine usage.

Tooltips

We've enhanced the tooltips associated with building actions. Now, when a structure placement is hindered, a specific tooltip will reveal what is obstructing the construction, replacing the previous generic 'Structure' message.

Additionally, we've incorporated a wealth of additional details into our extended tooltips. For instance, you'll now find settings related to Active Vent for both Internal and External safeties.

Build States

Some of the older devices were added to the game without build states. We’re slowly going to be adding build states to these. In this update we’ve added build states to the Station Batteries. When loading a game your Station Batteries should still be in their completed state, but the building of future ones will require you to complete the build state steps.

Stationpedia

We’ve updated how build-states are displayed to provide tier information and the benefits, such as build time and energy cost.

We also corrected the description of the deep miner, and corrected the name of ‘Infinite’ filters to ‘Catalytic’.

Linux Dedicated Server

Our Linux dedicated server recently encountered a significant issue that necessitated a substantial investment of time and resources to resolve. Over the course of the past month, this problem not only imposed a severe strain on our project timeline, but it also imposed roadblocks that halted the progress of other tasks.

Initially, the idea of supporting Linux dedicated servers seemed feasible and manageable. As such, we moved forward with its implementation. However, as time went on, the practical and monetary resources required to maintain this service became considerably more significant than we had anticipated.

We found ourselves on the verge of suspending our support for Linux dedicated servers when, fortuitously, we were able to identify and implement a solution. However, this experience has given us pause, causing us to reconsider the feasibility and value of continuing this service.

Our stance on this matter is candid: the costs and complications associated with supporting Linux dedicated servers are increasingly becoming prohibitive.

Should we encounter another scenario like this, it's probable that we would temporarily suspend our Linux support until we can confidently proceed without it detrimentally impacting the project's trajectory. We sincerely hope that this step will not be necessary, but we are committed to making the best decisions for the project's overall success and sustainability.

Coming Soon

[h2]First stages of Phase Change in next update[/h2]
As part of our complete rework of Rockets we have been working on for our next updates we have been working on phase change for gases and liquids. The next update will be the first step in what will be a long series of gradual changes to bring an implementation of phase change into the game. We have been testing out early changes on the beta branch, but remember that this will be subject to change and even what is outlined here may change.

[h3]The next update is going to have profound impacts on how gases interact at extreme temperatures and pressures. We will explain more in that update, but you can expect us to provide migration assistance with the save. But if you are working with extremely cold or hot gases, or those under a lot of little pressure you will need to be especially careful with the next update.[/h3]

[h2]Coming Soon: Liquids for Rocket Fuels[/h2]
Our broad goal with Rockets is to have you "build" the rockets using the mechanics players are familiar with in their bases. You will need to craft complex systems to make rocket fuel(s), and then pump and activate those fuels to produce the thrust you need, and even control them for the various things Rockets may be used for.

In the update expect to see a whole host of new liquids such as liquid oxygen and nitrogen, and even liquids for fuels. We may also make some changes to gases as well.
[h2]Coming Soon: Changes to Pipes likely[/h2]
In terms of phase change, we have been considering a lot of options. We have considered having generic pipes and a number of options. Currently we are leaning towards you have to give some indication as to your use of the pipe, and you will likely suffer big problems if phase change happens in a gas pipe and you don't have something like a purge valve. We are also likely changing the pipe volumes and introducing more pipe variations with different volumes. We may have ducts which are more similar to existing gas pipe volumes, but will not want to carry liquid and will have much lower pressure limits.

Remember though that we have to deal with an approximation. It's very challenging for us to go down this route, but we feel it is important for Rockets and additionally for our future plans like things for nuclear power. We are also investigating how we might go back to representing liquids in the world as well - but nothing concrete on that yet.

Hotfix Deployed v0.2.4120.19431

This hotfix addresses a problem with the player cookie that was preventing players from starting new games.

Hotfix Deployed v0.2.4117.19426

This hotfix removed some WIP changes around liquids and related atmospheric devices that should not yet be present.

Changelog v0.2.4089.19416

Fixing munmap_chunk() error on Linux dedicated servers
Removing debugging logs and commands used for this error
Added number of arguments check to all commands
Removed unwanted error messages when user enters wrong number of commands
Added liquid volatiles icon.
Added liquid nitrogen and oxygen icons.
Adding logs for linux to help debug munmap_chunk() error
Fixed PlayerCookie with saved ClientId=0 not generating a new client id causing a new character to spawn every time
Added missing editor tags for rocket fuselage
Added per-world-instance UI state to Player Cookie to allow clients to have their window layout saved on servers
Added rocket networks and first pass on registering internal grids that can be filled with components
Reverted window layout changes
Added per-save player UI preferences to player cookie so that clients retain window layouts when connecting to hosts
Added LogicType and LogicSlotType as a constant, in addition to being a variable class on some instructions. This means you can reference them outside of specific instructions so long as you preface them with their type in front, such as LogicType.Pressure. Credit: Risu (discord).
Fixed switch collider size on gas turbo volume pump
Disabled fuselage and nose cone
Fixed Atmospherics thread error spam caused by new gas addition deleting some serialised data on plant prefabs.
Fixed BNAZ instruction could not run because it was asking for the incorrect number of parameters. It has been like this for four years.
Added Liquid Nitrogen Gas Type. Currently only spawn-able using debug commands.
Added HASH(..), Binary, and Hex syntax descriptions to script help.
Added a few rocket pieces for testing. These are subject to change.
Added Binary and Hex notation for IC instructions. Adding a % in front of the number will specify the number is to be treated as a binary representation. So if '15' is the real number, '%1111' would be parsed as 15. The hex value of '$F' would also be parsed as 15. This is useful for ease of writing scripts to make use of various bitshift functions and changes. Additionally, you can add '_' underscores between digits to help with readability. Note they are not functional, and are stripped. So in the example above '%11_11' will also resolve to 15.
Added LogicSlotType.FilterType. This allows you to return the current filter type of a filter that is in a GasFilter slot. It will be returned as an integer, which can be checked against the GasType constants.
Adding Unity's .meta file for my last commit
Adding separate Linux .so for our RakNet fork in case this is causing BindSharedIPV4 to fail. I don't think this is the problem but will revert if it doesn't help the dedicated server situation
Updating RocketNet plugin to latest version
Hopefully fixes munmap_chunk() error but need to wait to test on Linux dedicated server to be sure
Fixed leading whitespace for jump labels not correctly being parsed. Now leading whitespace will not break jump label assignments.
Fixed bug in stationpedia where gas thumbnails were off by one
Tweaked splitting stacks into hand to make the interaction more intuitive. Splitting from non-hand slots will now split into the active hand or, if the active hand is unavailable, the other hand. If both are unavailable, will split onto the ground. Splitting from a hand slot will split to the other hand, or if the other hand is unavailable, the ground.
Changed Gas Particle collision layers to only be Default and Terrain. This should reduce the physics cost of gas particles, which could be high in some instances.
Added NOT bitwise operation. Performs a bitwise logical NOT operation flipping each bit of the input value, resulting in a binary complement. If a bit is 1, it becomes 0, and if a bit is 0, it becomes 1.
Changed AND to be a bitwise and not a boolen operation. In most circumstances, this will not cause any issues with scripts. Performs a bitwise logical AND operation on the binary representation of two values. Each bit of the result is determined by evaluating the corresponding bits of the input values. If both bits are 1, the resulting bit is set to 1. Otherwise the resulting bit is set to 0.
Changed OR to be a bitwise and not a boolen operation. In most circumstances, this will not cause any issues with scripts. Performs a bitwise logical OR operation on the binary representation of two values. Each bit of the result is determined by evaluating the corresponding bits of the input values. If either bit is 1, the resulting bit is set to 1. If both bits are 0, the resulting bit is set to 0.
Changed XOR to be a bitwise and not boolen operation. In most circumstances, this will not cause any issues with scripts. Performs a bitwise logical XOR (exclusive OR) operation on the binary representation of two values. Each bit of the result is determined by evaluating the corresponding bits of the input values. If the bits are different (one bit is 0 and the other is 1), the resulting bit is set to 1. If the bits are the same (both 0 or both 1), the resulting bit is set to 0.
Changed NOR to be a bitwise and not boolen operation. In most circumstances, this will not cause any issues with scripts. Performs a bitwise logical NOR (NOT OR) operation on the binary representation of two values. Each bit of the result is determined by evaluating the corresponding bits of the input values. If both bits are 0, the resulting bit is set to 1. Otherwise, if at least one bit is 1, the resulting bit is set to 0.
Fixed AdvancedSuit was not resetting stack when IC chip inserted.
Optimized IC Chip network serialization, reducing network message size for updates.
Fixed rescanning of JUMP, DEFINE, and ALIAS validation. Now when a line of text in script editor is changed, the database is correctly recalculated and applied to all the rest of the code. This will give instant feedback as to whether a jump label, or alias etc..., still exists or exists again. This makes it much easier to write IC code in the IC editor.
Fixed IC editor would say some alias and defines were not valid, even though they were, particularly when using the HASH macro or others.
Added Binary notation preprocessor macro for IC code. binary numbers can be wrapped and will be converted precompile.
Added SRL and SLL 'Shift Left/Right Logical' instructions. Performs a logical left/right shift operation on the binary representation of a value. It shifts the bits to the left/right and fills the vacated leftmost bits with zeros
Added SRA and SLA 'Shift Left/Right Arithmetic instructions. Performs an arithmetic left/right shift operation on the binary representation of a value. It shifts the bits to the left/right and fills the vacated bits with a copy of the sign bit (the most significant bit).
Reverted FlashPoint and AutoIgnition changes for Ingots (rev19265).
Replaced Animator with animationComponents on Advanced composter.
Fixed some error state checking logic on advanced composter.
Fixed Error on Client when Compost created by advanced composter.
Removed processing coroutines from AdvancedComposter. Moved processing logic onto ServerTick.
Changed removed cooked foods and canned foods from being valid composter inputs.
Added ICompostable interface. TODO: implement ICompostable on dynamic composter.
Added Import hopper to advanced Composter.
Fixed NRE error on client if trying to Destroy a null thing.
Updated generator for merging all localization files into one resx file
Fixed Some Animation states out of sync on client on join.
Removed Auto-ignition behaviour from ingots, Manual hatch and heat exchanger.
Added new color swatches
Fixed servers not correctly requesting a new session ID if there was an exception of any kind during a ping to the server list
Fixed illegal characters can cause loading of saves to break. Now any illegal characters will be stripped and loading continue.
Added SyncList from AotR. This is a generic method that allows easily serializing lists for events and new things using the highly efficient FragmentHandler instead of network messages. Implemented for AudioEvent off the SprayGun as a demonstration.
Refactored display of Build State Manufacture Data (manufacturing tier, and statistics).
Refactored recipe string generation to use StringBuilder, reducing memory garbage and fixing various bugs with extra carriage returns being present in some recipes.
Removed MAX_FRAGMENTS_PER_FRAME that was limiting the message fragment creation per frame. This was a legacy restriction. RocketNet interop works directly with the OS, so maximum fragment is effectively unlimited. The fragments can be queued up until OS memory limits, with the router itself controlling the delivery.
Added SprayGun. This takes Spray Cans and allows you to paint faster and more efficiently than using the cans directly.
Added ability to scroll console window with page up and page down
Added the ability to use secondary action on spray cans to paint the item in your other hand
Added Build States to Station Battery and Station Battery (Large). All older saves will automatically load with the full build states, but new batteries will require their build to be progressed. See Stationpedia for more information.
Fixed wrong state material setting on emergency suit prefab causing an index out of range error when picking up or dropping emergency suit.
Pushing new version of RocketNet for linux to fix munmap_chunck error STAT-1794
Added wip localization generation command
Added first pass of sprites avialable for use with Signs. You can reference these in your HTML tags. Sizing issues may exist though currently.
Added cutout for some structures such as Lockers, Stackers, Unpackers, ChuteBins, and the Furnaces. These will now show above walls and frames, so you will be able to see inside them as if they had cut a hole in the mesh. This means you can mount a locker on a wall, but still see inside the locker.
Refactor of tooltips. Introduced a variety of new information to extended tooltips, such as settings on Active vent for Internal and external safetys. Optimized the compilation of strings for tooltips.
Fixed Items were reporting incorrect values for decay. Simplified how they are calculated and optimized how the strings are generated.
Fixed StructureShelf slot rotations were incorrect. Now they are correctly rotated like other storage units in the game.
Fixed Chat could not be initiated using the "Return" key (or whatever is set). Now pressing the Chat action will automatically open the chat window and then send the result to clients. This is effectively the same as the chat key but much easier to do.
Fixed Multiline text input would show '...' instead of overflow, making it very hard to read text you have written with it.
Fixed Multiline text would submit on pressing enter, making it annoying to add additional lines.
Added HTML tag support for Signs and Pipe Labels.
Added Sign rename uses MultiLine text to allow more room. HTML result is not shown, so you can see the HTML tags. They will be parsed after.
Refactored SetPower to use UniTask and not Coroutine scheduler when device power state change queued from thread.
Removed PlayerList property that was generating memory garbage. Replaced with Clients.Find.
Added extended tooltips to Slots. Now will show the slot type, if anything other than none. Certain items will also show their current state in the tooltip as well, such as batteries and consumables, as well as stacks.
Improved tooltips for state handling for Human states.
Refactored Ragdoll handling and Dragging of characters. Removed an unused rigidbody which was causing character dragging to not be correctly rotated. Refactored dragging ragdoll handling to parent a dragged or ragdoll character parts to the correct rigidbody. Fixed a number of glitches associated with dragging or ragdolling characters, including desyncs and various physics issues. Balanced and tweaked ragdoll part constraints and dampening.
Added MAX_DEPENETRATION_VELOCITY to restrict how fast overlapping colliders are resolved. This will fix numerous situations where a kiss of death collision occurs when colliders are suddenly overlapping. It is still quite high, so it may be tweaked further. This may help with some situations where players are suddenly colliding with terrain during atmospheric changes.
Fixed several errors being thrown when spawning chickens
Fixed Music devices could not connect to passive speaker and existing connected devices printed errors. This was caused by accidental removal of IAudioInput interface from passive speaker when implementing AudioAlert system.
Fixed (Beta only) Welding tooltip was correct for Manual Hatches, but action still prevented advancement.
Fixed incorrect hydration calculation. Water was being consumed too slowly. Have returned this to expected behaviour.
Refactored character ragdoll, rigidbody, and collider handling to change how ragdoll and carrying characters are handled and character materials as they move around. This is a major change. A number of issues were causing unused colliders to 'stick' on terrain. All these colliders were audited and the problem ones diagnosed and removed from the code. Ragdoll was almost completely broken as it was being layered on top of existing rigidbody. The old system was repurposed and cleaned up, and reapplied. Currently while characters are being carried, they will be out of ragdoll, to reduce physics clipping issues.
Removed interactions as dragging method, now a general interaction on an unconscious or dead character will allow you to drag them, anywhere on the character.
Removed physics breaking constrains for dragging joints. While these are a good idea in general, they are a terrible idea if not handled. We are allowing joints to break, and then not handling the result when broken. This leaves people stuck carrying something, until they drop it at least. For now the breaking strength is infinity, until handling is implemented.
Added new physics materials to ease character across different structure colliders, reducing the chances characters will get "stuck" on terrain. In test environment was able to get stuck with 100% reproduction prior to change. After, unable to get character stuck.
Removed interactionId serialization for DragToSlot. it was completely unused and served no purpose, and prevented the use of AttackWith as a generic method to handle dragging, which is more appropriate than InteractWith for dragging of humans, given no interactable really exists to allow an interaction to take place.
Updated render distance for some clothing items to make them more consistent
Removed ifdefs around setting skinned meshes to always enabled
Fixed repairing a damaged partially completed structure will also advance its construction if the tools were the same. Now you can only advance construction of fully repaired structures.
Fixed server list player count; should now accurately report active players instead of 0
Fixed Composite Floor Grating Kit prefab selection starts on item 4.
Implemented ITransmittable on Advanced tablet. You can now read/write values to AdvancedTablet using logic transmitter.
Fixed LadderPlatform now uses crowbar to deconstruct.
Fixed Ordering of prefabs on Composite Floor Grating kit.
Added ability to weld and unweld a Manual Hatch. This is done using a Welder. Welding a hatch will take some time and fuel/power, but will lock the door in place (open or closed). This is useful if you want an access hatch for maintenance access, but want to prevent regular use. Tooltips (localizable) have been added as well as the description changed for the hatch to indicate this functionality.
Fixed clients had jerky movement. Clients were not having physics interpolation enabled for their main character. Without this, the FixedUpdate physics step was not in sync with the rendering, resulting in jerky movement. Interpolation will result in smoother movement of characters. Singleplayer has interpolation turned on anyway.
Added extended tooltips for building, now will always report what structure is preventing placement rather than just a generic message saying "structure". This will make it much easier for players to diagnose why they cannot place a structure. Was doing this for small grid structure, but not large grid ones.