Better slope blocks
We all know if from SE1: if you want different angles of slopes you need for every peace a extra block, which, with slope block mods, ends up quickly with dozens or hundreds of armor blocks, because you also need transitions.
I was hoping SE2 would have a better solution for it, but we see the same kind of slope blocks already again in the picture which shows all SE2 blocks at early access start.
So what I want to know: are they temporary or will we need to deal again with that?
I hoped a bit we would have some kind of tools like Dual Universe had (YouTube: Dual Universe - Vertex Precision Tool), but dumped down and limited to the unified grid system sizes. This would give you more control without the hassle of finding the right block or even having the right block.
I like this feedback
The UGS is great and allows for easy combination of different block sizes. But when it comes to slopes, we still only have two options: 1x1 and 1x2 slopes. This still limits the shapes of ships we can build.
One workaround is using rotors and hinges. This allows for any angle and, in some cases, simplifies building since you often don’t need slopes or transition blocks at all. But it’s far from ideal. Even if we had a “rigidify” option (for mechanical blocks) to lock subgrids in place, they would still remain subgrids, with all the downsides related to physics simulation and control of thrusters, gyros, and other systems. On top of that, you often end up with large sections of a ship attached at just a few points, making the design more fragile and less practical for survival.
Another option is simply adding more slope blocks, like 3x1 or 5x1. But even working with 1x1 and 2x1 slopes and their transitions is already tedious. Adding more variants would only increase complexity and explode G menu. Something has to change in the building tools to reduce this burden. Even after thousands of hours (In SE1 and SE2), building complex shapes is still a slow and sometimes frustrating process.
At the same time, the UGS and physics system likely benefit from keeping blocks “atomic.” In other words, a 2x1 slope should still be made from two 1x1 blocks, a 1x3 slope from three blocks, and so on. We could add all these variations and transitions, but the building process should not require placing them one by one.
Instead, we could have a small set of basic shapes in the toolbar: full block, slope, transition, rounded block, etc. From there, you could drag along a desired axis to define a larger shape. This would not create a new type of block, but the game would automatically fill the shape using available 1x1 (armor) pieces. Some shapes would still be impossible due to limitations of available pieces, but you would gain much more flexibility and speed without dealing with individual blocks.
These shapes should also remain editable. If you define a 3x1x5 slope, you should be able to select it later and adjust its size without rebuilding everything. This would make iteration much easier, especially when you realize you want to tweak proportions after building around it. Shapes could be highlighted differently and selecting them would allow modifications without removing them entirely.
As for additional tools, there could be helpers for creating more complex shapes like cylinders, spheres, toruses, pyramids, or circular segments. You could define starter point and parameters like size or radius and generate the shape. These should remain selectable and editable until you “apply” them. If shapes intersect, the conflicts could simply be highlighted, and resolved with the blocks from the shape you apply first.
You should also be able to select multiple blocks or shapes and change their properties in bulk. For example, selecting armor blocks and switching from light to heavy armor, or filtering blocks by type, color, or texture and applying changes to all of them. This would make iteration much faster and improve the creative workflow significantly.
The conclusion here:
The UGS is great and allows for easy combination of different block sizes. But when it comes to slopes, we still only have two options: 1x1 and 1x2 slopes. This still limits the shapes of ships we can build.
One workaround is using rotors and hinges. This allows for any angle and, in some cases, simplifies building since you often don’t need slopes or transition blocks at all. But it’s far from ideal. Even if we had a “rigidify” option (for mechanical blocks) to lock subgrids in place, they would still remain subgrids, with all the downsides related to physics simulation and control of thrusters, gyros, and other systems. On top of that, you often end up with large sections of a ship attached at just a few points, making the design more fragile and less practical for survival.
Another option is simply adding more slope blocks, like 3x1 or 5x1. But even working with 1x1 and 2x1 slopes and their transitions is already tedious. Adding more variants would only increase complexity and explode G menu. Something has to change in the building tools to reduce this burden. Even after thousands of hours (In SE1 and SE2), building complex shapes is still a slow and sometimes frustrating process.
At the same time, the UGS and physics system likely benefit from keeping blocks “atomic.” In other words, a 2x1 slope should still be made from two 1x1 blocks, a 1x3 slope from three blocks, and so on. We could add all these variations and transitions, but the building process should not require placing them one by one.
Instead, we could have a small set of basic shapes in the toolbar: full block, slope, transition, rounded block, etc. From there, you could drag along a desired axis to define a larger shape. This would not create a new type of block, but the game would automatically fill the shape using available 1x1 (armor) pieces. Some shapes would still be impossible due to limitations of available pieces, but you would gain much more flexibility and speed without dealing with individual blocks.
These shapes should also remain editable. If you define a 3x1x5 slope, you should be able to select it later and adjust its size without rebuilding everything. This would make iteration much easier, especially when you realize you want to tweak proportions after building around it. Shapes could be highlighted differently and selecting them would allow modifications without removing them entirely.
As for additional tools, there could be helpers for creating more complex shapes like cylinders, spheres, toruses, pyramids, or circular segments. You could define starter point and parameters like size or radius and generate the shape. These should remain selectable and editable until you “apply” them. If shapes intersect, the conflicts could simply be highlighted, and resolved with the blocks from the shape you apply first.
You should also be able to select multiple blocks or shapes and change their properties in bulk. For example, selecting armor blocks and switching from light to heavy armor, or filtering blocks by type, color, or texture and applying changes to all of them. This would make iteration much faster and improve the creative workflow significantly.
The conclusion here:
Also a system like in Starship Evo could be used, limited to the 25, 50, 250cm grid size in SE2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34pcnwRSXNI
Also a system like in Starship Evo could be used, limited to the 25, 50, 250cm grid size in SE2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34pcnwRSXNI
Here is another topic about that:
https://support.keenswh.com/spaceengineers2/pc/topic/46043-add-armor-blocks-that-can-be-scaled-dynamically
For a better overview. Should also be voted there, also because it points directly to a solution that sounds similar to Starship Evo, which I mentioned below.
Here is another topic about that:
https://support.keenswh.com/spaceengineers2/pc/topic/46043-add-armor-blocks-that-can-be-scaled-dynamically
For a better overview. Should also be voted there, also because it points directly to a solution that sounds similar to Starship Evo, which I mentioned below.
this would be supper useful and help prevent everything looking like a fancy set of stairs
this would be supper useful and help prevent everything looking like a fancy set of stairs
The UGS is great and allows for easy combination of different block sizes. But when it comes to slopes, we still only have two options: 1x1 and 1x2 slopes. This still limits the shapes of ships we can build.
One workaround is using rotors and hinges. This allows for any angle and, in some cases, simplifies building since you often don’t need slopes or transition blocks at all. But it’s far from ideal. Even if we had a “rigidify” option (for mechanical blocks) to lock subgrids in place, they would still remain subgrids, with all the downsides related to physics simulation and control of thrusters, gyros, and other systems. On top of that, you often end up with large sections of a ship attached at just a few points, making the design more fragile and less practical for survival.
Another option is simply adding more slope blocks, like 3x1 or 5x1. But even working with 1x1 and 2x1 slopes and their transitions is already tedious. Adding more variants would only increase complexity and explode G menu. Something has to change in the building tools to reduce this burden. Even after thousands of hours (In SE1 and SE2), building complex shapes is still a slow and sometimes frustrating process.
At the same time, the UGS and physics system likely benefit from keeping blocks “atomic.” In other words, a 2x1 slope should still be made from two 1x1 blocks, a 1x3 slope from three blocks, and so on. We could add all these variations and transitions, but the building process should not require placing them one by one.
Instead, we could have a small set of basic shapes in the toolbar: full block, slope, transition, rounded block, etc. From there, you could drag along a desired axis to define a larger shape. This would not create a new type of block, but the game would automatically fill the shape using available 1x1 (armor) pieces. Some shapes would still be impossible due to limitations of available pieces, but you would gain much more flexibility and speed without dealing with individual blocks.
These shapes should also remain editable. If you define a 3x1x5 slope, you should be able to select it later and adjust its size without rebuilding everything. This would make iteration much easier, especially when you realize you want to tweak proportions after building around it. Shapes could be highlighted differently and selecting them would allow modifications without removing them entirely.
As for additional tools, there could be helpers for creating more complex shapes like cylinders, spheres, toruses, pyramids, or circular segments. You could define starter point and parameters like size or radius and generate the shape. These should remain selectable and editable until you “apply” them. If shapes intersect, the conflicts could simply be highlighted, and resolved with the blocks from the shape you apply first.
You should also be able to select multiple blocks or shapes and change their properties in bulk. For example, selecting armor blocks and switching from light to heavy armor, or filtering blocks by type, color, or texture and applying changes to all of them. This would make iteration much faster and improve the creative workflow significantly.
The conclusion here:
The UGS is great and allows for easy combination of different block sizes. But when it comes to slopes, we still only have two options: 1x1 and 1x2 slopes. This still limits the shapes of ships we can build.
One workaround is using rotors and hinges. This allows for any angle and, in some cases, simplifies building since you often don’t need slopes or transition blocks at all. But it’s far from ideal. Even if we had a “rigidify” option (for mechanical blocks) to lock subgrids in place, they would still remain subgrids, with all the downsides related to physics simulation and control of thrusters, gyros, and other systems. On top of that, you often end up with large sections of a ship attached at just a few points, making the design more fragile and less practical for survival.
Another option is simply adding more slope blocks, like 3x1 or 5x1. But even working with 1x1 and 2x1 slopes and their transitions is already tedious. Adding more variants would only increase complexity and explode G menu. Something has to change in the building tools to reduce this burden. Even after thousands of hours (In SE1 and SE2), building complex shapes is still a slow and sometimes frustrating process.
At the same time, the UGS and physics system likely benefit from keeping blocks “atomic.” In other words, a 2x1 slope should still be made from two 1x1 blocks, a 1x3 slope from three blocks, and so on. We could add all these variations and transitions, but the building process should not require placing them one by one.
Instead, we could have a small set of basic shapes in the toolbar: full block, slope, transition, rounded block, etc. From there, you could drag along a desired axis to define a larger shape. This would not create a new type of block, but the game would automatically fill the shape using available 1x1 (armor) pieces. Some shapes would still be impossible due to limitations of available pieces, but you would gain much more flexibility and speed without dealing with individual blocks.
These shapes should also remain editable. If you define a 3x1x5 slope, you should be able to select it later and adjust its size without rebuilding everything. This would make iteration much easier, especially when you realize you want to tweak proportions after building around it. Shapes could be highlighted differently and selecting them would allow modifications without removing them entirely.
As for additional tools, there could be helpers for creating more complex shapes like cylinders, spheres, toruses, pyramids, or circular segments. You could define starter point and parameters like size or radius and generate the shape. These should remain selectable and editable until you “apply” them. If shapes intersect, the conflicts could simply be highlighted, and resolved with the blocks from the shape you apply first.
You should also be able to select multiple blocks or shapes and change their properties in bulk. For example, selecting armor blocks and switching from light to heavy armor, or filtering blocks by type, color, or texture and applying changes to all of them. This would make iteration much faster and improve the creative workflow significantly.
The conclusion here:
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