Building a Station/City in Evochron Legacy

Tips, tactics, and general discussion for Evochron Legacy.
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Marvin
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Building a Station/City in Evochron Legacy

Post by Marvin »

Building a space station or city has become a lot easier with the release of Evochron Legacy version 1.0518. You can now position your modules more accurately, using the Overhead View.


The Space Station. To begin building or to add to a structure, press the Build and Deploy key (default F2). This will bring up the Build menu.


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Caution. As seen from the above screen shot, you start out in the Cockpit View. If, while in this view, you left-click on either a Build or a Deploy module button, the build/deploy process will begin immediately (assuming you have enough metal). If you clicked on the button accidentally, you can left-click on the "scuttle" option (which will automatically appear on the right side of the HUD while building is in progress). You will lose your metal but at least you won't be required to destroy a module built in the wrong location.


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Begin building. Granted, there are times when you might want to actually build or deploy a module from the cockpit view. For instance, if you're doing a quest where you're expected to build/deploy at a predetermined X-Y-Z location. But in most situations, it helps to do your building (and sometimes your deploying) in three dimensions. Ergo, left click on the "Overhead View" button.


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The grid. You're now in the overhead view (left-clicking on the same button will put you back in the cockpit view). Place your cursor somewhere near the center of the grid and hold down the right mouse button.


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Adjusting the view. You can now move the mouse to rotate your view in three dimensions. As long as you're in the overhead view, you can release the right mouse button and your view will remain how you left it.

Note. The grid lines are always at the same level as your ship. In the screen shot shown below, your ship is level with the command module's docking bay and the grid lines run right through the entryways.


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Adjusting your position. While it's possible to align a new module with current modules which are either above or below your ship's position along the Y axis, it is much easier to first reposition your ship to the intended level.


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Easy alignment. Now the grid lines are aligned with the module(s) you plan to connect.


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The module. As an example, let's add a storage module to the station's lower structure.

Note. Clicking on the module button at this point in the build process will not initiate building.


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Positioning. Run your cursor across the "Storage" button and then drag the storage module's mesh along the grid, into a location where the mesh turns green.


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Locking the coodinates. Once the module is in the desired position, left click to lock the module along the X-Z axis. If you then move the mouse, the mesh will begin to move up or down, along the Y axis. If necessary, reposition the mesh and left click again. Your mesh is now locked along all three axiis, as indicated in green, below the "Build" tab.


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Checking the build. You can now hold down the right mouse button again to rotate your view and confirm that you've placed the module exactly where you want it. In the example below, notice that the storage module only connects to one other module and is otherwise misaligned with the station. To correct this mistake, you can left-click on the "Unlock Build Point" button (you can also exit the Build and Deploy menu or return to the cockpit view).


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Repositioning. After unlocking the build point, drag your mesh to a better location, such as shown below.


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The first click. The first left click will again lock in the X-Z coordinates. Notice that, in the below screen shot, the mesh has moved and is now yellow instead of green. That's because, as mentioned earlier, you haven't yet locked in the Y axis and, consequently, the mesh is floating below the grid line. So, before left-clicking a second time, use the mouse to reposition the mesh to its intended location.


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The second click. Now lock the Y axis with the second left-click.


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Confirmation. If needed, you can confirm your setup by holding down the right mouse button and rotating the overhead view.


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Initiate the build. Once you're satisfied with the new location, left-click on the "Storage" button (or the button for whichever module you plan to build) to actually build the module. If you find that you cannot build your selected module, even though you're carrying sufficient metal ore, check the chat box. Some modules depend on the placement of other module types and chat might tell you which module needs to be built prior to the building of your selected module.

Note. When the building process is complete, you'll need to unlock the build point before you can position another module.


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The City. Building a city works pretty much the same way except that there is no need to independently lock the Y axis. When in the overhead view, all three axiis are locked at the same time. Keep in mind that city modules do not necessarily connect like those of a space station. Still, it's a good idea to rotate the overhead view and check for collision between modules or between a module and, for example, a mountainside.

Note. Even though the planet rotates, the grid does not. Consequently, the planet can rotate out from under your mesh (which is locked to the grid), eventually turning the mesh from green to yellow or red. Once the module is actually under construction, the mesh is "grounded" and begins to rotate with the planet.


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The target scanner. Also, if you have a target scanner, you can get a readout of the mineral composition as you fly close to ground level.


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The mineral list. The readout is displayed next to the target monitor, on the right side of your cockpit. Finding an area near the city with a high concentration of metal can make for a quick buildup of modules. Activate your tractor beam (default Alt-B) and continue building as your cargo bays fill up.


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