Build constructor metal prices and camera angles

[starschulz]

I have been enjoying this game more and more the longer i play it. recently i decided to try out building my own home, and today i was fortifying a different station. What struck me as odd was that building a shield or turret costs 25, and building a non functional horizontal or vertical costed 20. Why would i ever build the non functional bits, if i could simply build more shields? if i have 10 cargo holds full of metal, i could build 10 shields or 12 of the others.

For me at least, trying to work the camera into the right spot so i can tell where the module i am placing is very frustrating. I can go into the overhead mode and hold alt to move the camera around, but once i release alt i go back to overhead and loose all depth perception. I just found out i can lock the position and then check it with alt, but having to switch back and forth and then moving the ship around to find the right spot feels a bit clumsy. Is there something i am missing here? any assistance would be very appreciated x.x

[Marvin]

I usually build the command module first. I set my heading to zero and build. I then use thrusters to move left, right, up or down to add modules. In the HUD view, you can tell if the next module will be built behind, in front or attached to the previous module.

For detached modules, like turrets, I adjust my height while in HUD mode ... then go into Overhead mode to set the location and build. If the location I want is off the grid, I've learned to fly my ship while in Overhead mode until I'm in a position to build the module.

It takes practice. But, eventually, you'll get good at it.

[starschulz]

I had a weird idea that i would protect the entrances of a command module with a cage of other modules, surrounded by guns. do the shields stack, or should i build only one shield for an area and then the rest the horizontal and vertical pieces?

[Vice]

Shields don't stack, so as long as you have one in range, you can focus on building the horizontal and vertical structures, saving a few units of metal in the process, to build up a structural obstacle/defense around another structure. Additional shield modules can be useful as backups in case one is destroyed though. Ultimately, how you want to build it is very much up to you.

[starschulz]

Thank you! it is hard to find information specific to legacy, i only find mercenary things when i search.

[Vice]

Correction and some clarity. Another player reminded me in e-mail about a later decision change during development that allows the shield modules to build their recharge influence, even though the capacity does not stack or increase. In order to provide that recharge benefit, any additional shield modules must be within range of the module to build the recharge rate faster. If a module falls outside of the range of one or more shield modules, it will not have the additional recharge benefit applied to it. So by combining shield modules in this way, you can provide additional shield recharge performance so that attackers may need to focus on taking out shield modules first before attacking the protected module.

[Marvin]

Cool. I stacked a couple of shield modules by mistake. Seems it worked out just fine.