Survival, Maybe... #77 Almost Trams (A Space Engineers Survival Series)

[@EirianV]

to tram or not to tram?

[@davfree9732]

That is the question... Better to suffer the back and forth of certain destination than to suffer the freedom afforded by personal automobiles, constrained by walls cut and graded by Splitsies engineering corp.

[@Splitsie]

When I finish building the station, you must remind me to put this on an LCD :)

[@rishoh]

It's a shame there are no working font mods. You could have made that into a mural, with a fancy script. Maybe you can do it with a LCD picture?

[@Psycorde]

If you're ready from tramifications

[@0623kaboom]

ding ding all aboard ... of course he's gonna tram lol

[@chrisholland8892]

I love it! Every time you have to get upstairs quick or urgently and you get in that elevator it's almost comical with it's slow pace and music 😂 Love the stair well leading down to the tram..reminds me of almost a white marble grand central. And the ceiling for the tram car has a mechanical feeling to it.... Maybe you could add, if purely for aesthetics alone, conveyor piping and those electrical conduits along the top. Keep up the awesome work!

[@Splitsie]

I do slightly love the elevator music interrupting an otherwise dramatic moment :) Something like the pipes could be a good option for the roof as well :)

[@josephwytkamp5114]

Another project?? I think it is awesome you are building a tram line (so cool!!!), but after wards, you should really finish the refinery and assembler rooms!!!

[@Splitsie]

I may have a plan to get back to those little projects once the tram is up and working :)

[@boomeraus0073]

HA HA HA I bet they will never get done :P

[@mattp1337]

To be fair, he needs the additional power capacity before upgrading the processing & manufacturing capacity. Otherwise, it's gonna be brownouts all the time.

[@collinbarker]

Rather than a full turntable for the other cars, maybe a switch track thing like those used on roller coasters to put more trains on. It would be 1 piston to move the track to another line into a parallel station, rather than all the excess rail alignment needed to correct for the angles from a turn table

[@Splitsie]

That's a very good idea :)

[@GeocompGhost]

In your stairwell, glass panels and a light behind the glass would give it a great underground look (like the upper areas.) Now the tram station is giving me the "Earth 2" TV series train station feel (although your tram does not run in a vacuum.) Great video as always.

[@Splitsie]

Thanks and that's a good point, I should probably have a look at where I can add some of those windows down there :)

[@jeremyswain9842]

"Further down the LINE". Get it? haha

[@mightygamer3466]

nice Xd

[@ZorillaMyrid181]

Oof

[@Splitsie]

My pun impaired state continues :P

[@slr321]

Just keeps getting better and better - I've learnt so much from this series already. Can't wait to see what this tram is going to look like.

[@Splitsie]

Thanks, I'm still not certain what style I'm going to go with in terms of aesthetics, but I'm pretty excited to get it together to try some things :)

[@mattp1337]

Leave the station roof as bare rock between arch supports, definitely..

[@Splitsie]

I probably should have drilled more carefully :P

[@mattp1337]

Nah. Not everything needs to be manicured and polished.

[@Natharneal]

Glad to see you looked into Ravric's system for it Splitsie. Looking forward to seeing if and how you will incorporate parts of that. And looking forward to the build entirely!

[@Splitsie]

I'll probably end up with a combination of the two methods, but the further I can get without rotors and pistons the better I guess :P

[@Natharneal]

Splitsie i'll happily look forward to the struggle in the video. The longer the better ;) On a sidenote, you'd be surprised how well a rebuilt version of your tick functions as a small scout/fighter flyer.

[@Splitsie]

It would probably need a fair bit of rebuilding though :P

[@Natharneal]

Splitsie Surprisingly little actually, albeit a tiny redesign helped by adding a small wingshape for thruster room. But I use it in both space engineers as well as empyrion these days.

[@sanguin289]

I'm so glad I found this series. Because I've not really been enjoying SE that much recently so thanks splitsie

[@Splitsie]

Thanks, I have been having so much fun with all the crazy ideas I've been able to use in this series, it really helps that people keep suggesting others as well :)

[@HeruKane]

So I found you last week from your presence at a livestream and then went to your channel and just watched all 77 episodes of this series. Your pretty awesome and I'm looking forward to seeing how things progress. Also the light axe museum is gonna be cool. The train station and line are gonna be awesome. Really looking forward to seeing the automated construction of the tunnel and line. Also, I love the fact you decorate. It's amazing. Especially the geothermal volcano lab missile base. Ps. It will be nice to see the refineries area finished and the quarters section built. Hehe

[@Splitsie]

Thanks so much :) I do love getting into the decoration of spaces - I may have spent a fair bit of time playing the sims over the years :P I have a little idea of how to get some of those unfinished projects getting some more progress again that might involve some 'mini-episodes' where I just do a little task with all the decoration rather than trying to fit such things into the longer episodes :)

[@killermartian_3923]

Maybe a yellow line and a sign telling people to stay behind it would be good.

[@Splitsie]

I could probably make the half slab slopes yellow to act as the yellow line :)

[@0623kaboom]

essentially a buttress connects to what it supports for it's full length while a flying buttress connects to a point to transfer load away from what it supports to itself ... that is how the cathedrals were built with such large open spaces

[@totalal4601]

I love how this tram installation gets more complicated every episode! I'd be flying a transport aircraft made 98% of batteries to transfer power to the base by now!

[@Splitsie]

Efficiency thy middle name will never be Splitsie - or something like that :P

[@oreo4607]

amazing man, love the vids please dont stop uploading!!!

[@Splitsie]

Thanks, glad you're enjoying them :D

[@loonitun]

Very cool idea, you should add some structur to "prevent" the tunnel from collapsing ... like evey 30-50 meters, it could also have a small light on to make a bit of effect when driving though.

[@Splitsie]

I was thinking of doing something like that with the lighting - maybe just a spotlight on the front, then have occasional lights on the tunnel like you suggest, that way if you're looking out the side there will just be intermittent bits fo light going past which would be cool :)

[@scorpioncoreuniverse8981]

Very awesome I'm glad you figured out a way to get to solar axe without using rotors keep up the great work .

[@Splitsie]

I'll probably still need them at the very end, but that's a lot better than needing them at multiple points and trying to work out how to keep them powered :P

[@scorpioncoreuniverse8981]

Splitsie you got it man keep rocking it

[@darthlink1687]

In the space between the roof and the top rail can be used for some sweet sweet lighting effects. :)

[@Splitsie]

I hope so :)

[@brettpau1sen]

I had an idea not related to the tram. I was thinking about the trailers and how if one of them gets out of position, you have to take the goose to line it back up again. What if you made a small cart that could be attached to the trailer. The wheel base could be smaller and more maneuverable. Kind of like a dolly or pallet jack. You wouldn't have to disconnect, use the turn table, back up, reconnect, and then reposition the Goose if you just needed to reposition a trailer.

[@Splitsie]

Yeah I should have something like the little trucks they use to tow planes around, something that has better maneuverability than the goose and less likely to flip itself over :P

[@lowrads3653]

Honestly, having a strait track diving in and out of the ground would probably have a lot of visual appeal.

[@Splitsie]

With the position of the station, a straight track remains underground the whole way - we're actually fairly deep under the mountain. But even it if weren't I'd prefer to keep it underground to prevent damage from drones being an issue for something that would be so difficult to repair if I had a derailment :P

[@ryderlynch2281]

Maybe add a fern at the end of each railing on the stairway landings? You have them in the main corridor in the base above. You could also do LCD screens with advertisements along the walls. And coffee and news stands in the station itself. Maybe an LCD in the station to allows you to see the location of the tram along the line, if there's a script for that. I'd also suggest building a maintenance tunnel parallel to the tram line. Most modern train tunnels have them for maintenance and evacuation purposes. You could place a door between the two tunnels every so many blocks and mark them with a blue interior light. In the event of an issue with the tram, it would mean you have a means of traveling to the base or Solar Axe on foot (whichever is closer) without having to walk on the track. A side maintenance tunnel could be a place to run a conveyor line with periodically conveyor junctions without having them visible in the tram tunnel itself as well. It would allow you to access the base cargo system for parts in case you need to perform "field repairs" on a malfunctioning or damaged tram.

[@Splitsie]

Yeah, I think that could be nice having the ferns there - it'll really break up the stairway nicely :) I might do some sort of service way, though I wouldn't be putting any conveyors in - largely because if I managed to connect the two bases the tram would be purely for my own entertainment, and I'd like to pretend it has a function in the game world (plus it wouldn't be great for performance to have a 1.5km long conveyor system) :P

[@ryderlynch2281]

I think the ferns would look nice, but I had a thought. You could do the interior blocks in the floor with the light strips up. Call it a "safety" feature in case the stairwell loses power to its lights or something. It would match the main corridor above like an architect using the same design aesthetic in all the "public" areas of the base. And I see what you mean about the performance issues with such a long conveyor system.

[@trwolf2k]

I had the crazy idea that you could make the rail using two rotors for the anchor point. Like the Goose's hitch, then 'aim' it straight at the battle axe. You could then build the shuttle like one of those train cars that go straight up the side of mountains. Though they use gears where you would use wheels. Though the idea might still work as a turn table transition point in the middle for choosing between the axe or the missile silo. One rotor gives you a place to rotate at and the other lets you raise up to go higher.

[@Splitsie]

I initially planned to do something like that, though I've tested a new system that I think looks nicer in the end but will take a little more work to place down initially - it'll make sense when I do it :)

[@BeauWhately]

Make the ceiling out of catwalks :) see thru to the rock. I think as much as the battleaxe is a modern design, you should pay some tribute to the base design in this station :)

[@Splitsie]

I think you're right, the nice thing if I go this way is that the catwalks will show the rock, while hiding some of the very messy drilling I did :)

[@zachw2906]

Referring to this bit 10:30 what if you put some of the planters from Eikester's decorations on each landing where the railing deadends?

[@Splitsie]

I'm thinking that could look nice, I'll need to push out the back wall an extra block but that shouldn't be too much if it looks nice :)

[@4833504F]

Take care that your rail sections don't get deleted by trash cleanup, if you plan to have them unpowered.

[@Splitsie]

That is a very good point, I'd been thinking about it and if I make sure I connect the top and bottom track for each section I should end up with enough blocks to be under my trash cleanup size - but it's something I'll try to remember to point out when I build it so other people don't run into that disaster if they try it themselves :)

[@octavioferreira2846]

I can't wait to see this tram running.

[@Splitsie]

Neither can I, and I desperately hope it manages to run more than once :P

[@Runescope]

I had a thought about stair railings. a Loooooooong time ago I saw someone use windows, so I played around a bit and yeah, if you use the 'Window 1x2 Side' (both left & right), you can get decent looking railings. The only drawback of course is that they need a full block space on the side, but seeing as you're using a full block space on the side right now, that shouldn't be much of a problem. :) You can either fully build them or leave them unbuilt, they look good either way.

[@Splitsie]

They are something I used a long time ago, but I completely forgot about them, to use them with these stairs I'd need two blocks between so they can be on the stairs in both directions. It's something I'll point out at the start of the next episode now that I've been reminded of the good idea :)

[@productionservices667]

Love your vids, I have two suggestions for the tram station: 1. In the tram tunnel, how about adding a "access point" every "xxx meters" with a cut out for a door and say a transformer block with some stairs like the subways in new york just a thought. to make the tunnel a little more interesting, maybe even on the side without the "track" 2. there is a mod by eikester that adds railings to the stairs " Stairs with Railing" fyi. I know maybe a little too late since it's finished now.

[@Splitsie]

I think a side tunnel that's for 'emergency' use could be a nice touch to make lights at various intervals make sense :) I was aware of the mod, but was happy with the vanilla look so I thought I'd show it off :P

[@zeroraptor]

What could be an interesting way to store extra/different tram cars would be like what Dead Space did for their tram maintenance. Either a arm grabs the tram car and lifts it off the track or a piston set up that moves the track with the car still on it. That would limit you to two maybe three cars unless you do more "bays" down the track. A Goose style roundhouse may even take up more room in the long run. If SE manages to not crash every 5 mins I could try to set up what i mean in the most basic of forms and post a screenshot or something. I even tried to make a compact missile manufacturing and launch system for your "volcano" base to see if i could but SE started crashing so often.

[@Splitsie]

I think you're right, a piston based setup will be the easiest and most expandable as I could go up and down instead of side to side as well - just need to use plenty of pistons like my current in base elevator :) That sucks that SE doesn't like you playing with these sorts of contraptions as they are a part of it I really enjoy :(

[@zeroraptor]

Well, i managed to build one complete mock up and almost finished the second before SE crashed, still probably lost all the work :/, though it only took me a few mins to toss it together after getting spacing right. will probably re-install SE and try again.

[@ZorillaMyrid181]

3:12 Darn birds are high on berries again...

[@glenngirona7823]

I use glass for railings, with the 1x1 or 1x2 triangles you get a perfect match for stairs.

[@Splitsie]

I always forget the glass for that, it wouldn't have worked so well here with the stairs doubling back and only having a single block between. It's something I'll mention in the next episode as it's a good style to point out :)

[@robirvin1502]

Not sure what's been done as I'm still catching up, but here empty spaces at major transit centres are filled with local history and near the zoo there's even (there used to be) a few zoo worthy statues. Maybe some samples of the original survey maps,a picture of the first explorer's vehicle, various travel referenced trivia as though the military base functions like planetary customs and then new arrivals next stop can be the cafe and museum at the solar tower. Probably also a future transit hub!

[@Splitsie]

I am keen to go all out on the museum - it'll be fun to design since it'll need to mostly be made out of small blocks to allow the degree of personalisation I want for all the screens and other bits of info and I've not done a lot of that for internal decorations in the past :)

[@hogfry]

I know its a bit late now. But that stairwell would have been a perfect place for a piston driven drill array. because you had the room, base power, were right next to your component storage, and could use the pistons to set your depth/cavern width very accurately.

[@Splitsie]

Good point :)

[@Psycorde]

Have yet to watch last episode, but I hope you've considered making just one lift section on the tram line to bring it on the elevation of the end station, instead of bending it in multiple points. Although we've already established that over-engineered solutions are more fun

[@Splitsie]

The end is absolutely going to be with an elevator, but I'm going to try to align it to the station (but just a bit below) as close as possible so the elevator can be relatively simple :P

[@halfcirclehranch]

Splitsie: Damn it, Jim! I'm an engineer, not an architect.

[@hellstorm9884]

You should make somewhere a big round about so even like you build a whole bunch of tram cars you would switch that which one you're using at the roundabout I think I've been pretty cool

[@wardaddyindustries4348]

The only KZbinr to not harass for a like or share the only one to get it off the bat.

[@Splitsie]

Thanks :) That might be one of my pet peeves - I'm ok with it at the end of a video as a gentle reminder, but if it's mid way or at the start it immediately puts me off :P

[@ZeniusAug]

The master engineer challenges himself yet again. Keep on tramming

[@Splitsie]

Let's just hope this isn't one tram too far :P

[@snowmexican5479]

put some neet lighting in that center piece, it'd look interesting especially if you use those 2x1 slope pieces in there to have a unique light.

[@Splitsie]

I was thinking something like what I did in the assembler room might work out well, though I'll still need a few other lights as the space ended up a little bigger than I'd thought it would at first (big surprise... to no one) :P

[@snowmexican5479]

Splitsie, well I knewyou needed more lighting there but I thinked it'd be a nice grande look to it. Also I think you need to put pillars in the tunnel with lights on each side like in the subways but distance them more than 10 blocks tI think

[@zachw2906]

Also, what about a fake Arrivals/Departures board on the back wall at the top and bottom of the stairs? That seems like it could be cool. Maybe a route map? If you want maximum style points, you could rig sensors at each station that would transmit timer commands over antenna to turn lights on and off on a route indicator board made of small-grid blocks XD

[@Splitsie]

Maybe I should be cheeky and suggest that a clever scripter could try to write something that would work as an actual track display with the tram's current position ;)

[@Splitsie]

Obviously just in terms of the stations, the track might be doable but powering the sensors along the way would be painful

[@zachw2906]

Well, if you were willing to cheat with both hands, you could maybe just jam a solar panel into the voxels and soak up that mysterious underground sunshine XP You could even role-play it as a "geothermal" unit. However, you'd still have to build a small-grid light-board with a timer for each waypoint light AND a PB to receive broadcasts from the sensors AND an antenna for it to receive them with. This is why 9 out of 10 doctors recommend just faking it with a picture in Paint.Net or maybe a series of images if you feel like animating it XD

[@Splitsie]

Yeah, the cheated picture is probably the way to go :) (like my satellite in the silo)

[@mightygamer3466]

Btw you are awesome! I cannot wait for your next episode! On that subject what is your video schedule?

[@josephwytkamp5114]

Every 3 days a new episode, sometimes a day delayed, but that rarely happens

[@mightygamer3466]

Joseph Wytkamp thanks for the information

[@josephwytkamp5114]

No problem

[@ZorillaMyrid181]

I asked earlier, it’s around noon Sydney time, every Wednesday and Saturday.

[@Splitsie]

So close, I aim for 7pm Sydney time on Wednesdays and Saturdays - recently been a little late since KZbin has been taking forever to process the files, which may or not be related to me moving to Adobe CC from an older creative suite version :P Also thanks :)

[@ScorpiusZA.]

I have a question - more than likely really daft, but at the risk of showing off my lack of foresight... If the rails on your tram are all the half slabs, and you are also going to be building the circular walls all the way to the Mark 2 Tower, isn't the act of simply laying all of those block going to connect the 2 grids up and then power will simply flow between them, essentially negating the need for the battery car?

[@Cyberguy42]

Scorpius1691 I had the same question. Apparently very long grids are bad for performance, so the sections of track will not be connected to each other in any way.

[@Splitsie]

As Cyberguy42 said - I'm going to be breaking up the parts of the track, it'll make more sense why that's necessary for not just performance when I go to build the gentle curving parts :)

[@thebambi5817]

I dislike myself for bringing up this point.....Buuuut isn't a tram line to haul batteries a mute point if you connect the new power tower to the main base? shouldn't you just build a new big battery room in the main base?

[@Splitsie]

Since the other base is so far away, I'll be creating the sections of track as separate grids, that are just very close to one another. In the past (not 100% certain if it still works this way) having several smaller grids was better for performance than one gigantic one, and in this case it would be over 1.5km long :/

[@thebambi5817]

Doh....my bad you did state multiple times you would have to curve bend and steer the way to the solar power station, i just figured you would get the angles using rotors and in so doing the base theoretically would be connected, As you where lol, I can be a tool at times but i have to ask or i just don't know :D

[@Splitsie]

I'm a big believer of the idea that there are no stupid questions, but there are plenty of possible stupid answers ;)

[@boomeraus0073]

The turn table will kill the power on the other side so no biggie.

[@gordon861]

Once you had first placed the stairwell you should have Blueprinted the base, then remove the stair blocks to weld the walls. Then turned on the projector and welded from the ground up.

[@Splitsie]

Dang, that's a good plan - I'll have to remember to do something like that in the future - not looking forward to lining up the blueprint though :P

[@Rickard_H]

i think it would be cooler if you hang the top rail by interior pillars :D

[@Splitsie]

I wonder if they'd look too flimsy for the size of the rail though, it would be great if we had something just a bit more robust that the pillars but still smaller than a full block

[@Rickard_H]

nah its quite thick and since you're using half blocks it would kinda look proportionate but you could aways use the conveyor tube xD if you really want it to be thick xD

[@rvendelstrego6688]

the lighting for the stairs should be windows (like upstairs). would fit perfectly.

[@Splitsie]

I might have a look at that, part of the reason I hadn't was that the stairs are part of the hangar complex which I've always made just a little more industrial - but now that I've got the station maybe I should rethink that and just have it change once you enter the hangar proper

[@Netherspark0_0]

You know you can flip the stairs around and orientate them vertically? It's what I do whenever I need a compct staircase.

[@Splitsie]

I know, but I really don't like the look of those though - it feels too weird walking up and down such a steep surface

[@dacoz]

I think of it as a sloped ladder

[@kelemvour]

The flying buttress (arc-boutant, arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arched structure that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey to the ground the lateral forces that push a wall outwards, which are forces that arise from vaulted ceilings of stone and from wind-loading on roofs.[1] The defining, functional characteristic of a flying buttress is that it is not in contact with the wall it supports, like a traditional buttress, and so transmits the lateral forces across the span of intervening space between the wall and the pier. To provide lateral support, flying-buttress systems are composed of two parts: (i) a massive pier, a vertical block of masonry situated away from the building wall, and (ii) an arch that bridges the span between the pier and the wall - either a segmental arch or a quadrant arch - the flyer of the flying buttress.[2] So a pillar that has an arm/arch that reaches over to connect to a wall and support it... Most commonly seen on the side of cathedrals...

[@Splitsie]

I probably should have looked that up before I did the recording :P

[@wepntech]

errm large grid mining piston setup. right click mine in so far, preposition and build a new one with a rotor, then continue... shouldn't take long.

[@Splitsie]

Nope, no pistons are going to be used in this miner, it's going to be mined by tram ;)

[@cmilkau]

I've seen a real stairway with almost exactly that look before, including the super wide railings

[@Splitsie]

I think some of the subway escalator setups I've been on have similarly wide areas but I'd not seen it with stairs before - nice to know my design isn't all that crazy :)

[@eno88]

0:43 upper left corner. And there goes my OCD

[@Splitsie]

Lol, I'm not quite sure I'll be able to paint that one, also how are you coping with my med bay? ;)

[@LucasMassey]

Missed opportunity not calling the video 'Trams, Maybe' :P Can't wait to see how this turns out though!

[@Splitsie]

Dang it! Totally missed that one, though maybe I could tease people and use it on the next one ;)

[@boperadotto8703]

For that later tram line maybe you could run it over a lava pit on its way to the silo

[@Splitsie]

Remind me of this later when the tunnel is finished, as I think this could be fun to put in :) I'm replying to comments at work and I forgot to bring my idea notebook with me :P

[@gammaxana]

Why not use the hanger door block for retractable turntable so you could not envoke clang with the meshing of grids. Plus it looks cool

[@Splitsie]

I'm not quite sure how a hangar door could function as a turntable... I might need pictures or diagrams to understand :P

[@gammaxana]

Splitsie like the ones that act piston like

[@Madran7]

I noticed today that you're not receiving Uknown signals, why do you have it switched off? You could add a little bit of cut every time with what you've got from the probe :) You might talked about it in previous episodes, but I didn't watched all of them yet :(

[@Splitsie]

I turned them off after the first couple of episodes, there were a number of comments about me ignoring one while building something so I figured it was better to not have the distraction (and to not have to explain why I'm too lazy to chase after all of them) :P

[@gldnandy1987]

loving the series and learning a lot from it. How do you get the blocks to snap to the same grid as your main base in the voxels without building off a block? hope that makes sense

[@Splitsie]

A couple of people have asked me that recently, and it's a bit strange to make it work. You need to place at least 3 blocks that intersect with the voxels, then remove a block so that you have two separate grids, once that's done you should have the ability to place blocks aligned to the grid of those two stations. Once this works there is no simple way to stop it, you can only place blocks minimally in the voxels or they will snap to that grid anywhere nearby. Hopefully that made some sense - I only just worked out what it is I'd done to make it happen :P

[@gldnandy1987]

I think that makes sense haha. thanks for the reply, ill give it a go

[@Shakads]

You want to transport batteries with the tram but, when your tunnel is finished and you have two stations at both ends, won't the base and solar axe be connected anyway, hence sharing power already ? Edit : ignore that, I see you've adressed that point already in another comment lol

[@Splitsie]

It's all good, it'll even make more sense with the way I build the gentle curve why I wouldn't be able to connect them even if I wanted (without invoking clang by connecting static grids at different orientations) :)

[@kaiash2239]

Defnitely gives me a halflife black mesa transit system vibe

[@Splitsie]

Yep, I wonder if it'll still have that feeling when I've finished enclosing the tram...

[@crashdaily7993]

Why don't you put LCDs on the end of the railing which display sth like the level of where you are? I think this might help distracting from the with of the railing?

[@Splitsie]

That might work, I was also thinking that if I extend the landings an extra block back anyway and put a pot plant at the end might hide things too - not sure if it'll look good that way, so I'll keep the LCD idea in mind too :)

[@torharaldtessem8130]

Like the plan :-)

[@Splitsie]

Thanks, let's hope it actually works out :P

[@lordsherifftakari4127]

Clean Up in the Front Yard please. Clean Up in the Front Yard.

[@kelemvour]

Did you leave room for bathrooms in the tram station?? ;)

[@Splitsie]

Sort of, but probably not really :P

[@kiro476]

The thumbnail s are getting better

[@Splitsie]

It's nice when I get some inspiration during the episode :)

[@aidanwilliams6848]

I'm playing Space Engineers while watching this lol

[@Splitsie]

That was my usual way of watching - a little bit more difficult now that I'm usually recording when I play :P

[@Sifizero]

EPIC

[@Splitsie]

Thanks :)

[@nullblasterthevoidmaker1750]

So I was thinking and I realized that the ideal setup for a laser antenna controlled drone would be a rover controlled from space.

[@Splitsie]

You're probably right, likely more practical than the other way around :)

[@nullblasterthevoidmaker1750]

@@SplitsieOf course, it's also possible that I have completely failed to interperet the workings of laser antenna.

[@TenebrousFilms]

Every time I see that piston elevator, I want to grind it out and put in the VCZ Elevator mod. I think there's also a vanilla-stairs-with-railings mod, but it was never updated from the alpha look? Regardless, looking forward to seeing how you pull off the tram.

[@DonnaPinciot]

No, custom elevators are awesome! Pistons are awesome! I'd hate to see Splitsie put in mods to do easier what he can engineer. There are a few stairs-and-rails mods, and at least one I know of that is updated. Catwalk variations or something?

[@Splitsie]

I also love the ridiculous complexity of building piston and mechanical elevators :) I knew there were some mods for the stair rails, but also like the idea of showing off some potential vanilla solutions to those design problems :)

[@DonnaPinciot]

One favourite of mine, though it only works for certain designs, is slanted glass, built or unbuilt. If you offset it like you did for the armor ramps, it gives a nice, near-flush look to your rails.

[@ExecutiveStorm]

I cant wait wait for the next episode, why would it need to carry a battery pack for transport it will be connected at both ends. So it will only need to charge its self at the solar axe. If you make a second line to go to Lava missile it will not matter because power will still go through all the blocks. The Tram is a subgrid so the rails are on the same grid right? Just a thought let me know if I am wrong

[@Splitsie]

The track won't be continuous, and that's on purpose to reduce the performance hits from having a grid that would otherwise be over 1.5km long :)

[@geronimo5537]

Splitsie's first major project is now underway! Lets find out how much hair he tears out trying to get it all to work. ;p

[@Splitsie]

I think all the hair should remain intact... maybe :P

[@williamread13]

sooooo... if small grid projectors only project small grid and large grid projector only project large grid... where are you going to put the projector to place your "slowly turning" rails...?

[@Splitsie]

For any parts that I try to project I'll have to attach the projector to the rail's grid and power it, there's sadly no means to get around it as the rails need to be station grids as well. For the curves I'll probably end up placing a lot of the blocks by hand since those track sections are only likely to be about 10 blocks long so a projector probably isn't worth it :)

[@kelemvour]

Geeze your base is **HUGE**... Why do I suspect that by the time we get a Season 2, the whole PLANET will be the base and You'll have run out of space to build in???? o_O

[@Splitsie]

Hehe, someone else suggested I would eventually build a death star, but maybe the Core home world planet from Total Annihilation would be more my style ;) (Yes I'm that old that I played that game when it came out) :P

[@kelemvour]

I remember playing on my friends ColecoVision when I was in grade school...

[@pietercrois9122]

oeps need 2 watch all the way ,i mist the crusial part the begin.

[@Azmodan012]

i Know im behind on this series and im binge watching to catch up. But i don't understand the transporting of batteries back and forth as once he makes a connection with the armor blocks from one base to the tower the power from the new solar array is going to automatically transmit to his main base batteries.

[@Splitsie]

The armor blocks aren't going to connect (deliberately, for performance and role playing reasons) :)

[@Azmodan012]

@@Splitsie Yes i saw that after watching a fewemore episodes. Its looking awesome :)

[@sabersight908]

What if the tram is a platform with batteris on it and you can pull them off with a big arm?

[@Splitsie]

Something like that might work and remove the loss of power through transfers as I could use merge blocks :)

[@sabersight908]

Splitsie yes you read my mide 😁

[@gentlejake605]

i think your eningeer there is getting annoyed with that music while going down the elevator lmao he started twitching XD

[@Splitsie]

All the more reason to keep on playing it ;)

[@JacobEllinger]

YOU CAN USE GLASS THAT IS NOT FULLY BUILT AS RAILINGS! I DID THIS WITH MY BASE!

[@Splitsie]

Whoa dude, don't need to yell and use all caps - I respond to at least 99% of all the comments :) Also the windows as railings wouldn't have worked here as I don't have enough room, to have the windows on both sides of the stairs you'd need two blocks between them and I've only got a single

[@pietercrois9122]

Why not use the elevator? if you got the max distans in the pistons!!

[@Splitsie]

My plan is to extend the elevator eventually, as I want to do a full rebuild so that it can reach the whole way down and stop in the middle :)

[@pietercrois9122]

Bad id you need 1or 2 more pistons.

[@gvaca433]

😌👍

[@Splitsie]

Man youtube's emoji are weird :P

[@nonplayercharacter6478]

In with the early birds. It's break time.

[@Splitsie]

Enjoy those worms :)

[@Soulkeeper-tv8re]

Question: im having issue with timing blocks .. what im trying to do is extending pistons on and off so its a super slow extension ... can anyone help me out with how to time it ???

[@Splitsie]

Why do you need to do that with a timer block? you should be able to set the piston's speed to a very slow rate by ctrl+clicking on the slider that controls the movement rate and setting something slow like 0.01m/s

[@Soulkeeper-tv8re]

thx for replying im just not getting it thxs again

[@Soulkeeper-tv8re]

Splitsie the best way i can explain it .... is it gose down nice n slow but due to weight it cant pull out if ya know what i mean i cant find a balance. .... its pretty much a rover oil rig style up and down motion ..... i did try like a 35 degree angle but that was even worse too much bend in the piston ...also couldnt pull out the drill bit ... thx for the videos great to watch

[@piotrkedzior7783]

Why would you build a tram inside a base were only one person lives?

[@Splitsie]

Pretty much for the fun of it - like all the engineering challenges in Space Engineers, I just build this stuff because I enjoy working out how to do it. Also I've set the base up like many people live there, even though it's just me and Reggie :P

[@fourdotsYT]

If you're building a track between the two stations anyway... why not just connect the two station grids to share power? Why "transport batteries"? I don't get that. I suppose you can also lay a conveyor all along the track, so no real need for "container transport" either. Is there really a justification for the tram, other than being a long-ass horizontal elevator and a cool way to travel (which is sufficient enough reason)? Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the idea. It's just that, if it's just done for the heck of it (or the stated purpose)... the novelty will wear thin after an episode or two, and you'll get sick of the manually lugging the stuff between points A and B (not to mention disconnecting/connecting batteries), and presumably not even putting it in the video.

[@Splitsie]

The track won't be a continuous grid, so there will be no ability for power to move between the two without moving the batteries. My hope is that the tram will be able to move enough at once to only need to run every now and then (meaning I wouldn't have any reason to edit it out each time). I'll openly admit that a lot of the drive to build this is because I think it will be cool and even if I didn't have the power side of things I think I'd do it :P

[@fourdotsYT]

I also think it's really cool, esp. the disjointed track thing. Hope it works :-) But of course... even though the grids won't be continuous, there might be ways to connect them.. advanced rotors & merge blocks..? lol. If you really wanted. I mean if you're gonna put in all that effort... I've never actually seen anyone connect two discreet bases before. Might be a worthwhile video in itself :-) PS It's kinda weird that in such a futuristic high-tech world, they forgot something as simple as a piece of cable.

[@Cyberguy42]

Splitsie It might look cool to run conveyor tubes down through the center of the staircase railing for your conveyor line. However you build it, won't you need it going forward in order to load cargo onto the cars? You could place a connector somewhere at the station and one on each car for charging and cargo loading. Regarding the battery packs: will they just be used down at the station level, or do you intend to bring them up to the main base level? If the latter, do you plan to build a freight elevator?

[@Cyberguy42]

fourdotsYT He is deliberately keeping the grids separated; apparently there would be serious performance issues from connecting them all.

[@fourdotsYT]

Apparently? I don't remember him ever saying that in a video, neither did he in his response... how is it apparent?

[@silverphoenix2450]

Hey splitse enjoyed the video but have a better day then me (closer wait for open cause iforgot my door code)

[@Splitsie]

Dang that sucks, hope you didn't have to wait too long :(

[@silverphoenix2450]

Started at 2:00pm opener gets here around 6:30am

[@trymidsalarthun9915]

bro unbuilt glass as stair fences? whydont i remember meh u get the point?

[@Splitsie]

I forgot about using those, they wouldn't have fit here as I would need an extra block of width in the center for railings on the stairs in both directions, but I'll make sure I highlight that option next time as it is a good one when you've got the space :)

[@stanpollard]

The dislike button don't work so I pressed the like button Great video splitsie Do you need help getting resources

[@Splitsie]

Thanks, I'm pretty good with things especially after that massive haul from the recent pirate base :)

[@TheDJToxica]

I don't want to discourage you from constructing the rails and tramcars yourself with vanilla tools but this mod saved me a lot of clang: steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=635163592

[@Splitsie]

From what I've seen of that mod when it first came out, I'm surprised it saved you any clang at all :P I guess we'll find out how badly this design works soon - it worked well in testing though :)

[@TheDJToxica]

Splitsie I really want to see this, so keep going, just thought to throw it in.;)

[@avebrian]

Awesome as always. I may have already sent you this script for elevators, but I've recently done a major overhaul to optimize performance and ease of setup. You might find it useful for your elevators that are servicing multiple floors. steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1370096880

[@Splitsie]

Sweet, I was hoping to use this when I get around to the rebuild :)

[@mightygamer3466]

Second!

[@Stonned16]

First

[@iamasquidinspace]

19th

[@ZorillaMyrid181]

37th

[@Splitsie]

0th? :P