base building Base Building Video Guide

[Dacy]

Video Guide to Base Building

 

This is a series of videos geared towards helping people with base building. All basics are covered, such as getting started, basic editing commands, building above and below the base, and dealing with some of the challenges the editor sometimes offers. There are more specific topics, too, such as guides for putting things together, what items to use, and where in the editor you will find those items. The videos are kept as short and concise as possible, and are not the highest quality to keep download times and memory usage to a minimum. Videos subject matter is selected based on questions I've seen or answered, or common problems facing anyone who's building a base.  I've tried to include any tips or shortcuts I've discovered which have made my life easier when editing. Enjoy! Feel free to suggest a topic you'd like to see included.

 

Introduction to Base Building

Info on how to get started, video covers selecting a plot, placing rooms, and opening sky.

Basic Base Editing Commands

A look at how to rotate and place items, and basic base editing commands. Does not specifically include how to stack; I recommend just skip this and instead look at “Another Look At Base Editing Commands”.

Another Look At Base Editing Commands

Improved to cover slightly more, more  concisely. Looks at setting up the editor to make editing as easy as possible, which keys to use to manipulate objects, and placing your base entry portal in or out of the base, and how to deal with the error when people get stuck in the entry portal when entering base.

Building Above or Below Your Base

A look at what you need to do and consider when choosing to build in, above, and below your base.

Base Lighting Options

It might seem unimportant as a topic you should visit before you start building, but how you choose to light your base has a big impact not only on how it looks, but impacts the decision on whether or not to build outside of the base walls. Know exactly what you're choosing if you choose to build above or below.

Wall and Ceiling Options in Your Base

A look at what your options are for walls, both as part of the base itself, or as in what items make good walls and ceilings, and where to find them. Dacy shares her favorite way to make straight white walls and ceilings.

Make Your Base Work For You

Setting up base functions: Storage, Rez Facilities, Teleporters, Services and Buffs. Dacy shows you what is available and where to find it, and how to set it up. She includes a trick she picked up to make storage units disappear.

Making Base Function Look Fabulous

A short tour of some bases for samples of what Dacy spoke of in "Make Your Base Work For You", in making your functional pieces look good, or seem to be part of your design, or even completely unnoticed. (Soon to be replaced, sound/video out of sync somewhat due to YouTube's garbage editor).

Getting Familiar With The Editor

The editor has quirks and outright bugs. This segment is a bit longer than others, but deals with negotiating these bugs and quirks. Why is your item jumping around? What do you do when things have shifted around from where you put them? How can  you get rid of flicker? These and other problems are sorted out.

Quick Tips to Fix Editor Errors

For those who don't want to watch the longer, more complete "Getting Familiar with the Editor" and just want to know what they can do to avoid or fix a problem.

Kitchens!

A guide to putting together the appliances you've seen in my kitchen, with some options other than what's been shown.

Windows You Can See Through, Plus More

Construction tips for making windows you can see through, and a look at options the base editor offers for ready made windows; which walls are best for the outer walls of a house, and different door options.

Creating Different Levels in Your Base

A look at the different items you will need to create different levels in your base, how many levels you can put into the base within the walls, and different items you can use to achieve different looks.

Base Sky Options

Goes over some of the different base-wide sky options, and how they effect objects you place, plus, the place-able skies found in the "Skies" tab in the Place Item category.

Terraforming

Making higher grass hills, rock formations, and floating islands.

Advanced Base Editing Techniques

A few things I’ve learned that should help you edit some trickier things more easily. (references Building Material for the Outside of Bases, and/or Powergirls Base Tour)
Roads and Cement Surfaces

A look at good materials in the editor you can use for roads and other cement surfaces.

Building Material for the Outside of Buildings

A look at some materials good for the outside of buildings in actual finished buildings in a base. Both house and city buildings shown. 

Complete Guide to Building Above and Below Base

Specifics on building above and below, including how to open the ceiling, move the entry portal, things to consider when deciding where to build, commands to use to edit when you are outside of the entry room, and how to lay down grass and water without flicker.

Working With Water

Placing water so it looks good, without flicker or gaps, which water plates need solid surfaces under them to prevent characters from falling through them if they are placed over air, and making pools and rivers and lakes.

Building Complex Items

Shows techniques I use in making complex items, with a demonstration build using the techniques.

 

 

It seems like I almost always forget to mention something! Sometimes I will redo videos to include this information. Feel free to comment on what I missed.

 

-Dacy

Edited March 6, 2020 by Dacy
Insert new links

[Tahliah]

This needs a sticky.

[Dacy]

Added some new links. 
 

-Dacy

[Dacy]

Newest addition, a more complete guide to building above and below the base, including a look at issues like things to consider when deciding where to build, opening the ceiling, moving the portal, laying down grass or water without flicker, and more demonstration on what to do after you've laid that first floor plate where you want to build.

 

 

I hope this helps!

 

-Dacy

[Dacy]

More content added.

 

-Dacy

[sponazgul]

Dacy,

 

Thank you SO MUCH for these videos. I had been creating bare-bones SG bases, just a collection of medical, teleport, and lockers without any flavor. After watching you build things above (and more importantly, below) a base plot, I put in a lot of time and created something resembling Superman's Fortress of Solitude (complete with the ability to visit the Bottle City of Kandor and the Phantom Zone.) Getting something that looked like ice was very tricky (I ended up using the muddy water surface texture and that was a pain)

 

If you are ever on the Excelsior server, my SG base's passcode is Solitude-748. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to share the base editing tips and hacks. It was very rewarding for me.

 

Best regards

[Dacy]

Thanks, @sponazgul! I took a look, and nice work! I know how much work a big base like that is.  I'm very glad the videos helped you get the look you wanted. 🙂 I do wish they'd add more large white pieces, and snow and ice have been on the list for a long time, too; I know that would have made things so much easier! Keep up the great work!

 

-Dacy

[RogerWilco]

Very nice, thank you.