Terrain and construction

Use an Engineer to change terrain and structures. Aim at a nearby target that you can see.

Dig a route

Select Dig. Hold the left mouse button on the block. Keep the target in reach until it breaks.

A swing into nearby empty air still uses the tool's normal recovery time. It causes no terrain damage and grants no resources. A swing animation alone does not mean that a hit landed.

Natural dirt and stone stay stable by default. A tunnel does not make all surrounding ground fall. Built structures can fall when their supports fail.

Foundation blocks cannot be dug. If an action fails, read the reason before you repeat it.

Place a block

1. Select Wood, Stone wall, Door, Beam, or Industrial ladder on the hotbar.
2. Check that the selected item shows the Foreground layer.
3. Use B to change the layer if needed.
4. Aim at a clear cell within reach.
5. Use the left mouse button to place the block.

Open Inventory to put a different building material on the hotbar. Selecting a material also selects Build.

Quick build uses the right mouse button. Your carried resources pay for each block. The server can reject a placement if the cell is blocked, out of reach, or unsupported.

The target outline snaps to one grid cell. Default building reach is 2.5 tiles, measured to that cell's centre. Moving the pointer within the same cell keeps the same placement target. You can build against an exposed part of a cell beside a supporting column; a wall or rubble that fully blocks the cell still prevents placement.

A green outline shows that the visible cell passes the local placement checks. A red outline shows a reason such as Move closer, Cell occupied, or Not enough carried resources. Green does not confirm structural support or guarantee placement. Read any brief rejection message from the server before trying again.

Holding the build control repeats the attempt about five times per second (190 milliseconds between attempts). Each placed block still needs resources, support, a clear cell, and time for the host to accept the action.

Keep a structure supported

Connect built blocks through their top, bottom, left, or right sides. A diagonal corner alone is not a support path.

The path must lead to stable terrain or a foundation. Supports have a finite load limit. A long bridge can need extra pillars even when it is connected at one end.

Each material has a sideways allowance along its route to an anchor.

The anchor itself is not counted. Vertical steps do not use this sideways allowance. A route through weaker sections can limit a longer beam; a second anchor can provide another support route. Open doors keep their structural connections. Damage does not weaken support until the block breaks.

Use support beams and backwalls to reinforce a structure. A beam is a structural block. It is not a ladder.

Before you remove a pillar, check what it holds. Detached blocks become moving debris. They can hit players and block a route.

Climb a ladder

Select Industrial ladder from the Engineer inventory and add it to the hotbar. Each foreground ladder cell costs 2 metal. Its open rails let players and water pass through.

A vertical ladder run must attach to supported terrain, construction, or a supported backwall. Ladders do not hold up walls or bridges. Removing its support can turn the run into falling debris, which cannot be climbed.

Stand against a ladder and use W / Up to climb or S / Down to descend. Release the climb keys to hold position. Move sideways or jump to leave the ladder. These controls can be rebound in Settings.

Add a backwall

Backwalls are a separate layer behind the foreground. Select Backwall or press B to change layers. Use wood or stone wall material.

Players can move through backwalls. Backwalls can help support construction. They do not block sight, water, or habitat gas in this version.

Remove a blocking foreground cell before you try to dig or repair the backwall behind it.

Repair and clear

Select Repair and hold the tool on damaged construction. Repairs use resources. The Engineer shortcut is F.

Select Clear debris on the wheel, or assign it from inventory, to remove reachable debris. The shortcut is R. Do not stand below a loose structure while you work.

Any class can operate a door. Move within 2 tiles with a clear view and use Interact (E by default) when Open door or Close door appears. Press and release for each change. An open door leaves a passage. A closed door blocks it.

Build two Door cells vertically to make a full-height passage. Adjacent vertical leaves operate in pairs counted from the bottom of the column. A four-cell column has two separate pairs; a leftover single leaf operates alone. Both leaves must be reachable and visible. Closing fails if either leaf is occupied, so move clear before closing the pair.

Work near water

Opening a passage can move water into a tunnel. Closing a passage changes where water can flow. A backwall alone does not seal a room. Water spreads downward and sideways through connected openings, and it can rise in a connected passage under pressure. Building into water pushes it into available space instead of deleting it.

Outside your live view, the water you see is its last known state. Return to the area to see its current level.

Check the route to higher ground before you open a wet area.

Keep air in an orbital habitat

Orbital habitats are currently a local development feature. Native acceptance and public habitat delivery are still pending; see current limits.

Solid foreground walls and closed doors contain gas. Backwalls and loose rubble do not seal a breach. A room can look enclosed by background panels and still lose air through an open foreground route to space.

An airlock has two separately operated door pairs with a small space between them. Open the near pair with Interact, enter, close it, then open the far pair. Close the far pair after passing. Opening both sides connects the rooms and can drain their air.

The current habitat development map has a 39-tile central vacuum crossing between protected airlocks. Fill your breath reserve in safe air before entering, keep moving, and close the doors behind you. A full reserve lasts eight seconds; stopping, fighting, or a blocked route can make the crossing unsafe.

Seal the foreground breach before relying on an O₂ generator to recover air. Its placement and cost are in resources and miners. Watch your own air status; a visible generator or intact background is not proof of breathable air.

Gather and eat food

Natural food plants grow on dirt. Small shoots become leafy plants; ripe plants show amber fruit. Stand near a ripe plant and use Interact (E by default) when Harvest food appears.

A harvest adds 1 food to your pack. The plant starts growing again and takes 45 seconds to become ripe. Flooding pauses growth and prevents harvesting. Removing its dirt or covering its space removes the plant.

Open Inventory and select Eat to spend one food and restore 25 health, up to your maximum. Food is not consumed when health is already full. Food shares the pack's 200-item capacity and can be recovered from death loot.

Low grass along exposed dirt is decoration. Only the larger food plants can be harvested. Plants outside your current view are hidden until you see them again.