Basic Construction

If you want to do any job like station engineer you need to know how to build and demolish stuff.

For a full list of things you can construct and take apart, see the Guide to Construction.

What you'll need

Basic Tools

Before you can begin any construction or de-construction you need to gather a few useful tools.

These tools can be found in any blue mechanical toolbox on the station.

Crowbar

Additional Uses: Opening unpowered doors, bashing heads in

Screwdriver

Additional Uses: Opening panels, poking eyes

Welder

Additional Uses: Welding doors, burning people, breaking glass.

You will need a welding mask if you plan to do more than a little welding, also remember to turn off before you refill.

Wirecutters

Additional Uses: Cutting people, wires and grills.

Wrench

Additional Uses: Securing gas tanks, killing spys, fitting pipes, etc.

Materials

To build anything you need materials, the two main materials are Metal and Glass , these can be found around the station, ordered from the Quartermaster or salvaged from parts of the station itself. If botanists are growing tower caps, you will have planks to build with.

Once you have your tools and material you can starting building.

Furniture

Chairs

Object	Requires	Uses
Chair	x1	Decoration Electric Chair Chair Cuffing Buckling in
Stand where you want the chair. Pick up some metal. Click the metal in hand. Select chair from menu.

Stools

Object	Requires	Uses
Stool	x1	Decoration
Stand where you want the stool. Pick up some metal. Click the metal in hand. Select stool from menu.

Tables

Object	Requires	Uses
Table or Wooden Table	x1 and any other stacked material x1	Decoration. Tabling. Ghetto Surgery. Placing items on.
Pick up some steel sheets. Click the metal in hand. Select table frame from menu. Use either steel or another material to add plating to the table frame.

Object	Requires	Uses
File:R-table.pngReinforced Table	x1	A table with added security
Follow the instructions above to create metal table parts Hold the stack you're using to reinforce the table in your hands. Drag the stack from your hands onto the table.

Walls

This is the standard type of wall found around the station, they are easy to construct and remove but are not as strong as reinforced walls. They also come in the hidden variety.

Object	Requires	Uses
Steel Wall	x4	Keeping people out. Keeping people in. Keeping people from going places.
Stand where you want the wall. Click the metal in hand. Select girder from the menu. Click the girder again.

Hidden Walls

Object	Requires	Uses
Hidden Wall	x4	Almost undetectable escape route. Otherwise, same as normal wall.
Stand where you want the wall. Click the metal in hand. Select girder from the menu. Click the girder holding a crowbar. Click the girder holding the metal.

Reinforced Walls

This is the reinforced type of wall found in secure areas of station, they are reasonably simple to construct, but are very time consuming to remove. They also come in the hidden variety.

Object	Requires	Uses
Reinforced Plasteel Wall	x2 x4	Keeping people in and out of high security areas. Keeping people from going into secure places.
Stand where you want the reinforced wall. Click the metal in hand. Select girder from the menu. Use the screwdriver on the girder to begin reinforcing. Click on the girder with the reinforced metal to reinforce it. Click the girder again with the last piece of reinforced metal.

Hidden Reinforced Walls

Object	Requires	Uses
Hidden Reinforced Wall	x2 x4	Almost undetectable escape route. Otherwise, same as reinforced wall.
Stand where you want the hidden reinforced wall. Click the metal in hand. Select girder from the menu. Click the girder holding a crowbar. Use the screwdriver on the girder to begin reinforcing. Click on the girder with the reinforced metal to reinforce it. Click the girder holding the reinforced metal.

Windows

Windows come in 2 types: Full and One Direction. Full is basically a weaker, see-through and shoot-through wall, while one direction allows the square it is on to be entered from any direction, except the direction it's facing.

Object	Requires	Uses
Windows	x2	Full: See Wall. Usually only used if you don't have enough. for 2-4 one directions or the metal for a wall. One Direction: Stops movement only from the way it faces.
Click the glass in hand. Select Full or One Direction from the menu. Drag where you want it. Rotate to the direction you want, if one directional. Click holding screwdriver.

amount needs to be corrected

Reinforced Windows

Reinforced Windows come in 2 types: Full and One Direction. Full is basically a weaker, see-through and shoot-through wall, while one direction allows the square it is on to be entered from any direction, except the direction it's facing.

Object	Requires	Uses
Windows	x2	Full: See Wall. Usually only used if you don't have enough for 2-4 one directions or the metal for a wall. One Direction: Stops movement only from the way it faces.
Click the reinforced glass in hand. Select Full or One Direction from the menu. Drag where you want it. Rotate to the direction you want, if one directional. Click holding screwdriver.

Grilles

Grilles are usually used in combination with directional windows. They allow gases and energy rounds to pass through them, but stop other objects. They can also be electrified for high security areas.

Object	Requires	Uses
Grille	x2	Keeping people in or out. Securing an area with electrified grilles.
Stand where you would like the grille to be placed. Click the metal rods in hand.

Wiring

You cannot construct wires. They are only available right now from yellow tool boxes, or scattered about the station's construction and storage areas.

• All wires are electrified if connected to a power net (a charged SMES battery is attached to the wire), and you will get fried if you touch them.
• Insulated gloves negate any electrical shocks to the player.

Let's say you have the following situation to fix:

How do I wire?

Wires are directionally dependent on where you set them down, and will apply adjacently to each "tile" you are standing by. Wires will always face inwards to you, sort of like this:

This image was made by standing in the center tile with a wire coil in hand and clicking on all 8 surrounding tiles.

In situations where you can't place a wire like this you have an alternative way. Just stand on a tile, face the direction you want it to go (ctrl+arrow key) and click the tile you're standing on.

This image was made by standing on the tile, pressing ctrl + left arrow key and then clicking the tile. The cable coil was in my active hand.

Dot wiring

Let's say you have a situation that you need to fix:

The easiest method of wiring is dot-wiring. Also known as unsmooth or non-smooth wiring.

Fixing this is simple:

-> -> . Done.

You just position yourself properly and click the tile to lay down wire. Make sure you click on the plating (floor) and not the already laid wire. This is because:

+ =

This might look about the same as in the previous image, however it's not. In the previous image your ending result had three pieces of wire, one going from the east to the center, one going from the north to the center and one going from the west to the center. In this situation you have two pieces of wire. One going east to west and one going north to center. The two wires don't meet in the center, because the horizontal wire is going east-west without it having a point (or dot) in the center.

Smooth Wiring

Just click on wires that are "knotted" at on end (you just need to click on the wire, not the little knotted dot). Smooth wires do not power other wires on their same tile. So make sure to apply to the source wire, or the connective tip.

To fix this situation with smooth wire you'll have to follow the steps:

-> -> -> . Done.

In this method you first lay one cable to go from one of the directions to the center (image 1). You then position yourself in another direction and click on the already laid wire piece (and not the floor!). This will make the already placed piece and the new piece combine into one smooth piece of wire (image 2). You then place another piece to go from the last remaining direction to the center (image 3) and click it from the last direction to make a 2nd smooth piece of wire (image 4).

This method often uses up more wire than dot-wiring, but it's prettier and usually preferred.

Cut the Wire

Use wire cutters to trim wires! Simple as that.

• Wear insulated gloves if you value your life.

Wire-net reset

This is byond's attempt to "reset" the whole power net in order to deal with new/ removed wires that shift the power value of a whole system. It will cause APCs to stop charging for a moment, and in huge nets it can shut down the charging of all APCs for a while.

• Don't mess with wires unless you have to, it causes problems to everyone in both OOC (due to potential lag) and IC (power loss).

Pipes

How do I get pipes?

Pipes are only constructed from pipe dispensers in atmospherics. To use a pipe dispenser, follow these steps:

1. Put dispenser in a powered area.
2. Wrench Dispenser to lock it into place.
3. Click on the pipe dispenser with an empty hand and select the pipes you wish to use.
4. You have a pipe to play with now.
5. Wrench dispenser to make it mobile once more.

Placing and removing pipes

Disposal

1. Rotate the pipe to the direction you wish the pipe to be in.
2. Use a lit welder to fuse the pipe to the ground.

Gas pipes

1. Rotate the pipe to the direction you wish (pay attention to gas pumps as they are direction dependent).
2. Wrench into place.
3. Turn on the pipe if necessary.

How to remove a pipe

1. Perform the step you used to set the pipe into place in reverse (make sure the pipe is powered off).
2. Brace for any junk that might blast out of the pipe.