There is effectively no limit to how high you can build, but since the view angle and size is fixed, it very quickly ceases to offer anything new, except difficulties and functional losses.
"If you go above 4k units, things will start to break, heh (you can't interact with objects anymore)" — Sim9
high vs low altitude rendering.
General Information[]
The World Map doesn't show anything above about 256 pixels.
The greatest vertical distance within the same cell that can be displayed in the game window is 44 steps at zoom 3, 29 steps at zoom 2, 22 steps at zoom 1.
You cannot see farther into the distance; only an empty background is shown beyond the northern clipping boundary, and lower levels will lack detail.
There is a limit of 1000 blocks per region, just under 4 blocks per cell average. Tall pillars and walls will take away from how much additional detail can be included.
Functional Limits[]
(Research pending)
| Action/Command | Maximum Altitude |
|---|---|
| Sign editing | 312 pixels (39 steps) |
| Actions (opening doors, using telepads, reading signs) |
<= 1008 pixels |
Building[]
The techniques available depend on whether you need to see blocks as they are being placed, or have a complete plan that you can follow without watching the blocks themselves.
Using Coordinates[]
This technique uses a ground-level grid or layout for the horizontal position, and Z-lock for the vertical. Concrete half-blocks are useful as the ground plan because they create a grid pattern that makes accurate positioning easier.
Important note : The horizontal coordinates are based on where the pointer is at ground level, not the top of the block. You must therefore make sure to target only the bottom half of the top face, otherwise you are actually pointing to the next cell up.
For the vertical coordinates, it is easiest if you have a separate plan for every slice, so you can set the Z-lock once for everything at that altitude, and have to follow only one simple plan at a time, instead of one cluttered with other details.
Building By Eye[]
It is possible to Z-lock and XY-lock only as long as you can point to the ground level position of the active block's cell. That is possible up to about 360 pixels (45 steps) at widest zoom level.
At some point, it will be necessary for your character to walk around above ground level in order to keep both the ground pointer and active block within the game window. Sometimes the structure itself will be suitable for walking on, but otherwise you will need to build temporary walkways.
At widest zoom, a walkway at 144 pixels or below can be extended in any direction while standing on it. Higher walkways might have to be built from additional walkways at a lower altitude.
At even higher altitudes, it will be necessary to rely on Auto placement. The only technique available will be "pile and remove":
- create a platform on which to build.
- starting at the back row (north), pile up blocks until the desired shape is fully covered.
- remove the unwanted blocks.
- repeat for the row in front, continuing until done.
A word of Warning[]
If you start building "by eye," it will be extremely difficult to switch to pure coordinates later, as you will need to determine the coordintes for everything already built.
You can do great things without a complete plan, but you should make sure that you will be comfortable with its limitations. If not, you should create a plan at the very start and stick to it. You can still make changes to the plan, but only if you know exactly what you've already done.