This game has physics.Granted, they are more like phunsics but building things is a lot more challenging than in games without. (such as Minecraft)
Players make the same mistakes over and over so I'll list the basics.
Actually there isn't anything
beyond the basics. SI in this game is simple bean counting.
The tooltip of a block (like a Wood Frame) lists
Max Load: 36
Mass: 6
Translate "Max Load" as "Glue" and you're halfway there.
Each of the 4 side faces of this block can
hold a mass of 36.
So you can attach 6 wood frames to the side of another wood frame. Try it. The 7th won't stick.
A metal block has a mass of 20 so you can attach a single metal block to the side of a wood block.
Vertical stability is infinite. You can stack 250 stone, tungsten, or concrete on a single wood frame. (then you hit the ceiling of the game)
You can build an entire base on a one block pillar if you so desire. (Pro tip: Don't. =)
While the
material of a pillar is irrelevant when stacking it up, it matters a great deal for what you can attach to the side of it.
You can build
most of this pillar from wood provided you use metal (like a scrap metal frame or trussing) for the pillar block that has to hold a lot of weight.
Some examples with all wood:
Green = pillar. Connects all the way down to bedrock with 0 air blocks inbetween.
Yellow = supported block. SI values apply.
Red = Forget it. It's too much mass and the block will not stick. If it
does stick you destabilise your construction and get "random blocks falling off"... somewhere.
Note that some "wood" blocks are weaker than the regular frame. Shingles are the typical example. Pay attention to tooltips.
Strike the earth!
No, really, don't... unless you know precisely what you're doing.
See what happens?
The entire pillar is now a "supported block" instead of supporting other blocks.
Tread carefully.
The Magic 8 Block
A ceiling / bridge / whatever will break if you step on block #9 from a support and if the ceiling is 1 block thick.
Why?
Because.
The Game Messing With You
The new poured concrete is a great example.
The rebar frames are metal (320/20).
If you "upgrade" them to the wooden cast or fresh concrete level, they will have
wood stats (24/5).
Guess what happens if you upgrade the pillar to 24 SI while the rest of the construction still has 20 mass per block.
It's silly but you need
a lot of temporary supports if you want to use poured concrete
anywhere but on flat ground.
I have built
some things that
seem to break the rules but... they don't.
They merely skirt the edge of the SI envelope quite closely.