Like I said up front, these screenshots really don't do the FEEL & AMBIANCE of the base that I've built proper justice (being able to look around freely for starters). The screenshots also don't adequately convey the sense of SPACE that I've got going on inside of my base, since every part of it can be walked to (except the Rez Rings on top of the "planet" but they're a "one way entrance" so being able to get UP to them isn't that big of a deal, and they can be jumped up to anyway). I mean, you would think that an 8x8 Base Plot would feel ... small and cramped ... TINY. I know that people who build expansively large plot bases will often times resort to using Superspeed (or other travel powers) to get around inside, simply because the map is so BIG ... but you essentially have the opposite effect inside of my SG Base that I've presented here.
You want to turn off travel powers inside ... but it still feels WAY BIGGER inside than it has any right to be ... and that's thanks to two major factors:
- Building in 3D increases the "walkable area" within each room
- Turning off the room lighting (selecting black for high/mid/low) and relying on local lighting sources for all light within the base
I'm sure that people have noticed just looking at the screenshots I've linked that the inside of my base looks DARK ... except where it isn't (and there's light). The effect of that darkness means that the "walls don't matter" as much around the rooms in a psychological sense. You just become ... less aware ... that the walls are there, which then has the knock on effect of making the spaces inside those walls feel bigger/more expansive than they actually are. Combine that with the verticality of 3D construction and an emphasis on "must be walk access to everywhere possible" (except the Rez Rings in the Infirmary, and even those are just a short hop jump) and you wind up with a Walk Topology that is FAR MORE expansive than you would otherwise expect.
My Entry Room effectively has more than 2x2 plot squares worth of walkable space in it, even with a Medium Planter plunked into the center of the room, because of the stairs and ledges leading up to the Entry Portal overhead.
Same deal with the two Workshops. Even though I'm only putting items into what amounts to "half the room" so as to leave the "hallway" clear through them, I've basically got 3 levels (ground, mid, upper) worth of usable area to put interactable stuff into. If I put everything onto the floor, I would basically need a 2x3 room to contain (side by side) what I'm putting into a 1x2 (vertically stacked) floor space.
The most "ridonculous" example of this is the 3D work I did in the Control Room, which is only a 2x2 room but which effectively has 5x2 "worth" of walkable area to it, making the room size "feel gigantic" compared to the confines of the walls (which I actually hid from view pretty convincingly, if I do say so myself).
Both Teleport Chambers have "extra 3D walkable space" in them, making them feel larger (to experience) than they actually are (and the Raid Teleport Chamber even has a beyond absurd FOUR DISTINCT LEVELS within it!).
The Energy Terminal and Containment Alcove "hangar bay" even feature
ROOM CONTINUITY not only linking them to each other ... but also to the OUTSIDE WORLD beyond the confines of the 8x8 Base Plot(!) ... making them feel even larger than they actually are as well. Heck, even the "redundant" Bathrooms in the Entry Room look like they convincingly extend BEYOND THE WALLS into additional space beyond the room itself!
And yes ... I'm exorbitantly proud of what I was able to achieve in such a small base plot, which requires NO RENT, yet which is fully capable of launching
Cathedral of Pain Trials (given sufficient interest participation by other Players) ... which I would like to start doing at some point (when I can figure out a good time slot for it).
One of the things that I like most about my base and how I've constructed it is that it feels like a ...
HOME to return to ... rather than a storage locker to stash stuff in until I need it.
It has "cathedral like open spaces" in it, along with trees and greenery (in every room except the Energy Terminal and Containment Alcove "hangar bay").
The lighting within it is either warm and inviting (Arcane areas) or it is clean and efficient (Tech areas), illuminating what you want to see (and none of what you don't).
Different rooms have different "moods" to them, making them all individuals with their own "character and charm" to them ... rather than being cookie cutters that just endlessly repeat into monotony.
But most of all, I love being able to SHARE what I've discovered and learned building my SG Base with anyone else who cares to come and visit, have a look around (and gawp at some of the stuff I've been able to accomplish!). Being able to inspire others to make their own SG Base
more than just the sum of its items like I've been able to do is some of the highest praise I can receive for my efforts.
KNOWLEDGE SHARED IS KNOWLEDGE MULTIPLIED.So if anyone would like to come and visit my base (guided with Q&A or unguided, your choice), send me a tell when I'm online (@Redlynne) and I'll see what I can do to arrange a tour so people can see for themselves both what is possible, but also how Base Building can be a Labor of Love ... not just "toiling for naught" (seemingly) when no one really appreciates what you've been able to do with the tools at your disposal.
Sometimes you simply need to SEE something done to be inspired by it ... and want to learn the secrets of how it was done, so you can do something just as awesome too.
