I was working on two ships today and started scratching my head. The Dome weighs 989 tonnes, is made from 898 blocks and is a size class 1.99. The Feynman weighs 2.66 Kt, is made from 1422 blocks and is a size class 1.49. Hunh? How is the game calculating the size class?
its based on # triangles and devices. iirc windows count as devices and really spike up your size class if you have alot of them.
I don't know if anyone outside Eleon knows specifics- but it's more than just mass or building blocks. Devices seem to matter even more than mass, especially for higher tier items
There is a formula to calculate it. But the name is deceiving - it's not actually about size - but more about 'complexity' and how 'fps friendly' the vessel is. So it's not about the length, weight or even number of blocks - but how many triangles it has (more complex blocks have more triangles, like the round ones) and how many devices it has just like @Phantom Aria said.
SIZE CLASS = (DeviceFactor + LightsFactor + TriFactor) / 3 DeviceFactor = #Devices * 0.01 LightsFactor = #Lights * 0.05 TriFactor = #Tris * 0.00025 as of 6.7, not sure if changed.
So the basic nutshell is, the size class is not based on the size & weight of the construct, but it is based on the "size" of the load it puts on your CPU to render it. The higher the class, the more difficult it is to render in game. The Dome has 332 devices, 17 lights, & 6714 triangles. The Feynman has 228 devices, 13 lights, and 5678 triangles. Ok, it makes sense now. Thank you for the clarification.
One of the many, many things that needs to be changed as the game evolves and moves forward toward a more Physics-realistic model. Size can traditionally mean two things: dimensions (cubic volume), and weight (mass). The current model doesn't measure either for the size class system, and so it's much more difficult to use something like mass for ship speed/acceleration/turn rates calculations. It was probably an early band-aid system put into place to help further things along. Desperately in need of changing now to that size class means something.
I did a mass of pre-planning my workshop collections naming schemes. Based off "Size class".. Man, when I found out about this formula and the fact it wasn't actually size based I was annoyed. Had to come up with my own wierd class system to get some logical naming going across Small-Large SV, CVs and the crossover where SVs can actually be larger than CVs.
This question isn't exactly size class related, but it IS to do with clarification on size information. I believe that the maximum spawn size in survival is 100x100x100. But.. Which dimensions is it referring to...
I'm going with 100 blocks. Build a 50-, a 51-, a 100-, and a 101-block tall BA tower from concrete in Creative and try spawning them all into survival. It's the only way to be sure.
Ah.. touche! The first set of dimensions are from the control panel, then 2nd are on the blueprint info screen. Same vessel.
It gets even more fun than this as there is one additional thing to consider; There are times(more often than not) where certain "larger size" structures and ships seem to perform better as opposed to others. Ships with a great deal of light(as light pierces through things and generates shadows EVERYWHERE,) and glass reflecting or allowing images through, greatly adds to the FPS load(ESPECIALLY near grass and trees.) When in game press "F8" to see what your current fps is. You might find that smaller sized classes can really load things down in certain instances and some higher can still be accommodating to your computer.
A-a-a-a-a-h-h-h, no. I have a short attention span, so reading all that wouldn't get me far. I scanned for the word triangle and didn't find it. If polygon is supposed to be the sane thing, it really isn't. Looking at equations scares the crap out of me. I haven't seen any dolphins or porpoises in the game, so I don't see the reference. Did I forget to mention my ignorance? Sorry, I'm being a wise ass. I appreciate your effort, but I was hoping for a much simpler explanation, if one exists. I do see that triangles are being made. In simple terms, if possible, what is the significance of triangles?
*two cavemen sit, uncomfortably situated on logs, near to a camp fire, positioned near a wall in a cave* "OOG!" *Oog the caveman points at a pile of rocks sitting between the two* "What Oog want?" *The other caveman shrugs his shoulders clearly confused as to what the first may be interested in* "Oog build!" *The first caveman, who's esteemed name is "Oog," begins to awkwardly stack the rocks in a little pile* *The rocks, not fitting very well together, fall over in a jumble* "Oog! You be dumb! Be like this!" *The second caveman who wisely does not blurt his name out in intervals, begins to to chistle the rocks into slightly more triangular shapes* *Oog looks on in fascination, a slight drop of spittle travels down his chin* "See Oog! Better!" *The second caveman then begins to put the triangular blocks together in a tighter, more supportive, fashion.* *Oog, very excited, claps his hands together in excitement and tries to hop up and down knocking the now triangular rock pieces and the bench over in a loud clatter*
