Ruinati0n's Base Engineering Guide

This document is designed as a starter roadmap for new players to establish their first functional base. It consolidates scattered mechanics into a single workflow and serves as a troubleshooting hub for common operational bugs. Note: If you encounter a new bug, have a more efficient setup, or wish to provide visual diagrams for complex routing, please feel free to edit this page or contribute to the discussion tab.

Basics

For setting up your first base you're going to want to setup a location this location will serve all your needs. You can either setup a base in space utilizing /spacestation in core systems, or a /settlement claim on planets. The core principles to Basic Engineering:

Wiring
Pipping
Multiblocks

NOTE: For settlements if 1 active member does not log on in a 30 day period your settlement will purge. Personal stations do not purge

Base Engineering Basic Setup: https://youtu.be/z94N-4CV8dA?si=dJbRaYdIIw6lG-an

Wiring Explanation (2026)

As of December 2025, wiring was updated to be less intuitive, and generally the purpose of wiring is to help optimize efficiency via different machines called Multiblocks, and get rid of energy drain. There are ways to optimize wiring/pipping utilizing Redstone and lapis (Wiring has a more detailed breakdown of mechanics). That help to determine the direction of which way power flows.

General Rules of Wiring:

Note Blocks take in power.
Crafting tables extract power
Sponges are only able to touch crafting tables.
Wires/sponges can be used interchangeably to connect the connector points of crafting tables that need sponges to draw power from the system.

Pipping Explanation

Pipes are generally simpler and require more experimentation to find a functional setup. Crafting tables touching a container extract item from that container. Glass inputs items into a chest via touching a contiainer. Generally, you want to use different colored pipes for swapping from one storage system to another. Like --> Black Glass ---> Chest --> Crafting table --> white stained glass. This helps to prevent any weird setups. There are multiple different ways to setup bases and design them. There is advanced item fitlers, and hoppers which should be facing the direction you want them to flow. You can either input an item into a hopper which sorts the item, or utilize an advanced item filter to blacklist /whitelist items

Persistent Rules:

Glass touching a chest leads the item being output into the containers.
Crafting tables touching a container generally extract from the containers.
hoppers, and advanced item filters can be used too:
- Blacklist rejects all items selected
- Whitelist accepts only those items selected
Item Hoppers/Advanced Item Filter facing the direction of flow.

Multiblock Explanation

Multiblock use signs which are their identifier. Each multiblock can be found across the wiki (Multiblocks for a more detailed explanation). You can pick a multiblock via shift crouching with a Wrench on the sign. This picks up the full item; it is very useful and handy. You can also utilize a multiblock workbench to build them. Both the wrench and multiblock workbench come with Kit Starter.

Engineering the Base

Base Architecture Overview

Solar panels are detected via daylight detectors, a diamond block, and a crafting table, and they must be touching the sponge in order to receive power. Redstone is used to transmit and ensure the power can transfer cleanly to one side, with the goal of filtering all power to minimize energy waste. The Redstone block takes in power from the sponge and then transmits it via end rods. Power is sucked in through the sponge and goes down the note block, which acts as the power intake, followed by double extraction points utilizing end rods. The last part of the guide will be a video/ending explanation.

Essential Systems

Intro to Essential Systems

This section of the guide will heavily focus on what. The other 2 sections Auto-Crafter Configuration & Management and Delegation are just a deeper explanation on mechanics. What is Industry? Industry is how we automate processes on horizons end. Industry is usually made up of auto crafters, power furnaces.

Storage Explanation

Efficient item transport requires adhering to specific block placement rules to ensure consistent flow through your storage system.

Glass(Pipes): Glass acts as the conduit for items. For items to enter the pipe network, a glass block must be physically touching the source chest.
Crafting Tables (Extraction): Crafting tables function as active extractors. They pull necessary ingredients from connected inventory blocks to perform recipes.
Grindstones (Directional Control): Used to define the flow of items. Placing a grindstone on a pipe network forces items to travel in a specific direction toward your desired output.
Hoppers (Filtering & Bridging): Hoppers serve two critical roles:
- Network Bridging: Used to move items between different pipe networks (e.g., transitioning from White Glass to Green Glass). The hopper must face inward toward the destination glass pipe.
- Filtering: Function as advanced logic gates to whitelist or blacklist specific items, preventing system clogs or sorting errors. Use Advanced Item Filters and Hoppers

Power Explanation

Power is required to operate advanced industrial machinery, including Auto-Crafters, Power Furnaces, Printers, and Advanced Ship Factories. Power moves across your station using specific physical block arrangements to pull, route, and distribute energy.

How to get Power/Energy

Build a Solar Pannel Array --> solar energy (there is an example included down below)
Gas Generators --> Which turn gases like methane, nitrogen, and methane into power.
Generators --> Redstone, uranium, or coal get turned into energy.

Fundamental Power Rules

Power Draw: Utility and processing blocks (such as Crafting Tables, Furnaces, and Factories) consume power during operation; standard structural blocks do not.
Extraction: Crafting Tables serve as active extraction points to pull power into processing networks.
Flow Control: Power movement is directional and requires dedicated routing setups using specific functional blocks.

Power Routing Blocks

Block Type	Primary Function in Power Network
Sponge	Input/Absorption: Acts as a power sink. Facing a Sponge inward towards a power line pulls and absorbs power into the system.
Lapis Lazuli Block	Dispersion: Receives power from a Sponge line and disperses it outward into surrounding distribution nodes.
Redstone Block / Redstone	Flow Direction: Controls power flow direction, drawing energy through input nodes and routing it outward.
End Rod	Conductive Conduit: Acts as an directional conduit bridge between power nodes (e.g., directing power inward to Lapis or outward from Redstone).

Power Routing Configurations

1. Inward Power Collection (Pull Setup)

To draw power into a machine or storage line:

Place a Sponge facing inward toward the power source or generator to absorb energy.
Route the line into a Redstone Block / Redstone setup to channel the flow inward.

2. Outward Power Distribution (Push Setup)

To disperse stored power outward to multiple industrial machines:

Connect an End Rod pointing inward toward a Lapis Lazuli Block.
The Lapis block disperses the incoming power outward across connected nodes.
Use a Redstone Block with an End Rod facing outward to direct the final power flow directly into target machines.

Industrial Components

Automation is achieved by linking raw material storage to processing units via your pipe network.

Power Furnaces: Consume station power to smelt ores or cook food items.
Auto-Crafters: Consume power to perform automated crafting recipes. Ingredients are piped into specific input chests, and finished products are output to a designated collection chest.

Printers

Printers are specialized industrial units used to manufacture structural components for base expansion and starship printing. Connecting printers directly to automated resource generators eliminates manual resource handling.

Printer Types & Output

Different printer variants produce specific construction materials:

Concrete Powder Printers: Produce concrete powder.
- Processing Note: Concrete powder requires an additional step in a Carbon Processor to transform it into solid Concrete.
Technical Printers: Produce specialized blocks, including Sponges.
Armor Printers: Produce Terracotta for hull armor and reinforced structures.
Glass Printers: Produce Glass blocks for structural windows and industrial piping.

Automated Cobblestone Integration

To fully automate printer production lines, players frequently link printers to automated resource generators using glass pipe networks.

Generation: A Starship Drill is inserted into a standard Cobblestone Generator.
Power & Extraction: The Starship Drill consumes station/ship power to continuously mine cobblestone automatically.
Transport: Generated cobblestone is piped directly out of the generator network and routed toward the designated printer inputs.

Ship Building

Basic Ship Factory Mechanics

The Basic Ship Factory is ideal for smaller builds or early-game operations.

Operation: Items must be manually placed inside the primary container (chest) attached to the factory structure.

Item Management: Because it cannot automatically fetch materials from an expansive storage system, players must either load required blocks manually or create small hopper/pipe filtering setups to deliver the precise blocks into the factory chest.

Advanced Ship Factory Mechanics

The Advanced Ship Factory is designed for large-scale, automated production.

Piped Storage Integration: Connects directly to your station's logistics system via stained glass pipes.

Automatic Extraction: When the setting "Grab from networked pipes" is enabled in the factory's settings menu, the factory pulls necessary blueprint materials directly from your main storage network without manual intervention.

Power Consumption: Requires an active power connection to run the automated extraction and printing mechanisms.

End of the Guide

Thank you for reading the Base Engineering Technical Guide. You should now have the information required to build your base. If you're looking for any supplemental material for wiring, gas power, or pipping here are these other guides.

S1ice's General Guide to Wiring

Pipes

Nomegla's Gas Power Guide

Base Engineering Basic Setup: https://youtu.be/z94N-4CV8dA?si=dJbRaYdIIw6lG-an

Examples

Storage and Auto-Crafter Configuration

For the factory setup modeled after the basic factory storage system at Wyoming (Personal station of Ruinati0n) there is a dump storage in the back, a chest that filters out items with a singular pipe, and a chest to act as a filter pipe between the items. A hopper placed before this allows manual item input and selection, while separate hoppers linked to the main storage automatically dump items in. The auto-crafters serve as an initial setup for mineral refining, and power furnaces are used to smelt raw ores.

Typically, what you want to do with the auto crafters is have an input and an output chest, which is typical with any storage system. For the simplicity of this guide, the storage system is just a dump-off system, which basically means if you have six glass panes touching, six double chests, one hopper before that, between black stained glass and then white stained glass like in the image, you can have the chests sort the items automatically. Just input the items into the hopper that you want to have sorted, and only items will go from that into there. Alternatively, you can also use an advanced item filter if you are advanced at base engineering.

Management and Delegation

Typically for bases, you may want to delegate power. A lot of people typically stack power banks and have a small solar grid or have a large solar grid and just have a bunch of power banks, but if you are looking to be efficient with your power use, what you will need to look to do is have separate compartments and see and think, "Where am I going to wire the base energy?" That sort of thing.

Quick Fixes to Common Issues

Infinite Item Looping

You may be asking :"My Items are looping in my storage" This seems to be a common issue when either learning base engineering or creating a complex system that needs a solution. My Items are looping in my storage. If crafting tables and glass from the extractor pipping is touching the exit pipping system. And the input system to input item then the items will loop if they are close together. A common fix, I've found for this is to input the items together.

Power Distribution

You may be asking my power isn't flowing right. This issue happens when your power isn't optimized enough and drains one direction or flows weirdly. You generally need lapis and Redstone to help distribute the flow of power from your power collection area with power banks to your main system. This can help to optimize if you wanted to divide power between 2 different operations like either ship charger, or main base. Then you can also sub divide it further into printers, ship factory, etc. While since 2025, power is less intuitive there still is general purpose for using these subsystems to help optimize power distribution.

Solar's Not Working

A common fix for this is to invert solar if that isn't working have staff running /fixsolars command fixes this issue.

Pipe's Not Extracting Items

A common issue is when your printing ships, or whenever your storage system is destroyed. Your storage systems pipes when the blocks regen are out of sync. You can break and replace a crafting table to see if that fixes the issue, or ask if staff can run /fixextractors.

Ghost Blocks

Sometimes ghost blocks from movecraft ship movement can appear which can effect pipping. This may cause item looping. The fix is asking a staff member to delete ghost blocks for you. This is a rare issue and does not happen very often.