Shelter % is broken

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Regardless of platform, server, mods , or game settings, Shelter % in this game is broken and no matter how secure or squared you make your home (aside from a tiny 3x3 box …) it will frequently and constantly only give you 80% shelter in random squares of the shelter.

This isn’t even including the fact that the minute you put a door in a doorway that is currently at 100% shelter you are automatically reduced to 80% while standing in said doorway. Its as if doorways are programmed to be some sort of outside entity and not an actual structure that blocks wind. Remove the door? Suddenly back to 100% inside a shelter.

It wouldn’t be as annoying if the wind sounds didn’t phase in and out because of this bug. Because otherwise I’m covered from the sandstorm and am getting most shelter bonuses. But for many builds, large , small, doesn’t matter, 100% is nearly impossible to achieve and is something I’ve ALWAYS had an issue with in this game.

IMO this topic doesn’t get enough complaints which is troubling because its a core system in base building. The devs have barely said anything regarding how shelter works or how to perfect it, and aside from looking up a specific 3x3 build on Youtube, getting a decent sized home to have 100% shelter is a nightmare(No, I am not talking castle sized builds) and next to impossible.

The devs have previously fixed rain in homes in the jungle / northern area yet this doesn’t get solved when my home is constantly 80% every other square and the rain will randomly appear each time the shelter bar goes from 100%-80%.

I realize this isn’t a large issue as some of the other tings, but its been a constant issue since this games release. Its either an engine limitation or the current devs don’t know / understand how to change or fix it. Either way its appalling with how many Roleplayers and PVEers on this game that this issue isn’t addressed or brought up enough.

We’re coming up on year 5, and yet the shelter system still feels like a placeholder from early access. But then again, it took almost 4 years to get weapons to sheathe on our backs and not mystically appear in mid air like an early access alpha game, so I shouldn’t be surprised.

Edit : I also forgot to mention it doesn’t matter what building tier you use. Floatsam / Nemedian have the exact same seaming issues :slight_smile: It makes total sense that hardened steel / bricks are just as bad at keeping out the enviroment as wooden ship parts, right?

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You know I’ve had this issue many times. In the volcano expecially, and in the north, that shelter is key to you not dying naked inside your own darn base. I thought maybe because half of my wall was an actual cliff side, that might be the issue - but fully walling even the cliff side did nothing to fix this issue. It seems completely random. Are my ceilings too high? What’s the rule to get 100% shelter? It’s not even explained. Thanks funcom please address this issue - especially for people dying and respawning at a bed in volcano :volcano: you have to hunt for a sweet spot just to place a bed. Atleast in north you can place a fireplace by the bed so you don’t die naked. But the wind sound popping in and out is a little annoying and unrealistic. I can’t hear wind when right beside the door or a window, but hear loud gusts when standing right smack in the middle of my base?? :joy:

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Here are some pointers as to where the algorithm is breaking:

  • Long hallways (I’m not sure about the minimum length for this to happen, but that would require some testing)
  • Roofed bridges (that is, a ceiling element as floor, then normal walls and a roof) - drops to 50 to 80%
  • Intersections (for some reason the algorithm thinks it’s wide open) - drops to 50 to 80%; if it’s a narrow tunnel or it is a trench between foundations, that’s not necessarily affected
  • Doorways / gates: Cause the drop even if they are completely surrounded by walls/foundations/ceilings, etc. or even underground. Inserting an actual door isn’t necessary for this to come into effect.
  • Windows: A drop is expected when a window is pointing to the outside, but not if it’s a part of a building’s interior (you still get a drop to 80% even though the environment cannot enter)
  • Shafts: If the distance to the ceiling/roof is too big, you get a significant drop (down to 25%). Placing intermittent ceiling segments can help mitigate this, however, you should still have 100% shelter without them.

The opposite can also be true: If you have natural boundaries and are half-open (i. e. if you are squeezing to a wall and it is protruding a bit over your head) you can have 100% shelter although the natural elements can still affect you.

As a bonus, maybe the values for shelter shouldn’t be calculated on the fly but stored in the map as metadata. This may have a little impact on memory usage, but it would relieve some load on the CPU, thus freeing up some processing time that can then be used for other purposes. Recalculations would only be necessary when artificial structures are modified in any way (adding, removing, or moving building elements).

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