Bitesize Area Action Tutorials

Epic Steam EA EX Intermediate

Welcome to my bitesize tutorial series, in this series we will be covering techniques in Area Actions, to create a circle, shafts, winding foundations for roads, double helix's and how to create a conical helix.

BraindG 9879 2020-10-18

Welcome to my bitesize tutorial series, in this series we will be covering Area Actions, the Area Actions mod, can be found over at http://ficsit.app/.

I will not go into details of the options and settings with the mod, I assume that you already have a good understanding of the functions of Area Actions. If you have any suggestions or requests for additions please come visit me on twitch.

Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Circles

Circles are the basics for a vast majority of tutorials we will be covering, they allow for the creation of shafts, corners to buildings, or oval shapes.

Video Guide Associated:

Tutorial: Area Actions: Creating Circles

Start with a central foundation
Decide on the diameter - Google document
Create a cross by placing foundations on each face of the central foundation. The number of foundations required for each face can be found on row 2 of the Google document.
Remove the first 3 (or more, depending on the size) foundations from the centre, this prevents overlapping issues later on.
Using the Place/remove corners option, select all of the corners of the cross.
Use the Set/Clear bottom option to reduce the area of manipulation from below.
Using the Set/Clear top option to reduce the area of manipulation from above.
Select Copy-Paste.
A. Choose the rotation center and place the green marker on the central foundation. Technically, you don’t need to do this for circles but it’s good practice to do so as you will need to use it a lot and it’s good to have it in muscle memory.
B. Select Z field
C. Enter the relevant Z Value from the Google document
D. Click Preview and confirm it has rotated correctly.
E. Click OK to confirm.
Repeat the above steps for the increment of the Z values until the circle has been completed.

Shafts

Shafts can come in many different sizes, today we will look at creating a 17 diameter 20 high shaft. The diameters are all based on the circle dimensions, which have been calculated to ensure the walls align perfectly with each other once placed.

The diameters can be found in the following Google document.

Place walls all the way around your circle
Using the Place/remove corners option, select the circle you have just created.
Using the Set/Clear bottom option to reduce the area of manipulation from below.
Select the Fill option, then enter a value in the Fill amount, Z field. In this case, we enter 10.
Congratulations, you have now created your first Shaft.

Roads

Winding Road foundations can have many uses, personally, I use them for laying train tracks and also as a method for winding conveyor belts from source to destination. Allowing me to stick to one of my primary design principles, build within the landscape.

Video Guide Associated

Tutorial: Area Actions: Creating Roads in Satisfactory

We will also be relying heavily on the Fibonacci number sequence, for more information please see here. The number sequence used for this bitesize tutorial will be 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21. We will rotate up and down this number sequence in order, never skipping any.

Let’s start by placing foundations in roughly the route you want to take.
Then place the starting foundation, usually, I will place this on top of the first foundation that was placed as part of the temp route created in the first step.
Place another foundation on the side of the starting foundation, in the direction that you are intending to go.
Use the Select a building option and select the foundation placed in step 3.
Select Copy-Paste and then Select rotation center.
Place the rotate marker (Green shaft) on the opposite corner to which you are rotating. In this example, we are going right so the rotate marker is placed on the closest corner on the left.
In the Z Field enter the first number you are starting with, normal if you are starting fresh this will be 1. The sequence is 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21. We will rotate up and down this number sequence in order, never skipping any.
Continue to repeat steps 3 to 7 until you need to turn left, then continue to step 9.
Place the next foundation in the direction you are going, this will be the first foundation that will turn in the opposite direction.
Use the Select a building option and select the foundation placed in step 9.
Select Copy-Paste and then Select rotation center.
Place the rotate marker (Green shaft) on the opposite corner to which you are rotating. In this example, we are going left so the rotate marker is placed on the closest corner on the right.
In the Z Field enter the first number you are starting with, normally you will be back at 1 when starting a new curve. The sequence is 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 2. We will rotate up and down this number sequence in order, never skipping any.
Repeat steps 9 to 13 until you are done turning left.
At this point rinse and repeat the above steps until you have completed your path.

TOP TIPS:

If you are making a road wider than 1 foundation always rotates from the opposite side that you are going. I.e. turning left, then use the furthest right foundation to rotate on, this will ensure that the foundations on the inside of the turn will overlap correctly.

Double Helix

Now we will cover how to create the Double Helix, before you continue please make sure you have reviewed the making circles and making shafts Tutorials, as this tutorial will require you to have a good understanding of those.

Video Guide Associated:

Tutorial: Area Actions: Creating Double Helix in Satisfactory

Depending on how steep you want to create the helix, you will have to use different ramps. In this tutorial we will focus on the double ramp 8m x 4m, examples of the others can be found at the end of this chapter.

Place down 4 foundations, this will be used as a pedestal
Build your desired diameter circle (in this example we are using 9)
We will start with a 10 wall high circle, this will be used to place the ramps on and deleted later.
On opposite sides of the circle replace the walls with the metal ones, this will be used as a reminder of where you started and where you intend to finish.
We will place ramps only halfway around and then use the area actions fill option to extend it upwards.
Place your double ramp (8mx4m) up the wall like this, using the 2m foundation to bridge the inevitable gap that you will have.
Once we have made it halfway round, make sure you stop on the wall before the metal walls. Otherwise, you will get some overlap when we come to use the fill option later.
Remove the outside wall using the mass delete option, I suggest that you follow this route with the place/remove corners option.
We now have our first glimpse of the Helix, albeit a little short.
Using the Place / Remove corners option, in conjunction with the select/clear top and bottom options we will select just the Double Helix.
Use the fill settings and put whatever value you desire in Z (i used 5) and in Z under the border column enter a -2 (this will depend on how you have selected or how many ramps you have used, you might need to experiment with the preview option to get this perfectly lined up
Now you have your first Double Helix using a double ramp (8mx4m)

Here is an example of a 4m, 2m, and 1m Double Helix

Conical Helix

Now we will cover how to create the Conical Helix. Before you continue please make sure you have reviewed the making circles and making shafts and most importantly the Double Helix Tutorials, this tutorial will require you to have a good understanding of those.

Video Guide Associated:
Tutorial: Area Actions: Creating Conical Helix in Satisfactory

First, you will need to create your desired helix - In this example, we are using a 45 walls high (45 x 4m = 180m) and 9 foundations wide (9 x 8 = 72)
You only need a single Helix, so if you have a double, remove one of the sides.
To convert the Helix shape into a Conical we will need to move each ramp inwards, towards the central point.
To figure out how to do this we need to do some mathematics.

Foundation width / (Wall Height x Ramp Height)

To make life easier you might want to use this spreadsheet to automate the process.
Top tip: With the calculated number, I suggest you use a spreadsheet to generate the required sequence allowing for quick copy-paste - see the google document for instructions.

Once you have your numbers prepared, continue.
Next up, we start moving the ramps inwards.
Starting at the first ramp and using the copy/paste option and move the ramp inwards. You will have to pay close attention to the arrows as they will swap colour and direction as you go round.
Remove the original helix with mass dismantle.
Using the Place/remove corners and select/clear top and bottom options we will select just the conical Helix.
Finally, with the Copy-Paste option and in the Z field enter 180.
Commit and clear the selection.
Congratulations, your first conical helix.

TOP TIP: When moving the ramps inwards, try using a negative number in the blue Z field to light the ramps up perfectly. That said, this can be easier achieved using another mod called micro manage, you will have to wait for the next series of Bitesize to see how that is done - for now feel free to pop along to my stream for some tips.

This in-depth tutorial was brought to you by BrainDG a content creator who hosts regular satisfactory community events over on his twitch, which you can take part in to win prizes. As well as providing excellent tutorials like the ones listed above over on his youtube channel, make sure to check him out!

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