Building Mechanics

Purpose: AI-readable reference for Structs construction. Requirements, proof-of-work, struct limits.

Two-Step Build Process

Step Action Proof-of-Work
1 struct-build-initiate No
2 struct-build-complete Yes (age-based)

Build Requirements

Requirement Description
Player online Sufficient power (see power.md)
Power capacity BuildDraw + PassiveDraw available
Resources Sufficient Alpha Matter
Valid location Correct slot type (space/air/land/water)
Fleet on station Required for planet building
Command Ship online Required for planet building

Proof-of-Work (Build Complete)

age = currentBlockHeight - blockStart
if age <= 1 then difficulty = 64
else difficulty = 64 - floor(log10(age) / log10(BuildDifficulty) * 63)

hashInput = structId + "BUILD" + blockStart + "NONCE" + nonce
isValid = HashBuildAndCheckDifficulty(hashInput, proof, age, BuildDifficulty)

Difficulty is age-based: older builds require less work.

Charge Accumulation

charge = CurrentBlockHeight - LastActionBlock

Charge required for activate; ActivateCharge = 1 for all struct types (v0.10.0-beta).

Struct Limits (Per Player)

Struct Type Limit
Planetary Defense Cannon 1
Command Ship 1

Struct State Machine

Materialized → Built (Offline) → Built (Online) → Destroyed
                    ↕                  ↕
                 Locked            Hidden (stealth)
State Power Draw Can Act Notes
Materialized BuildDraw No Awaiting proof-of-work completion
Built (Offline) None No Needs activation
Built (Online) PassiveDraw Yes Normal operating state
Locked Unchanged No Temporary, cannot activate/deactivate
Hidden Unchanged Yes Stealth mode, invisible to other players
Destroyed None No Terminal state

StructSweepDelay: After destruction, the slot may appear occupied for 5 blocks. Planet/fleet slot arrays may still reference the destroyed struct ID during this delay.

Build Validation Order

  1. Player online
  2. Command Ship online (if building on planet)
  3. Fleet onStation (if building on planet)
  4. Sufficient power capacity (BuildDraw + PassiveDraw)
  5. Available slots (correct type: space/air/land/water)
  6. Per-player limits (1 PDC, 1 Command Ship)

Common mistakes: Building on planet before Command Ship is online. Building Command Ship on planet (must be in fleet, locationType = 2).

Location Types

Location Fleet Required Command Ship
Planet On station Online
Fleet N/A Online

Command Ship must be built in fleet (locationType = 2), not on planet. Power requirement: 50,000 W.

See Also