Ability to clip frames into terrain, with snap alignment

[open sapphire]

It is difficult to build level static buildings once you venture outside of the starting area, or when playing on custom celestials that have atypical terrain gen values. In real life, things like foundations and pilings exist, supplemented with surveying tools. Perhaps as an Archean approximation we can allow players to clip frames into terrain with optional snap-to-alignment. Frames built in such a manner could possibly be automatically and permanently anchored.

I understand that perhaps this might (minorly) diminish the value of ground anchor, but I think it might be a worthwhile tradeoff as it would enable building in a wider variety of locations, and building emplacements that are sensitive to alignment (eg. a runway).

Without these sorts of tools, players have to resort to wacky things like building giant concrete runways mounted on pivots 👀

FWIW, I did consider making some sort of tool to perform alignment of an initial "foundation" frame with a ground anchor, but such strategies only work in favorable starting area conditions.

[idle robin]

agree, I don't even think it devalues the ground anchor really either. more turns it back into "what it's actually supposed to be for", like anchoring mobile mining vehicles. using it for buildings like a fancy tentpeg feels like a bodge solution and also for a game that seems to be going for realism it feels a little weird to have a couple of hundred tons of cantilevered RTG power station dipping into the sea held entirely in place by one metal spike

[little basalt]

A foundation frame that remains horizontal but you can choose how deep to embed into the ground. Placing an adjacent frame snaps like normal so that you can create a flat level surface for base building.

[slate phoenix]

this would be nice