Idea for a shipyard POI | Channel37 | Page 1

wheat oxide Mar 12, 2026, 4:20 PM

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Many people have made suggestions around upgrading the boat. So, I got to thinking, why stop there? How about a shipyard?

The shipyard could have 3 basic abilities: First, a mega fabricator/3D printer for making ship sections. Second, a bridge crane for moving those sections into a drydock. Third, the drydock for assembling or upgrading boats. This could be a great use for all those materials we have been collecting.

The shipyard could also serve as a home-base for people, preferably located near the center of the map. It could have a large internal space (with a door like the sanctuary docks) for supporting multiple boats. Also, a nice area on the roof for building a tree farm. A salt-water pump would be epic.

As for the ships you can build, I would suggest role-based:

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Dive boat
class = small
fuel = petrol
integrated storage = 2x 200kg containers
role = diving graves and smaller under-water areas
special abilities = anchor, 2x mounts for seed containers
upgrade = upgradable engines
upgrade = short range sonar
notes = fast, but limited use outside of exploration

Skimmer - already exists
class = small
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Mini-sub
class = small
fuel = electric
integrated storage = 2x 50kg containers
role = deep dives for small areas
special abilities = claw arm to grab items
upgrade = larger battery cells
upgrade = short range sonar
notes = primarily for exploring, can dive deep, but for limited time

Fishing boat
class = medium
fuel = diesel
integrated storage = none
role = collecting materials from the ocean
special abilities = 8x fishing nets
upgrade = upgradable engines
upgrade = solid hull (more hit-points)
upgrade = auto-pilot for trolling in a pattern
upgrade = harpoon(s) for sharks and bigger "fish"
notes = medium size engine room, with space for building storage and a recycler
.

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Base boat (aka the one we have now)
class = medium
fuel = diesel
integrated storage = none
role = jack of all trades
special abilities = 1x fishing net
upgrade = upgradable engines (already exist)
upgrade = bow thruster (easier to maneuver at low speed)
upgrade = transom deck (low deck at back to park skimmer)
upgrade = solid hull (more hit-points)
upgrade = light weight decking (faster, more efficient)
notes = please add more connections for petrol/water/gases in the hold

Submarine
class = medium
fuel = diesel/electric
integrated storage = none
role = extended underwater adventures
special abilities = a dive-port for exiting the sub
upgrade = upgradable engines
upgrade = solid hull (more hit-points)
upgrade = long range sonar
notes = diesel only works on surface to recharge batteries
notes = medium size engine room for building storage bins/other equipment
notes = could require compressed oxygen for use in ballast tanks
.

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Cargo Ship
class = large
fuel = oil
integrated storage = massive number of storage containers on deck
role = move all the stuff
special abilities = huge lower deck, able to build complex infrastructure
upgrade = upgradable engines
upgrade = bow thruster
upgrade = more storage containers
upgrade = gyrocopter pad
upgrade = a hatch/bay for holding gyrocopters
upgrade = rear hatch/bay for parking skimmers, dive boats, and mini-subs
upgrade = deck crane**see below
notes = could replace the base boat, but trades lower speed, poor maneuverability, and high fuel usage for more space
notes = oil fuel type could require equipment to filter "raw" oil

Tanker Ship
class = large
fuel = oil
integrated storage = 1x massive fuel tank (oil, petrol, or diesel)
role = moving massive amounts of oil, diesel, or petrol
special abilities = engine room with minimal space to add stuff
upgrade = upgradable engines
upgrade = bow thruster
upgrade = solid hull (more hit-points)
upgrade = 2nd fuel tank
upgrade = 3rd fuel tank
upgrade = gyrocopter pad
notes = not intended to replace base boat
notes = minimal space to build stuff
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The shipyard could also be the basis for new items. For example, the mega-fabricator could have the ability to build large batteries and large tanks. However, the bridge crane would be required to place those items, so they could only be built at the shipyard or on ships in the dry dock.

These are multiple opportunities for the shipyard to be part of the story as well. Perhaps when the time comes to enable the portal on top of Lazarus, components would need to be manufactured at the shipyard, transported by cargo ship, and lifted into place with a crane at Lazarus. Another could be using the mega-fabricator to manufacture an upgraded rocket, which then needs to be transported to Exodus. With the addition of a deck-crane to the cargo ship, it could transport bridge-sections to other POIs in order to access certain spaces.

In summary, a shipyard POI could add many new construction and engineering challenges. It would also give players more flexibility in how to play the game (different ship choices). It could also enable later-game content requiring larger amounts of materials.

Thank you for reading!

violet dirge Mar 12, 2026, 4:33 PM

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Agreed on much of this. I'd like to see a proper boat yard (or, at least, an enhanced additional Sanctuary Dock) where we can tinker with the boat physically rather than just re-skinning it.
Hopefully the devs will pick up some/all of the various suggestions which have been made and do something for a future update.

wheat oxide Mar 12, 2026, 5:03 PM

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open to any ideas on how to bring more attention to this thread caretaker

violet dirge Mar 12, 2026, 5:17 PM

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Try posting a short comment, with a link to this post, in the #general section of this Discord.
I know that the devs do look at the support and suggestions forum contents but, if you want input from other gamers, that's the place to promote your ideas.

amber cosmos Mar 12, 2026, 5:36 PM

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I like this idea so much

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We need more boats to work with, and a submarine for deep sea ops later in the game would be a godsend. You just have to add a defense field to handle all the deep sea snurglies lmao

lapis mango Mar 12, 2026, 6:00 PM

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Something a little bit different but what if sanctuary dock 37 was somewhat alive in the same way you are. and you feed it massive amount of resources - you know the ones most of us don't know what to do with, and it upgrades to be the base of where you can do major upgrades to your boat & bot, additional boat storage etc

graceful locust Mar 12, 2026, 7:09 PM

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this could be cool

wheat oxide Mar 13, 2026, 4:49 PM

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Sounds like they added ship stabilizers in the current beta build... that is a great addition.

Currently, they are buildable on the ship. However, if we had larger ships, that would be something which should probably be added only in the shipyard.

amber cosmos Mar 16, 2026, 10:13 PM

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lapis mango Something a little bit different but what if sanctuary dock 37 was somewhat aliv...

Oh and an idea would be to find ship hulls or floating bits of flotsam that you can tow back for scrapping, which net lots of materials, but need a powerful boat (meaning you can't just use it to cheese high amounts of uncommon, rare, etc resources in early game)

wheat oxide Mar 16, 2026, 10:27 PM

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amber cosmos Oh and an idea would be to find ship hulls or floating bits of flotsam that you ...

I like this -- mega scrap:
ship hull parts
ship decking parts
ship bridge parts
etc.

bold sphinx Mar 19, 2026, 4:42 PM

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I want to be required to float a sunken ship, and tow it to a shipyard for repair.

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Have to transport power down, either generators and fuel or by canister or by oni pack, patch the displacement hull, hook up oxygen generators and a water pump to take the air out of the outer hull without causing a vacuum, then it begins to float.

graceful locust Mar 19, 2026, 4:46 PM

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bold sphinx I want to be required to float a sunken ship, and tow it to a shipyard for repai...

this part is I like I do not like the second part

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that seem like a lot of work just for a boat

bold sphinx Mar 19, 2026, 4:48 PM

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I mean . . . "just for a boat" is doing a lot of heavy lifting when it would be practically unplayable without one.

It would feel like a pretty cheap accomplishment in a game about scrapping, rebuilding, and restoring to just put some resources in a box and hit 'fabricate all parts.'

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Changing something so foundational to gameplay should kinda be a thing, and feel like you did something amazing.

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It's like powering up Lazarus; a new boat configuration would be a pretty fundamental gameplay pivot.

graceful locust Mar 19, 2026, 4:54 PM

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ok I would like it to be where you can 'fabricate all parts.' and maybe you can do the other thing I would like to just make it if you want but make it expensive

bold sphinx Mar 19, 2026, 5:13 PM

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I mean, if I can build it like a forklift . . . I dunno. It feels cheap.

Like writing a story that you end with "god fixes it" or "it was all a dream." Something huge is changing, and it doesn't feel like you earned anything.

wheat oxide Mar 19, 2026, 6:13 PM

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compromise: have to find and scan a sunken ship or two to get the blueprints, then use the mega replicator at the shipyard to build parts for new boats?

lapis mango Mar 21, 2026, 10:26 PM

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I could imagine a cool system being a tow behind sonar unit to map the sea floor then a probe you can lower from the bridge to scan things like sunken ships etc. These would have their own upgrade path for capability & maybe tie in upgrade points to your vehicles so you can level them up in the same way as your bot

wheat oxide Mar 22, 2026, 3:26 PM

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That's not a bad idea. I was thinking about a 2-piece sonar system... one piece would go under the boat (so you can turn it in any direction), then the other is a screen which can go on the bridge. This would also make a use for the upcoming "data cables". but, tow behind has some interesting merits too

#Idea for a shipyard POI