Originally posted by vinyblaster:

Tdo you feel the need to completely cover your base with workbenches?

I got a picture of a whole meadow completely paved with workbenches. =0D

My bases are usually barely enough to fit what I need. I trench out an area that looks pretty big to me at first, and then when I get everything built I realize that it should have been bigger. That's usually about 4-5 workbenches.

After losing piggies and crops to Greydwarf raids, I felt it was time to build a wall around the entire complex. Since you can’t build walls unless there’s a workbench in range, that meant enough workbenches the outer wall was always in range of one. Which, as a side effect, meant that I have workbenches covering my entire base.

If I was purely going for spawn suppression, I’d suggest torches, since they’re cheap, but workbenches mean I can build anywhere inside the base, instead of just near the main house. Most of the workbenches are exposed to the rain - which hasn’t mattered so far. They’re damaged, but still there.

The size of my base is “big enough to get what I want done.” Which means enough space for a couple of pig pens, a carrot farm, and kiln / smelter setup, in addition to the main house. Mostly it’s the pigs and the carrots that seem vulnerable to Greydwarf attacks.

If you can expect something big, like trolls, I think you need a trench. No wall is going to stand up to those for long.

I usually go with 5 benches. A center unit and then I cover the 4 corners until the corner diameters touch. At the very least, I leave no dead spots within a compound's area. I can repair any wall defences, etc...craft as well. Within that spacing for me, there is more than enough room for large crop fields, smithy and a comfort setup.


...and always a trench surrounding any long-term base, or built in such a way as to use terrain to advantage with some terrain walling/terrain trenching

I tend to have a pretty big base area, but that is because I make a pretty big farm inside the walls. I also don't move or rebuild my starter base until I have to switch to a plains base to grow flax and flour, so my storage build takes up a LOT of space too (one chest for each item).

Too many.

Well once you place enough workbenches in your area, enemies will simply stop spawning. Typically I do this with a Log Pole Fence on the outer area to make sure stragglers don't wander into the area, I also made a tiny house around each Workbench so they don't get attacked. It's the more efficient and cleaner way to make a safe base without having to make a ridiculous stone wall/trench setup. If you place enough Workbenches, even invasions will stop spawning enemies. Nothing will spawn, just complete peace.

I build organically for the most part, adding as I need or want for the hell of it, I build initially for function with a small bit of leeway for expansion, then go over the place and add 'stuff' ... to make it look interesting and not 'plain'.
I put a workbench at each of the compass points of my base at the wall, and check corners to see if there is any part where I cant build which means out of range of a bench.

I often find that while some plans dont work initially, returning to failed projects later tends to be fruitful.

A pic
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2796713328

you can have the same effect with fires and torchs, they have the same radius as the workbench and are easier to hide underground