a terrible idea

As far as making a bridge goes, isn't it easier to use the ramp tool and target both shores?

You can try to store a height value and make a bridge out of that, but what if one shore is rather flat and the other is on a hill? Odds are either the bridge end of the flat shore won't be on par with ground level or the cliff side will be dug in. With the bridge tool both ends match the correct height.

I could be wrong, but I think the way height works on all maps is zero is sea level, so negative always means submerged. Sometimes the average ground level is significantly higher than on other maps so you have to dig more to reach water.

Is there a modifier key to snap to height zero when terraforming/placing a building?

I don't have a great way to make stuff at height zero on water. I try to estimate the number of elevations I need to set the terraforming to. Since the sea floor tends to vary in depth, no single +X elevation level from the seabed seems to function.


Is there a use case where you need to make several unconnected platforms at the same elevation other than snapping to zero? That's the only use case I can think of I that I need to store a height value instead of using either the ramp or the level tool.

Extending a platform at the same height is done via the level tool. That's why I was asking if you need the platforms to be disconnected, but at the same height.

Other than to place buildings on water, I can't think of a situation where the tool to place a building at say +3 positions up from the ground doesn't do what I need. For instance say I want to place a bunch of stardusts around my main base, I don't care if they're not all at the same level. I just need them to be higher than ground level at their corresponding locations so they can get extra range, so the elevation tool while placing a building works just fine there. Since it adds height relative to the level of the ground at the position, the stardusts will always be at ground + X.

Otherwise, if for some reason I want to create a large platform to build a base on, using level with the ALT(I think) modifier to make a square does the job of extending an existing platform at a given height.

The one case I can't easily solve right now is placing towers like faradays on water without making a needlessly high platform. More often than not, I quickly try to estimate if I'm above water or not, place 2-3 and then come back later to see if it was high enough. More often than not, I place them too high and waste a bit of metal making a faraday at say +20 instead of near 0. (Arbitrary numbers... I just mean some space above water that is beyond the minimum required).

Pro tip:

hold CTRL to match height of terrain under mouse - so u can select level tool, hold alt and draw neat rectangle underwater - ctrl click on the shore above water to make it easily match the above-water level.