Insulation Mechanics

[Mikel Monleón]

Does anyone know or understand how insulation works in this game? If I build a house and cover it with windows and doors, will I be warmer inside of the house, or does it not matter?

 

[Farnley]

It's explained on the wiki.

[Mikel Monleón]

6 hours ago, Farnley said:

It's explained on the wiki.

Ah thank you. I'm glad to see that there are mechanics for it, though I am disappointed on how limited they are. My house is very dynamically shaped, with winding staircases and chiseled walls, and also much larger than 7x7.  Do you know if there are plans to improve insulation?

[l33tmaan]

Something like that would probably require an overhaul of the way the game registers what a "room" is, because I don't think any "room" can be bigger than 7x7x7, no matter what. 
I definitely think that's something that should be reworked so I can not freeze to death in my own castle, but I also imagine that's a ton of work that isn't high priority at the moment. 

[Mikel Monleón]

So I did some further testing. The wiki page doesn't seem to be accurate. In my house I have made a large open area, probably close to 50x10x50 blocks, with access to an open balcony 3 stories above. There are no doors, just a spiral staircase. For whatever reason the large open area is insulated, my temperature rises when I'm there. However, some of the smaller rooms above aren't, in fact I freeze pretty quickly.

I've also noticed that the cellar isn't insulated either, my temperature drops there as well. Even though it follows the 7x7x7 parameters. No chiseled blocks, or anything. The food is being preserved too, so I know it's being recognized as a cellar. 

Does the game recognize obstacles in the way of open areas?

[Farnley]

8 minutes ago, Mikel Monleón said:

my temperature rises when I'm there

Are you sure this isn't caused by heating?

[Mikel Monleón]

3 hours ago, Farnley said:

Are you sure this isn't caused by heating?

I am sure. There is nothing in that large space that would cause heating. 
My base is 200 blocks high. It is freezing up there. I will start taking damage very quickly anywhere else in the house, I have to constantly light my firepits to stay alive. So it is very odd that the basement, which has no torches, sources of heat, and direct access to the outside, is warm... 

[Streetwind]

There is an elevation element to temperature. As you go up, ambient temperature drops, even if all other factors are the same. If you go down, it gets warmer. You can see this very well if you're digging vertical shafts downwards looking for ore. There can be 20°C and more in terms of temperature difference between the surface and the deepest reaches. I would assume the same goes for sea level and the world ceiling, just perhaps even more (as the distance is larger).

Also keep in mind that whether your body temperature falls or rises is pretty binary. There's a threshold temperature (0°C by default, modified by weather, wetness, clothes worn, proximity to heat sources etc), and if it is above the threshold temperature, your body temperature will climb. If it's below, your body temperature will fall. So it's entirely possible to have a temperature difference of just 0.1°C from one area to another, but lose body heat in one of them while gaining it in the other.

[Mikel Monleón]

14 hours ago, Streetwind said:

There is an elevation element to temperature. As you go up, ambient temperature drops, even if all other factors are the same. If you go down, it gets warmer. You can see this very well if you're digging vertical shafts downwards looking for ore. There can be 20°C and more in terms of temperature difference between the surface and the deepest reaches. I would assume the same goes for sea level and the world ceiling, just perhaps even more (as the distance is larger).

Also keep in mind that whether your body temperature falls or rises is pretty binary. There's a threshold temperature (0°C by default, modified by weather, wetness, clothes worn, proximity to heat sources etc), and if it is above the threshold temperature, your body temperature will climb. If it's below, your body temperature will fall. So it's entirely possible to have a temperature difference of just 0.1°C from one area to another, but lose body heat in one of them while gaining it in the other.

This is very interesting. I don't think this is the case for my base, since I also freeze when I'm at sea level, 110. My base begins roughly at 170 blocks high, and reaches over 200 blocks. With no heat sources, no wetness, if I climb down the ladder to the outside, I start freezing to death, climb back up into the basement (again, not insulated), I start gaining temperature. Then if I go up the stairs to my main section of the house, I start freezing again. 

It's almost as if the basement, which is the furthest area away from the outside opening, is in fact shielded from the cold, despite not having any doors. It makes me think that If I make a long labyrinth tunnel, the opening at the beginning of the tunnel would be cold, but the end of it would be warm...

Or do you think that there could just be a pocket of warmth at block level 170?

[Mikel Monleón]

Here's an update. I've ended up filling my basement with rooms, and now the temperature seems to lower rather than increase. Very bizarre, I do not understand this at all. I'm starting to think that maybe the game registered the area as a cave? 

[Jeremy McArthur]

Im trying to figure all this out right now. I have an enclosed kitchen that I think is just over 7x7 and I get the 120-125% hunger rate. But if I go into my food cellar that is attached to that room it drops to a normal 100%....