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This suggestion is somewhat straight-forward, so this will be brief.
The present system for saving block data in a blueprint (to the best the wiki has been updated and my own understanding) uses 24 bits, like so: 100110011001100110011001
Bits 0-10 store the block ID (11 bits, 0 to 2047)
Bits 11-17 store the block HP (7 bits, 0 to 127)
Bit 18 stores the activation state (1 bit, 0 to 1)
Bit 19-23 stores the block orientation (5 bits, 0-31)
I propose that the system is switched to an 8 character hex-based save format, like so: f4b0b33f
Block ID (0-4095)
Increased potential block ID's available. More potential decorative blocks, animated blocks, colors of hull/armor etc. You could have a hundred or more of colors of hull, standard, advanced and crystal armor and still have loads of block ID's left over, especially when implemented with...
Orientation (0-255)
24 possible orientations for every block PLUS the additional option of up to 10 variants per block. Each block could have 10 different possible configurations/shapes on top of the orientation. This could allow for a concatenation of existing blocks somewhat (e.g. all the shapes of a block of Blue Hull could use 1 block ID with the shape determined by the multiple of the orientation - 00-23 could be full block, 24-48 could be the wedge etc.). This also means that every single block could, by default, have the option of a full block, wedge, 3 kinds of slab, corner, hepta, tetra and possibly something like an inside corner block, meaning adding in custom blocks could be simpler since the alternate shapes would be pre-defined - you just have to provide a texture for each face of a cube and the game could handle the rest, making the additional shapes for you.
Activation State (0-15)
Non-binary activation state means things like logic-controlled AI modules could become possible. It also means that logic could operate on a 4-bit signal strength system, in a manner not too dissimilar from MineCraft's Redstone, allowing for even more possibilities with logic.
Block HP (0-255)
An increase over present values. Additionally blocks without an activation state could use that bit as an additional value for HP, meaning basic blocks like Hull could be tougher without requiring an armor value.
Obviously this would break every existing blueprint so some sort of converter would have to be made, but yeah. That's the gist of the idea.
The present system for saving block data in a blueprint (to the best the wiki has been updated and my own understanding) uses 24 bits, like so: 100110011001100110011001
Bits 0-10 store the block ID (11 bits, 0 to 2047)
Bits 11-17 store the block HP (7 bits, 0 to 127)
Bit 18 stores the activation state (1 bit, 0 to 1)
Bit 19-23 stores the block orientation (5 bits, 0-31)
I propose that the system is switched to an 8 character hex-based save format, like so: f4b0b33f
Block ID (0-4095)
Increased potential block ID's available. More potential decorative blocks, animated blocks, colors of hull/armor etc. You could have a hundred or more of colors of hull, standard, advanced and crystal armor and still have loads of block ID's left over, especially when implemented with...
Orientation (0-255)
24 possible orientations for every block PLUS the additional option of up to 10 variants per block. Each block could have 10 different possible configurations/shapes on top of the orientation. This could allow for a concatenation of existing blocks somewhat (e.g. all the shapes of a block of Blue Hull could use 1 block ID with the shape determined by the multiple of the orientation - 00-23 could be full block, 24-48 could be the wedge etc.). This also means that every single block could, by default, have the option of a full block, wedge, 3 kinds of slab, corner, hepta, tetra and possibly something like an inside corner block, meaning adding in custom blocks could be simpler since the alternate shapes would be pre-defined - you just have to provide a texture for each face of a cube and the game could handle the rest, making the additional shapes for you.
Activation State (0-15)
Non-binary activation state means things like logic-controlled AI modules could become possible. It also means that logic could operate on a 4-bit signal strength system, in a manner not too dissimilar from MineCraft's Redstone, allowing for even more possibilities with logic.
Block HP (0-255)
An increase over present values. Additionally blocks without an activation state could use that bit as an additional value for HP, meaning basic blocks like Hull could be tougher without requiring an armor value.
Obviously this would break every existing blueprint so some sort of converter would have to be made, but yeah. That's the gist of the idea.
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