Bracing

Bracing is the most basic material in the game. It is a material that's commonly used in countless situations.

## Characteristics

### Pros

Cheap. Light. Quick to build. Works well as a defense when used en masse.

### Cons

Weak. Flamable. Extremely vulnerable to buzzsaws.

### Special

Architect : 20% cheaper. Double build speed.

## Overview

Bracing and Background Bracing are primary building materials for most applications. They form the bulk of every fort at the beginning of the game, and together with Background Bracing, are used to expand the fort. Bracing is the only material on which devices and weapons can be placed on.

Alongside Background Bracing, Bracing is the cheapest material in the game and one that builds the fastest (with the exception of the Rope, which has no build time).

Bracing is very light, and at 12.5 points of weight per grid (50 cm), it is only heavier than the Energy Shield (with the weight of 2.5) and Rope (with the weight of 0.05).

Like all materials, Bracing has a limited tolerance for compression and stretching. If compressed/stretched by 10% past its original construction length, it will snap (for example a 3-grid-long brace will be destroyed if compressed more than 2.7 grid length). For this reason Bracing can withstand more weight the longer it is.

Also like other materials, Bracing will snap off if it rotates more than 30 degrees in its joint (relative to the initial angle it was built at).

Bracing can be connected to terrain with the Foundations texture, making a foundation node. This incurs a flat cost of 50 metal and 400 energy on top of the cost of the strut itself. Foundation nodes cannot be created on terrain without the Foundations texture.

Foundation nodes are highly stable, as they effectively create an anchor point for which the base itself can only rotate off that strut. This means that, in moderation, they work great to stabilize a fort.

Like other materials, Bracing built in an arrangement where 3 connected struts form sides of a triangle will enable it to display cladding, obscuring the contents.

## Strategies

Aside from the fundamental function of forming the main structure of the fort, Bracing can be used as a very cost effective defense. While the material has less health than Armour and cannot nullify attacks as easily as the Energy Shield, it is vastly cheaper and - in case of Armour - lighter, meaning it can be built in massive amounts, relegating the other two materials to more specialized roles.

Dense layer of Bracing is effective at stopping focused, high damage weapons, such as Plasma Laser and Cannon attacks. Large boxes, on the other hand, are preferred when defending against weapons which deal splash damage in a large radius, such as Warheads or Rockets.

An effective defense should be composed of a mixture of both dense as well as spaced boxes. Albeit tightly packed wood is very effective against Plasma Laser attacks, it is rendered to nothing when hit with a Firebeam; thus, large boxes should be placed in front to nullify the Firebeam's penetrative effects. Similarly, it should also be noted that dense wood can levy a hefty repair bill if hit with splash weapons.

    Regardless of building technique, it must be kept in mind at all times that Bracing is highly vulnerable to certain weapons - in particular the Howitzer and Buzzsaw, both of which possess massive damage multipliers against Bracing. Incendiary attacks are also effective at attacking Bracing - for example with a use of Firebeam. For this reason Bracing is best used as a defense when used in mix with other measures, as dictated by current situation in the battle.

Properly placed long struts of Bracing at critical junctures can form a resilient support for the weight of the base and serve as an additional measure for preventing a collapse. A technique of building Bracing specifically for this purpose is known as Stability Tech.

While other materials (such as Armour) are technically stronger than Bracing in cases for Stability Tech, there's diminishing returns for such. A 4-long strut of Bracing is already extremely strong; additionally, the sheer cost alone of placing a 4-long metal strut makes it prohibitively expensive.

## Trivia

* While in development phase, Forts was originally intended to have a medieval theme, explaining the use of wood as a main building material in an otherwise modern high tech setting.