Hypertube

The Hypertube is a pipe-like transport system used to quickly transport pioneers over long distances. A Hypertube Entrance is required for entry, but not for an exit. Hypertubes are non-directional and can be entered from both ends if an Entrance is placed on each end.

Pioneers can change the travel direction or nearly stop during mid-flight by holding the directional key (W or S). A Hypertube Junction can be used to create a junction of three tubes, allowing multiple destinations to be reached through a single tube entrance, or permitting optional exits to be created partway along a tube.

Construction

Hypertubes are constructed similarly to conveyors and pipes. The game will automatically add Hypertube Supports when building Hypertubes on the ground or a foundation. When constructing, tubes can be snapped to a connector (support, wall hole, etc), or to the open end of an existing tube that has no support. Like conveyors and pipes, the supports may be removed from a Hypertube without affecting its operation.

The Hypertube has five construction modes: Auto, Auto 2D, Noodle, Horizontal to Vertical and Curve. Different build modes can be cycled by either pressing or holding R.

• Auto: The default build mode. The tube segment takes a straight line path, with a circular curve at one or both ends (as necessary) to align to the orientation of each end.
• Auto 2D: Similar to Auto mode, but the curves at either end of the tube are kept horizontal, with only the tube between the curves taking a sloped angle. The circular arcs also have a much smaller radius which is useful for tight turns when building a tube in another build mode is not possible, though this only works when both ends are at the same height.
• Noodle: The tube will try to maximize its curvature radius such that it appears smooth, and it is calculated by aligning its arc tangent at both the starting and ending points. Can produce wide sweeping curves, but can also be used in tighter spaces.
• Horizontal to Vertical: The tube will attempt to maintain the same level as the starting point (traveling horizontally), then turns vertically when approaching the ending point. If there's not enough height difference between the two ends for a vertical section then it behaves more like Auto mode, producing a sloped tube.
• Curve: The tube will be curved in a way similar to railways, according to the position and orientation of the starting and ending points. The entire tube segment forms a continuous circular arc between its ends.

Hypertubes have a maximum length of 100 meters before an additional Hypertube Support is required. They do not transmit power, so each Entrance must be separately powered for it to be usable.

Hypertubes can be built passing through foundations, walls, trees and terrain. Pioneers traveling inside will not collide with any obstacles that the tube passes through, and this can be used to clip through terrain.

Usage

To enter a Hypertube, a Hypertube Entrance must be attached to one or both ends of the tube and supplied with power. A tube with only one entrance is effectively a one-way tube, while entrances on both ends makes it bidirectional. In Multiplayer, two pioneers traveling in opposite directions in the same tube will safely pass each other without colliding.

Speed

Inside a Hypertube, speed is lost when traveling up a rising tube or when making sharp turns; likewise, speed is gained when traveling downwards. When traveling horizontally in a straight line, speed remains constant. If no movement keys are held down, a Pioneer will automatically accelerate up to 50km/h (about the same speed as a Mark 5 Conveyor Belt). Holding W may increase acceleration, but will not raise speed above 50km/h. Pioneers can travel in a Hypertube many times faster than this by entering the tube at high speed; however once inside, additional speed can only be gained by traveling downhill.

When entering a Hypertube, the pioneer's entry velocity is added to the Tube Entrance's velocity boost, which, when chained, allows for the construction of cannons that can propel pioneers with speeds exceeding 500 km/h, making it over four times faster than the Electric Locomotive. It is currently one of the most effective means of crossing large distances, especially when combined with a Jetpack.

If the Hypertube booster is built correctly, this is the gained speed based on entry velocity and the number of entrances:

# of Entrances	Speed (Walking/Running)	Speed (Running with Blade Runners)
1	54 km/h	58.27 km/h
2	65.34 km/h	70.45 km/h
3	78.84 km/h	84.96 km/h
4	94.85 km/h	101.8 km/h
5	113.94 km/h	122.27 km/h

Pioneer damage

While inside, the pioneer will not aggro nearby hostile creatures, but will take damage if they come into contact with them, which may even throw the pioneer out of the Tube. Hypertubes will shield the pioneer from out-of-bounds damage. High-speed Hypertubes where the exit is pointed downwards can deal significant fall damage when the pioneer is slammed against the landing point; however, no damage is taken when striking a vertical surface at speed, so it is safe to direct the outlet of a high-speed Hypertube horizontally into a wall.

The Tube does not shield from Radiation, but it does shield you from Poison Gas.

Useful structures

Hypertube cannon

See Tutorial:Hypertube cannon.

Hypertube brake

See Tutorial:Hypertube brake

Achievements

Too fast, Too factory • "Move faster than 140 km/h."

Trivia

• Hypertubes somewhat resemble the Tube Transport System from Futurama.
• In a multiplayer game, pioneers phase through each other if more than one is within, and can drag pioneers standing on the top of the Tube. The Tube can be constructed into a loop once another pioneer enters it, getting them stuck with no exit.
• The metal rings on the Tube aren't spaced out evenly.
• If you switch hand items while traveling inside of a Hypertube, you can use them (to a limited effect).
• There is a rare chance that when a Space Giraffe-Tick-Penguin-Whale Thing is at the exit of a Hypertube Cannon when the pioneer is launching itself out, it will deflect the pioneer into the ground instead, killing the pioneer instantly.
• For the first few frames when the player enters the Hypertube it will appear as though they are underneath it.
• While Hypertubes require power to be entered - if power is tripped or cut off from the Hypertube while the pioneer is still transiting it, there will be no impact and they will continue on the normal path of the tube.

Current issues

• By using a glitch it is possible to use items while inside a Hypertube. Normally, the Tube deactivates the item being held by the Pioneer. However, if the Pioneer selects another item by scrolling the mouse wheel , it will become active. The most useful item that can be used in Hypertubes by abusing this glitch is the Zipline. If a Power Line is placed parallel to the Hypertube, using the Zipline inside of it will put the Pioneer outside, riding on the Line. The Pioneer also keeps all of the speed she had in the Tube. This also can be used to exit Tubes that clip through textures, putting the Pioneer out of bounds. Before the addition of the Hypertube Junction to the game, this glitch was the most reliable way for the Pioneer to travel to multiple different locations using the same Tube: if another Hypertube Entrance is placed on a way that Pioneer will travel by exiting the Tube, the Pioneer will enter the new Tube, maintaining speed and traveling to its end. The only side-effect of using this glitch is a smoke cloud that presists around the Pioneer after exiting the Hypertube, which can be fixed by reloading the save file.

External links

• An elaborate Steam guide about Hypertube Cannons
• Hypertube cannon construction tutorial video

See also

• Hypertube Entrance
• Hypertube Support
• Hypertube Junction
• Hypertube Branch

Gallery

• 

  Using a Hypertube to move vertically. Both ends are built with Powered Hypertube Entrance.
• 

  A Hypertube cannon built at the Oil islands.
• One way Hypertube junction in action.

History

• Patch 1.1.1.5
  • Refactored Spline Collision
    • This affects Conveyor Belts, Pipelines, Hypertubes
• Patch 1.1.0.2: Fixed Photo Mode Poses and Pioneer Positioning Nudge affecting Vehicles and Hypertubes
• Patch 1.1.0.0:
  • Introduced Hypertube Junction that allows you to connect a Hypertube to its 3 different paths, and the Hypertube Branch to split a Hypertube into two separate paths
  • Added Curve build mode
  • Added long requestedFlashlight QOL for traveling inside Hypertubes during nighttime with improved visibility
• Patch 1.0.1.1: Potential fix for a crash when replacing holograms with another (i.e. Replacing Pipe Hologram with a Hypertube)
• Patch 1.0.0.3
  • Fixed a crash when dismantling a Hypertube while someone is traveling through it
  • Fixed a crash when joining a Multiplayer game that had many offline pioneers in a Hypertube
• Patch 0.8.2.0
  • Implemented network correction and smoothing for remote players moving in Hypertubes, This should make the movement inside hypertubes much smoother and prevent any kind of desync, this is also enabled for Multiplayer and Dedicated Servers Clients
  • Fixed character getting too much acceleration when braking while going downhill
• Patch 0.8.0.3
  • Fixed the Railways, Hypertubes and Pipelines visually having incorrect rotation when set via Blueprint
    • This may also fix sinking/incorrectly rotated foundations in some scenarios
• Patch 0.8.0.0: Undocumented Change - Fixed bug where Blade Runners would appear detached when riding in Hypertubes
• Patch 0.7.0.1: Updated clearance for Hypertubes and Lights Control Panel
• Patch 0.6.0.5: Hypertubes and their related attachments should no longer be considered a base, therefore should not despawn any creatures when built by themselves
• Patch 0.5.1.0: Hyper Tube Floor Holes. Can be snapped to Foundations to allow Hyper Tubes to pass through them
• Patch 0.3.8.5: Fixed player camera and hands becoming off centre for Clients when using a Hypertube
• Patch 0.3.6.1:
  • Fixed being able to upgrade Pipelines into Hypertubes
  • Hypertubes restored to their original 100 meter max length
• Patch 0.3.6:
  • Changed the maximum segment length
  • Pipelines and Hypertubes can now be upgraded into each other (bug)
• Patch 0.3.4.15: Fixed a memory leak and crash related to building Hypertubes
• Patch 0.3.2.0:
  • When travelling in Hypertubes the player character should no longer be affected by water and the bounce effect of the Space Giraffe-Tick-Penguin-Whale Thing
  • Hypertubes no longer prompt an interaction text
• Patch 0.3.1.0: Hypertubes no longer give double refunds when dismantling
• Patch 0.3: Introduced