The central idea with base management really comes down to getting your tool cupboard setup right, since it's basically the heart of your whole operation. What a lot of players don't realize is that different building materials have their own decay timelines like high quality metal lasting 12 hours while twig only makes it for an hour before starting to crumble.

Something that's pretty interesting is how you can work the system by mixing up your materials strategically. Maybe use the expensive stuff like hqm just for your core rooms, and then go with stone for the outer layers where it's not as critical. That way you're not burning through resources unnecessarily when maintaining your base.

For anyone running their own server, you've got some decent control over how decay works. You can adjust the scale with console commands, and there's always the option to tweak the tick rate which controls how often the system checks for upkeep. The default setting runs every 300 seconds, but you might want to play around with that depending on your server's needs.

When it comes to actually building, try thinking about using hexagon designs for better stability, and if you're working on something bigger, setting up multiple tcs can really help manage the upkeep costs. Just remember to keep your cupboards stocked up especially before logging off nothing worse than coming back to find half your base has decayed because the resources ran dry.

Good to know: bunker style bases with properly secured core sections tend to hold up better over time, and they're generally more efficient with upkeep resources than sprawling designs that use the same material throughout.