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Reactor Structure
Where every block of the Dark Energy Reactor goes, and how its pieces assemble into 3D machines. In-game, the Reactor Manual's building chapter has multiblock previews you can project into the world. This page has the exact numbers.
All positions are offsets from the Reactor Core: x is east (+) / west (−), y is up, z is south (+) / north (−). The core is at 0, 0, 0.
| Piece | Blocks | Needed to run? |
|---|---|---|
| Reactor Core | 1 | yes |
| Containment ring | 1,940 | yes |
| Four stabilizers | 4 × 175 = 700 | yes |
| Two axial stabilizers | 2 × 27 = 54 | to form, no; to keep running, yes (see below) |
| Venting Lance | 108 | no, but you can't vent without it |
| Bending Laser | 1 (in the ring) | no |
A flat torus around the core: 35 blocks across, a 25-block hole in the middle, 5 layers tall (y −2 to +2, the core on the middle layer).
A block is part of the ring when its center is within 2.5 blocks of a circle of radius 15 around the core:
d = √(x² + z²) − 15
part of the ring if d² + y² ≤ 2.5²
That's 1,940 blocks: 1,730 Ring Frame and 210 Ring Beam Port.
3 × 3 tunnels of Ring Beam Ports run through the middle three layers (y −1 to +1) of the ring:
| Tunnel | Which blocks | For |
|---|---|---|
| North, south | |x| ≤ 1 | the north and south stabilizers |
| East, west | |z| ≤ 1 | the east and west stabilizers |
| North-east | x > 0, z < 0 and |x + z| ≤ 1 (the diagonal) | the Bending Laser |
| Spot | Can be | Instead of |
|---|---|---|
| Any Ring Frame | Reactor Port (power out, power in, comparator, computer) | Ring Frame |
| 12, 0, −12 (the outermost middle block of the north-east tunnel) | Bending Laser | Ring Beam Port |
The ring is complete either way. Only a laser at 12, 0, −12 is used: power it from outside the ring, on its east or north face.
Four 5 × 5 barrels, 7 long, lying on their side and pointing at the core. Each one's center is 24 blocks out along an axis (north, south, east, west), and its bottom layer is level with the ring's bottom (y −2 to +2). Along its axis it runs from 21 to 27 blocks out.
Taking the east stabilizer as the example (the others are the same, turned):
| Block | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Stabilizer Emitter | 21, 0, 0 | the middle of the end facing the core, facing it |
| Stabilizer Coils | x = 25 (one block behind the middle), the outer ring of that 5 × 5 slice | 16 coils |
| Mass Input Port | 24, 2, 0 | on top, in the middle |
| Stabilizer Console | 27, −1, +1 | the far end, one row below center, on the left as you face it |
| Breaker Panel | 27, −1, −1 | next to the console, on the right |
| Stabilizer Casing | everywhere else |
That's 175 blocks each. "Left as you face it" means: stand past the far end looking back toward the core.
Two 3 × 3 × 3 cubes hanging over the ring on opposite diagonals, clear of the laser:
| Center | |
|---|---|
| North-west | −11, 10, −11 |
| South-east | 11, 10, 11 |
| Block | Where in the cube |
|---|---|
| Axial Emitter | bottom layer, middle (fires straight down at the core) |
| Stabilizer Coils | top layer, the 8 around the middle |
| Stabilizer Casing | everywhere else |
The reactor forms without them, but without both, spin makes no RF. The stabilizers need the core's power 30 seconds after ignition, so without axials only the Bending Laser or RF fed in through a Reactor Port keeps them running; otherwise stability drains to 0 (see Stabilizer power).
A 3 × 3 column, 12 tall, of Lance Emitters straight over the core. Its bottom can be anywhere from 3 to 40 blocks above the core; 9 (six blocks over the top of the ring) is the standard spot. The lowest Lance Emitter in the 3 × 3 column over the core counts as its bottom, so the whole column has to be filled from there.
When fired, its beam bores straight up to the top of the world (if destroyBlocks is on). An emergency vent (in meltdown phase 1) destroys the lance.
Each piece assembles on its own as soon as it's complete. Its blocks stop being drawn and the core draws the whole piece as one 3D model instead:
| Piece | Model |
|---|---|
| Ring | a smooth tube with walkway decks on top and bottom, a glowing inner conduit, and lensed housings round the five port tunnels |
| Each stabilizer | a barrel with a coil band, glowing conduits, saddles, a pedestal for the Mass Input Port, and a control station round the console and breaker panel |
| Each axial stabilizer | a short cylinder with a coil band and a lens firing down |
| Venting Lance | an octagonal column with collars and glowing conduits, and a lens on top |
Some blocks always stay visible, because you use them:
- Reactor Ports
- Mass Input Ports
- Stabilizer Consoles and Breaker Panels
- the Bending Laser
Assembled blocks still collide, can be mined, and count for everything as normal. Breaking any block of a piece takes it back to blocks (within a couple of seconds, or at once for an assembled block). Breaking the core takes everything back to blocks.
Assembly is only how it looks: whether the reactor can run is decided by the full structure check, exactly as before.