To make your own creations, you'll need to have an image editing software,
On windows, the default Paint should work just fine, however I would recommend either
Paint dot net[www.getpaint.net]
or
GIMP[www.gimp.org]

-- Both are free and easy to learn

The game does not support all image files nor all the colours,
You need to follow a very specific colour code in order to make the structure of the ship

The material table "palette" can be generated ingame via the UI.
Once it is generated it should open its folder so you can access it quickly

it should look like this:


I strongly suggest using the one provided in the game and not the one I shown above for 2 reasons:

1. Steam could be compressing the image which would break the colour code
   
2. We may want to add more materials in the future, the palette.png file in the game directory will always be up to date with the latest build. This guide is just to help you visually
   [o/list]
   
   
   How does it works?
   This is a quick introduction to the technical side of the materials system, if all you want to do is build your own stuff, then you can skip ahead
   
   The colours are used to help identify each materials and allow for more customisation.
   Now, with the Texture compatibility they aren't as useful as they used to be
   
   The materials are specific colors which can be modified from a Json script file.
   The script defines the proprieties of the materials and the colour used for loading the structure
   
   
   

1. Open the image editing software of your choice
   
2. Open the Material Table
   
3. Draw your creation using the colours provided by the table
   
4. Crop out as much empty space as possible
   
5. Save your new file as a PNG

Essentially, drawing a ship is very similar to making pixel arts

• SKY : This material is invisible and very fragile, It also cannot be used to seal a structure (water Sea water will pass through )
  
• HULL : This material blocks water from flowing
  
• GROUND : This material is not affected by physics, it can be used to anchor your structures
  
• MASS : This is a very heavy material, it can be used to balance your creation or just break things
  
• ROPE : This is a very flexible material

• You can use the Hull material to create compartments effectively preventing a simple hole in the hull to flood the entire ship
  
• There are 2 recommended scales for building:
  
  1. 1 Pixel = 1 Metre - Best for performance
     
  2. 1 Pixel = 1 Feet - Best for detailing
• Test your creations after each modifications, it will help preventing potential mistakes adding up.
  
• A Good ship should floats on its own and be level
  
• A Good ship should take a few hits before sinking completely