You've unlocked "Hardlight Airlock™"!

In this example, this doorway is completely inaccessible to non-ranged hostiles.
Ranged hostiles will attempt to attack the base station for the Hardlight Airlock™ once they fail to pass through while melee units will remain helpless in front of it.





In this example, the small table is obstructing this vertically mounted Hardlight Airlock™, as will an opened door if it makes contact.


https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3429302792
Not every doorway is compatible with every orientation; check to see if you can just deny the entire hallway or area instead.



Seriously, the lowly cubicle will resolve most, if not all, alignment/raised surface issues with your Hardlight Airlock™.

The cubicle's ability to be placed freely and then switched to snap-to-grid to then stack with each other is very good tech, so don't overlook it!



Here is a door from the popular Power Services base.
The Hardlight Airlock™ normally cannot be mounted on this unmodified wall due to raised surfaces.

To solve this, a half-half cubicle was added to the wall (by standing on the balcony railing and aiming downwards), and then the Hardlight Airlock™ was mounted to it.

In cases where this method doesn't work, just start by placing it freely on the ground, and then switch to snap-to-grid to stack it until it meets your height requirements.



Close-up of cubicle placement, which could be removed to float the Hardlight Airlock™.

Some users have even tried mounting their Hardlight Airlocks™ to the floor to successfully create a bridge.

It is exactly as effective as it looks.




This backdoor setup completely shuts out all hostiles, and the Hardlight Airlock™ is safe from ranged attacks.
The cubicles here were placed freely on the ground, and then snap-to-grid stacked.

On very rare occasions, the door swing itself can let something through, but the refresh ticks are fast enough and hostiles don't move fast unless aggro'ed.
Since it can be mitigated entirely by leaving the door open (or using Snag Vine), indoor installations are far superior to outdoors in pretty much every case.

As for the lasers, it is important to angle them slightly downwards to avoid collision with expired biomass and to prioritize fresh sources instead.
The angle is very exaggerated in this example due to being mounted closer to the ceiling.



The other half of hostiles will just stand outside the door here until they flee & de-spawn.
In my game, I have not used the door or shutters yet so the Hardlight Airlock™ is a great preventative measure for workplace accidents.

If your door has been opened already, then you'll need to position your Hardlight Airlock™ appropriately to handle opened door obstructions, similar to the backdoor example.



The firing range can support exactly 9 large garden plots but requires almost pixel perfect placement. The easiest method is to start with the corners, then the middle, and then you can fill in the rest of the plots.
The side tunnel can be used for deploying moisture teleporters and can even fit a kitchen.
The freezers in this picture required a different placement tech to enable clipping...

First, install a temporary stackable deployable and make it fit into the tight space.
Then stack it with whatever needs to be in there but with the correct orientation.
Remove the first and the second will drop down into place.