FRM Small Structures
Base building in ARK: Survival Ascended often hits a wall: space. You need a Fabricator, a Refrigerator, and a Tek Replicator, but your carefully planned base layout doesn't have room for their bulky footprints. FRM Small Structures solves this problem elegantly by offering scaled-down versions of your favorite industrial and storage structures. Instead of cramming massive machines into awkward corners or redesigning your entire base, you can now place compact variants that save valuable space without sacrificing function.
What Does FRM Small Structures Offer?
This mod is all about efficiency. It provides smaller versions of essential structures, from basic survival tools to advanced Tek-tier equipment. The beauty lies in the seamless integration: you don't need to learn new engrams or navigate a cluttered menu. Every variant is accessible by simply pressing the Reload key while placing the base-game structure. This intuitive system keeps your engram menu clean and your building process fast.
Key Features at a Glance
- No Menu Clutter: Swap between standard and compact variants instantly with the Reload key.
- Balanced Scaling: Physical size, health pools, and inventory slots are all proportionally reduced to maintain game balance.
- Full Admin Control: Server admins can fine-tune every mechanic on the backend to suit their cluster's specific balance needs.
Included Structure Variants
The mod covers a wide range of structures, ensuring you can downsize most of your industrial core. Here is a breakdown of what you get:
Standard Vanilla Variants
- Beer Barrel (Stackable)
- Chemistry Bench
- Dedicated Storage
- Fabricator
- Gas Generator
- Industrial Cooking Pot
- Industrial Forge
- Industrial Grill
- Industrial Grinder
- Metal Water Tank
- Preserving Bin (Stackable)
- Refrigerator (Stackable)
- Tek Generator
- Tek Replicator
- Tek Transmitter (Pin-lockable, wireless crafting, boss-fight toggles)
- Vault (Stackable)
- Wind Turbine
These variants are perfect for PVE builders who want to maximize interior space or for PVP players looking to hide essential equipment in tighter, more defensible locations.
DLC Variants
For those who own the expansions, FRM Small Structures for ARK: Survival Ascended also includes compact versions of DLC items. Please note that these specific variants still strictly require ownership of the respective DLC to be used.
- Bob's Tall Tales DLC Variants: Industrial Preserving Bin, Makeshift Megalab, Steam Forge, Tribe Tower, Water Reservoir, Windmill.
- Lost Colony DLC Variants: Warbench.
Installation and Server Configuration
Getting started is straightforward. To add this to your game, you can easily download FRM Small Structures from your preferred mod repository. If you are using a launcher that supports mod management, the process is even simpler. For example, the foxygame.net launcher offers a one-click install for mods, allowing you to add FRM Small Structures to your server or single-player profile without manual file extraction. Its integrated add-on catalog ensures you are always downloading the latest compatible version.
For server administrators, the mod provides a robust INI configuration system. You can add specific hooks to your GameUserSettings.ini file to customize the mod's behavior. This allows for fine-tuning of health pools, inventory capacity, water capacity, audio toggles, and crafting speed modifiers. The full copy-paste INI template is available on the mod's official GitHub page.
When setting up a server, it is crucial to place this mod higher in your server's load order. This ensures all vanilla overrides and features function correctly, preventing conflicts with other mods that might alter the same base structures.
Understanding the INI Options
Server admins have granular control over how these compact structures perform. Here are some of the key areas you can adjust:
- Health Modifications: Scale max health pools up or down to fit your PVP/PVE rules.
- Inventory Capacity: Expand or restrict the exact number of item slots available per structure.
- Water Capacity Scaling: Manually define max liquid storage for cooking pots and reservoirs.
- Audio Toggles: Completely mute or adjust ambient noise from active industrial machinery.
- Crafting Speed Modifiers: Apply universal speed multipliers or set hyper-specific values per structure.
For the specialized Warbench, you can also adjust probability multipliers to fully customize drop rates and item outcomes, making it a powerful tool for custom game modes.
Compatibility and Final Thoughts
This mod is designed to work with the current versions of ARK: Survival Ascended. It maintains compatibility with the base game and integrates smoothly with the DLC content. If you are using a mod manager, the foxygame.net launcher also provides auto-updates for your installed mods, ensuring that FRM Small Structures remains compatible with the latest game patches without you having to manually check for updates. This feature is a lifesaver for server owners who want to keep their clusters stable.
In conclusion, FRM Small Structures is an essential addition for any survivor looking to optimize their base layout. It removes the frustration of oversized machinery and allows for more creative and efficient base designs. Whether you are a solo player trying to fit everything into a small raft or a large tribe building a sprawling industrial complex, this mod offers the flexibility you need. The balanced scaling ensures you are not gaining an unfair advantage, just a better use of space. If you are ready to declutter your builds and streamline your operations, this is the mod for you. Join the community Discord for support, suggestions, and direct INI examples to get the most out of this fantastic tool.