CLANG is what makes SE frusturating, annoying, agitating, buggy, and many more negative adjectives. Named for the clanging sound of a rotor head being decapitated, CLANG deserves it's own section in the guides page. Do not, however treat CLANG disrespectfully. CLANG is a god in SE and ME, it rules all and demands respect. CLANG is often mistaken for the devil- well that is wrong, CLANG is much much much worse. Not even Keen ,it's creator, can tame the wild beast of the CLANGOSARUS REX (rotors and pistons). Pretend that CLANG is an animal or pet that you really don't like, you can cage it up with patches and stability updates, but it will always escape to haunt you. Many attemts have been made to controll it, but additional moving parts being added every day just add to the frustration. the patches and bugfixes just add reinforcement to the weak chain-link fence of Keen's programing.

have you ever been shot out of a sliding door?- it was CLANG. ever had a ship explode unexpectedly?- that was CLANG. ever been brutally mutilated by a rotor-piston combo?- you guessed it, CLANG. If you have a lower-end computer then just one rotor can turn into a satanic being intent on destroying humanity (and your ship).

some people who play in creative feel the urge to make a behemoth ship with too many rotors and pistons. these people ,however, do not suffer as much as those who play in survival and feel the urge to build behemoth ships with too many rotors and pistons. Before I say any more- SE Is not an accurate physics simulation: top speeds of 100 m/s- really? Do you ever question if your ship can actually fly? sometimes it even dosen't even fly in the game.

so, back to the question. CLANG affects you in many sudden, erratic ways. Poor colisions, and spazzy rotors are what makes CLANG thrive. It has manifested itself into SE so thoroughly, that constant patches and updates can't completely fix it. The addition of blast doors made it more stable, and the airtight hangar door block made a no-CLANG no-space-for-ships-to-fit-in compromise. Forcing major risks to be taken when considering large ship storage.

But do not fret, lowly engineer. there are ways to avoid this fearsome beast.

If you just can't escape the monsterous beast of CLANG, the best step is to not buid any rotors or pistons on your craft. Heck, just dont put any moving parts on it and entomb yourself in your doorless contraption you call a spaceship. if you take the risk to face CLANG, your steps should be as follows:
- keep moving parts to a minimum
- keep mass attached to moving parts to a minimum
- set low speeds on rotors and pistons
- do not make wide, abrupt turns with any spinning parts
- remember- YOU CAN NEVER ESCAPE CLANG
-if on a dedicated server, risks must sometimes be taken, but NEVER UNDERESTIMATE CLANG.

Use the below examples as guidelines for what to make and what not to make.

trying to make homeade blast doors?- relativeally safe
trying to make a rotating solar farm?- Depends
trying to make a rover with rotors instead of wheels?- the wheels will fall off and you will be left with the useless corpse of a now immovable rover.
trying to make a giant space elevator to the moon?- DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT
trying to make a pistoned anything in an earlier, non refined version of the game?- suicide
trying to defy the laws of physics with a ton of rotors and artificial mass?- I bet you can guess the answer
tying to do anything that moves with wheels?- the buggy physics engiene gets to you before CLANG does

There is this mod: steam://openurl/http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1277994045 / that takes out the moving parts (suspension, rotors, pistons etc.) to provide an easy and effective way to avoid CLANG

the ultimate way to prevent clang is to
A- don' touch pistons and/ or rotors
B- delete SE from your library

Once in the deepest darkest pits of hell (CLANGLAND) a foul beast (CLANG), so cruel and intent on destroying moving objects was bred. for years, this monster roamed the land, tearing up pistons and rotors at random under the disguise of them "accidentally hitting one another and exploding". then one day, a small group of game developers (Keen) came and fought the evil being once and for all. they battled day and night trying to tame it. at last they were able to bring it down. they were fooled, the monster, using it's evil possum powers was just playing dead. subsequently the developers released Space Engineers. they freely used rotors, thinking the beast was gone forever, until one day, the main, overly rotored mothership exploded! CLANG was back and stronger than ever. It has haunted Keen scince that day. some say he will exist until the end of time, always there in some evil way, waiting to strike when you least expect it.

CLANG is an issue that is trying to be solved by the hardworking devs at KSH. I wrote this guide because I could not find sufficent information on CLANG in a single guide. I hope that one day the issue of CLANG is resolved and that this guide will become obsolete.


please leave feedback. all help is greatly appreciated.