3-stage double airlock

[Void of Winter]

I've tried to make a 3-stage airlock myself, but it doesn't work too well because dupes won't stand between two airlocks while the two atmospheres (or an atmo/hydro) exchange.  So invariably, the two environments end up contaminating each other.  This is especially annoying when dealing with limited hydrogen for generator use.  So much hydrogen ends up uselessly at the top of the colony.  It can be adapted for with air pumps and filters, but not prevented.  So a building with two airlocks that prevents mixing of the two environments would be quite helpful, and would fall neatly into an advanced pressure management tech.

As a side note, gas storage would also be a nice thing to have that would also fit into the same tech.

[brummbar7]

I do like the idea of a true air lock.  It wouldn't be all that useful right now, but once diseases are more potent, and maybe chlorine gas is more dangerous, they would gain some usefulness.  Right now I'd just love to see ladder-based airlocks that don't look as goofy as normal airlocks turned sidways.  Not sure that'll ever be a thing though. 

[Void of Winter]

10 hours ago, brummbar7 said:

I do like the idea of a true air lock.  It wouldn't be all that useful right now, but once diseases are more potent, and maybe chlorine gas is more dangerous, they would gain some usefulness.  Right now I'd just love to see ladder-based airlocks that don't look as goofy as normal airlocks turned sidways.  Not sure that'll ever be a thing though. 

I actually like how chlorine is right now, and it's another reason I want a true double airlock.  Food keeps longest in a chamber of chlorine because it's a sterile environment.  Better than fridges.

[BlueLance]

45 minutes ago, Void of Winter said:

I actually like how chlorine is right now, and it's another reason I want a true double airlock.  Food keeps longest in a chamber of chlorine because it's a sterile environment.  Better than fridges.

You can do the same with CO2 and Hydrogen, Im pretty sure any gas that isnt oxygen works, But i wouldnt want to try and get Gaseous Phosporous or Steam where my guys want to eat.

[brummbar7]

1 hour ago, Void of Winter said:

I actually like how chlorine is right now, and it's another reason I want a true double airlock.  Food keeps longest in a chamber of chlorine because it's a sterile environment.  Better than fridges.

I prefer CO2 for storage as, being the heaviest, it's easiest to keep in a food pit.  The thing is, currently CO2 and chlorine are basically interchangeable in their effects.  Which is kind of boring.  Irl, chlorine is pretty nasty.  Just holding your breath in a concentrated cloud of it is not going to save you.  Moreover, chlorine is irl extremely corrosive to basically all metals, so it could logically damage machinery it comes into contact with.   So, rather than having chlorine be CO2-lite, why not have it have more severe effects, requiring greater control efforts?  Certain buildings could be innately immune (air locks, hand sanitizer), but others may require upgrades or higher tech non-corrodable versions.  The amount of empty space to the right in the tech web implies to me they plan to add several tiers.

[Void of Winter]

1 hour ago, brummbar7 said:

Irl, chlorine is pretty nasty.

Been studying WWI lately where they used chlorine as a weapon.  Really terrible stuff due to it's reactivity.  The Great War on youtube has a special episode on chemical weapons.  Fascinating if a bit gruesome.  

Eventually the game's going to have to reflect the actual properties of the various gasses.  Rack-rooms for the flatulent would be powder kegs in such closed circumstances.  Three-stage airlocks and ventilation will become vital for fire/explosion prevention.

[onebit]

Maybe pump clean air into the good side. It should blow everything out when the bad side is opened. It'll stop using power when it overpressures.

Keeping high air pressure in the base would have the same effect.

Store polluted ice and slime underwater with high priority to prevent the outside from becoming high pressure.

[Kasuha]

Instead of 3-stage double airlock that will work marginally better than current uncontrolled 2-door airlocks, I would prefer if powered mechanical airlock turned to 1-stage single airlock penetrable by duplicants but not penetrable by gases, similar to water airlock but without dupes getting wet. I believe that would improve the ratio of powered airlocks dramatically.

[Void of Winter]

10 hours ago, onebit said:

Keeping high air pressure in the base would have the same effect.

 

That's what I typically did, but you have to be careful about keeping high pressures.  It's easy to let it get away from you and next thing you know all your crops are stifled.

[Townkill]

2 hours ago, Kasuha said:

Instead of 3-stage double airlock that will work marginally better than current uncontrolled 2-door airlocks, I would prefer if powered mechanical airlock turned to 1-stage single airlock penetrable by duplicants but not penetrable by gases, similar to water airlock but without dupes getting wet. I believe that would improve the ratio of powered airlocks dramatically.

Agreed. As it is now,  I just end up using mechanized airlocks for everything because they open faster, and disabling them if there happens to be a power cord running thru it. It'd be nice to have a reason to actually power them

[Void of Winter]

2 hours ago, Kasuha said:

Instead of 3-stage double airlock that will work marginally better than current uncontrolled 2-door airlocks, I would prefer if powered mechanical airlock turned to 1-stage single airlock penetrable by duplicants but not penetrable by gases, similar to water airlock but without dupes getting wet. I believe that would improve the ratio of powered airlocks dramatically.

Single-stage airlocks are gas-tight doors.  No matter what you do, when you open them, some mixing of the disparate atmo/hydro is going to happen, like it or not.  The whole point of the triple-stage system is to keep them separate by providing an intermediate time where the differing environments are exchanged via a closed or selectively open system, and any mixing is kept contained in a much smaller volume that can much more easily be separated.  Enter, exchange, exit.  

Gas-impermeable 1-stagers would be nice, but not particularly realistic.  It's up to the devs to decide if the more realistic wins out.  Reminds me of regenerating health in FPS games.  Sure, it's not realistic, but it increases the pace of the game, and you spend more time engaged instead of looking for first aid kits and health power-ups.  It all depends on how it ultimately affects the game, and given that an airlocking system isn't fundamental to the gameplay, the more realistic will probably win out, at least, in my opinion.