Mine support safety

[Spacecpp]

How often should I repair my mine supports?
I'm currently using stone columns, so, when it takes one point of damage should I immediately spend 1 nugget to repair it to 100% guarantee it will prevent the next cavein?

[lordgrunt]

using custom client is the only way to be sure, those show % of damage done to supoports.
stone column is quite durable and can take several hits, nugget repairs about 40% at a time

[pbbllt]

The column also becomes red-tinted with each 25% durability it has lost (just like decaying items overall), if the column is visibly red it's safe to assume it has already lost significant chunk of durability. It is usually not needed to repair while digging straight (11(tunnel) + 1(next column) "squares") unless you are very unlucky and literally every single tile contains a cavein.

If digging out a spot, just keep a nugget nearby, and when you notice the column change color once or twice in row, just repair it. Luckily you can use soft metal nuggets to repair columns, so you won't lose out much of your reserves, because as mentioned above, each nugget repairs 40%. Two nuggets repair most of columns fully.

[Spacecpp]

So, unless the support goes 75% or below is it safe to keep digging?

[pbbllt]

I'd say any support with 50% remaining durability and above is fairly safe as long you pay attention and don't automine big chunks of cave wall. If you simply leave character mining by itself it may lead to some disastrous consequences (not to mention slimes, boreworms and trolls).

[Spacecpp]

Got it. Thank you.