diff --git a/stairsplus/API.md b/stairsplus/API.md
index 1429412..36aded5 100644
--- a/stairsplus/API.md
+++ b/stairsplus/API.md
@@ -86,6 +86,12 @@ These are for registering shapes of a node
   * `align_style = "node" | "user" | "world"`
     Whether to override the align_style for the textures used to draw the shaped node. The default behavior
     is to use the value defined by the `stairsplus.default_align_style` setting, which defaults to `"user"`.
+  * `allow_override_groups = true`
+    Whether to allow groups to be specified in the overrides (otherwise, they are ignored).
+  * `allow_override_drawtype = true`
+    Whether to allow a drawtype to be specified in the overrides (otherwise, it is ignored).
+  * `allow_override_paramtype2 = true`
+    Whether to allow a paramtype2 to be specified in the overrides (otherwise, it is ignored).
 
 * `stairsplus.api.register_all(node, [overrides], [meta])`
   Register all registered shapes for a node. we do not recommend using this, due to the 32767 node limit.
diff --git a/stairsplus/api/node.lua b/stairsplus/api/node.lua
index 2552482..65ffdea 100644
--- a/stairsplus/api/node.lua
+++ b/stairsplus/api/node.lua
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 -- for registering variants of a specific node
 local api = stairsplus.api
 
-local table_equals = stairsplus.util.table_equals
 local table_set_all = stairsplus.util.table_set_all
 local table_sort_keys = stairsplus.util.table_sort_keys
 
@@ -68,22 +67,26 @@ function api.format_name(node, shape)
 end
 
 function api.register_single(node, shape, overrides, meta)
-	stairsplus.log("info", "registering %s %s", shape, node)
-	meta = meta or {}
-	overrides = overrides or {}
-
 	if not minetest.registered_nodes[node] then
 		error(("node %q is not defined"):format(node))
 	end
 
-	local node_def = table.copy(minetest.registered_nodes[node])
-	check_node_validity(node_def, meta)
-
 	if shape ~= "micro_8" and not (api.nodes_by_shape.micro_8 or {})[node] then
 		-- always make sure a microblock exists
 		api.register_single(node, "micro_8", overrides, meta)
 	end
 
+	local shaped_name = api.format_name(node, shape)
+
+	stairsplus.log("info", "registering %s", shaped_name)
+
+	meta = meta or {}
+	overrides = table.copy(overrides or {})
+
+	local node_def = table.copy(minetest.registered_nodes[node])
+
+	check_node_validity(node_def, meta)
+
 	if (api.nodes_by_shape[shape] or {})[node] then
 		return -- already registered
 	end
@@ -152,11 +155,21 @@ function api.register_single(node, shape, overrides, meta)
 		end
 	end
 
-	if not table_equals(overrides.groups, node_def.groups) then
-		overrides = table.copy(overrides)
+	if not meta.allow_override_groups and overrides.groups then
+		stairsplus.log("warning", "removing group overrides from %s", shaped_name)
 		overrides.groups = nil
 	end
 
+	if not meta.allow_override_drawtype and overrides.drawtype then
+		stairsplus.log("warning", "removing drawtype override %s from %s", overrides.drawtype, shaped_name)
+		overrides.drawtype = nil
+	end
+
+	if not meta.allow_override_paramtype2 and overrides.paramtype2 then
+		stairsplus.log("warning", "removing paramtype2 override %s from %s", overrides.paramtype2, shaped_name)
+		overrides.paramtype2 = nil
+	end
+
 	table_set_all(def, overrides)
 
 	-- set backface_culling and align_style
@@ -191,12 +204,6 @@ function api.register_single(node, shape, overrides, meta)
 	end
 
 	-- register node
-	local shaped_name = api.format_name(node, shape)
-	for k, v in pairs(def.groups) do
-		if type(v) ~= "number" then
-			error(("%s %s group:%s = %s"):format(node, shape, k, v))
-		end
-	end
 	minetest.register_node(":" .. shaped_name, def)
 
 	-- alias old name formats