How To Play Guide For Astroneer

Welcome to the How To Play Guide For Astroneer!

Greetings! This guide will cover everything you need to know to get started, including information on the biggest topics like Resources, Modules, Vehicles as well as various others! Let's get started!

About Astroneer
Explore and exploit distant worlds in Astroneer, the game of aerospace industry and interplanetary exploration. The sudden development of technology for rapid space travel enables fast and inexpensive journeys to the stars. Exo Dynamics, the dominant conglomerate in the new field, has opened flights to daring citizens of Earth. As an Astroneer, you must find a way to dig out a life on one of a multitude of harsh new Worlds. Blast through the terrain to uncover precious Materials you can use to fuel your quest to become a wealthy baron in the stars. Along the way, discover oddities, raise questions, and uncover Research topics.

Astroneer is a game about wonder, discovery, mystery, and grand endeavour in a new age of expansion on the fringes of humanity. You will land alone, or with a small crew of friends, on a planet to call your own. Harsh but bountiful, the universe will beckon you to explore, exploit, and ultimately to reshape as you desire. Excavate and deform the land, uncover precious Resources, jury-rig Equipment to suit your taste and needs, create industrial scale extraction and manufacturing Facilities. The worlds in Astroneer are diverse, from huge spherical planets with atmospheres and vast landscapes to strangely shaped small asteroids floating nearby. Each of the Planets are procedurally generated and can be totally reshaped by your Tools. Excavate vast underground tunnels or create megaliths on the surface; the world is your Play-Doh.

The basics
You've landed on a unique landscape with lots to do and see. Once you get your footing, you'll have a chance to move around and start using your excavating tool to start digging.



Moving (walking and, less intuitively, driving around) is always relative to the camera,which you can rotate around your character by dragging while holding the right mouse button.

The Backpack
Once you've figured out the basic movements and camera controls you'll want to fetch some Resources so you can build your grand spatial empire. While you're out you're going to need to keep an eye on 2 things so you don't die; your Oxygen and your Power. The Oxygen is the horizontal blue bar at the top of your backpack (see right), and the Power is the vertical yellow bar in the centre. Each of the bars will start to go down as you use them, the Oxygen when you're not connected in some way to the Habitat or to Vehicles, and power will decrease when you use the deforming tool (and while collecting Resources). Power will increase over time slowly if you do nothing, or you can increase it with a few different ways, but more on that below.

The will bring up the backpack, which is also your inventory. You have 10 (or 11 if crafting something) slots, and once you start using your deforming tool you'll collect "nuggets" of a resource, which will then pop into your backpack inventory (or on the ground nearby if your inventory space is filled). The top right and left give you better spots for tools, but you can also place Resources you don't want to lose or get rid of so easy. Also, if you die, you won't lose the inventory in the top 2 spots (on the right and left), so if you find more important resources you'll probably want to keep them there.

Under the inventory space is a basic 3d Printing (crafting) spot, where you can begin to make some basic tools for survival.
 * Generator - 1x Copper - Will provide power to a module with 1x Organic
 * Tether Lines - 1x Compound - Allows you to expand your Oxygen and Power (if you have a power source) from your base or Habitat.
 * Beacon - 1x Compound - Dropping or placing a Beacon will put a marker down, that you can see and find later.
 * Small Battery - 1x Lithium - Small expansion of power, if you use lots will give you more options.
 * Tank - 1x Titanium - Have more access to Oxygen with an additional tank.
 * Small Solar Panel - 1x Compound - Good for powering basic Modules or providing extra power while in daylight.

Resources, building and expansion
Lets start with collecting a few basic Resources which you'll need to expand your Habitat. Start by collecting Resin and Compound, which are usually very nearby and the basic Resources for building, both of the resources can be quickly found either in Nodes or lying on the ground (see images left and right).

You'll need 3 Resin to build a Module, so your best bet is to collect at least that and then pop out the Conduit from your starting Habitat which will create a sort of holographic spot where you'll want to place your first Resin either by dragging it from your inventory or clicking the highlighted space to begin. Next place two more Resin which will print / create the base platform for your first Module. From there you can choose which module to build, depending on your immediate needs.

If you have an extra Compound, you can make Tethers with your 3d Printer in your Backpack, and place them using which will expand your Oxygen and Power range from your base. Place them a short distance and you and have oxygen while you collect from a node or a mining spot.

To begin, you'll probably be best off building the "Smelter" and/or the "Research" Modules first, followed by the "Printer". The Smelter refines the ores you find, such as Malachite and Laterite, into usable resources, like Copper and Aluminum. Each bundle of ore is refined into one bundle of the refined material. Once you have collected 2 Malachite, they can be smelted into the 2 Copper needed to produce a Printer in the basic Module.

The Printer module will give you access to quite a few different options for Power Sources (which you'll need rapidly in a bit) or a few other tools that will come in handy. The Research Module will be important for growing your base, since it will unlock various other tools and options. You'll need access to Artifacts if you're going to try to increase your Research topics, but if they're not nearby on the surface they can be found in nearby caves.

If you don't see any nearby Artifacts, you probably want to build a Vehicle Bay so you can build a Rover and have some faster movement to get in and out of caves a bit easier.

Trading / growing your resources
If you've managed to get a few Artifacts researched, you have maybe come across the Trade Platform, which can make things a LOT easier on you. Sometimes you'll need a resource that could be a bit harder to find, and through the trading post, you can trade for it. Some of the resources can be a bit pricey, but worth it if you're desperate.

Power Sources and Energy Levels
Nearly all of the Modules need some sort of power to function, so building a power source is key for growth and survival. Starting with the Small Solar, which you can build on your person, that will give you a minimal amount of power, but later on, the Solar Panel will grow your power a bit more rapidly, at least while the sun is up. In the same regard, the Wind Vane and the Wind Turbine will provide power without the need for sunlight. Having and using Batteries will be a huge boon that will allow you to dig continuously (even through the night or through the planet if you want) if you have enough of them.

To Infinity And Beyond
If you manage to build a spaceship and get off world get ready to start exploring other worlds! There are various other types of Planets in your system, each with their own day/night cycles.