Crafting

Crafting is the process of taking raw materials and turning them into useful objects.

In Astroneer, crafting is done by using your backpack to make basic items or with a 3d printer module to make advanced objects of different size.
 * All players start out with a collection of innate schematics for objects they can make, but additional schematics can be added through the process of research.

Base Infrastructure
Constructing your first Base is usually the driving force behind everything a new Astroneer does after landing.

The mechanics of building a base are simple:
 * Get some Resin (1 for the platform and 2 to activate the module)
 * Make one or more platforms
 * Make one or more modules

The reality of making a functional base to keep someone alive and allow them to expand as they will can include a steep learning curve and some frustrating mistakes.

New players may want to start simple by experimenting with crafting from the schematics found in the backpack and add modules between sessions of exploration; it may take time to understand the variety of materials and their broad use. Likewise, it can take time to locate materials in viable quantities for Base expansion.

Crafting Basic Equipment
Basic crafting can be performed immediately by the player once they obtain some materials after landing.
 * This early crafting uses a single unit of material at a time and is used using an interface in your backpack to make consumables and other equipment.
 * Though many of the items made in here are small in comparison to those made at a printer, they can still be quite useful when getting started. For example, the small solar panels from the backpack can be used to power a small base when it is still new and only has a couple of modules.

Crafting Parts
The Printer Base modules uses two pieces of a specified material to make a number of different interchangeable parts for vehicles and the Base itself.

Vehicle Construction
Currently there are a total of four Vehicles which can be crafted to help with transport, exploration and expansion. All four are crafted using the Vehicle Bay module of a Base using 4 units of a specified material.

Smelting
Rather than making new objects, the smelter Base Module takes units of an ore materials (e.g. Laterite and Malachite) and turns them into usable ingots of Aluminium and Copper.