Tips

This is a community-written page for anyone that has a game tip; jot them down here to help other users on the Astroneer Wiki.

''Note. "Connection points" refers to the top of a platform, vehicle, or a backpack slot. Avoid confusing this with power cables.''
 * In your Backpack you have 14 spaces for items. 8 on the back facing you when you open it up. 2 on the top to the right and left 1 in the slot used for your personal crafting and 3 on your tool. Any items can be stored in the 10 slots on your backpack while the appropriate material can be stored in the printer. For example, if you need compound to craft tethers while it is highlighted as the next item to be crafted you can store compound in that area.
 * You can hold shift while left-clicking an item to snap it directly into your backpack or tool if you have at least one open slot.
 * You can hold alt while left-clicking to interact with most items, such as entering a vehicle, consuming a research item, and expanding a construct.
 * You can hold ctrl while left-clicking to bring up a building's interface.
 * When you die all the items you had in your backpack will stay in the backpack and you'll have to retrieve them. If you had items in the Deforming Tool's slots, they'll be dropped alongside the backpack and you may need to dig a small hole on the ground to retrieve them. Take note that if you die a second time, your first body will despawn and drop all its items.
 * If you die while holding any items (Artifacts, Storages, Seats or simply item stacks) you will respawn at your base still holding them. (will likely be patched)
 * If you are looking for a quick and easy way to stay alive or regain power while exploring, mining an oxygen or power source and keeping the stack in your backpack will allow you to replenish your power/oxygen as needed, automatically. This also works for powering up your base's modules and vehicles, all you have to do is connect the stacks to an open attachment slot. Oxygen is glowing bright blue patches of rocks and Power is glowing yellow patches of rocks found above and below ground.
 * It is not necessary to leave Terran to acquire Titanium, Lithium or large amounts of Coal; they can be acquired through Trade. You can use the Trade Platform to obtain any resources you are missing and continue producing them from soil samples via the Soil Centrifuge.
 * Placing one or more Medium Storage s on your smelter is a good way to minimize the risk of running out of space for your resources while the Smelting Furnace is smelting.
 * Your Vehicles can be attached together to form road trains, you just have to click the power cable on one vehicle and connect it to another vehicle's cable slot. You can only have a maximum of 4 vehicles chained together, and you cannot hook the Small Rover to a train.
 * If you are ever walking along your Tether line and it goes dark, just trace your line back until you see the break in the connection. (Sometimes this will require you to trek back to your base as a known bug currently in the game has tether lines randomly malfunctioning. Simply lift and replace the first tether and this will likely solve the problem.)
 * When you research something new, check your printer, backpack, vehicle bay, and new modules to build. It can be any of those. With that in mind, try to have a spot open for future modules to make it easier to check.
 * By using portable batteries, it is possible to recharge a vehicle along a tether line. Batteries in a player's inventory can be charged via a tether connection and will transfer their energy into a vehicle once they are put on an open slot in the vehicles inventory.
 * Putting small/medium solar panels/windmills in the connection spots on your base/vehicles can provide energy instead of using the organic energy blocks with the small/medium generator. (Smalls can also be used on backpack/tool for power.) The small generator, windmill, and solar panel can be crafted though your backpack, while the larger items are crafted from the medium printer.
 * You can use platforms (such as Extra Large Platform B) to transport multiple research and resource items in one trip; or, use them for storage of resources around base. Just build platform, right click to carry, and move platform with you, click to drop platform, then attach any research and resource items and click platform to continue carrying with you. Remember that attaching a power cables will anchor platforms and removing power cables will allow you to move it again.
 * Remember to try and create lots of solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries for your power grid. The more power you have in your grid, the faster that modules such as the Fabricator will work.
 * Since Ammonium is easier to make more of via Soil Centrifuge than other uncommon resources (1 canister of soil needed rather than 2), consider using it for somewhat cheap trading using the trade platform.
 * Resource production can be done via the large shredder and trading platform. Collect salvage for the large shredder and use scrap produced in the trade platform for needed/missing resources. You can use a rover with a crane and winch and for larger items (and a drill for faster extraction), and even carry a large shredder with you in a train, instead of hauling back to base with each salvage item. (You can also put unwanted items like canisters, modules and platforms in the large shredder.) For additional supplies one can fill containers (via the drill on the rover as long as empty containers are attached or via empty containers on the backpack with the extraction tool) with soil while removing salvage from the ground, and use the soil centrifuge for additional resource production.
 * If you plan to explore other planets (Alpha 10), These are the items to take with you: 2x medium platform B, a Beacon, a medium solar panel, a medium printer, a canister, a Solid-Fuel Thruster to return back home, 2x compound, 3x resin, 1x aluminum. For the last spot I would take a medium battery if you already found some lithium, otherwise a medium wind turbine or medium solar panel, as in the beginning you are always running out of power. When you launch you will be put into orbit. You will have to launch again to reach another planet. Not all planets can be reached (depending on their position), but you can wait for them to get into range. Start with Barren. Once you are in orbit, select your drop location. Deploy your Medium Platform s. Place the solar panel and printer on top of them. Print a large platform B and a Soil Centrifuge. Deploy those two and you have a starting base. Put your beacon and battery or wind turbine on the free slots and replace your Solid-Fuel Thruster. You are ready to go. With the soil canister and Soil Centrifuge you can create all of the needed resources to build out your base, just dig up some earth. Tip: As the Large Platform B provides oxygen, you can build your base away from your landing spot.

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