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. "attachment slot" refers to the top of a platform, vehicle, or a backpack slot. Avoid confusing this with power cables.''

Interacting

 * Hold shift while left-clicking an item to snap it directly into your backpack or tool if you have at least one open slot.
 * Hold alt while left-clicking to interact with most items, such as entering a vehicle, consuming a research item, and expanding a construct.
 * Hold ctrl while left-clicking to bring up a building's interface.

Storage

 * In your Backpack you have 14 spaces for items. 8 directly on the back, 2 on the top shoulders, 3 on your tool, and 1 in the crafting/printer slot at the bottom. Storing the one item in the personal printer requires selecting to print an item using the appropriate material. For example, using compound to craft tethers, while it is highlighted as the next item to be crafted you can store compound in that area.
 * 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 Terrain 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.
 * ( likely/already patched? ) If you die while holding any items (Artifacts, Storages, Seats or simply item stacks) you will respawn at your base still holding them.
 * You can manually drag platforms (such as Extra Large Platform B) to transport multiple research and resource items in one trip; or, use them for space saving storage of resources in your base. Just build platform in its packaged state, right click to carry to your destination, deploy platform at your destination, attach any research and resource items, and click-drag platform across the terrain from behind you to in front of you, run beyond the platform and repeat movement. It is not possible for your character to carry and walk with a deployed platform and this method is best when you do not have a large enough vehicle. Remember that attaching a power cables will anchor platforms and removing power cables will allow you to move it again.

Resources

 * You can use the Trade Platform to obtain many common resources needed and continue producing them from soil samples via the Soil Centrifuge.
 * Resource production can be done via the large shredder and trading platform. Collect salvage for the large shredder. Use the produced scrap in the trade platform for needed/missing resources. You can use a rover with a crane and winch to collect large items (and a drill module? for faster extraction?).

Power

 * 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 attachment slots on your base/vehicles can provide energy instead of using the organic energy blocks with the small/medium generator. (Small batteries 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 Small Printer.
 * 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.

Organizing

 * DO NOT put single items or Tier-2 (paired slot) equipment in slots designed for Tier-3 and Tier-4 equipment. You should not have empty Tier-3 or Tier-4 connection slots. These should be filled with many Large Storage or some manufacturing tool.  One of these: Large Storage, Smelting Furnace, Research Chamber, Large Printer, Trade Platform, Atmospheric Condenser, Soil Centrifuge, Chemistry Lab, Large Shredder. Or maybe a Large Rover Seat or Crane.  The Large Storage requires 3 ceramic so go find and smelt clay.  The Tier-4 Extra Large Storage is not recommended.
 * Build lots of Medium Storage. Fill your Large Storage with them. Built at small printer with 2 Resin. You will need 100 to 200 resin for these.
 * Attachment quick reference:
 * Tier-2 requires a pair of attachment slots joined by a red line.
 * Tier-3 requires four attachment slots joined with red lines, in the shape of a capitol letter I in serif font.
 * Tier-4 is TWO Tier-3 attachments joined by an additional red line (example: I-I ).

Storage Comparison:


 * 1) Medium Storage - Tier-2 attachment. Carries 8 small items.
 * 2) Large Storage - Tier-3 attachment. provides FOUR Tier-2 attachment slots. 4 Medium Storage will provide storage for 32 small items.
 * 3) Extra Large Storage - The only item in the game that requires/occupies a Tier-4 slot with 8 connectors. These are not useful for anything productive but maybe as a vanity project or some completionist goals.

Recommended Manufacturing Platforms:


 * 1) Large Platform B
 * 2) * One Tier-3 (Two Tier-2) slots
 * 3) * Two Tier-2 slots
 * 4) Extra Large Platform A - Octagonal shaped platform with the largest Tier attachment, same as the top of the Large Rover.
 * 5) * One Tier-4 (Two Tier-3 (Four Tier-2)) slots
 * 6) Large Rover - The largest platform in the game.
 * 7) * One Tier-4 (Two Tier-3 (Four Tier-2)) slots
 * 8) * Two Tier-3(Four Tier-2) slots on the bumpers when not using power cable.

Mobilizing

 * Your Vehicles can be attached together to form road trains. Click the power cable on one vehicle and connect it to another vehicle's cable slot. You can have a maximum of 4 vehicles chained together.
 * Equip 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.
 * Do not operate large rovers at a core due to gravity design. Medium rovers perform better.

Offworld Travel

 * If you plan to explore other planets, 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. 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.


 * As of the 1.0 release, Solid-Fuel Thrusters are now good for a full return trip, as well as any planet being reachable from the start. Additionally, the new Small Shuttle now contains one extra Tier-2 storage slot on the side. Base/tether networks also now require an oxygenator to function properly. It is recommended to create Medium Storage filled with extra materials and at least one packaged Oxygenator to set into your shuttle. Please keep this in mind when making adjustments to your cargo.

Misc

 * Tether lines can go dark due to a known bug that has tether lines randomly malfunctioning. Find the break in the connection and lift and replace the adjacent tethers to likely solve the problem.

Conseils