FAQ

## FIRST STEPS. FIRST QUESTIONS.

**Q: I have no idea what I'm doing in survival mode! What should I be worried about first?!**
**A: DON'T PANIC!** You just survived a crash so the best thing we can do is to take an inventory of what we have on the escape pod and then check our vital stats which are located at the lower left hand corner of the screen. Food and Oxygen will decrease slowly over time so we must maintain these two stats at all times. Health is affected by damage taken, starvation and hypoxia due to a lack of oxygen. Stamina is our "energy" pool for running and will regenerate on its own. With this in mind, let's go around the escape pod and along the sides you will see small cargo boxes that are filled with essential items to survive here. Our first priority is oxygen if you are on Omicron! (See next question...)

**Q: Where and how do I get oxygen?**
**A:** There is an oxygen generator in one of the containers of your escape pod. Drag and drop it into your toolbar (that’s the vertical item-row at the left side of your screen). Find an oxygen source (water or other source areas, like the snow on the ice planet). Select the oxygen generator and place it on or in the source area! Put a few fuel packs in it and wait. The oxygen generator menu shows a timer when a new O2 bottle is ready to be picked up.

**Beginners Note:** *Be aware many things require fuel cells, use wisely and sparingly to begin with.*

**Q: How do I replenish my oxygen bar?**
**A:** First: You need to have an oxygen bottle in your inventory (a few oxygen bottles can be found in the containers of your escape pod). On the left side of the pod you will find two oxygen tanks. Drag & drop the O2 bottles from your inventory (Press "I") into the slots of the oxygen tanks.
Then find the oxygen station. It can be found one block to the left of the oxygen tanks. Stand close and in front of it. You do not need to press any key. You will hear a pressurize-sound and your blue oxygen bar will fill up.

**Beginners Note:** *Be warned it will use entire bottles, if you stand there continuously then each time your bar drops a little it will use another whole bottle.*

**Q: How do I replenish my food bar?**
**A:** There are many options for food but you should keep in mind that it will be harder to manage over time if you do not build a base and Food Processor.

* First check the escape pods containers and you will find some emergency rations which, you can equip to your toolbar and use by left-clicking on them. Each one will refill your entire bar, so use these wisely! Try to save the emergency rations for combat and/or emergency situations as they boost all of your stats by certain percentages and they are more difficult to craft later on. Refer to the next bullet for a quick food source.
* There are also plants growing on most planets which, you can harvest and check its edibility by hovering over the item once in your inventory. These stats are available on the right hand side tool-tip pop up. Most edible plants will grow next to sources of water so look around the beaches. Keep in mind, most raw plant food will not increase your food bar by much but it's enough to sustain you initially. Collecting these and using a Food Processor later will allow you to craft recipes that offer more food (points) and longer perish timers.

**Attention!** Some food items will spoil over time. Once picked up, the perish-timer will start to count down. The number it displays is in minutes. Open your inventory and click the item to get more info by reading the tool-tip pop up. Only a powered Fridge (Base or Vessel) will **STOP** the perish timer of food items! If your food does spoil, do not trash it! It can be used as a valuable crafting component known as Nutrient Solution in the Food Processor.

**Beginners Note:** *Beware, some foods can be harmful, but in an emergency it is better than starvation. Once you have a base built and a Food Processor, you can make more interesting and beneficial foods that will last longer and provide a large boost to food points.*

**Q: How do I eat?**

A: Eating a food item works similar to placing a block:

1. Add the food item to your toolbar (f.ex. to slot 9)
2. Select (slot 9) like you would select any other item in your toolbar by scrolling down or using numpad "9"
3. Aim anywhere with your mouse cursor (in the sky, on the ground or anywhere you can't "activate" a tool or machine).
4. Click the left mouse button!

**Q: How do I replenish my health bar?**
**A:** You need to use the small med-kit. It can be found in one of the containers of the escape pod. Later you will be able to create better medical supplies such as a Large Med-kit, Antidotes, Stimulants, etc.

**Beginners Note:** *Some food items also increase your health level. Use your mouse to hover over the item and look at the tool-tip pop up stats when selecting a food item in your inventory!*

**Q: I got poisoned! What can I do?**
**A:** Use the Antidote pills! They can be found in one of the containers of the escape pod.

**Beginners Note:** *Always have them (and the med-kit, weapon and ammo) equipped ahead of taking a tour!*

**Q: How do I replenish my stamina bar?**
**A:** Stamina will increase with rest. The fastest way to accomplish this is to stand still and allow your stamina bar to regenerate. You may also use a bottle of purified water which can be found in one of the escape pod containers or certain types of food will quickly boost your stamina when used. These items can be crafted once you have access to a Food Processor.

**Q: How do I power up the escape pod?**
**A:** Find some fuel packs in one of the escape pods containers. Then find the fuel tanks to the right of the escape pod. Hit "T" to open the fuel tanks menu. Drag and drop a few of your fuel packs to the empty fuel tank slots. Close the menu and enter the cockpit by pointing at the cockpit with your mouse and then pressing "T."

Once inside the cockpit, press "Y" to power up the escape pod. You will notice the display to the left is changing. Now it shows the remaining online-time of the pod generator in minutes. This is increased by adding more fuel packs but you should be cautious when doing so initially!

***Beginners note:** Do not put ALL of your fuel packs into the fuel tank at once. One or two are sufficient to operate the small constructor and oxygen refill station for a while. You will need these extra fuel packs later in order to craft more fuel packs! If you want to maximize the amount of power use-age of the escape pod then you should turn off the escape pod when not in use and shut down flight systems that may use some power at idle. To do this, enter the cockpit, open the control panel and click the thrusters on the left side of the page and "toggle" them off.*

**Q: How do I craft new items?**
**A:** There is a Small Constructor located on the right side (direction of flight when inside the cockpit) of the escape pod. It looks like an orange machinery block. To access the crafting interface, aim/look at the Small Constructor and press "T". Add resources or components to the constructor inventory and then select a template or several templates to begin crafting. You may queue many items for crafting but pay close attention to the cost of each schematic and what resources and/or components are needed to craft it. If you make a mistake, you can stop crafting by toggling the power off at the upper right hand corner of the interface window. If your ship/base has enough fuel in reserve the queued up items will be produced automatically and placed into the Constructor Inventory.

**Beginners Note:** *Pay close attention to the Schematic tool-tip pop ups as there are different type of items that share the same name but can ONLY be used on/with certain structures/vessels. Most Schematics are color coded based on where they can be placed or used such as a Base (BA), Ground Vessel (GV), Small Vessel (SV) and Capital Vessel (CV.) With this is mind, the Small Constructor is not capable of making every Schematic and component needed to craft more complex items.*

**Q: How do I get new resources?**
**A:** There are essentially two ways to obtain resources:

1. You can dismantle existing blocks on your escape pod or other structures/vessels you may encounter using the Remove/Repair Tool. Dismantling the escape pod is not recommended until you have a functioning base established to replace the Small Constructor and Oxygen Refill Station built-in to your escape pod. As you begin to explore your surroundings you may encounter other structures and/or vessels which can also be dismantled for their resources but you should not venture out unprepared!
2. Exploration of your local area will reveal resource pockets nearby as you get closer to them. This can happen on foot or inside a Ground Vessel or Small Vessel. Once the player is within 200-300 meters of the undiscovered resource a notification (Example: "Player discovered a new resource: Iron Deposit Size 6") will be displayed with the type and size of the deposit. Two of the closest resources will be Iron Ore and Promethium Ore. Iron Ore is useful for creating Iron Ingots which can be turned into components and many other craft-able items. Promethium Ore can be converted into Promethium Pellets which are used to create fuel packs. This is currently the only source of power in the game so Promethium is a valuable resource.

**Beginners Note:** *Drilling requires the drill tool and drill charges which can be crafted with the Small Constructor. There is no such thing as "too much" in regard to resources but you must also manage your other vital stats in between resource collections. Plan for "away missions" by refilling oxygen and starting off your mission with any extra supplies you have in case you are attacked or have to flee. It can also be very dark at night and difficult to see so use your flashlight and move cautiously. As you drill into the resource deposit it is possible to run out of drill charges and not be able to get back out of the crater you have made. Always have a way to get out or enough drill charges to escape! If you suddenly fall through the map, hit escape and back out of the game (single player) and then reload your game. This should put you back onto a solid texture to resume.*

**Q: What are these little colored dots on my inventory screens?**
**A:** This is an interface color code that "flags" an item as to it's purpose. It is very important to pay close attention to these colors and the item tool-tips as you may notice items that share the same name but, can only be used with certain vessels or the base.

Red Dots = Base (BA)

Blue Dots = Ground Vessel (GV)

Green Dots = Small Vessel (SV)

Yellow Dots = Capital Vessel (CV)

**Beginners Note:**

* Again, not all blocks can be used with all vessels! Some blocks are available only for certain vessels or for a base and yet they share the same name.

* You can FILTER the available blocks by clicking on the base/vessel icon on top of the CREATIVE mode inventory (press "H" to open the creative mode inventory.)

**Q: Do I need to mine and craft blocks while playing CREATIVE mode?**
**A:** No! Just open the Creative Items menu by pressing the “H” button. This menu can be sorted, searched and filtered as well.

**Q: Do I need food or oxygen in creative mode?**
**A:** No. Your player stats will not diminish while in creative mode.

## EARLY GAME PLAY QUESTIONS

**Q: What do the abbreviations BA, GV, SV and CV stand for?**

BA = Base (Color Code: Red Dots)

GV = Ground Vessel (Color Code: Blue Dots)

SV = Small Vessel (Color Code: Green Dots)

CV = Capital Vessel (Color Code: Yellow Dots)

**Q: The following message appears: "Cannot place this block on base!"**

**A:** Watch for the color codes! This happens if you, for example, try to add a fridge (available for CV, SV and BA) to a GV or a medic station to a SV or similar. Nearly every block has at least one color “dot” that tells you where you can use it.

**Note:** *Blocks with NO color code (dots) are special blocks with certain applications. See below for more information.*

**Q: The following message appears: "Cannot place this block on terrain!"**

**A:** Only a few blocks can be placed on the surface of a planet without having to be attached to a base or vessel for power or control. The water generator, oxygen generator and portable work light are examples of these special blocks. This also applies for some of the personal weapons and weapon charges which can only be used in your personal inventory and toolbar, but not placed anywhere. The pop-up tooltip of each block will tell you where the item can be placed and/or used.

**Q: How do I remove blocks, plants and fauna?**
**A:** This depends on which game mode you are currently in.

* Survival Mode: The only way is to use the Repair & Remove Tool.
	+ LEFT Mouse Click = Remove Block
	+ RIGHT Mouse Click = Repair Block

* Creative Mode: There are two ways to remove blocks in creative mode.
	+ While holding another block in your hand (currently equipped item,) place the block against the block you wish to remove and right click to remove it. Smaller blocks such as lights, elevators and the like can be more difficult to remove on the first try as the UI "targets" what the player looks at. With some practice, you will be a block surgeon in no time!
	+ Use the Repair & Remove Tool in creative mode and left click to remove things like plants and hard to see objects. This is method is a bit more precise and if you do damage something you can quickly repair it with the right mouse button.

**Note:** *The remove and repair tool may take several clicks to remove and repair objects. It is also important to pay close attention to what you are aiming/pointing at as unintentional secondary damage can occur to other blocks. This is a known issue and should be fixed soon.*

**Q: Is there a difference between strong and weak drilling?**
**A:** Speed and terrain deformation is the only real difference as both return the same amount of ore. Use weak drilling for more control if you are trying to tunnel, flatten, shape or round off sharp corners without creating larger pits. Use strong drilling to quickly dig into the terrain without regard to deformation. Each has their own benefits (player choice) but return the same amount of ore.

**Q: How can I cancel a schematic/recipe in the queue of the constructor/food processor?**
**A:** You must turn off the constructor/food processor to remove or cancel crafting requests. Use the "ON | OFF" toggle switch located at the top right of the constructor/food processor window. Your crafting progress will be paused until the constructor/food processor is reactivated so you do not need to wait for a craft to finish before pausing the queue. To remove 1 order in a stack left click the schematic/recipe you want to cancel or modify. This will take 1 order off of the "stack." To remove 10 orders in a stack hold SHIFT and then left click the schematic/recipie you want to cancel or modify. This will take 10 orders off of the "stack."

**Q: Can I repair the escape pod?**
**A:** With some effort, yes! The escape pod has served it's purpose and delivered us safely to the ground but it can be modified to be a reusable small vessel for exploration. You will need to craft some additional components such as an RCS and several thrusters which will consume resources. These parts can only be constructed in a Base's Large Constructor though so make sure you have enough resources set aside to modify the escape pod. By pressing "P" in the cockpit you will see a list of components installed on the escape pod. Keep in mind, you want to have at least 1 thruster aimed in each 6 axes (1 aimed forward, 1 aimed backward, 1 aimed left, 1 aimed right, 1 aimed up and 1 aimed down) to allow for precision control in flight. Control is very important if you are out exploring and encounter hostile fire from alien bases, drones and other hostiles.

**Q: Can I salvage parts from the escape pod?**
**A:** Of course! Usually you will get back some, if not all of the resources it takes to initially build that block. But there is a cost to everything, so be careful! This just means that the amount of components you get back may not always be worth the effort (charges) it takes to destroy the block as the Repair & Removal Tool charges require fuel packs to create.

**WARNING*:*** *You should NOT salvage parts of the escape pod that are critical to your survival in the first few hours of game play like the Oxygen Station (Oxygen,) Small Constructor (Crafting,) Small Generator (Power Generation,) Cockpit (Control) and Fuel Tank (Fuel/Power Source.) It's generally better for long term survival to build a small base first to ensure that you have an Oxygen Station and a Large Constructor there. Think of this as a transition... If you destroy the Small Constructor on the escape pod without having a replacement you are condemning yourself to a slow, painful, lonely death. Build the BA versions of each before you destroy your lifeline and make sure they work (Fuel Tank>Generator>Oxygen Tank>Oxygen Station>Large Constructor) before you transition fully.*

**Q: Can I repair the crashed Capital Vessel, "MSV Titan?"**
**A:** Well you could repair it, but you can't go anywhere (lift off) in it so it's not really possible to fully repair this vessel and make her space worthy again. It would also take a LOT of components to fully repair the vessel and it's much easier to save your resources and build your own CV later. With that in mind, the Titan has a lot of containers and parts for you to salvage from it. You may also drill/dig around the Titan to access buried sections and perhaps... more hidden treasures!

**WARNING:** *Beware of the dangers of exploration and the creatures or drones you may encounter! Take your time and prepare for combat by crafting some heavier weapons like the Assault Rifle and 6.8mm Ammunition to prevent your untimely demise.*

**Q: Can I dismantle the crashed Capital Vessel, "MSV Titan?"**
**A:** Yes, you can. Though it took a hell of a beating as it plummeted from the heavens to it's final resting place you may find a few good things to salvage that are worth your time and the cost of tool charges. It terms of salvaging priority for all things you may encounter, try to find more complex items such as cores, oxygen tanks, weapons, doors, lights, etc. By focusing on more complex items you will get more out of a salvage operation for your time and resources invested.

**WARNING:** *Beware of the dangers of exploration and the creatures or drones you may encounter! Take your time and prepare for combat by crafting some heavier weapons like the Assault Rifle and 6.8mm Ammunition to prevent your untimely demise.*

**Q: How deep can I drill and can I find other hidden resources there?**
**A:** At this time, you are somewhat limited in how deep you can drill as you will run into a very thick stone layer and your efforts will not result in new resources being discovered. At present, resources are discovered near the surface and displayed on your UI when you get within a couple hundred meters of them in the air or on the ground. You are welcome to drill and explore anywhere you like but keep in mind that resources will be closer to the surface.

**Q: Is water required for the plants to grow?**
**A:** Water is only needed in the creation (crafting) of the planting buds and fertile soil. At this time, plants are very self sustaining and only require close proximity to a Grow Light.

**Q: Will NPCs attack my base?**
**A:** At present, Drones *will* attack player structures and vessels. Creatures (fauna) will not actively attack a player structure or vessel but can/will chase a player onto a structure or vessel.

## MID-GAME & CONVENIENCE QUESTIONS

**Q: How to capture a station, outpost or non-player faction structure?**
**A:** Find the core block. Destroy it and replace with your own factions core block.

**Q: Is it possible to enter a planet with a capital vessel?**
**A:** No. If you are entering the outer atmosphere of a planet, you will get 2 notifications. Your ship will burn up in the atmosphere if you proceed to attempt landing.

**Note:** *At present, it has not been fully determined whether or not we will be able to land CVs on planets or take off from planets in CVs. Feel free to discuss this on the forums, we appreciate your ideas and feedback!*

**Q: How can I rename my Vessel or Base?**
**A:** Open the Structure/Vessel Control Menu by pressing "P." Sometimes you need to be inside the Vessel (cockpit) or Structure to change the name. You will see the Name Entry Field in the "Overall Status" section in the lower right hand corner of the window frame. Type the new name or edit the existing name and press ENTER to save it.

**Q: If I add more Thrusters to my vessel, will this raise the top speed?**
**A:** No. But you will reach top speed earlier at the cost of more fuel packs. Currently, top speed in space is around 110 m/s and atmospheric flight is limited to around 40 m/s.

**Q: Where do I get Mule Milk?**
**A:** Head over to Ningues (the ice planet) and harvest it from Lizard Mule's.

**Q: Is there an alternative way of collecting Promethium?**
**A:** Stone Golems when killed will usually drop some Promethium Ore. These creature may be slow, but they are very resilient and the resources expended in killing just one far outweighs the reward for Promethium Ore alone. They are really only a last resort for survival as it is better to raid alien outposts, hunt drones and/or search for crashed derelicts with cargo boxes to loot.

## CRAFTING & CONVENIENCE

**Q: Clicking and dragging items to refuel/reload stations is killing me! Can I do it faster?**
**A:** Yes! Use SHIFT + Left Mouse to fill up a fuel tank or water/oxygen generator to its maximum capacity (given you have enough fuel packs). Same applies to constructors and oxygen tanks! SHIFT + Left Mouse also moves a whole stack of items from your inventory to your toolbar or from a container into your inventory...and vice versa!

**Q: Is it possible to split a stack?**
**A:** Yes. If you right click on a stack, it splits it in half. If you start right clicking with that stack on an empty space or existing stack of the same item, it drops one at a time.

**Q: How to add more templates to the queue other than click-by-click?**
**A:** Use SHIFT-click. This will add +10 templates with each click. If you are into cancelling a template from the queue, this works the same (1 click = -1; Shift-click = -10)

**Q: How can I build below my GV or SV?**
**A:** At the moment, best practice is to dig a hole or build something like a platform.

*Tip: If you placed the GV or SV starter block, add a generator, fuel tank, cockpit and a few thrusters. (Even if they are not placed as you would like it, you won’t lose components if you remove them later on) Power your base vessel and ascend a few meters. If you exit the cockpit, the vessel will stay there for a few minutes. Use the time to build the platform or add something on the bottom.*

**Q: How do I build a growing plot? What’s that spoiled food?**
**A:** For building the growing plot, you need to build a food processor and have two special components: Fiber and Nutrition solution. Fiber can be found in the wilderness of Omicron. You need to collect it.

The Nutrition solution needs three additional ingredients:

* Purified water: You need to place a water generator into a lake (and add some fuel cells) and wait a few minutes. Collect the purified water bottles from the water generator inventor
* Rock Dust: Crushed stone drops when you are mining ore veins and mine out around the deposit. They can also be found anywhere around you under the top layer of ground. Collect the crushed stone and use the Rock Dust template form your constructor menu to convert it into rock dust.
* Spoiled food: do you remember the raw meat you got from an alien? If you did not put them into a fridge, they may have become spoiled food by now. This happens with all food items that show a PERISH TIME in their detail-info window.

**TIP*:*** *A Fridge (T1) or Fridge (T2) will stop the perish timer!*

## MISCELLANEOUS

**Q: Is it possible to change a creative game to survival (and back)?**
**A:** Not via an in-game option. (There is a method but we do not recommend it as it can cause ill effects for certain blocks under certain conditions, we will be adding the conversion feature in the not too distant future).

**Q: Is it possible to change Field-of-View (FOV)?**
**A:** Yes! In the Main Menu, go to Options. There are many settings there to adjust including your FOV. You can also access the Options menu in-game by hitting ESC and clicking Options.

**Q: How do I activate 3rd person view?**
**A:** Hit “V”. You may move the camera while holding ALT

**Q: Is oxygen volumetric (filling a room)?**
**A:** Not yet. This is a planned feature!

**Q: Is it possible to turn a SV into a CV or a Base into a CV or SV?**
**A:** Currently, no you cannot.

**Q: Is there a loading screen when entering/leaving a planet?**
**A:** No. Currently there is a short change over effect (which is temporary).