Surviving in space will take everything you’ve got.
The Planet Crafter is a solo adventure into deep space where you, the player, start with little more than a box of provisions and instructions to terraform the planet. The whole planet. By yourself. This is a pretty tough ask, so let us lend you a hand with this Planet Crafter beginner guide.
By all definitions, terraformation is an incredible task, and to complete this task alone would be impossible. But, given that you’re stranded here with nowhere else to go, it’s time to set about the task of surviving your new home. This Planet Crafter beginner’s guide will walk you through the basics of space survival and terraformation to help you stay alive and to plan your journey from dead space rock to thriving extraterrestrial utopia.
What is The Planet Crafter?
The Planet Crafter is an open-world survival crafting game set on a distant planet in deep space. The game was developed and published by the duo team at Miju Games. The game was still in early access when we wrote this beginner’s guide, so play mechanics are subject to change as features are still being developed and often change.
You’ve arrived on this planet as a convicted criminal sent to carry out your sentence of planetary terraformation–of what crime, we are still unsure. We do know that you are forbidden to leave the planet or resort to any form of external communication. All of your instructions and provisions will be sent to you via Sentinel Corp when and if necessary.
One of the most intriguing aspects of The Planet Crafter is the mystery surrounding the planet’s history. The game’s lore is still vastly unknown, and you get the sense that you might be walking around the remnants of significant events as you explore the planet’s surface. Space wreckage litters the ground, and tiny, abandoned settlements leave you with a sense of dread. What has been happening on this planet? Why are you here now when so many others seemed to fail?
There is no combat in The Planet Crafter, nor are there any outside dangers to contend with. This means you are free to explore to your heart’s content without fear of being attacked or unprepared to defend yourself.
Survival stats, dying and respawning
Like many survival titles, The Planet Crafter boasts a harsh environment for you to battle against the elements. In addition to food and water requirements, you’ll also need to manage your oxygen levels.
You can monitor your survival stats by the gauges on the bottom left of the screen. The top bar is your health and food meter. Both your health and food are the same, so if you take damage from falling, for example, eating food will replenish this stat. You can find food pouches in loot boxes and crates around the planet and inside wreckage sites.
Water is the next bar and indicates your hydration level. Only liquid water can fill this stat, so you must first process ice into drinkable water. Collect ice and use a crafting station to convert two pieces of ice into one water bottle, which can be consumed from inventory when needed.
The final stat is oxygen and requires gaseous oxygen to replenish. You can refill your oxygen reserve by entering a building, such as a living compartment or your landing pod, or by consuming an oxygen capsule. These capsules can be crafted at a crafting station using two pieces of cobalt ore or mined using a gas extractor.
If you die
If any survival stats drop to zero, you’ll black out. Depending on the difficulty level you selected for the game, you will drop part or all of your inventory upon death. You will respawn at the last living compartment you were in. Fortunately, all the gear items added to your exoskeleton will remain through death, so you won’t have to worry about regaining those items. You’ll be able to run back to the location you died to recover your dropped items in the form of a blue storage box.
General tips for surviving The Planet Crafter
Surviving in The Planet Crafter boils down to one base strategy: always be prepared. Keep extra food, water, and oxygen capsules on you at all times. Your resources deplete quickly in the early game and significantly limit your ability to explore. If you use any of your provisions, replenish them as soon as possible so you are never without them.
If you are interested in more beginner tips, see our tips for beginners guide for more detailed strategies for success.
Getting started: choose a landing site
When starting a new game, you are given several options for landing sites to begin your game. For beginners, we recommend the standard site, which will land you in the middle of the starting valley zone.
To the north of the valley is a flat area known as the Plateau. The Plateau is the ideal location for base building due to its flat terrain and strategic height above sea level (this will make more sense later in terraformation). It is also in a great location to make Iridium, Super Alloy, and Aluminum farming convenient.
First steps
You’ll quickly face your first major obstacle when you step outside your landing pod for the first time after landing. Your oxygen capacity is so low you won’t get very far before you scramble to get back into the landing pod for air. Collect several pieces of cobalt–as many as your inventory will allow. This will allow you to craft the oxygen you need to survive. Using the crafting station inside of your landing pod, craft an Oxygen Capsule.
Oxygen Capsule
- Cobalt ore x 2
Next, you’ll need a supply of water. Collect several pieces of ice and return to the landing pod. Using the crafting station inside of the landing pod, craft a Water Bottle.
Water Bottle
- Ice x 1
These are the basic survival provisions you’ll craft to keep yourself alive and to begin exploring and foraging. You’ve been given a small ration of space food in a silvery package, but this won’t last long. You’ll need to explore wreckage and uncover loot crates to discover new food since you won’t be able to grow or craft food for some time.
Get some gear
Your beginning inventory is quite limited, so utilize the storage crate inside your landing pod to store your extra water and oxygen. You need the inventory space to begin harvesting ore to craft your equipment.
On the upper-left of the screen, you’ll notice a list of tasks to complete. Work to craft the remaining items to gain a backpack upgrade, oxygen tank upgrade, and an exoskeleton. These will improve the carrying capacity of both your player equipment and inventory.
Start working on the Terraformation Index.
This is the reason you are here. Once your gear is squared away, you need to start producing energy. Craft wind turbines from iron and place them wherever you can. Machines are not affected by the type of terrain or visibility of the sun, so any placement will do. Place several wind turbines before creating your first pressure drill.
Drill tier 1
- Iron x 1
- Titanium x 1
Drills are machines used to produce pressure, a key component for terraformation. Once you’ve placed your first drill, you’ll begin to produce atmospheric pressure. You’ll also notice that the Terraformation Index located at the top right of the screen is starting to increment. Increasing the Terraformation Index leads to blueprint unlocks for new and upgraded versions of machines. This is the general process you’ll go through to terraform your planet.
Choosing a base site
If you’ve selected the standard site as your drop site, the best destination for your base will be at the top of the northern slope, on the Plateau. Set up a living compartment on the flat area some distance from the slope. As you gain more resources, you’ll be able to expand this base to accommodate more storage, crafting stations, and machines. This base will also be convenient for refilling your oxygen as you gather resources and allow you to stop being dependent on your landing pod for air.
Use your crafting menu Q to craft a Living Compartment and Living Compartment Door. This shelter is your first home away from the landing pod.
Living Compartment
- Iron x 2
- Titanium x1
Living Compartment Door
- Iron x1
- Silicon x 1
- Titanium x 1
You can recreate this shelter over and over as you explore the planet as a quick way to refill your oxygen.
Resource gathering and farming
You begin the game with a sophisticated multi-tool held in your right hand. This tool allows you the ability to mine resources off the ground. Harvesting resources this way is slow to start, but with time, you’ll gain the ability to unlock upgrades that can speed up the rate of resource gathering. This is the primary method you’ll use to gather resources.
The most common resources are almost everywhere on the planet’s surface. These resources include iron, cobalt, magnesium, titanium, silicon, and ice. Most of your building structures will be crafted from common resources, so locating and harvesting them should be easy.
More advanced resources are more difficult to find and are often found as loot or in specific locations on the map. Iridium and uranium are two such ores that exist primarily in caves only and are considered rare in the early game. These resources are used to craft upgraded machines to help you produce more power or stronger machines. If you’ve chosen to build on the Plateau, you’ll be close to the Iridium caves, providing enough iridium to craft heaters.
Crafting and upgrading in The Planet Crafter
Crafting is at the heart of The Planet Crafter. If you aren’t crafting, you aren’t progressing. As terraformation progresses, upgrades will unlock and become available to you. Utilize upgrades as soon as you have the resources to do so because these upgrades will make your life much easier.
There are two methods in The Planet Crafter for crafting items and machines. Some items require a crafting station, and their recipe will be listed on the crafting station’s UI. All other learned or unlocked recipes will be on the general crafting screen Q. Mousing-over an item on the crafting screen will list the required ingredients, and the UI will highlight any components you already have in your inventory. You must have all of the required crafting components in your inventory to craft an item.
Player equipment
Several items in The Planet Crafter provide the player with additional benefits. The following items should be crafted and upgraded as soon as possible:
- Oxygen tank – the oxygen tank dictates how long you can be out and about before returning to a living compartment for an oxygen refill.
- Backpack – the backpack module allows you to carry more items in your inventory.
- Exoskeleton – the exoskeleton module allows you to equip more modules.
- Agility boots – agility boots allow you to move faster and jump higher.
- Deconstruction microchip – this modification allows your multi-tool to deconstruct objects.
- Flashlight microchip – this modification allows you to use a flashlight by pressing
F. - Jetpack – this modification allows you to hover and fly at greater speeds. This is an extremely important upgrade and will make a massive difference in the rate of travel around the game map.
- Mining speed microchip – this modification allows you to harvest ore with the multi-tool faster.
- Compass microchip – this modification provides you with an on-screen compass UI at the top of the screen for better navigation.
- Water filter – this modification allows you to drink from lakes.
- Air filter – this modification allows you to breathe oxygen from the atmosphere.
Base building
Since the game is single-player and has no combat, your bases aren’t needed to provide protection or strategic concealment of your valuable loot. Aside from oxygen, the most critical utility your base will offer you is a place to store all your things. This means that base building is primarily for aesthetics and creativity. The Planet Crafter has included a generous amount of base-building pieces to experiment with and help you feel more at home.
Building pieces are not restricted by gravity or stability, so you have a lot of freedom in the types of structures and designs you can create. Simple snap mechanics allow you to join building pieces together and automatically join living compartments into consecutive spaces. This means getting a starter base set up quickly is a snap.
Terraformation stages and progression
Upon initial landing, the information screen inside your landing pod briefly mentions the terraformation process. Your planet is currently at the Barren stage, and your first task is to progress to the Blue Sky stage. Every stage that follows develops another characteristic of a planet that ultimately could become habitable.
There are three primary metrics that you must increase to begin changing the planet into something that could sustain life. These metrics are Heat, Pressure, and Oxygen. These metrics combine to generate the Terraformation Index, the overall performance indicator of terraformation progress.
Each terraformation metric is increased by a class of machines you must craft. Drills produce pressure, heaters produce heat, and veggie tubes produce early oxygen. As you generate more of each type of machine, the values of each metric will increase faster over time.
Wrapping up
We hope this guide has helped to build a good foundation for your Planet Crafter beginnings. For more information about Planet Crafter updates, or advanced guides for later-game play, be sure to check out our collection of guides and update coverage in our Planet Crafter category.
Happy terraforming!
