Survival Best Practice (Guide)

What to expect from this guide
This guide is designed to help new players to get into the game. It may also be useful for players that have not played the game for a while. The guide is not designed to explain the game mechanics, but instead to help you survive your first gaming hours with a few easy steps to follow. This guide is for use with SURVIVAL mode, not Creative! Please read through the FAQ for advanced information that may not be part of this guide

START A NEW GAME
When starting a new game, you will have several choices to make:
 * 1) Gamemode: Survival or Creative
 * 2) Seed Nr: Just play around with it. Explanation can be found here: Procedural Seed
 * 3) Start Location: Omicron (Difficult) or Akua (Easy)

This guide is written for a SURVIVAL game on Omicron with a random Seed.

=CONTROLS=
First: Check your button layout: Main Menu -> Options -> Controls This IS important, because some old and new hotkeys may save your life - or at least make it easier.

Second: Important Hotkeys are..
 * Y = If you have built a base or a vessel, use Y to activate/deactivate it. If turned off, fridge, automated turrets, oxygen station and other things will NOT work! If you turn on your base, DRONES will come for you. So be prepared!
 * F = Use/Open. Wait until your crosshair changes from [[File:Crosshair aim.png]] to [[File:Crosshair use.png]]
 * J = Activate/Deactivate Jetpack. If your Jetpack IS activated, you can run, as of new update.
 * TAB = Open Inventory
 * F1 = Open PDA
 * F2 = Open Factory/Blueprints
 * F3 = Open Techtree


 * SHIFT+leftMouseClick = Move a whole stack of items from one inventory to the other (e.g.: from your personal inventory to the inventory of a constructor). This is fast and you don't need to use drag&drop. This combo has another important convenience function. We'll explain below (STEPS TO FOLLOW - Energy, Oxygen)

Third: Vehicle specific Hotkeys/Combos
 * SHIFT+SPACE = If you are sitting in a Hover-Vessel, this will allow you to JUMP over obstacles or out of a canyon.
 * SHIFT = If you are sitting in a Hover-Vessel that is laying on the side or on its top, this will orient/upgright the vessel.
 * SPACE = Will increase your vehicle's altitude (distance between your HV and the ground) in discrete steps.
 * O = Hold O and your vessel will "orient" itself to the standard horizon in space and on planets
 * C = Will lower your HVs flight altitude in discrete steps
 * U = Take off helmet. Be careful. Only take off your helmet when you are in a cockpit or on Akua. Every other location will kill you quite fast!
 * V = Change to third person view.
 * ALT = Tap once to activate free-look when in third person view (crosshairs disappear). Tap again to return to follow view (crosshairs reappear).

Undocumented Hotkeys/Combos
 * SHIFT+P = opens the settings menu for the item you are aiming at. A quick way to change colors for lights. Please note: You need to stand onto/have physical contact to the base or vehicle the item is attached to!
 * holding CTRL + left mouse button when placing blocks creates a plane of blocks!

See full key bindings here

=HUD INFO SCREEN=
Your HUD will provide you with a lot of information. Most important are:
 * 1) Your Toolbar: The yellow glow shows which item is selected (visible in your hands). Scroll up and down via the mouse wheel or quick-select via the number-buttons
 * 2) Personal Info Screen: Shows data about your Health (red), Hunger (green), Oxygen level (blue), Stamina (purple) and a few others, like Jetpack load status (orange bar; drops when Jetpack is used; refills automatically)
 * 3) Character View (on the right) and Player Inventory (on the left)
 * 4) Secondary Info Screen: Shows available info about the item you are currently holding in your hands
 * 5) Item Info Screen: If you hover over an item in your toolbar or in your Player Inventory, this panel will show very important details about the item (especially for food items!)
 * 6) Minimap. Hit M to open the planetary view
 * 7) Message Area (not shown): keep an eye on this one. Alerts like approaching Drones will be shown here!

=HOW TO CONSUME AN ITEM=
This is a frequent question, so we'll explain a bit more in detail:
 * 1) You can  shift+right click on any consumable to directly consume it from your or any open inventory.

Alternative
 * 1) A consumable item (MediKit, Food, Small O2 Bottle, Antidotes...) can be added to the toolbar first (See HUD Info below) and then consumed.
 * 2) Select the consumable in your toolbar (orange glow)
 * 3) Ahead of clicking the left-mouse button, make sure your crosshair looks like this:[[File:Crosshair aim.png]]  And NOT like this:[[File:Crosshair use.png]]  Otherwise, consuming the selected item will not work!
 * 4) With the desired consumable highlighted in the toolbar, click the left-mouse button once.

STEPS TO FOLLOW: Setup
''DISCLAIMER for the "Steps to follow" topics: With the addition of DIFFICULTY SETTINGS this guide may not work on all settings. The Guide has been written for EASY mode. There is more than one way to survive even on harder planets. But, as stated above, this guide is written as a best practice, which will work in most of all cases. If you advance in your player skill, you may find different and maybe even better solutions.

=PICKING UP YOUR STUFF=

 * 1) Get out of the escape capsule, turn around and access the escape capsules inventory by aiming at it and press T.
 * 2) There is a "Collect All" arrow on the top right edge of the escape capsule inventory. Click it!

'''You need to pick up ALL of the items, because the capsule will DESPAWN after a few minutes. Items that are left in the inventory will be LOST!''' Note: This "collect-all" button is available for most of the blocks with an inventory and all of the fauna or enemies you kill (and want to loot). You can of course drag & drop each item one by one!

SETTING UP YOUR TOOLBAR
Open your inventory (I) and move the following items from your inventory to your toolbar via drag & drop 1 Projectile Pistol 2 Filler & Flatten Tool 3 Drill 4 Survival Constructor 5 O2 Generator 6 Small Medikit 7 Antidote Pills 8 Emergency Ration 9 Small Oxygen Bottle

Please note:
 * Depending on the difficulty setting, you might NOT get all the items named above or in this overview!
 * You do not need to add ammo or charges to your toolbar! These will be used/reloaded directly from your player inventory.
 * Of course you need to move any block you want to place to a free slot in your toolbar first.

=ENERGY=
The survival constructor will now start to produce the ordered items (You need to set the constructor to OFF if you want to remove templates from the queue!) Tips: * You can pick up any terrain-placeable with SHIFT-F * You can always add MORE or DIFFERENT templates to the construction queue (Constructor ON or OFF) * If you hold SHIFT and click on the templates in the production queue, this will REMOVE 10 items at once. (Constructor=OFF) * If you do NOT hold SHIFT while clicking on a template, this works the same way, but this time each click only adds/removes ONE item per click * If you want to REMOVE templates from the construction queue, you need to first switch the constructor OFF (applies also for Mobile Constructor and Large Constructor!) * You might need to unlock some devices from the TECH TREE first (F3)
 * 1) Go and search for a nearby lake.
 * 2) Select the Survival Constructor from your toolbar (e.g. slot 4)
 * 3) Search for a suitable place on the shoreline to set him up
 * 4) If the wireframe around the Survival Constructor becomes BLUE, you are free to place it! (left-mouse click; You can pick it up with SHIFT-F)
 * 5) Access the Constructor (T)
 * 6) Hold SHIFT and use left-mouse click on the following items in your player inventory (This will move the whole stack to the constructor inventory [1]!): All of the ingots (silicon, copper, iron..), Magnesium Powder, Promethium Pellets,Core
 * 7) Open the  COMPONENTS template folder on the top left side of the constructor screen (see screenshot -> [2] -> [3])
 * 8) Hold SHIFT and use left-mouse click on the Fuel Pack (Promethium) template four or five times. For each click, this will add 10 templates to the construction queue [4].
 * 9) Find the ON/OFF switch on the top right edge of the constructor screen [5]. Click once to set to ON. (OFF = default)

=OXYGEN=
Notes: * The Emergency O2 Generator can be placed anywhere: terrain and water; You can not build an Emergency O2 Generator. * The FIRST ever fuel pack added to the energy pack reservoir will vanish instantly. This is only a visual problem. It is fully accounted to the total energy reservoir of the generator [3]! * We do NOT recommend adding ALL of your fuel packs just now! * However: if you want to easily add the whole stack, hold SHIFT and click on the stack once. The five fuel packs will get distributed to the free energy pack reservoir slots. * If you are playing on Akua you do not need to set up the O2 Generator that early in the game. Just take off your Helmet (U) and you won't use up your O2 tanks! Now, get out of the water and head back to the shore.
 * 1) Turn to the nearby lake where you had set up your survival constructor
 * 2) Select the O2 Generator from your toolbar (e.g. from slot 5)
 * 3) Place the O2 Generator on the ground of the lake: only the very base of the O2 generator needs to be in water. It does not need to be submerged, and doing so will not increase the efficiency; it will either be 80% because it counts as in water, or zero because it does not count as in water. (some planets have less efficient ways of gathering O2, such as placing the generator on snow)
 * 4) Access the O2 Generator (T)
 * 5) Add TWO (!) of your fuel packs to the Energy Reservoir [1]: left-Click on the fuel pack stack in your player inventory on the left side. Move to the right side of the screen and left-click on a free slot of the "energy pack" reservoir to add one fuel pack into each slot.
 * 6) If done so, the status screen [3] will start a countdown timer, showing when the next Oxygen Bottles will be available

STEPS TO FOLLOW: Base Stage I
As the small constructor only has a reduced range of blocks to choose from, we will first be building a base to improve our situation on Omicron, then build a Hover Vessel to explore our surroundings. ALL OF THE BLOCKS WE ARE GOING TO BUILD CAN BE CREATED FROM THE MATERIALS WE GOT FROM THE ESCAPE CAPSULES INVENTORY! We do NOT need to search for ore yet!

=CRAFTING THE BASIC BLOCKS=

 * 1) Return to the Survival Constructor and access it (T)
 * 2) If you were following the steps described in the "Energy" chapter above, you should now have around 70 Fuel Packs waiting to be picked up from the constructor inventory [1]. Drag and Drop the stack to your player inventory (or hold SHIFT and click once)
 * 3) Find the template in the [[File:Components.png]] COMPONENTS template directory  [2]. Hover over the Metal Plates template. The Item Info Screen on the right side tells us, we will get 10 Metal Plates (Output) from each template we add to the construction queue. Hold SHIFT and left-Click on the template once to add 10 templates to the construction queue. We will get 100 Metal Plates. We'll need a lot of them.
 * 4) While these are in the works, switch to the [[File:Building-block.png]]Building Blocks template folder. Hold SHIFT and click on the Hull Block (Grey) template twice. This will get us 20 grey hull blocks.
 * 5) Next, click on the Base Starter template ONCE. We need this block to create the first stage of your base.
 * 6) Wait until these are created. Switch to the DEVICES template folder.
 * 7) Create the more complex Devices: a Small Generator, a Small Fuel Tank and the Large Constructor. You may want to use the Quick Construction Queues help as described in the next chapter!

=QUICK CONSTRUCTION QUEUES (QCQ)=
IF you don't want to calculate the needs of the components, just use this Quick Construction Queues we have put together for you!

Small Generator (Base) Small Fuel Tank (Base) Large Constructor (Base) How to use the QCQ: 1. Stop the constructor (Switch to OFF on the top right) 2. Switch to the COMPONENTS template directory 3. Add the components to the construction queue in the EXACT order as shown in the QCQ pictures! Note: If is showing a "19" in the picture above, just click 19 times on the Metal Components template..and so on)  4. When having added all the components in their exact order, switch to the DEVICES template directory.  5. Add the final product to the queue (the last item of the QCQs always show the final product, to be found in the DEVICES template directory)  6. Activate the small constructor (Set to ON)  7. Wait until finished  8. Create the next queue by starting at step 1

=EXCAVATION AND XP=
While waiting for the basic blocks to be created, head back to the beach and find a place close to the water, where we can place our base. To be able to place the Base Starter we need to have flat terrain. But most terrain isn't plane. So we need to do something about this: While flattening the terrain, have a look at the lower left corner of your screen. Between your Personal Info Screen and your Toolbar you'll notice NUMBERS piling up. These are EXPERIENCE POINTS (XP). XP are used to unlock items from the tech tree.
 * 1) Select the Filler & Flatten Tool from your toolbar (e.g. slot 2)
 * 2) Aim for the ground and click&hold the RIGHT-mouse button. This will flatten the ground around you DOWN to about the the level where your feet are! Just walk around and get some practice!
 * Press (I) to open your Inventory Screen. There you will notice the XP-Progress bar below your avatar. It will show you how many XP you are away from your next unlock.
 * We'll discuss this topic later on.
 * For now, close the inventory view and keep leveling the ground. This will add quite a heap of XP to your progress bar.

=PLACE: BASE STAGE I =
If you managed to flatten an area big enough for our needs, we can now start to place our core base elements Important Advice: Do NOT stand on your base and hit Y. If you do so, your base is activated and some DRONES will be en route to hunt you down. Let's wait until we can upgrade our Base to STAGE 2 and have unlocks some more powerful weaponry. First, lets collect some XP to unlock those blocks needed!
 * 1) Access the small constructor
 * 2) Move all the base blocks to your toolbar: Base Starter, Small Generator, Small Fuel Tank and Large Generator
 * 3) Also move the Hull Blocks to your toolbar
 * 4) Head over to our excavated site
 * 5) Select the Base Starter block
 * 6) Aim at the ground. When the red wireframe becomes BLUE, you can place the block.
 * 7) Now add the four other base blocks to this base "grid". It may look like the screenshot on the right with the precious blocks added to the basement (increased cover, less exposed)

=LEVELING UP & GETTING TO KNOW FAUNA & FLORA=
In order to ramp up your XP and because you should scout your surroundings anyhow, let's go for a walk. Take these notes with you: Find out MORE about Fauna and Flora on the planet overview pages of Omicron and Akua! Tips: *If you get wounded, make use of your Small Medikit if necessary *If you get poisoned, use your Antidote Pills or you will gradually lose more and more health! *If you get low on Oxygen, consume the Small Oxygen Bottles. *Running around will use up your Oxygen faster than walking around! *If you run out of Small Oxygen Bottles before upgrading your base to STAGE II, you can always create those from standard Oxygen Bottles in the Survival Constructor!
 * 1) Pick up everything you can find. This not only adds XP, but you'll need it sooner or later!Ahax Fruit (Plant).png
 * 2) On Omicron especially watch out for the Ahax Fruit (Plant)! Remember their places! When harvested, it will drop an . You can eat this fruit without the need for growing it or having a food processor. Just move it to a free slot of your toolbar and consume it. It will give you a few health, food points and stamina, so you do not need to use the precious early on.  Corn Dog (Plant).jpg
 * 3) On Akua, watch out for the Corn Dog (Plant), which will drop the, a valuable source of food.
 * 4) Don't mess with the fauna if you are not prepared! Your Projectile Pistol can dish out small amounts of damage, but your magazine is too small and reloading takes a few seconds.
 * 5) Most of the animals are harmless unless provoked. And all animals (even the alien ones) will drop (=will create very high yield food stuff when used in a Food Processor) and other useful things.

=SPEND SOME XP (Unlock Lvl 3 Blocks)=
In the meantime, you should have reached level 3 with ease. Time to spend some XP. Now we are good to go.
 * 1) Open the Techtree (O)
 * 2) Select the WEAPONS tab and have a look at the items of "Level 3"
 * 3) Click on the Assault Rifle item  and click "UNLOCK" (found on top of the techtree). Note: Charges and Ammo for each Tool or Weapon are unlocked automatically!
 * 4) Select the BASE tab
 * 5) Unlock Oxygen Station (CV,BA), Fridge (T1) and Cannon Turret from "Level 3"
 * 6) Select the MISC tab
 * 7) Unlock Cargo Box from "Level 2"

STEPS TO FOLLOW: Base Stage II
In a final step, we will now create all the blocks necessary for a fully functional base with some storage and defense. Because the survival constructor cannot build those, we need to activate our base. This will call in the drones sooner or later, so we need some more firepower, but first things first.

=FIRST: WEAPON UPGRADE=

 * 1) Head over to your survival constructor and access it (T)
 * 2) Switch to the WEAPONS template category
 * 3) Create an Assault Rifle
 * 4) Create 100 rounds of 5.8mm Ammo (click template 4x)
 * 5) Wait until this has finished
 * 6) Then pull everything from the survival creator inventory: ingots, resources, devices, components...everything. (Reason: if the Survival Constructor gets destroyed in a failed drone attack, we are losing a lot of resources!)
 * 7) Equip your Assault Rifle: Move it to slot 1 of your toolbar (Leave the ammo in your inventory)
 * 8) Select the Assault Rifle and click R. This will load the first clip of 25 rounds (enough for 1 drone or a monster on full-auto mode)

=SECOND: ACTIVATING THE BASE=
To make our base fully functional, we need to fire up the base and create the following devices with the help of the Large Constructor Now, your base is activated...and sooner or later, a DRONE ALERT will pop up. Stay alert when performing the following steps!
 * 1) Access the Small Fuel Tank of your base.
 * 2) Hold SHIFT and click on the Fuel Pack (Promethium) stack in your personal inventory. This will fill up the whole fuel tank to its maximum capacity.
 * 3) Stand on the top of your base and hit Y.

=THIRD: CREATING MISSING DEVICES & PLACING=
Oxygen Tank plus Oxygen Station (CV,BA) Food Processor Fridge (T1) Cannon Turret When these are done, we suggest to create at least one Cargo Box and at least 20 Truss Block How to use the QCQ: 1. Stop the constructor (Switch to OFF on the top right) 2. Switch to the COMPONENTS template directory 3. Add the components to the construction queue in the EXACT order as shown in the QCQ pictures! Note: If is showing a "19" in the picture above, just click 19 times on the Metal Components template..and so on)  4. When having added all the components in their exact order, switch to the DEVICES template directory.  5. Add the final product to the queue (the last item of the QCQs always show the final product, to be found in the DEVICES template directory)  6. Activate the small constructor (Set to ON)  7. Wait until finished  8. Create the next queue by starting at step 1 Now, go and build your base!
 * 1) Access the Large Constructor (T)
 * 2) Create the following DEVICES. Just use the QUICK CONSTRUCTION QUEUES (QCQ) if you like.

Tips and Hints * For the Cannon Turret: build a small platform at the center or at an edge of your base. This prevents the turret from firing on your own base blocks (if they are in the firing line between the turret and an enemy) * You can enter and manually shoot the Cannon Turret: stand in front of it and hit (T). * Aim and shoot like you would with a hand weapon * The Plant Grow Light has a range of 3x3 blocks. You can use 9 Growing Plots with one light! * You need to have at least 2 blocks free space between the Growing Plots and the ceiling * Build a few more hull blocks to protect your stuff * To use the Oxygen Station (CV,BA) you need to aim at it and hit T * Add at least 2 Light (CV,BA)s. You will be thankful for them in the night * You can switch off the LIGHTS only, by standing on your base and using (F) * Fauna will not attack your base. * Drones will! * If you shoot down a Drone NEVER FORGET TO LOOT it! Drones carry around not only ammo, but a lot of COMPONENTS! This will help a lot when running out of ingots! * Drone Wrecks and dead bodies will de-spawn after a few minutes!