How to Begin Building Your Base in Astroneer

When starting off in Astroneer, base building can seem like an impossible feat. In the first few moments, you’ll suffocate from lack of oxygen and wonder how it even happened. You’ll click on your pod and on everything around you, confused as to what to do next. This is because Astroneer is still in Early Access and while the basic structure of the game is there, System Era Softworks has expressed that there is still more work to be done. It’s still an incredibly fun and addictive game once you learn the basics. We’re here to show you that.

How To Collect Resources

This will be the first thing you learn in Astroneer. You’ll equip your tool by pressing E, and as you explore, press and hold the right button on your mouse to suck up any resources you need. If you find that your tool is running out of power, just wait a few moments and it will automatically restore. Keep in mind that you only have a limited amount of space in your backpack. The first resource we suggest finding is Resin, since this the first thing you’ll need to begin building your base in Astroneer.

How To Prevent Suffocating

As you’re collecting resources, many players will ask themselves is, “Why do I keep suffocating?” Well, if you wander too far from your pod, then you’ll see the little blue tether that is feeding your character oxygen disappear. You’ll be fine for a minute or so, but as you’re exploring, you’ll notice your oxygen will steadily deplete. In order to refill your oxygen meter, walk back towards to your pod until the blue line appears again.

If you find the Compound resource, stock up on it, and use it to build tethers. You can do this by accessing your backpack by pressing Q and then crafting it there. Once you’ve built tethers, you can begin placing them down by pressing T. Do this as you’re walking further away from your pod. This will allow you to keep a steady flow of oxygen and prevent your character from suffocating.

Building Your Base

Once you’ve collected a good amount of Resin, you can begin building the foundation to your base. Head back to your pod and click on one of the ports sticking out on the side. This will extend it and a picture of a platform with the word Resin over it will appear. Click on the image of the Resin and it will automatically start building up that platform. It will then ask for two more Resin. If you’ve collected enough, place them down as well. Now you’ll have a base extension that allows you to decide what kind of facilities you want to build.

Building A Research Facility

We suggest building a Research Facility first, since as you discover random artifacts, you can place them here and learn how to build them. In order to get your Research Facility working, you’ll need some Compound and a source of power. You can find the Compound through exploring. Access your backpack and sort through the different recipes. You’ll find one for a solar panel that will require one Compound to build. Use this as your source of power after placing down the additional two. The power will fill for the research facility, and now you’ll be able to use it. Learn how to delete a save in Astroneer with these simple guide.

Congrats, space pioneers! From here on out, you’ll be able to use this basic knowledge to continue building your base, exploring, build a shuttle, and industrializing your new planet.

Felicia Miranda