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First Steps

After First Contact, the boot/power/sensors/uplink tutorial chain, you have 2,500 credits and the Shop and Biology Lab are unlocked. This page is the handoff guide for what to do next. It remains available in DOCS; search for First Steps anytime you want a refresher.

Next steps

Section titled “Next steps”
  1. Pressure Sensor and Oxygen Sensor are already deployed. Repair Pressure to open Harvesting and Contracts; repair Oxygen to open Atmosphere. Research is already available.
  2. Open the Shop in the left sidebar and buy a Solar Generator, a Battery, and an Oxygen Generator.
  3. Open Inventory and Deploy all three.
  4. Script the Solar Generator and Oxygen Generator. At 1 ppt oxygen, Auto Feeders unlock and the Biology Lab can be automated.

Repair the sensors in either order. This starter setup reserves enough credits and power for manual Biology now and automated Biology after Auto Feeders unlock.

Earning credits

Section titled “Earning credits”

Four early approaches teach different skills. Harvesting and Contracts sit side by side: which feels easier depends on whether you prefer visible machines or contained logic puzzles.

  • Manual Biology (easiest, no code): use the Biology workbench buttons to collect, analyze, extract, and deliver samples. This is the simplest first payout, but repeated orders become a click-heavy process.
  • Harvesting (first automation, after Pressure repair): write a simple grid sweep that moves, collects, stores, and sells. Heat and the held-item slot need attention, but pathfinding and route optimization are optional.
  • Contracts (contained puzzles, after Pressure repair): solve isolated programming problems with minimal machine state and safe retries. These favor loops, collections, and abstract reasoning.
  • Automated Biology (advanced automation, after Auto Feeders): coordinate the Bio Collector, Bio Lab, and Bio Exchange through separate scripts while managing orders, reagents, item ports, completed output, and partial state.

Every credit feeds back into the Shop. More machines means more terraforming progress.

See also

Section titled “See also”