The Planet Crafter is an open-world space survival and crafting game. The player is tasked with taking a barren, desert planet, and turning it into a green, vibrant ecosystem. This involves tackling issues such as tectonic activity, as well as creating an atmosphere and setting up an ecosystem.

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The game received positive reviews on launch and has been praised for being easy to learn, simple to play, and yet providing a depth of gameplay that can deliver hundreds of hours of entertainment. Players who enjoy a combination of survival and crafting games might like to check The Planet Crafter out due to some of its more unique features. Here's what the best structures are to construct when just starting out.

7 Foundation Grid

Foundation In Planet Crafter

Requirements:

  • Microchip - Construction

Crafting cost:

  • Iron: 1

The Foundation Grid is used to build structures in The Planet Crafter. Anyone who has played a game with base building before will understand the function of this basic structure.

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Players don’t need to build a foundation before placing a structure such as a living compartment. These can be built directly on the ground if required. However, as the ground is not generally completely flat, this means building multiple structures that line up can be problematic. This is one of the mistakes that players often make when base building, not ensuring they have enough flat space. Building foundations first solves this problem, so that a base can be constructed on a single and level platform.

6 Living Compartment

Needed To Recharge Oxygen

Living Area In Planet Crafter

Requirements:

  • Microchip - Construction

Crafting cost:

  • Iron: 2
  • Titanium: 1

The basic Living Compartment becomes the nerve center of a fledgling base in The Planet Crafter. Players have limited oxygen reserves in their suits, and need to step into a structure with an atmosphere to resupply this oxygen. In the early game, it is the Living Compartment that fulfills this need.

This is also the structure where the player will build certain other needed structures, such as a Crafting Station or Vegetube. As a base grows, the player can connect and stack compartments to provide more space. In later stages of the game, players will need to manage multiple Vegetubes and produce specialized plant life tailored to the environment.

5 Living Compartment Door

Structures Do Not Automatically Have Doors When Built

Living Area Door In Planet Crafter

Requirements:

  • Microchip - Construction

Crafting cost:

  • Iron: 1
  • Silicon: 1
  • Titanium: 1

Something that The Planet Crafter does a little differently from other base construction games, is that structures when built, don’t have doors. The player has to decide where they want doors to be located on the structure, and then build one.

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Doors can be constructed on any flat side of a structure. For example, the Living Compartment has 4 flat sides, and a door can be placed in each of these. This means that there is no need for additional building parts such as corridors and connectors. The player simply places 2 structures and then places a door between them.

4 Wind Turbine

For Basic Power Needs

Wind Generator In Planet Crafter

Requirements:

  • Microchip - Construction

Crafting cost:

  • Iron: 1

Some base construction games require the player to build power generators, and then wire them up to the structures they need to power. The Planet Crafter simplifies things in this respect. Building a power generator close to a base will automatically power everything in range, with no need to wire anything up.

The Wind Turbine is the basic power generation structure in this game. They produce a small amount of power but are cheap to construct. New players are advised to build at least two of these at the start of a game, as this is enough to power a basic base.

3 Drill

Reduces Tectonic Activity

Drill In Planet Crafter

Requirements:

  • Microchip - Construction

Crafting cost:

  • Iron: 1
  • Titanium: 1

As the goal of The Planet Crafter is to terraform the planet, it is important that the player manages tectonic activity, to reduce the chance of earthquakes causing a setback. The basic Drill is the tool used for this.

Once placed, a drill will release gas pressure beneath the ground, thus reducing the chance that a tectonic event will take place. Depending on the location the player is working in, the number of drills they need to build in that area will depend on the gas pressure beneath them.

2 Crafting Station

Advanced Crafting Of Blueprint Items

Crafting Station In Planet Crafter

Requirements:

  • None

Crafting cost:

  • Iron: 1
  • Silicon: 1

When a player starts a new game in The Planet Crafter, they have access to a basic crafting station inside their drop capsule. However, this crafting station can only craft a very small number of basic blueprints. The player will need to construct a T2 crafting station to craft more complex items.

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As with most crafting games, a crafting station takes basic materials and combines them into an end product, such as an oxygen tank, for example. The Crafting Station in The Planet Crafter needs to be placed inside a building such as a living area.

1 Vegetube

For Germinating Seeds

Vegetube In Planet Crafter

Requirements:

  • Microchip - Construction

Crafting cost:

  • Iron: 1
  • Magnesium: 1
  • Ice: 1

Creating an ecosystem is a large part of the gameplay in The Planet Crafter. Terraforming a barren planet into a green oasis is the end goal. This means germinating and breeding plants and then propagating them across the planet.

The basic tool the player uses to begin this task is the Vegetube. It is used to germinate seeds and nurture seedlings. The player can then use these small plants to begin creating a self-sustaining biosphere. The Vegetube needs to be placed inside a building, such as a living compartment.

The Planet Crafter
The Planet Crafter

Platform(s)
PC
Released
April 10, 2024
Developer(s)
Miju Games
Genre(s)
Open-World , Survival