Occupy Mars: The Game Basic Tips From Touch Down to Powering your Base

So to start off I will explain from the view of landing on the planet with just what’s in your pod.

Collect everything in your pod, open up every compartment and take everything you see (up to you, but you use it all within 15 sols). Any excess you can put in the pod printer storage (I save 4 slots for ores).

So before you exit your Pod, you need to set up your hot-bar with 6 items.
My setup is as follows, you choose yours.

1. Jackhammer
2. Grinder
3. Blow Torch
4. Spectral Detector
5. Hose
6. Electrical Cable

Last 2 are optional. I usually use spot 5 as the swapping stuff hotkey

So, first things first. Pull out your spectral detector and find a water source. You can hold the spectral detector while your running to the location, or if its far you can push Y key and it will be added to your map. Please check the how to use Maps section.

When your at your spot, hit the B key to bring up your build menu. From here choose well under the resources tab. You may have the resources to build it right away, unless your in Campaign or on COLONIST or MADMAN in freeplay mode. [spoiler[(MADMAN is not recommended for your first time unless you like severe punishment.)[/spoiler]

So, if you don’t have the resources you need to break out your trusty jackhammer to claim some ores. There are 5 ores so far.

• Aluminum
• Calcium
• Iron
• Silicon
• Uranium

From my discoveries I have found, and perhaps you have too, that the amount varies depending on the rocks you choose to break down. Two types are for lack of a better term, browns and greys. The Brown ones have a lot of unnecessary hammering.

Grey’s

Brown’s

The Grey’s, each one is an ore that is broken off and hammered once more for good measure. So the choice is yours, Brown’s gets you hopefully 50+ ores while the Grey’s get your 120+ (in my findings anyhow)

Your first will always be special, spruce it up and make lots of mistakes!!

So you’ll mainly need to collect Aluminum, Iron and Silicon ores or grind other bases for materials to get ready to build your first base of operations. You will need to unlock a few things in your tech tree to start, but visit a few bases and you’ll get what you need within a few days.

• 1 Well
• 1 Workshop
• 2 Airlocks
• 1 Ramp
• 8 Solar Panels
• 1 Transformer ECU w/transformer upgrade or 2 Transformers
• 1 Battery Pack w/battery pack upgrade or 2 Battery Packs

If you go 2 transformers and 2 battery packs, you will need 4 small boards. (You can find the few boards you need at the 2 bases, one to the west of you and one to the east. Check tips for info on highlighting your surroundings easier)
When you do get the upgrades for either or both, you can eliminate the second transformer or battery pack. (Don’t forget to pull the small board first)

Back to running power. The power from the 8 Solar Panels will equal 40kw. The workshop and 2 airlocks runs at –kw means that you have — spare kw. So that spare –kw can be stored by the batteries.
Now, herein lies the issue. The is roughly 14 hours of solar charging (Day) and 10 hours of kw drain (Night). Now if your not putting anything in there it’d be great. But, I am assuming you would like breathable air and a stable temperature to start planting right away. You will need to create a few more things to accomplish that.

• CO2 Scribber – –kw to –kw (working range)

I would hold off on the printer for now until you want more storage. But that is your choice.

Highlight your immediate surroundings
Spoiler So, if you want to know if your missing something or unsure you simply push the Z key. This is the key to not forgetting the small boards that everyone is complaining about.
Another option In the game options menu under interface. Go down to the 2 interact-able sections. First is how you want it to show (Always, Key Press (Z) or never). Second is the range, you can slide it where ever you like.Pin your building requirements
Spoiler In your build menu, right click the recipe you want to build and it will remain up on the right (info section) until you right click the recipe again.

Early ATV (Close)
Campaign Spoiler In campaign mode, the base to the west of your pod has a damaged ATV. Inside that base you should have a small circuit board, you can use that to get the ATV up and running.{/spoiler]

So your in the dark on how to get tech points for each category. I’ll break it down for you and have you on your way.

Botany

• Harvest
• Process
• Plant
• Using Seeder
• Produce Fertilizer
• Collect Waste Containers

Chemistry

• Unknown (Not yet implemented)

Electricity

• Produce Energy
• Charging Vehicles
• Clean Solar Panels and equipment
• Repair Boards

Materials

• Build
• Repair
• Disassemble (Grind)
• Print
• Unload Rover Into Crusher

Mechanics

• Split Rocks
• Check Composition of ores w/Spectral Detector
• Charge Vehicles
• Unload Rover Into Crusher
• Build using Rovers robotic arm (Rover Welder)

Currently editing this for more info.

Check back soon