Solarpunk features extensive building options. Since all these are connected to previous upgrades, it can get overwhelming to keep track of the building options or navigate to the crafting option you desire. In this guide, we will focus on everything you need to know about building in the game.
How To Craft In Solarpunk
You can craft in Solarpunk by using the Quick Craft icon on the menu.
You can access your items in the inventory by pressing the “Tab ” key on your keyboard. If you look at the bottom of the screen to the right, you will find the Quick Craft icon. Clicking on the Quick-Craft Icon will open up the Crafting Menu on the screen. You can also press “F” to activate the Quick Crafting Menu. Right at the beginning of the game, you can craft a Pickaxe, Axe, and Hoe. After gathering more materials, you will unlock more items on the list.
Crafting Axe and Pick Axe
Crafting Axe allows you to chop down trees to gather Wood.
Most of the requirements for crafting will be Sticks and Stones, gathering a number of them will allow you to craft various farming equipment and tools in the game. But first, you must craft an Axe, and then use it to chop down the trees around you. Cutting down a tree will give you Wood and Saplings.
A single piece of Wood will help you craft 3 Sticks. Now that you have Sticks, grab some Stones off the ground to create a Pickaxe.
Mining Materials By Using Pick-Axe
You can use a Pick-Axe on Rocks to gather Minerals and other Materials.
They are easy to spot as they will have different textures making them unique in the area. Breaking a rock by using a Pickaxe will give you Iron Ore, Stone, Sand, and Clay. There is a randomness attached to the materials attached to the rocks.
You can also use the Pickaxe to break any large stone in the area, but they will only give you common Stone instead of any range of materials. Always be on the lookout for the small black rocks to gather more unique materials instead of using the Pickaxe on large stones. Since the items we use deteriorate, picking the best source is the optimal way of crafting in the game.
Building A Crafting Table & Research Table
Open up the Quick Crafting menu and then spend 6 * Wood to make a Crafting Table. It will quickly show up on the boxes at the bottom of the screen. You can now set up the Crafting Table.
Note: You can only place the Crafting Table on the spot where the placement color is blue, if it’s orange then the Table will not fit in the location. The next task is to craft a Research Table. Which will come after finishing the Berry Bush task.
To craft a Research Table, you will need Wood and Cloth (Cloth can be made from Cotton). Once you gather the materials, you can create a Research Table and place it on the ground, preferably next to the Crafting Table. Interact with the Research table to open up the Research menu. At first, you will only have access to Tier 1 Unresearched Items. The list includes: Rain Collector, Well, Chest, Beehive, and Bed.
Researching An Item
Every Research item will have its specific Material Requirements attached to it. You can only research if you have a specific amount of materials in your possession. To research Bed, you will need Wood/ Stick and Cloth. We will recommend that you accumulate as much material as possible before interacting with the Research Table. So you will be able to unlock most of the Research at once without waiting.
Note: Research Table will not lead to direct Crafting. Researching an item unlocks the option for Crafting that Researched Item. When you complete the Research for Bed, go to the Crafting Table and find Bed under the Furniture section (Wood/ Cloth/ Stick).
Advanced Building Guide In Solarpunk
Here we are going to cover all the aspects of building a functional home in the game. Before we get into crafting, we will need to equip Build-Hammer to get it all done.
Craft A Build-Hammer
Now interact with the Crafting Table and craft a Build-Hammer (Stone/ Stick). Crafting the Build-Hammer will allow us to build a fully functional house in the game. The option for Building will only show up when you equip the Build-Hammer. Once you equip the Build-Hammer, hit Right Click to open up the Build option.
Craft Wood/ Glass/ Brick Houses
The build option will be separated into three different circles. But as of now, we only have access to the circle in the center, which focuses on Wood Building. The circle on the left focuses on Glass and the Circle on the right is about Brick Building. Both are locked and will become available in the Full Game Release. In the demo, you only have access to the Wood building.
Wood Building
The Wood Building option offers various buildings from doors, fences, poles, roofs, and stairs.
All the options to Build Pieces will appear in wheel style for easier access. Each Building in the wheel opens up a different variety of the same Building. For example, if you have Stairs selected, hovering your mouse over the stairs will reveal different types of stairs suited for unique designs. Here are the steps to build a functional house in the game:
- The very first thing you should do here is to build a foundation, which can be found at the lower end of the Wood Building circle.
- After you have put up the foundation, the next thing you should focus on are the Walls and Rooftops to cover the naked Foundation. But when you are installing walls around the house, make sure to leave some spaces for the Door installation.
Remove Building Pieces: If you accidentally installed walls without leaving space for a door, you can remove the wall by equipping the axe and destroying the wall piece. Just equip your axe, point at the wall you want to destroy, and then right-click to demolish the wall.
Note: When you demolish a building piece, you will only obtain half of the resources invested instead of the full amount.
- After installing the walls, add a door frame. The next thing you should focus on is the rooftops. Again if you want to make a second floor to the house, then leave a space for the stairs. If you have only one room in mind, then cover the ceiling with no space.
- Use the Stairs on the Wood Building Wheel to craft it under the doorframe or inside the house if you have a space on the ceiling. Then, you follow the steps to create a second floor of the house.
Once the wall and the roof are covered, you can install a bed inside the newly crafted room. And that’s it, now you have a good comfy room. If the house feels empty, don’t worry; unlocking Tier 2 in the Research Table will open up more Buildings to make your home aesthetically pleasing.
