Light the grid
Drag a Solar Relay onto revealed ground. It produces power and creates the first small yellow power zone.
OPERATOR GUIDE · FACTORY UNIT 7
FIELD MANUAL
Keep the factory powered, feed production chains, push visibility into the fog, and prepare the perimeter before AUTON waves find the signal.
BOOT ROUTE // FIRST PRODUCTION LINE
VALID
POWER
MINE
MOVE
SMELT
STORE
> place Solar Relay inside revealed ground
> drag Extractor onto iron node
> route ore through Conveyor into Smelter
> send ingots into Storage Bin for build stock
QUICK START
The opening goal is simple: turn raw ore into stored ingots before power, decay, or enemy pressure can interrupt the line.
Strike iron
Place an Extractor on an Iron Ore node. Direction matters; its output arrow should face your belt route.
Move material
Chain Conveyors from the Extractor. Belts carry solid items, but they refuse Cryo-Coolant later.
Refine ore
Feed Iron Ore into a Basic Smelter inside a power zone. It outputs Iron Ingots every cycle.
Stock the vault
Send finished parts into Storage Bins. Stored items enter your global inventory for new builds and repairs.
Open the fog
Build Signal Towers to reveal new ground and generate Research Points for the Blueprint Tree.
CONTROLS
Touch is the primary control scheme. Desktop controls mirror the same actions for web and Steam builds.
Drag from tray
Tap or drag a module card from the bottom tray, move it onto a revealed grid tile, and release.
Point the output
Directional modules ask for a final tap-and-drag to choose north, east, south, or west before spending cost.
Pre-rotate
Tap with a second finger while placing, or press R on keyboard. Use Esc to cancel placement.
Pan and zoom
Drag empty ground to pan. Pinch, scroll, or use + / - to zoom; press 0 to reset zoom.
Tap for actions
Tap a placed module for Rotate, Move, Info, Configure, Repair, or Destroy actions when available.
Jump the camera
Tap the bottom-right minimap to pan. Red dots mark hostiles; the yellow rectangle marks your viewport.
MODULE ALIGNMENT
Most stalls come from one bad facing direction. Build chains left to right at first, then rotate modules deliberately once you understand where every output goes.
FLOW EXAMPLE // VALID IRON LINE
ORE → INGOT → INVENTORY
Extractor
output arrow
Conveyor
solid items
Smelter
input + front output
Storage
accepts any side
Arrows push forward
Extractors, belts, splitters, pipes, and processors are directional. Their front arrow is the side that tries to send items onward.
Receivers pull by type
Processors accept valid recipe inputs from adjacent logistics. A wrong item or a full output buffer will stop the upstream belt.
Bins end the line
Storage Bins accept from any side and move contents into global inventory. Use them as buffers before expensive build phases.
One in, two out
Splitters accept items from any side, then alternate between the forward side and the clockwise side when both can receive.
Pipes only
Cryo-Coolant refuses belts. Use Pipes for coolant; they deliver in their arrow direction to the nearest valid receiver in range.
Zones ignore facing
Solar Relays and Power Conduits do not need a production arrow. Place conduits inside an existing yellow zone to extend the grid.
Feed turret ammo
Turrets track enemies by range, but still need Ammo delivered. Route Ammo into the turret before AUTON contact.
Wrong way signs
If nothing moves, check power, HP, the output arrow, the next receiver, and whether the item belongs on a belt or pipe.
SURVIVAL SYSTEMS
Production is only half the job. A working factory attracts trouble and slowly wears itself down.
Keep machines in the yellow
Solar Relays project a small power zone. Power Conduits extend it by 6 tiles when placed inside an existing zone. Dust storms cut solar output, so Reactor Cores become your storm-proof backbone later.
Reveal, then unlock
Only revealed tiles are buildable. Signal Towers expand visibility and generate RP. Spend RP in the Blueprint Tree; tapping locked tray cards takes you there.
Decay never sleeps
Modules lose HP over time and can go offline. Feed Iron Ingots into a Workbench to make Repair Kits, then place Maintenance Bots near fragile production lines.
Output makes noise
AUTON raids are announced before contact. Power Turrets, feed them Ammo, and add EMP Emitters near likely paths so waves slow down before they reach core production.
PRODUCTION CHAINS
Every advanced part traces back to ore. Read the ladder top to bottom: each rung shows the inputs, the machine that converts them, the cycle time, and the output. Tap a machine name to open its full record below.
REFINEMENT LADDER // ORE → NEURAL CORE
AUTO-DERIVED FROM FACTORY FIRMWARE
◆ Raw inputs — Iron Ore, Silica Dust, and Cryo-Coolant come from map nodes via Extractors. Coolant vents sit on the night side and refuse belts: route them with Pipes.
◆ Salvage drops from destroyed AUTON units — the Recycler turns wreckage back into Iron Ingots.
◆ Research loop — Sample Lab distills items into samples → Data Centre fuses samples + coolant into Research Results → R&D Department publishes module variants.
RESOURCE INDEX
MODULE RECORDS
The complete module database, mirrored from factory firmware. Each record shows what it costs to build, which blueprint unlocks it, and exactly what goes in and comes out per cycle. Search by name, resource, or role.
> NO RECORDS MATCH QUERY — clear the search or switch tier filter.
COMMON STALLS
If the factory stops, inspect the chain from power outward. Most failures are one missing input, one dead module, or one wrong direction.
Check power and facing
Confirm the module sits in a power zone, has HP, and its arrow faces the next receiver.
Check receivers
Storage accepts from any side. Processors need the right input item and enough output space to finish a cycle.
Use pipes
Cryo-Coolant will not ride belts. Extract it from night-side vents and route it through Pipes or manifolds.
Repair the backbone
Restore power and logistics first, then replace lost production. Maintenance Bots need Repair Kits nearby in inventory.