The Planet Crafter is a game all about building and creating. Players craft buildings, heaters, drills, power sources, and more in their efforts to terraform a planet. However, just as important as construction is the ability to deconstruct.
Unfortunately, The Planet Crafter isn't very helpful in showing players how to deconstruct. The "First Steps" list includes the construction chip and the first few items, buildings, and machines players need to get started, but it skips over the deconstruction chip and how to use it. That's why this guide will explain everything about the process.
Deconstruction Basics
The first thing players need is the deconstruction chip. Players can make this at the craft station in the landing pod, and it's also available in the Craft Station T2. The materials needed are one silicon and one magnesium, and once it's ready players can equip it just like the construction chip. If every equipment slot is full, players can get more by building the Craft Station T2 and then crafting and equipping the exoskeleton.
Next, players must switch to the deconstruct tool. By default, switching tools uses the scroll wheel and the R button. When deconstruction is active, the player's tool will display a hammer at an angle with an X underneath. Selecting the crafting menu will switch the active tool to construction (the upright hammer), so players will need to switch back if they want to continue deconstructing.
When players deconstruct objects, they get back all the materials used to create it. For instance, deconstructing a Heater T1 will give back an iridium, an iron, and a silicon, while deconstructing a chest will give the player an iron. All these materials will go into the player's inventory automatically, but if the inventory has no room then the materials will drop to the ground.
There are some limits to how deconstruction works. Machines and buildings must be completely empty before deconstruction will work on them, and this includes the player. The tool doesn't work on materials or equipable items, but players will eventually get a Recycling Machine that can disassemble these objects.
Useful Deconstruction Tips
- The blue chests players can find can all be deconstructed to get one extra iron, and gold chests turn into one aluminum and one super alloy.
- Dotting the map is a variety of wrecked ships, satellites, and space stations. Sometimes the way in is blocked by girders, but players can deconstruct these girders to continue exploring.
- Some wrecks contain perfectly usable equipment like heaters and solar panels. These machines aren't active, but players can deconstruct them and then use the materials to make their own machines.
- Players can't deconstruct doors or windows off of living compartments, but if they deconstruct the compartment they'll get all the window and door materials back at the same time.
- Every tier of terraforming equipment is several times more powerful than the last tier, and many of them use similar materials. This means the most efficient thing to do is deconstruct old drills and heaters and reuse their materials.
The Planet Crafter is available now in early access on PC.