I am not associated with the Plethora Project or Jose Sanchez. I just wanted to organize my thoughts on this game.

I'm assuming you have already bought the game (or downloaded the demo), launched it, and know the premise (Nikki lost her home, so now she's living in a dilapidated factory, trying to find out about her parents who worked there fifteen years ago). I'll try to keep pertinent stuff covered with spoiler tags, but if you want to discover the story and characters on your own, this probably isn't a good guide for you.

Additionally, I put spoiler tags around exploits that I've found; I think players should be able to choose not to have such knowledge, since using exploits counts as cheating.

While it's claimed to be complete, I've never seen a supposedly-finished game that has this many bugs and design oversights. I'll try to mention some workarounds for the main Quality of Life issues, but many errors (such as the copious animation bugs) will just have to be tolerated.

Sorry, I am not be able to finish all the NPC quests (I got an achievement saying I did, but it lied). I can't seem to trigger the last quest for Tako, nor several for Ono. Feel free to contribute that information, if you have it.

Common'Hood has absolutely NO negative consequences (beyond debuffs). Nobody can die, food is optional, movement is only hindered by collision boxes. Technically, Nikki has a limited number of inventory slots, but she can literally carry thousands of steel girders and raw lumber without any consideration for weight.

With that in mind, always run (hold LShift; otherwise, you can enable "Toggle Sprint" in the options, but there are a lot of Shift+Key commands, all of which toggle sprint). There are no drawbacks, and Nikki's walk speed is almost as slow as mine.

Blueprints are special items that take up inventory slots, but can be deleted any time (RMB), and you have infinite copies available under the Blueprint tab (represented by an infinity symbol). Right-click all the blueprints that you aren't using at the moment, then recover the blueprint you need from the Blueprints tab by double-clicking it or dragging it to an empty hotbar slot.

For each scrap metal spent, you get 4x screws from the Generic Workbench, but only 1x Screw from the Bench Grinder, so use the Generic Workbench to make screws. Besides, you need the Bench Grinder to make Metal Rods and Metal Wheels. I suspect there are other situations like this, but I haven't found them.

Generator fuel usage just keeps going, regardless of actual power usage. You can conserve time (and therefor gas) by:

• running everywhere (LShift),
  
• rapidly clicking through NPC dialogs,
  
• going to bed promptly at 9:00 PM
  
• minimizing your number of generators (you will have to keep extra workbenches in storage until needed).

I find that gasoline is cheap enough to buy (and I want a more relaxed experience), so I just deploy every crafting station I have, adding a generator as needed and keeping them full-ish. If you're willing to shut down everything at 6:00 PM (18:00), you can go entirely solar and ignore the gasoline costs (see Dale's quest). If you go this route, you may want to go to sleep early at 8:00 PM.

Exploit: If you have a crafting station's window open when the power cuts out, you can keep crafting at that station until 9:00 PM.

At 9:00 PM (21:00), Nikki gets tired and won't do most things, like pick up items, talk to NPCs or access crafting stations. At 11:00 PM (23:00), Nikki falls asleep wherever she's standing. During those 120 seconds, you can still do stuff like:

• place blueprints (press V to turn them into build orders)
  
• build constructions & construct buildings
  
• pick up stations (new feature as of 10/2023)
  
• place stations (although you can't access their inventories)
  
• assign Commoners to a bed or tent
  
• organize Nikki's inventory & hotbar
  
• manage your community (useful to assign jobs for the morning)
  
• change research (click on a higher-tier skill to research every requisite skill)
  
• contribute towards community contracts (on the Contracts screen, not via Alcott dialog)
  
• pause and "Return to Home" (currently returns you to a point in the current level, not your camp)
  
• make those irritating, flashing tutorials go away (press H)

If you only have the demo, the game gets even buggier, since the Pumping Grounds is blocked off, merchant contracts do nothing, and I doubt the Plethora Project keeps the demo updated. To save frustration, don't give Alcott any money for contracts.

While you aren't supposed to get to the Pumping Grounds, you can build a staircase over the brick wall separating the West Wing from the Pumping Grounds. Once there, you can collect items that are supposed to be off-limits to demo players, but Mark isn't there in the demo. Be careful not to go into the "background" part of the scene (with the large fluid tanks); if you do this, you won't be able to get back, and you must reload or start over.

• You can hold the space bar (instead of the "Hold to Craft" button) to craft items at stations repeatedly. Be aware that if the station needs repairs, space bar also automatically repairs the station, which may be what you want to keep stations in tip-top shape. If, however, you want to repair at exactly 75% to reduce maintenance costs, keep the repairs sub-menu closed by clicking the little wrench icon (but keep an eye on the station's repair level).
  
• Be careful with stations that have Start/Stop buttons. Stopping also responds to the Space bar, but you lose the materials invested (sometimes -- when?). This is notably frustrating with the 3D printer, which consumes precious Raw Plastic in large quantities, and also needs repairs frequently.
  
• Holding down the space bar for extended periods of time is tedious, so I've found that if I hold it for a second, then Alt+Tab to another application (like Steam), the game continues to craft without me having to hold space; plus, I can simultaneously work on other projects (like this guide)

• You can use the W,A,S,D keys to navigate around the inventory, if you prefer that to scrolling.
  
• Don't assume a certain recipe is selected; always click on the recipe you want before crafting or you may wind up with an unexpected product.
  
• The X in the upper-right corner of certain windows (the ones on the left?) do not successfully close the window.
  
• When you open your inventory and then navigate to another tab, you can't go back to your inventory; you must close the window and re-open it.
  
• Alcott sometimes causes a GUI glitch that prevents further interactions. Press Esc after talking to Alcott to be able to interact with anything again. This also happens with Cedric, and the Tech tree.
  
• When you get to the NPC Contracts (not quests) that need you to contribute stations from your inventory, they can't be in your hotbar. Move all items that you wish to spend on contracts to the inventory proper.
  
• If you're looking at a character's shelter status from the Community menu, it may not properly reflect all the decorations you've provided. If this happens, click on the bed to "refresh" the shelter status.
  
• I haven't been able to reproduce it, but I have lost vast quantities of Raw Plastic while dragging with the RMB, holding shift.

On the Community tab of the inventory screen the "Collect" and "Sort" buttons persist. If you hit "Collect", it doesn't collect all your Commoners -- it collects your inventory, doubling everything you are carrying! This also works on the Missions and Community Contracts Screens, but not on the Blueprints screen.

• When placing stations, there are arrows that appear to indicate where the Commoners will stand when using the station. They are not accurate.
  
• When you "place" a blueprint, two unexpected things happen: 1) the "ghost" of the structure has collision (allowing you to access places without actually building anything); and 2) some materials that you didn't have in your hotbar get automatically put there (which is convenient if you intend to build the object yourself; it's irritating when you're placing build orders, because you have to put the items back into the Common inventory).
  
• When you leave an area, it unloads. This halts production, so stations that have "Start/Stop" buttons (instead of "Hold to Craft") will need to be restarted. Your Commoners will also be stunned into inactivity; talk to them to wake them up.
  
• If the timer is ticking towards 11:00 PM (lights out), don't try to pick up any stations or constructed blueprints by holding the RMB; the game may crash (hard lock) at the end-of-day cutscene around the barrel fire.

After you get each character, be sure to assign them tasks. Open your inventory, go to the Community tab, select the new character's "Jobs" button and hit "New Task". Note that you can adjust the time frame by dragging the top and bottom of the task up or down.

Even though the later hours of the day are supposed to be locked until you have gained enough trust with the character, those locks don't actually work. If you feel like taking advantage of this bug, you can drag the bottom of the current task all the way down, to keep your minions toiling away into the night.

It automatically defaults to "Building" (the same function as a blue robot). Unlike the blue robots, however, Commoners can build even when the power's out (and I think they do it a lot faster -- speed up robots by unlocking and researching the robot efficiency skill via H3X).

Neither NPCs nor robots will build the sub-assemblies for blueprints that reference other blueprints; they construct directly from the columns and panels. For example, if I tell Rhett to build the Bridge Section w Railing, he doesn't require Railings or Bridge sections to be made; he just builds it straight from the 4x4 & 4x8 columns and the 1" panels. However, you can't place build orders without first having sufficient components to build it yourself, including the sub-assemblies.

"Clearing" is useful until all of the debris in an area is cleared, but they will not be able to clear some large rubble until Nikki has obtained certain "keys". I don't use this task until I have unlocked a new area, then I set everyone to clear.

I don't think that "Eagle Eye" skill does anything (at least, I haven't noticed a difference with or without it). Each level takes a long time to research, so maybe just skip that skill.

NPC farming is very buggy. They leave ghost crops, forget to water crops, put the harvest crops in the food bin (instead of the general stockpile, where they can be turned into cooked food), and select whatever seeds they feel like. I think they can even plant without any seeds.

When you have NPCs farm, they may leave "ghost" crops and plant over them. These ghost crops can produce odd behaviors, like the soil sometimes saying it can be collected when it can't. If you try to collect soil that has some ghost crops and some real crops, the game will crash.
Also, be aware that saving and quitting may destroy all your crops, so harvest whatever you can before exiting the game.

If you do a lot of farming in soil (not using the stations), you will get repeated messages that "A plant is ready for harvest." Each one of these (along with Commoners status messages) produces a sound effect and takes up screen space, which can be irritating. To mitigate this, pause the game as soon as morning comes, then take a short break (with the sound muted or turned down). The messages continue to come while the game is paused, and should have worn themselves out by the time you come back.

You likely want to pick "Production" to get more crafting ingredients. Be sure to keep enough raw materials in the Common's inventory box (called "Stockpile" like most storage).

While I have build orders out (to construct shelters, usually), I produce 4x4 columns and 1" panels, but after a while I just have enough. I recommend producing all of these in bulk:

• Electric Wires
  
• Gears, and when you get the Heavy Machinery station, Reinforced Gears
  
• Metal Plates and especially Reinforced Plates (when you have a Drill Press)
  
• Resistors, Capacitors, Fuses, Micro-controllers, and CPU boards (especially for the end-game contracts for Dale and Dafoe)
  
• Maybe Pistons (they take a long time by hand)

Strangely, it appears that Commoners can still use crafting stations after the power goes out (solar only?). I also think they can use a crafting station while Nikki is already using it (hard to confirm). Usually, they fail to produce anything at a crafting station that requires waiting (Start/Stop buttons instead of hold-to-craft). The exception I've found is the BBQ station; for whatever reason, Mike has no problem making a lot of Brisket for the Common. I've even had Commoners (or someone else?) make items I did not ask for (Steel Pipes at the Recycler, and Water Bottles at the Injection Moulding). Weird...

The best task, in my opinion, is Research. The more research stations you have placed, the more Commoners can research simultaneously (including Nikki).

If you want to "kick-start" your game, you can research a bunch of skills before you even get any Commoners: just introduce yourself to the first four characters, then plop down your books and start researching. This saves you a bit of food, since Nikki doesn't eat (what's the source of her strength?!).

Some weirdness about the tech tree:

• After loading a save, you must sit at a tier 2 or tier 3 research station to "re-unlock" the advanced research skills to access them from the tech tree.
  
• Circuit Making doesn't let you produce CPU circuits; Microelectronics does that.
  
• Distilling, Fermentation, and Brewing look like they all have to do with beer, but only Brewing does anything (Fermentation is a prerequisite, but Distilling is useless, even though it has a book)
  
• Many research topics do nothing but unlock more research or satisfy quests (... list ...)

I have been able to research locked, lower-tier skills by selecting a skill that requires it as a prerequisite. So, for instance, I have Materials: Concrete unlocked, but not the skill that comes before it. I can click on Concrete, and my Commoners start researching the (supposedly locked) requisite skill (Materials: Steel).

Only Nikki is able to:

• Repair workbench stations (although the NPCs will degrade the Repair level of the station when they Produce materials, so check on them periodically and carry both Saw Blades and Scrap Metal). This includes refueling the generators with gasoline, so you can't just go AFK for hours, expecting them to do everything for you; eventually, the power runs out.
  
• Gather items from the ground (or elsewhere)
  
• Use any station that requires waiting for the products (such as Compost bin, Ceramic Oven or Clay Oven); that's why jobs such as "Produce Bread" don't work.
  
• Pick up / place stations, constructions, buildings, decorations, beds
  
• Move food/seeds between the General Stockpile and the food pantry
  
• Select new research (after research completes, they may look like they're reading, but it's all a ruse)
  
• Manage sleeping arrangements (if you don't micromanage, they'll sleep on the floor and get cold)

Personally, I would like to see the first three (repairs, gathering, and using "timed" stations) added to the task list (but given how infrequently this game gets developer attention, I doubt that will ever happen).

The one actual limitation in the game is that you are provided with finite resources (although you are given large quantities to work with). The resources that I find myself managing are:

• Scrap Metal to make Gears, Screws, Reinforced Plates, Capacitors, Resistors, and Fuses, as well as frequent repairs
  
• Raw Plastic for Plastic Parts, Plastic Tarps, and Resistors -- note that you can't buy Raw Plastic, only make it from e-waste at the Recycling station
  
• Copper Wire to make Electrical Wires, Capacitors, Resistors, and Fuses (only when Dale's contract is obtained)
  
• Soldering Tools need to be bought in bulk to keep up with CPU demands.

If you need to, you can buy some resources (such as Scrap Metal or Copper Wire); complete the merchant contracts to get more items for sale, research the (Haggling?) skill to reduce prices, and sell excess food for preposterous profits. Towards the end-game, you can make a monstrous Recycling Station (or two??? See Mark's quest) to turn Inorganic Waste and E-Waste into useful parts.

Stash "key" items in chests to get them out of the way. These items do nothing but unlock progress, and don't have any use after you initially acquire them:

• all books, which unlock new research in the tech tree
  
• the "rewards" from merchant contracts, car keys & farmer's market tents
  
• keys to clear rubble: shovel (which you start with), pickaxe, chainsaw, jackhammer, bolt cutter

Note that if you stash certain keys (jackhammer and bolt cutter) they will reappear at their initial spawn locations.

Store raw ingredients and intermediates in the Stockpile (so Commoners can use them), but keep certain "Tool" items in your inventory (they can be found or bought but not crafted; they are generally used to craft workbenches).
All (red) Stockpiles and Food Cellars share the same inventory, so space may get limited if you store everything in the Stockpile. Move any item that is not consumed as an ingredient by someone's assigned Production job into your inventory (or a spare chest).

Commoners won't take from the food stockpile to make new foods (including seeds), but won't put crops in the item stockpile for cooking (nor cooking products into food storage), so you must manually transfer between the two storage containers. For this reason, you probably don't want to keep cooking every day (it gets tedious to keep moving potatoes to the stockpile and grilled vegetables to the pantry). Besides, food usage is unrealistically minimal while food production is unrealistically maximal, so nobody should be getting the "Hungry" debuff unless you go AFK for long periods of time without pausing.

• Since "food is food" you could just grow Potatoes; it's the only crop that doesn't require you to buy the seeds, and selling the excess is extremely profitable (for whatever reason).
  
• You can't produce Meat, Spices, Wheat, Flour, Salt, Eggs, Wine, Malt, or Glass Bottles; you must buy them from Alcott. You can produce Fish, but only by buying Corn Seeds.
  
• Only Potatoes, Carrots, Onions, and Garlic are used in most recipes; Tomatoes are used to make Steak Pot. The other crops are only good to sell or eat directly (well, you need 100 Corn to complete Sheira's final contract).
  
• Regular farming (with Soil) produces 3-10 crops per seed (not sure why the variance -- is it random?).
  
• Aquaponics yields 8 Cabbage per seed + compost (but only Cabbage)
  
• Farmbot yields 5 crops per seed.
  
• Small Vertical Farm yields 4 crops per seed.
  
• Farming Rack yields 1 crop per seed.

• Nails appear to be useless; do not craft.
  
• I have also found no use for Infrared Sensor.
  
• You can make Honey, but it's not used in any recipes.
  
• You can't make Fertilizer (but you can find it in Sandbox mode)
  
• Sandbox mode Warehouse level is missing many items, like Books, Metal Tools or Woodchipper.

You have two ways to access the Contracts screen: 1) talk to Alcott, and 2) open your Inventory, then select the Contracts tab.

When submitting work stations to a contract, the stations must be at 100% repair; if you used them, fix them up before submitting them to the Contract. Also, they can't be in your hotbar (core inventory only).

On my most recent saves, completing the first contract for either Alcott or Cedric appears to have unlocked everything for both merchants (well, Alcott's unlocked Cedric's wares; Cedric's did not unlock Alcott's). This also messes up the following lists:

Alcott always sells:

• $4 Scrap Metal
  
• $3 Copper Wire
  
• $100 Bed (necessary; buy one for each Commoner)
  
• $150 Electronic Tools
  
• $100 Soldering Tools
  
• $30 Gasoline (necessary to power your crafting stations)
  
• $300 Welding Tools
  
• $300 Vise
  
• $300 Metal Tools
  
• $200 Wood Tools
  
• $10 Wood Glue
  
• $10 Sandpaper (necessary to make Metal Discs to make Saw Blades to repair cutting stations)
  
• $100 Paint bucket
  
• $2 Screw -- it's cheaper to buy Scrap Metal and produce 4x Screws at the Gen. Workbench
  
• $200 Wooden Crate -- pointless, since plentiful storage is available everywhere

Cedric always sells:

• $30 Canned Food (the most expensive canned food on the planet?)
  
• $5 Potato Seeds -- better to make them at the Potting station
  
• $5 Carrot Seeds
  
• $5 Garlic Seeds
  
• $400 Generator
  
• $15 Meat
  
• $30 Wine
  
• $300 Cooking Tools
  
• $5 Corn Seeds
  
• $5 Onion Seeds
  
• $5 Spices

1st Contract Cost: $3,500 for a van
Unlocks:

• $9 Gravel
  
• $12 Cement
  
• $2 Raw Clay
  
• $20 Fabric (accessible before The Factory Entrance)
  
• $5 Bricks
  
• $2,000 Old Computer

2nd Contract Cost: $20,000 for a truck
Unlocks:

• Raw Aluminum (accessible before the Barren Lands)
  
• Raw Aluminum Beams (accessible before the Shipyard)
  
• Raw Aluminum Pipes (accessible before the Barren Lands)
  
• Raw Copper Beams (accessible before The Factory Entrance)
  
• Raw PVC Pipes (accessible before the Glasshouse)
  
• Raw Steel Pipes (accessible before completing the bridge)
  
• Raw Steel (accessible before The Machine Room)
  
• Raw Hard(wood) Panels (accessible before The Glasshouse)
  
• Raw Hard Wood (accessible before The Machine Room)
  
• Raw Soft (wood) Panels (accessible before The Shipyard)
  
• Raw Soft Wood (accessible before The Shipyard)
  
• Robotic Tools
  
• Inorganic Waste
  
• New Computer
  
• Spinning Mechanism (accessible before Sahar gives you one)
  
• Machine Tools
  
• Antenna (? will this work for Dale's quest to make one ? probably not...)

1st Contract Cost: $3,000 for a tent
2nd Contract Cost: $10,000 for a bigger tent

Unlocks:

• $30 Fish -- can also be produced from Corn Seeds at Aquaponics station
  
• $5 Flour (can not be milled from Wheat)
  
• $10 Eggs
  
• $15 Hops (for beer & Mike's contract)
  
• $30 Malt (for beer)
  
• $50 Military Rations -- in case you're tired of canned food?
  
• $5 Salt
  
• $6 Tomatoes Seeds (sic)
  
• $6 Cabbage Seeds
  
• $20 Wheat (only used for beer)

Most of Cedric's wares can only be obtained by purchase through Cedric. Potato seeds can be produced from Potatoes at the Potting station.

Cost: 10 each of Metal Tools, Vise, Machine Tools, Soldering Tools
Reward: a bike

Cost: 1 Recycling Station and 4 Compost stations (note that you must craft these again for Mark's next quest)
Reward: 5,000 inorganic waste

Cost: 400 Hops & 200 Glass bottles
Reward: 50 Pilsner

Cost: 10 Houses (printed with Contour Crafting -- the orange robot)
Reward: 3 Lily A

Cost: 20 Batteries & 20 Solar Panels
Reward: Stereo

Cost: 5 New Computers, 30 GPUs, 10 Servers
Reward: Internet Station

• Ctrl+R loads a crafting station with ingredients (full stacks)
  
• Ctrl+T collects all items from a chest or crafting station

These are all the stations, with critical benches in bold, or bold & underlined (if REALLY important).

*Asterisk denotes stations that require you to hit start and then come back later, as opposed to holding down Space bar or the Craft button at the station.

• Dad's Books -- starting gear
  
• Research Site Lvl 2 -- craft at Carpentry Workbench; requires Milled Wood
  
• Research Station Lvl 3 -- craft at Electronics Workbench; requires CPU

• Bandsaw (no unique products), to make 2x4s, 4x4s, Beer Maturing Station
  
• Chopsaw (indirectly for Mike), to make 2x4 / 4x4 wood columns, 2x4 / 4x4 / 4x8 black metal or aluminum beams,
  
• Bench Grinder, to make Gears, Metal Discs (turn into Saw Blades), Metal Rods, Metal Wheels, Nails (unused), Screws (use Gen. Workbench)
  
• Carpentry Workbench (for Rhett), to make Mechanics Station, Kitchen Station, Ceramics Station, Research Site Lvl 2, Tinker Station, Compost Station, Potting Station, Beehive, 4" CLT Panel, Chipboard Panel, Generic Workbench
  
• Concrete Mixer (indirectly for Al), to make Clay Oven, 12" Concrete Panel
  
• Crypto Farm (for Dafoe), to make Money
  
• Delta Printer (for Monty) -- small -- to make Plastic Parts
  
• Drill Press, to make Metal Plates, Reinforced Plates
  
• Electronics Workbench, to make CPU board, Robotics Workbench, Delta Printer, Lamp, Fuse, Capacitor, Resistor, Infrared Sensor, Research Station Lvl 3, Networking Station, Battery (unused)
  
• Generic Workbench, to make Electric Motors, Micro Controllers, Electric Wires, Metal Workbench, Gears, Metal Plates, Carpentry Workbench, (Saw) Blades, Screws
  
• Heavy Machines Workbench (for Dale) -- Large -- to make Recycling Station, Injection Moulding, Reinforced Gears, Piston, Wood Chipper, Gourmet Kitchen Station, Solar Panel, Dumbbells (station), Fireplace
  
• Injection Moulding -- Large -- to make Empty Water Jug, Plastic Tank, Plastic Chairs, Suitcase, Plastic Parts, Plastic Tarp, Beer Cans
  
• Lathe (for Al), to make Go Game Set, Milled Wood
  
• Machine Workbench (for Ash), to make Generators, CNC Machine, Bandsaw, Table Saw, Heavy Machines Workbench, Textile Workbench, Drill Press, Bench Grinder
  
• Mechanics Station, to make Aquaponics, Ceramics Oven, BBQ Station, Beer Maturing Station, Valve, Small Vertical Farm, Beer Fermenter, Farming Rack
  
• Metal Workbench, to make Milling Bits, Metal Discs, Chop Saw, Lathe, Concrete Mixer, Machine Workbench, Planer, Pipe Bender, Generic Workbench, Corrugated Metal
  
• Networking Station, to make GPU, Crypto Farm, Server, Antennae (in Sandbox mode, this gets mixed up with the Internet station)
  
• Pipe Bender (for Ruby), to make Shaped Copper/Aluminum/PVC/Steel Pipes, Cart, Music Stand, Bike
  
• Planer (for Ash), to make 1" Wood Panels, 1" Drywall
  
• Recycling Station (for Mark) -- ENORMOUS -- to make Raw Steel Pipes, Raw Lumber, Raw Plastic, Raw Steel, Raw Aluminum, Plastic Parts, Raw Copper Pipes, Raw PVC Pipes
  
• Robotic Arm (for Ash) -- Huge -- to build blueprints from wood columns and panels
  
• Robotics Workbench (for H3X), to make Robotic Arms, Robotic Contour Crafting, Robotic Farming, Farmbot
  
• Table Saw (starting gear), to make 2x4 / 4x4 / 4x8 wood columns, Hot Tub, Beer Maturation Station, Wooden Crate
  
• Tinker Station (for Rhett), to make Servo Motors, Electronics Workbench, Stereo, Speaker, Guitar, Piano, Bongos, Record Player,
  
• Wood Chipper, to make Wood Chips (with a duplicate recipe)
  
• Antenna (for Dale), which doesn't make anything (but somehow counts as a station in Sandbox mode -- in story mode it's just a component and can't be placed)

• Ceramics Oven & Ceramics Station (for Sahar), to make Bricks, Ceramic Vases 1, 2, 3 from Shaped Clay
  
• CNC Machine (for Rhett) -- Large -- to make CNC panels, CNC furniture
  
• Fabrics Station & Textile Workbench (for Ono), to make Couches, Clothing Rack, Yoga Pillow, Armchair, Hammock, Gaming Chair, Barber Chair, Rugs, Modular Sofas, Seating Cushions, Fabrics Station, Blanket
  
• Robotic Contour Crafting (for Sahar) -- Huge -- to make 3D printed Vases, Walls, House

• Aquaponics (for Monty), to make Fish, Cabbage
  
• BBQ Station (for Mo & Mike), to make Brisket, Ribs, Grilled Vegetables
  
• Beehive (for Travis), to make Honey
  
• Beer Fermenter & Beer Maturing Station (for Mike), to make Pilsner, Porter, Lager, IPA
  
• Clay Oven (for Al), to make White/Wheat/Rye/Sourdough Bread, Empenadas
  
• Compost Station (for Mark), to make Mulch, Compost, Fertile Soil
  
• Farmbot (for H3X), Small Vertical Farm (for Sheira), Farming Rack, to make Potatoes, Carrots, Onions, Garlic, Cabbage (Farmbot only)
  
• Gourmet Kitchen Station -- Large -- to make Steak Pot, Flat Iron Steak, Grilled Sea Bass
  
• Greenhouse Cactus/Flowers/Tropical (for Travis & Sheira) -- Huge -- to make various Flowers, Cacti, and Plants
  
• Kitchen Station (for Ruby), to make Dried Meat, Fried Egg, Preserved Food, Sausages, Hot Soup
  
• Potting Station (for Mo), to make Aglaonema A/B, Greenhouse Tropical/Cacti/Flowers, Potato Seeds
  
• Robotic Farming (for ...), to make Cabbage, Tomatoes

These are the components I find myself making frequently. I advise you to have Commoners set to "Produce" these in bulk.

I'm not mentioning the blueprints, most raw materials, gas nor paint.

• 2 Saw Blades, 1 Wood Glue, more (chest to the right of starting point, outside)
  
• 1 Electronic Tools, more (down walkway that just ends)
  
• 1 Welding Tools, Robot Part C, 1 Vise (upstairs)

After the bridge:

• 2 Cooking Tools
  
• Corn, Garlic, Onion and Carrot seeds
  
• 1 Old computer
  
• 1 Soldering Tools
  
• 1 Old Computer
  
• 2 Welding Tools
  
• 1 Electronic Tools

Little courtyard - must clear rubble after getting pickaxe from Mark

• 1 Old Computer (by the dumpster)
  
• 1 Robotic Tools
  
• 1 Welding Tools
  
• Manual: Plaster
  
• 1 Vise & 6 Wood Glue (in the chest)
  
• Robot Part B (to the right, in the grass)
  
• 2 Exotic Seeds

• 1 Welding Tools, 2 Vises, more (chest next to the brick wall separating West Wing from Pumping Grounds)
  
• Robot Part B (in the grass by the tree, behind three oil barrels)
  
• 3 Gardening Tools (Behind the oil pump next to Mark)
  
• 2 Woodworking Tools (Behind the row of blue fuel tanks)
  
• Manual: Concrete (Next to the campfire, in a pile of unusable books)
  
• 2 Metal working tools & 3 Soldering tools (All the way at the back wall, past the elevator)
  
• 2 Electronic Tools (Behind the freight boxes in the back, opposite the elevator)
  
• Robot part A (Underneath the large rubble by the freight boxes)

• Raw Steel, Hardwood
  
• 20 Sandpaper, 4 Farming Tools, 4 Wood Tools, more (chests; go down the stairs to the main level)
  
• Exotic seed (At the base of tree by the entry stairs)
  
• Robotic Part C (around the corner from entry stairs)
  
• Exotic seed (next to the stairs going down to the sewers, by the wall, not far from the tree)
  
• 2 Old computers, 5 Electronic Tools, 5 (Saw) Blades, more (chest, way up the stairs, where the fixable controls are)
  
• Robotic Part D (next to that chest)
  
• 3 Soldering Tools, 4 Metal Tools (in a chest by the initial encampment of Mike & Sahar)
  
• 2 Machine tools (1 behind a wooden spindle & some pallets (downstairs) and another by Sahar & some oil barrels (upstairs))
  
• Manual: Material Science (in a pile of trashed books)
  
• Robotic Part E (hidden behind a large cinder block, near Mike)
  
• Exotic seed (base of tree, next to a chest)
  
• 1 Machine Tools (by the lumber pile, behind a cinder block)
  
• 2 Robotic tools, 40 Plastic Tarp (in chest, down the way from Mike & Sahar, up stairs)

Down in the water, where the sewer entrance is:

• Exotic seeds (by the wall, near the base of the stairs)
  
• 3 Vise, 3 Soldering Tools (in a chest by the stairs)
  
• Robotic Part B (behind the metal pipes sticking out of the water)
  
• 3 Vise and more (in a chest past the sewer entrance)
  
• Machine Tools (next to the chest)

• Manual: Distilling (in a pile of trashed books behind Al) -- useless!
  
• Robotic Part F (behind those books)
  
• Exotic Seed (base of the metal column by the wall, behind Reno)

• 1 each of Robotic Part A, B, & C (By the shipping containers by Monty)
  
• 1 Old Computer (in trash heap)
  
• 2 Old Computer (in trash heaps near Monty, by the medium fuel storage tanks)
  
• 3 Exotic Seeds (at the bases of the trees, one oak and two birch)

In the first room of the entrance (and section in-between):

• 30 Copper Pipes, 220 Raw Plastic (in chest on the left side, under scaffolding)
  
• 1 Machine Tools (behind a cement column on the right)
  
• 2 Vise, 60 Sandpaper, 2 Metal Tools, 50 Plastic Wrap, more (in chest on the right side, next to the giant blue water container)
  
• 30 Raw Plastic, 80 Plastic Tarp, more (Between the rooms, in a chest to the left by Ono)
  
• Robot Part K (under the rubble, to the right between the "rooms")
  
• 1 Machine Tools (access after clearing the rubble)
  
• 300 Raw Plastic, 5 Soldering tools, 2 Robotic tools, 2 Old Computers, 120 Raw Hard Wood (in a chest)
  
• 1 Exotic Seed (behind the chest)

In the second room:

• more Copper Pipes & plastic wrap
  
• 1 Machine Tools (next to the chest at the back wall)
  
• Robot Part A (clear rubble to the left, behind H3X)
  
• Exotic seed (at the base of the large tree, to the right)
  
• Jackhammer (under rubble at the back wall)
  
• Robot Part C (must clear rubble, next to the underground passage)

• raw resources, like Raw Plastic, Hardwood, Copper Pipes, PVC pipes
  
• 2 Plastic Tanks (Right after you exit the underground passage, in a chest to the left)
  
• 2 Old Computers, 4 Gardening Tools (in chest to the right, past the last rock)
  
• 1 Old Computer (in the corner)
  
• 220 Raw Plastic, 45 Fabric, 200 PVC pipes, 320 Copper pipes, 12 Wood Glue, 1 Plastic Tank (in chest by Sheira's camp, along the left wall)
  
• Manual: Micro Brewing (in a pile of trashed books upstairs, above the front & middle of the room)
  
• 80 Fabric (in the middle chest upstairs)
  
• raw resources, as well as 4 Vises & 1 Plastic Tank (in a chest to the right, upstairs)
  
• Chainsaw (buried under trash bags behind the woodpile in the corner to the right)
  
• 15? Wildseeds: look in the piles of brown rocks, at the bases of trees, and up against walls.

• various Wood & Pipes, including Aluminum Pipes
  
• Robot Part J, B (exit the tunnel, over a hill)
  
• Robot Part A, 1 Robotic Tool (in a dark alcove, down in those random cement pits)
  
• Robot Part C, 1 Machine Tool, 1 Old Computer (down an even darker tunnel, close to that alcove)
  
• 1 Old Computer (off to the left, by the wall, between three large cement cubes)
  
• Manual: Solar Power (behind a cement cube, near the tree with two pallets)
  
• Robot Part A, Bolt cutter (in a room between Anita and entrance to Barren Lands)
  
• 3 Old Computer, 4 Vises, 3 Soldering Tools, 60 Plastic Tarp, 3 Plastic Tanks (in chest in same room)
  
• 60 Plastic Tarp, more (in chest by Anita)
  
• 1 Old Computer (right behind Anita)
  
• 1 Old Computer (upstairs, kinda behind Anita)
  
• Robot Parts A, C (in trash heaps by the long buildable strip, next to metal stairs)
  
• 3 Manual: Recycling (in a pile of trashed books by Dale)
  
• 1 Old Computer (behind Dale's TV)
  
• Robot Part D (next to Dale's recliner)
  
• 1 Old Computer (between shipping containers by Dale)
  
• Dale's Flag -- above the gated entrance to the Shipyard, upstairs and to the left
  
• 1 Old Computer, next to chest with 2 Plastic Tanks, more (down a pit by the far wall, past Dale)
  
• Robot Part K (in the water of the same pit)
  
• Robot Part L (down the dark tunnel from that pit)
  
• Robot Part B, 2 Old Computers (in large trash heap by Shipyard entrance)
  
• ... more?

• Aluminium Beams and Softwood, and other resources
  
• Robot Part B (behind dumpster in the corner near Tako)
  
• 2 Plastic Tanks, 5 Vises (in chest by water container near Dafoe)
  
• 5 Gardening Tools, 4 Welding Tools(in chest below Administration entrance, and above Dafoe's computer; you have to go all the way around)
  
• 2 Robotic Tools, 4 Soldering tools (in chest next to Administration entrance)
  
• Tako's Red Globe is underneath rubble that blocks a large, empty area that can be built upon

I'll cover all of this thoroughly in subsequent sections; this is an overview.

1. The West Wing, before bridge: recruit Mo, Rhett, & Ash (plus merchant Alcott).
   
2. The West Wing, after bridge: recruit Ruby (plus merchant Cedric).
   
3. The Pumping Grounds: recruit Mark.
   
4. The Power Room / Machine Room: recruit Mike & Sahar.
   
5. Concrete Tunnel (sewer area): recruit Al. (can't build here)
   
6. The Secret Garden: no new Commoners to recruit. (can't build here)
   
7. Factory Entrance: recruit Monty, Ono, & H3X.
   
8. The Glasshouse: recruit Travis & Sheira.
   
9. The Barren Lands: recruit Dale & Anita.
   
10. The Shipyard: recruit Dafoe & Tako.
    
11. The Administration Wing: final cutscene (can't build here).

Also, there's the Warehouse (sandbox mode only).

I like to call the characters "Commoners" because the community's name is "The Common."
Note that the blue frowny face on each character indicates their shelter status, not their mood (UI mistake, I believe). Decorate each Commoner's room to improve their Shelter rating (and get a minor buff to activities). Decorate with items they like to improve the Shelter rating even more. I don't know how the food preferences affect the characters, or how to utilize that game effect (if any).

As soon as you unlock a new area, run around & grab everything you can. Open every single container; don't look at what it contains, just hit Ctrl+T to collect everything in it. Then close the container immediately -- you can sort all your loot when you get back to a Stockpile.

Don't clear the debris/rubble, since the Commoners can do that. Plop down your tent and sleep in the new area after 9:00 PM to move the Common to that new area; the Commoners will appear in the new area (even without having their quarters moved). Set everyone to "Clear" (they can't do the other things without their stuff, anyway). After the area is cleaned up, you can pop back to your established encampment and return to your regularly-scheduled programming.

Outside, before you go in to the factory, is a chest with supplies (to the right) and "stockpiles" of soil. Collect these with Ctrl+T.

Before getting your first character (Mo), you need to introduce yourself to Mo, Rhett, and Ash (in any order), and then talk to Alcott to complete the first quest. You then get your starting equipment; be sure to place "Dad's Books" to start researching the tech tree.

Prerequisites: talk to Mo, Rhett, Ash, and Alcott. Place the Woodcutter from your inventory.

Once you place the Wood cutter, Mo is impressed and talks to you, asking you to use it to craft some 4x4 Columns from Raw Lumber. If you already crafted some, you have to use the Table Saw to craft more 4x4s. Mo only requires 40 units of 4x4s, but you will need to craft 28 + 29 = 57 for both one planter and one chair (Alcott wants you to sell a chair). You will need 353 for these first set of projects, so feel free to craft a bunch now.

Mo then asks you to build a planter, and gives you the blueprints. Note that you don't need a planter to plant anything (just put down the dirt without any wood to hold it; it stays put). I would recommend selling the planter to Alcott.

Next, Mo wants you to grow potatoes, and gives you the seeds (you can find more potato seeds in a chest by the dark alcove underneath the spot where Alcott hangs out). You don't need to get ambitious; plant and water one single seed. After that simple quest, Mo joins Nikki's cause.

Prerequisites: learn the Electronics 101 skill to craft electric motors, then learn the Advanced Electronics 1 skill to craft a micro-controller.

(Technically, Rhett is the only Commoner you need to progress, since you can't make a Carpentry workbench without him)

Across from Alcott is a pre-built general workbench; click on it to inspect it, and click the little wrench icon to see what it needs to be repaired, then close the window. Rhett will come over and talk to you, asking for you to repair it. You need Electronic tools, which can be found up the stairs one level, at the end of the catwalk. You must buy the Soldering tools from Alcott.

Then Rhett wants you to make and put 3 Electric Motors in the Stockpile.

Next, Rhett encourages you to fix the crane (needed to get to the next area). You will need 1 Microcontroller, 1 Electric Motor, and 2 Electric Wires. Once you do that, he joins the Common.

Prerequisites: Clear some debris. Learn Machine Manufacturing 1 to craft the Planar.

Ash is impressed with your initiative, but wants you to clear all the debris. You have to hold the mouse button for a few seconds per pile, which is mildly annoying, so you may instead have Mo and/or Rhett clear the debris for you.

Then, she wants you to make a Planar. First, however, you need to craft a Metal Workbench at the generic workbench (which requires you to have repaired it -- Rhett's first task). You will need Metal tools (buy from Alcott) and a Vice (find one upstairs).

Once you build it, place the Metal Workbench and use it to craft the Planar. You will need Welding Tools (found upstairs), and you must craft Metal Plates, Gears, and Electric Wires. Use the Planer to craft 550 1" panels.

Next, Ash gives you the blueprint for "Floor Module" and tells you to build four. You must have 160 4x4s and 348 1" panels to craft four modules (or you can get Rhett to build them). Technically, you can ignore this quest and just build the bridge, skipping Ash altogether (until you get to the Factory Entrance), but it shouldn't be too hard to build the floor modules.

Prerequisites: first, you must research (Timber) Details, then research Heavy Timber in order to craft 4x8 Columns.

Talk to Alcott to get the blueprints. Build two Railing Sections (96 4x4s) and a Bridge Section (40 4x8s and 200 1" panels). You can use Rhett (or whomever) to build these sub-constructs, but the Bridge Section w Railing blueprint must be completed by Nikki (you). Then, talk to Alcott again to get a small cutscene. After the cutscene, talk to Alcott one more time to obtain the blueprint for the completed bridge, and ten bridge sections (only seven are needed, and you already built one, so four are actually unnecessary -- trash!).

Make sure the area in front of the sinkhole is clear; if you had set up any crops here, you will have to harvest them and remove the dirt/planters to make space for the bridge. Once the bridge is assembled, move the crane in place using the control panel you fixed for Rhett. Hold A+S+E for several seconds to get it over the bridge; the cutscene will trigger as soon as you have it at the right spot.

Once the bridge is in place, you can cross to access the rest of the West Wing, as well as the Pumping Grounds. Talk to Cedric to get the second (and last) merchant. You can also meet Frankie and Bennie by the oil-barrel-fire (they're wearing gas masks).

Strangely, the second part of the West Wing is so covered in debris that you can't put down a tent to move the Common here. You could try clearing a space for the tent yourself, but then that leaves very little for the Commoners to clear. If you want to settle this tiny area and "harvest" all the debris piles using only NPCs, you will need to buy a bed. Instead, I recommend just turning the corner and camping in the Pumping Grounds, by Mark.

Although Ruby and Mark are nearby, you can't recruit them until you can build a Carpentry bench and grow some diverse crops. You can get Mark before Ruby quite easily, but I recommend working towards the Kitchen (which is helpful to feed your guys) to get Ruby before working on a Composting station (which is not helpful at this point) to get Mark.

Mo wants to see crop diversification. Rather than buy seeds from Cedric, go up the stairs near Ruby's tent, and inside a wooden chest are a good number of seeds to get started. You're going to need these vegetables to make soup to recruit Ruby (see below), so plant early in order to harvest early.

I have not succeeded in trying to get Mo to satisfy his own quest by having him plant those seeds; I think Nikki has to do it. Also, if you plant the crops before getting the quest, you will need to plant more crops to satisfy the requirements. You need to both plant and water the carrots, onions and corn. Be sure to sell all your corn, since it isn't used in any cooking recipes.

Mo's next quest is to build a potting station at the carpentry bench, which also requires a Valve crafted at the Mechanics Station (see next section, the Machine Room).

Prerequisites: research Advanced Carpentry (after Rhett gives you the book).
Talk to Rhett. Then talk to him again. He'll give you a book on Advanced Carpentry, and ask you to build a Carpentry Workbench (which is necessary to build any of the next workbenches that are necessary to progress). You will need Wood Tools, Wood Glue, and Sandpaper which can all be found (across the bridge). You will also need to craft 200 Screws, which can be done quickly at the Generic Workbench; do not use the Bench Grinder (when you get it) as it only produces 1 Screw per metal vs. the 4 Screws per metal at the workbench.

Once you have the Carpentry bench, your options open up noticeably. You could work on Rhett's next station (the "Tinker" bench), but I suggest a Kitchen first (to get Ruby), then a Compost station (to get Mark).

For Rhett's next quest, you need Raw Steel. You can find it inside the Machine Room (next area), or else purchase from Alcott (after buying him a $20,000 truck).

Prerequisites: research Cooking, build Kitchen station at the Carpentry bench, grow some Potatoes, Garlic and Carrots to make Hot Soup.

Ruby is initially very rude and stand-offish. Her "cold shoulder" is supposed to be countered with some Hot Soup. With the crops Mo had you grow, make the soup and have it in inventory, then go talk to Ruby again. She munches loudly, but somehow the soup is not consumed... She's impressed, but then asks you to gather Meat, Carrots, and Onions. You only need one of each, and they don't need to be in your inventory, this time.

Once you get Ruby, talk to her to get the Pipe Bender quest (see below), which is needed to complete Ash's quest for a Machine workbench.

After that, Ruby wants you to "find a suitable space" for a community workshop to teach metalwork. For whatever reason, the Barren Lands is the only suitable space for her needs, so that needs to get put on the back-burner for now.

Note: Later on, Ruby has an expensive contract-quest that requires several superfluous work benches. (I remember it costing some money, too...)

Prerequisites: research Composting, build Composting station at the Carpentry bench.

Talk to Mark multiple times. You can get a Pickaxe from Mark before he joins the cause, which lets you clear all that rubble and debris. Note that rubble piles sometimes hide valuable items, like robot parts.

Mark will require you to build another station before he'll join the Common. At the carpentry bench, make a Compost station using 200 Raw Lumber, 1 Wood Tool, 1 Wood Glue, and 100 Screws. You won't be able to use it for a while, though.

Once you make and place a compost station, talk to Mark again. He'll join the Common, then talk to him yet again. His quest is to "find information on recycling," but that won't happen until you find Dale in the Barren Lands, so set that quest on the back-burner and move on.

Prerequisites: research Machine Manufacturing 1

Ruby's first quest is fairly straightforward, but necessary to advance. The Pipe Bender gives access to the Machine Workbench (see below). Combine 50 Raw Steel Pipes, a single Screw (??), 1 Welding Tool, 30 Electric Wire and 50 Scrap Metal at the metal workbench. While you're there, you may as well set yourself up for Ash's Machine Workbench (see below).

After this quest, Ruby next tasks you with "finding a space" for her proposed Community Workshop; just put that quest aside for now.

Prerequisites: research Machine Manufacturing 2, build a Pipe Bender (see Ruby's Quest)

At the Metal Workbench, combine 1 Welding Tools, 1 Metal Tools, 40 Raw Panel, 20 Shaped Steel Pipes, 1 Vise, and 1 Wood Glue. This will get Ash started on her "career" as a self-trained engineer (what's a degree but a piece of paper, anyway?), so start researching Engineering 101. This will lead to further research missions, and eventually a blue robot (to be discussed later)

You will need this Machine station to make a Bench Grinder and a Drill Press, neither of which are directly requested by NPCs, but both are critical to advance. Specifically, the Drill Press lets you make Reinforced Plates, and the Bench Grinder is used to make Wheels (needed for Valves). Build the Bench Grinder once you have a Machine Workbench: 1 Electric Motor, 20 Raw Steel Pipes, 20 Metal Plates, 5 Metal Discs.

Craft a Metal Wheel using 10 Gears, 8 Metal Rods (also crafted at the Bench Grinder), and 10 Raw Steel Pipes.

Prerequisites: Bench Grinder

To fix the elevator, you're going to need a metal wheel, a micro-controller, a metal disc, and an electric motor. This grants you access to the Machine Room, which is the first place to find the Raw Steel and Hard Wood resources.

(This area is alternately called "The Power Room" or "The Machine Room" in the dialog)

Nikki has her eyes on her goal: the Administration Wing. However, access to the room was removed by an explosion that destroyed the main entrance. Also, the game won't let you "cheat" by just building a staircase up there, never mind that this is a base-building game. You gotta go the long way around, starting with the sewer entrance.

You just got access to Raw Steel. While you don't have to make these two stations quite yet, you will need these stations soon.

• Use the Bench Grinder to produce 8 metal rods
  
• Use the Metal Workbench to turn them into 4 Milling Bits
  
• Make a Drill Press at the Machine Workbench: 1 Electric Motor, 1 Milling Bit, 50 Shaped Steel Pipes, 1 Metal Tools, and 45 Raw Steel; use it to make at least 16 Reinforced Plates (10 for the Lathe, and 6 to open the sewer gate). You probably want to set up Ruby or someone else to produce Reinforced Plates every day, because the need for them ramps up very quickly, and you will need hundreds of them (starting with Sahar's kiln).
  
• Make a Lathe at the Metal Workbench: 1 Electric Motor, 30 Gears, 10 Reinforced Plates, 1 Metal Tools
  
• To use the Lathe you need Hard Wood. You can find some in a chest at the top of the room, by the repairable electronics, or in a chest sitting in the water past the sewer entrance (alternately, you can complete the first Alcott contract to purchase many materials early). Turn 30 Raw Hard Wood into 30 Milled wood
  
• Make a Research Site Lvl. 2 using the milled wood from your Lathe: 20 Raw Lumber, 30 Milled Wood, 30 Screws. This will open up research opportunities now, but it also satisfies Monty's first quest later.

With a Lathe and Alcott's first contract completed, you can purchase 3 Hard Wood Panels to make a Go set to recruit Al in the next area. Otherwise, you have to progress far enough to find Hard Wood Panels, and then back-track to recruit Al after the fact.

Prerequisites: none

With access to Raw Steel in the Machine Room, you can complete Rhett's next quest: combine 100 Raw (Wood) Panel, 1 Machine Tool, 3 Wood Glue, 1 Electronic Tool, 30 Electric Wire, 20 Raw Steel to make the Tinker Station. This is necessary to make Servo Motors, which will unlock the next level. Go ahead and make two Servo Motors, each requiring 10 Gears, 15 Scrap Metal, and 5 Electric Wires.

Rhett doesn't have any more quests for you, at the moment (he will ask for a CNC Machine once you recruit Monty).

Prerequisites: use the Carpentry station to make a Mechanics Station; use that to build a BBQ Station

Mike is not pleased with Nikki's efforts, and rejects her initially. Talk to him a second time to get the quest for recruitment. If you haven't already, you need to make a Mechanics Station, which is different from the Machine Workbench that Ash had you make. Combine 1 Vise, 1 Machine Tools, 80 Raw Steel, 60 Metal Plates, and 60 Gears at the Carpentry bench.

Make a BBQ Station (grill) at the machine workbench using 60 Metal Plates, 1 Welding Tools, 40 Gears, 80 Raw Steel, and 4 Metal Wheels. Once you impress him with a grill, Mike asks you to gather 5 meat and 20 spices to cook brisket (you must purchase these from Cedric). You can use the 1 meat that you used to recruit Ruby to count towards the 5 meat goal to recruit Mike, and purchase the other 4. When you talk to Mike with the necessary ingredients, you get a wordless BBQ cutscene. Talk to him again to recruit him.

Mike's quest is simple: BEER! However, the book required to brew beer is found later, so just put that on the back-burner for now.

Prerquisite: Mechanics Station, BBQ station (which you built to recruit Mike), research Cooking: BBQ, Dry Meats, and Preserved Foods
The Potting Station is the first source of decorations to improve your shelters. (Potting station and Pottery station are different -- this one's for Mo, next on is for Sahar)

At the Mechanics Station (not Machine station), make at least one Valve using 1 Raw Steel Pipe, 1 Gear, and 1 Metal Wheel each. You probably want to make seven Valves, however, because you will need six to move on to the next area.

At the Carpentry bench, make a potting station using 100 Raw (wood) Panels, 1 Farming Tool, 2 Wood Glue, 150 Screws, 2 Paint, and 1 Valve. Place it and go talk to Mo again.

Afterward, Mo asks you to gather some diverse foods. Make 2 Dried Meat, 4 Grilled Veggies, and 12 Preserved Foods (or have a Commoner make them) and talk to Mo.

When you complete the food task, Mo is ready to open up about his past, but not today. Wait a day and then talk to him again. This will be necessary to recruit Tako.

Prerequisites: recruit Mike, build a Pottery station

Sahar becomes slightly less grumpy after Mike's BBQ. She's looking for a pottery wheel, and gives you the spinning mechanism. If you need multiple pottery stations for some reason, you can buy extra spinning mechanisms from Alcott after completing his first contract.

Craft a Pottery station at the Carpenty workbench: 1 Electric Motor, 50 Raw Panels, 5 Wood Glue, 50 Gears, 1 Wood Tools, 1 Spinning Mechanism

After you place the Pottery Station, you can talk to Sahar to both recruit her and get the next mission: a Ceramics oven (kiln). The fired pottery can decorate the Commoners' shelters, so if you want to, make a kiln at your Mechanics (not Machine) station: 120 Reinforced Plates, 150 Screws, 1 Welding Tools, 60 Shaped Steel Pipes. You will need this kiln to fire bricks (using Soil instead of Clay -- I believe that's a design oversight) to make a Clay Oven for Al (see Concrete Tunnel, next section). Note that you can't actually do any pottery (nor can Sahar) until you research Materials: Ceramics.

Sahar's other quest (later on) is to build a 3D ceramic printer (after you get H3X, you build a research station level 3 to research "Contour Crafting", and have a Heavy Machines bench to produce Pistons ... a while, in other words). Look for Robot Parts D, E, and F.

Prerequisites: Drill Press (to make the Reinforced Plates), Mechanics Station (to make the Valves), Tinker Station (to make the Servo Motors).

Upstairs, at the top of the power room, several panels need to be fixed. The three electrical boxes need 2 Valves, and 2 Reinforced Plates (six of each, total). The fuse box requires 4 Fuses (hopefully you didn't use them all up, since you can't make them yet). The switch box requires 2 Servo Motors and 2 Electric Wires.

Once you do that, the semi-hidden flood gate will open, allowing you to access the concrete sewer tunnel.

Between the Machine Room and the Factory Entrace are two small areas (you can't build anything in either). There are some items in the sewer, but I haven't been able to find anything to pick up in the Secret Garden.

Prerequisites: Metal Workbench, Ceramics Oven

You need a Concrete Mixer in order to make a Clay Oven for Empenadas to entice Al. You also need to make 50 Bricks in the kiln (Ceramics Oven) that you made for Sahar (or else buy them from Alcott). Each Soil in the kiln produces 12 bricks, so you need to fire 5 of them for the Clay Oven.

Also: If you haven't already, make a Lathe (see previous section).

Prerequisites: Clay Oven and Lathe, research Baking

(Al's not #8, because you must backtrack after exploring the Factory Entrance more, unless you spend over $3,000 on Alcott's first contract)

Al takes a lot of dialogs to recruit; he's very resistant to social interaction. After two dialogs, he just tells you to go away, come again some other day. If you return the next day, he'll talk again.

Your first task is to "research" a book he gives you ("Mutual Aid" - an Anarchist book). Talk to Al again, then he tells you to respect his space. Return in another day.

Next, you need to bring him an Empenada (he doesn't actually eat it, but it impresses him).

Finally, make and bring Al a Go Game Set. With a little more dialog, he agrees to join the Common (leaving Reno behind -- poor deer!).

Al's quest is to craft musical instruments, which all require soft wood, which is available for purchase after buying Alcott a van or found in the final area (The Shipyard). If you talk to him, he gives you a manual on crafting instruments.

Al wants a Guitar (never mind that he strums at the campfire at the end of every day). For this, you will need Softwood (found in the Shipyard, the final area; also can be purchased from Alcott after you buy him an expensive van). You will also need Plastic Parts from the 3D printer, which requires you to progress mid-way through Monty's quest-line, and find Raw Plastic (you can also produce Raw Plastic at a Recycling Station). You should probably put this off until you have all the parts/stations.

Building a guitar for Al unlocks the first Anita quest.

In the Secret Garden, there is only a cutscene with Olivia, the "leader" of the Ant Farm.

Leave the garden to continue on to the Factory Entrance.

The yard of the Factory Entrance can be mildly disorienting if you turn right instead of left; the cutscene you are shown depicts Nikki facing the opposite direction, toward the actual entrance (but Monty is back toward the wire fence).

Note: because Monty has no requirements to recruit, you can get him without recruiting Mark, Ruby, Mike, Sahar (or even Ash). But I recommend getting them first, or at least soon afterwards.

Prerequisites: none!

Monty is perhaps the most critical Commoner in the game, because completing his quests are required to craft CPU chips, necessary for virtually ALL end-game technology (and several quests).
Talk to Monty; he immediately joins the Common!

Aside: I gotta say, Monty's story is the most disturbing -- definitely cutting onions here. This situation is terrifyingly common in the real world, and often produces a repetitive cycle. If you are blessed with a child, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for loving, protecting, guiding, and cherishing that beautiful person; may your family be blessed.

Monty's first quest is to build a tier-2 research "bench", which requires Hard Wood and a Lathe to make Milled Wood. If you haven't already, make one at the Carpentry bench using Milled Wood from the Lathe.

Next, Monty wants to research Aquaponics. Building the station, however, requires PVC pipes and Plastic Tanks, which will be found in the Glasshouse (next section).

Prerequisites: research Engineering 101; find a Robotic Part

When Ash has read enough engineering books, she's ready to start building a blue robot. After researching up to CAD drafting, talk to her with a robot part at hand. She tasks you with collecting 50 Reinforced Plates, 2 Servo Motors, 400 Electric "Cable" (wire), and 20 Paint buckets (she falsely claims she wants 50 Reinforced Plates, 50 Reinforced Gears, 400 Electric Wire, and "some" Paint).

Note that the Power Consumption for the blue Robot Arm is 5, much higher than most other stations. You will probably need to buy a power generator from Cedric (after completing his contracts), or else build one (after researching Machine Manufacturing 3) at the Machine bench (not the Mechanics station).

Once you place the blue robot, Ash wants you to use it. Load a blueprint into it and the required wooden components (4x4 columns, 1" panels, etc). Then wait while the machine slowly builds the thing you requested. It will finish, and the next morning, Ash leaves the Common (!) and you have a new quest: "Final Thoughts".

Despite the appearance of finality, all that's really needed is a whole lot of back-tracking. Why do you need to go all the way back to the beginning? I haven't the foggiest clue. But after you get info-dumped with Ash's story, she rejoins the team at full Trust.

--FINAL QUEST FOR ASH--

Prerequisites: complete your first robot (see Ash's quest)

Once a blue robot is placed, H3X expresses interest in your efforts. They task you with collecting parts A, B, and C, which you already did for Ash's quest (those parts didn't get consumed by Ash), so the quest is automatically fulfilled. Talk to H3X again, and they join your team.

The first quest H3X wants is to build a (surprise!) Robotics workbench. This will require an Electronics Workbench, which in turn requires you to research Machine Manufacturing 3. This research is also useful to build Generators, which will let you place all these additional stations you're building. Once that's researched, you can build an Electronics Workbench at the Tinker workbench using 1 Electronic Tool, 4 Micro Controllers, 40 Metal Plates, 40 Raw Panels, 10 Electric Wires, and 80 Raw Plastic. This station will be quite useful (later) to produce CPUs, Fuses, Capacitors, and Resistors.

Building the Robotics Workbench will have to wait, however, as Monty's quest must progress before you can make Plastic Parts and CPUs.

Prerequisites: Recruit H3X

When you talk to Ono twice, she asks you to get 100 fabric and bring it to her. You can purchase Fabric if you have completed Alcott's first contract; otherwise, you have to find it in the Glasshouse (next area), requiring back-tracking. Then she wants to talk to H3X.

If you have already recruited H3X, talk to Ono again to recruit her.

The first task Ono gives you is to build a Textile Workbench. Make one at the Machanics Station (not the Machine Workbench) using 60 Metal Plates, 1 Metal Tools, 20 Electric Wire, 10 Gears, and 5 Electric Motors. You must research Tailoring to use it.

Once you make that, she gives you a book on Sustainable Forestry (perhaps implying an intent of the designers to have renewable lumber, but that doesn't appear to have been realized). In the same dialog, Ono tasks you with building a Fabrics station (built at the Textile Workbench using 50 Hard Wood and 20 Hard wood panels).

I can't get any further quests for Ono.

After you recruit H3X, Sahar gives you a book on Contour Crafting and tasks you with building a new robot. However, this requires materials and tech you don't have access to yet.

Move to the factory entrance with your tent, then set everyone to clear rubble and debris. Soon, you will find the next key (a jackhammer) needed to clear some rubble blocking an underground tunnel. Too bad you can't just tear down the plywood separating the two areas...

Clearly the best area in the game (well, the only one with plants instead of trash), the Glasshouse (greenhouse) nevertheless may not be the best place to put down roots, so to speak. There are still two more areas before the end, so keeping the Common here involves a lot of trekking back and forth. Moreover, the Glasshouse has very limited building space, so attempts to settle it will require creative use of vertical space, and probably limiting which crafting stations you keep deployed and which you keep in storage.

Prerequisites: Compost station, Pipe Bender, Mechanics Station

First, use your Compost Station to make Compost from Organic Waste; use that to make Fertile Soil. This takes time, so the Commoners can't make it.

Next, you need some supplies found in the Glasshouse. Bend 60 PVC pipes to produce 30 Shaped PVC pipes. You also need 2 Plastic Tanks (check in the first chest you see, coming out of the underground passage). Also, build 5 Valves at the Mechanics station (1 Raw Steel Pipe, 1 Gear, and 1 Metal Wheel each -- make the Wheels at the Bench Grinder).

At the Mechanics station (not the machine workbench), combine 30 Shaped PVC Pipes, 5 Valves, 2 Plastic Tanks, and 40 Fertile Soil; then place the Aquaponics station and go talk to Monty.

Monty next tasks you with researching Hydroponics. Once researched, you can build a Farming Rack and a Small Vertical Farm (which are both equivalent to a patch of soil). Still, you need Plastic Parts produced from a 3D printer, so talk to Monty to get the next quest: build a 3D printer.

First, research Microelectronics (which was locked until just now). This allows you to make CPU boards, which are necessary for virtually everything henceforth. Next, you'll need to make CPUs; I would make at least half a dozen, or even more; you will use them up rapidly.

Monty tasks you with building a 3D printer; this only prints Plastic Parts, but those are used in several recipes. At the Electronics Station, combine 25 Shaped Steel Pipes, 3 Micro Controllers, 20 Electric Wires, 1 CPU board, and 30 Raw Steel.

While there, also build a Research Station Lvl 3 using 2 Old Computers, 100 Raw (wood) Panels, 20 Electric Wires, 1 Electronic Tools, 150 Screws and 1 CPU board.

Monty next wants to make a Digital Fabrication Lab. This quest requires several 3D printers... Note that while this looks like a contract, it doesn't count as one (you are placing the printers, not "spending" them). Install 8 (yes, eight) 3D Printers and 2 CNC Milling Machines. This second CNC machine will come in handy when working towards Rhett's final quest (one to make the CNC panels, and the other to craft the furniture). After you complete the contract, sell your extra stations to Alcott.

If you do that, find Monty in The Factory Entrance to have a short cutscene.

--FINAL QUEST FOR MONTY--

Travis wants to start a plant revolution, which apparently starts with clearing debris. Just move the Common to the Glasshouse and set everyone to clear. After that, Travis wants you to get Sheira to join, since they come as a pair.

When you finish cleaning up the room, talk to Sheira and she will task you with showing her a seed (any crop seed will do -- not the exotic seeds). Next, Sheira wants you to scavenge around the room for 10 Wildseeds (you'll have to look around for them). I don't think these have any value after you get Sheira.

Talk to Sheira after you recruit her. Then talk to her again (assuming you got Monty). She will task you with building a Vertical Farming Rack. You need to research Vertical Farming, once you have a tier 3 research station. After that, Sheira tasks you with building a Small Vertical Farm: at the Mechanics Station, combine 30 Plastic Parts, 5 Valves, and 30 Shaped PVC pipes.

Once you place that and talk to her, Sheira wants you to install 2 of each Greenhouse & 4 Aquaponics. Similar to Monty's "faux contract", this doesn't count as a contract, either. Note that this will require 1200 Plastic Tarp, more than you will find throughout the whole game; this means that you will have to make the extra Plastic Tarp using Injection Moulding, which requires technology to which you do not yet have access.

After you recruit him, Travis gives you a book on Ecology and tasks you with researching it and building a Greenhouse. You can't access Ecology without a Tier-3 research station, even though Travis gave you the book. However, you don't actually need Ecology to build a greenhouse; you need to research Assembly (prerequisites: Physics & Material Science). This first quest point, however, is to research Ecology & Ecosystems -- which have numerous prerequisites. If you like (and have already researched Assembly), you can build the Greenhouse ahead of time, but you still need to research those.

You have three choices of Greenhouse (Flowers, Cactus, and Tropical); I believe any one one of them will satisfy the quest, but since Travis later asks you to craft Flowers, you are advised to make the Flowers greenhouse. Sheira, however, wants 2 of each of them, eventually.

Note that you must spend a lot of Plastic Tarp (200), which is found in limited quantities; I think you only have enough to build one greenhouse without purchasing more Plastic Tarp. To make a greenhouse, you will need to produce Fertile Soil at the Compost Station; but first, you must make Compost (both require time; Commoners can't use this station). At the Potting Station, combine 30 Shaped PVC pipes, 100 Fertile Soil, 200 Plastic Tarp, and 80 Screws (same recipe for all three, although Flowers have a slightly different order).

Place the Greenhouse and talk to Travis. He next gives you the book on Beekeeping, and tasks you with researching it. When you finish researching it, talk to Travis again. You then need to build 4 beehives. At the Carpentry workbench, combine 20 Raw Hard(wood) Panels and 30 Raw Hardwood, four times. Install them and go talk to Travis again.

Then talk to Travis again; he wants you to bring him some flowers. You can't place them, so I guess they only exist as a quest item. At the Flowers Greenhouse, add 3 Exotic seeds and wait a few seconds, then grab the flowers and stash them.

Go talk to Travis. He then asks to meet tomorrow in the "Greenhouse" (Glasshouse). Find him upstairs, overlooking the central area where you initially find him to get a cutscene.

--FINAL QUEST FOR TRAVIS--

Prerequisites: Drill Press, Electronics workbench, 3D Printer, research Microelectronics

You will need some time (and Raw Plastic) to produce the 40 Plastic Parts, so get your 3D printer started as soon as possible, and keep it running and repaired (Nikki's the only one who can do this, and several advanced stations require Plastic Parts).

At the Electronics workbench, combine 20 Plastic Parts, 1 Robotic Tool, 100 Raw Steel, 40 Reinforced Plates, 20 Electric Wire and 3 CPU Boards to produce the Robotrics

Next, H3X tasks you with building a Farmbot (to learn, not to feed you). At the Robotics Station, combine 50 Raw Hard Wood, 20 Raw Hard(wood) Panels, 3 Electric Motors, 40 Plastic Parts, and 30 Electric Wire.

When that's built and placed, talk to H3X. They task you with researching Robotics Manufacture and Inverse Kinematics. Note that you also need to complete this task to produce the Contour Crafting robot for Sahar. When that's researched, talk to H3X again. This will unlock the Robotic Performance 1/2/3 skills; research one tier. The quest also requires you to build a Robotic Arm (blue), but you had to do that to even get H3X, so it's already done.

Talk to H3X to complete the quest, then talk again to get the next one. They want 4 Robot Arms and 2 Carpentry Workbenches installed (+3 additional blue robot arms and +1 additional Carpentry station... why does a Robotic Factory need Carpentry benches?).

Next, H3X requires an "artisanal" hot tub, which requires a Heavy Machines Workbench to craft the Fireplace (see Dale, next section).

Prerequisites: Drill Press, Electronic Station, research Microelectronics and CNC

First, research CNC, then talk to Rhett. He tasks you with building a CNC Milling Machine: at the (regular) Machine Workbench (not the Mechanics Station), combine 5 Electric Motors, 5 Micro Controllers, 200 Raw Steel, 50 Reinforced Plates, 1 Electronic Tool, and 1 CPU Board

Once the CNC machine is placed, talk to Rhett. He wants you to use it to make 4 Chairs (10 CNC panels each), a Large Table (15 CNC panels), a Small Table (20 CNC panels), and a Bookshelf (12 CNC panels). This will require 87 Raw Hard(wood) Panels and some time. (Oddly, the Small Table takes more CNC panels than the Large table... and the CNC machine keeps moving even when it isn't doing anything). Once again, this looks like a Contract but is not; the furniture isn't consumed when you complete the quest.

However, once you build one furniture set, Rhett gives you a contract to make 40 Chairs, 40 Small Tables, and 40 Large Tables. Overall, this will cost you 1,800 Hardwood Panels (plus manufacture time). If you have a second CNC machine (needed for Monty's final quest), you can expedite Rhett's contract by having one machine make CNC panels while the other one makes the furniture (still takes several days, though).

Once the contract is finished, you have to backtrack all the way back to the beginning (not the level titled "Factory Entrance") to get a cutscene for Rhett.

--FINAL QUEST FOR RHETT--

Prerequisites: Drill Press, Bench Grinder, Mechanics Station, Pipe Bender (you needed all of these to get here).

Upstairs in the Glasshouse, to the left, is the Manual for Brewing Beer. Grab it, stow it, and go talk to Mike. He tasks you with building a Beer Fermenter & a Beer Maturing Station. First, you have to research Fermentation and Brewing (not Distilling, for whatever reason)

To make a Beer Fermenter, go to the Mechanics station (not Machine Workbench) and combine: 50 Reinforced Plates, 1 Welding Tool, 200 Screws, 50 Raw Steel, 10 Valves, and 60 Shaped Copper Tubes; note that you still need Brewing researched to actually use the Fermenter.

A Beer Maturing Station can be crafted at several workbenches (Basic Workbench, Carpentry Workbench, Mechanics Station). Pick one and combine: 20 Raw Hard Wood, 10 Raw Steel, 20 Raw Hard(wood) Panels, 1 Valve, 1 Wood Tool.

Mike tells you to come back in "several days" (two or three, I think). His dialog indicates he has beer to taste, but none gets added to the Common's inventory.

Mike's next quest is a contract to build a Beer Garden. This requires 400 Hops and 200 Glass Bottles; you won't be able to find that many bottles in the environment, so you will need to buy them from Cedric. You probably want to research Bargain (1,2 and 3, if you can) to make this more affordable (or just sell more Potatoes). When you finish the contract, you get 50 Pilsner.

Talk to Mike; he gives you some blueprints for Beer Garden Tables and Benches. He wants you to Install 4 BG Tables, 8 BG Benches, 4 Fermenters, and 4 Beer Maturing Stations. This is not a contract, so they are not consumed.

Note that the tables and benches require 2x2 Black Metal Columns, which are only crafted with a Chopsaw. At the Metal Workbench, combine 1 Electric Motor, 30 Raw Steel Pipes, 20 Gears, and 3 Fuses. You will need to cut 516 Raw Steel for this quest. The chopsaw is also required to finish Anita's questline and the "final" quest that grants access to the Main Office (Administration Wing).

--FINAL QUEST FOR MIKE--

Camp here to bring your Commoners, and have them clear everything (as per usual). You will find a chainsaw upstairs (buried by some trash bags), which is needed to clear the rubble that blocks the next underground passage. If you are having trouble finding someplace on the rock that will respond to clicks, aim for the lower-left corner. If you haven't triggered the cutscene with the Ant Farm member -- right in front of the blocked passage -- then I think you can't progress until you do so (move the Common by sleeping in the Glasshouse, then approach Hank to trigger the cutscene).

When ready, carry on to the Barren Lands.

Note that although you find Anita in the Barren Lands, you can't recruit her until you first recruit Tako. For that reason, I put her section in the next level (the Shipyard), after Tako's section.


Off to the left of the tunnel exit (to the right in this picture), by a tree with two wooden pallets, you can get another cutscene with Olivia. There's also an important book behind a cement block (the little white speck in this screenshot).

Prerequisites: research Machine Manufacturing 3, Microelectronics (see Monty's quest)

Initially, Dale tells Nikki off aggressively. Repeated dialog attempts will fail. (what changes? Going into the Shipyard? Talking to Dafoe? Getting close to the TV, or just waiting enough days? ... hmmm...)

Then, talk to Dale again. Nikki points out that he got a TV to work out in the middle of nowhere. Dale accuses her of taking his flag. You don't get a request or an official task, but if you retrieve it, you can get him to start talking again. (Nikki says she found it in a field, but it's up on the metal catwalk -- look upstairs, to the left)

Dale will help you to construct an antenna. Collect 10 Metal Plates, 40 Electric Wires, 1 CPU board, and 10 Shaped Aluminum Pipes. When you talk to Dale again, he gives you his "spare" antenna (he also says he's going to keep the parts, but quests never consume items -- bug!).

Be careful not to spend this Antenna on anything but the Networking Station! The Networking station is the only way to produce additional Antenna (without buying them from Alcott). At the electronics workbench, combine 60 Reinforced Plates, 1 Metal Tool, 20 Electric Wire, 10 Plastic Parts, and your 1 Antanna. You will need additional antennae to produce solar panels, each one costing 5 Reinforced Plates, 10 Shaped Steel Pipes, 1 CPU board and 40 Electric Wire.

Next, Dale wants you to build a Heavy Machine workbench; this is also necessary to complete quests for Mark, Sheira, and Sahar. First, get 170 Aluminum Pipes (from the environment or from Alcott) and shape them at the pipe bender. At the (regular) Machine Workbench, build a Heavy Machines Workbench with 120 Reinforced Plates, 40 Raw Steel, 2 Welding Tools, 2 Metal Tools, 4 Vise, and 85 Shaped Aluminum Pipes.

This station allows you to construct Pistons and Reinforced Gears, which are needed for several projects. Reinforced Gears only need 2 Steel, but Pistons are costly and slow to make: each one requires 6 Reinforced Gears, 40 Reinforced Plates (you have had Commoners producing them, right?), Raw Aluminium Beams, and 20 Raw Steel Pipes. Make as many Pistons as you have patience for (you will need 15 for Mark, and 4 for Sahar, plus 4 more to make Injection Moulding to complete Sheira's quest). When that's placed, go talk to Dale again and he will (reluctantly) join the Common.

Simply by discovering the Barren Lands, you satisfy Ruby's desire for a suitable space for a workshop. Talk to her again; she tasks you with a Contract for: 10 Welding Tools, 10 Vises, 10 Machine Tools, and 10 Soldering Tools. If you finish, she rewards you with a bike (place it in Rhett's shelter).

Note that completing the contract doesn't satisfy the quest; you also have to install 1 Heavy Machine Workbench and 2 Mechanics Stations. You probably already have one of each, so just add one extra Mechanics Station (you can sell it afterwards), then meet Ruby in the Pumping Grounds for her final cutscene. She says she's going to set up a workshop every 3 days, but those are just words.

--FINAL QUEST FOR RUBY--

Dale's first quest is to find a manual on building a Solar Panel. (I had to read about this on the forums) After you exit the tunnel to the Barren Lands, veer left. You will see a series of large cement cubes scattered in a row. The manual sits behind one of the cubes.

Stash the manual and talk to Dale. He tasks you with building a Solar Panel. First, research the topic. Next, build an Antenna at the Networking Station: 5 Reinforced Plates, 10 Shaped Steel Pipes, 1 CPU board and 40 Electric Wire. Then, at the Heavy Machines Workbench, combine 2 Micro-controllers, 1 Antenna, 100 Electric Wire, 2 Welding Tools, 40 Reinforced Gears, 1 CPU board, and 20 Plastic Parts. Crafting it appears to satisfy Dafoe's quest first (see next section), but you have to place it before talking to Dale.

Next, Dale challenges you to install 7 more solar panels (8 total). Since this overlaps with Dafoe's quest to produce 6 solar panels and 2 batteries, you want to make sure you have gotten them both. Place the 8 panels, then talk to Dale. He sets up a massive contract for 20 Batteries and 20 Solar Panels! If you choose to stick with gasoline generators, you can contribute your 8 existing Solar Panels towards the contract.

If you build all the Batteries & Solar Panels, the ingredient list for this contract consists of:

• 6,400 Copper Wire: 4,600 for the Electric Wire, 600 for the Capacitors, 400 for the Resistors, and 800 for the Fuses
  
• 4,600 Electric Wire: 600 for the Batteries, 1,000 for Micro Controllers, 200 for the CPU boards, 800 for the Antennae, and 2,000 for the Solar Panels
  
• 600 Capacitors: 400 for the Micro Controllers, and 200 for the CPU boards
  
• 400 Resistors: 200 for the Micro Controllers, and 200 for the CPU boards
  
• 400 Fuses: 200 each for the Micro Controllers, and 200 for the CPU boards
  
• 200 Micro Controllers: 160 for CPU Boards and 40 for the Solar Panels
  
• 40 CPU boards: 20 for the Antennae and 20 for the Solar Panels
  
• 1,500 Reinforced Plates: 600 for Batteries, 100 for Antennae, and 800 for Solar Panels
  
• 900 Reinforced Gears: 100 for Antennae and 800 for Solar Panels
  
• 200 Shaped Steel Pipes for the Antennae
  
• 100 Shaped Aluminum Pipes for the Batteries
  
• 600 Raw Aluminum for the Batteries
  
• 4,000 Raw Plastic --> 800 Plastic Parts: 400 each for the Batteries & Solar Panels
  
• 40 Soldering Tools for the CPU boards
  
• 40 Welding Tools for the Solar Panels

After finishing that contract, you get a Stereo (makes it all worth it). Talk to Dale again, and then wait a day. Then meet Dale at his initial camp in the Barren Lands to get a letter-writing cutscene (wordless).

--FINAL QUEST FOR DALE--

At the Heavy Machines Workbench, craft 10 Reinforced Plates and 5 Reinforced Gears into a Fireplace. At the Table Saw, combine 200 Raw Hard Wood, 50 Raw Steel, 1 Fireplace, 60 Shaped Copper Pipes, and 200 Screws to make the Hot Tub. Place it, wait until tomorrow, then talk to H3X again.

The final cutscene for H3X includes Ash in the hot tub, for some reason (only their heads are shown).

--FINAL QUEST FOR H3X--

Find the bolt-cutters in the small-ish room behind the tunnel exit (there's another guide that has specific details).

You need to break down the fence to the last underground tunnel, which takes a long time holding down the LMB. I recommend stabilizing the mouse with something heavy and setting something atop it (like the edge of the keyboard), then take a bio-break for 5 minutes. Or you can wait for the Common to clear it by themselves.

You may want to move on to the Shipyard quickly, because important resources (Aluminum Beams and Softwood) are only found there, in the last area.

This is the last area that you can build upon, and possibly the least ugly of all the larger spaces. Key resources (Softwood and Aluminum Beams) are only found in the Shipyard, unless you buy them.

Once you get to the Shipyard, the next time you talk to Alcott, he gives you a quest (see below).

Prerequisites: Microelectronics (see Monty's quest)

First, Dafoe wants you to bring him 10 Old Computers. Hopefully, you didn't sell the ones you came across; if necessary, you can purchase whatever you're missing from Alcott (for a hefty fee -- hopefully you already bought him a vehicle or two).

Once you get those, talk to Dafoe again. He asks you to fix his server rack (the big thing next to his computer station; not the smaller, plain-looking box nearby) as a demonstration of trust. It takes 1 Electric Wire, 2 CPUs, and 1 Electronic tool. If you do that, Dafoe will join the Common.

Dafoe's first quest is another repair order: fix the console using 1 Electric Wire, 1 CPU board, 1 Plastic Part, and 1 Electronic Tool. Once that's fixed, talk to Dafoe.

His next quest is to "Go Solar". I don't know if you can do this without Dale, but the dialog indicates that you can't. Complete Dale's first Solar Panel quest (see previous section), then talk to Dafoe. He tasks you with a very similar project as Dale's: Produce 6 Solar Panels and 2 Batteries. The one solar panel you already made does not count toward these 6. Since Dale requires 8 total (installed), you may as well make one more. You only need to produce them and take them out of the station for Dafoe.

Talk to Dafoe again; he gives you a book to research. This unlocks Encryption, Blockchain, and Crypto Mining in the tech tree. Research those, and then talk to him again. This time, you are given a community contract ("Mutual Aid Coin" -- a new crypto-currency). Purchase 5 New Computers, and build 30 GPUs & 10 Servers, then contribute them all to the contract.

Both Servers and GPUs are crafted at the Networking Station. You will need:

• 40 GPUs: 10 for the Servers and 30 to fulfill the contract
  
• 200 Reinforced Plates for the GPUs
  
• 200 Shaped Aluminum Pipes for GPUs
  
• 800 Plastic Parts for GPUs
  
• 50 CPU boards: 40 for GPUs, and 10 for Servers
  
• 50 Soldering Tools for the CPUs
  
• 480 Micro Controllers: 200 for GPUs, 200 for the CPUs, and 80 for the Servers
  
• 480 Fuses: 100 for the Servers, 480 for the Micro-controllers, 250 for the CPUs
  
• 480 Resistors: 100 for the Servers, 480 for the Micro-controllers, 250 for the CPUs
  
• 1,310 Capacitors: 100 for the Servers, 960 for the Micro-controllers, 250 for the CPUs
  
• 3,650 Electric Wire: 800 for GPUs, 250 for the CPUs, 2,400 for the Micro-controllers, and 200 for the Servers
  
• 6,400 Copper Wire: 3,650 for the Electric Wire, 480 for Resistors, 1,310 for Capacitors, and 960 for Fuses
  
• 5,190 Scrap Metal 2,400 for the Fuses, 480 for the Resistors, 1,310 for the Capacitors, and 1,000 for the Reinforced Plates
  
• 4.480 Raw Plastic 480 for the Resistors, 4,000 for the Plastic Parts

Talk to Dafoe when that's done. Next, he tasks you with installing 4 Crypto Farms and 2 Networking Stations (one extra). You will need:

• 1 Antenna for the Networking Station
  
• 20 GPUs for the Crypto Farms
  
• 21 CPU boards: 1 for the Antenna, and 20 for the GPUs
  
• 184 Micro Controllers 100 for the GPUs, 84 for the CPUs
  
• 2,285 Electric Wire: 400 for the GPUs, 800 for the Crypto Farms, 105 for the CPU boards, 920 for the Micro Controllers, 40 for the Antenna, and 20 for the Networking Station
  
• 10 Shaped Steel Pipes for the Antenna
  
• 100 Shaped Aluminum Pipes for the GPUs
  
• 410 Plastic Parts: 400 for the GPUs, and 10 for the Networking Station
  
• 400 Raw Steel for the Crypto Farms
  
• 285 Reinforced Plates: 100 for the GPUs, 120 for the Crypto Farms, 5 for the Antenna, and 60 for the Networking Station
  
• 4 Electric Tools for the Crypto Farms
  
• 1 Metal Tools for the Networking Station

Install those stations, then talk to Dafoe. Wait a day, then find Dafoe at his station in the Shipyard to get his final cutscene. You can sell the extra Networking station, but keep the Crypto Farms since they generate money from electricity (note that each one has 30 power consumption).

--FINAL QUEST FOR DAFOE--

Prerequisites: gain Trust Level 8? with Mo (complete most of his quests), Textiles station (see Ono's quest), research Tailoring

Tako needs you to retrieve his "Red Globe". Go back and talk to his sister Anita, in the Barren Lands; she explains what it is, if not where. To find it, clear the rubble pile that obstructs passage to a relatively clean area that has the "Build Here" grid on the floor. Bring it to Tako, and then he waits for the (imaginary) train.

To continue recruiting Tako, you need Mo. Make sure you have completed his "food diversity" quest to get the dialog giving Mo's backstory, which explains why he's necessary to recruit Tako. Talk to Mo; the next day, you will find Mo hanging out in Tako's area. Talk to him, and you get a wordless cutscene. Then, talk to Mo again (twice). You are presented with a Yes/No choice to recruit Tako (say yes). (note: this quest also fills Mo's trust to full)

--FINAL QUEST FOR MO--

Then, go talk to Tako again. He joins you, but he needs a blanket: just sew 10 Fabric at the Textile Workbench. Talk to Tako again (as usual, quest items are not consumed by the quest, so toss the blanket wherever -- you can't put it on a bed). Multiple times, Tako needs time to work on Mo's farm; wait one day each time, then talk to Tako again to fulfill another "quest".

Be sure to back-track to the Barren Lands to recruit Anita.

At one point, first thing in the morning (many days after recruiting Tako), I got a message saying that there was a new quest for Tako, but that was incorrect.

The morning after completing all of Anita's questline (see below), Tako is finally ready to talk. (See below)

Prerequisites: 3D printer or Injection Moulding
(This quest can be completed earlier, if you purchase Softwood Panels and Softwood from Alcott -- buy him a vehicle first!)

Use the Tinker Station to combine 3 Raw Hard Wood, 3 Raw Hard(wood) Panels, 3 Raw Soft(wood) Panels, 3 Raw Soft Wood, 3 Scrap Metal, and 3 Plastic Parts. Talk to Al to present him the guitar (then place it in Mark's shelter as decoration). Anita also wants one (you may need to talk to Al first, then make the second guitar after that).

After you make Anita a guitar, wait a day. Then you have to backtrack to the Factory Entrance to see a wordless cutscene with Al teaching Anita to play. Talk to Al again (no cutscene). Then complete Anita's questline (below).

--FINAL QUEST FOR AL--

Prerequisites: Recruit Tako

Anita won't do anything until you've helped Tako out, besides explain the whole "Red Globe" item. Once you've recruited Tako, Anita will join just to keep an eye on him.

After you make Al a Guitar, Anita wants one too (see above). Present it to her, place it in a Commoner's shelter, then wait a day. Then, backtrack to the Factory Entrance to get a cutscene with Al and Anita. Then, talk to Anita again, as well as Tako . Now, you get to build another guitar.

Talk to Anita once again; you get blueprints for a music stage. Just like the initial bridge across the sinkhole, you can't get the Commoners to build it for you; you must build it yourself, and you must apparently pick it up after construction. You also need to wait three days.

Go talk to Anita. She's still reluctant, so you have to wait another three days. Find Anita in the Factory Entrance (Main Lobby) to get a cutscene of her performance with Al. Afterwards, talk to her again (no cutscene)

--FINAL QUEST FOR ANITA--

Once Anita's at full trust, you get a quest the next morning to "Find Tako in the Badlands"; he's standing at the end of a pointless catwalk, above Anita's initial camp. Approach him to get a wordless cutscene of the siblings sitting on a girder, presumably talking.

Next... ???

Prerequisite: Heavy Machines Workbench (see recruiting Dale)

Once you find Dale's camp, you should be able to find a few copies of the Recycling manual discarded in a heap nearby. Bring one to Mark; he needs you to research it. After researching Recycling, talk to Mark again. He plans a community recycling program, and Nikki says she'll "do some calculations overnight".

The quest is to fulfill a Contract for a Community Recycling Program. This will require 4 Composting Stations and 1 Recycling Station. These contracts consume the stations produced, so if you want to use the Recycling Station, you have to make another one.

At the Heavy Machines workbench, make a Recycling Station with 200 Reinforced Plates,1 Metal Tool, 20 Electric Wire, 40 Reinforced Gears, 5 Pistons, 20 Blades, and 40 Shaped Aluminum Pipes. Then make 4 Composting Stations, and contribute all at the Contract Screen. You will be "rewarded" with 5,000 Inorganic Waste... which you can't use until you make another Recycling Station.

In fact, Mark expects you to make all those stations all over again for the next quest! Install 2 Recycling Stations and 4 Composting Stations -- he says after deleting your Recycling Station and 4 Composting Stations (this is probably a design oversight).

Install all those stations to complete the quest, then pick up the extras and sell them. The next day, back-track all the way to the Pumping Grounds to get Mark's final cutscene.

--FINAL QUEST FOR MARK--

Prerequisites: Recycling station (see Mark's Quest, above), Heavy Machines workbench (to make Pistons), CNC research, Microelectronics research (see Monty's quest)

This quest requires a lot! Before you begin, start the time-consuming process of making Fertile Soil. At the Composting Station, insert 320 Organic Waste to produce 480 Compost. This will take a long time, so do something else for a while. Then, make 720 Fertile Soil by combining 480 Compost with 480 (regular) Soil. 600 will be used for the Greenhouses, and 120 will be used for the Aquaponics stations.

Perhaps ironical is the fact that Sheira's attempt to prettify the wasteland requires more giant, polluting machines and plastic. To satisfy her final quest, you must first make an Injection Moulding station. At the Heavy Machines Workbench, combine 120 Reinforced Plates, 80 Reinforced Gears, 1 CPU board, 30 Electric Wire, 1 Metal Tool and 4 Pistons. This will let you produce the missing Plastic Tarp components (as well as produce Plastic Parts faster than the 3D printer). Each Plastic Tarp requires 20 Raw Plastic and you need hundreds of it, so be prepared to spend a lot of that resource -- which can't be purchased. To get the needed plastic, finish Mark's expensive questline to recycle your Inorganic Waste.

Finally, produce the "easier" components:

• As usual, produce Screws at the General Workbench (not the Bench Grinder). You will need 480 screws total (input 120 Scrap Metal).
  
• Collect 6 Plastic Tanks (it's easiest to find them in the environment).
  
• At the Pipe Bender, make 270 Shaped PVC Pipes from 540 Raw PVC Pipes. 180 will be used for the Greenhouses, and 90 will be used for the Aquaponics stations.
  
• Make 15 Valves at the Mechanics Station: 15 Raw Steel Pipes, 15 Gears, and 15 Metal Wheels --> these are made at the Bench Grinder using 150 Gears, 120 Metal Rods, and 150 Raw Steel Pipes

When you have all those components ready, you can produce all the stations Sheira requires. Ath the Mechanics Station, make the three extra Aquaponics stations by combining 80 Shaped PVC Pipes, 15 Valves, 6 Plastic Tanks, and 120 Fertile Soil. Place all that and then talk to Sheira again. Unfortunately, you can't sell the extra Greenhouses, but you can sell the extra Aquaponics.

Just when you think you're done, you have one more thing to do for Sheira: a "Food Security Network" contract. Produce 50 Preserved Food, 50 Dried Meat, 100 Carrots, and 100 Corn. If you talk to Sheira before finishing this contract, she says she wants to talk "tomorrow," but that tomorrow never comes until you have completed the contract.

Back-track to the Glasshouse (Greenhouse) to get Sheira's final cutscene (she's upstairs).

--FINAL QUEST FOR SHEIRA--

Prerequisites: Heavy Machines workbench (to make Pistons), Robotics workbench, research Robotics Manufacture (see H3X's quest), collect Robot Parts D, E, and F (see Item Locations section)

First, research Contour Crafting. Then talk to Sahar to get the main quest: build a Contour Crafting Robot. You need to combine Robot Parts D, E, and F; find D and E in the Machine Room, and F in the Concrete Tunnel.

At the Robotics Station, combine 120 Reinforced Plates, 2 CPU boards, 200 Electric Wires, 4 Pistons, and the Robot Parts D, E, F. Then place the giant orange robot and go talk to Sahar. She tasks you with printing one of each 3D Printed Vase (01, 02, and 03). Each one takes 20 Clay and a few seconds. Talk to Sahar to complete the quest, then place the vases in Commoners' shelters to decorate their homes (H3X in particular).

Talk to Sahar again; this time, she tasks you with printing an entire house. Print 20 Walls, each requiring 10 Raw Clay and 10 Cement. Then, add 200 Raw Clay and 200 Cement to those walls, and hit Start. The house takes less than a minute to print (30 seconds? I didn't count); it is a quest item, so it can't be placed.

When you complete that, Sahar makes a Contract for ten such houses (this first one can count toward that goal). If you complete it, you get 3 lily_a (sic)! The cost is 4,000 Clay/Cement total (including the first house; 3,600 after that).

When that contract is finished, go find Sahar in the Machine Room for her final cutscene.

--FINAL QUEST FOR SAHAR--

I have three blocked Ecology research, and no obvious way to get further Ono quests, as well as a seemingly useless "Sustainable Forestry" book. I assume they are linked.

The door to the Administration Wing is locked, opened only with a special keycard. Fortunately, Alcott has it and will give it to you once you have built the "Beta FabRoom" blueprint that he provides.

If you do all that, you can proceed to the Admin office.

This is all spoiler, so turn away if you care. If you don't want to play through to this point, below is a description of the "ending."


As you enter the hallway, the title at the top of the screen says "Mission Complete", referring to Nikki's main goal of finding the Administration wing. Inside, you see the four Ant Farm characters (including Hank and Olivia -- did you catch the in-game spoiler, back in the Pumping Grounds?), who were waiting for you, just as they have been the whole game. Nikki still doesn't understand, so she needs to proceed down the hall to the office proper.

When she gets there, the First Three (Mo, Rhett, & Ash) appear suddenly for the cutscene, trying to further deflate the build-up. With nothing of value apparent, you have to clear debris one more time.

Nikki finds a 16-year-old picture, which is the Maguffin she's been after all along. It shows her and her parents, Hank and Olivia, with other co-workers like Bennie and Frankie in their white hazard suits. I guess the Ant Farm were just phantasms.


Credit sequence!

When you walk back out, the hallway has empty hazard suits laying where the four Ant Farm ghosts were...

Wow, didn't think that would take so many words.

Thank you for reading my guide. I did this for myself, to practice my technical writing / design documentation skills. If you got something out of it as well, great! If not, or if you have constructive criticism, please leave a comment below and I will try to improve the guide.