- Build when the next few runs will clearly get easier.
- Choose boring and safe over pretty and far.
- Place storage and power before anything decorative.
Workbench
Build only what makes the next few runs easier.
This planner helps you decide whether to build now, what to place first, and when the base already is good enough to stop expanding.
Best fit
Use this when the base question is real enough to matter, but you still are not sure whether the next step is timing, location, power, or cleanup.
Base workbench
Name the base stage and the real friction first.
Base help
What the planner should settle before you spend materials.
A good base answer removes travel, storage, or power friction. If the planner cannot point to a repeated problem, the safer move is usually to wait instead of building something that only looks useful.
- Building too early just because materials are available.
- Making the first base a long detour instead of a helper.
- Expanding before the layout solves a real bottleneck.
- Open Building if you already know you need a structure plan.
- Open First base location if the real question is where to place it.
- Open Vehicles if distance, not home friction, is the bigger wall.
Base planning depth
What the base planner should solve before the first build gets expensive.
The planner should tell the player whether a base is saving time, where it belongs, and how small the first build can stay while still being useful. That keeps the decision practical instead of aspirational.
- Build only when the site will reduce repeated travel.
- Keep the first base focused on storage, power, and access.
- Use the planner to compare future trip savings against current material cost.
- Building for comfort before the route problem is solved.
- Adding rooms before the site has a real job.
- Choosing a location that looks good but does not lower friction.
- Open Base Building Center for the full build flow.
- Open First base location for placement logic.
- Open Materials Center if the plan is blocked by the batch.
Base site check
How to tell whether a location is actually worth building on.
A good base site lowers effort. That usually means the return trip feels shorter, the storage is easier to reach, and the next crafting step no longer needs a full detour.
Pick this site
The location shortens a route you already repeat.
Wait for another site
The route is still changing too much to justify the build.
Build smaller
The site is useful but you do not need the full layout yet.
Base go / no-go
Use a simple test before you spend another batch on the base.
If the base does not save a repeated trip, it is probably not ready yet. The planner should make that call clear so the player does not turn a helpful site into another maintenance job.
- The spot shortens a route you already repeat.
- You know the first room the base needs.
- Storage or power is the actual blocker.
- You are building because you can, not because you should.
- The route is still too unstable to anchor a home.
- You would still need a second page just to pick the site.
- First base location when placement is the real question.
- Building when the layout decision comes next.
- Materials Center if the build is blocked by resources.
Base first step
What the first room should solve.
The first base should solve one real pain point, not become a whole project. If the first room cannot remove storage, power, or return-travel friction, the plan is probably too early.
Pick storage first
Use this when repeat cleanup trips are wasting time.
Pick power first
Use this when the base cannot support the next useful tool.
Pick location first
Use this when the route is already repeated often enough to justify a home.