Getting Started Guide: First Hour, Training 2, Smelter & Fabricator

This beginner guide is written for the current live baseline tracked by StarRupture Planner. The goal is not to force one rigid speedrun route. It is to get you to a first base, one readable ore loop, a first Smelter, and a clean route into your first Fabricator without overcommitting to a detour your current save does not support.

Cross-check rule: use this page for planning, then verify any corporation requirement, machine unlock, or route assumption against your current save and the Corporation Calculator. Hotfixes can move the best order even when the broad progression path stays similar.

Fast Answer: what should I do first in StarRupture?

For most current live saves, the safest first-hour route is:

1. stabilize oxygen and a compact first base
2. push Training Level 2 so the Ore Excavator is online
3. keep one short powered ore loop alive before expanding
4. bank Data Points and finish the route toward your first Smelter
5. choose Selenian Level 2 if the first Fabricator is the blocker, or Moon Energy Level 3 if map visibility is the blocker

If you want the faster phase-by-phase version, open the first-hour beginner route first and then return here for the broader planning links.

1. First Base Goal: Stable, Compact, and Easy to Recover

Your first base does not need to be pretty. It needs to do three jobs reliably:

• keep you alive through the first Rupture cycles
• support one starter extraction line and the generator feeding it
• leave room to add the first Smelter and later the first Fabricator route without rebuilding the whole footprint

Treat the opening as a stability check, not a sprint. If oxygen, food, water, or basic defense are shaky, fix those first before you try to scale production.

2. Training Level 2 Is the First Real Progress Check

For most live saves, Training is still the safest opening corporation because it gets the first automation tools online quickly. The first target is not "finish Training as fast as possible." The first target is reaching Training Level 2 so you can stop pretending hand-carrying is a sustainable economy.

Use the Corporation Calculator to confirm the current live baseline for:

• Ore Excavator
• Solar Generator V1 and early power support
• rails and base infrastructure

If your current terminal says something different, trust the terminal. This guide is the planning baseline, not a replacement for your live save.

3. Build One Powered Ore Loop Before You Chase Scale

Your first powered loop should stay simple:

1. place the generator on a connected platform path
2. place one Ore Excavator on the same shared connection path
3. feed one useful ore line consistently before you add a second fragile project

Remember: early power mistakes are usually connection mistakes, not recipe mistakes. If a machine looks idle, inspect the platform or rail path first. The power connection guide is the best next click if the starter line looks powered in theory but not in practice.

4. Data Points Turn a Good Start Into a Real Factory

A common early stall happens when the base looks functional, but progression is blocked by Data Points and missing exploration progress.

Use the early game to:

• collect artifacts on short loops while the base stays recoverable
• avoid wandering so far that one death erases the run's momentum
• note nearby POIs you may want later when blueprint and map runs begin

If long trips are starting to feel expensive, cross-check the Interactive Map and the Blueprint Locations hub instead of relying on old routes that may no longer fit the current live baseline.

5. Training Level 4 and the First Smelter Matter More Than Fancy Layouts

The first Smelter is one of the clearest early production breakpoints because it lets you stop treating every bar and part as a temporary hand-fed workaround. Many first-hour routes feel stronger the moment one clean loop becomes:

Ore Excavator -> rail/platform path -> first Smelter -> storage

Do not rush past this step. One short line that you can debug quickly is worth more than multiple half-fed machines that still need manual rescue every few minutes.

6. Selenian Level 2 vs Moon Energy Level 3

After the first Smelter is stable, most live saves branch in two sensible directions:

• Selenian Level 2 if the next real blocker is the first Fabricator
• Moon Energy Level 3 if travel friction and map visibility are slowing every other decision

This is why "best first corporation" advice is usually incomplete on its own. The better question is: what is your actual bottleneck right now?

• if you need rods, wires, plates, and more serious manufacturing access, push Selenian Level 2
• if you keep losing time on route planning, artifact loops, or landmark tracking, push Moon Energy Level 3

Use the Corporation Calculator to compare the current live requirements, then cross-check the next machine plan in the Calculator and the supporting recipes in the Database.

7. What To Open After Hour One

Once the first-hour baseline is stable, your best next click depends on the bottleneck:

• first-hour beginner route if you want a tighter minute-by-minute opener
• Corporation Calculator for exact live progression requirements
• Production Calculator for machine counts and bottleneck checks
• Database for recipes, uses, and item dependencies
• Interactive Map if Moon Energy Level 3 or route planning is your next unlock pressure
• Power & Energy Guide if the starter grid is the thing breaking your growth

Common Beginner Mistakes

1. Treating one route as universal

There is no single best opener for every save. Use the common route as a baseline, then adapt to your actual bottleneck.

2. Expanding before the first loop is readable

If your first base is messy, more generation and more machines usually make the mess harder to debug, not easier to fix.

3. Ignoring Data Points until the wall hits

If you wait too long to gather artifacts and progression items, the factory can stall even when ore and power look healthy.

4. Choosing a corporation level without naming the blocker

Selenian Level 2 and Moon Energy Level 3 are both strong answers, but they solve different problems. Pick the one that matches the bottleneck in your current save.

Safe First-Hour Checklist

Use this as a planning baseline rather than a stopwatch:

• a protected first base with room to expand
• Training Level 2 complete and one Ore Excavator doing real work
• active Data Points income instead of a full progression stall
• a clear route to the first Smelter
• a named choice between Selenian Level 2 and Moon Energy Level 3
• a follow-up plan for either the first Fabricator or map visibility

Next guide: use the Power Scaling Guide once your first Smelter and first Fabricator plan are stable.