This route is written for the current live build. Update 2 is live and was released on 2026-09-02. Update 1 remains the earlier live release. Treat this as a practical, community-compiled opener that we use across the planner: useful for getting stable quickly, but still worth a final cross-check against your current save, the in-game terminal, and the site's calculator pages.
How to read this guide safely
- This article follows the current Update 2 live baseline used across StarRupture Planner. Recipe numbers stay on the last verified dataset.
- Confirmed Update 1 features are included; unverified recipes, power values, and unlocks stay outside calculator guidance.
- Exact minute marks vary depending on your spawn, artifact pickups, and how fast you bank Data Points.
Phase 1 (Minutes 0-15): Oxygen, Power, and Training Level 2
Your first goal is not a big factory. It is a stable bubble, enough manual gathering to stop panicking, and a fast path into Training Level 2 so the Ore Excavator comes online.
- Drop your base core early. Keep your first loops short so oxygen is never the thing slowing you down.
- Add early solar capacity. Even a tiny surplus is better than running your first machines at the edge of the grid.
- Hand-collect Titanium and Wolfram with purpose.The objective is not stockpiling forever; it is clearing the Training requirements needed to unlock automation.
Phase 2 (Minutes 15-30): Put One Real Extraction Loop Online
The first automated loop is where most saves become recoverable. On the live build, a very dependable early shape is:
Keep that loop short, powered, and easy to inspect. Do not add a second chain until you know the first one is feeding consistently. From there, start pushing Training Level 3 so the Analyzing Station can turn exploration finds into the Data Points needed for your first Smelter.
Phase 3 (Minutes 30-45): Training Level 4 and Your First Smelter
Training Level 4 unlocks the Smelter, which is the first major production breakpoint in the current live build. Once it is online, you can stop treating every material handoff like a temporary workaround.
Start with one clean smelting line, not a cluster of half-fed machines. The best hour-one habit is learning to debug one short line quickly. If this loop is stable, every later expansion gets easier.
Phase 4 (Minutes 45-60): Prepare the Selenian Level 2 Push
After your first Smelter is reliable, the next major target is usually Selenian Level 2, because that unlocks the Fabricator. The Fabricator is where your simple bars and powders start turning into the parts that power the rest of the planner.
That does not mean every save must hit Selenian Level 2 inside exactly 60 minutes. A clean hour-one result is often: first automated ore, first Smelter, active Data Point income, and a corporation plan that is ready to submit instead of improvised.
Strong first-hour checklist
- Oxygen and power are stable enough that you are not firefighting basic survival.
- Training Level 2 is complete and your first Ore Excavator is doing real work.
- Training Level 4 is complete or clearly queued through your Data Point loop.
- Your first Smelter line is compact, readable, and producing without frequent manual rescue.
- You know whether your next reputation target is Selenian Level 2 or Moon Energy Level 3.
What to Do After Hour One
Most live-build progress routes branch in two sensible directions:
- Selenian Level 2 if you want the Fabricator online as early as possible.
- Moon Energy Level 3 if map visibility is the thing blocking your expansion route.
Use the Corporation Calculator to cross-check the current live baseline for reputation bundles, and the Production Calculator to make sure your next machine plan matches the save you actually have, not the route you hoped to have.