FIELD NOTE 03 / Beginner
Build a laboratory that keeps growing
Plan water, power and plant space before bringing fragile specimens back to an unfinished base.
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THE SHORT ANSWER
Choose a base location with water access, supply the growing equipment with a Water Pump and power, then prove the setup can sustain an ordinary plant before starting a hybrid experiment. Keep water access intact when extending or dismantling the base.
Before you begin
- A suitable riverside water source
- Unlocked equipment blueprints and required materials
- Space for growing and later expansion
Pick the supply location before the floor plan
A riverside water source is a central consideration for a research base. Plants need water, and the pump and growing equipment need a functioning supply. A scenic location becomes expensive in repeated trips if it leaves your laboratory without the basic conditions to grow anything.
Think through the route from collection to cultivation. You need to reach the base with the specimen, process it and put it into the right equipment. Put those tasks into a compact working area before adding decorative space. Your first build should let you complete a cycle; later additions can make it more comfortable.
Build the first supply chain in order
Complete the marked starter-base objective near the landing area first. Place the Water Pump, put a Wind Turbine near it, then place the Multi Room within range of both. Being close to the water is not enough: the room must receive the services from the equipment you placed.
| Part | Job | Check before proceeding |
|---|---|---|
| Water Pump | Provides the water service | Placed at the required water location |
| Wind Turbine | Provides power for the starter setup | Positioned near the pump |
| Multi Room | Houses your early working area | Within both equipment ranges |
| Growing area | Supports crop and hybrid work | Light and B-pipe as well as water and power |
Pin the blueprint you are working toward and follow its displayed material requirements. Finish the tutorial objective before relocating to a larger site, since that initial construction step leads into further blueprints.
Leave the greenhouse room center clear
Grow Beds need light and a B-pipe. Plan the pipe before filling the room with beds and stairs: it uses the center of an eligible room, and stairs on the level above or below can interfere with that space.
- Complete the initial construction objectives and unlock the equipment.
- Confirm the new room is within water and power range.
- Reserve the room center for the B-pipe; check both adjacent levels for stairs.
- Provide light and place the growing equipment.
- Grow an ordinary specimen before committing rare parents.
- Start one experiment and inspect its result before expanding.
If the ordinary plant fails, work on the supply system before changing the breeding pair. If the pipe will not place, inspect the vertical layout rather than moving every bed at random.
Expand without cutting off the plants
When dismantling structures, preserve water access to active Grow Pods. Removing that supply can interrupt the crop you are trying to preserve. Trace which parts of the supply your new layout depends on before removing the old ones.
Finish or secure the current experiment before a major rebuild. Keep seed reserves for important plants so that a lost crop is not also the loss of your whole research line. After construction, inspect the supply and an ordinary growing cycle again before bringing home rare parents.
If the blueprint screen is still locked
Building Minion can ask you to pin a blueprint. The first release hotfix added a failsafe to unlock the Blueprints screen when that objective arrives. Update the game before trying to work around a locked screen at that point.
The same patch fixed a crafting-requirements crash linked to storage that no longer existed. If construction trouble follows deleting storage, update and reload through the normal game flow before dismantling more of the base. Keep a clear distinction between a missing material shown in the recipe and a game crash; collecting more materials is not a fix for the latter.
Once the supply works, follow the first hybrid procedure and then organize repeatable production.