Fix missing materials and unresponsive tools

A passive tool must still be active

Collection tools such as the chisel, shears and trowel work passively once activated in the inventory. Owning one is not the same as enabling it. If a resource interaction is unavailable, check that the relevant tool is activated and that its durability has not run out.

The Analyzer and Builder have their own active use, while transport equipment is deployed. Avoid trying to solve all three categories by pressing the same tool shortcut. Read the inventory's activation or use option for the item you are handling.

Carry suitable maintenance supplies on trips that depend on a tool. Regular maintenance kits serve passive tools; carry fine maintenance kits for the hoverboard and check its repair option. Check the kit and equipment descriptions before leaving so you do not return with the wrong repair item for the problem.

Read the node before walking to it

Inspect resource nodes within the highlighted area around your position on the map. Their available quantity matters more than the fact that the icon exists. If the current quantity is zero, choose a different node instead of spending another trip at an empty source.

Use AR to help identify sought resources once you are nearby. Pair the map check with the required tool: a full node does not help if its collection tool is inactive or broken. Check quantity, access and equipment together before committing the trip.

Keep depletion and location separate in your notes. An empty node is not proof that the whole region lacks the material, and it does not supply a respawn timer. Move to another available source rather than assuming a fixed wait will solve the shortage.

Diagnose a recipe that says ingredients are missing

With Hotfix #4, crafting stations pull ingredients from lockers across a full-size room. A locker does not have to stand immediately beside the station. The update also fixes ingredient deductions across several containers and refunds the exact materials used.

1. Read the exact required item and quantity in the recipe.
2. Check the relevant locker contents and whether it is within the station's room-sized crafting reach.
3. Move the required material into personal inventory and check the recipe again.
4. If the inventory test works, return the material to a locker in the same room and repeat the check.
5. If an old installation still requires adjacent storage or miscounts split stacks, install Hotfix #4 before rebuilding the room.

Keep metals near the Fabricator and organics near the Multi Cooker for convenient sorting. This is an organization choice, not an adjacent-locker requirement.

Keep food fresh in containers and powered fridges

After Hotfix #4, every inventory and container slows rotting to 15% of the world rate. A powered fridge stops rotting completely; check its power before leaving food for a long expedition.

The Item Durability Rate applies to tools, worn equipment, the hoverboard, the drone and food rotting in inventories or containers. It is 1.0 on Scientist, 1.25 on Survivalist and 2.0 on Space Hell; the Engineer slider goes up to 2.0. Plants growing out in the world are unaffected by this setting. Keep your difficulty settings with any spoilage observations rather than assuming all modes have the same timer.

Check weight when a locker seems half empty

In standard difficulties, capacity is constrained by weight. Look at the weight readout, not only unused slots. A few heavy stacks can stop a transfer before the visual grid looks full.

Split storage by the station it serves and move bulky reserves out of your expedition load. This also makes missing-material checks quicker: the items used by a station have one obvious home. Keep fragile organic samples on a short route to processing rather than carrying them through every unrelated collection trip.

Recover a missed scan without chasing the animal

Scan nests and inspect the ground inside and nearby for species materials, including when the animals are elsewhere. This gives you a stationary research target and a practical resource check. Remain aware of territorial wildlife; an empty-looking nest is not automatically a safe place to linger.

If you already collected an item before scanning it, put it down in a safe place and scan it there. Check the resulting research information before moving on. A nest or resource scan is useful, but do not assume it replaces every observation needed for the animal itself.

Distinguish missing ingredients from a crash

Hotfix #1 repaired a crafting-requirements crash involving a storage container that no longer existed. Update the game if crafting problems began after removing storage. That issue is different from a recipe correctly reporting that an existing locker is out of range.

For a working station with missing ingredients, use the inventory test above. For the Building Minion blueprint screen, see the blueprint unlock fix. These checks avoid throwing away a useful base layout to solve the wrong problem.