How to Get Started in Scrap Mechanic

Start fresh for 1.0

Scrap Mechanic 1.0 & Drilling Thunder rebuilt Survival from the ground up. Pre-1.0 saves often do not load in the current client. If you want the voiced Chapter 2 story, the underground layer, and the new health system, create a new Survival world and follow the yellow quest markers — they are more reliable than any old route memorised from Early Access.

The on-screen Builder Guide hologram beside your crash site teaches vehicle placement. Optional blue quests like Your First Vehicle reward you if you build next to the projection. Treat the live Craftbot and Schematicbot menus as the authority for recipes; pre-1.0 wiki tables are frequently wrong.

Quest marker colours

The 1.0 quest display uses colour-coded markers so you always know what kind of task is ahead:

• Yellow — main story quest. Follow these first; they unlock areas, recipes and core mechanics.
• Blue — optional builder side quest (e.g. Your First Vehicle). Rewarding but never required for progression.
• Green — Farmer quest chain tied to trading and the Spud Gun.

A common early mistake is spending all your metal on a blue builder quest while a simple yellow interaction at the ship is still waiting. Always check marker colour before committing resources.

What this guide covers

This is the single most important page in the wiki. It walks through your first 30 minutes in Scrap Mechanic Survival Mode: from waking up beside your crashed ship to driving a basic tractor back from your first warehouse run. By the end of this guide you will have:

• Refilled your health, hunger and thirst bars.
• Located the Mechanic Station and placed a Craftbot.
• Built a basic tractor and driven it at least once.
• Planted your first crop and watered it.
• Decided whether to play solo or join a multiplayer server.

For the long version, see the beginner roadmap. This page is the short version, with a video to anchor the steps visually.

The first 30 minutes, step by step

1. Wake up and explore the crash site. Pick up the Connect Tool beside the ship — you will need it for every vehicle and base wiring job. Open the Logbook once to pin the first yellow quest marker.
2. Recover the battery. Walk to the Mechanic Station building (follow the road), grab the battery inside, and return it to the ship.
3. Place your first Craftbot. Interact with the Dispenserbot at the Mechanic Station and place a Craftbot on flat ground outside.
4. Craft a Driver Seat and 4 Small Wheels. These are the simplest parts and the foundation of your first vehicle.
5. Build the chassis. 4 wood blocks in a 2x2 pattern, with the Driver Seat on the front-left block and a Battery directly behind it.
6. Attach wheels and test. Sit in the seat to confirm the controls.
7. Drive to a nearby wreck. Use the road network to find the closest wreck and gather 30 refined metal.
8. Plant your first crop. Find a flat patch of ground near water, place a Soil Bag, plant a Wheat seed, water it.

If you have done all eight steps, you have completed the on-boarding. The wiki is now useful to you — start with farming and raids once you are ready to expand.

What to do next

• Read how to get a Spud Gun so you can start clearing warehouses.
• Plan your base with the defensive base template.
• If you play with friends, read how to play multiplayer for co-op role splits and host tips.