How to Complete Builder Quests in Scrap Mechanic 1.0

Blue builder quests vs yellow story quests

Scrap Mechanic 1.0 uses colour-coded quest markers so you always know what kind of task is waiting:

• Yellow — main Chapter 2 story. Follow these first; they unlock Mining Island, warehouses, and the underground.
• Blue — optional builder side quests. Rewarding tutorials and materials, but never required for story progression.
• Green — Farmer trade chain and Spud Gun economy.

This guide covers blue builder quests only. For the voiced Builder Quests 1–8 tracked by the NPC at the Mechanic Station, see quests and NPCs and getting started.

A common early mistake: spending all your metal on a blue hologram build while a simple yellow interaction at the ship is still pending. Check marker colour before committing resources.

The Builder Guide hologram

Beside your crash site, the Builder Guide projects a ghost blueprint — usually a simple tractor for Your First Vehicle. The hologram is a teaching tool, not a quest NPC you carry away.

How to complete hologram quests:

1. Open the Logbook and pin the blue marker.
2. Place blocks inside the highlighted projection zone — the game checks overlap, not exact part IDs in most early quests.
3. Use the Connect Tool for bearings and seats exactly as the ghost shows.
4. Sit in the Driver Seat or trigger the interaction the subtitle names.
5. Collect the material reward from the notification banner.

Completing three optional blue projections unlocks the Steam achievement Helpful builder. You can finish them in any order before leaving the crash biome.

Glowbug and Cardboard Munchies

Mid-way through the Farmer green chain, a cardboard scout NPC nicknamed Glowbug offers the optional quest Cardboard Munchies — build a small delivery cart and feed cardboard crates to a marked Totebot pen. The quest teaches storage crates, lightweight frames, and how blue quests interact with combat zones.

Steps:

1. Talk to Glowbug at the Farmer Shack after your first Spud Gun trade.
2. Build the cart layout shown in the hologram — four wheels, Driver Seat, Storage Crate on the bed.
3. Load cardboard boxes from the shack supply pile.
4. Drive to the pen marker and deposit crates in the chute.
5. Return to Glowbug for component packs and a schematic box roll at the roadside Schematicbot kiosk.

Patch 1.0.4 — Glowbug cannot be picked up

Before 1.0.4 (August 1, 2026), players could accidentally lift Glowbug with the Lift tool and relocate the quest giver, breaking the Cardboard Munchies turn-in. Patch 1.0.4 locked Glowbug as a world fixture — the NPC can no longer be picked up or moved. If you are on an older client and lost Glowbug off a cliff, update Steam to 1.0.4 or reload a backup save from before the move.

Vault value milestones

Later blue-adjacent progression introduces the Farmer vault — a secure room where you deposit valuables looted from ruins and warehouses. Patch 1.0.3 fixed quests that failed when players hit vault quotas early; you can now pick up valuables during the introduction quest without softlocking.

Typical vault tiers referenced in patch notes and community testing:

Milestone	Approximate vault value	Unlocks
Tier 1	10,000	Basic Farmer trade upgrades, extra Soil Bag recipes
Tier 2	100,000	Advanced Spud Gun attachments, raid cell reduction on Easy
Tier 3	1,000,000	Cosmetic station banners, bonus schematic box at kiosk

Valuables stack in your inventory with a gold coin icon. Deposit at the vault terminal inside the Farmer Shack — the UI shows progress toward the next tier. These milestones are parallel to yellow story quests; rushing vault grind before Quest 5 warehouse prep is optional min-maxing, not a blocker.

Builder quest checklist

• Logbook opened — blue markers visible on compass
• Crash-site hologram tractor completed (Your First Vehicle)
• Two additional blue projections done for Helpful builder (if chasing achievements)
• Glowbug Cardboard Munchies finished after Spud Gun trade
• Steam client at 1.0.4+ so Glowbug stays at the shack
• Valuables deposited toward first 10k vault tier when ruining runs allow

Tips and common mistakes

• Ignoring yellow quests for blue builds. Blue rewards never unlock the underground.
• Building outside the hologram zone. The quest tracker counts block overlap with the projection volume.
• Selling cardboard before Cardboard Munchies. Keep shack supply crates until Glowbug accepts them.
• Vault hoarding without depositing. Valuables do not count until placed in the terminal.

What to read next

• Quests and NPCs — full Builder Quest 1–8 table
• Getting started — first 30 minutes and marker colours
• Updates — 1.0.3 vault fix and 1.0.4 Glowbug note