Crafting Basics
StarMade's crafting system is based on a consistence tree — a hierarchy of ingredients where higher-tier items are made from lower-tier ones, all the way down to raw ores and shards.
The Consistence Tree
Think of crafting like a tree with branches:
- The root is the item you want to make.
- Each branch is an ingredient required for that item.
- Each ingredient branch has its own sub-branches (its own ingredients).
- Trees never loop — an item is never an ingredient of itself.
A factory only performs the last step of a tree. To make a Power Reactor Module, the factory consumes Metal Mesh and Active Varat Processor — you need a separate factory to make each of those from their own ingredients.
Recipes (Fixed)
Some items use a recipe instead of a consistence tree. These are fixed:
| Recipe | Output |
|---|---|
| 10 ore capsules (any type) | 1 Metal Mesh |
| 10 shard capsules (any type) | 1 Crystal Circuit |
Step-by-Step: First Materials
1. Mine Raw Resources
Go to an asteroid field and mine ores and shards with the right mouse button (no weapon selected).
2. Personal Capsule Refinery
Open your inventory (I) and click Craft Capsule. This opens your personal capsule refinery.
- Put one stack of raw ore or shards in the input slot.
- Leave the second slot empty — the product (capsules) will appear there.
- Wait for processing to complete.
You can only process one type at a time in the personal refinery because it needs a free slot for the output. Factory blocks are more efficient for bulk processing.
3. Personal Micro-Factory
In your inventory, click Micro to open the personal micro-factory.
- Place 10 capsules (all the same type: all ore capsules, or all shard capsules).
- After a moment you get:
- 10 ore capsules → 1 Metal Mesh
- 10 shard capsules → 1 Crystal Circuit
4. Personal Macro-Factory Craft
When you have 10 Metal Meshes or 10 Crystal Circuits, click Craft Macro in your inventory to craft your first Macro Factory block.
This factory can produce any craftable block in the game — see Factories & Production for how to use it.
Material Summary
| Raw → Capsule | Capsule × 10 → |
|---|---|
| Ore → Ore Capsule | Metal Mesh |
| Shard → Shard Capsule | Crystal Circuit |
Metal Mesh and Crystal Circuit are ingredients in virtually every block recipe.