Explorables

Explorables are buildings which appear as part of world generation.

Explorable buildings are one of the earliest naturally generating assets available to the player. Bots can interact with an Explorable to "explore" it, presenting the player with ways to access useful resources and components.

Each Explorable is categorized by its parent racial faction. This determines both the methods required to gain access and the loot rewarded for doing so. Access methods include solving puzzles, spending items and using special components.

Explorable Types

Robot Ruins

Robot Explorables are ruined, nonfunctional versions of buildings which appear in the player's Robot faction. When starting a new game, these ruins are a valuable early source of Robotics Datacubes along with other materials and components. There are two challenge segments to Robot Explorables. One is a puzzle, picked from Nine Clicks or Circuit. The other is an item request, chosen from early game materials such as Crystal Chunks or Metal Plates. A specific type of ruin (a mostly-intact Mothership) may also demand a blank Datakey, an item obtainable later down the tech tree.

Drop Ships

Old Drop Ships appear commonly within the Desert biome. They require no challenges to open, immediately rewarding the player with small amounts of natural and manufactured materials. Available rewards include Metal Ore, Metal Bars, Metal Plates, Reinforced Plates, Energized Plates, High Density Structures, Crystal Powder, Wires, Cables and Laterite Ore. Additionally, anomalous Drop Ships can spawn as part of an Anomaly alert, disappearing if not claimed within a short time. These anomalies frequently reward Robotics Datacubes and a Component (including a single-use Deployer). An intact Drop Ship is disbursed to players at the beginning of a new game, providing useful components including a Small Advanced Turret and a Fabricator. All types of Drop Ship automatically deconstruct themselves once emptied.

Human Buildings

Human Explorables are structures left behind by the previous Human visitors of the world. There are two categories of buildings: Human Bases, which appear in groups of four 3x3 buildings, and the larger Data Complexes which are hidden within the deep Blight. Unike Robot ruins, Human buildings still retain some functionality that can be reactivated. Some of these functions require the building to be hacked into player control. Power Plants contain an integral Power Cell component which passively generates 500 Power and distributes it over a 10-cell radius. Warehouses possess 24 inventory slots. Factories are preconfigured with one production recipe, chosen randomly from Human Miner Bot, Human Datacube, Low Density Structure or Microscope. 'Be advised: this recipe will disappear if the building is hacked!' Research Labs can be used as Uplinks with about 5x work rate (and proportional Power cost). When accessed by the AI Explorer, each lab also allows a one-time upgrade of a blank Datakey into a Human Datakey. Data Complexes reside within the Blight and are used to convert Human Datakeys into Blight Datakeys. To access Human Explorables you first need a Small Intel Scanner component to clear the first layer of security. Once opened, you will also need to solve or bypass a Tile Slider puzzle and provide a Human material, some of which may be obtained from other structures within the same base. Data Complexes must be repaired with a Microscope; depending on your progress through Human research this may require you to find several Factories and provide them with the materials necessary to build up to Microscopes.

Alien Structures

There are two sizes of Alien Explorables: small and large. Each is found in a different location and requires varied methods to gain access to the rewards within. Small Alien Explorables are a frequent sight at the edges of the Plateau and Blight Biomes. Be cautions when approaching as each spawns with a single Bug Hole nearby. After unlocking with a Small Intel Scanner and solving or bypassing a Balance puzzle you will need an Alien Decryption Key component to complete the exploration. Rewards include Alien Datacubes and Alien Artifacts. Large Alien Explorables loom large within the Blight biome. Like the smaller structures they require an Intel Scanner to gain access. Each building will demand some type of Data Key in order to provide their rewards. Currently (as of 0.1.14033) only the Console is solved by providing a Blight Datakey; this structure will reward your first Alien Decryption Key and unlock Alien Technology research. Other Explorables such as Monoliths, Time Eggs and Heart Shards require Robot Datakeys which are not yet legitimately obtainable.

Puzzles

Following is a list of the puzzles that can appear when interacting with Explorables and tips on solving them.

Nine Clicks

Nine Clicks is a 3x3 grid with an empty center. Each cell will be randomly colored either red or blue. Clicking on a cell will reverse the color of both that cell and any cells around it (eight-way adjacency). The objective is to turn all cells blue. To solve this puzzle, start by clicking all red cells in the corners, then all red cells at the non-corner sides. Alternate between corners and sides until the puzzle is completed or reaches a state where the solution can be easily read.

Circuit

Circuit takes place on a square of cells randomly measuring 3x3, 5x5, 7x7 or 9x9. Each cell hosts a pathway which connects to adjacent cells in one, two, three or four directions. One cell is the "power source" which is lit blue. Any path that connects to the power source also lights up blue while nonconnected paths are red. Clicking on a cell will rotate its path clockwise; right-clicking will rotate it counter-clockwise. The objective is to light the entire grid blue. The solution starts with rotating the I and T cells at the far sides. Finish the corners and work your way toward the power source (which can also be rotated). Once your work so far is lit up the rest should fall into place.

Tile Slider

Tile Slider involves a 3x3 grid with eight tiles, numbered 1 through 8, and an empty space. A tile can be slid to fill in the space and leave a new one behind it. The objective is to arrange the tiles into the following state: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 - Solving this puzzle can be made easier by first solving the top 1-2-3 row or left 1-4-7 column. The remaining tiles can be slid about in "figure eight" shapes until the final movements become clearer. Most of these puzzles can be solved in between 3 and 15 moves.

Balance

Balance involves three "source" tiles on the left, three "terminal" tiles on the right, and a "power gauge" on the bottom. Linking a source to a terminal fills the power gauge by a certain amount. The objective is to fill the power gauge exactly to the marked point. The solution to this puzzle becomes clear with two facts: you do not need to use every source, and one source can link to multiple terminals. From there it's simple trial and error to see how much power each source provides.