This Black and White Ball (Zebra Ball) has no real use

This page has pro tips & tricks for the game Astroneer.

Credit for many of these tips go to /u/themanwhowas from the /r/Astroneer subreddit. Feel free to add your own tips.

Level platform placement [ edit ]

If you erase all the terrain beneath a tentative platform (where it's still holographic, waiting for one resin to make real) it'll sink, then pop up to perfectly horizontal. Adding the resin makes it go out to maximum extension and perfectly flat. Then just fill in the gaps!

Stations don't transmit power [ edit ]

If you have a row of platforms and make the mistake of turning a central one into a workstation, the ones down the line won't get power anymore. My suggestion is to build a spine of platforms (good for storage, batteries and solar panels) as the core of your base and extend off from that. If you curve them and set stations inwards on every other platform, you can make a nice centralized work area you don't have to run around in. You have a limited number of platform connections from your habitat: As others have pointed out, if you fill them all up with stations, you can't make any more. Leave a few out as transfer platforms to extend your base and your reach.

Your base icons can disappear behind a horizon if you're off exploring. Leave beacons behind every few minutes to follow back so you don't get lost. The compass can sometimes switch around on you without noticing - don't trust it to navigate. If you run out of beacons, leave sculptures with the terrain tool to guide you. Dick statues not required, but amusing.

The black and white ball is a toy [ edit ]

It's weird, and mysterious, but there's no in-game use for it yet. Collect them, have fun, don't worry about them. Fuel refineries + trade depots = infinite resources: Now, I've seen this mentioned as a bug, but I think it's a tool like anything else in the game. I once spent several hours looking for new resin deposits, unable to advance further - but generating hydrazine from nothing but power and trading it off for what you need is an excellent way of solving problems caused by random resource generation. Not to mention it's almost essential on low-resource environments like barren worlds. It's also a great late-game tool for setting up new bases without having to spend hours searching for each individual resource.

Brazen theft [ edit ]

You know those trade depots? Turns out they're not locked. Hit launch, then (with room in your backpack) shift-click those Titaniums as they start to rise up. Free resources, and a better exchange rate than Hydrazine - free! Devs, I urge you to leave this in the game. If players don't know it, don't guess it, they won't exploit it. If they do the research, get tips, or figure it out on their own, it's a cheat code. And once you have all the research, infinite power, and infinite resources, all that's left is exploring - and I've been doing it for days without pause. It's still an amazing game without worrying about resource management. I want to see crashed shuttles, giant ribcages, beautiful storms, gorgeous mountains and sunsets. All my favorite games I use cheat codes, mods, trainers - and I still enjoy the hell out of them despite that, because of their story, their atmosphere, or just the joy of playing.