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Resource Gathering
August 26, 2026 at 12:19 AM
Added ground ore patches as a renewable mining source after ore rocks are cleared, and a drinking water section covering the rain catcher and the carafe and oven route
Resource gathering is the foundation of all other systems in Solarpunk. Players collect raw materials from the floating islands and process them into tools, building materials, and components. Gathering methods range from manual mining with a Pickaxe to automated extraction with drills.
Resource | Source | How to obtain |
|---|---|---|
Sand | Brown rocks (sandstone) | Mine with Pickaxe |
Stone | Green rocks (stone with moss) | Mine with Pickaxe at dedicated spots |
Iron | Small iron outcrops | Mine scattered deposits throughout islands |
Wood | Trees | Chop with Axe |
Clay | Various mining | Obtained randomly alongside other materials |
Cotton | Farming | Grow and harvest from planted seeds |
Algae | Magnet Fisher | Collected automatically by the Automatic Magnet Fisher |
Truffles | Pigs | Dug up by pigs exploring the island |
Copper | Mining | Used alongside iron and glass in powered-device recipes |
Glass | Crafted from sand | Building material and a component in powered-device recipes |
Solarpunk has visually distinct rock types that yield different materials:
Brown rocks (sandstone): These lighter-colored rocks produce Sand when mined. Sand is used in crafting and is a component for glass building materials.
Green rocks (stone with moss): These darker rocks with visible moss produce Stone. Stone is a basic material used across many recipes and building components.
Small iron outcrops are scattered throughout the world on various islands. Iron is not available from regular rock deposits; players must find these specific iron nodes. Iron tools are available in the full game (they were not included in the demo) and last significantly longer than their wooden counterparts. Diamond tools sit above iron as the longest-lasting tier.
Copper is a metal used in the electrical side of the game. It appears alongside iron and glass in the recipes built at the Energy Crafting Table, including the solar panel, so a copper supply is what gates a base's expansion into the energy system and automation.
Clay is obtained randomly alongside other materials while mining. There are no dedicated clay deposits; instead, clay appears as a secondary drop when gathering from various rock types. Clay is used in crafting recipes and as a component for brick building materials.
Truffles are a unique resource that cannot be mined or farmed directly. They are exclusively obtained by raising pigs, which dig up truffles from the ground as they explore the island. This makes pigs a valuable animal to keep for access to this otherwise unobtainable resource.
Visible ore rocks are not the only source of ore. Once the rocks on an island have been cleared, ore can still be mined directly from ore patches on the ground, which are worked with the pickaxe in the same way. Iron patches in particular are called out as an important early resource, so it is worth scanning the ground while exploring rather than only looking for standing rocks.
This matters because it means an island is not permanently exhausted once its obvious rocks are gone. If iron has run short, the answer is usually to look down rather than to fly somewhere new.
Tools in Solarpunk have a durability system. Each use of a tool reduces its durability until it breaks:
Wooden tools: Break quickly. Made from Sticks and Stones via quick craft. Expect to re-craft these frequently in the early game.
Iron tools: Last significantly longer than wooden tools. Require iron, which is found at scattered outcrops. Available in the full game but not in the demo.
Tool durability was a point of feedback during playtests, with many testers noting that wooden tools break too quickly, leading to frequent trips back to the crafting menu.
As players progress, they can build automated machines to handle resource extraction:
Automatic Drill: Extracts resources from ground deposits without manual mining. No longer produces stone as a byproduct.
Automatic Magnet Fisher: Collects algae from below the islands. Algae is used in advanced crafting recipes.
Both machines require power from the Energy System to operate.
Thirst is a survival meter, and water is gathered rather than crafted. There are two routes to drinkable water, and they suit different stages of the game.
Method | How It Works | When to Use It |
|---|---|---|
Rain catcher | Collects rainwater, which is directly drinkable with no further processing. | Build one as early as possible. It is the simplest reliable supply and needs no fuel. |
Carafe and oven | Craft a carafe, fill it from a lake, then boil the water in the oven to make it drinkable. | Useful while travelling and during dry stretches when rain is rare. |
Building water containers early is the standard opening advice, because they store what you collect and cover the gaps between rainfalls. The carafe route is unlocked through research later on and pairs well with long airship trips, where a rain catcher back at base is no help. Prepared meals also slow how fast thirst drains; see Cooking.
