Shelter

Shelter is the player’s primary base structure and the core of survival progression on a planet. Once placed, it becomes the hub of the base, providing a permanent place to save the game, a respawn point after death, and an infinite source of Oxygen and Power. To use it as a respawn location, the player must enter the Shelter at least once first.

A Shelter also functions as the anchor for expanding a base. It has two Tier-1 side slots for attaching up to two items, and four power connectors for extending power networks outward. The starting Landing Pad provides an Oxygenator that can be moved into the starting Shelter, but Oxygenators printed with Shelters cannot be removed. Crafted Shelters also include an Oxygenator, while the starting Shelter does not. In addition, Shelters come with a permanent RTG attached; this RTG cannot be removed, and it generates one quarter of the power of a craftable RTG.

Shelters cannot be moved once placed, and they cannot be packaged after placement. They are therefore best treated as a permanent base foundation rather than a temporary deployment structure. There is also a smaller, more mobile variant, the Field Shelter, which is cheaper to produce and takes up less space.

Shelters are important for mission progression:

• Forward Progress requires the player to place a Shelter on another planet besides Sylva.
• Safe as Houses requires the player to place a Shelter or a Landing Pad on every planet, and the Field Shelter counts as a Shelter for this objective.

Because the Shelter is both a save point and an infinite supply of life support and power, it is usually the safest place to center early operations. Its built-in connectors make it useful for setting up initial power distribution, storage, and nearby equipment, while its immobility means players should choose its location carefully before placing it.