Scrap Mechanic 1.0 Crafting and Schematics

One current item may be produced at a Craftbot, processed by another timed station, traded at the Mining Hub, or made through a schematic-gated route. These are separate acquisition methods with different prerequisites. Merging their inputs creates a fictional recipe that no station accepts.

Start with the output you need and inspect every available method. Select the route that matches your unlocked stations, currencies, and current location. The cheapest material total is not automatically the fastest route when it requires an unavailable schematic or a long chain of intermediate production.

A schematic flag means the recipe record explicitly checks for an unlock. It is not an extra physical ingredient and should never be added to the material bill. The flag also does not imply that every schematic has the same route: the Schematicbot can unlock from a random box or from an eligible owned part, and block unlocks can propagate to linked Saw Table recipes.

Plan the build in two phases when the preferred route is locked. First calculate what the production chain would cost after unlocking it. Then compare the progression work with any available trade or alternate crafting route. This keeps the material decision separate from the unlock decision.

Production happens in whole recipe batches. For a target quantity, divide the required amount by the recipe output and round up. If a recipe outputs 10 units per batch and you need 21, the executable plan requires three batches and produces 30. The nine-unit remainder is surplus, not an arithmetic error.

A reliable multi-stage planner carries that surplus forward before expanding the next demand. It also subtracts owned inventory at the correct stage. Rounding every intermediate number independently or discarding surplus will overstate the final material requirement.

The accepted station data uses the batch-time rule ceiling(recipe craft time ÷ crafter speed) × 40 ticks. A higher speed reduces the timed portion, but queue behavior determines whether several jobs overlap. Craftbot and Sawtable profiles can progress work in parallel; other timed stations process only their first active slot.

Slots are capacity, not always throughput. More queued slots can reduce player attention without shortening the current batch. When comparing upgrades, separate three benefits: jobs you can queue, batches that can run simultaneously, and the speed applied to each batch.

Enter the exact build quantity, inspect the selected route for each output, and review every schematic or trade marker before gathering materials. Add what you already own only after confirming units. Then read the result in order: goals, station steps, intermediate outputs, surplus, and remaining base materials.

If a result differs from an older guide, compare recipe version, output-per-batch, route selection, and rounding before assuming either number is wrong. Those four checks explain most disagreements and produce a plan you can reproduce at the station.

• Keep ordinary crafting, trade, and schematic routes visibly separate.
• Use whole batches and retain surplus between dependent steps.
• Do not treat all queue slots as parallel production.
• Copy the final plan only after verifying automatic route choices.