Hard Drive
Hard Drives are special items obtained from Crash Sites used to unlock alternate recipes (see below). Crash Sites can be located using Object Scanner after Radio Signal Scanning has been researched in the MAM.
Each Hard Drive can be researched in the MAM and results in a choice of one of two alternate blueprints, chosen from the pool below, as well as two pioneer inventory expansions.
There are 118 Crash Sites, which means a total of 118 Hard Drives can be obtained. Four Hard Drives can be used to unlock alternate recipes via MAM research trees (as opposed to scanning the drives). Scanning the drives will provide a total of 108 recipes plus two opportunities for pioneer inventory expansions, using only 107 Hard Drives for recipes due to Quartz Purification also unlocking Distilled Silica for a single scan. This leaves 5 Hard Drives unused.
Total Crash Sites | Alternate recipe scans | Inventory expansion scans | MAM research | Unused Hard Drives |
---|---|---|---|---|
118 | 107 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
Alternate recipes
There are a total of 113 alternate recipes available. 108 are acquired via Hard Drive scanning, four (Compacted Coal, Turbofuel, Rocket Fuel and Ionized Fuel) are unlocked via MAM research trees. One alternate recipe, Polyester Fabric, does not cost a Hard Drive to unlock. Distilled Silica is unlocked together with Quartz Purification, sharing a single Hard Drive requirement.
Alternate recipes use different input materials than the original, balancing factors such as raw material consumption, space, power, simplicity, and material availability. Alternate recipes cannot be considered upgrades.
Two alternate recipes are chosen at the beginning of the scan and revealed to the player after the 10 minute research concludes. If the player chooses not to select an alternate recipe, they can access the selection menu at a later time via the hard drive library. The selected alternate recipe is unlocked for use immediately. Alternate recipes can be only used in factory buildings, not in the Craft Bench. Therefore, parts like Compacted Coal cannot be hand-crafted.
For an alternate recipe to appear in the selection, certain prerequisites (Milestone, MAM Research, or another alternate recipe) have to be met. If there aren't at least 2 available alternate recipes available from the current prerequisites, MAM will refuse to scan it and print "no rewards currently available". Unlocking more prerequisites during an ongoing scan won't affect the choices presented at the end of the scan, as these choices are determined at the beginning of the scan.
Note: Typically a recipe will become available to unlock as soon as the player has access to every material within it, but not necessary the building required to actually use it. This means that, for example, the "Pure" alts that require a Refinery become available as soon as the Water Extractor can be built, while the Alloy Ingot recipes, needing only ore, are available immediately despite requiring a Foundry.
In the table below, the prerequisites are the conditions that are required for a recipe to be able to appear in the research result choices. If no prerequisite is displayed, the recipe is available immediately in the recipe pool (but you still need MAM to scan the Hard Drive). Note that some alternate recipes may require player to unlock a new building so that they could be automated.
Hard Drive Library
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Scanning a Hard Drive in the MAM stores it in the Hard Drive library. The library allows storing scanned Hard Drives without immediately choosing a reward, allowing players to delay their choices and potentially choose their rewards more strategically.
Storing multiple Hard Drives in the library narrows down the pool of rewards for newly scanned and re-rolled drives, as rewards will not repeat. This increases the likelihood of obtaining a desired reward, as the pool is reduced by two options, instead of just one (the selected reward).
It is possible to re-roll the presented rewards for each Hard Drive once. This means being able to choose from four unique rewards from a single Hard Drive. Re-rolling is also limited by other Hard Drives in the library, just like scanning a Hard Drive anew.
List of alternate recipes
Recipe | Ingredients | Produced in | Products | Unlocked by |
---|---|---|---|---|
Adhered Iron Plate Alternate |
Assembler 16 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Alclad Casing Alternate |
Assembler 8 sec |
Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement | ||
Aluminum Beam Alternate |
Constructor 8 sec |
Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement | ||
Aluminum Rod Alternate |
Constructor 8 sec |
Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement | ||
Automated Miner Alternate |
Assembler 60 sec |
Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production | ||
Automated Speed Wiring Alternate |
Manufacturer 32 sec |
Tier 4 - Advanced Steel Production OR MAM Caterium Research - AI Limiter | ||
Basic Iron Ingot Alternate |
Foundry 12 sec |
Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production | ||
Biocoal Alternate |
Constructor 8 sec |
Tier 3 - Coal Power OR MAM Sulfur Research - Compacted Coal | ||
Bolted Frame Alternate |
Assembler 24 sec |
Tier 2 - Part Assembly | ||
Bolted Iron Plate Alternate |
Assembler 12 sec |
Tier 2 - Part Assembly | ||
Cast Screw Alternate |
Constructor 24 sec |
|||
Caterium Circuit Board Alternate |
Assembler 48 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing OR MAM Caterium Research - Caterium Ingots | ||
Caterium Computer Alternate |
Manufacturer 16 sec |
Tier 6 - Industrial Manufacturing OR MAM Caterium Research - Caterium Ingots | ||
Caterium Wire Alternate |
Constructor 4 sec |
MAM Caterium Research - Caterium | ||
Charcoal Alternate |
Constructor 4 sec |
Tier 3 - Coal Power OR MAM Sulfur Research - Compacted Coal | ||
Cheap Silica Alternate |
Assembler 8 sec |
MAM Quartz Research - Silica | ||
Classic Battery Alternate |
Manufacturer 8 sec |
Tier 7 - Control System Development | ||
Cloudy Diamonds Alternate |
Tier 9 - Matter Conversion | |||
Coated Cable Alternate |
Refinery 8 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Coated Iron Canister Alternate |
Assembler 4 sec |
Tier 5 - Fluid Packaging | ||
Coated Iron Plate Alternate |
Assembler 8 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Coke Steel Ingot Alternate |
Foundry 12 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Compacted Coal Alternate |
Assembler 12 sec |
MAM Sulfur Research - Compacted Coal | ||
Compacted Steel Ingot Alternate |
Foundry 24 sec |
MAM Sulfur Research - Compacted Coal OR Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production | ||
Cooling Device Alternate |
Blender 24 sec |
Tier 8 - Advanced Aluminum Production | ||
Copper Alloy Ingot Alternate |
Foundry 6 sec |
Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production | ||
Copper Rotor Alternate |
Assembler 16 sec |
Tier 2 - Part Assembly | ||
Crystal Computer Alternate |
Assembler 36 sec |
Tier 6 - Industrial Manufacturing OR MAM Quartz Research - Quartz Crystals | ||
Dark Matter Crystallization Alternate |
Tier 9 - Quantum Encoding | |||
Dark Matter Trap Alternate |
Tier 9 - Quantum Encoding | |||
Dark-Ion Fuel Alternate |
Converter 3 sec |
Tier 9 - Quantum Encoding OR MAM Sulfur Research - Ionized Fuel | ||
Diluted Fuel Alternate |
Blender 6 sec |
Tier 7 - Control System Development | ||
Diluted Packaged Fuel Alternate |
Refinery 2 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Distilled Silica Alternate |
Blender 6 sec |
Tier 7 - Control System Development | ||
Electric Motor Alternate |
Assembler 16 sec |
Tier 8 - Nuclear Power | ||
Electrode Aluminum Scrap Alternate |
Refinery 4 sec |
Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement | ||
Electrode Circuit Board Alternate |
Assembler 12 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Electromagnetic Connection Rod Alternate |
Assembler 15 sec |
Tier 8 - Nuclear Power OR MAM Caterium Research - AI Limiter | ||
Encased Industrial Pipe Alternate |
Assembler 15 sec |
Tier 4 - Advanced Steel Production | ||
Fertile Uranium Alternate |
Blender 12 sec |
Tier 8 - Particle Enrichment | ||
Fine Black Powder Alternate |
Assembler 8 sec |
MAM Sulfur Research - Compacted Coal | ||
Fine Concrete Alternate |
Assembler 12 sec |
MAM Quartz Research - Quartz | ||
Flexible Framework Alternate |
Manufacturer 16 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Fused Quartz Crystal Alternate |
Foundry 20 sec |
MAM Quartz Research - Quartz Crystals OR Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production | ||
Fused Quickwire Alternate |
Assembler 8 sec |
MAM Caterium Research - Caterium Ingots | ||
Fused Wire Alternate |
Assembler 20 sec |
MAM Caterium Research - Caterium | ||
Heat Exchanger Alternate |
Assembler 6 sec |
Tier 8 - Advanced Aluminum Production | ||
Heat-Fused Frame Alternate |
Blender 20 sec |
Tier 8 - Particle Enrichment | ||
Heavy Encased Frame Alternate |
Manufacturer 64 sec |
Tier 6 - Industrial Manufacturing | ||
Heavy Flexible Frame Alternate |
Manufacturer 16 sec |
Tier 6 - Industrial Manufacturing | ||
Heavy Oil Residue Alternate |
Refinery 6 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Infused Uranium Cell Alternate |
Manufacturer 12 sec |
Tier 8 - Nuclear Power OR MAM Caterium Research - Caterium Ingots OR MAM Quartz Research - Quartz OR MAM Sulfur Research - Sulfur | ||
Instant Plutonium Cell Alternate |
Tier 8 - Particle Enrichment | |||
Instant Scrap Alternate |
Blender 6 sec |
Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement OR Tier 7 - Control System Development | ||
Insulated Cable Alternate |
Assembler 12 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Insulated Crystal Oscillator Alternate |
Manufacturer 32 sec |
MAM Quartz Research - Crystal Oscillator OR MAM Caterium Research - Caterium Electronics OR Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Iron Alloy Ingot Alternate |
Foundry 12 sec |
Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production | ||
Iron Pipe Alternate |
Constructor 12 sec |
Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production | ||
Iron Wire Alternate |
Constructor 24 sec |
|||
Leached Caterium Ingot Alternate |
Refinery 10 sec |
Tier 7 - Control System Development | ||
Leached Copper Ingot Alternate |
Refinery 12 sec |
Tier 7 - Control System Development | ||
Leached Iron ingot Alternate |
Refinery 6 sec |
Tier 7 - Control System Development | ||
Molded Beam Alternate |
Foundry 12 sec |
Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production | ||
Molded Steel Pipe Alternate |
Foundry 6 sec |
Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production | ||
Nitro Rocket Fuel Alternate |
Blender 2.4 sec |
MAM Sulfur Research - Rocket Fuel | ||
OC Supercomputer Alternate |
Assembler 20 sec |
Tier 7 - Control System Development OR Tier 8 - Advanced Aluminum Production | ||
Oil-Based Diamonds Alternate |
Tier 9 - Matter Conversion | |||
Petroleum Diamonds Alternate |
Tier 9 - Matter Conversion | |||
Pink Diamonds Alternate |
Converter 4 sec |
Tier 9 - Matter Conversion | ||
Plastic AI Limiter Alternate |
Assembler 15 sec |
MAM Caterium Research - AI Limiter OR Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Plastic Smart Plating Alternate |
Manufacturer 24 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Plutonium Fuel Unit Alternate |
Assembler 120 sec |
Tier 8 - Particle Enrichment | ||
Polyester Fabric Alternate |
Refinery 2 sec |
MAM Mycelia Research - Synthetic Polyester Fabric | ||
Polymer Resin Alternate |
Refinery 6 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Pure Aluminum Ingot Alternate |
Smelter 2 sec |
Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement | ||
Pure Caterium Ingot Alternate |
Refinery 5 sec |
MAM Caterium Research - Caterium OR Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Pure Copper Ingot Alternate |
Refinery 24 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Pure Iron Ingot Alternate |
Refinery 12 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Pure Quartz Crystal Alternate |
Refinery 8 sec |
MAM Quartz Research - Quartz Crystals OR Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Quartz Purification Alternate |
Refinery 12 sec |
Tier 7 - Control System Development | ||
Quickwire Cable Alternate |
Assembler 24 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing OR MAM Caterium Research - Caterium Ingots | ||
Quickwire Stator Alternate |
Assembler 15 sec |
Tier 4 - Advanced Steel Production OR MAM Caterium Research - Caterium Ingots | ||
Radio Connection Unit Alternate |
Manufacturer 16 sec |
Tier 8 - Advanced Aluminum Production OR MAM Caterium Research - AI Limiter | ||
Radio Control System Alternate |
Manufacturer 40 sec |
Tier 7 - Control System Development | ||
Recycled Plastic Alternate |
Refinery 12 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Recycled Rubber Alternate |
Refinery 12 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Rigor Motor Alternate |
Manufacturer 48 sec |
Tier 4 - Advanced Steel Production OR MAM Quartz Research - Quartz Crystals | ||
Rubber Concrete Alternate |
Assembler 6 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Silicon Circuit Board Alternate |
Assembler 24 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing OR MAM Quartz Research - Quartz | ||
Silicon High-Speed Connector Alternate |
Manufacturer 40 sec |
MAM Caterium Research - High-Speed Connector OR Tier 5 - Oil Processing OR MAM Quartz Research - Quartz | ||
Sloppy Alumina Alternate |
Refinery 3 sec |
Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement | ||
Solid Steel Ingot Alternate |
Foundry 3 sec |
Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production | ||
Steamed Copper Sheet Alternate |
Refinery 8 sec |
Tier 3 - Coal Power | ||
Steel Canister Alternate |
Constructor 6 sec |
Tier 5 - Fluid Packaging | ||
Steel Cast Plate Alternate |
Foundry 4 sec |
Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production | ||
Steel Rod Alternate |
Constructor 5 sec |
Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production | ||
Steel Rotor Alternate |
Assembler 12 sec |
Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production | ||
Steel Screw Alternate |
Constructor 12 sec |
Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production | ||
Steeled Frame Alternate |
Assembler 60 sec |
Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production | ||
Stitched Iron Plate Alternate |
Assembler 32 sec |
Tier 2 - Part Assembly | ||
Super-State Computer Alternate |
Manufacturer 25 sec |
Tier 8 - Nuclear Power OR Tier 7 - Control System Development | ||
Tempered Caterium Ingot Alternate |
Foundry 8 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Tempered Copper Ingot Alternate |
Foundry 12 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing | ||
Turbo Blend Fuel Alternate |
Blender 8 sec |
Tier 7 - Control System Development | ||
Turbo Diamonds Alternate |
Tier 9 - Matter Conversion OR MAM Sulfur Research - Turbofuel | |||
Turbo Electric Motor Alternate |
Manufacturer 64 sec |
Tier 8 - Leading-Edge Production OR Tier 8 - Nuclear Power | ||
Turbo Heavy Fuel Alternate |
Refinery 8 sec |
Tier 5 - Oil Processing OR MAM Sulfur Research - Compacted Coal | ||
Turbo Pressure Motor Alternate |
Manufacturer 32 sec |
Tier 8 - Particle Enrichment | ||
Turbofuel Alternate |
Refinery 16 sec |
MAM Sulfur Research - Turbofuel | ||
Uranium Fuel Unit Alternate |
Manufacturer 300 sec |
Tier 8 - Nuclear Power OR MAM Quartz Research - Quartz Crystals | ||
Wet Concrete Alternate |
Refinery 3 sec |
Tier 3 - Coal Power |
Usage
AWESOME Sink
Research
Non-recipes from Hard Drives
Besides Alternate Recipes, two inventory expansions can be unlocked:
Name | Effect | Prerequisites |
---|---|---|
Inflated Pocket Dimension | +6 Inventory Slots | none - see below |
Inflated Pocket Dimension | +6 Inventory Slots | Tier 6 - Industrial Manufacturing |
There are no explicit prerequisites for the first inventory expansion - you only need to have the MAM unlocked from Tier 1. After the launch of 1.0 the first inventory expansion can be obtained with only a single hard drive.
Important notes
- The Hard Drive research is repeatable, as long as there are remaining alternate recipes to unlock.
- Each alternate recipe can only be unlocked once, it will never appear in the selection screen again once it has been selected.
- The game does not list which alternate recipes are unlocked in one place, the Codex has to be searched for them.
Tips
- Research within the MAM continues regardless of a MAM being present on the map, also multiple MAMs may be constructed. Therefore, when a Hard Drive has been acquired, the player may build a MAM at the crash site, load the Hard Drive in, and then remove the MAM, continuing their search for further drives without building a backlog of Hard Drives to research (or, if they acquire drives faster than a rate of one per 10 minutes, can significantly reduce the amount of drives in their backlog). Only one Hard Drive can be researched at a time, meaning multiple MAMs cannot be used to research more than one Hard Drive at a time.
Achievements
External links
- Space Elevator Phase 4 Alternate Recipes Ranking w/ Spreadsheet (Update 6) (Official Reddit)
- Alternate Recipe Ranking w/Spreadsheet (1.0 Release) (Official Reddit)
- Alternate Recipe Ranking w/Spreadsheet (Update 7) (Official Reddit)
- Satisfactory Alt Recipe Community Ranker Historical Data (Official Reddit)
See also
Gallery
History
The history section is incomplete in this article. Please help expanding it if you can. Information can be gathered from patch notes. |
- Patch 1.0:
- Introduced the Hard Drive Library
- Introduced new, changed and removed some alternate recipes
- Patch 0.8.3.2: Fixed pressing Esc to close the menu resetting MAM research, requiring you to spend additional time if you accidentally closed the menu
- Patch 0.8.0.0: Hard Drive choices can now be rerolled by pressing Esc, refunding the drive (not in patch notes)
- Patch 0.6.0.4: Removed Compacted Coal and basic Turbo Fuel recipes from the Hard Drive research.
- Patch 0.6.0.0:
- Turbofuel and Compacted Coal are now unlocked in the Sulfur Research chain, each requiring 1 Hard Drive
- Polyester Fabric is now unlocked in the Mycelia Research chain and no longer requires a Hard Drive
- Removed Seismic Nobelisk alternate recipe
- Patch 0.4.0.0:
- Rebalanced alternate recipes in Tier 7
- Implemented new alternate recipes: Alclad Casing, Automated Miner, Classic Battery, Cooling Device, Diluted Fuel, Electric Motor, Fertile Uranium, Heat-Fused Frame, Instant Plutonium Cell, Instant Scrap, OC Supercomputer, Plutonium Fuel Unit, Radio Connection Unit, Radio control System, Silicon High-Speed Connector, Sloppy Alumina, Super-State Computer, Turbo Blend Fuel, Turbo Pressure Motor
- Removed Radio Control System
- Both Inventory expansions now give 6 slots instead of 5
- Patch 0.3.6:
- Introduced two alternate recipes for the Empty Canister
- Can no longer be trashed with the inventory trash slot
- Patch 0.3.1.0: The 30 new alternate recipes added in 0.3 can now actually be unlocked
- Patch 0.3:
- Almost all recipes (including alternate recipes) have been adjusted
- 30 new alternate recipes have been introduced (but aren't properly implemented and cannot be actually unlocked)
- Renamed Expanded Pocket Dimension to Inflated Pocket Dimension, unlock requirement is now Tier 5, not Tier 5 - Industrial Manufacturing
- Patch 0.2.1.1: Clients should be able to see Hard Drives in Drop Pods again
- Patch 0.1.14: Introduced a few alternate recipes
- Patch 0.1.7:
- Adjusted the Alternate Recipe for Compacted Coal
- Old: 2 Coal + 2 Sulphur
- New: 3 Coal + 3 Sulphur
- Adjusted the Alternate Recipe for Turbo Fuel
- Old: 5 Fuel + 2 Compacted Coal
- New: 5 Fuel + 4 Compacted Coal
- Adjusted the Alternate Recipe for Compacted Coal
- Patch 0.1.5:
- Alternate recipes can no longer be hand-crafted
- Introduced several new alternate recipes
- Fixed the milestone cost of the Alternate Heavy Modular Frame
- Reduced the Quickwire cost of Quickwire alternate recipes
- Patch 0.103: Fixed the Hard Drive research crash
- Patch 0.1: Adjusted a few alternate recipes
- Patch Closed Alpha 4: Now researchable and gives Alternate Recipes
References