Hard Drive

Hard Drive
A hard drive with FICSIT data. Analyze it in the MAM to salvage its contents.
Unlocked by	MAM Hard Drive Research - Hard Drive Research
Class name	Desc_HardDrive_C
Item
Stack size	100

Hard Drives are special parts 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 three alternate blueprints, chosen from the pool below. There is currently a bug that can result in lost hard drives if mods are installed. See current issues below for details and solutions.

There are 114 Crash Sites, which means a total of 114 Hard Drives can be obtained. Of those, 4 can only be obtained using Quantum Computers and Superposition Oscillators, which are only obtainable during the FICSMAS seasonal event. Two 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 85 recipes plus two opportunities for pioneer inventory expansions. This leaves 21 Hard Drives unused, or 25 unused if the session participated in the FICSMAS event.

Total Crash Sites	Inventory expansions from scanning	Recipes from scanning	Recipes from MAM research tree	Unused Hard Drives without FICSMAS	Unused Hard Drives with FICSMAS
114	2	85	2	21	25

Alternate recipes

Choices for alternate recipes granted by analyzing a Hard Drive

Alternate recipes use different input materials than the original, balancing factors such as raw material consumption, space, power, simplicity, and material availability.

Three alternate recipes are chosen at the beginning of the scan and revealed to the player after the 10 minute research concludes.

The selected alternate recipe is unlocked 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 all available alternate recipes from current prerequisites are unlocked, the Hard Drive is refunded at the scan's end. Unlocking more prerequisites during an ongoing scan won't affect the recipe pool, as 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.

Of the 88 alternate recipes available, 85 are acquired via Hard Drive scanning, while the remaining three (Compacted Coal, Turbofuel, and Polyester Fabric) are unlocked via MAM research trees. Additionally, Polyester Fabric does not require a Hard Drive to unlock.

Re-rolling hard drives

If the alternate recipe choices are not desired, a new set of choices can be created by re-rolling hard drives using one of the following methods:

• Pressing Esc, refunding the Hard Drive, and resubmitting it.
  • This is a known bug and might be either removed or changed in the future.
• Loading a save file before the scan begins using the following steps:
  1. Manually save game prior to starting MAM Hard Drive Research.
  2. Research Hard Drive, wait 10 minutes, and view results.
  3. If results are not desired, load previous manual Game Save, and redo step #2 and this step until satisfied.

Alternate recipe table

Recipe	Ingredients	Produced in	Products	Unlocked by
Adhered Iron Plate Alternate	3 × Iron Plate11.25 / min 1 × Rubber3.75 / min	Assembler 16 sec	1 × Reinforced Iron Plate3.75 / min	Tier 5 - Oil Processing
Alclad Casing Alternate	20 × Aluminum Ingot150 / min 10 × Copper Ingot75 / min	Assembler 8 sec	15 × Aluminum Casing112.5 / min	Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement
Automated Miner Alternate	1 × Motor1 / min 4 × Steel Pipe4 / min 4 × Iron Rod4 / min 2 × Iron Plate2 / min	Manufacturer 60 sec	1 × Portable Miner1 / min	Tier 5 - Industrial Manufacturing
Automated Speed Wiring Alternate	2 × Stator3.75 / min 40 × Wire75 / min 1 × High-Speed Connector1.875 / min	Manufacturer 32 sec	4 × Automated Wiring7.5 / min	Tier 4 - Advanced Steel Production OR MAM Caterium Research - AI Limiter
Biocoal Alternate	5 × Biomass37.5 / min	Constructor 8 sec	6 × Coal45 / min	Tier 3 - Coal Power OR MAM Sulfur Research - Compacted Coal
Bolted Frame Alternate	3 × Reinforced Iron Plate7.5 / min 56 × Screw140 / min	Assembler 24 sec	2 × Modular Frame5 / min	Tier 2 - Part Assembly
Bolted Iron Plate Alternate	18 × Iron Plate90 / min 50 × Screw250 / min	Assembler 12 sec	3 × Reinforced Iron Plate15 / min
Cast Screw Alternate	5 × Iron Ingot12.5 / min	Constructor 24 sec	20 × Screw50 / min
Caterium Circuit Board Alternate	10 × Plastic12.5 / min 30 × Quickwire37.5 / min	Assembler 48 sec	7 × Circuit Board8.75 / min	Tier 5 - Oil Processing OR MAM Caterium Research - Caterium Ingots
Caterium Computer Alternate	7 × Circuit Board26.25 / min 28 × Quickwire105 / min 12 × Rubber45 / min	Manufacturer 16 sec	1 × Computer3.75 / min	Tier 5 - Industrial Manufacturing OR MAM Caterium Research - Caterium Ingots
Caterium Wire Alternate	1 × Caterium Ingot15 / min	Constructor 4 sec	8 × Wire120 / min	MAM Caterium Research - Caterium
Charcoal Alternate	1 × Wood15 / min	Constructor 4 sec	10 × Coal150 / min	Tier 3 - Coal Power OR MAM Sulfur Research - Compacted Coal
Cheap Silica Alternate	3 × Raw Quartz11.25 / min 5 × Limestone18.75 / min	Assembler 16 sec	7 × Silica26.25 / min	MAM Quartz Research - Silica
Classic Battery Alternate	6 × Sulfur45 / min 7 × Alclad Aluminum Sheet52.5 / min 8 × Plastic60 / min 12 × Wire90 / min	Manufacturer 8 sec	4 × Battery30 / min	Tier 7 - Aeronautical Engineering
Coated Cable Alternate	5 × Wire37.5 / min 2 × Heavy Oil Residue15 / min	Refinery 8 sec	9 × Cable67.5 / min	Tier 5 - Oil Processing
Coated Iron Canister Alternate	2 × Iron Plate30 / min 1 × Copper Sheet15 / min	Assembler 4 sec	4 × Empty Canister60 / min	Tier 5 - Alternative Fluid Transport
Coated Iron Plate Alternate	10 × Iron Ingot50 / min 2 × Plastic10 / min	Assembler 12 sec	15 × Iron Plate75 / min	Tier 5 - Oil Processing
Coke Steel Ingot Alternate	15 × Iron Ore75 / min 15 × Petroleum Coke75 / min	Foundry 12 sec	20 × Steel Ingot100 / min	Tier 5 - Oil Processing
Compacted Coal Alternate	5 × Coal25 / min 5 × Sulfur25 / min	Assembler 12 sec	5 × Compacted Coal25 / min	MAM Sulfur Research - Compacted Coal
Compacted Steel Ingot Alternate	6 × Iron Ore22.5 / min 3 × Compacted Coal11.25 / min	Foundry 16 sec	10 × Steel Ingot37.5 / min	MAM Sulfur Research - Compacted Coal OR Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production
Cooling Device Alternate	5 × Heat Sink9.375 / min 1 × Motor1.875 / min 24 × Nitrogen Gas45 / min	Blender 32 sec	2 × Cooling System3.75 / min	Tier 8 - Advanced Aluminum Production
Copper Alloy Ingot Alternate	10 × Copper Ore50 / min 5 × Iron Ore25 / min	Foundry 12 sec	20 × Copper Ingot100 / min
Copper Rotor Alternate	6 × Copper Sheet22.5 / min 52 × Screw195 / min	Assembler 16 sec	3 × Rotor11.25 / min	Tier 2 - Part Assembly
Crystal Beacon Alternate	4 × Steel Beam2 / min 16 × Steel Pipe8 / min 1 × Crystal Oscillator0.5 / min	Manufacturer 120 sec	20 × Beacon10 / min	Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production OR MAM Quartz Research - Quartz Crystals
Crystal Computer Alternate	8 × Circuit Board7.5 / min 3 × Crystal Oscillator2.8125 / min	Assembler 64 sec	3 × Computer2.8125 / min	Tier 5 - Industrial Manufacturing OR MAM Quartz Research - Quartz Crystals
Diluted Fuel Alternate	5 × Heavy Oil Residue50 / min 10 × Water100 / min	Blender 6 sec	10 × Fuel100 / min	Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement
Diluted Packaged Fuel Alternate	1 × Heavy Oil Residue30 / min 2 × Packaged Water60 / min	Refinery 2 sec	2 × Packaged Fuel60 / min	Tier 5 - Oil Processing
Electric Motor Alternate	1 × Electromagnetic Control Rod3.75 / min 2 × Rotor7.5 / min	Assembler 16 sec	2 × Motor7.5 / min	Tier 7 - Aeronautical Engineering
Electrode Aluminum Scrap Alternate	12 × Alumina Solution180 / min 4 × Petroleum Coke60 / min	Refinery 4 sec	20 × Aluminum Scrap300 / min 7 × Water105 / min	Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement
Electrode Circuit Board Alternate	6 × Rubber30 / min 9 × Petroleum Coke45 / min	Assembler 12 sec	1 × Circuit Board5 / min	Tier 5 - Oil Processing
Electromagnetic Connection Rod Alternate	2 × Stator8 / min 1 × High-Speed Connector4 / min	Assembler 15 sec	2 × Electromagnetic Control Rod8 / min	Tier 8 - Nuclear Power OR MAM Caterium Research - AI Limiter
Encased Industrial Pipe Alternate	7 × Steel Pipe28 / min 5 × Concrete20 / min	Assembler 15 sec	1 × Encased Industrial Beam4 / min	Tier 4 - Advanced Steel Production
Fertile Uranium Alternate	5 × Uranium25 / min 5 × Uranium Waste25 / min 3 × Nitric Acid15 / min 5 × Sulfuric Acid25 / min	Blender 12 sec	20 × Non-fissile Uranium100 / min 8 × Water40 / min	Tier 8 - Particle Enrichment
Fine Black Powder Alternate	2 × Sulfur7.5 / min 1 × Compacted Coal3.75 / min	Assembler 16 sec	4 × Black Powder15 / min	MAM Sulfur Research - Compacted Coal
Fine Concrete Alternate	3 × Silica7.5 / min 12 × Limestone30 / min	Assembler 24 sec	10 × Concrete25 / min	MAM Quartz Research - Quartz
Flexible Framework Alternate	1 × Modular Frame3.75 / min 6 × Steel Beam22.5 / min 8 × Rubber30 / min	Manufacturer 16 sec	2 × Versatile Framework7.5 / min	Tier 5 - Oil Processing
Fused Quickwire Alternate	1 × Caterium Ingot7.5 / min 5 × Copper Ingot37.5 / min	Assembler 8 sec	12 × Quickwire90 / min	MAM Caterium Research - Caterium Ingots
Fused Wire Alternate	4 × Copper Ingot12 / min 1 × Caterium Ingot3 / min	Assembler 20 sec	30 × Wire90 / min	MAM Caterium Research - Caterium
Heat Exchanger Alternate	3 × Aluminum Casing30 / min 3 × Rubber30 / min	Assembler 6 sec	1 × Heat Sink10 / min	Tier 8 - Advanced Aluminum Production
Heat-Fused Frame Alternate	1 × Heavy Modular Frame3 / min 50 × Aluminum Ingot150 / min 8 × Nitric Acid24 / min 10 × Fuel30 / min	Blender 20 sec	1 × Fused Modular Frame3 / min	Tier 8 - Particle Enrichment
Heavy Encased Frame Alternate	8 × Modular Frame7.5 / min 10 × Encased Industrial Beam9.375 / min 36 × Steel Pipe33.75 / min 22 × Concrete20.625 / min	Manufacturer 64 sec	3 × Heavy Modular Frame2.8125 / min	Tier 5 - Industrial Manufacturing
Heavy Flexible Frame Alternate	5 × Modular Frame18.75 / min 3 × Encased Industrial Beam11.25 / min 20 × Rubber75 / min 104 × Screw390 / min	Manufacturer 16 sec	1 × Heavy Modular Frame3.75 / min	Tier 5 - Industrial Manufacturing
Heavy Oil Residue Alternate	3 × Crude Oil30 / min	Refinery 6 sec	4 × Heavy Oil Residue40 / min 2 × Polymer Resin20 / min	Tier 5 - Oil Processing
Infused Uranium Cell Alternate	5 × Uranium25 / min 3 × Silica15 / min 5 × Sulfur25 / min 15 × Quickwire75 / min	Manufacturer 12 sec	4 × Encased Uranium Cell20 / min	Tier 8 - Nuclear Power OR MAM Caterium Research - Caterium Ingots OR MAM Quartz Research - Quartz OR MAM Sulfur Research - Sulfur
Instant Plutonium Cell Alternate	150 × Non-fissile Uranium75 / min 20 × Aluminum Casing10 / min	Particle Accelerator 120 sec 250 - 750 MW	20 × Encased Plutonium Cell10 / min	Tier 8 - Particle Enrichment
Instant Scrap Alternate	15 × Bauxite150 / min 10 × Coal100 / min 5 × Sulfuric Acid50 / min 6 × Water60 / min	Blender 6 sec	30 × Aluminum Scrap300 / min 5 × Water50 / min	Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement OR Tier 7 - Aeronautical Engineering
Insulated Cable Alternate	9 × Wire45 / min 6 × Rubber30 / min	Assembler 12 sec	20 × Cable100 / min	Tier 5 - Oil Processing
Insulated Crystal Oscillator Alternate	10 × Quartz Crystal18.75 / min 7 × Rubber13.125 / min 1 × AI Limiter1.875 / min	Manufacturer 32 sec	1 × Crystal Oscillator1.875 / min	MAM Quartz Research - Crystal Oscillator OR MAM Caterium Research - Caterium Electronics OR Tier 5 - Oil Processing
Iron Alloy Ingot Alternate	2 × Iron Ore20 / min 2 × Copper Ore20 / min	Foundry 6 sec	5 × Iron Ingot50 / min
Iron Wire Alternate	5 × Iron Ingot12.5 / min	Constructor 24 sec	9 × Wire22.5 / min
OC Supercomputer Alternate	3 × Radio Control Unit9 / min 3 × Cooling System9 / min	Assembler 20 sec	1 × Supercomputer3 / min	Tier 7 - Aeronautical Engineering OR Tier 8 - Advanced Aluminum Production
Plastic Smart Plating Alternate	1 × Reinforced Iron Plate2.5 / min 1 × Rotor2.5 / min 3 × Plastic7.5 / min	Manufacturer 24 sec	2 × Smart Plating5 / min	Tier 5 - Oil Processing
Plutonium Fuel Unit Alternate	20 × Encased Plutonium Cell10 / min 1 × Pressure Conversion Cube0.5 / min	Assembler 120 sec	1 × Plutonium Fuel Rod0.5 / min	Tier 8 - Particle Enrichment
Polyester Fabric Alternate	1 × Polymer Resin30 / min 1 × Water30 / min	Refinery 2 sec	1 × Fabric30 / min	MAM Mycelia Research - Synthetic Polyester Fabric
Polymer Resin Alternate	6 × Crude Oil60 / min	Refinery 6 sec	13 × Polymer Resin130 / min 2 × Heavy Oil Residue20 / min	Tier 5 - Oil Processing
Pure Aluminum Ingot Alternate	2 × Aluminum Scrap60 / min	Smelter 2 sec	1 × Aluminum Ingot30 / min	Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement
Pure Caterium Ingot Alternate	2 × Caterium Ore24 / min 2 × Water24 / min	Refinery 5 sec	1 × Caterium Ingot12 / min	MAM Caterium Research - Caterium OR Tier 3 - Coal Power
Pure Copper Ingot Alternate	6 × Copper Ore15 / min 4 × Water10 / min	Refinery 24 sec	15 × Copper Ingot37.5 / min	Tier 3 - Coal Power
Pure Iron Ingot Alternate	7 × Iron Ore35 / min 4 × Water20 / min	Refinery 12 sec	13 × Iron Ingot65 / min	Tier 3 - Coal Power
Pure Quartz Crystal Alternate	9 × Raw Quartz67.5 / min 5 × Water37.5 / min	Refinery 8 sec	7 × Quartz Crystal52.5 / min	MAM Quartz Research - Quartz Crystals OR Tier 3 - Coal Power
Quickwire Cable Alternate	3 × Quickwire7.5 / min 2 × Rubber5 / min	Assembler 24 sec	11 × Cable27.5 / min	Tier 5 - Oil Processing OR MAM Caterium Research - Caterium Ingots
Quickwire Stator Alternate	4 × Steel Pipe16 / min 15 × Quickwire60 / min	Assembler 15 sec	2 × Stator8 / min	Tier 4 - Advanced Steel Production OR MAM Caterium Research - Caterium Ingots
Radio Connection Unit Alternate	4 × Heat Sink15 / min 2 × High-Speed Connector7.5 / min 12 × Quartz Crystal45 / min	Manufacturer 16 sec	1 × Radio Control Unit3.75 / min	Tier 8 - Advanced Aluminum Production OR MAM Caterium Research - AI Limiter
Radio Control System Alternate	1 × Crystal Oscillator1.5 / min 10 × Circuit Board15 / min 60 × Aluminum Casing90 / min 30 × Rubber45 / min	Manufacturer 40 sec	3 × Radio Control Unit4.5 / min	Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement
Recycled Plastic Alternate	6 × Rubber30 / min 6 × Fuel30 / min	Refinery 12 sec	12 × Plastic60 / min	Tier 5 - Oil Processing
Recycled Rubber Alternate	6 × Plastic30 / min 6 × Fuel30 / min	Refinery 12 sec	12 × Rubber60 / min	Tier 5 - Oil Processing
Rigour Motor Alternate	3 × Rotor3.75 / min 3 × Stator3.75 / min 1 × Crystal Oscillator1.25 / min	Manufacturer 48 sec	6 × Motor7.5 / min	Tier 4 - Advanced Steel Production OR MAM Quartz Research - Quartz Crystals
Rubber Concrete Alternate	10 × Limestone50 / min 2 × Rubber10 / min	Assembler 12 sec	9 × Concrete45 / min	Tier 5 - Oil Processing
Silicon Circuit Board Alternate	11 × Copper Sheet27.5 / min 11 × Silica27.5 / min	Assembler 24 sec	5 × Circuit Board12.5 / min	Tier 5 - Oil Processing OR MAM Quartz Research - Quartz
Silicon High-Speed Connector Alternate	60 × Quickwire90 / min 25 × Silica37.5 / min 2 × Circuit Board3 / min	Manufacturer 40 sec	2 × High-Speed Connector3 / min	MAM Caterium Research - High-Speed Connector OR Tier 5 - Oil Processing OR MAM Quartz Research - Quartz
Sloppy Alumina Alternate	10 × Bauxite200 / min 10 × Water200 / min	Refinery 3 sec	12 × Alumina Solution240 / min	Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement
Solid Steel Ingot Alternate	2 × Iron Ingot40 / min 2 × Coal40 / min	Foundry 3 sec	3 × Steel Ingot60 / min	Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production
Steamed Copper Sheet Alternate	3 × Copper Ingot22.5 / min 3 × Water22.5 / min	Refinery 8 sec	3 × Copper Sheet22.5 / min	Tier 3 - Coal Power
Steel Canister Alternate	3 × Steel Ingot60 / min	Constructor 3 sec	2 × Empty Canister40 / min	Tier 5 - Alternative Fluid Transport
Steel Coated Plate Alternate	3 × Steel Ingot7.5 / min 2 × Plastic5 / min	Assembler 24 sec	18 × Iron Plate45 / min	Tier 5 - Oil Processing
Steel Rod Alternate	1 × Steel Ingot12 / min	Constructor 5 sec	4 × Iron Rod48 / min	Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production
Steel Rotor Alternate	2 × Steel Pipe10 / min 6 × Wire30 / min	Assembler 12 sec	1 × Rotor5 / min	Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production
Steel Screw Alternate	1 × Steel Beam5 / min	Constructor 12 sec	52 × Screw260 / min	Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production
Steeled Frame Alternate	2 × Reinforced Iron Plate2 / min 10 × Steel Pipe10 / min	Assembler 60 sec	3 × Modular Frame3 / min	Tier 3 - Basic Steel Production
Stitched Iron Plate Alternate	10 × Iron Plate18.75 / min 20 × Wire37.5 / min	Assembler 32 sec	3 × Reinforced Iron Plate5.625 / min
Super-State Computer Alternate	3 × Computer3.6 / min 2 × Electromagnetic Control Rod2.4 / min 20 × Battery24 / min 45 × Wire54 / min	Manufacturer 50 sec	2 × Supercomputer2.4 / min	Tier 8 - Nuclear Power OR Tier 7 - Aeronautical Engineering
Turbo Blend Fuel Alternate	2 × Fuel15 / min 4 × Heavy Oil Residue30 / min 3 × Sulfur22.5 / min 3 × Petroleum Coke22.5 / min	Blender 8 sec	6 × Turbofuel45 / min	Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement OR MAM Sulfur Research - Sulfur
Turbo Electric Motor Alternate	7 × Motor6.5625 / min 9 × Radio Control Unit8.4375 / min 5 × Electromagnetic Control Rod4.6875 / min 7 × Rotor6.5625 / min	Manufacturer 64 sec	3 × Turbo Motor2.8125 / min	Tier 8 - Leading-edge Production OR Tier 8 - Nuclear Power
Turbo Heavy Fuel Alternate	5 × Heavy Oil Residue37.5 / min 4 × Compacted Coal30 / min	Refinery 8 sec	4 × Turbofuel30 / min	Tier 5 - Oil Processing OR MAM Sulfur Research - Compacted Coal
Turbo Pressure Motor Alternate	4 × Motor7.5 / min 1 × Pressure Conversion Cube1.875 / min 24 × Packaged Nitrogen Gas45 / min 8 × Stator15 / min	Manufacturer 32 sec	2 × Turbo Motor3.75 / min	Tier 8 - Particle Enrichment
Turbofuel Alternate	6 × Fuel22.5 / min 4 × Compacted Coal15 / min	Refinery 16 sec	5 × Turbofuel18.75 / min	MAM Sulfur Research - Turbofuel
Uranium Fuel Unit Alternate	100 × Encased Uranium Cell20 / min 10 × Electromagnetic Control Rod2 / min 3 × Crystal Oscillator0.6 / min 6 × Beacon1.2 / min	Manufacturer 300 sec	3 × Uranium Fuel Rod0.6 / min	Tier 8 - Nuclear Power OR MAM Quartz Research - Quartz Crystals
Wet Concrete Alternate	6 × Limestone120 / min 5 × Water100 / min	Refinery 3 sec	4 × Concrete80 / min	Tier 3 - Coal Power

Usage

AWESOME Sink

 Hard Drive cannot be sunk into the AWESOME Sink and will clog the input.

Research

 Hard Drive is used for research in the Sulfur Research chain in the MAM.

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 5 - Industrial Manufacturing

There are no explicit prerequisites for the first inventory expansion - you only need to have the MAM unlocked from Tier 1. Note that these expansions have a lower priority than all the alternate recipes. So with only the MAM unlocked, it takes five hard drive scans for the Inflated Pocket Dimension option to show up: Currently there are six recipes without prerequisites, and after a scan you have three choices. So after four scans, only two recipes and the Inflated Pocket Dimension option are left.

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.
• If a Hard Drive is researched, and there is nothing more available to unlock (either due to every recipe being unlocked or no more recipes being currently available due to milestone/MAM research progress), the Hard Drive will be returned after it is analyzed with the following message: "The analysis of Hard Drive is completed! No new research is available. Try again later after further progress. Your Hard Drive has been returned to you.".
• The game does not list what alternate recipes were unlocked in one place, the Codex has to be searched for that.

Alternate recipe analysis

The previous alternate recipe analysis has been replaced by a more mathematical approach and transparent calculation, opposed to an opinionated breakdown. Refer to individual item pages (e.g. Iron Ingot) for more details. Some of the notable parameters are:

• Weighted Point: the weighted consumption rate which is calculated by: (resource consumption rate / maximum extraction rate) * 10,000. The lower the better.
  • For example, if a certain recipe path requires 10 Iron Ore/min, and the max mining rate of Iron Ore is 70380/min, then WP = 10 / 70380 * 10000 = 1.4208582.... The 10,000 multiplier is arbitrarily chosen to make the numbers more readable, since most of the WP values fall in 1e-4 to 1e-5 ranges.
    • Round off the value by using the template, for example, {{rounding|1.4209|2}}, this will display as 1.42 , and its input value can be read by mouse-hover it. Please take note as rounding error do accumulate, displaying a number with many decimals has no meaning.
  • As Water is abundant and its maximum extraction rate cannot be defined, it is set to WP = 0.
  • A low WP indicates low amount of weighted resources is needed.
• Energy per item: how much power is consumed for the entire production chain. The lower the better.
  • Energy is the product of power and time. It is the summed every steps involved, normalized at 60 / min of the final product.
  • The energy spent for mining each type of ore or raw resources is also included in per-ore basis. Each ore has a specific mining energy, calculated as if the entire map is fully mined with appropriate overclocking.
  • The energy for extracting water is also included.
  • If more than 1 alternate recipe are involved to produce the upstream ingredient, the energy for that alternate recipe path is included in the calculation.
• Space: refers to building space, excluding belts and pipes. The lower the better.
  • It is summed for all buildings for every steps involved for the production, including all alternate recipes. The building space, or building area is calculated by L x W, in m², which can be found in individual building pages.
  • The areas for Conveyor Belts, Pipelines, Power Lines, etc are not included since they are subjective to player's design.
  • The areas for miners and Extractors are not included. (these will be included after the 2nd pass of analysis)
• Alternate recipes for ingredients: if there are multiple ways to produce its ingredient, the recipe with the lowest WP is chosen.
  • For example, to craft Iron Wire, Pure Iron Ingot is chosen.
  • If an exception is to be made, it will be mentioned under this section.
    • This is when the reduction in WP is too small compared with the increasing complexity, or if a large amount of rarer resources are involved.
    • For example, Steel Coated Plate has the lowest WP, but the default recipe will be used nonetheless, when Iron Plate is used as an ingredient for other items.
• The best trait for each of the recipe is highlighted in bold for visibility.
• The crafting speed of a particular alternate recipe is not considered, as it can be breakdown into space saving or power saving when the production rate is normalized at 60 / min.
• If there is only a sole recipe, whether it is alternate or not, to automate a certain product, then analysis will be skipped for that item, unless new recipes are added for it.
  • Similarly, alternate recipes for coal will not be analyzed as both recipes can never be fully automated.

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.

Quick reference for alternate recipes, created by Reddit user oldshavingfoam.

External links

• Space Elevator Phase 4 Alternate Recipes Ranking w/ Spreadsheet (Update 6) (Official Reddit)
• Alternate Recipe Ranking w/Spreadsheet (Update 7) (Official Reddit)
• Satisfactory Alt Recipe Community Ranker Historical Data (Official Reddit)

Current issues

• If mods are installed and the game is saved while a Hard Drive is being scanned, loading that save will result in the Hard Drive disappearing from the MAM without giving any recipes or inventory upgrades.
  • It is advised to not quit the game while a Hard Drive is being scanned to avoid losing any Hard Drives.
  • If a Hard Drive has been lost this way, they can be edited into the save using a save editor.
    • Using a save editor allows the user to spawn as many Hard Drives as desired
    • Alternatively, it can be used to unlock alternate recipes directly
  • Details on a permanent fix should be directed at the modding community.

See also

• Crash Site
• MAM

Gallery

• 

  Update 8 - Crash Site / Hard Drive Additions and Movements

History

• 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
• 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