Summary
- The Crust is a unique strategy game set on the moon, offering complex gameplay mechanics and pitfalls beginners should avoid.
- Adjust graphics settings for better performance and avoid crashes in The Crust, especially on low-end PCs.
- Always build plenty of generators, don't forget the charging station, and convert drones for efficient mining in this manufacturing sim game.
The Crust is an interesting game. Part real-time strategy game, part colony builder, and part factory simulator. The player needs to exploit moon resources, and set up complex supply and manufacturing chains to expand their moon base, undertake advanced research, and progress through the game.
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This is a complicated strategy game, that has a few unique features, which depart from the norms that this genre has generally adopted. Therefore, it is important to know that there are a few pitfalls in the early game, that can be easily avoided. The main takeaway here, is don’t skip the tutorial and campaign. Even players who prefer free-build sandbox mode, need to learn the ropes.
7 Adjust Graphics Settings
For Better Performance
- Poor optimization can lead to crashes.
- Lower graphics settings help with this problem.
The Crust is an indie game, and it is very apparent that it was a little rough around the edges on launch, just prior to writing. So much so, that there were patches almost daily. One of the main problems that players had with the game, was poor performance and regular crashes.
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It appears that the game is quite poorly optimized, as many games are on launch these days. Many players have reported that the way to stop the game crashing often, and to speed the game up, is to avoid the epic graphics settings, especially on low-end PCs.
6 Do The Tutorial First
To Learn The Ropes
- Don’t skip the basic tutorial.
- The tutorial leads into the storyline.
The Crust is a complex game, making it very difficult to simply jump into it without any guidance or help. It does share many similarities with other real-time strategy and colony-builder games, but it has some unique quirks, such as the subterranean map mode.
Therefore, it is well worth following the short tutorial to the game. It is actually quite fun, as it acts as a prelude to the main storyline campaign. It introduces some of the core gameplay mechanics that every player needs to learn. It is quite basic though, but adequate.
5 Do The Storyline Next
It Is Fun And Informative
- Acts as an advanced tutorial.
- Great voice acting.
As mentioned in the previous section, the tutorial included in The Crust is quite basic. It can be completed in just a few minutes, and covers only the core gameplay mechanics, such as switching between surface and subterranean modes. However, the game doesn’t leave the player hanging after the tutorial is complete.
Instead, on completion, the tutorial asks the player if they want to proceed with playing the main storyline. This campaign mode picks up where the tutorial leaves off. It acts as an extended, mission-driven tutorial that introduces new aspects of gameplay at appropriate times. Furthermore, it is good fun, and the voice acting is very well done.
4 Power Is King
Always Build Plenty Of Generators
- Start with small solar panels.
- Make sure to build batteries and connect them.
Every structure in The Crust needs electricity to operate. Additionally, the construction and mining drones run on electricity as well. This means that at the start of the game, power is likely going to be the main bottleneck for most players. Later on, advanced research options provide better power-generating alternatives in this manufacturing sim game.
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Therefore, it is important to build plenty of solar panels as soon as possible. However, due to the day and night cycle of the moon, the player also needs to construct large batteries, that are charged during the day and tapped at night. Don’t forget to wire all the solar panels to the batteries as well.
3 Don't Forget The Charging Station
To Avoid Being Stuck In A Negative Power Trap
- Don’t let drones run out of power.
- Prioritize this structure after power generation.
As previously mentioned, construction and mining drones need electricity to run. Each has an onboard battery that slowly depletes. However, the drones can’t simply recharge off the grid, they need to recharge at a special structure, the charging station.
However, if a player forgets to build the charging station and connect it to the power grid, they can end up trapped. With all of their drones out of power, and no way to construct the charging station to recharge them. Therefore, it makes sense to build the charging station as soon as a few power generators and batteries are online.
2 Make Sure To Convert Drones
To Enable Resource Mining
- Can convert up to 5 drones.
- Only works on the subterranean map.
One of the idiosyncrasies of The Crust is that it doesn’t have separate units for mining and construction. Instead, there is a structure called the drone reconfiguration module, that enables the player to convert up to 5 of their construction drones into mining drones.
Unfortunately, the game doesn’t stop a player entering excavation mode if they don’t actually have any mining drones. Therefore, if a player forgets they need to convert some construction drones to miners, it can result in a head-scratching moment. Players who find they cannot set any drones mining have likely forgotten to construct the drone reconfiguration module and convert some drones.
1 Exploit Resource Nodes
For Iron And Silicon
- Resource nodes have specialized ores.
- Basic regolith doesn’t contain iron or silicon.
At the start of the game, a player needs to mine basic regolith (moon rock) to mix up smart concrete. But they also need to manufacture steel and silicon. The only way to get these last two resources, is to assign mining drones to the corresponding resource nodes.
To manufacture steel, iron is needed, and for silicon, silicon ore is needed. These are only available on the subterranean map, and show up when a player enters excavation mode. Once a resource node has been located, the player can assign up to 5 mining drones to mine the moon and exploit it.
The Crust
- Released
- July 15, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E For Everyone
- Developer(s)
- VEOM Studio
- Publisher(s)
- Crytivo
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, Simulation, Base Building
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