How to Upgrade the Rover in The Planet Crafter

In a recent update, the developers of The Planet Crafter added a real vehicle to the game. While you could get around well enough using agility boots and a jetpack, the new rover has a few features you don't get from this regular equipment.

Of course, the rover also has a few drawbacks that come from driving a large vehicle on a map without roads or many flat surfaces. Still, the developers have accounted for these issues, and they added some tricks that make it easier to move the rover across the map. However, the first thing you need to know is how to unlock the rover in The Planet Crafter.

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How to Unlock and Craft the Rover

Planet Crafter Vehicle Station — The vehicle station building in The Planet Crafter

You can build a rover once you unlock the Vehicle Station structure in The Planet Crafter, which has a requirement of 6.5 MTi. This means it appears in the early-mid phase of the game, after you unlock the rocket pad but before the ice starts melting into lakes. To craft the station, you'll need:

3 Aluminum
2 Super Alloy
1 Iridium Rod

You can then build the station anywhere outside your base. Keep in mind that one side of the Vehicle Station is a ramp, and this ramp should face in the direction you want the rover to point.

One side of the Vehicle Station has a console with two monitors. The central monitor lets you craft rovers and rover upgrades, with the rover itself needing:

2 Rocket Engines
1 Uranium
1 Iron
1 Fabric
1 Silicon

The right monitor lets you respawn any rover on the map. You can't name your rovers, and so the respawn monitor lists rovers based on their coordinates. You can find your current coordinates at any time by checking the numbers in the lower-left corner of your screen.

Once used, the "Return to Garage" function needs 600 seconds (10 minutes) before you can use it again. However, this cooldown period applies separately to each Vehicle Station. This means you can build stations around the map to get your rover around obstacles it would otherwise have trouble with. It also means you can build Vehicle Stations and Teleporters together to get both you and your rover across the map in an instant.

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How to Upgrade the Rover

Planet Crafter Rover Upgrades — The full set of rover upgrades in The Planet Crafter.

Along with the rover itself, you can use the Vehicle Station to craft several rover upgrades. These provide benefits like extra speed, bigger cargo, and better headlights. However, not all of them are available immediately. To get any of the advanced vehicle upgrades, you'll need to find and decode random blueprint microchips, while two others demand terraformation milestones.

Name	Unlock?	Recipe	Benefit
T1 Equipment	No	1 Super Alloy 1 Silicon 1 Iridium	5 equipment slots instead of 2
T2 Equipment	Microchip	2 T1 Equipment chips 1 Obsidian 1 Super Alloy	10 equipment slots
T1 Inventory	17.5 MTi	1 Silicon 1 Fabric 1 Super Alloy	48 inventory slots instead of 30
T2 Inventory	Microchip	2 T1 Inventory chips 1 Osmium 2 Fabric	64 inventory slots
T3 Inventory	Microchip	2 T2 Inventory chips 1 Magnetar Quartz 3 Fabric	88 inventory slots
T1 Speed	No	2 Zeolite 1 Rocket Engine	Doubles movement speed
T2 Speed	Microchip	2 T1 Speed chips 1 Explosive Powder	Triples movement speed
T3 Speed	Microchip	2 T2 Speed chips 1 Explosive Powder 2 Blazar Quartz 1 Pulsar Quartz	Quadruples movement speed
T1 Lights	No	1 Sulfur 1 Cobalt 1 Silicon	Provides headlights
T2 Lights	Microchip	2 T1 Lights chips 1 Solar Quartz	Provides stronger headlights
Unlimited Oxygen	No	4 Zeolite 2 Oxygen Capsules	Driving the rover replenishes oxygen (even underwater)
Beacon	No	1 Zeolite 1 Osmium 1 Super Alloy	Gain a beacon you can see anywhere on the map
Logistics	6.7t Animals	2 Circuit Boards 1 Osmium Rod 2 Bioplastic Nuggets 1 Super Alloy Rod	Can set supply and demand orders for the rover's inventory

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How to Use the Rover

Planet Crafter Rover Interactions — Several interaction spots on the rover in The Planet Crafter.

The rover is a complex machine, and clicking on it does different things depending on what you're looking at.

If you interact with the main cabin in front, you'll get into the driver's seat and can start driving the rover around the map.
If you click on the black box on the left side of the rover, you'll open the equipment slots. This is where you can add all your vehicle upgrades.
If you click on the blue chest at the back end, you'll open up the rover's inventory. This is also where you can add or remove supply and demand orders when you have the Logistics upgrade installed.
If you click on one of the two seats in the back, you'll sit down and become a rover passenger. This is a useful way for players to stick together during a multiplayer game, but these seats have no purpose in a single-player session. Also, passengers don't get free oxygen even if you have the right upgrade installed.
If you have a beacon installed, you can find a display on the right side of the rover. This lets you change the beacon's color. However, you can't remove or change the rover outline in the beacon marker.
On the back of the rover is a big red button that says "Grab." If the rover's inventory is empty, clicking on this button will add the rover to your personal inventory. You can then deploy the rover by right-clicking on its icon.

Rover Driving Tips

Planet Crafter Rover Driving — Driving the rover across the map in The Planet Crafter

The rover has trouble climbing over rocks and getting around trees, but water doesn't even slow it down.
The Unlimited Oxygen upgrade has a use even after you reach the Breathable Atmosphere milestone. Swimming underwater still costs oxygen, but you can drive underwater without problems if you have this upgrade.
If you manage to flip the rover, and you're carrying too much to use the Grab button, you can press F4 from the driver's seat to reset the rover's location. This places it slightly above and behind your current location, with the wheels pointed down.
Another way to retrieve your rover is to head to the nearest Vehicle Station and use the Return to Garage function (see above). Unlike the Grab button, this works even if your rover's inventory is full.
A fully upgraded rover and a fully upgraded jetpack are about the same speed. The real advantage of the upgraded rover is that it's a mobile outpost.
Once you unlock the Logistics upgrade, set your rover's inventory to "Supply All" as soon as you can. With the right base setup, your drones will empty your rover's inventory almost as fast as you can fill it.