The Ad Astra Unlimited Resource Encyclopedia holds a field guide of all resources cataloged and normally used on the Martian surface, this manual is issued to all aspiring pioneers on the Martian Surface. This manual was written by researchers and scientists within the Ad Astra Research Institute and is used by many of the corporate conglomerates that have set up on Mars.

Descriptions provided by Duskworks' Chief Researcher Katherine Collins.

Ice

Ice is typically gathered from under the Martian surface, as the only place that surface ice exists on Mars is on the north polar cap. It is typically refined into water by large industrial water filters. Pioneers have stated that the water always tasted a bit "clay-ish". However, tests revealed that the water is completely sterile. Under our testing, it appears that this is a symptom of mild Mars Madness and strong nocebo effect.

Sources:

• Christmas Gifts (Deactivated)

Used in:

• Protein Shake (Deactivated)

Regolith

Regolith is the surface dust and perchlorates-rich dirt covering the surface of Mars. Due to the high quantity of extremely fine micro-dust present on the surface. Which, if it were to be dragged inside habitat modules would produce similar health hazards that are found in quartz miners. Habitation modules employ extreme cleaning procedures for settlers entering and leaving their modules so that none of the dust enters. This regolith can also contain trace amounts of ore like iron and titanium and is usually processed inside massive smelters. Processed regolith can also be used as a base for manufactured soil.

Additional note added by Katherine Collins: The regolith on Mars has consistently proven itself to be one, if not the most valuable resource of the Red Planet. Even if we were to find microbes within the ice caps, the regolith that surround us show us such an optimistic vision of the future. The ability for humanity to construct homes on other planets out of the dirt once was science fiction.

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Water

Water, typically refined from the ice acquired through scavenging swallow underground caves or mined by massive ice miners is needed by every colony on the surface. This makes the resource very valuable for every settler on the planet and as such has become a very large industry.

The AADZ has lifted all restrictions on the sale and storage of water for the time following the localized failure of water filter plants inside the AADZ. Water filters modules have since then been replaced with superior filtration plants.

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Used in:

• Filling Building's Water Storage (Building Action)

Waste

Waste is more than fancily packed expelled matter from human colonists, they can be used to create in-situ fertilizer in order to grow crops within the massive greenhouses and such are very important and never wasted with all of the lavatories on Mars being connected to waste gathering plants which package the waste.

Additional Note by Katherine Collins: There has been a recent upturn in water requirements and worries about if Mars could sustain all of our water needs. The ice caps and underground reserves however, show us that by the time we've exhausted those sources, our asteroid mining technology would be able to source water from even the Oort Cloud.

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Food

Food is typically created out of vegetable matter grown on Mars, although it doesn't always take the form of sprouts on a dinner tray. They can be processed into faux-meat patties from Soy by kitchen machinery typically found within every habitation module on Mars. The reusable dinner trays remain the same however.

Within the AADZ and wealthier areas of the Duskworks area, food can be seen in many forms alternative to the typical food trays found in working settler homes. From cheap synth-snacks made from soy to luxuriously imported meat from Earth's finest wining and dines.

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Food Ration

Complimentary rations are given out daily to settlers of the Duskworks Landing, if a settler saves up a month of rations and gives enough Dusk, they are given an accommodation as proof of their self sustainability.

These rations are produced by the AADZ in order to supplement

Sources:

• Daily Login

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Water Rich Clays

A form of clay that is high in water concentration, this clay is typically dried out in order to gather the water within the clay. These are typically found near water pockets and the northern pole.

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Metal Bits

A not-so high quality collection of metal scrap found from abandoned machinery or other debris found on the Martian Surface.

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Electronic Bits

A collection of used batteries, transistors, resistors and other electrical bits found from scrounging abandoned machinery and other debris on the Martian Surface.

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Rover Wires

A series of well-used rover wires found from broken rovers that are dotted across the Martian Surface. Typically given to scrap collection jobs in the Cantinas.

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For seeds:

For plant matter:

For currencies:

For intangible resources:

For containers/lootboxes:

Special shards differ from normal shards in that they do not have a rarity. All special shards are of the same quality Special. So a shard of a Trading Bazaar can be used on any Trading Bazaar.

Sources:

• Dismantling Special Buildings

Shards is a blanket term, and can come in many forms but are generally a piece of information, or important component that allows settlers to further increase the effectiveness of their buildings. Due to lost knowledge and patenting, the information isn't publicly available, leading to settlers having to exchange shards in trading bazaars or dismantle their own Duskwork's buildings in order to create their own more efficient designs. Shards can also be purchased off of the marketplace, in exchange for Dusk.

Some other types of shards, include the original blueprint plans for extremely well built "artifact" buildings that have been lost, using these original pieces of the blueprint they can rebuild the artifact.

For the trading bazaars, cantinas and other special buildings, they're simpler to upgrade, requiring only one type of information shard that will allow you to further the reach of these buildings through better communication equipment and other logistical systems.

Shards come in three types:

Artifact Shards are a special type of shard, instead of being used to upgrade an already placed building, they're used to claim an Artifact.

You need 100 of an Artifact Shard in order to claim that Artifact. More information on Artifacts can be found at:

Sources:

• Crafting and Actions (Any)

For metal plates and other refined metals:

For ores and other unrefined metals:

For minerals and other salts:

Vibes

Vibes are a measurement of the collective musical happiness of colonists on Mars, typically gathered through census data. It is currently being tracked in anticipation for the unlocking of a soundtrack that will be available to all colonists.

Sources:

• Depositing Soundtracks (NFT)

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Scavenging Tool Power

Astronauts roamed the Martian surface on non-autonomous transport vehicles. Their eyes were well trained, but their electronic sensors were better, capable of detecting valuable loose chunks of Regolith, shallow underground Ice pits and debris from malfunctioned automatic hopper rocket missions. Much like maritime law, the pillaged valuables outside of the AADZ is up for any endearing settler to grab. Specialized scavenging tools were created and sold to those who ventured out into the wilderness of Mars.

Sources:

• Actions Menu (Charge Scavenging Tools)

Used in:

• Scavenging (1 Power)

• Advanced Scavenging (1 Power)

Scavenging XP

Settlers who ventured outside of the AADZ for long enough started to grow a bit of fame to themselves, and mastery of the scavenging craft. They'd develop and create their own far superior tools and acquire a keener eye for the specifics and what seems to be out of place out in the Martian landscape. This is a token of their experience, the physical manifestation of their work.

Sources:

• Advanced Scavenging

Used in:

• Coming soon!

Copper Lockbox

Copper lockboxes are mysterious containers that popped up along nooks and crannies of Mars, only being found by the most savvy of scavengers. No one really knows who placed them there and they're suspected of being lost cargo of a very valuable cargo rocket. They're always locked and require a keycard or a jammer to open.

Sources:

• Scavenging

• ???

Used in:

• Open Copper Lockbox (Action)

Copper Jammer

Copper jammers are able to open the copper lockboxes found by savvy scavengers an indeterminate amount of times. It is currently unclear on how one acquires a copper jammer as it is made out of a very complex series of electronics.

Sources:

• ???

Used in:

• Open Copper Lockbox (Action)

Copper Keycard

Copper Keycards are single use keycards used to open the mysterious copper lockboxes that pop-up across the surface of Mars. These keycards have been found to be tips from Cantina jobs from shady figures.

Sources:

• Cantina Jobs

• ???

Used in:

• Open Copper Lockbox (Action)

Barite

Barite is the primary, naturally occurring, barium-based mineral. It is typically used for its coloration to make colorful fireworks and in advanced regolith mining techniques. It can gathered from scavenging the surface, as a byproduct from mining ice and regolith.

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Used in:

• Fireworks (Disabled)

Halite

Halite or rock salt is a type of salt and is the naturally occurring form of sodium chloride. It is used in the creation of perchlorate, fireworks and empty power cells.

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Used in:

• Fireworks (Disabled)

The beginning of an exciting new crafting chain starts today! You will laugh, you will cry, you will move mountains, and clean up afterward...

Today, Ammonia becomes a permanent fixture in the Chemistry scene, and the full design release comes with it.

Normal Shards come in six rarities:

• Common

• Uncommon

Dusk

The Dusk coin is the main form of currency being used to trade between settlements of the Duskworks. It is acquired through the markets, actions and countless other methods. It can be spent on resources or withdrawn and converted into other currencies.

Sources:

• Selling Resources (Marketplace)

• Depositing Dusk (DEX)

• Certain Actions (Action)

Used in:

• Buying Resources (Marketplace)

• Buying Buildings/Items/Etc (Shop)

• Withdrawing Dusk (DEX)

Cantina Coin

Cantina coins are gained by trading in titanium or aluminum plates into the shop, these are then used to preform Cantina Jobs. The origination of Cantina Coins came from a need for a new form of currency for shadier buisiness deals.

Sources:

• Buy Cantina Coins (Shop)

Used in:

• Cantina Missions (Cantina)

Bazaar Coin (C-U-R-E-L-M)

Trading Bazaar coins can be acquired through trading in building shards and can then be further exchanged for other shards within the Trading Bazaar. A form of intellectual trade as researchers and engineers share their designs for better and more efficient buildings.

Sources:

• Buy Trading Bazaar Coins (Shop)

Used in:

• Shard Exchange (Trading Bazaar)

Steel

Steel is an alloy made up of iron and typically a few tenths of a percent of Carbon to improve its strength. While the most commonly form of carbon used in steel making on Earth is coal, due to Mars's apparent lack of coal, a different process is used. The splitting of Co2 into carbon and oxygen to use in the smelting recipe is the preferred method.

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Sprout Seeds

These seeds can be gathered from abandoned seed crates left on the surface of Mars due to incidents with autonomous hopper rockets or purchased and shipped from Earth, they can only be grown within vast Greenhouses. Sprout variety.

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Methane

Methane is an incredibly useful (and smelly) element, being used as fuel for the many hopper rockets that fly short flights across Mars. It is also used in the creation of PVC, a type of polymer plastic. It is made from the Sabatier Reaction from a Sabatier Reactor.

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Empty Power Cell

These empty power cells have quickly become the standards for powering buildings not directly connected to the mega-substation net of the Ad Astra Development Zone, it matches the slot in every Solar Panel currently being constructed on Mars. This allows it to be charged and used in buildings with a very high capacity.

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Broken Power Cell

While power cell technology has considerably increased in terms of energy storage, due to the harsh climate of Mars, unexpected usage cases, and oddities due to the gravity being a third of Earth's, power cells are still prone to malfunction. Those that were scattered across Mars from lost rocketry shipments are slowly decaying into broken power cells such as these ones. They can be repaired through the combining of multiple power cells into a fully functioning one within a Chem Lab.

Sources:

• Recharging Buildings

Used in:

• Damaged power cells may be repaired in the Chem Lab after the player learns the recipe from performing Chemical research in the Library!

Full Power Cell

The full power cell has become a form of currency alongside the Dusk coin, as every building requires power to function including those vital to settler survival. Those buying power cells and then selling full power cells are almost always able to make a profit off of charging them in Solar Panels. Fits in any building slot and charges a high amount for its size.

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• Charging Buildings

Coffee

Martian coffee was a fairly late introduction to the planet, but was instantly incredibly popular. Prior to its creation from scratch on the surface, coffee beans or instant coffee packs had to be shipped via rockets to Mars which was incredibly expensive. Now all settlers are able to afford coffee within the Ad Astra Development Zone.

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Baijiu

Baijiu, also known as shaojiu, is a colourless liquor typically coming in between 35% and 60% alcohol by volume. It is typically created out of fermented sorghum and has been used in Lunar New Year celebrations extremely often.

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Broken Rover

Wrecks of broken rovers on the martian surface aren't entirely uncommon. Ever since the massive RoverWorks of the Ad Astra Development Zone started mass producing autonomous rovers to go out and explore the surface, many have befallen a broken fate via weather and terrain. These are typically scrapped within massive machine shops in order to reclaim the lost material.

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Exploring Rover

Exploring Rovers were the first rovers of the Ad Astra Landing to arrive within the Development Zone. Originally based off of a modified version of the Curiosity Rover, this rover is able to use its hands to manipulate its environment around it and return resources back to colonies after long expedition missions. This rover is powered off of power cells.

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Hauling Rover

Hauling Rovers were the second rovers of the Ad Astra Landing to arrive within the Development Zone. This rover is able to use its massive claws to mine its environment around it and store massive amounts of resources to send back to colonies after long expedition missions. This rover is powered off of power cells.

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Coffee Cherries

Coffee cherries, or coffee berries are used in the process of creating Coffee, these are fermented inside of water filtration units and turned into green coffee beans. The importance of coffee can't be understated on Mars, whether to stave off exhaustion or getting used to the ever-so slightly longer days of Mars.

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Soil

Soil is processed regolith, sifted to remove the dangerous extremely-small micro-particles and waste for fertilizer. It takes on a deeper brown color and smells nearly identical to volcanic soil. They're manufactured within Cryo Atmosphere Distillers due to the distillation processes needed to manufacture Soil.

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Rover Chassis

The starting framework of a rover, being able to be melded into either a hauling rover's chassis or an explorer rover's chassis. These rovers are able to handle nearly any weather threat, although some severe ones can still send your rovers home in wrecks. This design was based on the original chassis designs of the Ad Astra Landings.

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Rover Wheels

Rover wheels are specifically sculpted to drive on the micro-fine dust of the Martian surface. Molded out of Aluminium and Titanium plates, they're highly durable. Eight wheels are required for hauling rovers and four for explorer rovers.

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Machined Parts

A collection of extremely well machined bolts, nuts, tiny gears and other mechanical parts. These are normally used in the creation of mars-rated buildings and rovers. They are extremely resistant against oxidization due to the near lack of oxygen on the Martian surface. Typically created out of aluminum and steel.

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Structural Parts

A bundle of structural beams used to reinforce the chassis and exteriors of rovers and buildings. They're created with massive 3D-printers using steel, titanium and aluminum. This alloy is incredibly strong and is used by both the Ad Astra Development Zone and Duskworks.

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Electronic Parts

Depending on the intended usage of these circuit boards, they can be used as the electrical systems for rovers or industrial habitations. They are also used as the autonomous brain of the rovers and are constructed from processed regolith turned into silicon, copper, and raw PVC.

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PVC

PVC or Polyvinyl chloride, is one of the most useful synthetic polymer of plastic. It's created through a chemical process in the Chem Lab by a mixture of Methane, Hydrogen and Water. This raw PVC can be molded into all kinds of shapes and one of the more common uses is extruding it into a pipe shape.

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PLA

PLA or Polylactic acid is a thermoplastic polymer and is commonly used in 3D printing proceesses and made from fermented sorghum and Co2.

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Used in:

• Making Fireworks (Disabled)

• Coming Soon!

PVC Pipe

PVC Pipe is one of the most common uses of PVC, typically found anywhere within the scrapyards on Earth, these pipes can be used to create empty power cells that can be slotted into any solar panel in order to charge them up.

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Titanium Ore

Titanium is a metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength. It is used in all sorts of manners where a high strength yet light material is needed such as habitation modules, rovers and any other construction where structural parts are needed. Titanium Ore is typically gathered from clumps of regolith smelted down to reclaim the trace amounts of titanium.

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