Starter tips, or "What the hell do I do"?

[CaptainMontilla]

As in title, what am I supposed do in this game? I've just started but I'm getting burnt out fast from lack of progress. My latest achievement was building the first basic vehicle after what seemed like hours of getting nowhere. I keep finding the same places and loot, but can't go very far either with just a basic O2 tank. I know there's base building in this game but I can't build things yet since, as I said, I only find the same stuff over and over.

I realize I'm supposed to figure stuff out on my own but I don't want to abandon the game prematurely for lack of progress. Please guys, give me some directions.

[Lenny Rat]

You don't need any guides. Just explore deeper and deeper expanding your radius as you go. Seek out any pods you get messages about as more clues will be there.

Sometimes you must have a raw material before the fabricator will reveal another item.

[Suzaku]

• Get a seaglide and a rebreather. That can get you pretty far.
  
• I typically use the Seamoth as a local O2 refill and extra bag space once you've got a moonpool built.
  
• Search around in different biomes. Each biome holds all the parts for specific items, so for example, if you need the laser cutter, you can find all the pieces for it scattered around the grassy plateau (the fields of red grass).
  
• Answer the radio transmissions (hopefully you've fixed it by now). They'll lead you to some points of interest, but it's mostly to get you out into the various biomes around the area.
  
• Always keep your seaglide, knife, scanner, repair tool, and laser cutter with you at all times. You never know when you need them.
  
• Laser cutters are used to get into large ship wreckage, where you'll find data boxes with useful upgrades to unlock from them.
  
• To advance the story, you'll have to dive deeper. If you can't go deeper due to technical limitations, then the necessary upgrades are within your current reach.

[neo5apien]

If you need silver, gold, or lead try looking for sandstone outcroppings inside the caves of the safe shallows and kelp forests, and along the cliff walls of the red grasslands. The first thing to do is build any and every item that's listed in the lifepod fabricator. Doing so can unlock new blueprints in the early game. Build everything. Scan everything.

[Andreas]

It's really simple: If you don't know what else to do: go deeper!

[Dirak2012]

Fix the radio, make sure to build a scanner, then follow the radio signals and scan everything in your way. Make sure to pick up everything and read each new entry in your PDA.
With that the game will guide you through the story and endgame.

[PeLeSki]

Listen to the radio messages from lifepods and your PDA. They have all the early game clues.

[CmdrKeen]

Also, if you tend to get lost frequently or ending up visiting the same places again and again unintentionally, make a few beacons and place them in conspicuous places. For instance, I put one in or next to each lifepod I found and named them accordingly. After a while, you start getting a feel for the map and you won't get lost as much.

In the beginning, the game is pure survival, but once you've been to the Aurora wreck and you get to build a seamoth, it gets more about collecting resources and building a base. To finish the game, you must explore deeper, but my advice is to only go as deep as necessary until you've got a solid base and have upgraded your seamoth quite a bit. By then you'll easily have logged a solid 30-40 hours.

Enjoy!

[Priest]

Here my rough list
(Its still WIP, so for example i had no time to write what i get where)

(MY) Basespot -180 -440
--------------------------------------------------------
Step 1: Make Tools (and a small stock of food)

Food (local resssources)
Water (local resssources)
First aid kits (emergency Capsule, later base)

02 Tanks (local resssources)
Fins (In direction of aurora, Creepvine)
Scanner (local resssources)
Knife (local resssources)
Repair tool (local resssources)
Build tool (local resssources)
--------------------------------------------------------
Step 1 to 2: Get ressources and scan fragments
(Nothing you cant find elsewhere, so no need to visit all locations at this point)

Tubes and Scatterfields at
NW
-370W 480N
-290W 600N
TUBE -100W 80N

NE
20E 300N
90E 120N (Beacon and 1/3 Lasercutter)
320E 220N
270E 70N

SW
-160W -220S
-520W -215S
TUBE -130W -150S

SE
60E -90S (grav Trap, Beacon, 1x Seaglide)
180E -250S
310E -120S
170E -520S
--------------------------------------------------------
Step 2: Get some basics
Wreck at -320W 250N for
* Compass !!!!!!!!!!!
* Vehicle station fragments

Seamoth fragments Between and arround wrecks at 320E 220N and 330E 430N

Deep Dive into jelly Caves at 130 -390
(You should have at least 2 Imroved O2 Bottles. You will need to park your Seamoth at 190m)
(Direct above the deep base)
* a few magnetit
* Bed
* Multi purpose room
* Water Cleaner

South island
-820W -960S
for
* Some Baseparts
* Trees and melons
* Stasis rifle

To finsh this step you should have
* Base
* Seamoth
* Lasercutter
* (+Propulsion gun before you go into the aurora)
-----------------------------------------------------------
Mid to lategame Coords for materials

Sea Treader
(Poo, Diamonds, Gold, Lithium)
-1400W -700S 300Deep CAREFULL NEAR CRATER BORDER

Cave with many Rubins (10-30?)
890E 1500N
CAREFULL Leviatan area
-----------------------------------------------------------
Step 3 or 4
Aurora
-----------------------------------------------------------
Step 3 or 4
Finish all wrecks (For Blueprints and Ressources)
(** i do very early)
(EW Deep NS format)

NW
* -390 -120 648
* -1448 -332 723
* -1632 -334 83
** -1210 -217 7
* -320 -57 252
* -645 -120 773
* -102 -179 860

NE
* 929 -198 593
* 1309 -215 570
* 286 -72 444
* 65 -25 385
** 701 -346 1224
** 1057 -254 1359

SW
** -1131 -166 -729 Grav arms
** -787 -208 -713 Dock
* -1208 -332 -390
** -290 -222 -773
** -865 -430 -1390
* -15 -96 -624
* -635 -50 -2
* -432 -90 -268
* -40 -14 -400

SE
* 366 -6 -203
------------------------------------------------------------------
Step 5
North island
260W 1080N

Lost river
-700W 1120N (560 Deep)

Lava Biomes (inactive)
(If Lost river acessed from location above its on the left side)

Active is on the other side of the Lava mountain as the entry into the mountain
-------------------------------------------------------------------

[Patchup]

Don't read some of the replies unless you want spoilers. As another person suggested, fix the pod and the radio in the pod.

Each transmission is like a quest. They take you down the main story path.

Each time you seek out a new distress signal or other radio messages it will take you past ship wrecks you can explore for more PDA hints, messages, and technology. You will also be able to scan new technology at each wreck and especially around the other pods. It will be both inside wrecks and around the outside on the ground.

So first thing make what you already know. The repair tool (to fix the pod) a scanner, air tank, and flippers. scan everything, fish, coral, plants, metal objects. If you see it glow and a scanner icon on the bottom right, it can be scanned. good luck.