So I am curious, is this kit still viable?

Alrighty, I was planning on making it into a respawn pod replacer mod, which is specifically why I asked; I know some people are particularly uneasy about others using their content on an uploaded thing by someone else.

@ChozoSR388 by all means of course! This is free for anyone to do with as they please! :)

Inigma, would you mind if I used this for inclusion in a starting rover design I'm working on?

S.T.A.R.T. updated with 2 more computers for the latest version of Space Engineers July 2020! Let me know if anyone has any issues or if they can find a way to reduce any current part counts.

@chad_elzinga thanks for the recommendation. I will certainly update it with your recommendation shortly!

I just tried this, and I kinda love it. It does need an update though. You need to add 2 more computer components to the container to get it to work. They may have changed the requirements of either the battery or the survival kit.

@Caelaran a small grid Survival Kit, yes.

Are there enough components still to create the Survival Kit? I think I was a few motors short but might have done something wrong....

@cataclism22 awesome!

Having so much fun using this mod withit the new SE release! \o/ !

New instructions and the moon start scenario is updated as well.

S.T.A.R.T. Emergency Recovery Kit has been updated for Space Engineers 1.0 Gold Release! Small footprint, less parts, and way cooler, and faster to get to a survival state than before. Now only 1,170 kg instead of 4,000, this will make adding it to small craft and escape pods even easier.

I'll be testing and refining this soon. Feel free to try it too. Once tested, I'll update the blueprint on Workshop. If so, you can grind up a medium cargo container which contains these parts, so ultimately the kit would only need:

1 medium cargo container (grounded for parts)
2 large steel tubes
1 computer
3 medical components
7 steel plates
20 power cells
welder
grinder
drill
and that's it for the S.T.A.R.T. Emergency Recovery Kit to go from a single box to owning the universe.

I think I've got the minimalist start so far. Assuming no spawns, no drops, no scavenging, starting in the harshest environment in SE: on the moon, at night, at the equator. List:

2 large steel tubes
5 computers
1 display
4 motors
3 medical components
4 construction components
7 steel plates
20 power cells
welder
grinder
drill

Directions
1. Build 1 steel plate adv rotor, grind off head.
2. Build control panel, add small head to rotor.
3. Grind off control panel.
4. Build small grid Battery onto small rotor head.
5. Build small grid Survival Kit onto small grid Battery
6. Then go mine and produce parts to build a small grid O2/H2 generator.
7. Then go mine and produce parts to build a solar panel to recharge your battery.
8. Build a Basic Assembler > Basic Refinery > Assembler > Refinery > new power source.


I'll be testing that soon.

With the new survival mechanics all you need are the parts to make the battery, the actual cargo crate, and what's needed to get the survival kit up to functional status. Nice thing is everything has small ship blocks. Possibly need a steel plate for a station block and replace the rotor with a landing gear to anchor the even smaller power hub down.

Admittedly this will require progression turned off due to needing the basic assembler before you can construct batteries.

Time to update! If you have suggestions for updating this kit with the new gold release of Space Engineers, feel free to share! I'll test out some ideas as well and provide credit where due! :D

Actually the ore spawn happened to be such that I don't have to go far out of the hole for anything other than silicon or uranium. I just most recently died because I forgot to keep the o2 bottle in my inventory while it was making plates for the refinery.

@Zerris Yes that hole is too steep and deep by itself, however it's a perfect spot to build, as long as you dig an exit tunnel that allows you to surface without using your jetpack.

Well this is hard, attempted it on the alien moon, only to die due to going a bit too fast. It possible I chose too deep a hole to start in. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1658706335 If your curious this was my starting view.

@cataclism22 thanks for the feedback!

AWESOME! Thank you for such a cool gameplay opportunity provided by "the block" :-D !

@Keeloth here: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1592525125

How do you get a map with only this box?

Updated post with link to spoiler instructions. Thanks @Ambaire, I've included your tips.

The 'reclaim components' step can be skipped if one never welds those components into the listed blocks. The rotor only requires one steel plate for the addition of the small rotor head. There's no need to put anything more into it. As for the battery, merely withdraw the minimum components with r-click + drag.

Finally tested and re-tested and updated all values to barest minimums. INSTRUCTIONS are fool proof now to get Refinery and rebuild the small Battery, and should be ready for a Youtube vid demonstrating it shortly. I decided to keep the Hydrogen Bottle in the kit, simply because flying to get ice at the poles starting from the Moon's equator, in addition to looking for nearby ores, really does use up your initial fuel if you don't know where to find resources.

I have updated the INSTRUCTIONS with the easiest path to Refinery and rebuilding the Small Battery that worked for me on the Moon's equator. I had 1 minute to spare when done. No efficiency or speed modules were required.

I noticed I needed a hydro recharge when starting at the equator on the Moon. Ferrying Ice Ores from the poles uses up a bit. Can you test an equator Moon start to confirm? I've modified step 8 of the INSTRUCTIONS to provide open ended-ness on a player's route to success.

Couldn't sleep so I made another go at it. Only made two power efficiency modules this time, and made a small ship small reactor instead. Got it completed with .11 uranium and the battery had 30kWh left. Didn't even use the hydrogen bottle; for a space start, it can be safely omitted.

I noticed you put 'rebuild the small battery' as a step. I don't really think that's a legit strategy, even though it's possible within the bounds of the game.

I remember abusing that heavily on a server once with large batteries, grinding them just down far enough to go below the hack line and replacing a couple cells before welding back up again. Never again.

@Ambaire. Awesome! Unique paths to the same self-sufficient goal, but all agree it's as minimalist as it can go (except maybe the hydrogen bottle). Certainly a good box to have on your next escape pod. I'll be updating the instructions with info on the most efficient way to get to a refinery. But of course those instructions will be for newbies like me. :) A lot of vets seem to enjoy the no-instruction challenge aspect of the kit. Thanks for your feedback!

To add to my previous comment, I initialized the scenario by doing a new planetary system, spawning in the jetpack (no tools), heading out of the atmosphere and finding an asteroid, then spawning the starter container blueprint and starting play. I had about 50% oxygen and 70% hydrogen left when I started play.

After a couple failed attempts, I managed to get to a small solar panel after deconstructing the hydrogen bottle for extra nickel. It was very close but I 'won' the scenario.

I am now sitting in a passenger seat staring at the panel watching my batteries sloooooowly charge.

Highly recommended. I think I might have had a bit more leeway if I hadn't done 4 efficiency modules for the assembler first. Not sure, though.

The STARTer kit is now even smaller! Instead of a Small Cargo Container (which was only compatible with large ship grids), it is now a Medium Cargo Container, half the size of the Small (I know, logical eh?) and can be mounted now to small grid blocks for fighters and escape pods.

I've also reduced its supply footprint further, using less parts, since now it makes use of recycling the entire cargo container itself.

I also pre-filled the oxygen and hydrogen bottles in the kit so now you have a little more time in space to hunt for ice.

Due to the unforgiving nature of this STARTer kit, the Corps highly recommends that Space Engineers consider training to use this kit while on a planetary surface so you can assemble what you need in less time and have more time finding life-saving resources if ever you're alone with this kit on an asteroid.

I hope to post a vid on how to use this soon. Until then, think of this as a puzzle you have to figure out.

Good luck Space Engineer!

Updated the STARTer Kit with new inventory. Less parts, less components, and better instructions. Enjoy!