Welcome, engineer. 👨🔧 You’re here because a simple delivery job turned into a three-hour-long physics puzzle that ended with your rover, your cargo, and your pride scattered across a Martian crater. You’ve meticulously designed a crane arm, only to watch it gracefully tip your entire vehicle over the moment it touched the payload. You’ve built a six-wheeled behemoth that conquered a mountain, only to have a single, rogue potato roll off its flatbed and into a chasm, mocking you with its starchy silence. 😂
This is the glorious, hilarious, and deeply rewarding world of Mars First Logistics. This isn’t a game about winning; it’s a game about solving. It’s a digital playground for the kind of mind that sees a set of constraints and a box of parts and feels an irresistible urge to build something magnificent, or at least something that works. If you’ve spent hours designing mechs in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, launching questionably stable rockets in Kerbal Space Program, or constructing medieval chaos machines in Besiege, you’ve found your new home on the red planet. 🪐
This guide is your comprehensive handbook for that home. We will move beyond the basics and dive deep into the mechanical heart of Mars First Logistics. We will deconstruct the physics, master the build editor, catalog every single component, and develop advanced strategies for everything from simple cargo hauling to complex, automated rovers. Our goal is to transform you from a delivery driver into a master Martian engineer, one who not only completes contracts but does so with ingenuity, efficiency, and style. So, let’s embrace the glorious failure, learn from the wreckage, and start building. 🚀
Section 1: Your First Steps on Mars – A Beginner’s Guide 🔰
Your journey begins with a small rover and a simple task. But even the most basic delivery in Mars First Logistics is a lesson in the fundamental principles that govern your entire career on the red planet. Mastering these basics is the foundation upon which all your future engineering marvels will be built.
1.1 The Core Loop: Design, Build, Deliver, Upgrade 🔄
The gameplay of Mars First Logistics revolves around a simple, yet addictive, cycle. You are a reconfigurable rover tasked with helping to build up a new Martian colony by transporting awkwardly shaped cargo from point A to point B. This process breaks down into four key stages:
- Design 💡: You accept a contract, which presents a unique logistical problem. Perhaps you need to move a long, wobbly ladder or a heavy, dense crate. Your first step is to enter the build editor and conceptualize a machine capable of solving this specific problem.
- Build 🏗️: Using a tactile, LEGO-like editor, you assemble your rover from a growing inventory of parts. You will add wheels, motors, pistons, and claws to create your custom solution.
- Deliver 📦: You pilot your creation across the rugged, procedurally generated Martian terrain. This is where your design is put to the test against the unforgiving laws of physics. Success means getting the cargo to its destination, often a glowing rectangle that might be on a high ledge or in a tight space.
- Upgrade 💰: With each successful delivery, you earn funds—affectionately known as “Mars Fun Bucks”—and often unlock new, more advanced parts or entire vehicle blueprints. These new tools allow you to take on even more complex contracts, continuing the cycle.
This loop is the heart of the game. Each new contract introduces a twist that will force you to rethink your previous designs. A rover built to carry a crate might be useless for lifting a satellite dish, compelling you to constantly tweak, improve, or create entirely new vehicles from scratch.
1.2 Physics 101 for Mars First Logistics: Your True Adversary ⚖️
In Mars First Logistics, your primary opponent isn’t an alien or another player; it’s the unyielding force of physics. Understanding a few core concepts is non-negotiable for success.
- Center of Mass: Every object, including your rover and its cargo, has a center of mass. If this point moves outside your vehicle’s wheelbase, you will tip over. This is the single most common cause of failure. Always strive to build wide, low-slung vehicles, and position heavy components like engines and fuel tanks as low as possible. When carrying tall or off-center cargo, you must actively think about how its weight will shift your combined center of mass.
- Weight Distribution 🏋️♀️: A perfectly balanced rover can become dangerously unstable the moment it picks up a heavy load. The “long ladder mission” is a classic example; the ladder’s tendency to bounce can create oscillating forces that throw an unprepared vehicle off balance, even if the center of mass is technically stable. Use counterweights or design wider frames to compensate for the cargo you intend to carry.
- Torque and Leverage ⚙️: Actuators like servo motors and hydraulic cylinders provide the force to move your arms and claws. The farther a weight is from a pivot point (the servo), the more torque is required to lift it. A long crane arm might be able to lift a small crate with ease when it’s close to the rover, but it may not have the strength to lift the same crate at full extension. Plan your lifting mechanisms accordingly.
- Terrain Interaction 🏞️: The Martian surface is a rugged, uneven landscape of dust, rocks, and steep hills. Different wheel types offer different levels of grip and stability. Your rover’s design—its suspension, wheelbase, and ground clearance—will determine how well it can navigate this challenging environment without flipping or getting stuck.
1.3 Deconstructing Your First Rovers: Learning from Blueprints 🔧
The game doesn’t throw you into the deep end without a life raft. For early contracts, you’ll receive blueprints for specialized rovers like the “Watering Can Lifter” and the “Crate Carrier”. It’s tempting to simply select these blueprints, complete the job, and move on. Do not do this. These blueprints are your first and most important tutorials.
Instead of just using them, take the time to deconstruct them in the editor. Ask yourself why the developers designed them this way.
- On the Watering Can Lifter, notice the placement of the servo motor. It’s positioned to allow the arm to loop perfectly under the can’s handle. This teaches you about using servos as simple rotational joints.
- On the Crate Carrier, observe how the telescoping parts are used to create a clamp that extends, grabs, and retracts. This is your first lesson in linear actuators.
By reverse-engineering these simple, effective designs, you learn the fundamental purpose and application of each core part. This approach transforms the learning process from abstract trial-and-error into a guided lesson in practical mechanics. You are not just learning what a part does, but how it can be used to solve a real problem.
1.4 Navigating the World: The Radio Network and Fast Travel 📡
Mars is a vast, open world, but you can’t explore it all at once. Your rover has a limited signal range, and if you travel too far from a radio transmitter, your connection will start to fail, and the screen will fill with static.
To expand your operational area, you must build out a network of transmitters. This system introduces a light strategic layer to exploration:
- Line-of-Sight: Transmitters can only be placed within the signal range of another active transmitter, and crucially, they must have an unobstructed line-of-sight. This organically encourages you to tackle tricky peaks to place a transmitter up high for maximum coverage.
- Daisy-Chaining: If a mountain is blocking your path, you can’t just go through it. You must build a chain of transmitters around it, creating a path of connectivity that allows you to explore the region beyond.
As you expand your network and discover new stations and outposts (which appear as grey dots on the map), you unlock them as fast travel points. This is a vital quality-of-life feature that prevents you from having to make long, repetitive journeys across terrain you’ve already conquered, letting you focus on the new challenges ahead.
Section 2: The Martian Engineer’s Handbook – Mastering the Build Editor 🛠️
The build editor is your sanctuary, your laboratory, and your canvas. It is where logistical problems are transformed into mechanical solutions. While its interface is intuitive, mastering its deeper functions and developing an efficient workflow is what separates amateur tinkerers from professional Martian engineers.
2.1 The Editor UI and Core Functions 🖥️
When you first open the editor, you’re presented with a clean, functional interface. Let’s break down the key areas:
- Inventory Panel: This is where you select parts to add to your rover. Parts are categorized for easy access, and this is also where you purchase new components with the funds you’ve earned.
- Build Area: The central space where you construct your vehicle. You can rotate, pan, and zoom the camera to view your creation from any angle.
- Controls Tab: A critical screen where you assign key bindings to your rover’s functions. This is where you’ll configure steering, activate pistons, and rotate servos across different channels.
- Blueprints Tab: Here you can save your own custom designs for later use or load pre-made blueprints provided by the game or downloaded from the Steam Workshop.
- Engineer’s Handbook: An in-game manual that explains many of the editor’s less obvious features, such as copy-pasting and changing control channels. It is an invaluable resource that should be consulted often.
2.2 Building Philosophies: Form vs. Function 💪 vs. ✨
As you progress, you’ll develop your own style of building. Generally, designs in Mars First Logistics fall into two broad philosophies:
- Utilitarian/Minimalist: These are the “bots” of the engineering world. They are often asymmetrical, skeletal, and built with the absolute minimum number of parts required to solve a single problem. They may not be pretty, but they are hyper-efficient and cost-effective. This is the philosophy of pure function over form.
- Aesthetic/Robust: These are the “rovers” of Mars. They are often symmetrical, feature cosmetic parts for a more finished look, and are frequently over-engineered with redundant systems and advanced suspension. They are designed not just to solve one problem, but to be versatile, stable, and look impressive while doing it. This is the philosophy of building with style and resilience.
There is no “right” answer. A minimalist contraption that gets the job done is just as valid as a beautifully crafted, multi-purpose vehicle. The Steam Workshop is a fantastic place to see examples of both extremes, from hyper-specialized flying scouts to massive, all-in-one transport trucks.
2.3 Overcoming the “Clunk”: Essential Building Techniques
The community has noted that the building controls, while powerful, can sometimes feel “clunky,” especially when you need to modify a design. Rebuilding an entire section just to swap out one part is a common frustration. Fortunately, several key techniques and recent game updates have made this process much smoother.
- The Copy/Paste Workflow 📋: The copy function (default C key) is your single most important tool for efficient building. You can select a single part or an entire sub-assembly (like a wheel and its suspension) and copy it. This is essential for creating symmetrical designs without having to build each side piece by piece. The “select pivot point” feature enhances this by allowing you to choose which socket on a part you are connecting from, making it easy to flip servos or attach complex assemblies precisely.
- Understanding Mechanical Loops 🔗: A revolutionary update changed how parts connect. Previously, parts had a single “prong” and could not form closed mechanical loops. Now, any socket can connect to any adjacent socket, creating a solid, mechanical linkage. This is a massive leap in design potential, allowing for far more sophisticated and durable creations like complex suspension systems or combining multiple pistons for greater lifting power. However, this comes with a critical warning: this change can break older designs. If a part on your rover that used to move is now stuck, it is likely because two sockets have formed an unintended link. You must separate them to restore movement.
- Using Connectors Strategically 🧱: To solve the problem of unintended linkages, several new connector parts were added: the T-connector, X-connector, and corner parts. These parts have fewer sockets than a standard hub. Use them strategically to build your frame and ensure that only the parts you want to connect are actually touching. They are the key to building complex, free-moving mechanisms within a solid chassis.
2.4 Wiring Your Contraption: A Deep Dive into Control Channels 🔌
A simple rover might only need one set of controls: forward, back, left, and right. A complex machine, however, might have driving wheels, a crane arm, a rotating platform, and deployable landing gear. This is where control channels come in.
Mars First Logistics provides nine separate control channels. You can assign different controllable parts to different channels, allowing you to switch between functions on the fly. For example:
- Channel 1: Drive controls (WASD for wheels).
- Channel 2: Crane controls (Mouse buttons for servos and pistons).
- Channel 3: Cargo clamp controls (Q and E for a grabber).
This system allows a single player to operate a multi-function vehicle without the key bindings becoming a tangled mess. You can also employ several advanced tricks:
- Multi-Part Binding: You can assign the same input to multiple parts on the same channel. For instance, you can bind the ‘Space’ key to four separate hydraulic cylinders to make them all extend simultaneously, deploying four landing legs at once.
- Input Inversion: In the control settings, you can invert the action of a part. This is incredibly useful for creating synchronized opposing movements. For example, to make ailerons for a flying vehicle, you can have two servos on the same channel respond to the ‘D’ key. By inverting one of them, one aileron will tilt up while the other tilts down, causing the craft to roll.
A recent quality-of-life update also cleaned up the control UI, so it no longer shows duplicate prompts for identical parts, making the on-screen display much less cluttered when piloting complex rovers.
Section 3: The Complete Mars First Logistics Parts Compendium 📚
An engineer is only as good as their tools. In Mars First Logistics, your tools are the over 100 unique components you can use to build your rovers. True mastery of the game comes from knowing not just what each part does, but its hidden potential, its cost, how to unlock it, and when it is the right tool for the job.
3.1 Introduction to the Compendium
This section serves as the definitive, exhaustive reference for every component available in Mars First Logistics as of the 1.0 release. It is designed to be your ultimate planning tool. Before you spend a single “Mars Fun Buck,” you can consult this compendium to theory-craft your designs, compare the stats of different parts, and map out your progression path. We have cataloged every part, from the simplest structural beam to the most complex logic gate, to empower you with the knowledge needed to build anything you can imagine.
Table: The Complete Mars First Logistics Parts & Components Spreadsheet
| Part Name 🧩 | Category 📂 | Cost (MFB) 💰 | Unlock Method | Key Stats / Properties | Function & Description | Engineering Notes & Hidden Uses |
| Structural | ||||||
| Connector 1×1 | Structural | 5 | Initial Part | Basic building block | A simple, single-unit connector cube. | The fundamental “Lego brick” of the game. 🧱 |
| Connector 2×1 | Structural | 10 | Initial Part | Length: 2 units | A rectangular beam for building frames. | Essential for creating chassis of any length. |
| Connector 4×1 | Structural | 20 | Purchase | Length: 4 units | A longer rectangular beam. | More rigid and lighter than two 2x1s. Use for long, unsupported spans. |
| T-Connector | Structural | 15 | Update 4 | 3 connection points | A T-shaped structural piece. | Introduced with Mechanical Loops. Use to avoid unintended connections. |
| X-Connector | Structural | 20 | Update 4 | 4 connection points | An X-shaped structural piece. | Also used to prevent unwanted mechanical linkages on complex builds. |
| Corner | Structural | 15 | Update 4 | 3 connection points | A 90-degree corner piece. | Perfect for creating clean, strong corners on your chassis. |
| Weight | Structural | 100 | Purchase | High Mass | A dense, heavy block. | Mass was doubled in Update 5. Essential for counter-balancing cranes or adding stability. 🏋️♂️ |
| Mobility | ||||||
| All-Terrain Wheel | Mobility | 50 | Initial Part | Medium Grip, Medium Speed | A standard, versatile wheel. 🛞 | Good all-around performer. Stability was improved in an update. |
| Race Wheel | Mobility | 75 | Purchase | Low Grip, High Speed | A fast wheel for smooth surfaces. | Best used on roads. Handling was improved in Update 5. 🏎️ |
| Magnetic Wheel | Mobility | 150 | Purchase | High Grip on Metal | A wheel that can stick to metallic surfaces. | Can be toggled on/off. Speed increased in Update 5. Great for climbing pipes. 🧲 |
| Monster Wheel | Mobility | 250 | EA Update 5 | Very Large, High Clearance | A massive wheel for extreme terrain. | Provides excellent ground clearance and can roll over small obstacles. |
| Spiked Wheel | Mobility | 125 | EA Update 5 | Extra High Grip | A wheel with spikes for maximum traction. | Ideal for climbing steep, loose-dirt hills. ⛰️ |
| Rocket Engine | Mobility | 500 | Main Contract Reward | High Thrust | Provides powerful forward or vertical thrust. 🚀 | The core component for all flying vehicles. Consumes fuel. |
| Auxiliary Thruster | Mobility | 250 | 1.0 Update | Low Thrust | A smaller rocket for fine control. | Perfect for maneuvering, docking, or delicate adjustments in the air. |
| RCS | Mobility | 300 | EA Update 5 | Rotational Thrust | Reaction Control System. Allows for pitch, roll, and yaw control in flight. | Absolutely essential for building stable, controllable flying machines. |
| Fuel Tank (Small) | Mobility | 100 | Purchase | Low Fuel Capacity | A small tank for rocket fuel. | Use for small scouts or when weight is a major concern. |
| Fuel Tank (Large) | Mobility | 250 | Purchase | High Fuel Capacity | A large tank for rocket fuel. | Standard for heavy lifters or long-range flying vehicles. |
| Actuators | ||||||
| Servo Motor | Actuators | 100 | Initial Part | Rotational Force (Torque) | Rotates a connected part around a single axis. | The most fundamental actuator. Can be flipped to reverse direction. 🔄 |
| High-Speed Motor | Actuators | 150 | Purchase | High Rotational Speed | A servo that rotates very quickly. | Has arrows indicating forward direction. Good for spinning mechanisms, less so for lifting. |
| Heavy Duty Servo | Actuators | 200 | EA Update 5 | Very High Torque | A powerful servo for heavy lifting. | The go-to for heavy-duty cranes and lifting arms. 💪 |
| Telescoping Cylinder | Actuators | 125 | Initial Part | Linear Extension | A piston that extends and retracts in a line. | Your basic linear actuator. Can start in a mid-extended position. |
| Hydraulic Cylinder | Actuators | 175 | Purchase | High Linear Force | A stronger version of the telescoping cylinder. | Better for lifting heavy loads or pushing against resistance. |
| Heavy Duty Jack | Actuators | 300 | 1.0 Update | Greater Linear Strength | A powerful powered linear joint. | The strongest piston-style actuator. Cost was increased in a patch. |
| Levitating Actuator | Actuators | 400 | 1.0 Update | Force-based Linear Joint | A powered linear joint where the ends are held by an invisible force. | Allows for extension without a physical connection, useful for passing through other parts. ✨ |
| Rail Slide | Actuators | 200 | Purchase | Powered Sliding Joint | A part that slides along a fixed rail. | Provides stable, guided linear motion. Can start in a mid-position. |
| Free Joints | ||||||
| Hinge | Free Joints | 25 | Initial Part | Free rotation on 1 axis | Allows free-swinging movement in one direction. | Useful for trailers, ramps, or passive suspension components. |
| Ball Joint | Free Joints | 40 | Update 3 | Free rotation on 3 axes | A joint that can rotate freely in any direction, like a shoulder joint. | Essential for creating advanced, multi-axis independent suspension. |
| Slider (Small/Med/Lrg) | Free Joints | 30/40/50 | Update 4 | Free-sliding linear joint | Unpowered linear joints that slide freely. | Perfect for creating passive suspension systems or sliding mechanisms. |
| Manipulation | ||||||
| Claw | Manipulation | 150 | Purchase | Gripping Tool | A simple pincer for grabbing objects. 🤏 | A basic but effective grabbing tool. |
| Jaw | Manipulation | 200 | Purchase | Wide Gripping Tool | A wider version of the claw for larger objects. | Better for securing bulky items like crates. |
| Electro Magnet | Manipulation | 300 | Side Job Reward | Attracts Metal | An electromagnet for lifting metallic objects or attaching to metal surfaces. | Unlocked late-game. Very useful for handling ore and steel beams. |
| Grappling Hook | Manipulation | 250 | Main Contract Reward | Fires a retractable hook | Shoots a hook that can attach to objects or terrain. 🎣 | Can be extended and retracted. Aiming improved to make the vehicle transparent. |
| Utility | ||||||
| Spring (Light/Med/Hvy) | Utility | 50/75/100 | Update 3 | Dampened Springs | Can be used as shock absorbers. | The core of most effective suspension designs. Choose strength based on vehicle weight. |
| Gimbal (Axis/Inline) | Utility | 350 | 1.0 Update | Maintains World Angle | Tries to maintain its initial angle relative to the world. | Incredibly useful for keeping a camera, sensor, or weapon platform level on rough terrain. 🌐 |
| Gravity Suppressor | Utility | 1000 | 1.0 Update | Reduces Gravity on Cargo | Suppresses gravity on cargo within a limited radius. | A game-changing endgame part for lifting extremely heavy cargo. |
| Theodolite | Utility | 500 | Main Contract Reward | Structure Building Tool | Allows you to build roads, pipes, monorails, and transmitters. 🏗️ | Has an aim dot for easier placement. Unlocks the infrastructure gameplay loop. |
| Drill | Utility | 400 | Main Contract Reward | Mines Raw Materials | A drill for extracting raw materials from rocks. ⛏️ | Unlocked by completing the “explosives” contract. |
| Mining Laser | Utility | 600 | Side Job Reward | Mines Raw Materials | A laser for extracting raw materials. More efficient than the drill. | A direct upgrade for your mining operations. |
| Scanner | Utility | 300 | Side Job Reward | Locates Resources | A scanner that helps locate raw material deposits. 📡 | Essential for efficient resource gathering. |
| Camera | Utility | 100 | EA Update 5 | First-Person View | Activate to play in first-person mode. 📷 | Great for precision maneuvering or immersive driving. |
| Copier | Utility | 50 | EA Update 5 | Copies Player Designs | Allows you to copy another player’s rover design in a co-op session. | A fantastic tool for sharing and collaboration in multiplayer. 🤝 |
| Automation | ||||||
| Relay | Automation | 50 | 1.0 Update | Input -> Output | Sends its input directly to its output. | Allows a single part to be controlled by multiple different key bindings. |
| Switch | Automation | 75 | 1.0 Update | Toggles Output | Toggles its output on/off each time the input is triggered. | Use to make a servo spin continuously with a single button press. |
| Sensor | Automation | 100 | 1.0 Update | Triggers on Contact | Triggers its output whenever it touches an object. | The “eyes” of your automated systems. Perfect for self-closing claws or warning systems. 👀 |
| AND Gate | Automation | 100 | 1.0 Update | Output if A AND B | Triggers its output only when both of its inputs are active. | A fundamental logic gate for creating more complex conditions. |
| NOT Gate | Automation | 100 | 1.0 Update | Inverts Input | Triggers its output whenever its input is NOT active. | Allows for “default on” systems that are deactivated by a key press. |
| Cosmetic | ||||||
| Antenna | Cosmetic | 10 | Update 3 | Decorative | A cosmetic antenna piece. | Adds a bit of flair to your rover. ✨ |
| End Cap | Cosmetic | 10 | Update 3 | Decorative | Fills gaps between hubs or other parts. | Useful for creating a cleaner, more finished look. |
| Grille | Cosmetic | 15 | 1.0 Update | Decorative | A cosmetic grille piece. | Make your rover look more like a truck. |
| 15/45 Degree Bend | Cosmetic | 15 | 1.0 Update | Decorative | Angled structural pieces. | Allows for more complex and angled chassis designs. |
| Wedge 2×1 | Cosmetic | 15 | 1.0 Update | Decorative | A sloped wedge piece. | Useful for creating aerodynamic-looking vehicles or ramps. |
3.2 In-Depth Analysis of Key Part Categories
While the spreadsheet provides a complete overview, some part categories deserve a deeper strategic discussion.
- Mobility 🚗: The choice of wheel is a critical design decision. All-Terrain Wheels are your reliable workhorse. Race Wheels are only truly effective on the roads you build yourself. Spiked Wheels are specialists, offering unparalleled grip on steep, dusty inclines where other wheels would fail. The Monster Wheel is for when you decide to simply drive over your problems instead of around them. And Magnetic Wheels are a unique utility tool, allowing you to drive on metal surfaces like pipes or even lock your rover in place on a steel platform.
- Actuators 🦾: Not all powered joints are created equal. A Servo Motor is for rotation. A Telescoping Cylinder is for linear extension. When you need more power, you upgrade. The Heavy Duty Servo provides more torque for heavy cranes, while the Hydraulic Cylinder and Heavy Duty Jack provide more linear force for powerful lifts or presses. The Levitating Actuator is a unique problem-solver, allowing you to create extending mechanisms that don’t physically collide with the rest of your rover.
- Utility 🧰: This category contains the true game-changers. Springs are the foundation of any good suspension system, absorbing the shocks of the rough Martian terrain. Gimbals are a high-tech solution for stability, ensuring a platform remains level no matter how much your rover bounces around—perfect for a delicate camera or a long, unwieldy piece of cargo. And the Gravity Suppressor is the ultimate endgame tool, fundamentally changing how you approach heavy lifting contracts by simply making heavy things less heavy.
Section 4: The Art of the Contract – Excelling at Mars First Logistics Jobs 💼
Completing contracts is the core of your career in Mars First Logistics. It’s how you earn money, unlock parts, and progress the colonization effort. But not all contracts are created equal. Understanding the different types of jobs, the cargo you’ll face, and the economics behind them is key to becoming an efficient and successful engineer.
4.1 Main Contracts vs. Side Jobs: Progression, Profit, and Purpose ⭐ vs. 🔄
Your job list is divided into two categories, each serving a different purpose in your career.
- Main Contracts: These are the predetermined, story-driven missions that advance the game. They are unique, often complex puzzles that task you with delivering key components for major construction projects, like a telescope mirror or parts for a rocket launch site. Completing these contracts is how you unlock the most important new parts, blueprints, and entire new regions of the map.
- Side Jobs: These are procedurally generated missions that offer a constant stream of income. The game randomly selects a cargo type, a pickup location, and a drop-off point within the areas you’ve discovered. These jobs are your bread and butter. They are perfect for testing new rover designs in a low-stakes environment and for earning the funds needed to buy the parts required to tackle the next big main contract.
The game’s structure naturally encourages a healthy rhythm between these two types of work. You should push forward on main contracts until you encounter one that your current technology or engineering skill can’t solve. At that point, turn to side jobs. Use them to grind for “Mars Fun Bucks,” experiment with new building techniques, and unlock more versatile parts. Once you’ve upgraded your toolkit and honed your skills, return to the main contract that stumped you. This loop of progression and practice is fundamental to the Mars First Logistics experience.
4.2 Cargo Analysis: Strategies for Every Awkwardly Shaped Object
The true challenge of Mars First Logistics lies in its “awkwardly shaped cargo”. Each type requires a different engineering approach.
- Heavy Cargo 🏋️♂️ (Anvils, Iron Ore): The primary challenge here is managing your center of mass. Your rover must be wide and low to the ground to avoid tipping. Use multiple powerful actuators (like Heavy Duty Servos or Hydraulic Cylinders) working in tandem to provide enough lifting force. In the late game, the Gravity Suppressor becomes an invaluable tool for these jobs.
- Fragile Cargo 🥚 (Telescope Mirrors, Explosives): Stability and smooth handling are paramount. A robust suspension system built with springs is essential to absorb bumps in the terrain. Your grabbing mechanism should be secure but gentle, caging the item rather than just pinching it. Drive slowly and deliberately. Fortunately, an update made the explosives “less sensitive,” giving you a little more room for error.
- Bouncy Cargo 🏀 (Ladders, Crates of Fruit): These items are deceptive. They may not be heavy, but their tendency to bounce and shift during transit can easily destabilize your rover. The best solution is containment. Build a cage, a deep cargo bed, or a multi-point clamping system that holds the item firmly in place and prevents it from moving independently of your vehicle.
- Unwieldy Cargo 📏 (Long Beams, Satellite Dishes): These objects present a challenge of balance and clearance. For long beams, a vehicle with two separate grip points—one near the front and one near the back—is often more stable than one with a single central grip. A rotating platform can help you maneuver the beam around obstacles. For wide objects like satellite dishes, high ground clearance is key. Gimbals can also be used to keep a long, balanced item level while you traverse uneven ground.
4.3 Mars First Logistics Economics: Maximizing Your “Mars Fun Bucks” 💸
Every part costs money, and your funds are limited. A smart engineer is also a fiscally responsible one. The core economic decision in Mars First Logistics is weighing the high upfront cost of an ideal, specialized rover against the challenge of completing a job with a cheaper, less-perfect solution.
However, a more significant economic choice emerges as you unlock infrastructure projects. Community feedback has made it clear that construction missions often have a much lower direct profit margin compared to simple delivery jobs. This creates a fascinating strategic dilemma: do you focus on the quick cash of deliveries, or do you make a long-term investment in infrastructure that will make future deliveries easier?
Table: Contract Profitability Analysis: Deliveries vs. Construction
| Contract Type | Sub-Type | Average Payout Range (MFB) | Average Costs (MFB) | Estimated Net Profit | Profitability Index (Profit per Minute) ⏱️ | Strategic Value 📈 |
| Delivery | Standard Cargo | 800 – 2000 | 0 | 800 – 2000 | High | Excellent for early-game cash flow and testing basic designs. |
| Heavy/Fragile Cargo | 1500 – 3500 | 0 | 1500 – 3500 | High | High reward for high engineering skill. A 3100 MFB anvil delivery can be much faster than a construction job of similar distance. | |
| Long Distance Haul | 2000 – 5000 | 0 | 2000 – 5000 | Medium | Payout is high, but time investment can be significant. Profitability depends on rover speed and route efficiency. | |
| Construction | Transmitter Tower | N/A (Self-funded) | ~100 per tower | -100 | N/A | Essential investment for map exploration and unlocking new, more profitable contract areas. |
| Road 🛣️ | 2000 – 6000 | 150 per segment | 500 – 2000 | Low | Direct profit is often low for the time invested. However, the created road is a permanent asset that dramatically speeds up all future deliveries along that route. A long-term investment. | |
| Monorail 🚄 | 3000 – 8000 | 200+ per segment | 1000 – 3000 | Low | Even lower direct profitability than roads due to higher costs. Provides automated, hands-free transport, but the slow speed can make it inefficient for timed jobs. | |
| Pipe (Water/Fuel) 💧 | 1500 – 4000 | 100 per segment | 200 – 1500 | Very Low | The lowest profitability. Often described as “thematic”. A 10+ km pipe mission might only yield a 200 MFB profit. Complete these for progression, not for profit. |
The data is clear: for pure, immediate profit, focus on high-value delivery contracts. View construction not as a primary source of income, but as a long-term investment in the efficiency of your entire logistics network.
4.4 The Unspoken Rules: No Grades, Just Completion ✅
One of the most liberating aspects of Mars First Logistics is its core philosophy: a win is a win. The game does not grade your performance. It doesn’t care if your delivery was elegant or a chaotic mess. As long as the cargo arrives at the designated glowing rectangle, you get paid.
This design choice is a direct invitation to be creative and embrace “ugly” solutions. Did you build a rover that just drags a steel beam across the desert? If it works, it’s a valid strategy. Did you accidentally drop the cargo off a cliff but manage to build a second rover to go down and retrieve it? That’s not a failure; that’s a multi-stage recovery operation. This freedom from judgment is what makes the game so fun and encourages the kind of out-of-the-box thinking that leads to truly brilliant, if unconventional, machines.
Section 5: Advanced Engineering – Blueprints for Success 📐
Once you’ve mastered the basics, it’s time to push the boundaries of Martian engineering. This section provides blueprints and deep dives into advanced design concepts, from complex suspension that can tame the roughest terrain to flying vehicles that bypass it entirely.
5.1 A Deep Dive into Suspension Systems
A good suspension system is the difference between gliding over the terrain and being violently thrown into a cartwheeling wreck by a small rock. While the game doesn’t have pre-built suspension parts, you can create incredibly effective systems using a combination of free joints and springs. Drawing inspiration from community guides, here are a few designs to get you started.
- Simple Lever Suspension:
- Concept: The most basic form of suspension. The wheel is attached to a beam, which is connected to the chassis with a Hinge. A Spring is placed between the beam and the chassis to provide dampening.
- Pros: Simple, cheap, effective for light vehicles.
- Cons: Limited travel, can be unstable under heavy loads.
- Independent Suspension with Ball Joints:
- Concept: A more advanced design where each wheel can move up and down independently, providing maximum stability on uneven ground. This uses the Ball Joint, which allows for 3-axis rotation.
- Pros: Extremely stable, excellent terrain-following capabilities.
- Cons: More complex to build, takes up more space.
5.2 The Flying Vehicle Debate: To Fly or Not to Fly? ✈️
Few topics in the Mars First Logistics community are as debated as the use of flying vehicles. With a few Rocket Engines and a bit of ingenuity, it’s possible to build craft that can bypass the game’s primary challenge: the terrain.
- The Argument For (Efficiency): Proponents argue that flight is the ultimate logistical solution. It’s fast, efficient, and allows you to complete contracts that would be incredibly tedious on the ground. It’s a fun and valid engineering challenge in its own right.
- The Argument Against (Bypassing Gameplay): Critics feel that flying is “overpowered” and circumvents the core gameplay loop of designing ground-based rovers to tackle terrain puzzles. It can make the game too easy and less rewarding.
However, a close look at the game’s development reveals that flight is not an exploit, but an intended late-game strategy. The developers have added parts specifically to support and enhance flight, such as the Reaction Control System (RCS) for fine-tuned pitch, roll, and yaw control. The high cost of fuel and the inherent instability of flying a payload with a crane are the balancing factors. Flight isn’t an “I win” button; it’s a high-cost, high-skill alternative that presents its own unique engineering challenges.
Blueprint: Basic “Sky Crane” VTOL
- Core Components: 1x Large Fuel Tank, 4x Rocket Engines (facing down), 2x Rocket Engines (facing backward), 1x RCS block.
- Build Steps: Start with a central chassis built around the Large Fuel Tank. Place four Rocket Engines on outriggers, pointing down for vertical lift. Place two Rocket Engines at the rear for forward thrust. Attach the RCS block near the center of mass. This is non-negotiable for stable flight. Add your crane/claw mechanism underneath.
- Controls: Bind vertical thrusters to ‘Space’, forward thrusters to ‘Shift’, and let the RCS handle WASD for pitch and roll.
5.3 Heavy Lifting Solutions: Cranes, Forks, and Advanced Manipulators 🏗️
Many contracts require you to not just transport cargo, but to lift it onto a high platform or place it with precision. This requires specialized lifting equipment.
- Counter-Weighted Crane: For extremely heavy objects, a simple servo arm won’t have enough torque. The solution is a counter-weighted crane. Build a long arm on a rotating base (using a Servo). On the short end of the arm, behind the pivot, stack several “Weight” parts. This counter-balance will dramatically increase the lifting capacity of the long end of the arm.
- Articulated Forklift: To lift cargo from the ground and place it on a ledge, a forklift design is ideal. Use two long beams as forks. Attach them to a vertical sliding mechanism built from Rail Slides or Telescoping Cylinders. This allows you to lift the cargo straight up before driving forward to place it.
- Self-Loading Cargo Bed: For loose items like potatoes or ore, chasing them down can be tedious. A self-loading mechanism can save time. A simple version is a “scoop” ramp at the front of your vehicle with a piston that pushes the items up the ramp and into a cargo bed.
5.4 Showcase: Community-Inspired Rover Designs 🏆
The Steam Workshop is a treasure trove of brilliant designs. Here are a few archetypes inspired by the community that you can build yourself.
- The Mountain Goat 🐐: A small, lightweight scout vehicle with four-wheel drive and advanced independent suspension. Its purpose is to climb the steepest peaks to place transmitters.
- The Wide-Loader: A very long, wide rover with two synchronized crane arms, one near the front and one near the back. It is specifically designed to pick up and transport long, unwieldy items like beams and pipes.
- The Egg Basket 🥚: A rover designed for maximum fragile cargo protection. It features a deep, enclosed cargo bay and an incredibly soft, spring-based suspension system.
Section 6: Making Mars Home – A Guide to Infrastructure and Resources 🏠
In the later stages of Mars First Logistics, your role evolves. You are no longer just a delivery driver; you are a pioneer, building the very infrastructure that will support the growing Martian colony. The “Roads and Trains” and “Raw Material Mining” updates introduced a deep, rewarding system of resource gathering and construction that adds a whole new layer to the game.
6.1 Resource Mining 101: Your Guide to the Drill, Laser, and Scanner ⛏️
Previously, the only resource you needed was money. Now, major infrastructure projects like roads and monorails require raw materials, which you must personally extract from the Martian landscape. This creates a new, compelling gameplay loop: complete deliveries for cash, use the cash to build a mining rover, use the miner to gather resources, and use the resources to build infrastructure that makes future deliveries easier.
- The Tools of the Trade:
- Drill: This is your entry-level mining tool. It is unlocked by completing a new main contract that involves transporting some volatile explosives.
- Mining Laser: A more advanced and efficient extraction tool. It is a direct upgrade over the drill and can be unlocked as a reward for completing specific side jobs.
- Scanner: Finding resource deposits can be a challenge. The Scanner is a crucial part that highlights nearby deposits, making your prospecting efforts much more efficient.
Building a dedicated mining rover is a fun challenge. It needs to be stable enough to operate on rocky terrain, have a mechanism to press the drill or laser against the resource node, and ideally have a cargo bay to store the collected materials.
6.2 Building Your Network: A Mars First Logistics Guide to Roads and Pipes 🛣️
Once you have raw materials, you can start building. By equipping your rover with a Theodolite, you gain the ability to construct persistent structures that will permanently alter the world.
- Roads: Building roads is a game-changer. A smooth, paved surface allows you to use faster vehicles (like those with Race Wheels) and makes transporting unstable cargo significantly easier. However, be mindful of the terrain. The road-building tool can sometimes create inclines that are too steep for a heavy truck.
- Pipes (Water/Fuel) 💧: You will receive contracts to connect various stations with pipelines. While these missions are thematically important for the colony, they offer the lowest profit margin of all construction jobs and don’t provide the same ongoing gameplay benefit as roads or monorails.
6.3 Monorail Masterclass: Tips for Efficient Rail Lines 🚄
Monorails are the pinnacle of Martian infrastructure, allowing for automated, hands-free transport across vast distances. However, the system has its quirks, and building them can be frustrating without a few key tips.
- Problem: Monorail stations are not rotatable, and the track can only connect to one specific side.
- Solution: Plan your route backward. Start building from the destination station and work your way toward the origin.
- Problem: The game won’t let you place a piece if the bend is too sharp or the grade is too steep.
- Solution: Use shorter track segments for tighter curves and try to follow the contour of the terrain to keep the incline gentle.
- Problem: It’s not possible to build complex networks with loops or interchanges.
- Solution: Accept the limitation. Monorails in Mars First Logistics are designed for point-to-point connections, not a complex transit system.
Despite the challenges, a completed monorail is a sight to behold. A key quality-of-life feature allows you to summon a train at any connected station, so you never have to wait for it to complete a full circuit.
Section 7: The Automation Revolution – Advanced Mars First Logistics Strategies 🤖
The 1.0 release of Mars First Logistics introduced a feature that fundamentally changes the endgame: automation. By using a new system of virtual ports, sensors, and logic gates, you can build rovers that perform complex actions on their own, moving beyond direct control into the realm of simple programming.
7.1 The Virtual Port System Explained: A Primer on In-Game Programming
The automation system is built on a single, powerful concept: the virtual port.
Think of a normal part, like a servo. You assign it a key, and when you press that key, the servo activates. A virtual port is an input that isn’t tied to your keyboard; instead, it’s triggered by an output from another part. This allows you to create a chain of events: Part A triggers Part B, which then triggers Part C. This is the foundation of all automation in the game.
7.2 The Automation Toolkit: Sensors and Logic Gates 🧰
To use the virtual port system, you need parts that can send output signals. The 1.0 update added a complete toolkit for this purpose.
- Sensor: This is the primary input device for your automated systems. It triggers its output whenever it physically touches another object.
- Switch: This part acts like a toggle. Each time it receives an input signal, it flips its output state from ON to OFF, or vice versa.
- Relay: The simplest logic part. It just passes an input signal to its output. Its main use is to allow a single part to be controlled by multiple different inputs.
- AND Gate: This gate has two inputs and one output. It will only send an output signal if both of its inputs are active at the same time.
- NOT Gate: This gate has one input and one output. It inverts the signal. If the input is OFF, the output is ON, and vice versa.
7.3 Practical Automation: Your First Automated Rovers
Theory is one thing; practice is another. Here are three step-by-step projects to get you started with automation.
- Project 1: The Self-Closing Claw 🤏
- Goal: A claw that automatically grips cargo the moment it touches it.
- Build: Place the Sensor on the inside surface of the Claw’s pincer.
- Wiring: Connect the Sensor’s output to the Claw’s “close” virtual port.
- Result: When you maneuver the open claw around a piece of cargo, the instant the cargo touches the sensor, the claw will automatically snap shut.
- Project 2: The Sequential Landing Gear 🛬
- Goal: A system where one button press deploys landing gear, and a second press activates magnetic wheels to lock onto the ground.
- Build: Construct four landing legs with magnetic wheels at the bottom.
- Wiring: Use a combination of Switches to create a sequence where the first press extends the legs and the second press activates the magnets.
- Project 3: The Automated Reversing Beeper 🔊
- Goal: A rover that automatically beeps when you are driving in reverse.
- Build: Place the Horn anywhere on your rover.
- Wiring: Connect your “drive forward” key (e.g., ‘W’) to the input of the NOT Gate. Connect the output of the NOT Gate to the Horn’s “activate” virtual port.
- Result: When you are not pressing ‘W’, the NOT Gate’s output is ON, and the horn sounds. The moment you press ‘W’ to drive forward, the horn stops.
7.4 Endgame and Co-op: Pushing the Limits 🎮
With a full toolkit of parts and an understanding of automation, you are ready for the ultimate challenges Mars First Logistics has to offer.
- Creative Mode: This mode gives you unlimited access to all parts from the very beginning. It is the perfect sandbox for prototyping your most ambitious ideas.
- Online Co-op 🧑🤝🧑: Team up with up to three friends to tackle the biggest projects. You can design vehicles that require multiple operators—one person drives while another operates a complex crane. You can share designs instantly using the Copier part.
- The Steam Workshop 🌐: The lifeblood of the endgame community. Here, you can upload your own masterpieces to share with the world and download an endless supply of incredible vehicles from other players. It is a source of constant inspiration.
Conclusion: Finding the Fun in the Function ✨
You have journeyed from a simple rover driver to a master engineer. You began by learning the harsh lessons of Martian gravity, tipping over and spilling cargo. You progressed to mastering the build editor, turning frustration into function. You have designed elegant suspension, built heavy-lift cranes, and perhaps even taken to the skies in a custom-built VTOL. You have laid down roads, constructed monorails, and programmed simple machines to do your bidding.
Through it all, one truth remains: the purpose of Mars First Logistics is not found at the destination, but in the journey of creation. The core of the fun lies in the quiet moment of contemplation before a difficult contract, the spark of a mechanical idea, the satisfying click of parts snapping into place, and the triumphant, often hilarious, moment your contraption finally works as intended.
The story of the Martian colony is not written by the developers; it is written by its players. It is a story told through thousands of unique, ingenious, and ridiculous machines. Now it is your turn. Go share your designs on the Steam Workshop. Collaborate with friends on a massive construction project. And never stop asking that fundamental engineering question: “I wonder if I can build a rover that does that?”
The red planet is your sandbox. Go play. 🏖️
Disclaimer: This is an unofficial fan work, all trademarks and copyrights for Mars First Logistics belong to the developer Shape Shop.
Find the game here! Shape Shop
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