From Hand-Mining to Real Automation
In The Planet Crafter, automation usually clicks in three steps: Ore Extractors (miners you place in ore-rich areas to pull resources over time), Auto-Crafters (machines that craft items using ingredients from nearby storage), and Drones (flying logistics workers that move items from supply containers to demand containers). You unlock all three through normal progression milestones, so if this jump feels awkward at first, that is completely normal.
If your setup feels messy, it is usually a storage-layout issue, not a skill issue. Keep it simple: build one compact factory block, place your Auto-Crafter close to its ingredient lockers, and automate one recipe at a time. When a recipe stalls, check distance and placement first before assuming something is bugged.
Practical Setup That Works
Place Ore Extractors in the ore zones you actually need, then give each outpost container a clear label for that resource. After you have a Drone Station and at least one Drone active, set outpost containers to supply and main-base containers to demand so materials route themselves automatically.
For high-volume materials, add an overflow destination so your main storage stays cleaner during spikes. If clutter starts to pile up, pause for 10 minutes, relabel storage, automate one bottleneck, and then get back to terraforming. That quick reset keeps momentum strong, and once one loop is stable, you can copy it for the next resource instead of redesigning everything.