1.0 sold automation as the reason to leave Early Access. The unlocks are on the tree. Agricultural Industrialization unlocks electric sprinklers. Commander on the industrial tree unlocks the Automated Workbench after alloys and the upgraded fuel generator. Six bot types exist: basic, farming, gathering, filling, processing, logistics. They are not decorative.
Power is the silent gate. Wood generator, coal generator, upgraded fuel, wind, solar, biogas (poop), and the Fishy Generator (eels) all exist. Small and large batteries store the surplus. If your sprinklers blink, you do not need more plants — you need a second generator or a roof full of wind.
The humane ladder
Manual sprinkler, then electric, then farm lights, then compost grinders, then gene machines, then bot stations. Skipping to bots on a 10-slot backpack is how people craft a logistics drone that has nowhere to park. Small and large drone stations have different placement sizes — the large one wants outdoor volume.
What each bot is for
Farming drones seed and tend. Harvesting drones pull yield. Filling drones keep machines fed. Processing drones craft. Logistics drones move crates. Basic is the chassis you flash into a role with a chip at the packing-style transform recipes. Assign one job per bot until you understand the pathing, then duplicate.
Combat drones are not farm drones
The combat drone is a different item family from the station bots. Auto-Harvest Chamber is an assist module for the combat drone that happens to snip plants. Do not confuse it with the Agricultural Drone. The loadout tool is for the gun. This page is for the factory.
When to unlock Commander versus when to stay manual
Commander wants steel or titanium and the upgraded generator. That is a midgame industrial cost, not a week-one decoration node. Gene synthesizers and large feeders are other nodes you walk backward from on the tech path tool. Sum the point types. Agricultural points come from planting. Industrial points come from crafting and machines. Do not hoard Tech Research for a leaf whose parent is still locked.
Automation is optional. 1.0 lets you remain a manual scavenger. The bots exist for the 100-hour factory fantasy the store page quotes. They will not stop acid rain, they will not stop animals on an unfenced ground row, and they will not dial telephone codes. Layout and Protect still apply. A blinking sprinkler is a power problem. A missing plant is still teeth or weather.
Keep reading in this section
Guides hub
Early game
Walkthrough
Fishing
Combat and drones
How to protect
How to get
How to find
How to completeFrequently asked questions
When does automation unlock?
Sprinklers mid agricultural tree. Bots after Commander on industrial, which wants steel/titanium and the upgraded generator.
Why is my bot idle?
No station, no power, no matching crate, or a door it cannot use. Build the path as if a villager had to walk it.
Is solar enough?
Solar wants sun. Night and storms still need batteries or fuel. Mix sources.
Does automation ruin a slow farm?
It is optional. 1.0 lets you remain a manual scavenger. The bots exist for the 100-hour factory fantasy.
Do bots stop acid or animals?
No. Acid still deals 0.45. Animals still eat ground crops. Layout and Protect still apply.
Is Auto-Harvest Chamber a bot?
No. It is a combat-drone assist. This page is station bots after Commander.