Interfaces & Inventory Management

This page covers all the user interface systems in Archean, including inventory management, shortcuts, and window manipulation.

Avatar Inventories

The player has access to two personal inventories:

Belt

The belt is the quick-access toolbar at the bottom of the screen.

• Contains 9 slots for tools and items
• Select items using keys 1 through 9
• Rocks collected automatically go to the belt first, then overflow to the backpack
• Active item shows a green outline

Backpack

The backpack is your main inventory storage.

• Open/close with Tab
• In Adventure mode: 48 slots
• In Creative mode: unlimited slots with pre-filled items
• Has a search bar to filter items by name
• Mass of items affects your movement speed in Adventure mode

Hand System

The Hand is your currently selected/active item.

When a tool is in your hand, you can use it with:

• Left-click (primary function)
• Right-click (secondary function)
• Hold C to configure the tool
• Hold X for special mode

Item Manipulation

Drag & Drop

Stacking & Splitting

While dragging an item stack:

Quick Transfer

This works between your backpack and any open container. Items will attempt to stack with existing items of the same type first.

Crafting

Open your backpack (Tab) to access the crafting interface on the left side.

Crafting Actions

Click on an ingredient to expand and see sub-recipes (recursive crafting).

Crafting Requirements

• Solid ingredients must be in your backpack (or any open inventory)
• Fluids (H₂O, H₂, O₂) must be provided via canisters in the dedicated fluid slots at the bottom of the crafting window
• You can craft using resources from any open inventory - ingredients are automatically moved to your backpack

Item Processing Area

The Item Processing Area (1 slot) is used for processing items, not crafting. For example:

• Crushing rocks into ores (early game in Adventure mode)

Fluid Slots

At the bottom of the crafting window, you can see your fluid levels: Water, Hydrogen, and Oxygen.

• Your avatar has an integrated water tank that fills automatically when your feet touch water (ocean, lake)
• Electrolysis toggle converts water into hydrogen and oxygen for crafting recipes that require them

External Inventories (Containers)

Interact with a Container using F to open its inventory.

Using Tools from Containers

Some tools can operate directly from inside a container:

1. Place the tool in the container
2. Double-click the tool to activate it
3. The tool will use resources from the container instead of your backpack

This is especially useful when resources are too heavy to carry on your avatar:

• Constructor Tool - build using components stored in the container
• Destructor Tool - destroyed components go into the container
• Spool Tool - use cable spools from the container
• Blueprint Tool - spawn vehicles in Adventure mode with all required components in the container
• Rock Rake Tool - collected rocks go into the container

Crafting from Open Inventories

When a container is open, the avatar's crafting system can pull ingredients from it automatically. This allows you to craft items using resources stored in containers without manually transferring them to your backpack.

Window Management

Pinning Inventory Windows

Many storage windows can be pinned to keep them open:

• Containers
• Computer (HDD Bay, IDE)
• Fission Reactor fuel slots
• Trash Cans
• Dropped item Boxes

GetInfo Windows

Press V while aiming at a component to open its information window. This system works separately from inventory pinning:

• Multiple GetInfo windows can be pinned simultaneously
• Pinned windows show real-time updated values
• ESC does not affect GetInfo windows

This is useful for monitoring multiple components at once (e.g., battery levels, tank pressures, sensor readings).