Exocraft

The subject of this article is from the Crossplay update.
The information from this article is is up-to-date as of 16 July, 2020.

Exocraft are planetary exploration vehicles.

Summary

Exocraft are planetary exploration vehicles which, with the right technology, can locate specific Points of Interest, mine basic resources or engage in combat with Sentinels and some fauna.

Six Exocraft are available, and can be used to explore any planet once they have been summoned by building their respective geobays. In order to build any of the exocraft bays, a base must be built first to unlock its blueprint by building an Exocraft Terminal. You unlock the Exocraft Terminal by completing the mission Expanding the Base. Note that Exocraft Terminals can only be built on planets.

All Exocraft keep their inventories and installed tech when summoned, even on different planets, systems, and across galaxies.

Normally, the player can only summon an Exocraft if it is not more than 750u away from the desired summoning location. However, building an Exocraft Summoning Station on any planet in a system removes the distance condition for the entire system, allowing the player to summon any owned Exocraft to their position from any other location or planet in the entire system.

Players who own a freighter may build an Orbital Exocraft Materialiser. This powerful technology allows you to summon your Exocraft whenever your freighter is present in the current star system.

Exocraft can be customized in appearance at their respective summoning stations using the orange panel. Options include paint colours, decals and boost particle colour.

Types

Roamer

20170316234719 1 — The Roamer in action.

Roamer is the first exocraft that the players will get, as unlocking its geobay is a prerequisite for unlocking those for all the other Exocraft. It is classified as a medium Exocraft - a great all-rounder with 28 slots which is capable of quickly crossing rugged terrain and adapting to most situations including underwater operations. The geobay blueprint for the Roamer can be purchased at either the Space Anomaly, or alternatively it can be unlocked at a Base Computer via the Base Computer Archives mission, allowing players to obtain an Exocraft without building an Exocraft Terminal.

Nomad

Nomad is a light Exocraft. What it may lack in cargo space (the vehicle only has 16 slots), this hovercraft makes up for in speed, agility and its ability to glide over water. Most effective with portals.

Nomad comes with the Exocraft Acceleration Module pre-installed.

Pilgrim

Pilgrim is another light Exocraft. Like Nomad, this one has 16 inventory slots and comes with the Exocraft Acceleration Module pre-installed. Pilgrim is the only two-wheeled member of the Exocraft family. With full upgrades in place, it is the fastest of any Exocraft on land. It is the most land-based member of the exocraft family, having a much shorter boost cooldown and being able to take huge leaps, but crawling while in water.

Colossus

Colossus is the largest Exocraft. This lumbering behemoth offers an enormous cargo hold (42 slots in total), perfect for those looking to harvest resources, or install numerous Upgrade Modules.

Colossus has an Exocraft Mining Laser pre-built.

Due to its weak engine and general lack of grip, it was often regarded as a mobile cargo unit. To amend this problem and make it a proper space truck Colossus received an update in NEXT, giving it more speed and agility (its base speed was augmented even further in Update 1.63), and installing multiple Upgrade Modules can make it reasonably agile.

Minotaur

Minotaur is a mechanical walker containing 28 slots that can be used to safely explore all planets, performing mining, combat, and exploration tasks. It has an independent jetpack, and is with the pre-installed Environment Control Unit - it is immune to all planetary hazards. The Minotaur's standard mining laser can be upgraded to a Minotaur Bore if desired, enabling the alteration of terrain on planets similar to the function of a Multi-tool's Terrain Manipulator. Also it is amphibious, and can mine underwater. It also shoots missiles.

Nautilon

See: Nautilon

Nautilon is the only non-terrestrial Exocraft. It is a submersible vehicle that is designed for underwater navigation, combat and mining. It can be summoned to any ocean on the planet, as well as docked at underwater buildings.

Acquiring Exocraft

20200411110508 1 — Five land Exocraft with their respective Geobays

All Exocraft Geobay blueprints may be obtained at the Construction Research Station. Alternatively, after constructing an Exocraft Terminal, acquire the Roamer, Nomad, and Colossus by hiring a Vy'keen Technician for your planetary (or freighter) base and completing a new series of missions. You can place a Geobay on any planet. Doing so will summon the corresponding Exocraft.

The Pilgrim and Minotaur Geobays blueprint can only be purchased from the Construction Research Station for 10 Salvaged Data, the same applies to the Exocraft Summoning Station blueprint.

The Nautilon Chamber is available as part of the Dreams of the Deep mission. If Nautilon is obtained with the Construction Research Station, then the blueprint for the Hydrothermal Fuel Cell must be obtained from a Manufacturing Facility, or an Operations Centre.

Technology Blueprints and Upgrade Modules

File:Tech Layout - 5. Exocraft.png

Tech Layout - 5. Exocraft

Roamer / Colossus / Nomad / Pilgrim:

Technology Blueprints

	Technology / Upgrade	Effect
	Fusion Engine	Engine
	Icarus Fuel System	Generates energy during daylight hours
	E.Acceleration Module	Allows short bursts of speed
. A	E.Mining Laser	Mining Laser with no overheat
. A	E.Mining Laser Sigma	Ability to harvest tough minerals / +20% Mining Laser Power
	E.Mounted Cannon	Lobs explosives toward targets
. A B	E.Signal Booster	Finds Resource Deposits & Depots / +100% Scan
	E.Signal Booster Tau	Finds Ruins & Monoliths / +100% Scan
	E. Advanced Signal Booster	Finds Abandoned Buildings & Drop Pods / +100% Scan
A A A	Drift Suspension	Drift / +200% Forwards Grip / -34% Angular Grip
	Grip Boost Suspension	Sharp Turns / -50% Forwards Grip / +110% Angular Grip
	Hi-Slide Suspension	Slide / -50% Forwards Grip / -34% Angular Grip
	Air Filtration Unit	Protects against Toxic environments
	Neutron Shielding	Protects against Radioactive environments
	Megawatt Heater	Protects against Cold environments
	Thermal Buffer	Protects against Hot environments

Upgrade Modules

Module Name	Stats Drawn	Module Improves	C-Class		B-Class		A-Class		S-Class
Module Name	Stats Drawn	Module Improves	Min	Max	Min	Max	Min	Max	Min	Max
Engine	C 1 B/A 1-2 S 2	Top Speed	1	3	3	8	8	15	10	15
Engine	C 1 B/A 1-2 S 2	Fuel Usage	1	5	5	10	10	15	15	20
Boost	C 1 B/A 1-2 S 2	Boost Power	10	20	20	35	35	55	55	70
Boost	C 1 B/A 1-2 S 2	Tank Size	10	20	15	30	30	50	50	60
Laser (Laser Power needs testing)	C 1 B/A 1-2 S 2	Laser Power	₅	₁₀	₁₀	₂₀	₂₀	₃₀	₃₀	₅₀
Laser (Laser Power needs testing)	C 1 B/A 1-2 S 2	Laser Efficiency	1	5	5	10	10	15	15	20
Cannon (Damage Stats don't appear as they should)	C 1-2 B 2-3 A/S 3	Damage	5	10	10	20	20	30	30 (12)	40 (17)
		Rate Of Fire	1	5	5	10	10	15	15	20 (21)
		Weapon Efficiency	1	5	5	10	10	15	15	20

Exocraft - Minotaur:

Technology Blueprints

	Technology / Upgrade	Effect
	Daedalus Engine	Engine
	Self-Greasing Servos	Significantly reduces fuel burn in the engine
	Icarus Fuel System	Generates energy during daylight hours
	Ariadne's Flame	Jet thrusters
. A	Minotaur Laser	Mining Laser with no overheat
. A	Precision Minotaur Laser	Ability to harvest tough minerals / +20% Mining Laser Power
	E.Mounted Cannon	Lobs explosives toward targets
	Minotaur Bore	Terrain Manipulator for Minotaur
	Minotaur Radar Array	Scans for nearby minerals & buildings
	Environment Control Unit	Protects against all hostile environments

Upgrade Modules

Module Name	Stats Drawn	Module Improves	C-Class		B-Class		A-Class		S-Class
Module Name	Stats Drawn	Module Improves	Min	Max	Min	Max	Min	Max	Min	Max
Engine	B 1 A 1-2 S 2	Boost Tank Size	n/a		10	15	15	25	25	30
Engine	B 1 A 1-2 S 2	Fuel Usage	n/a		5	10	10	15	15	20
Laser	B 1-2 A 1-2 S 2	Laser Power	n/a		10	20	20	30	30	40
Laser	B 1-2 A 1-2 S 2	Laser Efficiency	n/a		5 (95)	10 (90)	10 (90)	15 (85)	15 (85)	20 (80)
Cannon	B 2-3 A 3 S 3	Damage	n/a		10	20	20	30	30	40
		Rate Of Fire			5	10	10	15	15	20
		Weapon Efficiency			5	10	10	15	15	20

Exocraft - Nautilon:

Technology Blueprints

	Technology / Upgrade	Effect
. C	Humboldt Drive	A thermally-efficient, inversion-proof reactor engine
. C	Osmotic Generator	Fuel Efficiency +20%
	Tethys Beam	Submarine Mining Laser
	Nautilon Cannon	Lobs explosive projectiles
	High-Power Sonar	Scans for nearby minerals & points of interest

Upgrade Modules

Module Name	Stats Drawn	Module Improves	C-Class		B-Class		A-Class		S-Class
Module Name	Stats Drawn	Module Improves	Min	Max	Min	Max	Min	Max	Min	Max
Humbolt Drive	C 1 B 1-2 A 2-3 S 3	Top Speed	1	3	3	8	8	15	10	15
		Fuel Usage	1	5	5	10	10	15	15	20
		Acceleration	10	20	20	35	35	55	55	70
Nautilon Cannon (Damage Stats don't appear as they should)	C 1 B/A 1-2 S 2	Damage	5	10	10	20	20	30	30 (13)	40 (18)
	C 1 B/A 1-2 S 2	Rate Of Fire	1	5	5	10	10	15	15	20

Optimum Tech Layouts

Graphics & information provided with permission of Craig Mark of NMSResources

Tech Layout - 5. Exocraft.png

Tech Layout - 5. Exocraft
Exocraft Tech.png

Exocraft Tech
Exocraft - Roamer.jpg

Exocraft - Roamer
Exocraft - Nomad.jpg

Exocraft - Nomad
Exocraft - Colossus.jpg

Exocraft - Colossus
Exocraft - Pilgrim.jpg

Exocraft - Pilgrim
Exocraft - Nautilon.jpg

Exocraft - Nautilon
Exocraft - Minotaur.jpg

Exocraft - Minotaur

Release history

Pathfinder - Introduced to the game.
NEXT - Improved Colossus speed and climb ability to enhance its performance.
NEXT 1.63
- Added Pilgrim and its blueprint for the Pilgrim Geobay can be purchased from the Blueprint Analyser.
- Increased the inventory size of all Exocraft.
- Increased the base speed of Colossus.
- Added Upgrade Modules for Exocrafts that can be purchased with Nanite Clusters from the Technician once their quest chain is complete.
- Expanded the Exocraft Quick Menu options to allow all owned and in-range Exocraft to be summoned, not just the current primary Exocraft.
- Added the ability to customise the Exocraft with unique paint, decals and boost particle options.^[1]
- Added specific technology to customise Exocraft handling, allowing drivers to spec their vehicles for grip or drift.
- Added a speedometer display to the HUD while driving an Exocraft.
- Fixed an issue where Exocraft with laser upgrades could still not mine resources that required an Advanced Mining Laser.
- Fixed an issue where Exocraft could not mine terrain resources.
Abyss - Added Nautilon
Beyond
- Added fully modelled cockpits / interiors for all the Exocraft and Nautilon Submarine.
- Fixed a number of issues where trees and rocks could not be run over by Exocraft.
ExoMech - added Minotaur exocraft, all other exocrafts no longer fully protect from elements without extra protection upgrades.