Resources & Crafting
Inanimate things in the world come in three main types, each with its own way of interacting: World Resources, Container Items, and Placeable Objects.
Natural resources found directly in the world: Trees, Shrubs, Rocks, Algae Shrubs, Flaxa Flowers, and more. Discover them by moving your camera around and clicking on what you see. Seedlings harvest them directly; the harvest forms a pile that can be picked up and carried to an inventory.
Most natural resources (trees, shrubs, mushrooms, flowers) regrow at the same spot a few days on Avesta after being harvested, so living vegetation is renewable if you give it time. Mineral and resource deposits are the exception: once a deposit is mined out it does not return, and you'll need another deposit, trade with another society, or machines that produce raw materials (water pumps, atmospheric extractors, tree saplings on a farm).
Some Resource Deposits (Clay Deposits, Water Deposits, etc.) can only be extracted by placing a Resource Extraction Machine on them. To find underground deposits, use the Resource Deposit View on the right sidebar. It reveals where underground resources are located so you can place the right machine on top.
Container Items
Items that exist exclusively within a Seedling's inventory or storage containers. They cannot be placed into the world. Examples: materials harvested from nature, food produced by machines, clothes from the Marketplace. They can be stored, hauled between containers, used as crafting materials, or consumed via Direct Control (click a storage container > Consume > choose the item). For crafting, Seedlings automatically collect required items when assigned to a production task.
Decay: organic items like food and plants decay over time. Fresh items like algae decay extremely quickly, cooked and processed foods last longer. Fully decayed organic items turn into Biomass. Slow decay with special containers like a fridge. Use Direct Control > Inspect to see an item's remaining time. Biomass itself is useful: it feeds into farming and chemistry schematics and can be sold on the Marketplace. Check the Catalog to see which schematics consume it.
Placeable Objects
Objects with a physical presence in the world, positioned using Placement Mode: Tents, furniture, production machines like the Crafting Table, and decorations. Not all objects can be placed everywhere. Some are indoor only, others outdoor-only; Placement Mode indicates whether a spot is valid and hints why not. Objects can also be packed ('Pack' option), turning them into a package that can be picked up and dropped off via Direct Control; a package can't be unpacked until it's moved into a container.
Wear and tear: most placeable objects degrade with use. Inspect an object to see its durability. Repair via Direct Control, or create an employment task with the repair activity to automate it. Objects below 85% condition cannot be packed and stored.