---
key: mechanic/survival-construction--t121
type: mechanic
id: survival-construction--t121
lang: en
title: 'Crafting, recipes and technology discovery'
summary: >-
  Crafting connects materials, recipes and workstations to produce items or
  unlock the next technology.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/survival-construction--t121/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/survival-construction--t121.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/survival-construction--t121.md
aliases:
  - Crafting and technology discovery
tags:
  - 'Survival, crafting and construction'
  - Mechanics and variants
sourceIds:
  - source-2350e106ed66faaf
  - source-9f2a915a1ac28603
sources:
  - id: source-2350e106ed66faaf
    title: 'Klei: Don’t Starve'
    url: 'https://www.klei.com/games/dont-starve'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-9f2a915a1ac28603
    title: Last Epoch
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/899770/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: survival-construction
    id: t121
    title: 'Survival, crafting and construction'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/survival-construction/#t121'
    categoryIds:
      - mechanics
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Crafting and technology discovery
    description: >-
      Crafting connects materials, recipes and workstations to produce items or
      unlock the next technology.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/last-epoch-forge.webp
      width: 1440
      height: 810
      crop:
        x: 0
        'y': 0
        width: 563
        height: 810
      game: Last Epoch
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/899770/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/899770/ss_2e36b4ef4b1682679932004ab95540ae2d4456f5.1920x1080.jpg?t=1792426633
      credit: Eleventh Hour Games
      rights: © Eleventh Hour Games. All rights reserved.
      caption: An item and an affix shard for crafting in Last Epoch
      alt: An item and an affix shard for crafting in Last Epoch
      markers:
        - x: 20
          'y': 24
          label: Item that receives the component
        - x: 20
          'y': 57
          label: Consumed affix shard
    tips:
      - Show the recipe and output before materials are consumed.
    examples:
      - title: Last Epoch
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/899770/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on
  2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design
  examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests.
  Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not
  every proposed variant.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/survival-construction
---
# Crafting, recipes and technology discovery

id: survival-construction--t121
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/survival-construction--t121
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/survival-construction--t121/

Crafting connects materials, recipes and workstations to produce items or unlock the next technology.

## At a glance

![An item and an affix shard for crafting in Last Epoch](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/last-epoch-forge.webp)

[Last Epoch](https://store.steampowered.com/app/899770/) · © Eleventh Hour Games. All rights reserved.

1. Item that receives the component
2. Consumed affix shard

- Show the recipe and output before materials are consumed.

- [Last Epoch](https://store.steampowered.com/app/899770/)

## How it works

Crafting connects materials, recipes and workstations to produce items or unlock the next technology.

## Variants

### Mechanic variants

<a id="t121-variants"></a>

- Fixed recipes require a precise ingredient set. <a id="t121-v1"></a>
- Material substitution changes output properties. <a id="t121-v2"></a>
- Experiments reveal previously unknown recipes. <a id="t121-v3"></a>
- Workstations constrain crafting place and duration. <a id="t121-v4"></a>

## Design example

Silver wire replaces copper and changes a homemade sensor's operating range.

Prototype check: Test cost previews, order cancellation and material preservation when the output cannot be placed.

## Context and limits

Survival connects supply consumption, environmental conditions and preparing a safe return; construction changes that relationship. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.

- [Klei: Don’t Starve](https://www.klei.com/games/dont-starve) (id: source-2350e106ed66faaf)
- [Last Epoch](https://store.steampowered.com/app/899770/) (id: source-9f2a915a1ac28603)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors