Why conveyor belts are missing in Main Sequence — and how to unlock them

The confusion is understandable. The mission text tells you to connect machines with a conveyor belt, but does not expose belts in the build menu. The official demo screenshot shows Logistics I in a research queue at 0/10, which supports what players found: this is a progression gate, not a missing item.

The following route is split into the part that is visible in official material and the part that comes from player testing. It reflects the October 21, 2026 demo hotfix.

Step 1: Give the station power

Place station-side power generation before you queue research. In the community thread that documented this blocker, the working sequence was:

1. Build a generator on the station.
2. Supply it with the power/fuel item it accepts.
3. Place the research machine on the same powered station.
4. Feed the research machine the input it requests.

The player who reported the issue had a powered ship docked at the station, but the research machine still had no power. That suggests the docked ship and station do not share a power pool in the current demo. Treat this as a player-tested limitation, not a permanent design promise.

What to check before you build research

• The generator is actually on the station, not only on the docked ship.
• The generator has a fuel or power input connected.
• The research machine is powered and is not showing a red power state.
• The science/research input is present in storage or the machine’s input.
• The station itself is powered rather than only being physically built.

The developer describes station power as a real constraint: mining drone bays and machines require enough power to run. The specific solution in the current demo is the part learned from players.

Step 2: Queue and finish Logistics I

Open the station’s research interface. The official research screenshot shows a queue entry for Logistics I with a 0/10 progress indicator and an “Unlocks” panel beside it. The same screenshot shows the Automation branch continuing to Mining Drones, Computation Science and Logistics II.

1. Interact with the research/science module on the powered station.
2. Add Logistics I to the research queue.
3. Supply the research machine with the correct research item.
4. Wait for the queue to complete; check that station power stays stable.
5. Return to the build menu and look for the conveyor build option.

Do not assume that “research complete” means “all belts unlocked forever.” Later logistics technology may add more options. For the first belt, the current demo progression is Logistics I.

Step 3: Build the first belt without making a mess

The official build screenshot identifies the tool as Conveyor Belt Mk. 1. Its on-screen build controls show:

• Confirm All for the selected line.
• Add Segment to continue the route.
• Rotate to change direction.
• Cancel Segment to undo the current segment.

Start with a short, straight connection between one output and one storage or machine input. Do not build a decorative loop before you know the item can travel the route.

A reliable first belt test

1. Place a machine with a completed recipe.
2. Place a container or the next machine directly beside it.
3. Connect the output to the input with a short belt.
4. Supply the source manually and watch one item move.
5. Only then extend the line or add a splitter.

Troubleshooting checklist

If your build differs from the October 21 demo, trust the in-game configuration panels over an older guide. The game is still changing.

What is actually confirmed?

There is a difference between the official information and the player-tested route that solves the blocker:

• Official: conveyor belts are part of station logistics; the developer describes connecting machines with belts. The official screenshot shows Logistics I in the research queue and a Conveyor Belt Mk. 1 build tool.
• Player-tested: station machines need station-side power, a docked ship did not supply that power in one reported playthrough, and belts became available after Logistics I was researched.
• Unknown: whether the exact sequence will remain unchanged at Early Access, and whether the tutorial will explain it more clearly.

We keep the player-tested part visible because it solves a real problem, but we do not dress it up as an official design document. For the broader opening, return to the beginner’s guide. For the technology branches, use the research database.