The Alters: How To Make Food

In the following guide, we’ll explore how you can make food in The Alters and how cooking works in this survival sim.

Cooking and eating is a great way to keep your Alters happy (Source: 11 Bit Studios)
Cooking and eating is a great way to keep your Alters happy. (Source: 11 Bit Studios)

You will have to explore the inhospitable planet where you crash land in The Alters, trying to salvage materials, all the while avoiding radiation and other threats. But, you and your team of clones can’t hope to do so on empty stomachs. Keeping yourself and your crew mates well-fed is a crucial mechanic in the game.

Ignoring it could seriously hamper the happiness level of your Alters and create unnecessary hurdles along the way. In this guide, we’ll explain how food production works and what you must do to make food in The Alters.

What You Need to Know About Food in The Alters

There are two types of dishes that you can prepare in the game – Cooked Meals and Mush. However, before you can begin serving up the food, you will need to build two modules. The first is the Greenhouse, where you can grow the produce that you will then cook. The second essential module is the Kitchen, where you can ultimately prepare the food for consumption.

How To Grow Raw Food

Assign Alters to the Greenhouse and the Kitchen
Assign Alters to the Greenhouse and the Kitchen. (Source: 11 Bit Studios)

Once you have the Greenhouse module in your base, you can start growing raw food. To do this, you will need Organics and time. Here’s how much time and Organics you need to create Raw Food.

  • 1x Raw Food: You will need 10x Organics and 1 hour of in-game time.
  • 10x Raw Food: You will need 50x Organics and 16 hours of in-game time. If you research Efficient Food, the time necessary will decrease to 12 hours.

If you assign a Botanist Jan to the Greenhouse, the production rate will double. However, Raw Food growth only happens when the Greenhouse is staffed. So, Raw Food production will stop during breaks in shifts.

Also Read: The Alters: How To Deal With Magnetic Storms

How To Make Food in The Alters

Food types in the game
Food types in the game (Source: 11 Bit Studios)

After collecting some Raw Food, you can bring them to the Kitchen module for preparation. If the food you prepare isn’t proper or you don’t maintain the Kitchen effectively, your Alters can get food poisoning and lose morale. Here’s how you can prepare the two types of dishes.

  • Mush: You will need to spend 5x Organics to make mush. It takes 30 minutes of in-game time to get ready.
  • Cooked Meal: You will need to spend 1x Raw Food to create a Cooked Meal. The preparation takes 20 minutes of in-game time.

Cooked Meals are better for morale and you can make them quicker. However, since they require Raw Food, you can only start preparing these once you set up the Greenhouse operations properly. Another thing to note is that Doctor Jan can cook meals 50% quicker, so assigning him to the Kitchen is highly beneficial.

Also Read: The Alters: How To Destroy Anomalies


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