In our The Alters Prologue Walkthrough, we’ll give you step-by-step instructions for finding loot in the Prologue and making your escape.
The Alters Prologue Walkthrough
Much of the gameplay in The Alters is highly variable and dependent on which decisions you make. The Prologue, however, takes place on a relatively small map and you have few options.
The Prologue is intended to familiarize you with the game and teach you about its mechanics. Read on for a full walkthrough of this opening chapter of The Alters!
Day 1
The focus of your first day will be making your way to the Base. This is a pure storytelling section, so we won’t have to worry about any of the basic game mechanics just yet.
Run past the smoking red emergency flare and continue down the beach. Continue to follow the emergency flares along the path. You’ll come up to a pod near the fourth emergency flare; it’s here where you’ll find the deceased Captain.
Move past the Captain’s pod and you’ll see a large wheel in the distance — this is the Base and your only salvation for escaping this world. A radiation storm will start soon, so just keep making your way toward the Base. A radiation storm will start soon. Keep moving and go into the elevator when you reach the Base.
Once you’re inside, move to the elevator and make your way up to the Communication Room. Attempt to contact Earth. You’ll have a short conversation with an unknown figure.
Go to the Captain’s Cabin and read the logs to learn some tips about playing the game and your environment. Then, end Day 1 by going to sleep in the Captain’s Cabin.
Day 2
Day 2 is going to be much busier, so get ready to put in some work. Go to the elevator, go up one level, and head outside via the Airlock.
Take a left out of the elevator and you’ll see two orange glowing deposits around the corner.
Collect all of the metal in these two deposits. There are much smaller deposits nearby, but you should ignore them for now to save time (and energy). You should be able to return to the Base no later than 11:30 if you sprint.
A quick note: Make sure to be back home before the radiation marker on the clock. Radiation takes a long time to dissipate from your body, and it’s better not to get irradiated in the first place if possible. You should have plenty of time today, but you should always keep an eye on the clock.
Return to the Airlock and go to the Command Center to the left of the Airlock. Interact with the Base Building console on the left side of the Command Center to build. You can move around existing buildings if you’d like, but for now, build a Workshop to the left of the Command Center.
Go into the Workshop. Schedule a Scanner in the Workshop Queue, then hold the interact button at the conveyor belt to manufacture it.
Exit the airlock and make a left again. In the distance, you’ll see a bit of blue smoke coming out of a cliff ahead of you. Make a mental note of this location, but don’t go there just yet.
Look to the right of the blue smoke and you’ll see a parachute on a cliff; head toward this area. Inside is a cargo pod with a movie and some personal items; collect them, then head toward the cliff with the blue smoke you saw earlier.
Walk up to the cliff and you’ll find a small Organics deposit at the base of the cliff. Collect it. Interact with the cliff and you’ll find out that you can’t climb it without a Climbing Hook; for now, you’ll have to go around.
Head to the cave to the left of this cliff. Keep an eye out for Organics deposits on the ground; they look like small mushrooms. Keep moving and you’ll find a glowing white spire that is affecting the area around you, with a path that forks to the left and the right.
As you get closer, you’ll get a new Task called “Rapidium Discovery.” Head up the left side of this path, make it up to the glowing white crystal, and mine the Rapidium. Go back down the path, then head to the cave to your left to find the Organics deposit.
When you reach the area with the blue gas vents, arrange Scanner probes to make a closed polygon and scan the area beneath them. Repeat the process until you find the reddest possible area underground; this represents the best place for mining the deposit. Once you’ve discovered the deepest part of the deposit, place a Mining Outpost on it.
The Mining Outpost must be connected by Pylons. Place them in a line, heading toward the cliff that you couldn’t climb up before. Drop down the cliff, and continue placing Pylons in a line as you head toward the Base. The Pylons must connect to the bottom of the airlock elevator.
Enter the Base. Head up one level to the Communication Room and interact with it to report your findings for the “Rapidium” Task. Before you build The Womb, this is a good time to reorganize the Base’s layout a bit if you want; here’s what I went with:
Go to The Womb and test the Rapidium. It will manufacture a sheep. Pet the sheep for an achievement. Return to the Communication Room and make a call again to end the “Rapidium” Task.
Make sure to load a Radiation Filter before going to sleep; otherwise, your Radiation will slightly increase overnight. End Day 2 by going to sleep in the Captain’s Cabin.
Day 3
Day 3 will be a little easier; you won’t have much running around to do thanks to Fast Traveling. Use the Airlock to Fast Travel to the Organics Mining Outpost that you built the previous day. Spend the entire working period mining Organics until your tank is full or close to it.
Again, make sure you don’t stay outside after the Night Radiation begins. Make sure you Fast Travel back to the Base before you reach that point.
Build a Kitchen in your Base, queue up 6 Mush Meals, and cook them, even if you have to stay up a little late. This will ensure that you have enough food for the next few days. When you’ve made 6 Mush Meals, go to sleep to end Day 3.
Day 4
It is now possible to leave, but there are still some items worth looting in the area before we leave for good. Fast travel to the Outpost and max out your Organics. Then, head towards the unexplored area of the map near the Rapidium. Thoroughly explore the area for more loose Metals.
Head in the direction opposite of where you found the first two Collectibles and the Movie; you can find the Multitool there, the third and final Collectible in the Prologue. (Refer to our Prologue map if you’re having trouble finding it!)
Return to the Base and craft a Climbing Hook if you haven’t already — you’ll need it for the later Acts.
Finally, fast travel to the Organics mining Outpost and refill your Organics to maximum. You can opt to produce more Mush if you want, but you already have plenty in storage and it takes up precious cargo space, which you don’t have much of in the early game. When you’re done with cooking, go to sleep and end Day 4.
Day 5 and Beyond (if Needed)
By now, you should have had plenty of time to thoroughly explore the map. It’s time to get the Base rolling and leave the area before the sun cooks you.
Make your way to the Command Center for the “Escape the Sun” Task and attempt to move the Base. This will overload something and you’ll have to go to the Machinery room to pull an Emergency Lever to complete the Task “The Emergency.”
Try to start the engines again and it will give you the Task “The Emergency Continues,” requiring you to turn the lever in the Machinery room again.
Something will explode; go up to Communication and call Ally Corp. Ally Corp will tell you to check the QC (Quantum Computer). This ends the Task “The Emergency Continues” and starts the Task “The Quantum Computer.”
Go to the Quantum Computer room. Interact with the monolith and you’ll see a short cutscene exploring your memories. Then, go back up to the Communication Room and contact Ally Corp again. You’ll then have a conversation about Alters.
Go into the Quantum Computer and initiate the Branching Procedure. The first time, you don’t have a lot of choices, so click “Alterate” on the “Staying Behind / Going Away” Branching Path to create Jan Technician. Wake up your Alter in the Womb after the cutscene.
Once Jan Technician wakes up, you’ll have to have a conversation with your Alter about what’s going on. Take note that each choice you make can positively or negatively affect his mood. Don’t stress out about it too much right now; you can’t really mess anything up too badly this early in the game.
When you’re done talking with your Alter, you’ll actually be able to start the engines and get the Base moving. Get rolling for the final time and you’ll progress into Journey 1, the first interlude between Acts.
That’s the end of The Alters Prologue Walkthrough. Find out more about this great game in our other guides below!
