Aetheria Wiki

Your first hour

A walk through the start of the game, from waking Poncho up to typing your first program. Grandpa's Notebook (N, and the strip under the status bar) always says what to do next; this page explains it.

1. Wake him up

You start on Grandpa's farm with P.O.N.C.H.O., a ready-made program, 3 radish seeds and 10 potato seeds. The program is built from blocks (the panel on the right): it tills, plants and waters a row of three radishes.

  1. Press F5 (or Run). Watch Poncho work along the row.
  2. Radishes take about 15 seconds. While you wait, look at the blocks: each one is a line of his program.
  3. Bring him back over the row and pick them. Click blocks in the list on the left to add them: a move(East) block (pick West in its dropdown) and a harvest() block. Put both inside a repeat 3 times block (drag them onto it) to do the whole row. Blocks inside a loop are drawn indented under it, with a coloured rail.
  4. Run it again. Three radishes: the first goal is done.

Tip: hover a farm tile to see its soil, the crop's progress and whether it's watered.

2. You've got mail: the Waystone

Grandpa sends a Waystone Kit by mail.

  1. Click the mailbox by the shed (its flag is up) and take the kit.
  2. Press H (build), open Tech, pick Waystone and place it anywhere on your land. It's built at once.

3. Sell your first radish in Mendwell

Click the Waystone (or the Waystone to Mendwell button) to go to town. Click the ground to walk. Open the Market (the stall, or the button at the bottom) and sell a radish. Potatoes are the money here. Online, Mendwell is shared: other players walk around, and you can chat at the bottom of the screen.

Click the town's waystone (or Waystone home) to go back.

4. Potatoes, loops and a cool head

The next goals teach the basics of programming Poncho:

  • First harvest: grow and pick potatoes (about 45 s). Potatoes need water; the program waters as it plants.
  • Keep him busy: a program that keeps going. Use a forever block (while True) with your farming blocks inside it.
  • A cool head: run a program for a minute without overheating. Every line warms Poncho up; put a wait block in long loops so he cools off.
  • Loops and choices: an if block inside a loop, e.g. forever: if is_ripe(): harvest(). The reward is Grandpa's Typing Manual.

5. Start typing

Read the Typing Manual in your bag (I, click it) and the Text tab opens: the same program, as text. Type and an autocomplete list pops up (Tab or Enter accepts). Switch back to Blocks any time.

A first typed program, the starter row done properly:

for i in range(3):
    till()
    plant(Potato)
    water()
    move(East)

6. What next

  • Bike to the Ruins (button on the farm): glitch drones, crates of parts, and Syntax Manuals that teach Poncho new commands. The first crate always has the Sensors manual.
  • Upgrade Poncho at the workbench (B): more lines, a faster CPU, better cooling.
  • Level up and pick perks (P).
  • Keep following the notebook. Chapter by chapter it opens up soil chemistry, land, building, the town's requests and bank, the Loop Warden, and the rest.

More: The basics, Programming Poncho, Example programs.