Merchant and Vending Machine
Solarpunk merchant and vending machine reference for postbox trades, vending tickets, airship colors, lost cargo, trophies, and completion achievements.
The merchant loop is a late-base cleanup path: send goods through the postbox, spend vending tickets, unlock airship colors, and track trade or vending completion while the base is already producing surplus.
Verified Counts
| What | Verified Value | Still Missing |
|---|---|---|
| Vending purchase groups | 9 | Exact ticket prices and stock/reset behavior. |
| Completion achievements | 2 | Exact tradebot row costs, rewards, and remaining trade counts. |
| Part | How To Use It |
|---|---|
| Postbox | Send goods to the merchant and turn late-base surplus into vending machine tickets. |
| Vending Machine Tickets | Spend tickets at the vending machine; keep them separate from ordinary materials so completion purchases are easy to track. |
| Airship Colors | New colors unlocked through the vending machine can be selected at the Dock. |
| Trade Route Complete | Finish all available merchant or tradebot exchanges; track completed trades as you go. |
| Vending Completionist | Buy every vending-machine item; treat it as a late checklist after research, food, and storage are stable. |
| Completion Trophies | The launch text includes separate trophy rewards for completing the vending machine and all merchant trades. |
| Lost Cargo | Lost cargo is tied to merchant bots and belongs with key-item or exploration storage, not a random dump chest. |
Tradebot Trades (Decoded)
Exact tradebot exchanges decoded from the game files (give to get):
Tradebot: CRAFT 1
| Give | Get |
|---|---|
| 20x Raspberry | 1x Crafting Blueprint |
| 20x Wheat | 1x Crafting Blueprint |
| 15x Copper | 1x Airship Upgrade |
| 1x LostCargo | 1x Crafting Blueprint |
| 15x Bread | 1x Crafting Blueprint, 1x Airship Upgrade |
Tradebot: ENERGY 1
| Give | Get |
|---|---|
| 4x Watermelon | 1x Sprinkler, 6x Cable, 1x Network Display, 1x Energy Generator |
| 12x Cotton | 1x Blueprint |
| 20x Beeswax | 1x Blueprint |
| 10x Watermelon | 1x Blueprint |
| 32x Copper | 1x Airship Upgrade |
| 5x Silicon | 1x Blueprint |
| 10x Wheat | 1x Blueprint |
| 20x Cloth | 1x Blueprint |
| 10x Bread | 1x Blueprint |
| 6x Egg | 1x Airship Upgrade |
| 20x Carrot | 1x Blueprint |
| 20x Sunflower | 1x Blueprint |
| 20x Cobalt | 1x Blueprint |
| 32x Glass | 1x Blueprint |
| 2x Raspberry Muffin | 1x Blueprint |
| 10x Truffle | 1x Airship Upgrade |
| 12x Tomato | 1x Blueprint |
| 30x Brick | 1x Blueprint |
| 20x Corn | 1x Blueprint |
| 3x Berry Cake | 1x Blueprint |
| 10x Sheeps Milk | 1x Blueprint |
| 30x Algae | 1x Airship Upgrade |
| 20x Paprika | 1x Blueprint |
| 4x Vegetable Pizza | 1x Blueprint |
| 20x Diamond | 1x Merchant Trophy |
Tradebot: MASTER
| Give | Get |
|---|
Vending Machine Categories
The vending machine contains nine purchase groups. The game files confirm the groups below; exact ticket costs are not available in the cleaned player data, so this page does not guess prices.
| Slot | Unlock Group | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Airship Colors I | Unlocks an airship color group that can be selected at a dock. |
| 2 | Decorative Flowers | Unlocks decorative flower recipes. |
| 3 | Airship Colors II | Unlocks another airship color group for dock customization. |
| 4 | Decorative Statues | Unlocks decorative statues and pedestal recipes. |
| 5 | Special Decorations | Unlocks two special decorative pieces. |
| 6 | Decorative Stones | Unlocks decorative stone pieces. |
| 7 | Forester Skins | Unlocks two forester skins; the UI says Forester research is needed before crafting them. |
| 8 | Airship Colors III | Unlocks a third airship color group for dock customization. |
| 9 | Vending Machine Trophy | Completion reward tied to buying everything from the vending machine. |
Practical Route
- Unlock the Postbox after the base can spare goods without slowing food, water, power, or airship progress.
- Keep merchant goods, vending tickets, and completion rewards in one labeled storage spot.
- Use Trade Route Complete and Vending Completionist as checklists, not first-week goals.
- After buying airship colors, select them at the Dock.
Mechanics Worth Knowing
- A post box where goods can be sent to the merchant in exchange for vending machine tickets.
- Airship upgrade components acquired from the merchant are added to your Key Items inventory. They can be used at a dock to increase the airship’s range.
- Lost cargo from the merchant bots.
- Trophy for completing the vending machine.
- Trophy from merchant. A reward for completing all available trades.
- Vending machine tickets are spent at the vending machine.
How To Use This Reference
Use the merchant and vending route after the base is producing surplus. The postbox converts goods into vending progress, vending tickets feed completion purchases, and airship colors are selected at the dock after purchase. Keep one checklist and one storage spot for merchant goods, tickets, lost cargo, and trophies so the late-game cleanup does not turn into a search through old chests.
Related
Postbox, Trade Route Complete, Vending Completionist, Airship Upgrades, Achievements Guide, Lost Cargo