Guides
A desrt Fix Your Car Guide
A running car is the difference between surviving the desert and respawning in the garage. This guide is your assembly checklist from empty chassis to first ignition.
Fixing your car is the central loop of A desrt by DarkCodes Studio. Inspired by The Long Drive, the game drops you into a sandbox where every panel, hose, and bolt matters. Before you worry about engine swaps or desert expeditions, you need a coherent vehicle built from the starter part pool: engine, radiator, battery, hood, doors, seats, headlights, and exhaust. None of these are guaranteed to spawn in one place—check the garage, house interior, and the basement on the right side of the house until your inventory matches the checklist below.
Starter Parts Checklist
| Part | Typical Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | Garage or basement | VAZ is the common default |
| Radiator | Garage shelves | Connect before filling water |
| Battery | House or garage | Required for R to start |
| Hood | Garage floor | Weld last after engine work |
| Doors | Garage / house | Optional for safety, not physics |
| Seats | Garage | Driver seat first with E to enter |
| Headlights | House drawers | Critical for night driving |
| Exhaust | Basement or garage | Attach to engine side |
Pick up each part with F and move it using LMB drag or RMB push. Align mounting points visually—misaligned welds look wrong and sometimes snag on terrain. Press Z to weld when two compatible surfaces touch. Weld the engine block to the chassis first, then radiator hoses, exhaust, battery cables, and body panels. Doors and hood come after mechanicals so you can still reach fluid caps.
Recommended Assembly Order
- Mount the engine and exhaust to the chassis.
- Install radiator and connect coolant paths.
- Attach battery within cable reach of the engine.
- Bolt seats, especially the driver seat, before long weld sessions.
- Install doors, hood, and headlights for protection and visibility.
- Fill gas, oil, and radiator water to appropriate levels.
- Enter with E, press R to start, and idle before driving hard.
Fluids Before Ignition
Three fluids gate a healthy first start: gas, oil, and radiator water. Gas feeds combustion; oil lubricates moving internals; water stabilizes radiator temperature under load. Running dry destroys engines quickly—a costly mistake when your only VAZ is the one you just installed. Fill conservatively, start with R, and listen for rough idle indicating low oil or misfire from empty tanks. Long-term refill strategy belongs in the Vehicle Maintenance guide.
Engine Types You Will See Later
The starter engine is usually a VAZ, the most common and forgiving option. Later loot and swaps introduce Injection, Electric, EngineD/V8 diesel, and Turbine powerplants, each with different fuel behavior and heat profiles. Ignore swaps until this first car moves under its own power. If parts are missing after a thorough search, run a short loot loop described in the Looting Guide rather than driving incomplete.
Zombies near buildings can interrupt assembly—keep weapons ready per the Zombie Survival guide. Multiplayer crews should assign one welder and one lookout; see Multiplayer Tips. New players should pair this page with the Beginner Guide for control practice. No promo codes grant free parts; Discord announcements from DarkCodes Studio cover balance changes, not Trello roadmaps.
Once the car runs, test locally: forward, reverse, gentle turns, and a stop with the engine still on. Confirm headlights if night approaches. Only then point toward distant gas stations and wrecks. A moped with 8.1 gas and 0.5 oil can scout ahead if you find one—details in the Moped Guide—but your primary goal here is a four-wheeled base on which the rest of your run depends.
If a part refuses to weld, rotate it slightly with push and drag before pressing Z again. Hood hinges and door mounts tolerate small alignment errors, but exhaust pipes must sit flush with the engine port or you risk odd sounds and heat spikes. Take an extra minute in the garage to avoid an hour pushing a dead car back from the first hill.