-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 0
Core Concepts
PandaWorks AutoLoot is not just a simple “grab everything nearby” mod.
PWAL is a loot routing framework.
That means it does three main things:
- Finds loot.
- Decides whether that loot is allowed to be looted.
- Sends that loot to the correct destination.
If something does not loot, it usually failed one of those three steps.
PWAL does nothing unless looting is enabled.
If looting is off, the framework is paused.
This is intentional.
Loot categories control whether PWAL is allowed to loot a type of item.
Examples include:
- Weapons
- Armor
- Ammo
- Aid
- Chems
- Food
- Drinks
- Resources
- Collectibles
- Books
- Dataslates
- Junk
- Containers
- Corpses
If a category is turned off, PWAL will ignore that category.
Do not report this as a bug. The setting is doing its job.
Destinations control where loot is sent after PWAL decides it can be looted.
Supported destinations include:
- Player
- PandaWorks Inventory
- Player Ship Cargo
- Lodge Safe
- The Void, where available
Categories and destinations are separate systems.
A category can be enabled but still routed somewhere other than the player.
If you cannot find an item in your inventory, check the destination you assigned.
Not every item should be freely routed.
Some items must go to the player because they are tied to progression, unlocks, quest behavior, or direct player acquisition.
Examples include:
- Credits
- Keycards
- Skill magazines
- Landmark books
- Certain activator-based pickups
- Quest/progression items when detected by the game
These items are not normal storage loot.
They belong to the player.
Contraband is handled differently because Starfield’s contraband scan system is annoying and easy to break with automation.
If contraband is silently moved into the wrong place, the player can get stuck in stupid arrest loops.
PWAL protects against that by treating contraband as a special case.
By default, contraband should go to PandaWorks Inventory unless the framework specifically allows another safe behavior.
This is not an accident.
This is the panda preventing space jail nonsense.
PandaWorks Inventory is PWAL’s dedicated storage container.
It is used for items that should be collected but not necessarily dumped into the player’s inventory.
Good candidates for PandaWorks Inventory include:
- Junk
- Misc items
- Contraband
- Overflow loot
- Items the player wants stored but not carried
The point is to reduce inventory clutter.
Player Ship Cargo is useful for resources and heavy storage.
Good candidates include:
- Inorganic resources
- Organic resources
- Manufactured resources
- Crafting materials
Ship cargo depends on the player having a valid home ship.
If the player does not have a valid home ship yet, ship cargo actions may fail safely or be redirected depending on the current framework behavior.
The Lodge Safe is useful for long-term storage.
Good candidates include:
- Collectibles
- Rare items
- Display items
- Items the player wants to keep but not carry
Some players may prefer to send collectibles to the Lodge Safe.
Others may route them elsewhere.
Set it how you want it.
The Void is a disposal-style destination.
Items sent to The Void are not stored normally.
The Void is intended for cleanup and optional salvage-style behavior, not free money printing.
If you send something to The Void, do not expect to pull it back out later.
The void eats. The void does not apologize.
PWAL includes a portable utility device.
The utility device opens the utility terminal from your inventory.
It is meant for quick access to:
- PandaWorks Inventory
- Lodge Safe
- Player Ship Cargo
- Transfer utilities
- Looting toggle
- Logging toggle
The utility device is not the main configuration tool.
Use the PandaWorks AutoLoot Terminal for full setup.
The PandaWorks AutoLoot Terminal is the main configuration interface.
It is found in the Weapons section of your inventory.
Use it to configure:
- Loot categories
- Destinations
- Settings
- Always Loot behavior
- Radius behavior
- Utility menus
If you are setting PWAL up for the first time, start with the main terminal.
PWAL uses terminal menus instead of dumping every setting into random aid items or hotkeys.
This keeps configuration organized.
Major terminal areas include:
- Loot categories
- Loot destinations
- General settings
- Always Loot settings
- Utilities
- Inventory access
- Transfer tools
If you are lost, go back to the main terminal.
Always Loot allows specific enabled categories to keep being looted even when normal looting is paused.
The category still needs to be enabled.
Always Loot does not mean “loot everything in the universe.”
It means selected systems can keep running under controlled conditions.
PWAL uses scan radius settings to control how far it looks for loot.
Higher radius means more coverage, but also more work.
Lower radius means less coverage, but better performance.
Do not crank every radius to max and then act surprised if Starfield starts sweating.
Use a radius that fits your machine and your playstyle.
Some locations may be restricted or controlled by settings.
This is to prevent PWAL from looting places where automated looting may cause problems.
Examples may include important interiors, faction areas, player homes, outposts, ships, or other special locations depending on settings.
If PWAL is not looting in a specific area, check restricted-location settings before assuming the mod is broken.
Transfer utilities move items between supported storage locations.
Examples include moving items between:
- PandaWorks Inventory
- Player Ship Cargo
- Lodge Safe
- Player
Transfers are separate from auto-looting.
Auto-looting collects items.
Transfers move already-collected items.
Do not confuse the two.
PWAL’s basic logic looks like this:
- Is looting enabled?
- Is the item in range?
- Is the location allowed?
- Is the item category enabled?
- Is the item valid to loot?
- Does the item have forced routing?
- If not forced, what destination did the player choose?
- Move the item.
If any step fails, the item may not move.
That does not automatically mean the mod is broken.
PWAL gives you control.
That also means you are responsible for your settings.
Before reporting a bug, check:
- Looting is enabled.
- The category is enabled.
- The item is close enough.
- The item belongs to the category you think it does.
- The destination is configured.
- The destination is available.
- The location is not restricted.
- The item was not routed somewhere else.
Most “missing loot” reports are really “the item went exactly where the player told it to go.”
PWAL is built around three core ideas:
- Categories decide what can be looted.
- Destinations decide where loot goes.
- Forced rules protect important gameplay items.
Set those correctly and the framework works.
Ignore them and the panda will happily obey your bad instructions.
© 2026 PandaWorks Studios / Ganja Panda. All rights reserved.
PandaWorks AutoLoot for Starfield is proprietary mod content.
Do not reupload, redistribute, modify, port, or reuse any part of this project without explicit permission.