Hi. This could be really useful however a few questions. The small refiner it does not seem to have much point. Carbon is super common or at least on the planets I am on so is there any point "refining" all the plants? Also refining oxygen into carbon?.
I guess I am missing something but not sure what use the small refiner has.
Thans
The portable refiner is
very useful, once you get into mining Copper and other minerals (you need a terrain manipulator for that, comes as one of the starter missions). Refining Copper gives you Chromatic Metal, which is essential for building several things. You can also create Pure Ferrite out of Ferrite Dust, and then Magnetised Ferrite out of Pure Ferrite. Each blueprint you acquire has different requirements of each to build, and you can use the portable refiner for most of it.
Carbon is the fuel. You can create Condensed Carbon if you like (it's needed for some things) but if you don't need to, don't bother.
Agree with mossfoot above. Stick to the Artemis (and then Space Anomaly) quests, and they will guide you through the early game. And experiment! Feel free to get sidetracked. But those questlines unlock the blueprints that allow you to go further, as well as help you understand the game.
Good luck, traveller.