Redesign Suggestions

[DarianLStephens]

Reinstate the Matter Manipulator as the starting tool, removing Debris.
Have the Matter Manipulator's starting stats be equal to Debris, but still allow upgrades to make it better in the future

MM Base = Debris stats. Slow mining, single-block, short range
Upgrade Tier 1 = Default vanilla MM stats for mining, range, and size
Upgrade Tier 2 = Half-way between vanilla tier 1 and 2, or part-way between 2 and 3?
Upgrade Tier 3 = Normal level 3, or possibly a bit better as a 'reward' of some kind

This would make the Matter Manipulator a good starting option, and avoid needing as many changes to starting quests, or having semi-incompatiblity with mods that repurpose the MM button to have a proper little menu.
These stats still highly encourage getting and using a proper pickaxe or other tools, while still allowing it to become this awesome ultimate multitool towards the end-game, and more smoothly transition you out of using picks.

Keeping the Matter Manipulator around also avoids situations where you might get stuck in a cave, with the only option out being death, if you happen to break a pickaxe and don't have the Debris anymore, and are out of blocks or have locked yourself away.
Actually, that last one might be a really big issue, because you can't mine out, nothing can spawn that could attack you, and you have no way of making more tools! That would be the end of the game, without beaming back to your ship.
Now, granted, you get the MM again relatively early on, and this is unlikely, but it would be an edge-case that can no longer occur if you at least have AN option at all times. Plus it restores that cool feeling of the MM being an advanced 'survival tool', meant to get you out of sticky situations or get you started, but not as your primary thing until it's upgraded.