SCAN EARNS CREDITS · 100% scan reveals maximum settlement data · Claim ends the run · Depth multiplies settlement value.
Scan your first world, then steer toward its marker. Buy ship upgrades, survey worlds, and choose whether to continue deeper or claim a homeworld.
Each officer changes how the Resolute begins and how key systems perform. The choice is locked for this expedition.
“Hold the course. Bring them home.”
Balanced command with the Resolute in its standard configuration.
Claim a planet to score. Push deeper for a higher multiplier, but the threat increases. If your cruiser is destroyed, you earn no score.
Push deeper into unexplored space, locate and evaluate planets, then claim the world you believe is worth ending the expedition for. Claiming a planet banks your score. If the Resolute is destroyed first, the run scores zero.
Depth only increases when your actual movement has an inward component toward Galactic Inward (000°). Sideways travel does not increase it; outward travel reduces it. Planet locator returns usually favor inward travel, but some worlds appear farther port or starboard and require a wider intercept while still remaining deeper Galactic Inward. Greater Depth raises the score multiplier and environmental danger. New planets are generated deeper inward so progressing from world to world naturally raises Depth.
The mission timer advances even while stopped or scanning. Mobile enemy forces escalate with time, so waiting and farming upgrades eventually brings larger pursuit groups.
Credits buy ship upgrades during the run. Unspent Credits do not add to the final score.
You only need to survive. A battered cruiser can claim the same planet score as a pristine one.
Better Sensors extend detection and acquisition range and speed planetary surveys.
Tactical zoom changes only what you can see and how large objects appear. It does not change ship speed, ranges, spawn timing, hitboxes, damage, enemy behavior or hazard mechanics.
Use the Info control beside Energy during a run to open the advanced Reactor & Energy view. It shows gross generation, captain modifiers, active loads, net flow, and the potential draw of every installed system.
Your final line of survival. Hull at 0 destroys the Resolute. Hull Repair is a limited damage-control action: taking Hull damage creates a repair allocation, and a repair cycle restores only part of that recent damage over time. You cannot repeatedly repair to full without sustaining new damage.
Incoming damage is absorbed here before Hull. Shields now recharge fast enough to matter during battle as long as Energy is available. Shield Capacity raises maximum Shields; Shield Recharge separately improves passive recovery and Emergency Shields. A Shield Capacity purchase adds only the new capacity difference to your current reserve—it never refills Shields to full.
Engines draw directly from Reactor Energy. At 0% thrust the reactor recovers fastest. From 1–100% thrust, propulsion progressively consumes that recovery. Above 100%, the Resolute enters overdrive up to 200%: speed rises dramatically, but reactor drain increases sharply. Drag the thrust slider or tap its track to jump directly to a power setting. Zero is centered, reverse is on the left, and forward thrust and overdrive are on the right. The minus and plus controls use the existing thrust steps; the 0% and 100% buttons set those exact orders.
Energy powers propulsion, repairs, Emergency Shields, weapons, and tactical-support preparation. It regenerates continuously while system loads and hazards draw from the reserve. Energy Recharge upgrades improve recovery rate; they do not increase the normal Energy capacity. At 0% thrust, propulsion draws nothing and Reactor recovery is maximized.
The compact controls are the standard bridge layout. Current speed appears beside Thrust, and the actual current heading appears beside Steer. The ordered heading can lead the current heading while the ship is turning. Hull, Shields and Energy stay visible above these controls, with recharge and net Energy rates beside the reserves.
Heading is not instantaneous. Port/starboard inputs set an ordered heading and the cruiser turns toward it over time. The ship, turret fields, missile launcher, collision geometry, and direction of travel all rotate with the actual heading as the maneuver develops. Turn rate naturally falls somewhat at very high thrust. Thrust is bidirectional: reverse is available below 0, 0% maximizes Reactor recovery, 100% is the normal forward limit, and 101–200% is overdrive. Galactic Inward is fixed at 000°. Moving toward 000° increases Depth fastest; sideways travel adds essentially no Depth; moving outward reduces it.
Symbols shorten the tactical readouts without changing their values. Info controls provide the full system names and details. The Info control in the top bar also includes ship action and support details.
Each support group has an independent 30-second replacement cooldown beginning when an order is accepted. Preparation takes 5.5 seconds for the wing or 8.5 seconds for destroyers; Vale prepares instantly. All timers pause with gameplay. Changing destroyer position costs 5 Energy; re-selecting the same position and selecting an unlocked wing composition are free.
Installed from the start. Each physical turret automatically fires at threats inside its own blue range field. Laser Turrets add more batteries/targets; Laser Damage increases damage and firing cycle.
The Resolute starts with zero Missile Cannons. Each Missile Cannon Mark installs another independent launcher and is deliberately expensive. Missile Damage is upgraded separately. Missiles home on priority threats, consume Energy, and detonate for high direct plus area-of-effect damage.
Offense clears threats faster, while Shield and Reactor upgrades determine how long you can sustain high-power maneuvers and emergency actions. Laser Turrets control more simultaneous threats; Laser Damage improves direct fire; Missile Cannons add independent launchers; Missile Damage strengthens warheads; Shield Capacity increases the damage buffer; Shield Recharge improves passive and emergency recovery; Sensors improve detection, scanning and weapon reach; Energy Recharge restores Reactor power faster.
When Shield Capacity increases maximum Shields, only the newly added capacity is added to the current reserve. Reactor upgrades now improve recharge rate rather than maximum Energy capacity.
Your potential end goal. Planets vary in size, color, rings, moons, belts, storms and defenses. Enter Sensor Acquire range to choose when to begin a survey.
Purple anomaly. Automatically collected at Sensor Acquire range and converted into Credits. Sensor range lets you acquire these without flying through the center.
May be stationary or drifting toward you. Can be destroyed for resource Credits. Large and massive collisions can be catastrophic.
Charged energy region. Shield drain begins when the visible storm edge reaches the Resolute hull. If the storm center passes over the ship, shield loss increases sharply and Reactor Energy also drains. Later storms become larger and stronger.
Rare, large high-velocity collision threat. Sensor warnings appear well in advance and the safest response is usually avoidance. Powerful long-range weapons can destroy one for a substantial Credit reward, but a direct strike is devastating to friendly or enemy ships.
Rare lethal anomaly. The outer gravity/shear region drains Shields and Energy. Crossing the event horizon instantly destroys the Resolute regardless of upgrades.
Destroying asteroids can yield modest Credits, but doing so is primarily tactical. Deeper regions can generate full asteroid fields several rocks thick and spanning the tactical corridor; navigate around them or spend enough firepower to carve a passage.
| Class | Earliest Time | Behavior | Threat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interceptor Fighter | 0:45+ | Fast closing craft, rapid laser fire, low armor. | Light alone; dangerous in numbers. |
| Strike Bomber | 1:20+ | Slower approach, long-range heavy torpedoes. | High burst damage. |
| Attack Corvette | 2:35+ | Balanced escort with more hull and sustained fire. | Medium. |
| Frontier Frigate | 4:15+ | Armored line ship with longer engagement range. | Heavy. |
| Outer Rim Destroyer | 7:00+ | Capital escort with armor and heavy weapons. | Severe. |
| Void Destroyer | 10:00+ | Major capital ship with very high hull, armor and range. | Capital. |
| Dread Battleship | 15:00+ | Fleet-anchor flagship; not normally a solo spawn. | Flagship. |
| Defense Station / Fortress | Planet dependent | Fixed orbital defense that can fire while you approach or survey. | Station to fortress. |
As Time in Space increases, enemy command escalates from scouts to organized mixed fleets built around an anchor ship and support craft. Pursuit continues even at 0 thrust or during orbital survey. Galactic Depth governs the environment; mission time governs how seriously mobile enemy forces treat the Resolute.
Enemy ships fire actual projectiles and damage is applied only if a projectile intersects the hull. Fighters and bombers make repeated strafing runs rather than parking at maximum range; small craft also try to form wings with one another and rally around larger warships when practical. Enemy torpedoes are slower red homing missiles, so maneuvering and destroying the launching bomber remain important defenses. Shields absorb the hit first; only overflow reaches hull.
Turbolasers automatically prioritize collision-course objects, then comets, then hostile ships. Each turret tries to reserve a different target, but extra batteries can concentrate on one target when fewer threats are available. Missiles use the same threat priorities at much greater range; they home on a target and detonate on arrival, damaging nearby threats inside the blast radius.
Every mapped planet must be resolved. Enter orbital survey, complete at least one scan pass, then choose Continue to leave it behind or Claim & End Run to finish the expedition. You may maneuver around the planet or resolve combat before entering survey, but simply flying past it does not let you locate another world. Every subsequent located planet is farther Galactic Inward than the previously resolved world. If you deliberately backtrack outward, the locator will not generate another planet in that already surveyed layer; return inward first.
Breathable atmospheres are strongest; toxic or corrosive atmospheres greatly reduce settlement value.
Temperate and cool worlds are efficient to settle; extremes create major energy and infrastructure burdens.
Abundant water is highly valuable for life support and agriculture.
Values near 1.0 G are best. Greater deviation raises health and construction costs.
Exceptional and high resources strongly improve economic settlement value.
A stable biosphere is ideal. Native life can be beneficial, uncertain or dangerous depending on the result.
Stable geology supports infrastructure; volatile geology is a concern.
Rewards worlds that are valuable for expansion and defense. Deeper planets are more likely to have stronger strategic value.
Unknown does not mean a random hidden bonus or penalty. Every planet already has all eight real values. If you claim before revealing some of them, those actual values are disclosed on the final score screen and count normally. The risk is choosing with incomplete information.
Settlement Value × Galactic Depth Multiplier = Final Score. Settlement Value is built from the eight factors above. Credits, remaining Energy, ship condition, and Time in Space do not directly add score. The multiplier never caps: every additional unit of Galactic Depth raises it, so moving farther inward always increases the value of the planet you eventually claim.
Captain selection is locked when you press Begin Expedition. Starting Marks are real upgrade levels, normal upgrade prices are unchanged, and percentage modifiers are applied after normal ship calculations. Every captain can still purchase every standard upgrade.
Displayed values are captain-adjusted. Ship Upgrade cards show the effective current and next-Mark values for the selected leader, and affected cards carry a captain-colored doctrine note. Ship Actions and support abilities also show their actual modified Energy costs. Live combat readouts can still change temporarily under low-power or damage conditions.
Configuration: no bonuses and no penalties.
Why choose Mercer? He is the baseline Resolute experience and the best way to learn how every system works together without leaning on a specialty.
Starts: Laser Turrets II, Laser Damage II. Trait: +12% Resolute weapon damage. Cost: -15% Shield capacity and recharge.
Why choose Voss? She rewards decisive combat. Destroy threats quickly, because prolonged exchanges expose the smaller, slower-recovering shield envelope.
Starts: Sensors III and Attack Wing unlocked. Cost: -20% Shield capacity and recharge.
Why choose Rook? Advanced sensors, longer weapon reach and early fighter access favor controlled engagements. Keep threats at range instead of trading fire.
Starts: Attack Wing and Call Destroyers unlocked with zero preparation time. Support craft have +10% Hull. Cost: -10% Shields, Resolute weapon damage, thrust, Reactor capacity and Reactor recharge; support deployments cost +25% Energy.
Why choose Vale? The flagship is deliberately less dominant, but he can field a battle group immediately. Manage Energy carefully and let the fleet share the fight.
Starts: Reactor Recharge III, Shield Recharge II. Traits: +20% Energy recharge; Hull Repair costs 20% less Energy and completes 25% faster; Emergency Shields costs 20% less Energy. Cost: -12% Resolute weapon damage and -10% effective thrust.
Why choose Kade? She wins through power management and recovery. Her faster reactor and cheaper emergency actions make sustained high-demand combat more manageable.
Starts: Sensors II. Traits: +10% effective propulsion, -20% engine Energy load and +15% planetary scan Credits. Cost: -12% Resolute weapon damage and -10% Shield capacity.
Why choose Strake? He converts Reactor Energy into movement more efficiently and earns more from exploration, favoring deep pushes over prolonged firefights.
These numbers are Galactic Depth. Depth is your inward position, not total distance traveled. It controls the settlement multiplier and the environmental hazards in the region.
The timer starts when the expedition begins and advances while flying, stopped, fighting or scanning. Enemy escalation is driven primarily by mission time, not Galactic Depth. This prevents unlimited upgrade farming in safe space.
Enemy Awareness and bridge danger lighting are different. The Time in Space label shows how aggressively enemy command is searching for you. The ambient glow rising from the bridge reflects immediate survival danger from ship condition, enemies and nearby hazards: faint green/blue is stable, yellow or orange means escalating concern, and flashing red means immediate lethal pressure.
Open The Resolute tab at any time to see live values for your current upgrades, range, scan capability and regeneration rates.
