Stable Orbit is out today! This is a game that allows you to build and maintain your very own space station! If you like Kerbal Space Program and FTL: Faster Than Light, then this game is definitely for you! Stable Orbit does come with a handy manual, but here’s a nice little guide on how to get started:
So, you want to build the next International Space Station?
Building a Space Station from scratch may seem like a behemoth of a task, but never fear! We are here to help you as you embark on your epic, station building adventure.
You begin the game with a Core Module. This is the little thing you see floating happily above the Earth. It provides basic power and enough storage space for one little, lonely astronaut.
Now that we know what the Core Module does, we can start building! The first thing you need to do is add some more room onto your station (if you don’t you’ll run out of space very quickly). To do this you need to add a Truss. This will allow you to expand your Station! You can build as many as you like, but remember to keep an eye on how much you’re spending (because if you run out of money, the game ends).
Core Module with added Trusses.
Once you’ve built some Trusses, you’ll need to get yourself some power! You can’t run an International Space Station without electricity! To collect power we need to build a Solar Array. At this point you may notice that building items can take a long time. If you’re impatient like us, you can always hit “fast forward” in the bottom righthand corner to speed up the process! Remember – the solar panels will only work while your station is in view of the sun (so you may want to think about adding some batteries to your station later on).
So now that you have power the next logical step it to build a radiator. Why do you need a radiator, you say? Well, we are in close vicinity to the Sun, and our station has a tendency to overheat. The radiator will allow you to vent some of the heat that’s building up in your station. If you ignore the heat levels, your space station will start to take a lot of damage!
Once you’re station has power, plenty of room and a radiator, you can build a shuttle dock. Once you’ve built this baby, you’ll start receiving supplies from Earth, INCLUDING NEW ASTRONAUTS! Until your space station becomes fully sufficient, you’ll rely entirely on the supplies being delivered to you. You can actually see your next shuttle date at the bottom of the screen, so plan accordingly. You don’t want to kill your crew!
The next step is to build some quarters as this will allow more astronauts to stay on your station, and it will make room for more deliveries of oxygen, food and water!
Now we’re really rolling! But you may notice that your funds are running a little low. Building a massive station in space doesn’t come cheap! To start generating revenue you’ll need to build a Laboratory! You will also need an astronaut to work in it.
Here you can see our wonderful Station taking some damage.
Here are some other top tips that can help you whilst you construct your space station:
- Severe damage or loss of power will cause Habitat modules to become unusable, marooning the crew that was stationed there and reducing their productivity
- Severe damage to storage modules will result in temporary loss of the resources stored there; if the module is destroyed, those resources will be lost permanently
- Severe damage to structural modules will disable their connectors, blocking expansion from those modules until they are sufficiently repaired
- Severe damage or loss of power to Shuttle Docks will cause the corresponding supply shuttles to become grounded or be unable to dock
We don’t want to ruin the game for you, so we’ll leave it there. But with this knowledge, you should be able to get started!
Stable Orbit is currently available to buy in Early Access, so your support will help the development of the game. It also means that there are so many more exciting additions to come (like natural disasters and more modules). You can read our Q &A with the sole developer Jim Offerman to find out more!
We’d love to see what you make! Send us pictures of your International Space Station on Twitter!
