FAQ

This article answers some commonly asked questions and addresses common points of confusion.

Gameplay

What does this item do?

While playing the game, you may come across some items or equipment that are not explained. Often, these items are part of systems that Introversion is still developing.

How can I move crew members, resources, or items between ships?

Currently, the only way to transfer crew members or items is by selling them to the Trader and re-purchasing them on the desired ship. Resources outside of canisters cannot be transferred. Selling tanks will destroy any resources contained within them.

Note: Your fleet only requires one FTL Drive. When activated, all ships—even those without fuel, engines, or crew—will enter FTL travel.

How can I get crew to newly purchased ships?

Before you purchase anything else for your ship, select the newly purchased ship and buy a matching number of crew members and space suits. If you purchase other items first, they will be stuck in the queue without anyone to move them. If you don't buy space suits, the crew members will refuse to leave the shuttle.

Can I dock my ships?

No. It is currently impossible to dock ships or directly transfer crew, items, or resources between them.

How can I repair damaged systems on my ship?

To repair systems on the ship, you need a Drone Bay and some Logistics Drones. Once that system is set up, you must enable Repair in the Orders menu. A crew member will load Drones into the Drone Bay to do the repairs.

How can I repair hull damage on my ship?

Visit a Shipyard, then use the Construction menu → Shipyard → Repair.

How can I build habitation? How do I add on to my ship?

Travel to a system with a Shipyard, then use the Construction menu to add habitation, hull, floors and walls.

How do I loot derelict ships?

To loot derelict ships, you need a Drone Bay and some Logistics Drones. Once that system is set up, you must enable Gather Reagents and Gather Salvage in the Orders menu. A crew member will load Drones into the Drone Bay to gather the loot.

I earned money in Hyperspace, but it disappeared after I exited

There is a known issue with the Analyse contract rewards. In some cases, the reward money will be given while you are in Hyperspace, but the money will disappear when you exit Hyperspace. We are currently unaware of a fix for the issue.

The shuttle is docked to my ship, nothing is being unloaded, and it won't leave

A lack of storage space typically causes the shuttle to refuse to undock. There are things left that the shuttle needs to unload, but it has no room to place them anywhere. Use the Storage menu to assign general storage so crew members can continue unloading the shuttle. If lack of storage is not the issue, ensure that your crew is not prioritizing other tasks.

Why can't I place floor tiles?

In order to place floor tiles for your ship, the area in which you place them must already be covered in hull.

System issues

Why doesn't my sewage pipe work?

The sewage pipe must be placed beneath a habitation block, and there must be a sewage pipe for each separate habitation block.

Blocked equipment (CO2 scrubber, air reprocessor) Thrusters don't work (rescue docking) (game speed controls)

Preferences

My monitor displays a "video signal lost" message when I start the game

This typically happens when the game incorrectly detects your resolution. The resolution is too large or too small for your monitor to handle. You can generally exit the game from this state by using <key>Alt</key> + <key>Tab</key>. End the game's process and follow the instructions below to manually change the game's resolution or switch to windowed mode.

How can I change the game's resolution or play in windowed mode?

You can change the game's resolution or enable windowed mode by modifying the `preferences.txt` file.

The interface is too big or too small, or menu items run off the edge of the screen. How can I fix it?

You can increase or decrease the zoom level of interface elements by using the - and + keys.

Streaming, modding, community

Is streaming the game allowed?

Yes! Introversion has encouraged streaming the game.

What community resources are available?

Aside from this wiki, there is a Discord server and a subreddit.

Is there modding support?

There is currently no official modding support.

That said, the main.dat file in the game directory contains most game contents. Most configuration and save files are plain text in a common format.

To make modifications, turn off automatic updating and modify these files. If you want to update the game, backup your changes, update and manually transfer your modifications to the updated files.

Development

Where can I find a list of keybindings or controls?

All known keybindings are listed on Controls.

Can I play the game on Linux or Steam Deck?

The game runs properly on Steam Deck. There is no information on a Linux port at this time.

For native Linux versions, check SteamDB's Linux manifests for the game.

Where can I leave feedback or report bugs?

The best place to leave feedback and report bugs is on the Steam playtest discussion boards.

Will there be multiplayer?

There is currently no information on whether Introversion plans to add multiplayer support to the game.

Is the game based on Deep Space Industrial?

Loosely. Deep Space Industrial is the main predecessor to The Last Starship, but the game is based on several ideas explored in Chris Delay's FAIL Masterclass.