Stations and cities
Kinds of station
Section titled “Kinds of station”Near Sol, many systems have a station: one in twelve within 42 ly, one in fifty out to 500 ly. Beyond that they thin out, to one star in four hundred past 1,500 ly, where the nearest is usually several jumps away: plan expeditions with a way back, and carry part repair kits. Arriving in a system with a station, the game names it.
What kind a station is depends on the system’s economy and how far it is from Sol, and each charges and offers different things:
| Station | Found | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Trade station | Everywhere; Sol’s is always one | A bit of everything |
| Greenring | Half of agricultural systems | Cheap, plentiful food and water; cheaper suit repairs; greenhouse kits |
| Survey array | High-tech systems | Exploration data pays a fifth more; better-paid exotic scans from further off; a crew academy |
| Fuel depot | Industrial systems | The cheapest fuel there is, and fuel cells to buy |
| Foundry rig | Extraction systems with a metal or lava world | Cheaper hull repairs; metals and minerals; refinery and storage kits |
| Waystation | Other extraction systems, from 60 ly out | Frontier prices for fuel and repairs, a thin market, no shipyard or upgrades |
| Breaker’s yard | A quarter of stations from 105 ly | Gear scraps for a quarter more, cheap perk resets, machine site contracts |
What each station makes cheaply, what it’s short of, its fees for fuel and repairs, and what it pays for data all differ. Gateway Station in Sol sells every outpost module.
Landmark stations
Section titled “Landmark stations”Ten famous stations stand at sights across the galaxy, always there however rare stations are around them. Each is a survey array, and has a note in the Codex. The first time you dock at one, it goes in your Codex with a reward (more the further from Sol) and in gold on your pilot page. Search the galaxy map for the station’s name or the sight’s.
| Station | At | From Sol |
|---|---|---|
| Betelgeuse Vigil | Betelgeuse, a red supergiant near its end | 500 ly |
| Zenith Observatory | High above the galaxy’s disc, over Sol | 2,500 ly |
| Trapezium Station | The Orion Nebula’s brightest young star | 1,300 ly |
| Crab Lantern | The Crab Pulsar, left by the supernova of 1054 | 6,500 ly |
| Bolton Station | Cygnus X-1, the first black hole found | 7,200 ly |
| Homunculus Watch | Eta Carinae, one of the most massive stars known | 7,500 ly |
| Omega Station | Omega Centauri, a ball of ten million stars | 17,700 ly |
| Rim Station | The galaxy’s last arm, at its edge | 25,300 ly |
| Centre Camp | Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the centre | 26,700 ly |
| Farside Station | Beyond the core, on the far side of the galaxy | 56,700 ly |
Reaching Sagittarius A* itself is a milestone of its own, worth 100,000 credits.
Services
Section titled “Services”Docked, the station’s tabs are:
- Services: refuel, repair (hull, parts and suit), and sell exploration data.
- Market, in three tabs: Commodities to buy and sell goods (see Trading), Kits for outpost module kits, hull patches and part repair kits, and Suit gear for Common weapons and supplies (with a button for your own gear).
- Shipyard, in two tabs: Ships to buy ships, switch between the ones you own and look at each in 3D, and Outfitting for your ship’s upgrades.
- Missions: the mission board. See Missions.
- Training: your level, and the perks your points buy. See Suit gear and perks.
- Crew: your crew, and who’s for hire. See Crew.
- Codex: your milestones and stats.
The concourse
Section titled “The concourse”Disembark to walk out of your hangar into the station’s concourse. Its counters are the same services, with clerks behind them. There’s a bar, where crew looking for work sit at the tables and you can hear rumours.
Megacities
Section titled “Megacities”Earth is built over: a megacity covering the planet. Ships can only land on the pads of its spaceports, high on towers above the city; elsewhere you can’t set down, build or take samples. The planet map shows the ports.
Venues
Section titled “Venues”
Each spaceport has an air taxi gate at its pad’s railing. Use it to ride a pod across the city to that port’s venue:
- Xenozoo: eight pens, waiting for their animals.
- Museum of Discovery: what pilots have found.
- Proving Ground: a practice arena with waves of machines and a best-wave record. Damage there is only simulated.
- Ship Hall: every ship on a plinth.
- Sky Bar: a drink, high over the city.