Landing


Landing

By MrNoHelp 

 

Landing on planets is one of the activities that the prisoner can do aside from space exploration.

 

Acquiring the landing legs


In order to allow the envelope to land on planets and asteroids, it is necessary to complete the missions assigned by Salmeen, the mechanic.  After completing the missions, Salmeen will permanently take an emergency envelope and gives you the landing pods in exchange.

 

Landing on planets


Landing on a planet costs a single Hydrogen Capsule

Once the legs are installed, it is only possible to explore the surface of planets with breathable air. If a prisoner wants to land on planets with non-breathable air, then he/she should seek out the spacesuit.

 

To commence a landing, you must click this button located in the lower left hand corner of the screen: 

Land on Surface

(This icon will only show when you are above an asteroid or planet)

 

When descending to the planet's surface, clicking the mouse will activate the thrusters, slowing descent. Every time you do this, fuel is used up, and the amount you have left is shown by the fuel indicator: 

Fuel Indicator

 

An envelope thrusting on the way down to the surface

 

When nearing the surface, it is important that the envelope is travelling very slowly to give the landing pods a chance to come out. This becomes easier as the landing pods are extended. The area that you land on must also be relatively flat and not be cluttered with debris or objects.

Landed envelope

 

If the prisoner fails to land and explodes, he/she will go back to space and the used Hydrogen capsule is gone for good. Also, any Minerals on the surface that could have been obtained will disappear.

 

The prisoner must keep an eye on the fuel indicator. If the fuel is depleted while the envelope is still in the air, the envelope will crash. Likewise, if there is not enough amount of fuel for leaving the planet surface, the landing is considered as a failure (although any Minerals collected are still counted, and in the case of transport missions, you will not lose any ET you may have picked up).

 

Why landing is important


Landing is not only an alternative way to acquire Minerals, but there are also several missions and envelope upgrades that require landing. It is also possible to encounter alien lifeforms in big domes such as surface Merchants,  those who seek transportation or NPCs that sell rare PID map fragments. In most cases, however, the prisoner will not find anything on the surface.

 

        

Meeting a lifeform             

 

Surface minerals

 

The color of the Minerals resembles the color of the mineral bricks that can be found through the galaxy. You only have to walk through the Minerals to collect them and the total amount collected is random from surface to surface.

 

Upgrades


There are two ways to upgrade your ability to land.

 

The first method involves upgrading your pod's legs' extension. There are three of these upgrades, and for each upgrade, your envelope does not need to be as close to the surface to land.

 

The second method involves upgrading your surface engine. There are three of these upgrades also, and for each upgrade, your engine's strength is increased, allowing you to easily fight against strong gravity. Your engine will also conserve fuel better.

 

Both of these types of upgrades are bought from Merchants.

 

Leaving the planet


If the prisoner wants to leave the planet, he/she needs to go the envelope and attempt to fly around the hatch to enter the envelope. Once the prisoner manages to enter the envelope, the total amount of minerals gathered will appear above the envelope. Then, the prisoner has to fly to the top of the screen. The message "MISSION OK" should appear on the screen, indicating that the surface exploration was successful.

 

Successfully entered envelope

 

[After landing and when outside of the envelope, you should be careful about navigating too close to two edges on the left and right side of the map, as it is possible to get trapped in a corner. If you do become trapped, there is no way to escape. You would only be able to do is refresh, causing you to lose any Minerals you may have obtained on the surface, and any progress with any aliens you may have spoken to.]