All in-game footage in this blog post is from an alpha build and may differ from the final game.
Ah, Vagabond! Step on in and board the Cloud Cruiser!
I hope that you’ve taken the necessary time and effort to become comfortable around the Cloud Cruiser, because today we’re going to build onto that knowledge and expand your mastery on the large vessel. It seems like you’ve familiarized yourself with the flying airbase since we last spoke. This is great news - knowing your inns and outs around the Cloud Cruiser is of utmost importance if you want to get around Tycos in a comfortable and smooth matter.
Last time we spoke, we went through the foundations of managing the vessel, its very core functions and what basics you need to keep track of. Now the fun begins! Today, we’re going to brief you on what options you’ll have at your disposal to customize it to your taste, plans and voyages and to truly make it your home, given that you have the skills it takes, of course.
Shaping your vessel
When it comes to designing your Cloud Cruiser, pretty much all options are possible, both when it comes to exterior as well as interior design. When possibilities are endless, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. Personally I find it helpful to focus on one thing at a time in order to pinpoint some sort of starting point or baseline, and that is exactly what we’re going to do today.
At your disposal, you’ll have a range of different hull parts, all in varying shapes. These parts are yours to place however you see fit, creating an unique shape and style of your ship. The only thing you need to keep in mind when designing your Cloud Cruiser is that each component and hull part comes with a weight. As I’ve explained before, weight is countered by lift, which is relying on electricity, or Power Units (PU) as we call it. PUs are generated by nuclear cores, but each core has a maximum amount that they can generate… which essentially means that to be able to build a large Cloud Cruiser, you need to have enough resources for it.
Apart from sculpting your ship to your own liking, you also have the freedom to tint each separate hull part however you like. This really gives the opportunity for adding your personal style to the vessel. Maybe you’d like to take inspiration from an animal here on Tycos, or pay an homage to something close at heart? It’s all up to you! There are no blueprints or rules to what a Cloud Cruiser should look like. As long as you have enough scrap to create the pieces you want to use, you can place them however you like, wherever you like.
It can be pretty difficult to get a view of your ship’s exterior from the inside. But guess what? There is a solution for that! When you are to shape your Cloud Cruiser, your jet pack will automatically tap into the Cloud Cruiser’s fuel reserves via a long hose, enabling you to stay indefinitely sustained in flight while constructing. Doing this means that you don’t have to worry about running out of fuel, allowing you to hover around the ship as long as you want to whilst building your base. The Cloud Cruiser allows for multiple jet packs to be plugged in at the same time, meaning that you and your squad mates can all build the vessel together simultaneously. A quick tip for when you’re multiple Vagabonds aboard the same ship is to make sure to build separate rooms for everyone. Otherwise, tension can get quite… strained. Also, make sure to discuss blueprints and design ideas with your fellow Vagabonds before you actually start building. Just some advice from someone with experience…
The hull parts are not the only way to customize the Cloud Cruiser to your liking: There is also a bunch of different items and modules to place on the exterior of the vessel.
If you’re a thrill seeking Vagabond, I would advise you to place out turrets on the exterior of the Cloud Cruiser, and to equip the ship with armor. Armor plates can be placed on certain parts of the ship’s surface, making it more durable against weather and hostile animals.
Turrets allows you to take defensive measures against hostile or attacking animals, and can be controlled both manually and automatically. Turrets run on PUs and are capable of firing stun projectiles at the surroundings at a fairly high rate. Animals and organic matter hit by stun projectiles do not die but rather become incapacitated for a brief moment. This neat invention thus allows us to neutralize threats without permanently damaging the natural life of the planet. If machines or anything running on electricity is hit, like a PACE drone for example, the reaction is similar to organic matter: The projectiles causes their circuits to go haywire for a limited time.
Creating a home
Obviously, the exterior is not the only thing that you’ll have full creative freedom of. Once you feel content with the shape and exterior modules of the ship, it’s time to start working on the inside! Just like the exterior, customizing the interior both means to decorate and shape it to your visual liking and also to build the machines and modules you find necessary for your life and exploration style here on Tycos.
Similar to the exterior hull parts, you’ll have a range of basic interior pieces that helps you lay out the inner foundations of the Cloud Cruiser. This is pieces like windows, walls, doors, railings, ladders and stairs.
However, the thought is of course not for you to fill the Cloud Cruiser with ladders and windows and be done with it. The Cloud Cruiser is your home, your sanctuary and your lab all at once! So, there are a lot of neat machines and gadgets you can build to make the ship optimal for your voyages. Most of the core functions and systems we went through last time we spoke are optional buildables. Just like the exterior hull parts, interior buildables and furniture can also be tinted to the colors that you like. Apart from the things we’ve already gone over, like the nuclear reactor, fuel tanks and fuel refineries, there are still quite a few machines and functions for you to learn about.
Scrap n' extract!
There is in fact two full systems that I’ve yet to go through with you, and first up is the extractor system. Just like the name implies, this functions as your extractor tool but at a much larger scale. When a piece of scrap exceeds a certain size, the extractor tool can no longer make use of it, as it simply requires more power than the tool can store. That’s were the Cloud Cruiser comes in. The Cloud Cruiser has a buildable system that lets you extract large pieces of scrap, and that is the material processor. To be able to make use of a material processor you must first build it yourself, as it is not a part of the built in foundation of the vessel.
Sometimes you find floating fields of debris and scrap out in the world, or find large scrap pieces deep in caves, forests or other tight spaces. Getting close enough with the Cloud Cruiser to reach the scrap with the turret is an almost impossible task, and it’s during times like these when the Cargo Wasp really comes in handy. So, let’s say that you’ve found a large piece of scrap, and then transported it to the Cruiser. It is still intact, meaning that you can’t do anything with it just yet. What then?
This is the exact reason as to why the Cloud Cruiser can be equipped with a material processor. This module is placed within the vessel, but can be accessed through the outside by an escalator. The thought behind this is that you can use your Cargo Wasp to get to the island and pick up the scrap, and then drop it by the outside entrance of the material processor. The processor then acts as a large extractor tool, allowing you to salvage all materials from the large scrap piece. Sometimes you can even find important clues, blueprints and historical remains from this process!
A seed to grow
The final major system of the Cloud Cruiser that we have left, is the gardening system. I’m guessing you’ve stumbled upon one or two seeds on your voyages by now. I know for a fact that you can’t open or cook them, so have you figured out what to do with them yet? No worries! I didn’t care about them for the longest of time until my mentor once asked me why I didn’t pick them up as we passed them. Guess if I got an earful….
Anyways, I’m not here to scold you. So, you can’t pry them open or use them in cooking. Nor can you plant them on planet Tycos, I mean good luck digging a hole on any of the islands… Yeah, that’s just not going to happen. But what you can do is to bring them to the Cloud Cruiser! On the ship, you have the option to craft and place out plant beds. These are filled with soil and makes excellent spaces for the various seeds that Tycos have to offer. Simply place the seeds in the plant bed and have patience. You don’t need to worry about watering or taking care of them: The plant beds run on PUs that does all the hassle for you! Each seed has the capability to grow into a unique plant. Many of the plants bear fruit that can be used in cooking or for temporary buffs. Other plants can provide certain materials that can be used in crafting. Large seeds require an entire plant bed each, while up to four smaller seeds can be planted together.
All Wasps close at hand
On a planet where resources are scarce, and functioning Wasps are extremely hard to come by, it wouldn’t make any sense to leave them out of your sight. If you come by a functioning vehicle you should always keep track of its location, which means that you essentially would need to take it with you on the Cloud Cruiser. And you know what? You can!
In order to safely land and store your Wasps inside the Cloud Cruiser, you need to build Wasp landing pads. Each pad is located on the inside of the Wasp, and is attached to a gate that opens to the outside. To store your Wasp on the Cloud Cruiser, simply fly to one of the gates and open it and land inside. While docked, remember to give it some maintenance. You can use fuel from the tanks to refuel it and plug it into the Cloud Cruiser to charge it. Just remember that charging your Wasp requires PUs to do so.
Maintaining the Cloud Cruiser
Just like your Wasps and tools, the Cloud Cruiser needs continuous checking and maintenance to function smoothly. The most important vital to keep track of is as you know the generation and consumption of Power Units. But even the great Cloud Cruiser can break down, become worn out and need some extra touch up.
Since these vessels barely have any limits to how big they can get, it would take forever if one had to run back and fourth between all modules to check on their vitals. For this exact reason, another buildable module is the diagnostics unit. The diagnostics unit shows generation and consumption of electricity and fuel, total available fuel, amount of lift, number of nuclear cores and docked Wasps, and finally, how much damage the ship has sustained. Isn’t that something?
If anything needs repairing, simply use your Welder tool and make sure that you have access to the required materials. If you change your mind regarding layout or placement of buildables, just enter build mode and choose “demolish”. Simple as that!
Parting ways
Well then, that’s the Cloud Cruiser in a nutshell for you. I know it’s been a lot of information to take in, but I have full confidence in you. You’ll tame the beast in no time! When you’ve finally mastered the vessel, and truly made it your own, remember to take a step back and reflect over you’ve learnt and your progress. Get yourself a nice cup of joe and greet the first rays of sunlight out on the balcony, watching the world wake up, or witness the shimmering streaks of aurora in an perpetual starry night sky. Maintaining a Cloud Cruiser isn’t just about maximizing PU usage or planning travel routes. The Cloud Cruiser is at its very core an extension of your freedom, your desires, a physical extension of you.
I hope you haven’t forgotten too much from what I’ve taught you these last months. Do you remember what special functions the Scout Wasp has? Or the name of the equipment stored in the Utility Wasp? How big are Batgulls?
Relax, I’m only joking with you. No one is expecting you to know all this by heart at this point in your training. Even though you can learn things intellectually, you won’t get a proper sense of the vehicles, machines and challenges until you actually try them out. And I think it’s time that you do exactly that. Get out there, on all the islands and caves, and explore! What can you figure out about this strange world? Is there more to uncover on this planet?
You know, Vagabond - that’s right, as of today, your training is concluded, and you now bear the Vagabond title. I know that you think that I hold all the answers of Tycos just because I’m somewhat of a veteran. But do you know what I think? I think that we’ve barely scratched the surface. I think there is countless of things, mysteries and truths to uncover here. We veterans, our glory days are over, and it’s time for us to move over and leave the controls to a new generation.
Don’t worry, just remember everything I taught you, and you’ll be fine! And if you don’t remember everything, that’s fine too. I’ve compiled all our sessions into a compendium you can bring with you on your travels.
Go on, get out there and enjoy your freedom! Each day is now yours to decide. I’ll make sure to keep an eye on you from ground control. Good luck, Vagabond!
And remember the most important rule: Keep the blue side up!
// Apog Labs