How to Play Beyond Earth
Everything you can say, what it does, and what happens when you say it — plus a guided first voyage. Your ship’s Computer narrates everything, and your voyage saves after every action.
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Getting started: your first voyage
- Launch. Say “Alexa, open Beyond Earth.” The Computer welcomes you aboard and asks your captain’s name. Just say it — or say “surprise me” and the Computer will choose a fine captain’s name for you, or “never mind” to fly as simply the Captain.
- Name your ship. The Computer asks what to call your ship. Say a name, say “surprise me,” or “never mind” to keep the proud name Pathfinder. You begin at Earth with 50 credits, 20 fuel, and 30 oxygen. (You can change either name at any time: “call me …” or “name my ship …”)
- Get your bearings. Say “brief me.” The Computer gives a status report — where you are, your fuel, oxygen, hull, and credits, your rank — and suggests what to do next. At Earth it will also tell you what sells best here.
- Choose a destination. Say “navigate.” You will hear only the destinations within reach on the fuel and oxygen you carry, nearest first — at the start, that is the Moon and Mars — each with its distance, direction, cost, and what can be mined there. The Computer ends by telling you how many destinations are out of range; say “out of range” to hear those, each with exactly what you are short.
- Fly. Say “travel to the Moon” (or the number from the list). The trip costs 1 fuel and 1 oxygen, and a first survey of a new world pays a credit bonus.
- Mine. Say “mine ice” and “mine ore.” The Computer reports what you brought up, your cargo, and your remaining oxygen.
- Come home and refine. Say “travel to Earth.” Docking at Earth restores fuel, oxygen, and hull for free. Then say “refine ore into metal” — metal is the backbone of everything the Workshop builds.
- Suggested first goal: sell what you mine, refine ore into metal, and work toward your first Workshop technology — the road that eventually leads to a jump drive — and the far stars.
Stuck at any point? Say “help,” or “help with travel,” “help with mining,” “help with the empire” — the Computer explains one topic at a time.
The bridge
- “brief me”
- Your status report, plus what the Computer suggests you do next.
- “status”
- Location, fuel, oxygen, hull, cargo, credits, and rank.
- “cargo”
- What you carry and your refined stores.
- “captain’s log”
- Your story so far, read back from the log.
- “galaxy news”
- Events across the galaxy that are moving prices right now.
- “peoples met” · “reputation” · “contacts”
- Who you know, and how each people feels about you.
- “rank”
- Your rank, your XP, and every rank’s perks, from Rookie Captain to Admiral.
- “wait”
- Hold position for five days. Research and colonies keep working while you wait — and worlds keep orbiting, so travel costs change.
- “call me …” · “name my ship …”
- Change your captain’s name or your ship’s name at any time.
- “help” · “help with travel / mining / the empire …”
- Everything you can do, or one topic explained in depth.
Flying
- “navigate”
- The destinations in this system that are within reach on the fuel and oxygen you carry now — nearest and cheapest first — with distance, direction, costs, and what can be mined there. At the end, the Computer tells you how many destinations are out of range.
- “out of range”
- The destinations you cannot reach yet, each with its cost and exactly what you are short — for example, “costs 26 fuel and 2 oxygen. You have 20 fuel, so you are 6 fuel short.” After “jumps,” the same command lists the out-of-range stars instead, and says why: beyond your drive, or beyond your tanks.
- “travel to Mars” · “travel to the Moon” · “travel to the Edge Gate”
- Fly to a destination in this system — or say the destination’s number from the last list you heard (navigate or out of range). The trip spends the listed fuel and oxygen and takes days while the worlds move. If a trip is out of range, the refusal tells you the cost, what you have, the shortfall, and how to fix it.
- “scan”
- A scan of where you are: resources, hazards, artefact sites, and settlements.
- “jumps”
- At an Edge Gate: the stars within reach of your jump drive and your tanks, with light years and costs.
- “jump to Alpha Centauri”
- Jump to another star system. Needs a jump drive — craft one in the Workshop. You arrive at that system’s Edge Gate.
- “chart a new system”
- At an Edge Gate with a jump drive: discover a brand-new star, for 10 fuel and 2 oxygen. Charting is endless — the galaxy never runs out.
Earth is home: docking there restores fuel, oxygen, and hull for free.
Mining and refining
- “mine ore” · “mine ice” · “mine carbon” · “mine crystal”
- Mine the named material where you are, if the world has it. Each dig costs oxygen and fills your cargo hold; yields depend on the world’s richness.
- “mine gas”
- Mine gas — needs a gas scoop (craft one in the Workshop).
- “mine exotic matter”
- Mine exotic matter — needs a deep scanner.
- “refine ice into fuel” · “refine ice into oxygen” · “refine gas into fuel”
- Turn raw ice or gas into the fuel and oxygen that keep you flying.
- “refine ore into metal” · “refine carbon into polymer”
- Refine raw materials into the metal and polymer the Workshop builds with (2 ore make 1 metal; 2 carbon make 1 polymer).
- “repair hull”
- Repair your hull: 1 metal per 10 hull points.
- “dig”
- Excavate an artefact site on the world you are at, for 2 oxygen. See Artefacts and research.
The Workshop
- “workshop”
- Hear everything on offer — upgrades, technologies, weapons, shields, drones, mining tools, and ships — with their costs and what you have to spend.
- “upgrade fuel tank”
- Raise a ship system by one level — also drive efficiency, cargo hold, life support, and hull plating. Four levels each; bigger tanks and holds, cheaper flying, more air, a tougher hull.
- “craft mining laser” · “craft gas scoop” · “craft jump drive”
- Craft one of 13 technologies, including the jump drive chain — Mk1 reaches 5 light years, Mk2 reaches 9, Mk3 reaches 14.
- “buy pulse laser” · “buy light shield” · “buy mining drone” · “buy pulse drill”
- Buy weapons, shields, drones, and mining tools. Buying also equips.
- “buy the Courier” · “fly the Hauler”
- Move up to a bigger ship. Seven ships in all, from the Pathfinder scout to the Flagship — each gated by rank, so promotion opens the shipyard.
Market, contracts, and crew
- “prices here”
- Local prices where you are. Each people’s exports are cheap here, and what they import pays a premium — galaxy news moves prices further.
- “sell ore” · “sell all” · “buy metal”
- Sell cargo or buy goods at the local market.
- “buy supplies”
- Fill your fuel and oxygen.
- “contracts”
- The delivery board: paid work carrying goods between worlds. You can hold up to three contracts at once.
- “accept contract” · “active contracts” · “deliver contract” · “abandon contract”
- Take work, check what you are carrying for whom, deliver it, or give it up. Deliveries also complete automatically when you arrive with the goods.
- “crew”
- Your crew, and the roles for hire.
- “hire navigator” · “hire engineer” · “hire gunner”
- Hire crew for 120 credits each: a navigator makes trips cheaper, an engineer repairs hull, a gunner makes your weapons hit harder.
Settlements and peoples
Eleven cultures live among the stars — humans and ten alien peoples — each with its own look, voice, temperament, currency, trade goods, and a unique curio. Bodies and stations across the systems hold their settlements.
- “visit”
- Where a settlement exists (and at every Gate Station), visit it. The harbor master greets you in their own voice, and a menu opens:
- “talk” (in the settlement)
- Talk to the locals — and hear a rumor that points at a real opportunity.
- “the exchange” (in the settlement)
- Buy the people’s unique curio — a lasting bonus — or sell the goods they want at a premium.
- “ask about work” (in the settlement)
- Take a delivery job from this settlement.
- “lore” (in the settlement)
- Learn about the people: who they are and what they value.
- “diplomacy and military” (in the settlement)
- Send a gift, make peace, demand tribute — or invade, and claim the settlement as a colony.
- “leave” (in the settlement)
- Return to your ship.
Artefacts and research
- “dig”
- Excavate an artefact site on the world you are at, for 2 oxygen. Sites are richest in ruin and derelict-graveyard systems.
- “artefacts”
- Your collection, your research progress, and the bonuses currently active.
- “research”
- Study an artefact in the lab. Research runs in three stages and progresses as days pass while you travel or wait. A finished artefact permanently improves you — fuel use, mining, selling, XP, hull, colony output, communications range, luck, or research speed.
Empire
- “found a mining outpost here”
- Found a colony on the world you are at — also a refinery hub, trade post, fortress, or communications relay. Not on Earth or at gates; one colony per world. Colonies produce goods and pay upkeep as days pass when you travel or wait.
- “colonies”
- Your holdings, their levels, and their stockpiles.
- “collect”
- Gather a colony’s stockpile — you must be there in person.
- “upgrade colony”
- Raise a colony, up to level 5.
- “supply routes” · “link colonies”
- Lines that carry stock to another colony’s market, earning passive profit.
- “commission a warship” · “fleet”
- Build and review your fleet. Your warships defend your colonies from raids.
- “empire”
- Your score, your imperial title — from Wanderer to Hegemon — your income, and your upkeep.
Communications
- “comm range”
- Which systems your network reaches. Your ship, Earth HQ, your colonies, and communications relays each extend it.
- “hail Alpha Centauri”
- Call a system in range: get its market report and latest news, hear a rumor — or send a gift of 50 credits.
Events and combat
Travel brings encounters: traders, distress calls, ruins, anomalies, festivals, and the ancient Archivist. Every choice is spoken as a numbered menu — answer with the number, the choice’s own words, or “surprise me.” Saying a full command instead (like “status”) works too, and leaves the choice waiting for you. “Never mind” sets a choice aside.
When raiders attack, each turn you choose one:
- “fire weapons”
- Shoot back with your equipped weapon, through your shields’ protection.
- “evade”
- Try to dodge the attack.
- “negotiate”
- Talk them down — for 60 credits.
- “flee”
- Run for it — costs 5 fuel.
Never stranded
If you ever run out of fuel, oxygen, credits, and options, the Computer offers two lifelines:
- Rescue tow
- A free tow to Earth. You lose your raw cargo, and keep everything else — refined materials, upgrades, technologies, colonies.
- Distress signal
- Emergency fuel and oxygen, up to three times between Earth visits.
- “rescue” · “SOS”
- Ask for help at any time, not only in an emergency.
Starting over
- “new voyage”
- Retire this voyage and begin again in a new galaxy. Legacy points from your travels carry over as bonus starting credits. The game always asks you to confirm first — nothing is retired until you say so.
Tips
- Dock at Earth often early on. Fuel, oxygen, and hull are free there — the Moon run is the perfect first loop: mine ice and ore, come home, refine.
- Let “navigate” do the worrying. It only lists what you can afford to reach, and “out of range” tells you exactly what stands between you and the far worlds.
- Refine ice before you need it. Ice becomes both fuel and oxygen — a full hold of ice is a full tank of options.
- Read the prices. A people’s exports are cheap at home and precious abroad; galaxy news tells you where prices are spiking before you fly.
- Rumors are real. Talk at settlements — a rumor points at a genuine opportunity, not flavour text.
- Promotion opens doors. Rank gates the best ships, so XP from surveys, research, and contracts is never wasted.
- You cannot be stranded. Take the long trip. The tow and the distress signal mean the worst case is a story for the captain’s log.