DERELICT

Getting started

You are a survey explorer whose pod crashed into a vast drifting starship. The hull is failing; the only way out is down, sixty decks, to the escape craft by the reactor.

Availability

DERELICT is in development and not yet available for download. This wiki describes the current build.

Your first run

Pick a race and a background, and accept the tutorial when it's offered. It runs on the first deck while you play. Here's what it covers:

  1. Move — Walk with the arrow keys, the numpad, or h j k l (y u b n for diagonals). Take a few steps.
  2. Look — Press [x] (or /) and move the cursor to read anything on the map. Hovering the mouse over a tile does the same.
  3. Autoexplore — Press [o] to explore the deck automatically. It stops the moment something needs you; any key stops it too.
  4. Deck Map — [Tab] shows the whole deck you have mapped. [F3] zooms the pixel map. Open the deck map now.
  5. Fight — Walk into an enemy to attack it. Explore until you meet one — its hull bar shows how hurt it is.
  6. Tells — Dangerous enemies wind up their big attacks one turn ahead: the threatened tiles are painted on the map. Step off them before the blow lands. [.] waits a turn when waiting is the right move.
  7. Loot — Stand on an item and press [g] to pick it up.
  8. Gear — Press [i] for the inventory: equip weapons and suit parts, use or read items. [d] drops, [w] swaps between your two weapons.
  9. Stims — [a] quick-uses a consumable. The number keys 1-5 fire the belt slots shown on the HUD. Use something now (Esc backs out).
  10. Unknown Salvage — Stims and gear start unidentified. Using one teaches you what it is — but cursed gear locks its slot until it is cleansed. A scanner identifies safely, and you get hunches over time.
  11. Power — Your suit reserve drains every turn (the POWER bar at the side). Power cells and $ recharge stations refill it. At zero your hull starts to fail — so don't dawdle on a deck.
  12. Search — Traps hide as plain floor and walls can hide passages. Press [s] to search the tiles around you.
  13. Class Ability — Press [z] with an enemy near to fire your class ability. It recharges over a number of turns.
  14. Ranged — With a ranged weapon equipped, [f] aims and fires — Tab or the arrows pick the target. Energy weapons draw on your power.
  15. Character — Press [c] for your stats, suit and perks. Each level up lets you choose a new perk.
  16. Archive — Press [e] (or F2) for the archive: every enemy, item and status you have met, with what it does.
  17. Statuses — Bleeding, burning, stun, corrosion and more show under your hull bar. Some wear off, stims cleanse them, and some gear resists them.
  18. Trade & Stash — A $ tile is a recharge station and vendor: stand on it and press [p] to trade scrip. [r] opens your subspace stash from any deck. [v] replays the message log.
  19. The Descent — Every third deck a boss seals the breach — destroy it to go on. Sixty decks down waits the escape craft. Death is permanent; the run is saved every deck.
  20. Descend — Find the breach (>) and press Shift+. on it — Shift+T travels there once you have seen it. That ends the tutorial. [F1] lists every control, any time.

Five tips