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How to Play
Getting Started
Welcome to Outpost, a realistic strategy simulation of space colonization. Your mission is to colonize a hostile planet in a distant star system. You'll begin by selecting which star systems you'll consider calling home. You will send out VLBI satellites to four star systems to determine which is the most promising. This information will arrive at Jupiter while you are fueling up for your trip from it you will decide which of the four systems you will colonize. At this time, if you've packed them, you can send out ULBI satellites for information on planets in your star system of choice.
Difficulty Level
When you start the game, you'll choose a difficulty level. Many of Outpost's internal conditions are affected by your choice. Planetary Hostility, trading exchange rates, the amount of help you get from the AI adviser, the damage level your colony suffers during disasters, and a variety of other issues are affected by the difficulty level you select. The difficulty level you choose also affects frequency of disasters, how many rebels flee, and how critical your population is when you make a bad decision. During your first game, you may want to select a low difficulty level and increase the level of difficulty on a future game as your experience increases.
Packing
So, Commander, you've got the money, the weight restrictions, and the colonization plan. It's time to choose what cargo you need to take with you to your new home. Unfortunately, you can't take everything. The starship's propulsion system can only push so much cargo up to a reasonable speed to arrive at the destination within a reasonable amount of time. Will you take an extra 50 colonists, or pack an additional unit of food? Should you favor one satellite over another? What will the weather be like? You can't phone ahead, and you have only one change. You'd better make the right choices.
Certain items will automatically be included. You must, for example, take 100 colonists. At the point when you begin packing additional material and personnel, you will have 172 remaining funds, and a remaining weight maximum of 78 units. The following chart will list certain facts about packing which you should take into consideration.
| Cargo | Weight | Cost | Advantages of Cargo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colonists (50) | 1 | 1 | Colonists will man factories, etc. upon arrival. |
| Food | 1 | 1 | One unit will feed 10 colonists while the agricultural dome is being built. |
| Life Support | 1 | 3 | Used in emergencies. Will keep colonists alive if the unexpected occurs. |
| Colonist Lander | 9 | 16 | One lander will transport 50 colonists, one way, to the new planet. |
| Cargo Lander | 10 | 17 | One lander will transport a cargo-weight value of 20, one way, to the new planet. |
| Seed Factory | 10 | 18 | Provides basic power, robots, resource processing facilities, and temporary residence. |
| Tokamak Reactor | 10 | 20 | Provides most power needs on most planets. |
| Solar Power Satellite | 8 | 15 | On certain planets, will provide clean, safe, reliable energy. |
| Solar Receiver Array | 5 | 10 | Two are required to make a solar satellite function. |
| Geological Probe | 4 | 14 | Collects data to determine best landing site. |
| Weather Satellite | 4 | 12 | Collects data on local weather, including warnings of major meteorological events. |
| Interstellar Probe | 0 | 15 | Sends back detailed data on possible new planet. |
| Communications Satellite | 4 | 11 | Enables your robots, especially explorers, to find their way around the planet. |
| Orbital Observer | 6 | 13 | Provides visual study of the planet from orbit. |
| ULBI Probe | 0 | 14 | Provides high-quality data about your target star system. |