Getting Started in Ostranauts
Survive the first docked hour at K-Leg without venting your bridge
Ostranauts is a single-player noir space-sim from Blue Bottle Games. Version 1.0 landed on Steam on 2026-08-03 after a long Early Access run. There is no multiplayer mode — every mortgage payment, every botched undock, and every hypoxia alarm is yours alone. Your campaign usually begins at OKLG (K-Leg), a crowded station in the inner system where broke captains, salvage permits, and predatory lenders overlap.
This guide assumes you already picked a character. If not, read Character Creation first — careers, traits, and whether you start with a mortgaged hull or a coffin/poker debt-free path all change your first week.
Version 1.0 shipped an improved tutorial flow — PDA goals and onboarding polish help new captains, but this page still covers shift mortgage rhythm and first undock concepts the tutorial may rush past.
Launch and the PDA
After character launch you spawn inside OKLG with a personal digital assistant listing immediate goals. Treat the PDA as your checklist, not flavor text: it nudges you toward boarding your ship, checking critical systems, and understanding the shift clock. Mortgage deductions hit on a six-hour shift cycle, so idle wandering in the station bar still costs money if you own a financed hull.
Walk the dock until you reach your assigned berth. Note which gangway connects to your airlock — you will retrace this path after every salvage run. If you are unsure which interactions matter, keep the keybinds page visible; Ostranauts is dense and the official interface is English only.
Boarding your ship
Inside the hull, tour every room before you undock:
- Power — Is the reactor or battery online? Nav consoles, pumps, and lights need electricity.
- Atmosphere — Pressure should trend toward breathable levels (~20 kPa O2 in a healthy setup). See Manage Atmosphere for the full loop.
- Nav — Locate the helm and any RCS thruster readouts. You cannot fly blind.
- Cargo and tools — Stow EVA gear where you will actually grab it during emergencies.
If you financed the ship, open your finance view and note the mortgage bite each shift. The ship mortgage guide explains how different starter packages compare.
First undock concepts
You do not need a perfect flight on day one — you need a controlled one. Undocking at OKLG uses the nav console COMMS stack: powered Transponder, Antenna, hail the station, request clearance, release clamps, then use RCS to slide clear of the dock without grinding hull against the ring.
The full procedure lives in How to Fly and Dock. For now, remember three ideas:
- Relative velocity (VREL) — Match speed with your target before you clamp or kiss the dock.
- Alignment rings — Green means your approach axis is acceptable; yellow and red mean adjust attitude first.
- Powered comms — Undock requests fail silently if avionics are dark.
Practice a short undock and redock in the OKLG volume before you chase derelicts. The nav console reference lists which COMMS commands map to dock, undock, and clamp states.
Salvage and paying the bills
OKLG salvage work revolves around daily permits — budget roughly $5000 per day for legal boneyard access — and the loop of survey, uninstall, haul, and repair. Your first profitable run does not require a massive ship; it requires knowing which components survive uninstall and which vendors buy them intact.
Follow How to Salvage before you EVA onto your first wreck, and skim the salvage economy page so you recognize when a part is worth hauling versus scrapping on site.
Atmosphere and crew (later the same day)
Even if you plan pure station life for hour one, learn the alarm sounds for depressurization and CO2 climb. A single torn conduit or forgotten airlock can kill a captain in minutes. Manage Atmosphere and the atmosphere checklist tool are the references to bookmark.
Crew hiring can wait until you have cash flow, but read Hire Crew early so you understand death pay — upfront compensation owed if someone dies on your watch.
Where to go next
Once you can undock, redock, and read your PDA without panic, expand outward:
- How to Fly and Dock for Newtonian flight depth
- How to Salvage for permit workflows and part condition
- Ship Building when you outgrow your starter layout
- Rescue When Stranded before your first long burn
Mid-game after OKLG solvency — not day one:
- Ship Combat for Ceres weapons and PDC logistics
- Asteroid Mining for tether clusters and ore sales
- Bounty Hunting for 1.0 warrant income
For broader context, visit the Map hub for OKLG surroundings, the Ceres Conflict Zone before belt trips, the Review for 1.0 impressions, and Updates if you return after a patch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers for spacers who want to stay alive.
Where does a new Ostranauts campaign start?
Most captains begin docked at OKLG (K-Leg), the home station where salvage permits, ship financing, and crew markets converge. Your PDA lists the first objectives after character launch.
How often does the mortgage deduct money?
Ship mortgage payments typically deduct each six-hour shift while you own a financed hull. Idle time at the station still advances the shift clock, so plan salvage or paid work before you run out of credits.
Can I skip flight and only do station salvage?
Some early tasks stay inside OKLG, but the core loop expects you to undock, reach boneyard wrecks, and haul cargo. Learn basics from How to Fly and Dock before you depend on salvage income.