Cosmic Starship opens up step by step: new tabs, decks and difficulties appear as you clear missions, so you are never shown everything at once. This guide explains what each part is for and what is worth doing first.
1. Follow the campaign
The Star chart is the campaign: 49 missions in six regions. Each mission tells you its type, its enemy and its level. Clearing a mission the first time pays a bonus, and clearing missions opens the next region and new parts of the game. If a mission is too hard, go back and replay an earlier one or fly a skirmish to earn more credits.
2. Spend credits on your flagship first
In the Hangar, every ship has five upgrade tracks: hull plating, shield emitters, weapon cores, engines and the reactor. Each level is visible on the model. Early on, hull and weapons give the most. Your first new ship is usually Falcon Heavy, a fast gunship; after that, pick ships whose role suits how you like to play (see warships).
3. Fit mods
Battles drop mods: pieces of equipment in five quality tiers. You can fit more of them as your commander rank rises. Use the “Fit best” button if you do not want to compare them yourself, and break down the ones you do not need for scrap.
4. Meridian Station
The station is your base. Its decks open as you progress:
- Crew hall: hire crews for your squads; each crew brings a skill.
- Warship dock: hire another capital ship to fight beside you for a few battles.
- Market and fabricator: buy mods, or build the exact mod you want from scrap.
- Expeditions: send ships you are not flying on contracts that come home after a number of battles.
- Expansions: four tracks that strengthen the whole fleet and change how the station looks.
5. Pick a difficulty that is fun
There are six difficulties: Explorer, Standard, Commander, Veteran, Nightmare, Cataclysm. Harder ones pay more. After you master Cataclysm, ten Threat levels each add one new rule for players who like a challenge. You can change difficulty at any time in the briefing.
Tips
- Boost through big telegraphed attacks: the red markings on the field show where they will land.
- Against a large enemy capital, press X to aim at its engines (it slows down), weapons (it hits less) or reactor (more damage).
- Command mode is not only for experts: one Tab, 0, T and a click sends everything at the most dangerous target.
- The “Almost there” panel after each battle shows what you are close to: a new ship, an expansion, a feature opening.
- Export your save from Settings now and then, especially before clearing your browser data.