The console is a command line interface and the most important input method in the game. It is used to control: drones, doors, ship upgrades, the boarding vessel, and the terminals, by using text based commands.

Console Behavior Edit

The console features auto-completion. If you start typing a command, the rest of the command may appear highlighted. you can use TAB, SPACE, or ENTER to complete the command automatically (note that ENTER auto-completes and executes the command.)

The console history can be scrolled through using (CTRL+UP/DOWN). this is useful for recalling a command quickly

Chaining Commands Edit

Multiple commands can be chained together using a semi-colon [ ; ]. for example,

navigate 1 r2; scan; gather all

would navigate drone 1 to room r2, scan the room for any items, and gather any resources it finds.

Note that navigate is a blocking command, meaning that any commands that come after it will wait until navigate is completed. if navigate is auto-canceled, any following commands will be skipped.

Aliases Edit

Aliases are an important and powerful function of the console. Aliases are user-defined shortcuts that can be used to abbreviate commands, or chain together multiple commands under one name.

To access the alias file, type 'alias'. The default alias file contains two aliases to demonstrate the file structure.

begin=open a1; navigate 1 2 3 4 a1; generator 2
end=navigate 1 2 3 4 r1

Executing the 'begin' alias would do the same thing as executing 'open a1; navigate 1 2 3 4 a1; generator 2'. You can see how using aliases can simplify commonly used strings of commands.

Arguments Edit

Aliases also support arguments, which data placeholders that tell the alias how to operate. This allows for the creation of powerful custom functions.

There are four argument types:

$d    Door number (interchangeable with $a)
$a    Airlock number (interchangeable with $d)
$r    Room number
$x    Drone number

Let's look at a couple simple examples to get a feel for a basic use of these arguments.

cmd=open $d
 Use 1: cmd d12
 Use 2: cmd a2

Notice that either a door or airlock can be specified.

go=navigate $x $r
 Use 1: go 2 r12
 Use 2: go r12 2

Notice that the ORDER of the arguments does not matter.

Optional Arguments Edit

In the second example, both the drone argument and room argument are required, So even if you are commanding a drone in the Drone view, you have to explicitly state which drone you want to command.

Optional arguments solve this problem. When you surround any parameter with parenthesis, it becomes optional. For example:

go=navigate ($x) $r

this modifies the 'go' alias so that when executed from Drone view, you only need to specify which room you want to go to.

Nesting Aliases Edit

Consider the following example:

go=navigate ($x) $r
take=go 3 $r; tow 3; go 3 r1; tow 3

It's perfectly okay that we use the 'go' alias inside of the 'take' alias, as aliases essentially become their own commands. In this scenario drone 3 is our drone with the tow upgrade. Since the aliases are essentially equivalent to typing out the full command, they can be expanded as follows:

'take r13'
'go 3 r13; tow 3; go 3 r1; tow 3'
'navigate 3 r12; tow 3; navigate 3 r1; tow 3'

In this case typing 'take r13' will move our towing drone (drone 3) to room r13, start towing an object in that room, tow the object back to room r1 (boarding vessel), and stop towing the object.

You can see that using nested aliases along with required and optional arguments can be used to automate a lot of tedious command typing.

Basic Commands Edit

Command Description
auto-navigtate drone(s) to a room
     navigate 1 r12
     'navigate 1 2 r14' Navigate drones 1 and 2 to r14
     'navigate 1 d8'    Navigates drone 1 through d8
     'navigate 1 3'     Navigates drone 1 to drone 3
     'navigate 3'       (from drone view) Navigates drone 3 
                        to current drone
d[n] a[n]
toggles given door or airlock
    'd6'      toggles door d6
    'a1'      toggles airlock a1
    'd4 d3'   toggles doors d4 and d3
closes or opens specified door(s) or airlock(s)
    close d1 d2
    open d3 a2
    'close all'     Close all powered doors
    'open r12 r13'  Open all powered doors in rooms r12 and r13
list information about items in a drone's current room
  info 3
      'info' list items in the specified drone's room
retrieve status of the current derelict ship
    Display ship information determined from ship log
swap upgrades with another drone
    Type just 'swap' to show the swap interface
    Use arrow keys and ENTER to swap upgrades
    Press ESC to close the swap interface
    Non GUI: 'swap [source item] [target item] ([target drone])

*It is actually possible that the close command corrupts, which means that you can't close doors anymore.

Advanced Commands Edit

Command Description
clears the console window
commandeer the current derelict ship
    Opens dialog to confirm personnel/equipment
     transfer to currently docked derelict
     - All rooms must be verified
     - Vessel must be free of infestations
     - Any radiation must be contained
     - No airlocks exposed to space
     - Not a Space Station, Fuel Depot, or Outpost
degausses the current Drone's video feed
    Fixes visual corruption of the drone view
self destructs the drone with an optional delay
  destruct [t(1-60s seconds, 3 = default)]
      Will damage everything in the current room.
      This command requires confirmation before executing
      To cancel: type 'destruct' (quickly!) again
      'destruct t10' issues destruct after 10 seconds
      'destruct' (w/o time) is equal to 'destruct t3'
re-docks boarding vessel at specified airlock
  dock a12
      Airlock doors apear yellow on schematic
add/remove flag on room
  flag r2
      'flag r2 r3'   toggles flags on room r2 and r3
      'flag clear'   clears all room flags
pickup previously dropped item
  Picks up any dropped items within range
display time in mission
  reports time since first boarded derelict

Upgrades Edit

Both drone upgrades and ship upgrades are controlled by the console. Most upgrades can be controlled, but some upgrades are automatic, and have no associated commands (Ship Surveyor, Speed Boost, Quarantine Bypass, Long Range Scanner). The command for drone upgrades is simply the name of the upgrade. If no drone number is specified, the command will be execute by either the current robot (if in drone view and the current robot has the upgrade), or the only drone that has the upgrade (if in schematic view). if more than one drone has the upgrade, you will have to specify which drone(s) you want to execute the command.