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One of the unique hazards introduced inRimWorld: Odysseyis the vacuum of space. Soon after a colony has a gravship, it has the potential to fly upward towards objects orbiting the planet (and will likely need to do so to get certain materials). However, flying to space unprepared is an easy way to cause colonists some serious and unnecessary trouble.
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This guide will discuss the basics of space and then give some advice for surviving it for both brief and long periods.
The Basics of Space
RimWorld: Odyssey adds a new layer of orbital hexes to the planetary map, visible by scrolling outward when on the map screen. Assuming an orbital object is in range, you’re able to travel to these hexes using anything able to reach orbital locations, notably gravship bases and Passenger Shuttles. The exceptions are certain well-guarded orbital sites, which first require that you obtain a Signal Jammer.
By default, orbital hexes are naturally quite hostile towards the average human colonist. Space is a vacuum, very quickly killing plants and almost as dangerous to humans and animals through Vacuum Exposure. This is a medical condition that slowly builds as long as a creature is exposed to vacuum, which is lethal at 100% severity. Additionally, living creatures without the Vacuum Resistant or Breathless Gene also suffer Vacuum Burns periodically when in vacuum, which aren’t especially severe (they can’t get infected, for instance) but are still wounds that can eventually seriously impact or even kill a pawn if enough stack.
Space also tends to be very cold, with a stable temperature of about -102F. This means pawns in space can also suffer from Hypothermia, although equipment designed for space (discussed later) also typically helps protect against Hypothermia.
Discussed more in the next two sections, the dangers of space can be combated with the right gear and/or a well-designed ship. The right setup can even allow a colony to stay in space more or less indefinitely.
Whenever you travel to space, keep in mind the minimum time you’ll need to survive there. Gravships, for example, will need to cool down before they can launch again. They also come with the risk of the Overheated Grav Engine Minor Incident, which further extends how long you’ll need to stay.
Short-term Survival
Surviving space in brief spurts is fairly easy to do, even relatively early. Most important is equipping a colonist with gear that provides Vacuum Resistance. The easiest way to do this is through the use of a Vacsuit and Vacsuit Helmet, which you may buildrelativelycheaply after researching the Orbital Tech project.
Power Armor, including Recon Armor, provides decent enough Vacuum Resistance that it can be a decent alternative to Vacsuits (especially for colonists, you need to stay fast and combat-ready, as Vacsuits slow wearers down significantly). Wearing Power Armor on one’s head and body should provide about a day of safety; you’re able to also wear a Vacsuit Helmet for even more time. Just note that this doesn’t necessarily protect you from thecoldof space.
Additionally, colonists modified to have the Vacuum Resistant or Breathless genes can survive much more readily in space. Vacuum Resistant makes a colonist immune to Vacuum Burn and grants a 45% buff to Vacuum Resistance. Breathless is even better, granting total immunity to vacuum (and any effect related to breathing in toxins).
For a colonist to survive in the void of space for any period, try to verify they get the following from some combination of items and genes:
The new Starjack xenohuman breed is designed for space travel. They have a number of useful genes, including Vacuum Resistant, Cold Tolerant, and Indoor Dweller, all of which are ideal for living on a gravship in orbit for long periods.
Long-term Survival
Surviving in space for multiple days is certainly possible with some planning, and a colony can even thrive in space with the right infrastructure. However, it’s critical todesign your colony with carebefore venturing into orbit, as space is one of the harshest biome types in RimWorld for pretty obvious reasons.
Generally speaking, surviving in orbit for a period of weeks or whole quadrums requires a gravship. You’ll want your gravship to have the following, with these things likely becoming more essential the longer you intend to stay:
Safe, Airtight Rooms
Enclosed spaces in RimWorld: Odyssey have a Vacuum level, with areas at 50% to 100% Vacuum looking visibly different, like they’re full of dusty fog. The first step to making a room safe in a vacuum is getting it airtight. Steel Gravship Hull is often a good starting wall for this purpose. Then, you can use a Steel Door for the room’s entrances, as that will also keep the room airtight when they aren’t opened.
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When a room is opened or otherwise isn’t airtight, it will leak into connected rooms (and outside), raising its Vacuum level and lowering the Vacuum of adjacent rooms (except outside in the void of space, where the air is just wasted). Keep in mind that vents will allow this leaking when opened and prevent it when closed.
A good rule of design is that the entire perimeter of a gravship be made of airtight materials. In testing, Coolers seemed to either be airtight or to at least cause an otherwise airtight room not to be so leaky that Oxygen Pumps couldn’t keep them filled with air.
The biggest risk regarding Vacuum level is outside. For parts of a ship that exit out into space, you may want to design an airlock, where colonists exit an airtight room into a hallway,briefly move through another airtight space, and then pass through another door to get outside, only venting that small airlock hallway. An easy way to do this is through the use of a Vac Barrier (obtained via Orbital Tech), which is a special barrier that, when powered, can be passed through freely by colonists but doesn’t cause any vacuum or temperature equalization.
Finally, rooms can have their Vacuum level lowered through the use of Oxygen Pumps (another Orbital Tech). When powered, these structures pump oxygen into the room they’re located inside. This is done automatically and without needing any additional resources; you don’t need to supply them with oxygen, just electricity.
A Steady Power Supply
Less complicated than monitoring air levels, a colony in spaceneedselectricity. Losing power for an extended period can be catastrophic, as it will shut off a number of essential machines, including Vac Barriers and Oxygen Pumps.
Wind Turbines are useless in space, but many other forms of power generation are available. Solar Generators only work during daylight hours, but they can be combined with batteries to consistently generate enough powerifyou have enough generators and enough batteries to build up a surplus of energy that lasts the colony through the night. The exact amount of generation and storage you need will vary; keep in mind that a colony that’s struggling can shut off all non-essential machines to reduce their consumption.
Power generation is a complex topic in RimWorld, but there are plenty of other options to replace Solar Generators or supplement them depending on what your colony has access to. It isn’t a bad idea to at least have Wood-fired or Chemfuel Powered Generators (and their fuel) available as well, in case something goes wrong and you start to consume more than you generate.
Space is cold, so a ship will need Heaters, at least anywhere you want to grow plants or have colonists that aren’t wearing gear that lets them tolerate extreme temperatures. Temperature can also affect workspeed in various buildings, although that’s less critical.
One common mistake players make is trying to put all temperature control structures (namely Heaters and Coolers) in one room and just adding a series of Vents to funnel the right temperature into other rooms, chaining room to room. It is typically much more efficient to spread out these machines. Doing so will generally end up with you requiring fewer machines for the same or greater control over temperature. If you do want to use one central room for temperature control, it should at least be central to the base, venting temperature directly into adjacent rooms. The further a room is from a machine designed to control temperature, the less efficiently it can be heated or cooled.
Temperature control in space is more complicated in real life for reasons too complex to discuss here. In RimWorld, it’s easiest to generally think of space as “cold,” despite that being a bit of an oversimplification when talking about reality.
Everything Else
With the above handled, you now mostly just need everything else you’d typically want for a colony, keeping in mind the limitations of space. Hydroponics Basins are your friend, with the Sun Lamps that let them grow plants likely to be an ongoing challenge to keep powered. You’ll also need to carefully watch your colonists' mood and do what you can to boost it, as many are likely to dislike orbital living and are at risk of developing some cabin fever if kept indoors for long periods.
If only some of your colonists are equipped for space, you should designate an area that is safe for unprotected colonists and make sure they keep to that space whenever it isn’t essential they risk the void. Make sure your designated area has everything they need, including beds, food, and recreational activities. Cryptosleep and, for Sanguophages, Deathresting can also be helpful if you’re low on supplies and might benefit from some colonists becoming less of a resource burden for a while.
Finally, ensure you have what you need to return to the planet’s surface if necessary. It’s possible, with poor planning and/or bad luck, to strand yourself on an asteroid indefinitely, although keep in mind that Hydroponics Basins can let you slowly grow Fibercorn (assuming you havethe Ideology DLC) which turns into Wood, allowing you to produce Chemfuel through a Biofuel Refinery even while in space (you can also just use most raw food, although be careful burning up food to make fuel unless you have a surplus). As for Steel and Components in the event the machines essential for flight are destroyed, consider taking apart non-essential machines if your alternative is dying in space.
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