Job simulations are a popular category in gaming. There is something satisfying about stepping into a role with a clearly defined purpose and doing the job well. Whether you work as a chef, gladiator instructor or pressure washer, there is no shortage of virtual careers to take part in. Some of these even take place in worlds very different from our own.
Hardspace: Shipbreaker is a sci-fi sim about salvaging ships, and while it might not seem exciting to cut an abandoned ship into scrap to throw in a furnace, getting the job done efficiently in space is no small feat. and avoid an explosive or otherwise messy death. One of the most basic but worrisome problems in shipbreaking is depressurization: releasing the air trapped inside the ship without tearing the ship to pieces or causing a catastrophic meltdown in the process. Here’s everything the player needs to know about venting.
Basics of Pressure Relief
One reason that Hardspace: Shipbreaker as cinematic can be is the level of detail and realism it brings to the rescue. Improperly breaking the pressure seal on a spaceship has a number of consequences, none of which are desirable. The sudden loss of pressure will rip the contents out of the newly unpressurized area, throwing the space into space in an undifferentiated cloud of twisted scrap. This makes sorting, collecting and salvaging the discarded ship parts much more time consuming and frustrating than it otherwise would have been.
Improper pressure reduction is also costly. The player won’t be able to get such good returns on their salvage if many of their most desirable components were simply ripped into the vacuum of space and smashed together. Depressurization can also launch the player away from the ship, with potentially deadly consequences if they are near the fracture site, inadvertently turning the game into a sci-fi comedy. Finally, if the vessel’s core or volatile contents are damaged by depressurization, it could result in death, so it pays to get the depressurization right.
How to depressurise?
Hardspace: Shipbreaker is not a sci-fi utopia, and the player will have to work hard and take risks to earn money. The first step is to check whether a certain part of the ship is under pressure at all. The player can do this by their Scanner. The green boxes that appear indicate pressure zones so that the player has a good idea of where to cut and where not to cut safely. Red zones, on the other hand, indicate areas that are not under pressure. If the ship is under pressure, the player must always enter the ship through the airlock. A glowing blue indicator indicates that the airlock is pressurized. The player can open and close the door using the interaction button.
Once inside, it’s time to Atmospheric Regulator: and deactivate it with the interaction button. Unfortunately, the Regulator will depressurise only one area. In some cases, the ship does not have Atmospheric Regulator: or the Regulator damaged, complicating pressure relief. The only option is then a controlled (unsafe) pressure reduction. Before performing a controlled depressurization, use either the character’s hand or the Grappler to remove loose parts from the ship to prevent an incident when the pressure drops.
The player can now perform a controlled depressurization by making a hole in the cockpit or opening the ship in some other way. The same realism that makes this sci-fi game so great also makes it dangerous, so take it easy. It is generally safer to perform a controlled depressurization from the outside, and it is important to avoid cutting into the ship in areas with explosives, coolant, or radiation, to avoid harming the player with their precipitation. Use the brakes or stabilize by hand against the vessel to avoid being pushed away by the draft. The smaller the air pocket that is being depressurized, the less violent the reaction can be, so venting three rooms individually rather than one large room at once is usually the safer option.
Hardspace: Shipbreaker is now available for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
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