The Hellion Space Survival Manual (or the Guide to Not Dying, Sort Of)

This is a guide to assist you in survivng the world of Hellion...

BOOOOOOORING!

EXPLOSIONS! CHAINSAWS! WALRUSES THAT SHOOT LASERS FROM THEIR EYES!

In all seriousness, this is a guide that I hope will help you become familiar with the systems and mechanics of Hellion.

Welcome to Hell(ion)

Alright, I just got the game. I've been watching the videos, and I'm excited. I awake from cryo, and check my systems.
Everything looks good.

I put on my suit and helmet and head into the airlock, eager to experience space. I pull open the door and and sent forth into the void, floating free...

Whereupon I realized I forgot my jetpack, and died shortly thereafter.

Welcome to Hellion.

I'm sure many of you have had this experience before. Be honest, no one's an expert. That's why I felt that I should write a guide to assist new players, so they may enjoy this experience. The developers have done an awesome job at creating a realistic interpretation of space, for us space sim junkies and casual players alike. This game features Newtonian physics, mechanical systems with parts that wear down over time, and even an environmental system in the form of life support that isn't infinite. Life, simply put, is hell. With no proper infrastructure, and the remains of the expedition scattered across the system, it's up to us to rebuild. So, let's get to it.

Getting Started

First things first, let's go over the controls. This game has what I consider standard movement controls: WASD is your movement, and space is your jump. However, I'll throw in a list to help:

W - Move forward
A- Move left
S - Move backward
D - Move right
Space - Kills you if you forget your jetpack (also, it's the jump button)
F - "Use" key/pick up items
Tab (hold) - Inventory
G (when holding item) - Tap to drop, hold to throw
Left Alt - Free Look
H - Toggle helmet visor
J - Toggle jetpack thrusters on/off
X - Radar contact list (while EVA)

Right. Now that that's out of the way...

Pick a server to join. I strongly suggest picking one with the best ping. In its current state, the game does lag at times, and higher ping will just make it worse.

Got a server picked out? Good, now choose your start. For new players, I recommend the "Fresh Start" scenario, as it supplies you with all the basics: A lifeboat to call your own, spare parts, and two full suits, fully charged and fueled.

Once you'd started up, press F to exit your cryopod. Be sure to read the manual on the floor, it's a handy checklist.


Now, you'll notice a panel up on the wall. This display is a readout of the environment in the current area you are in, in this case, your entire lifeboat. It provides information such as:

Gravity, represented by a white G (or red, in the case of zero gravity)
Air Pressure (measured in bars, on a scale of 0.0 to 1.0)
Air Quality (in percentage, from 0% to 100%)
Temperature (measured in Celsius, not yet implemented)

You will also see Air Filtering and Pressure Regulation are on Standby, don't worry, this is alright.


You'll notice that it's a bit... dark. It's a good idea to head over to your Power Supply console and turn the power on. The Power Supply console is located on the far side of the lifeboat from your pod, on the other side of the Life Support console. Exted the solar panels by clicking the diamond-shaped icon in the upper right. You'll see the status cycle, and then read "Online." Be sure to click the diamond shaped icon in the center, too. This is your capacitor, and will store power for later, should your solar panels not be facing the sun.


If you turn around from the power console and look to your right, you'll see a circular lid with a handle. This holds the air filters for your life support system.
On the floor of your lifeboat, you may have seen small boxes, with a yellow light. These boxes contain spare parts for the many working systems that keep you alive.


Inside it, among other things, you'll find some orange, flat squares, with a honeycomb pattern. These HEPA filters are slotted into the racks behind the circular lide in the farthest wall from your pod. Insert the filters, and be sure to close the rack.


Head over to your Life Support console and activate your system by again, clicking on the diamond-shaped iconce. The status will go from "Offline" to "Standby." Again, this is perfectly fine. On this panel. you can see a complete readout of your life support system, as well as the status of all working parts. You may have noticed those filters you picked up had a light on them, ranging in color from green to red. This indicates the condition of the part, with efficiency worsening as the light gets closer to red. All machinery in the game utilizes these parts, and all must be replaced regularly, to preven system failure.


Turning to your left from the Life Support console, you'll see the Suit Locker and the Weapon Rack. You'll find another manual on the floor, detailing proper EVA protocols. Be sure to keep these helpful references in a safe place.



Open the suit locker to find two full standard issue Altcorp suits, complete with helmet and jetpack. I strongly advise putting them on in the order mentioned by the guide: suit, jetpack, helmet. Your helmet will automatically seal when you put it on. Press H to toggle it open, as you don't need it sealed at the moment.

The HUD on your helmet will display your suit's power, RCS fuel, and oxygen levels. Be sure to keep an eye on these. It will also inform you of the pressure outside your suit. These meters will change color as the levels change: White is optimal, yellow is caution advised, and red is critical.

Anyway, now that you're suited up, you're ready to step outside.

It's Cold Outside

And how! Before you head out into the great void, be sure to check your HUD to make sure you don't repeat my mistake. Press J to toggle your jetpack (the top meter on the lower right of your hud with show your RCS fuel), a beep will confirm your jetpack is active. Switch it off for now.

Head into the protocol manual storage airlock, and walk to the outer door. Right now, you don't have a proper airlock tube attached to your lifeboat, so once you open the outer door, the air in the airlock with you will rush out. Don't worry, this won't vent your station. However, let's play it safe. To the right of the outer door, you'll see a lid marked "Manual Override." Stand as close to the wall as you can, and hold Shift. This will stabilize you, as if you were grabbing onto the wall. Now open the cover, and pull the lever. Make sure you're properly braced, or else you'll be thrown into space, and have to waste precious RCS fuel in order to make it back. Remember, an object in motion stays in motion, unless acted on by an outside force.




Once you're in space, a new part of your HUD will activate, on the bottom middle of your HUD. The line going horizontally is... well, your artificial horizon. This is used to orient yourself to other objects in space. Press X to bring up your suit's radar. This will give the the IDs of all nearby object, and their distance. Press the Up and Down arrows to cycle through the items listed. Highlight the Mule, and look at the horizontal line. It will show as a white dot, or an arrow pointing up or down, to show where the ship is relative to the direction you're facing. A white dot means you are looking directly at it, and the arrow indicates whether it is above or below you. The icon may be at any point between the two ends, which also shows whether it is to your left or right.

Press J to activate your jetpack again, and start flying over to your ship. The controls are similar to walking around, except now you're moving in three dimentions. WASD are still the same, but now you have a few more degrees of freedom: Space makes you fly up, and C makes you fly down. You can also rotate, by pressing Q and E.




This is a good time to note the two sets of numbers on either side of your horizon line. The one on the left is your speed forward and backward. Forward is represented by positive numbers, backward by negative. The numbers on the right of the horizon line Indicate your lateral movement, that is, left and right, as well as up and down. These are useful tools to help you determine your movement rate in space, which is otherwise impossible.

When using your RCS thrusters, be sure to use quick bursts, just give the button a tap. You don't want to waste your fuel overcorrecting. Also, keeping your speed at a managable level allows you a greater amount of control. If you start spinning, no worries. Just hold Shift to use your RCS Stabilisation system, and continue on your way.

Now that you've reached your ship, head to the top to access the airlock. The airlock door is well-lit, and also have some blue lights nearby. If you so desire, you can fly right up aaginst the door and press Shift. This will allow you to "grab on," and thus stop your movement. Just don't hit it too hard.



You'll see a panel next to the airlock door. This is how you control it. You'll see the 1.0 on the panel, this means that there is 1 Earth atmosphere of pressure on the other side of the door. Press F to access the panel, and use your mouse cursor to select and click the red "Depressurize" button. This will cycle all the air out of the airlock, and store it in a tank, equalizing the pressure with space. The meter will slowly tick down from 1.0 to 0.0, indicating it is now safe to open the door. Using your cursor, open the outer door, and head inside. Take note of the panel on the wall. See how helpful it is, saying that there's not only zero gravity, but no breathable atmosphere in space? thanks, panel. you're very helpful. The mood lighting warning lights will also change from white to yellow to red, indicating the danger level.



Turn back to the outer door, and you'll see there's anothe rpanel like the one outside. See how the "Inner Door" button is red, but the "Outer Door" button is green? That indicates that the outer door is open, and the inner one is shut. Close the outer door, and press the blue "Re-Pressurize" button. The airlock will begin pressurizing back to normal levels. Once the meter reads at least 0.5 bar, you can open your helmet. After the airlock has finished cycling, open the inner door, and head into the ship. Head to the rear, and a panel will pop down.




This is the ship's Power Supply panel. Repeat the process you did on the lifeboat, and extend the solar panels and switch on the capacitor. The ship has two sets of solar panels, so be sure to click the arrow in the upper right to select the second one as well. Turn around, and head towards the cockpit. On your left, you'll notice a suit locker and weapon rack. Whether or not it has complete suits, as well as the number of guns and ammo varies greatly.


Once you've done that, head up to the cockpit and take the pilot's seat: it's your turn to fly.

Cosmic Castaway

Press F to take the pilot's seat. You'll notice several displays, and more information than what's in your helmet. Don't worry, I'll help you get settled in.




Let's start with the left side panel. At the time of writing, the ship's main engines don't work, so you have to primary means of getting around: RCS and Warp. All three have limited fuel resources, but only main engine and RCS fuel levels are immediately visible. You have limited RCS fuel, so try not to waste it. When maneuvering the ship, you may have to hold the button as opposed to just tapping it. This is because you're now moving a big metal block, instead of a bit of meat.

The ENG light is red, which means it isn't powered. That's perfectly fine. The FTL light is also red, don't touch that. No. NO. Seriously. I'll tell you about that in a bit.

Ok, the center display. Dominating the center is the radar screen. This will show where other objects are, relative to the direction you're facing. The innermost circle is what is directly ahead of you, as seen in the picture with the airlock module. Below the radar screen we have several buttons:




ENG: Activates and deactivates the main engines. Poke it all you want, nothing will happen right now.
NAV: Brings up the navigation screen. I'll tell you more about that, too.
DCK: Brings up the docking interface.
Head Light: Exactly what it says on the tin.
SCN: Activates your scanners.
FTL: Activates and deactivates the ship's Faster than Light system (aka Warp). Only activate it if you need to, this thing eats a LOT of power.
Docking Control lever: undocks your ship from whatever you're docked to. (I think it only works on the ship's Grapple system, mounted on the tail).

Anyway, above the radar screen, you'll see a similar display to your suit's HUD. However, instead of a horizon line, you have a bar indicating how close you are to reaching your target, the smallest amount of time being 30 seconds (correct me if I'm wrong). Below that, is your directional speed relative to your target. The center reticule is also a direction indicator: it will be blue if you are going forward, and red if you are in reverse. You may also notice a red line that points off the center reticule: this is your lateral indicator, with the numbers indicating speed, and the line indicating intensity. Apply thrust opposite the direction the line is pointing in order to cancel it out, but be careful, the line doesn't have a neutral point. You may very well find out you are going in the opposite direction.

On the right side, you'll see all contacts within radar range. Your ship has a radar range of 10km. Just like in your suit, you'll see the ID and distance of anything within range. Speaking of which, do you see the contact labeled AM, with a number behind it? That's an Airlock Module, along with its ID code. Each ship, station, and module has its own ID code, so it can be indentified by its owner. Anyway, select it and head towards it, now for some fun.

Docking and You

Now for the fun part, of of the major mechanics that separates Hellion from most other space games on the market. Normally, docking is a simple affair, you just push a button, and you're good. However, in Hellion, it's far more engaging than that.



As such, the developers have created an in-depth system in order to facilitate this mechanic. Again, this may seem confusing, but I'll help.

Starting with the right side this time, you see the different modules you can dock with. One is the outpost in which you started from, the other is the module you are trying to dock with, in this case, an airlock module. Their distance from your ship is also listed. You can select between them with the up and down arrows. You can also press R to cycle between docking cameras. The ship has two, one for the top airlock, and one for the rear grapple system.
Notice how both objects have two possible docking ports. If this is the case, you can switch between the available docking ports of the selected object using the left and right arrows.
In the upper right, we have the radar, similar to that in the center console of the ship. The inner circle represents what you're looking directly at.

Now, on to the middle. You'll see a hexagon framing the targeting reticule, and that, in tandem with the guide in the upper right, is how you line up for docking. The crosshairs will have a red line, indicating lateral drift, also represented by numbers in the center top and center right. As you can see in the above picture, the red lines indicate I am drifting up and to the right, and the numbers tell me I am drifting at a rate of 0.3 meters per second. A line will also follow the outer circle, representing rotation. This can be countered with Q or E, and pressing Shift will halt any roll.

Center bottom, you'll see two bars, with the top one representing my distance to targe, and the bottom one showing my speed. In order to dock properly, you have to keep your speed low, preferably under 10 m/s. The speed bar will change from green to red to indicate you are going too fast.

Another thing to note is that while docking, your controls orient to act like whichever docking camera you are looking out of is the "front." So, while you may be using the ship's read docking camera and grapple system, pressing W will make you go towards it, while to an outside observer, your ship will be going in reverse.

Now, onto the far bottom left. You'll see the module you have targeted at the top, the means by which you are docking to it (in my case I used the grapple, as seen below), and the RCS fuel level.



The dock you select will also have an orange ring around it, to help make it easier to see, as well as indicate your target. When you're properly aligned, and heading at the proper speed to your target, when you get close, you will get "sucked in." Don't worry, this is perfectly natural. This indicates that you are now docked and locked, and ready to rock.

Now, press Tab to get out of the docking camera, and select the Outpost in the contact list. Start flying back to it, but take your time. Once you get within 80 meters or so, come to a complete stop, and line up with the outpost as best you can. You have the option to match velocity by pressing M, but momentum isn't carried to any towed objects. Once you release your airlock module, it will start getting left behind. Quickly exit your ship, and fly over to your airlock module.

It's time to be a space cowboy.


Head for the top part of the airlock module (there'll be lights on it) and look for this panel



This is the external RCS control panel, and this is how you fly modules, and dock them to your station.

It's the same as docking your ship to the aitlock module. However, the modules often have far less RCS fuel, so you must take extra caution when you maneuver. Also, you aren't in a climate-controlled ship, you just have your suit, so you're also limited by your air supply. However, if you get close to the outpost and line it up, you can dock in no time, and make the process significantly smoother.



Now that your airlock is docked, you don't have to worry about venting air from your station each time you leave. Now, time to head inside the airlock, and see what spoils go to you.




Ok, so maybe the space gods didn't favor me today. However, that suit on the left is part of a much better variant of your standard suit, so if you get the full set, you'll want to upgrade. It's worth it.

However, your suit and station air supply is running low. Time to go get some more.

Resource Collection and Navigation (The Oxygen Must Flow)

So, your oxygen is starting to run out? That's usually the fastest to go. This is space, it's not like oxygen grows on trees...

Well, we have no trees! so we have to get it the old fashioned way. This involves using mining tools for their totally intended use, instead of cutting off limbs.

MY OXYGEN LEVELS ARE CRITICAL! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

But this IS a drill. THE drill. The drill that shall pierce the... asteroid.



This is the means by which you will survive. In the hold of the ship, you will find a couple of standard Altcorp drills, as well as batteries and a canister.


Now, here's how you equip everything. First, grab the drill off the shelf. Now, put it in your hands by holding Tab, clicking the drill, and dragging it to the center circle. It will now be in your hands. Now press F on one of the batteries on the wall. This will insert it into your drill. Now, look at the canister and press F, with the drill still equipped. Now you're ready to go!

But where to get these resources? That's where the NAV button on your ship's control panel comes in.

Head back up to the cockpit, the moment has arrived! Press the NAV button.



When the NAV screen comes up, you can see the whole system. Let's take a look at the screen.

At the top left, you'll see the "Scan button. This will scan an area around your ship for contacts, be they stations, ships, or asteroids. As you can see, I was in the middle of scanning when I took this screenshot.

At the top middle, you'll see two buttons: "Home Station" and "Zoom to Parent." Clicking "Home station will move your camera back to the station you spawned in, should you lose it. "Zoom to Parent will take your camera to whatever your currently selected target is orbiting.

At the top right, you'll see "Distress Signals." These are how many distress signals you've picked up. it's on your whether or not to check them out, they may be real or fake.

At the bottom center, there is a row of boxes with a bunch of numbers. These are coordinates. You can fine tune them by clicking in the box and holding the left mouse button, and dragging the mouse. This will also tell your warp drive where to jump to.


You'll also have seen all those curved lines in the background. Remember, everything in this game is in motion, even the stellar bodies. Those are the orbit paths of ships, stations, asteroids, what have you. These are primarily what you will look for. Since these thigns are in motion, you'll want to intercept them, or at least warp behind them, in the case of a ship or station.

Now you'll first want to fire up your FTL drive. This can be done by Tabbing out of the NAV screen and pressing the FTL button on the center right on the main console. If you look at the leftmost screen, you'll see the FTL light will change from red to green. This indicates that it is powered and ready to use. Open your NAV screen again, and press the Scan button. The mouse wheel zooms in and out (it's really slow), and the holding the right mouse button and dragging the mouse will rotate the camera. You'll want to look around for an asteroid. Find one, and read on.




Alright, let's break this down. It's the same NAV screen, but with a few new bits, now that the FTL drive is active. At the bottom left, you'll see your FTL fuel reserve, represented by three cores (the warp drive is actually under the cockpit, and there are three warp cores). Clicking a core will designate that one to be used in the jump. Jumps require different amounds of fuel depending on how far they are. You can click on multiple cores for really long jumps, but I would advise against it. Try to stay local for now. The " 1 2 3" next to the cores, think of it as your Warp Factor. This determines the speed you travel while in warp. For short, local trips, you really only need Factor 1.

Now, right click near the asteroid, as I have done. You'll see a little text box pop up that says "Warp Drive" (Or Warp To, I forgot. Click it, and two diamonds, connected by a line will appear, one in front of your ship, and the other in front of your target. You'll see two times shown: the top one is time until you start warp, the bottom one is time in warp until your destination. Click and drag the diamonds with the left mouse button to affect the time it takes to get there. Remember, this is all in real time. Increasing the Warp Factor will help you accelerate quicker, if it says "acceleration too low." If it say "acceleration too high," then move your destination point further from your target. Try to fiddle with it to get as close as you can without taking too long. When you've found a happy medium, press "Initialize" in the bottom right.




A message will appear, telling you to align to the maneuver point. Press Tab to exit out of the Nav screen, and align the nose of your ship to the diamond with the M in it, until it turns green. Use the mouse and Shift ONLY. If you press any other maneuvering button, it will cancel the maneuver, and you will have to set it up again. Now, wait until the counter counts down to 5 seconds, and press J when prompted.

Welcome to the acid trip.



Once you exit warp, you will be close to your asteroid. Move in, decelerate, and match its velocity by pressing M when prompted.



Head back down to the ship's hold, and head towards the angled door. Nest to the door, you'll find another airlock panel (the one in the elevator doesn't work). Hit "Depressurize", and wait for the room to empty of all breathable air. Press the manual release button, and head out through the door. Now, time to hit the rocks!



Fly up to the asteroid (no specific resource areas, any old spot will do), equip your drill, and get close until your drill bit clips through it, then press left mouse button, and hold. No need to worry about drill durability. You've got a fully charged drill, so keep it going. Your canister can hold 50 units of minerals, so keep going until it says "FULL." Return to the ship, seal the door, and repressurize the room.

With the drill equipped, hold R. A menu will pop up. With R still help, highligh "Remove Canister" with the mouse wheel, and release R. The canister will be removed, and placed in the bottom slot of your inventory wheel. Unequip your drill, and move the canister to your hands.




Take the canister over to the Cargo panel, and put it in the pedestal the the left of the panel and the jetpack mount. Now, open the Cargo Interaction panel, and select "Slot 01." Press the button at the bottom to transfer the contents of the canister to your ship, then click "Refining."



Left click and drag the Nitrate Materials over to the topmost box on the right, then click "Refine." The materials will be broken down into Oxygen and Nitrogen, which goes back into your life support automatically. Now you know how to replenish your life support, and can continue surviving. You can also use this to refill your jetpack's oxygen and RCS fuel, by dragging from the left side supply into your jetpack inventory on the right.

Hopefully this guide will help you better understand the world of Hellion, and be able to enjoy this amazing game! Thanks to the devs for making it, and the community for supporting them!

[Pallihiki]

Perhaps add OUTDATED somewhere...

[ArchieFoxer]

@MII You can press F1 if you need help ingame tho'

[MII]

@Topzombieok ty dude

[ArchieFoxer]

@MII: The manuals got removed after some patch

[MII]

why I cant find any protocols manuals on the floor like in youtube videos?

[ArchieFoxer]

It works since the update last week, this guide is a month old

[SpelunkyJunkie]

I think the elevator airlock works, but it needs vacuum on one side of it for it to depressurize.

[bad un flo]

In the starting outpost the reactor has merged. I find no to change pieces
I have made you friends steam for not too much talk on your page

[ZombiePotatoSalad]

@bad un flo You may have to grab them from other ships or outposts drifting in the void.

[bad un flo]

hello , I'm talking about the fusion reactor in the energy screen. Once the parts are worn, I can not find the place to be able to change them.(in the starting station) The same pieces as there are in the ships to the left when you enter through the lock.Thank you again for replying :)