A LOST LANTERN GAME

WELCOME ABOARD, CAPTAIN

The Stars Behind Us

One fragile ship. An uncharted galaxy. A crew counting on you.
Explore distant systems, keep the lights on, and fight for another jump.

A space survival game with real-time combat and tactical pause.
The Stars Behind Us
LIGHT SURVEY VESSEL

ISS Wayfarer

A LOST LANTERN GAME
Drills
10 m ━━━
TACTICAL PAUSEIssue orders. Take a breath.
SHIP TIME 0d 00h 00mLocal saves available

SHIP POWER

REACTOR 6 / 8

Click a level to allocate · click the highest lit level to reduce Powered Available Damaged

05 · SPACE ANOMALIES

Recovery assessment

The contact will be lost when you leave this system.

Ship armament

Ship log

Latest 40 entries · newest first

    Request emergency relief?

    A relief tender restores at least 2 fuel and 4 supplies. Arrival takes 8 hours. The broadcast exposes your position (+6 attention). The tender charges half your salvage, with a minimum fee of 20, but will accept whatever you have aboard.

    New crew aboard

    Station shipyard

    Drag a compartment onto another equal-sized compartment to swap their positions. A successful drop costs 8 salvage and 2 hours. Crew and contents travel with their room; airlocks must stay outside.

    System power upgrades

    Fit another power circuit, with room for three refits per system. Costs 10 / 18 / 26 salvage and 2 hours. Reactor output must be allocated separately.

    DOCKSIDE EXCHANGE · LIMITED LOCAL STOCK

    Station exchange

    Allow one hour for loading or fitting, two for dock service. Once these shelves are empty, the station cannot offer more.

    Beyond the Pale Reach
    SHIP / INVENTORY

    Cargo manifest

    Quartermaster’s report · stores currently aboard.

    Salvage 0

    Recovered materials used for barter and station services.

    Spent on
    Fuel, provisions, equipment and dock services. Full dock service requires 10 salvage and 1 supply.
    Recovered from
    Wrecks, salvage expeditions and completed contracts.

    Fuel 0

    Jump-drive fuel, stored separately from general supplies.

    Spent on
    1–2 units per jump, depending on distance. The star chart shows the exact cost before departure.
    Restock
    Station exchanges carry fuel cells. Check the counter for local prices and stock; wrecks and passing vessels may also carry reserves.

    Supplies 0

    Provisions, field kits and other essentials packed for the voyage.

    Spent on
    1 unit per jump and 1 per world exploration or wreck scavenging. Contracts and relief work may call for additional provisions.
    Restock
    Stations sell 6 supplies for 4 salvage. Survey teams may recover provisions from caches and wrecks.

    Voyage supplies are reserved for jumps and expeditions. Routine life aboard, repairs and medical care use separate reserves. Without voyage supplies, departure and away missions must wait for resupply. If stranded, send a distress call.
    VOYAGE ENDED · BLACK BOX
    ✦ WAYFARER — STAR CHARTDRAG TO MOVE
    DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS

    Shield bay & grav engines.

    Energy layers come from the shield module. Gravity shielding comes from the engines. Power each independently.

    Removing shield power collapses excess energy layers. Removing all engine power drains the gravity field. Damage to either module affects its own defence; reactor loss affects both. After power is restored, allow the fields to recharge.
    COMMAND / FIELD MANUAL

    Keep the lights on.

    Ship recognition guide ↗

    Your vessel is cleared for departure. Review its layout, stores and crew manifest before choosing a course. Automation keeps the ship running; a capable crew keeps it alive.

    1. Command your crew. Space pauses the action so you can issue orders. Click a crewmate or drag a selection box; Shift adds to the selection. Right-click a compartment to send them there. Ctrl+A selects all crew; Escape clears the selection. Use 1–6 to select individual crew.
    2. Assign stations. Use Station selected here in the compartment inspector. Crew attend to fires, breaches and damaged equipment, then return to their stations once the room is secure. Skilled operators improve a fully repaired station while they are present. Check Personnel for qualifications and readiness.
    3. Route power. Use the ship power console to allocate reactor output. Weapons need power to charge, engines support evasion and the jump drive, life support restores oxygen, and the medbay treats injured crew. Damage can take power circuits offline; after repairs, restore their allocation.
    4. Keep the ship spaceworthy. Machinery wears during service and travel. Breakdowns return to service at 75% integrity, but station specialists need repairs finished before they can tune performance. Reactor failure cuts power across the ship; Command failure disrupts targeting and evasion. Life support and engines take priority during a brownout.
    5. Coordinate your defences. The shield bay sustains energy layers against pulses. Grav engines bend solid projectiles away from their course. Both need time to recharge. Watch the separate field readouts and adjust power to meet the incoming threat.
    6. Choose your target. Disable enemy weapons to reduce incoming fire, strip shields to expose the hull, or cripple engines to limit evasive manoeuvres. Other compartments support the enemy’s attack and repair crews; inspect their target readouts. Each mounted weapon has its own target, recharge and Auto-fire control. Select a weapon before clicking a target on the enemy hull; F fires the selected weapon. Laser pulses strip energy layers. Solid projectiles bypass energy shields but can be deflected by gravity. Ion packets are harmlessly stopped by energy shields; exposed systems suffer temporary shutdowns without damage. Select Volley, Disrupt or Breach on damaging weapons to match your objective.
    7. Control access. Doors can remain Open, operate Automatically or stay Locked. Locks stop your crew too. Personnel in either adjoining room can operate a door locally; a crew member at Command can operate doors remotely. Airlocks vent directly to space and require a separate order. Door controls leave the action running.
    8. Plot a course. Open the star chart with G. Select a destination to inspect fuel, supply and travel requirements. Under threat or during damage control, the drive needs 75 seconds at one engine power; more power and a skilled operator shorten preparation. In quiet space it stands ready. Escaping a fight leaves its wreckage and any salvage behind.
    9. Read local signals. Surveys, wrecks, transmissions and station exchanges appear under Local contacts. Contracts are optional: choose one response or decline. Consider the terms and consequences before answering. Once a site is exhausted, its stores are gone; station exchanges remain accessible while their stock lasts.
    10. Prepare for the next leg. Trade salvage for stores, equipment, repairs or a berth for a new specialist. Open Armament to fit up to four weapons or store spares while safe. Weapon power is shared across the mounted batteries. Station exchanges sell laser, projectile and ion weapons and accept trade-ins. Shipyards can rearrange compartments and fit additional power circuits. If stranded without reserves, request an emergency tender from the cargo manifest. Rescue takes time, salvage and a broadcast that may draw pursuit.

    Ship time runs at 8×: one real minute is eight ship minutes. Pause, open windows and closed tabs stop the clock. Travel, surveys, services and encounters add their stated hour costs to this same clock; these skips advance threats but do not simulate hours of unattended combat or damage. Hostile contact chance rises from 25% by one percentage point per 40 ship minutes, capped at 60%. Attention reveals pursuit at 14; its corridor then tightens on the same clock.

    Controls: Space to pause; G for the chart; H for exterior view. Open windows hold the action. Close them to return to your previous pause setting. New hostile contacts pause for orders. Save preserves your voyage; Run link gives you its return address. New run starts a separate voyage without replacing the current one.
    LIFE SIGNS DETECTED

    A place aboard.

    One survivor is alive in the wreckage. Bring them aboard if you have space.
    DEPARTURE MANIFEST

    Cleared for departure.

    Cargo secured. Review your stores and crew before taking command.

    SALVAGERecovered material
    SUPPLIESProvisions aboard
    FUELDrive reserves

    Manifest confirmed. All hands prepare for departure.

    Begin a separate run?

    Your current run stays saved at its own URL. A new run gets a new link and places you in command of another vessel. Available salvage, provisions and fuel vary with each departure. Occasionally, another crew member signs on before launch. Each ship has its own layout, with all essential systems aboard.

    Opening your run…

    Bookmark this URL to return to this run’s ship, crew and voyage stats. Anyone with the link can open and continue the run on this game server.

    This local server stores the save. A localhost link only works on the computer running it.