Loading...
Ship Building - Version 7 vs Version 8
Aug 18, 2026, 03:23 AM
Re-pointed images to screenshots that actually depict this page's subject and rewrote every alt text to describe what the screenshot shows
Oct 18, 2026, 05:45 PM
Corrected the Combat role row to planned, dated the fleet cap negative, and added the October 2026 flight model and ship editor changes
11Designing and building your own ships is a central feature of SpaceCraft. You build ships by assembling crafted parts into custom vessels suited to your playstyle.2233Assembling From Parts4455Ships are constructed from the parts you craft. Whether you are building small, nimble vessels or heavy transport cruisers, each added component impacts their performance. Because every part matters, ship building is as much about choosing the right components as it is about the overall shape of the vessel.667788Ships for Different Roles991010You can customize every aspect of your vessel to suit how you want to play. Common directions include:111112-DirectionEmphasisExplorationReaching and surveying distant systems and forgotten worlds.Trade and transportHauling cargo, from small loads to heavy transport cruisers.CombatFitting a ship to fight, one of the activities that shapes the shared world.MiningExtracting raw materials efficiently from planets and asteroids.12+DirectionEmphasisExplorationReaching and surveying distant systems and forgotten worlds.Trade and transportHauling cargo, from small loads to heavy transport cruisers.CombatPlanned for later in Early Access. Combat modules and ship systems are on the roadmap, but none exist in the build as of October 2026.MiningExtracting raw materials efficiently from planets and asteroids.1313Build It Yourself or Use a Blueprint14141515You can design and build a ship part by part, or take a shortcut. You can buy Blueprints from other players for ready-made designs that you can build instantly, and once you have perfected your own ship, you can sell its blueprint so others can build and pilot your creation. See Blueprints for how the design economy works.161617171818Parts Come From Crafting19192020The parts you assemble come from the crafting system, which in turn depends on the raw materials you mine. So a strong shipyard is backed by a steady supply of resources and refined materials. See Crafting and Mining and Resources.21212222The Ship Editor23232424You modify ships at a station’s Shipyard, which is a single-player instance. Ships can only be edited while docked at the station you are at, not remotely. The ship editor has three tabs:25252626TabWhat It DoesToolsManage installed modules and tools.AssemblyModify the ship’s structure by adding, moving, or removing blocks, engines, wings, or the cockpit.CustomizationPersonalize colors, decals, and eventually full skins.2727The Assembly and Customization tabs are unlocked later through permit progression. See Progression: Permits and Experience.28282929How Parts Affect a Ship30303131The developer compares Assembly to setting a character’s attributes in a classic RPG: structure determines health, speed, and module capacity. Tools are closer to equipping gear, adding active skills or passive bonuses such as improved heat resistance, larger cargo holds, or better energy generation. Two ship stats govern modules: System Support is the ship’s built-in capacity to handle modules, and System Requirement is the total load from installed modules. As long as requirement stays below support the ship runs at full efficiency; exceed it and modules work less effectively or malfunction.32323333Starter Ship and Fleet Limit343435-The starting ship, the Scrappy Pioneer, comes fitted with a Crude Resource Detector, a Crude Mining Laser, two Small Solar Panels, two Headlights, and a Crude Battery, all of which can be upgraded. You can own more than one ship, and the cap expands as you progress. In the pre-Early-Access tutorial build the starting cap was two, with a stated long-term goal of fleets of around ten vessels. No cap for the live build has been published. You only ever pilot one ship at a time. Its battery recharges in direct sunlight via solar panels, and a separate Mag-Plasma (Magnetic-Plasma) reserve fuels Faster-Than-Light jumps. See Exploration and FTL Travel.35+The starting ship, the Scrappy Pioneer, comes fitted with a Crude Resource Detector, a Crude Mining Laser, two Small Solar Panels, two Headlights, and a Crude Battery, all of which can be upgraded. You can own more than one ship, and the cap expands as you progress. In the pre-Early-Access tutorial build the starting cap was two, with a stated long-term goal of fleets of around ten vessels. As of October 2026, no cap for the live build has been published. You only ever pilot one ship at a time. Its battery recharges in direct sunlight via solar panels, and a separate Mag-Plasma (Magnetic-Plasma) reserve fuels Faster-Than-Light jumps. See Exploration and FTL Travel.36+37+Flight Model Changes in October 202638+39+Major Update #1 on October 8, 2026 reworked how ship speed is calculated, so adding thrusters now trades handling for top speed.40+41+ChangeDetailThrusters and speedShips reach higher speeds with more thrusters, but become less manoeuvrable and take longer to accelerate and decelerate.BoostEnhanced. The new LR Speedster module improves it further.Orbit speedModerately reduced on October 13, 2026 to improve manoeuvrability; boost speed is unchanged.New thrustersThe Silent Thruster balances speed and handling; the Long Haul Thruster is the fastest yet, at the cost of manoeuvrability. See Ship Modules and Tools.Titanium hull partsParts of size 3x1 and 3x2 upgraded; an October 9 hotfix fixed Titanium hull integrity.Ship EditorFlipped pieces now snap, flickering ship decals were fixed, and more ship speed information appears across various screens.RepairsAn October 13 patch fixed damaged, unfinished ships that stayed docked and could not be edited or repaired.LightsShip lights stay on when a ship is landed on the dark side of a planet.