Approximately Up Guides

Welcome to the Approximately Up guides hub. This Steam space sim lets you bolt together modular ships, wire logic circuits, and fly to the Moon with up to four friends in online co-op. The demo is live now, with the full release planned for August 2026. Whether you are launching from Earth for the first time or chasing package missions across multiple worlds, these guides walk you through the systems that matter most.

Start here if you are new

If you have never opened the garage or held R to enter fly mode, begin with the Getting Started guide. It covers the Earth tutorial loop, switching between garage edit mode (G) and flight (R), and the first objectives that teach you how parts connect. Pair it with the Controls reference so you are not guessing which key clones a block versus which key toggles fly mode.

Building and wiring your ship

Ship construction is the heart of Approximately Up. The Build Your First Ship walkthrough explains frames, power routers, lifting thrusters, and joysticks — the minimum viable stack for leaving the pad. Once you can lift off, rotation becomes the next bottleneck. Read RCS Thrusters Setup to learn why you need six maneuvering thrusters (two per axis), how the wireless RCS controller pairs with them, and how to assign pitch, yaw, and roll on each thruster knob.

Power and data are easy to get wrong on your first dozen rebuilds. The Power and Data Routing guide covers cables, routers, branch mistakes, and the wiring patterns that keep thrusters, joysticks, and logic blocks talking to each other. If your ship spins uncontrollably or thrusters never fire, check routing before you rebuild the whole frame.

Flight, landing, and automation

Leaving Earth is only half the job. The Moon Landing Guide explains transfer burns, radar handoff, and a critical demo fact: the Moon has an atmosphere. That changes which thrusters you need — electric thrusters for vacuum segments and atmospheric thrusters when you are low and slow over the surface.

For stable hover without babysitting levers, see Hover Logic Circuits. That tutorial builds a PD controller from a velocity meter, accumulator, remapper, and multiplier so your ship holds altitude automatically. It pairs well with the Thrust Calculator when you are tuning hover thrust against total mass.

Missions and progression

Objectives unlock parts, cash, and new destinations. The Missions Walkthrough covers ice cream delivery to Moonstep, lost package retrieval, and how package dimensions affect cargo bay design. Missions are color-coded by difficulty — tackle green tutorials before orange runs like the freezer run.

Related wiki sections

• Tier List — ranking thrusters, batteries, and logic parts by usefulness in early and mid demo progression.
• Planets Map — overview of Earth, the Moon, Oldara, and worlds coming in the full release.
• Fred’s Star finale — last demo mission before August 2026 launch.
• Co-op Guide — splitting garage work, pilot roles, and four-player online tips.

Recommended learning order

1. Getting Started and Controls
2. Build Your First Ship and Power and Data Routing
3. RCS Thrusters Setup and Hover Logic
4. Moon Landing Guide and Missions Walkthrough
5. Radar and Navigation and Time Rewind before Fred’s Star finale

Rebuilds are part of the game — expect to crash, laugh, and refine. Bookmark the guide you need before each flight; small wiring fixes often beat full redesigns.