Moon Traveler — How to Play

Getting Started

Run the game:

python play_tui.py

You'll be asked to choose:

Difficulty — Easy (~30 min), Medium (~1-2 hr), Hard (~3+ hr), or Brutal (~5+ hr)

If no AI model is found, the game offers to download one automatically. Choose between SmolLM2 1.7B (1.0 GB, low RAM), Qwen3.5 2B (1.3 GB, recommended), or Gemma 4 E2B (3.1 GB, best quality). You can also skip — the game works without it using pre-written dialogue.

New players see ARIA (your ship's AI) run a boot diagnostic before being dropped at the Crash Site. Follow the tutorial prompts — they walk you through the basics and point you toward key mechanics. Returning players can skip the tutorial.

Controls

Type commands at the prompt and press Enter. Tab autocomplete works for commands, locations, items, and creature names. A live status bar shows food, water, suit, battery, inventory, and ship progress. It updates in real-time during NPC conversations so you can see trust and vitals change as you talk.

Exploration

Command	Aliases	What it does
`look`	`l`	Describe your current location — items, creatures, resources
`scan`	—	Deploy drone to discover up to 3 nearby locations (costs 10% battery)
`gps`	`map`	Show all known locations with distances
`travel <location>`	`go`	Travel to a discovered location

Items & Inventory

Command	Aliases	What it does
`take <item>`	`get`, `pick`	Pick up an item at your location
`inventory`	`inv`, `i`	Show everything you're carrying
`upgrade <component>`	—	Install a drone upgrade from your inventory

Creatures & Dialogue

Command	Aliases	What it does
`talk <creature>`	`speak`	Start a conversation with a creature
`give <item> to <creature>`	—	Give an item to build trust
`trade`	—	Trade items with a Merchant creature
`escort`	—	Ask a creature (trust 50+) to travel with you
`escort dismiss`	—	Choose which follower to dismiss
`rest`	—	Rest 1 hour to recover food/water (+10%, +20% at Crash Site)

Ship & Status

Command	Aliases	What it does
`status`	—	Show food, water, suit, time elapsed, repair progress
`stats`	—	Show session gameplay statistics
`scores`	`leaderboard`	View local leaderboard (top 10 scores)
`name`	—	Set or show your name (creatures use it in conversation; shown on leaderboard)
`ship`	`repair`	Ship bays menu (or `ship <bay>` directly)
`ship repair`	—	Install repair materials into the ship
`ship storage`	—	Stash/retrieve items from ship storage
`ship kitchen`	—	Cook items into food or water
`ship charging`	—	Recharge drone battery or overcharge with Power Cell
`ship medical`	—	Repair suit or rest to recover
`drone`	—	Show drone stats, upgrades, battery

Game Management

Command	Aliases	What it does
`save [slot]`	—	Save your game (default: "manual")
`load [slot]`	—	Load a saved game
`help`	—	Show the command list
`quit`	`exit`	Exit the game

Conversations

When you talk to a creature, you enter the ARIA Communicator — a dialogue mode powered by a local AI model. Type normally to speak through the drone translator.

bye, /end, /quit — end the conversation
/? or /help — conversation help
/<command> — run a game command mid-conversation (e.g. /status, /inventory)
/give <item> to <creature> — hand over an item without leaving

During conversations

Your drone whispers private coaching tips the creature can't hear, adapted to their personality and trust level
Each exchange increases trust by +3 points
Creatures can give you things — what they offer depends on archetype and trust
Merchants trade — use /trade during conversation

If no AI model is loaded, creatures use pre-written dialogue that still responds to their personality.

Survival

Four meters track your condition. If food, water, or suit integrity reaches zero, you die.

Food

Starts at 100%, depletes 2% per hour of travel
Replenished at locations with food sources
Cook bio_gel in the Kitchen Bay (+40%)
Rest in Medical Bay (+20%, costs 1 hour)

Water

Starts at 100%, depletes 3% per hour of travel
Replenished at locations with water sources
Process ice_crystal in the Kitchen Bay (+40%)
Rest in Medical Bay (+20%, costs 1 hour)

Suit Integrity

Starts at 92% (damaged in crash), degrades 0.5% per hour
Repair in Medical Bay using drone battery (2% suit per 1% battery)
Healer creatures repair +25%, Healer companions +30% at Crash Site

ARIA fires warnings at 50%, 30%, 15%, and 5% thresholds.

The Drone

Your ARIA Scout Drone is your primary tool for exploring and communicating.

Stat	Starting Value
Scanner Range	10 km
Translation Quality	Low
Cargo Capacity	10 items
Speed Boost	0 km/h
Battery	100%

Battery

Scanning costs 10%, travel costs 0.5% per km
Recharges at the Crash Site (auto or via Charging Bay)
Use a Power Cell to permanently increase max capacity +10%
When depleted, the drone goes silent — no musings, advice, or translations

Upgrades

Find components in the world, then use upgrade <name> to install:

Upgrade	Effect
Range Module	+10 km scanner range
Translator Chip	Translation: low → medium → high
Cargo Rack	+5 cargo slots
Thruster Pack	+5 km/h travel speed
Battery Cell	+25% max battery

Creatures

Enceladus is inhabited by alien creatures. Each has a unique name, species, personality, and attitude toward you.

Archetypes

Every creature has one of ten archetypes that determine personality and what they provide:

Archetype	What They Provide	Trust Needed
Healer	Healing, suit repair, food, water	0 (heal), 10 (food)
Builder	Repair materials	35
Wise Elder	Materials, creature intel	50 / 35
Guardian	Repair materials	70
Hermit	Rare repair materials	80
Wanderer	Food, water, location reveals	25
Trickster	Materials, food, water	35
Warrior	Repair materials	50
Merchant	Trades items (never free)	20
Enforcer	Intel, ship repair advice	15 / 60

Every game guarantees at least one Merchant, one Builder, and one Healer.

Dispositions

Friendly (25 trust) — open and willing to talk
Neutral (10 trust) — cautious but approachable
Hostile (0 trust) — aggressive; may block you. Build trust through gifts first

Trust System

Trust ranges from 0 to 100:

Conversation: +3 per exchange
Giving gifts: +15 (friendly/neutral) or +10 (hostile)
Escorting to Crash Site: +10 bonus

Escorting Creatures

At trust 50+, use the escort command. Companions travel with you and help at the Crash Site: Healers restore vitals, Builders install materials, and any creature with materials donates them. Use escort dismiss to release followers.

Travel

Movement between locations takes time and consumes resources.

Base speed: 10 km/h (upgradeable with Thruster Pack)
Cost per hour: 2% food, 3% water, 0.5% suit integrity
Drone battery: 0.5% per km traveled

Hazards

During travel you may encounter:

Hazard	Effect
Geyser eruptions	Suit damage
Crevasse falls	Suit damage + food loss
Ice storms	Water loss + extra time
Thin ice collapse	Suit + water damage
Toxic vents	Suit damage
Thermal shocks	Suit + water damage

Late-Game Weather

After 30–60 hours (depending on game mode), weather deteriorates — hazard probability increases and water drains faster. This creates urgency to finish repairs.

Ship Repair — How to Win

Collect all required repair materials and escort creatures to the Crash Site. You cannot complete the final repairs alone.

Escort Requirement

Mode	Escorts Required
Easy	1 creature
Medium	2 creatures
Hard	3 creatures
Brutal	4 creatures

Use escort to ask a creature with trust 50+ to travel with you. Bring them to the Crash Site — they will help with repairs, donate materials, and provide support.

Materials by Game Mode

Mode	Materials Required
Easy	Ice Crystal, Metal Shard, Bio Gel
Medium	+ Circuit Board, Power Cell
Hard	+ Thermal Paste, Hull Patch, Antenna Array
Brutal	+ Power Cell ×2 (8 materials total)

Ship Bays

At the Crash Site, the ship command opens the bay menu:

Bay	Command	Purpose
Repair	`ship repair`	Install repair materials from inventory
Storage	`ship storage`	Stash/retrieve items (frees drone cargo)
Kitchen	`ship kitchen`	Cook bio_gel → food (+40%) or ice_crystal → water (+40%)
Charging	`ship charging`	Full battery recharge, or Power Cell for +10% permanent max
Medical	`ship medical`	Repair suit or rest (+20% food/water, costs 1 hour)

Once all materials are installed via the Repair Bay and escort requirements are met, you win. After the victory (or game over) sequence, a score screen shows your final stats, score (0–1000), letter grade (S through D), and an ARIA verdict. Scores are saved to a local leaderboard — type scores to view your top 10.

Game Modes

	Easy	Medium	Hard	Brutal
Locations	~8	~16	~30	~40
Creatures	5	12	20	25
Hostile	0	4	6	12
World Radius	~20 km	~40 km	~60 km	~80 km
Repair Materials	3	5	8	8
Resource Drain	1×	1×	1×	1.5×
Estimated Time	~30 min	~1–2 hr	~3+ hr	~5+ hr

Higher difficulties have more hostile creatures, scarcer resources, and require careful resource management. Brutal mode adds 1.5× resource drain.

Tips for New Players

Follow the tutorial. It walks you through the core mechanics.
Find a Healer early. They help at very low trust — they can save your life.
Creatures are your main resource. Repair materials come primarily from creatures, not the ground.
Talk to the Enforcer. They know everyone and can tell you who to visit.
Trade with Merchants. They never give for free, but fair trades get critical materials.
Scan at every new location. Each scan discovers up to 3 nearby locations.
Don't stay too long. Late-game weather gets worse.
Give gifts to hostile creatures. They won't talk below 15 trust — gifts break the ice.
Escort creatures to the ship. Builders install materials, Healers restore vitals.
Use GPS to plan routes. Shorter trips use less food, water, and battery.
Upgrade the translator early. Better translation means more productive conversations.
Read the drone's whispers. It gives context-aware advice about each creature.