Approximately Up Build Your First Ship

Your first ship in Approximately Up does not need to look like a NASA poster — it needs to lift off, respond to inputs, and survive long enough for you to learn. This guide builds a minimal viable flyer on Earth using frames, a power router, batteries, electric lifting thrusters, and a joystick or throttle. Once this works, add RCS thrusters for rotation and hover logic for hands-free altitude hold.

Review Getting Started for G (garage) and R (fly mode), and keep the Controls page open while you wire.

Step 1: Lay a rigid frame

Start with frame blocks on flat ground near headquarters. A simple rectangular footprint (roughly 3×3 or 4×4) gives you mounting points for thrusters and a seat. Avoid tall narrow towers early — high centers of mass tip over during takeoff.

Add a small gate or cargo bay opening if you plan package missions later; standard lost-shipment crates fit 1.2×1.2×1.2 meters. The Missions Walkthrough explains why that dimension matters.

Use Ctrl+G box-select in garage mode to move the whole frame if you misaligned it. Press H for debug info if parts refuse to connect.

Video guide

Step 2: Power generation and routing

Every powered component needs a path from a battery through a power router. Place at least one battery (or generator if unlocked) and connect it to a power router input. Branch power outputs to:

• Lifting thrusters
• RCS controller (small draw, but required later)
• Cockpit instruments you add over time

The Power and Data Routing guide covers common mistakes: thrusters on data ports, routers overloaded without branching, and mixed power/data cable confusion. Rule of thumb — thick power cables for electricity, data cables for signals.

Step 3: Mount lifting thrusters

Attach electric thrusters pointing downward for Earth takeoff. Four corners give balanced lift; more thrusters share load and improve redundancy. Connect each thruster’s power port to the router.

For control, run a data cable from a 2D joystick or vertical lever/throttle to the thruster data input. Approximately Up auto-maps familiar pairings — throttle to thruster often works with a single data link. Test in garage mode with debug meters if thrust does not respond.

Check total thrust against mass using the Thrust Calculator. Under-thrusted ships hover at max lever and still sink; over-thrusted ships bounce on the pad.

Step 4: Cockpit and seat

Place a seat where you can reach joysticks and switches. After entering fly mode (R), click the throttle or joystick to focus it, then use WASD or mouse input. Mouse 3 resets stuck controls — use it before every panic rebuild.

Optional but recommended: a switch on a small data branch to cut main thrust quickly during bad landings.

Step 5: Add rotation before long flights

This first-ship template flies vertically but may not rotate well. Before the Moon, install six RCS thrusters and one RCS controller per the RCS Thrusters Setup guide. The RCS controller connects wirelessly to thrusters; you only wire power to the controller and data from a 3D joystick.

Set each thruster knob to pitch A/B, yaw A/B, or roll A/B so every axis has two opposing jets.

Step 6: Test flight checklist

1. Garage mode (G) — verify all power links glow or show connected in debug
2. Hold R — listen for loose parts falling; remount with garage tools
3. Throttle up slowly — ship should rise evenly
4. Cut thrust — ship should descend controllably
5. End flight (R) — fix wiring, not frame, if thrust was uneven

First flights end in crashes. That is expected. Change one variable per rebuild: thruster count, router branch, or joystick placement.

Upgrades after your first success

Upgrade	Why
Hover logic circuit	Hands-free altitude — see Hover Logic
Atmospheric thrusters	Needed for Moon approach — Moon Landing
Radar + inclinometer	Navigation and orientation for transfers
Cargo power tap	Ice cream freezer missions need continuous power

Compare parts in the Tier List before grinding duplicates.

Co-op building tips

With four-player co-op, assign roles: frame builder, wiring specialist, test pilot, cargo runner. See Co-op Guide. One player stays in garage (G) while another test-flies (R) to shorten iteration time.

Related guides

• Getting Started — Earth tutorial flow
• Power and Data Routing — fix wiring before rebuilding frames
• RCS Thrusters Setup — rotation after vertical lift works
• Planets Map — plan Earth-to-Moon when ready

Your first ship teaches the grammar of Approximately Up: frame, power router, thruster, data link, test flight. Master that sentence and every later design — Moon landers, cargo haulers, logic-heavy hover platforms — uses the same words in different order.