Approximately Up Four-Player Co-op Guide

Approximately Up advertises co-op with a straight face and a hidden smile: “WHOSE FAULT WAS IT?!” Up to four players can share one sprawling ship, one fragile power bus, and one pilot who swears the altimeter lied. This guide assigns roles, sets communication habits, and teaches crews to crash together less often — without killing the humor that makes the game memorable.

Before you invite three friends

Confirm everyone installed the demo or full game from the same Steam app ID, can join the host, and agrees on voice chat (Steam overlay or Discord). English-only demo UI means callouts should use simple, shared vocabulary until localized builds ship — see Demo vs full release.

Host should pick a save with Planet Stations unlocked near your goal so rebuilds are fast. New crews start on Earth with tutorial objectives open — press O for the objective log and read tasks together before anyone enters fly mode.

Approximately Up co-op gameplay — wiring ships and first flights

Four recommended roles

Pilot (1 player)

Owns the 3D joystick, fly mode, and final call on landing. Pilot should have the best view of gyro line, altimeter, and velocity meter monitors — not buried behind decorative windows. Pilot does not wire mid-flight unless emergency.

Pilot phrases that help:

• “Arming in three — hands off structure.”
• “RCS green?”
• “Retro at five hundred meters.”

Lead engineer (1 player)

Owns power, data routing, thruster orientation, and RCS knob settings. Verifies atmospheric vs electric thrusters match the route on Planets map. Uses Thruster tier list as a checklist.

Engineer phrases:

• “Data line from joystick port two to router — done.”
• “Knob on yaw B thruster was wrong — fixed.”
• “We need another atmospheric cluster for Earth TWR.”

Run Thrust calculator before arguing about thrust.

Navigator (1 player)

Owns radar, mission waypoints, and station names. Calls distances and heading drift while pilot focuses on attitude. Especially valuable on Moon hops and cloudy worlds — see Sensors tier list.

Navigator phrases:

• “Station bearing left ten degrees.”
• “Cloud layer in thirty seconds — radar active.”
• “Objective cargo not loaded — abort launch.”

Loadmaster / floater (1 player)

Owns mission cargo, batteries, spare RCS blocks, and the pre-flight checklist. Floaters grab floating frame pieces, hold lights for night wiring, or swap into engineer if someone disconnects.

Loadmaster phrases:

• “Delivery crate mounted — mass added.”
• “Spare RCS in hold.”
• “Solar panels connected? I do not see power on router two.”

Wiring workflow for crews

1. Frame — anyone can place; one person leads symmetry.
2. Thrusters — engineer orients; pilot confirms forward direction visually.
3. RCS — engineer sets six knobs; pilot confirms controller lights.
4. Power — engineer connects batteries/solar; loadmaster verifies draw.
5. Instruments — navigator hooks radar; pilot verifies monitors.
6. Logic — optional; engineer documents override switches for co-op blame safety.

Do not skip RCS knob assignment — the game will not guess your ship orientation. Duplicate axis shows red on the controller at spawn.

Communication rules (serious and silly)

Serious rules:

• One person talks during final landing countdown.
• Say “clear prop” before deleting blocks near thrusters.
• Host pauses disputes on the ground, not in the air.

Silly rules (on-brand):

• Formal blame ceremony after each crash: “I accuse the navigator of vibes-based routing.”
• Award Most Likely to Mount Thruster Backward each session.
• Ban the phrase “it should fly” unless accompanied by TWR numbers.

The developers expect arguments — lean into comedy, then fix root cause like adults (or engineers).

Co-op ship layout tips

• Wide cockpit with two monitor lines — pilot plus navigator.
• External ladder paths so floaters do not walk through pilot view.
• Color-coded data routes if your crew uses consistent cable habits.
• Override switch near pilot seat to cut main thrusters — saves RCS life on bad approaches.
• Parking dampers on landing legs — small impacts add up in low gravity.

Avoid single-seat racers for four humans unless you enjoy inventory clipping and hurt feelings.

Session types

Session	Goal	Duration
Tutorial night	Earth objectives, first RCS	1–2 hours
Moon push	Electric vertical landing practice	2–3 hours
Delivery grind	Unlock parts for tier S builds	Repeatable
Chaos night	Contest rules (no frame blocks, speed runs)	Variable

Rotate roles each session so one friend is not permanent wiring slave.

When things go wrong

Common co-op failures and fixes:

• Double axis on RCS — engineer fixes knobs; pilot stops spooling until green.
• Atmospheric launch on vacuum route — rebuild at station with electric set; read planet guide.
• Forgot cargo — loadmaster gatekeeps fly mode until objective check passes.
• Pilot disorientation — navigator takes radar callouts; enable gyro line.
• Power brownout — engineer separates RCS and main thruster buses.

If everyone is yelling, land (or crash), mute joking for two minutes, and run checklist from Getting Started.

Video reference

Gameplay footage helps new crews see wiring density and first-flight UI. The embedded video shows early Next Fest demo exploration — useful for tone even if UI patches since.

Related pages

• Multiplayer hub — recruiting and overview
• Links — Discord for LFG
• Codes — no codes; co-op unlocks come from missions
• Updates — demo extensions and launch news

Four-player Approximately Up is part flight sim, part group project, part improv comedy. Assign roles, respect the checklist, and when the ship explodes anyway — vote on whose fault it was, then rebuild approximately better.