Gameplay
Each station contains three decks, or levels, though some of the early missions only make use of one or two decks. The engineering deck is the "main" deck where most of the station's facilities are built. It is also where visitors and trade ships enter or exit the station. The pleasure deck is mainly for recreation and is the economic centre of the station. This is where aliens go to spend most of their money, provided that there are shops to spend it in, and it is also important for maintaining happiness. The biodeck, which is similar to an artificial biosphere, has a terrestrial floor and a transparent dome. The player can adjust the environmental parameters of the deck, including terrain height, water level, moisture, and temperature. These parameters can be adjusted locally, such that a single biodeck segment can contain many different environments. The player can use the biodeck to grow and harvest plants that produce material goods. Plants can also be transplanted into pots and used as decoration elsewhere on the station.
As with most business simulation games, the player builds facilities and hires workers to operate them. Some rooms take care of basic necessities such as food, sanitation, and health care, while others provide entertainment or love. Visitors may be hired by the player to remain on the station and attend to its facilities. Otherwise, they will remain on the station until they run out of money or become unhappy. Visitors can also be forced off the station at the player's discretion, and criminals will be automatically escorted out by security bots if there is no available brig to hold them in. Unhappy employees may also quit and leave the station depending on their loyalty rating.
In addition to normal visitors, the station can also receive enemy agents. These agents can be disguised as a normal alien or appear as a shady human character sneaking around the station. In either case, the agent will attempt to plant a bomb somewhere on the station and may also attempt to murder other aliens on board. In addition, when caught, the agents will resist and shoot it out with your security forces, causing nearby aliens to panic and flee, disrupting the station's normal operation.
Each space station is subdivided into a number of segments into which the player may expand. These segments are initially isolated by bulkheads, which can be opened for a fee if the segment is vacant. If a rival station manager owns an adjacent segment, the player can take it over through force. Security droids are able to hack bulkhead controls, causing them to open for a short time. During this period, the player can attempt to capture the segment by hacking the new segment's bulkhead control, effectively sealing the segment within the player's territory. However, rivals may take the same takeover action against the player. It is enough to take over a rival's engineering deck to evict him or her. It is possible to achieve an instant eviction by destroying a rival's Energy Collector, but this is extremely difficult to achieve until that rival has been weakened.
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