Quickstart
How do I start playing Old Light?
When the map loads you already own one star system. Open the structures panel, pick a level-1 structure, and queue an upgrade. The job runs in real time even with the tab closed. Builds take minutes to hours, so there's no need to babysit them.
Old Light is one long game. Your account starts at a single system and grows from there, in real time, indefinitely. The early hours are about settling into a rhythm.
The first thing you'll do
When the map loads you'll be looking at a single star system you already own. Everything you do at first happens inside this one system.
Open the structures panel. Your five core structures (Command Center, both extractors, Reactor, Resource Depot) are already at level 1. The Trade Hub sits at level 0 ready to build, and the Shipyard unlocks later.
Pick a structure to upgrade. The job lands in the build queue and runs in real time, even when you close the tab.
There's no rush. Builds take minutes to hours; you don't have to babysit them.
Pace the early economy
The single thing that matters most early is balanced income. Two rules of thumb:
Keep both extractors at the same level. Almost every upgrade costs both palladium and iridium, so one ahead of the other just means the other becomes the bottleneck.
Watch your Resource Depot. Extractors fill it while you're offline. A small depot fills up partway through the night and then your income stalls. Keep the depot a step ahead.
If you don't know what to build, alternate: extractor, extractor, depot, then a Reactor upgrade. Repeat.
Don't let energy bite you
Every structure draws on your system's Energy budget. Push the energy load past your Reactor and the whole system enters a deficit and every build slows down, every extractor produces less and new upgrades go slower.
The cleanest habit: every time you upgrade something that uses energy, make sure the Reactor is at least matching the load. If it isn't, queue a Reactor upgrade first.
Look around
The galaxy is full of other empires, human and computer-controlled. They show up across the map as coloured dots. You can see every empire's systems and score, anywhere. Click one to inspect its score, and once you have a Shipyard, send a small batch of Probes when you want to know what they've actually built. A single Probe gets shot down by any half-defended system, so send a flight of them on every scouting run.
What to read next
Active System - how the management UI focuses on one system at a time.
Economy & Resources - the long version of the resource picture.
Energy - the full deficit story.
Structures - every structure summarised, with strategy notes.
Controls - mouse, touch, and keyboard shortcuts for moving around.
Don't panic.
Common questions
What should I build first as a beginner?
Keep both extractors at the same level, since most upgrades cost both palladium and iridium. A safe opening loop: raise both extractors, upgrade the Resource Depot when storage fills, then push the Reactor before energy runs short, and repeat.
Why do my builds and extractors slow down?
Every structure draws on your system's energy budget. Push the load past your Reactor and the system enters deficit: builds slow, extractors produce less, and upgrades take longer. Match the Reactor to the load before adding energy-hungry structures.
Can I see other empires on the map?
Yes. Every empire's systems and score are visible anywhere on the map, shown as coloured dots. Click one to inspect its score. To learn what a rival has actually built, send a flight of probes once you have a Shipyard.
