Genesis Alpha One: Tips for Getting Started

Genesis Alpha One is a whole lot.

Radiation Blue’s new space survival sim can be overwhelming in its opening hours. It introduces a ship-building interface, first-person shooting, cloning, gardening, and lots of other features. But, if you can get to a point where you understand how all the systems work, it’s a pretty cool game.

Here are some tips for getting started.

There is an End Goal, Actually

Genesis Alpha One establishes its story in the opening cinematic. You are a clone commanding a ship full of clones traversing the vastness of space. Why? You are attempting to find a planet with a livable atmosphere where your clones can start a new clone civilization. This theoretical planet is called “Alpha One.”

However, in-game, Radiation Blue takes a long time to show how this goal is actually achieved. The first five hours with the game may feel a little empty as a result. If you stick with it, eventually a green sphere will show up on your radar. You will be informed that it is an “Alpha One Candidate.” It will be labeled with a crew requirement, like “Oxygen 20.”

From there, your primary goal should be adjusting the stats for your crew of clones to meet requirement, cloning only species that can survive in that environment. You’ll also need to keep building Crew Quarters to house your new crew members and cultivating plants in Greenhouses to provide a sufficient bioshpere.

Length, Not Width

I have a saying that I keep in mind each time I start a new run in Genesis Alpha One. It rhymes, and it goes like this, “Build wide? Whoops, you died.”

Your Genesis Alpha One ship should be a space needle sliding through the blackness, nimbly avoiding danger. A wide ship is bad for a couple reasons:

1. It’s more likely to get hit by asteroids.
2. It’s much more difficult to guard it from aliens. A narrow ship allows you to funnel all would be invaders down one path, a path which you can guard with turrets and energy barriers.

Set Up Turrets and Energy Barriers at Entry Points

Early on in Genesis Alpha One, you’ll discover—probably the hard way—that aliens can invade your ship. As each new invader boards, a computer voice will sound off: “Life form detected.”

These hostile forces can get inside in a few different ways, but there are two ways in which they’ll break in most frequently. The Tractor Beam, which you’ll want to have running pretty much non-stop to collect materials from space debris, will often be breached following a beam up. If you place one turret on the main deck and one below deck, you can prevent these creatures from spreading and, later, overtaking your ship. As you gain more materials, you’ll want to add more turrets and barriers.

If you send clones off on planetside expeditions by themselves, they’ll typically come back with angry, tentacled stowaways. To combat this, you’ll either need to go on every expedition with them or set up a turret or two in the hangar. To build all these turrets, you’ll need a certain material, which brings us to our next tip.

Collect as Much Sulfur, Iron and Lithium as Possible

Occasionally—like if you need to build a greenhouse— you’ll need copper. In the late-game, you’ll probably need to find some platinum. To bolster the biosphere, you’ll need to hit up planets with herbs you can bring back. But, for the most part, you’ll need a heaving stockpile of sulfur, iron and lithium.

You’ll feel the need for iron most acutely early on. In order to construct most of the expansions necessary to keep life afloat on your ship, you’ll need iron. However, if you keep mining and beaming, you’ll soon be flush with the stuff. So, you’ll primarily need to seek out sulfur and lithium, the compounds you’ll need to build turrets and energy barriers, respectively.

There’s an easy way to find these compounds. On the bridge of the ship, there’s a computer to the right of the captain’s chair that you can interface with to scan the surrounding planets. This may take a few minutes, so go up to the computer, hold down L2, and check your IRL phone. After the scanning is complete, you’ll be able to see the exact quantities of compounds contained at each shipwreck and planet. From there, focus on collecting what you need and ignoring what you don’t.

Build Reactors

Early on, you may be confused as to why whole sections of your ship are shutting down and crumbling into space dust. There’s a simple answer: they need, and aren’t getting, energy. The simple solution is to build reactors as you expand your ship. For every few rooms you add on, it’s a safe bet to add a reactor to power them.

Stay Safe Out There

Space is a dangerous place. When you see a game over screen, no one can hear you scream. Knowing what you’re getting into can give you a major leg up over your fellow space cadets.

Stay frosty.