Overview[]
The Icarus is the player character in Dyson Sphere program. Icarus is upgradeable by doing research using either Matrix Labs or its own built in research unit with resources in its inventory.
Inventory[]
your inventory begins with only four lines of 10 items. Each slot can stack to a different amount depending on the item. Some items like Hydrogen only stack to 20, whereas other items like Plant Fuel stack to 500. The storage amount of the mech is upgradeable through researching Inventory Capacity in the upgrades tab up to 10 lines of inventory.
In addition, by researching Distribution Logistics System, additional Logistics Capacity will be added. By adding items to these slots, and configuring them, they can be used in combination with Logistics Distributors to ensure Icarus has a specified number of specific items in inventory. Minimum and maximum numbers can be set on each Logistics Capacity slot. The slots themselves can also carry items, but they are not stored as standard inventory. When trying to place a Blueprint, for example, items in the Logistics slots are not counted as items that can be placed.
Energy and Power[]
Icarus has a built Mecha Core (energy storage) and Energy Circuit (Energy Generation). Additionally, Icarus has a "Core Power Gen" of a fixed 80KW.
| Level | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6+ |
| Mecha Core Capacity | 100MJ | 140MJ | 380MJ | 780MJ | 1.58GJ | 3.16GJ | (3.16+LV*2.4)GJ |
| Mecha Fuel Power | 0.8MW | 1MW | 1.2MW | 1.4MW | 1.6MW | 2.4MW | (2.4+LV*1)MW |
| Note that LV is the level of the upgrade minus 5. | |||||||
Construction Drones[]
The Icarus has several construction drones. Initially the Icarus has 3 drones that travel at 6.0m/s and can perform one task, but their quantity, task amount, and speed can be upgraded by researching Communication Control and Drone Engine, respectively, in the upgrade tab of the technology tree.
Movement[]
The Icarus has a base movement speed of 6m/s while walking. Drive Engine (Lv1) unlocks the ability to Fly, which you enter by double-jumping and controls similarly to walking. Drive Engine (Lv2) gives the ability to Sail, which controls very differently, giving you access to other planets, and (theoretically) other star systems, although it requires hours to travel to the closest. Drive Engine (Lv3) doubles the max speed of sailing to 2000 m/s. Drive Engine (Lv4) unlocks the ability to use Space Warpers, which are critical for effective interstellar flight. Further upgrading the Drive Engine increases the warp speed.
Getting off the Planet[]
The transition from Fly Mode to cruise Mode is tricky, because of how the controls change. In Walk and Fly Modes, WASD move relative to the camera, Spacebar goes up, and Alt goes down (with default keybinds). However, in Sail Mode, W reorients your velocity to be towards the camera direction (the small square reticle), and also increases speed up to 100 m/s if it has dropped below that. S slows you down. Spacebar, A, D, and Alt also reorient your velocity, but in a direction that's slightly to one side - Spacebar is up, Alt is down, etc. They also don't add speed if you're under 100 m/s. Shift is used to speed up, but it is very expensive - it costs around 500 kJ/(m/s), meaning climbing to the max speed of 1000 m/s from the base of 100 m/s costs around 450 MJ.
Because sailing is so expensive, you want to minimize the times you have to thrust, which means escaping from orbit rapidly. To do this, point the camera as far towards the sky as possible and ascend using Spacebar. Once you gain height, press W as well and use the mouse to point directly away from the planet. Transitioning to Sailing Mode requires 12.5 m/s of speed as well as being 50 m off the ground - once this requirement is met, holding W will recenter your velocity away from the planet and keep your speed at 100 m/s. You can stop pressing space once you've switched to Sailing, but keep holding W and facing away until you've gained 700-1000 m of altitude. At this point, you can look around for your destination and proceed.
A good launch can take as little as 60 MJ, leaving the rest of your fuel budget to devote to how fast you want to go.
Replicator[]
The Icarus has a built in Replicator that allows the Icarus to craft Components and Buildings. The Replicator is essential to the very early game, serving as the only crafting machinery to start. Certain resources cannot be replicated and have to be produced in machines, this includes any recipes usable in the Oil Refinery, Chemical Plant, Fractionator, and the Miniature Particle Collider.