The Outer Empires Interface is simple but it takes some time getting used to. Across the top are all the icons in the game such as jobs, colony, market and your ships cargo. You will also find your current credits and the system you are currently in. The three colored icons indicate your fuel, power, and hull integrity. Below these status icons you will find the chat screen and on the right you will find the movement icons between planets in the current system. Clicking on a planet or station and selecting move will move your ship there. Once your ship gets to a system boundary you can select jump and use the map to move to a new system. This game is not EVE Online so don’t expect great graphics but they do the job for a browser game.
Once you have created a character in Outer Empires you will start with a basic ship in government controlled territory. You will need to get money to equip your ship with better parts or to buy a new one and the only way to do this is to take missions from space stations. These missions consist of either transporting, exploration or combat.
- Transport Mission - This misson will require you to move containers of cargo between space stations. You will need to buy your own fuel at a station so your ship has enough to make the jump. You also need to take a mission that won’t overload your cargo hold or you will have to take several trips to complete it. Once your cargo has been dropped off at the right space station you will receive your payment. If you terminate the job before its completed you will lose some money.
- Exploration Mission - In this mission you will visit a planet and take a scan of it before transporting that scan back to the station where you received the mission from. Make sure you have enough fuel or stop off at another station to refuel before completing the mission. All government systems and planets have stations that you can refuel at so you should be fine if your target is farther away than your fuel reserves.
- Combat - This mission involves eliminating an enemy vessel so you better have equipped your ship with some weaponry or your mission will be short. These missions are not recommended for new players who only have basic ships but you can try them if you have purchased weaponry.