Space Lander Tips: Land Softly & Save Fuel
Space Lander is calm but unforgiving. You control only the main engine and rotation, fuel is shared across every planet, and a hard or tilted touchdown destroys the ship. You have three ships per run. Score comes from soft, central landings on small pads, plus leftover fuel. These tips help you land more often and score more on every landing.
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Burn in short bursts
Holding the engine wastes fuel fast. Short bursts slow your fall almost as well and keep the tank fuller. Let the craft fall freely while it is high up, then use a series of short burns to slow down as you get closer. Fuel carries over between planets, so every bit saved helps later. Keep an eye on the fuel bar at the top of the screen and plan around it.
Kill sideways speed early
Rotate to push against your sideways drift while you are still high, then straighten up. Once you are above the pad with almost no sideways speed, drop straight down with gentle burns. Trying to slide sideways near the ground is the most common way to crash, because tilting the craft also points the legs away from the pad.
Touch down gently and upright
Land with both legs on a flat pad, upright, with low vertical and sideways speed. Watch the speed readouts: they turn red when a value is too high. Slow to a near hover just above the pad, then let the craft settle. A centred, soft landing scores much more than one at the edge. Upright means level: rotate back to straight before the legs touch.
Choose the right pad
Smaller pads have higher multipliers, but they leave less room for error. Pick a pad you can reach without long sideways flights, because travelling costs fuel. When fuel is low, choose the nearest safe pad instead of the best multiplier, since a crash costs a whole ship. Losing a ship costs far more than settling for a smaller multiplier.
Plan for later planets
Each landing tops up your fuel a little, but gravity gets stronger and later worlds add crosswinds. Leftover fuel also adds to your landing score, so careful flying pays twice. On windy planets, lean slightly into the wind and expect to drift during the descent. Every planet's terrain is new, so look around before you start descending.
Questions
- How much fuel do I get back after landing?
- Each successful landing adds a fuel top-up for the next planet, but never above a full tank.
- What happens to my fuel after a crash?
- You lose a ship, but the next planet starts with at least a reasonable amount of fuel so you can keep going.
- How is a landing scored?
- A base score is boosted by how soft and how central your landing was, then multiplied by the pad's value, and your leftover fuel is added.
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