Hull Rupture Modes and Ships: Choose the Right Kind of Run

Which mode should a new player begin with?

The launch FAQ says you begin with one ship and Classic Mode. The Classic objective is to survive 20 alien waves while keeping Despot alive. If aliens reduce Despot to 0 HP, the run ends.

That gives you a concrete first goal without requiring a particular unlock or a build copied from an old demo. Use alien routes and turrets to connect the defensive objective with the economy supporting it.

What is different about Classic, Trade and Endless?

Mode	Verified distinction
Classic	The starting mode, with 20 waves to survive
Trade	Official demo documentation describes a combat-free economic mode; an existing demo unlock carries into the release
Endless	Separate from Classic in the full game; it does not start automatically after a Classic win

For a returning player, the last row is an important correction. A Classic run ending does not by itself mean the game failed to continue correctly. Choose your next run with the release’s separate mode structure in mind.

If you unlocked Trade in the demo but do not see it in the full game, the returning-player guide distinguishes a promised carryover exception from artifacts that intentionally reset.

What are the other mode names?

The current official Steam achievement descriptions name Conquest, Sprint and Impossible, alongside Classic, Trade and Endless. Those names corroborate the advertised six-mode scope. They do not provide a complete rules manual for every mode.

This guide does not invent enemy schedules, starting resources or unlock thresholds for those modes. Read the mode description in the current game when it becomes available. The developer’s general statement is that more modes and ships unlock through progression.

Which ships are verified?

Steam’s current achievement conditions name Hephaestus, Hermes and Proteus. The store advertises three starting ships, while the management and exploration logs explain that hulls can support different priorities, including a low-mass, faster-travel approach.

The conditions give you useful targets, but they are not a complete unlock guide:

• Conveyor requires beating Classic with Hephaestus on any difficulty.
• Steam also lists achievements for wins with Hermes and Proteus, with their own conditions and spoiler status.
• An internal achievement identifier containing “Unlock” is not sufficient evidence for publishing a ship-unlock method.

Use the achievement planner to inspect the official wording and optional spoilers. This site does not claim that earning an achievement automatically unlocks the similarly named ship.

How should your goal affect difficulty selection?

Choose the goal before committing to a long run. Some conditions allow any difficulty; others specify Hard, Hardcore or a combat mode above Easy. A completion on one setting is not evidence that every related achievement will trigger.

The achievement conditions guide explains single-run, cumulative and difficulty restrictions. It also separates a stated requirement from unverified cross-difficulty stacking.

Once your goal is clear, use galaxy route planning to decide how much economy to invest in reaching events, and Hull Construction to compare permanent space decisions.

Which primary sources define this scope?

• Launch FAQ: starting content, Classic objective, progression and separate Endless.
• Current official Steam achievement descriptions.
• Official demo introduction: Trade’s economic focus.
• Current full-game store.

Checked November 5, 2026. Exact all-mode unlock paths and individual ship statistics remain unverified.