RimWorld Odyssey Orbit Explained
Written by Alec Blackwood
In RimWorld Odyssey, your gravship can travel to orbital sites, but it cannot hover freely in deep space. There’s no way to stay in pure orbit forever. Instead, you must land at preset orbital locations like derelict stations or asteroid bases.
How Orbit Works in RimWorld Odyssey
Orbit is not a floating void you idle in. When you “go to orbit,” you’re selecting a map tile that represents an orbital structure. These can include:
Derelict orbital stations
Asteroid belts
Abandoned ships or ruins
Special quest POIs that exist in space
You access these by zooming out on the world map. Click the “View Orbit” button in the bottom-left corner, or scroll out until orbital POIs appear. From there, you can launch your gravship to one of these tiles if it’s in range.
What You Can Do in Orbit
You can land on orbital maps to:
Salvage ancient stations
Mine asteroids for vacstone
Complete quests or loot rare tech
Build sealed bases using gravship walls
You must always land somewhere…There’s no option to float indefinitely in open space. Once you leave a tile without a Gravity Anchor, it’s destroyed and cannot be revisited.
Space Is a Vacuum
Orbital maps are full vacuum zones. This affects survival in several ways:
No oxygen unless you build sealed rooms with Oxygen Pumps
No heat loss, so you must use Radiators to avoid overheating
No crops, unless terraforming or using hydroponics
No outside work, unless pawns wear Vacsuits with sealed helmets
You unlock Vacsuits, Oxygen Pumps, and Vac Barriers by researching Orbital Tech. These tools let you survive in space without dying the moment you step out of the ship.
Can You Build a Floating Space Station?
Not exactly. You can’t build one from scratch in orbit. But you can take over an orbital ruin or asteroid base and rebuild it into a custom station using gravship structures.
That includes:
Installing walls, floors, pumps, and suits
Expanding sealed rooms with vac barriers
Using a Gravity Anchor to keep the site persistent
It’s possible to live long-term in space, but it’s still tied to a map tile. You're not idling between stars like in FTL. There's no ship-to-ship combat, and you can't visit other planets.
How Odyssey Differs from SOS2
Odyssey is more controlled and balanced. You can’t:
Build infinite-size ships
Hover in open space
Dock or merge ships
Visit other planets
Fight in space battles
The mod Save Our Ship 2 allowed all of that, but also came with bugs, performance issues, and unfinished mechanics. Odyssey simplifies the space system while still letting you explore and survive.
Final Blurb
Orbit in RimWorld Odyssey isn’t free-floating space. It’s made of actual map tiles you can land on and build in. If you want to live in orbit, you’ll need oxygen, anchors, sealed rooms, and real planning. It’s not infinite space, but it is survivable.
FAQ
Q: Can you hover in orbit forever in RimWorld Odyssey?
No, you must land on a map tile. There’s no free-floating idle orbit.
Q: How do you get to orbit?
Zoom out on the world map and use the “View Orbit” button.
Q: What kind of maps are in orbit?
Derelict stations, asteroid belts, and orbital ruins.
Q: Can I build a base in orbit?
Yes, but only by landing on an orbital tile and building there.
Q: What tech do I need to survive in orbit?
You’ll need Orbital Tech for vacsuits, barriers, and oxygen pumps.
Q: Does it delete the tile when I leave?
Yes, unless you build a Gravity Anchor first.
Q: Can I use crops or soil in orbit?
No, unless terraformed or grown in hydroponics.
Q: Can I fight ship-to-ship like in SOS2?
No. Odyssey does not include space combat or multi-ship support.
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