Trail guide · Free desktop beta
Your first afternoon
at Outpost.
A short guide to getting into your world, finding your tools and making something worth coming back to.
01 · Getting started
Get ready.
Then find a clearing.
A parent makes the nicknames.
Start with family setup. A parent creates each player’s nickname and password, chooses a math practice level and decides whether building time is required. Keep the parent account for the grown-up; players use their own nicknames.
Sign in to your world.
Open player sign in on a desktop or laptop. Use the nickname and password your parent gave you. Each nickname has one private world.
Bank some building time.
Select the Math button in the game. Each correct exercise earns one minute. A mistake keeps the same problem and your working so you can try again. Practice and menus pause the building timer. When you have time banked, choose Back to game.
Make a small first build.
Walk around, pick a spot, and open Inventory. Try placing a foundation and a wall, then add a door. The Survey Shelter quest gives you another goal when you want one.
02 · Keep this handy
The desktop controls.
You can also use the Inventory, Menu and cabin-tool buttons on screen.
| To do this | Use this | Field note |
|---|---|---|
| Walk | WASD | W forward, S back, A left, D right. |
| Look around | MouseArrow keys | Click the world, then move the mouse. If mouse capture is unavailable, drag in the world or use the arrow keys. |
| Jump | Space | Jump onto a higher block. |
| Sprint | Shift | Hold while walking. |
| Remove | Left clickQ | Aim at the block or building part you want to remove. |
| Place | Right clickE | Place the material or part from your selected quick slot. |
| Choose a quick slot | 1–9Mouse wheel | Switch between the materials and parts you have equipped. |
| Open inventory | I | Choose a quick slot, then select its block or cabin part. |
| Rotate a cabin part | R | Turn the selected part before placing it. |
| Change snapping | C | Switch cabin parts between a whole-block and quarter-block grid. |
| Use a door | F | Look at a fitted door to open or close it. |
| Open menu | Escape | Or select Menu on screen. You can return to the surface, export a world and adjust settings here. |
03 · Your tools
Blocks for the ground.
Parts for the details.
Choose what goes in your hand.
Press I or select Inventory. Choose one of the nine quick slots at the top, then select a material or cabin part. Use the search or the Structure, Roofs and Furniture filters to find what you need. Ready-to-build materials are available in unlimited quantities; locked rewards tell you how to unlock them.
Aim, check, place.
Return to the world, select that quick slot, and aim where you want to build. For cabin parts, use R to rotate, C to change the grid, and the Construction finish menu to choose an available finish. Right-click or press E to place the piece.
Change your mind.
Aim at a block or part and left-click or press Q to remove it. If you dig yourself into a hole, open Menu and choose Return to surface. That brings you back up without erasing your building work.
04 · Keep what you make
Leave a trail
you can return to.
Check the cloud-save status.
Your nickname owns your world and progress. Before leaving, check the player menu for Saved to cloud. Use that same nickname on another computer to continue. Play on one device at a time so two sessions do not compete over the same save.
Keep a file of a favorite build.
Open Menu → Export world to a file. Keep the downloaded file somewhere you can find it. Menu → Import a world file lets you restore an exported copy, replacing the active world with that file’s contents.
A hand on the trail
Something not
going to plan?
The mouse will not turn the view.
Try dragging in the world, or use the arrow keys to look around. You can still walk with WASD, remove with Q and place with E.
A password has gone missing.
A parent can reset a player’s password from their family account. Use the existing nickname so the player keeps their world.
The save status shows a problem.
Keep that game tab open. Follow its recovery message and export the device copy if offered. Do not choose New world or clear browser storage to fix a save problem.
Ask Scott.
Email scott@nextchapterhomeschool.com with what happened, what you expected and your browser/device. Please leave passwords out of the message.
This beta is for desktop and laptop play. Touch controls exist, but real-phone play has not been verified.