The basics are pretty easy to understand:
1) Turn on magnet
2) Wait for container
3) GO GO GO!! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!!
4) COLLECT CARGO NOW!! THERE'S NO TIME!!
5) DON'T DIE OH GOD PLEASE!!
6) Return cargo to container for points to become the leader
7) Maybe find a sector pass

Put simply, your overall objective is to be #1 in the sector that you currently find yourself in, whether you found yourself into that sector or somehow forgot how you got there. Some people will have 10k points which will seem daunting but not to fret, that's what this guide is for

Cargo itself is pretty simple to understand, find the glowing blue box with a C on it and pick it up. It's important to note that dying before you return to your ship will not add it to your score so it is important to get it home safely.

Q: What's in those black ? boxes?
A: An assortment of things; one of four ammo types, a critter, a stack of caps or cargo. Most of the time however, they are empty. Though it doesn't hurt to check.

Q: How many points is cargo worth?
A: All cargo, regardless of rarity, is worth 100 points, this is the most points you will receive for any one action.

Q: There's rarities?
A: Yes, and rarity, while it does not influence your points, does have monetary value and you can see this after your run ends. Whether that is by your death, manually choosing to end the day, or completing all the waves for the sector. This money is used to get packages from home, which after enough, will let you complete the background story going on.

Q: Can I tell what I have?
A: Depends on what you mean, there's two things to know:

• The screen in your cargo container will tell you what you have picked up and how many of them there are in your ship at that time.
  
• Scanners, which detect what cargo you can expect to find in a sector.

Q: Scanners?
A: Yes, you will not get scanners for everything so you will have to be selective about what you want to scan for. You'll want to pick anything that says Ultra-Rare or Rare. You do this at the end of a run and a list on the left will show you what cargo you have discovered and a question mark for each type yet to be uncovered.

Q: Do postcards count for anything?
A: No, they are worth nothing point wise or monetary wise. They are however, all written by real people, you too will at some point pick up a postcard that can be written and sent.

Q: This container is spinning. Why?
A: Some of them just do that. You'll want to watch which walls you open, as gravity is usually still in effect and cargo will go right out into space.

Your ship is your home, it is where cargo is stored and where it must be brought to in order for it to count for anything...SO DON'T DIE!!! You can find a number of things here over time:

• Coffee - Surprisingly this actually does do something besides leave a coffee mug in your hand. It will give you a permanent boost to running and jumping. However this effect ends if you drop the mug, fortunately the only way to do that is to get hit. Unfortunately, you will get hit a lot.
  
  
• Locker - This locker will continue to drop two boxes of any four ammo indefinitely after you begin the run until you hit the maximum count. However it will not dispense additional ammo if both boxes are not collected. Using up your ammo of course, is a good way to get around this
  
  
• Upgrade Bench - Here is where you will spend the caps you get from the waves. Caps can be earned either by killing mutants, checking the remains of the fallen players before you or by smashing open ? boxes. There are many tabs here that will give you multiple different options; from more ammo or health to better gear and gun upgrades.
  
  
• Console - This is where you can check what cargo you have. Read Emails or look at the Glossary. Emails will come through from your wife after you pay the fee for a package. You can also get emails if you send a postcard to any NPC. This is also where you will read (or in some cases write) postcards. Postcards addressed to other players will always be received by them (despite the warning.) However it is also entered into a database and any postcard picked up can be viewed. Even those addressed to other players.
  
  
• Navigator - This is where you will spend your sector passes to obtain new passes. Passes themselves can only be received one per sector (however, it is possible to get a bug forcing you to play the tutorial multiple times resulting in spare passes.) Sector names are in essence, a seed that determines how things pan out for you.
  
  
• Magnet - Turn on for cargo, turn off for no cargo. This one isn't that complex really.
  
  
• Maintenance Panel - This does a couple of things. It let's you change music, and even select your own (provided it's a .wav and in the right location.) If you do select your own music, moving to another sector will reset it to the default so you will have to change it back (it's not that hard.) More importantly however, this is where you will fix your ship, there's no cost to doing it and it instantly patches every missing wall, floor or ceiling.
  
  
• Toilet - Can be dropped into space. Do this at your own leisure.

Mutants come in seven different sizes or types:

• Critters - These are the smallest and, with the upgraded fist, can be one shot killed early on (this is your incentive to level up.) They spawn in large numbers, though the numbers will be bigger as they are replaced by rabids
  Solution - Hit them to conserve ammo, shoot them when you need to.
  
  
• Rabids - These are exactly like critters but take a bit more damage to kill and are much faster.
  Solution - Shoot them, works best with the Six Shooter as it has piercing capabilities.
  
  
• Gnaws - These are about the same size as you, they don't move as fast as the critters and aren't very strong but they'll still hurt. If you're lucky they'll have boxed stronger enemies in, giving you better odds.
  Solution - Shoot to kill, aim for the head for extra damage.
  
  
• Shamblers - These guys are the big ones, they'll hit you where it hurts. They typically spawn in small groups of two or three except early on when they spawn individually.
  Solution - Aim for the head, when they get within range knock them back and take another shot. Repeat as necessary.
  
  
• Bellies - These guys explode. They can be dispatched easily from a distance and can take out guys easily if need be. They won't self-detonate until they are practically right next to you which gives you ample time to plan out your next move.
  Solution - Shoot from a distance to stay out of their range, can be used as a naturally occurring magbomb.
  
  
• Claws - These guys wear helmets and are the more obnoxious kind to deal with. They are the heavier hitters amongst the smaller guys.
  Solution - Headshots will dispose of them quickly, more so with non-nailgun/magbomb weapons.
  
  
• Crusher - These are like shamblers but are much more noticeably bigger and intimidating...and with good reason too!! These guys are immune to almost every attack!
  Solution - Use explosives of any kind.
  
  
• Scrounger - These will only spawn provided you are in space. The less time you spend in space, the less often they will spawn. The later into a run you are, the greater numbers they spawn in and the more frequent they do as well.
  Solution - Shoot and punch where necessary.

Above you learnt how to dispose of each mutant. However there are a few more tricks to note:

• Destroying crystals ASAP or punching your way to them will be paramount in your success. As long as those are up, mutants will spawn. Later down the run, mutants spawn sooner and sooner and taking crystals out ASAP helps alleviate or even avoid combat altogether.
  
  
• Alternating between punching and shooting is a good way to keep them from getting close while also giving you chances to do extra damage with your weapon.
  
  
• Running away is a valid tactic, there's no reason to get yourself killed over 100 points if you can get an extra 1000 from safer cargo.
  
  
• Opening walls to let mutants leak into space is very handy. This tactic lets you sit back while the mutants clear themselves out. This is best done if you have a safe space inside to wait as you lose oxygen while outside.
  
  
• If you find yourself in space, moving at a high speed, use your gun to stop your momentum and return control of yourself to you.
  
  
• You can shoot through grated floors giving yourself free target practice and letting you stay safe.
  
  
• If there is a panel in a container, you can turn off the gravity (note that once you turn it off, you cannot turn it back on.) This is rather helpful as you can move faster in Zero G and in addition, none of the mutants function, and thus, cannot attack you.

There are of course a few more ways to help yourself:

• Sector Passes can be lost forever in space, make sure you don't let that happen. If it does, fret not, you get a second chance at it but you'll have to do your run all over again.
  
  
• Zooming out after revealing a container is a good way to check and see how many mutants are in a container and if there is any cargo worth going after (some containers may have no cargo and thus are of no value to you)
  
  
• If you see a 3x3 container it will always contain a large cargo box. This will contain either three cargo crates, a critter, or one mean Crusher. This container is easy to deal with. Firstly, never drill in any of the center tiles as the box will always spawn on one and is prone to falling into space. If it contains a crusher, simply drill a wall open and let space deal with him.
  
  
• Sometimes you'll see a forcefield blocking things into compact rooms. You can clearly see what has what so weigh your options before blindly jumping in. You hold all the cards in this situation so it's up to you to plan things out.
  
  
• Picking up cargo can sometimes be a trap, and spawn mutant crystals into the container. This usually doesn't happen until later on in a run. These are usually suspiciously easy containers and thus it doesn't hurt to plan out an escape route ahead of time.
  
  
• Those giant black boxes with skulls on them will blow up the entire container and launch in into space. Don't be inside when it goes off. The other containers will defy the laws of physics and remain perfectly still so no worries.
  
  
• Glowing orange boxes explode (who would've guessed?) Don't worry if you hit it, bullet or punch otherwise. You get a freebie and it won't explode, so if there's one in your way, don't be afraid to whack it, just be careful not to do it a second time. You can tell if you already hit it as it will spew sparks everywhere.
  
  
• Using the upgrade bench will pause time (even though the magnet sound effect will continue to make noise. Don't worry about running out of time while using it.
  
  
• You get two free cans of apples in your ship, that's two hearts worth of apples. Don't lose them too easily.
  
  
• Your health regenerates as long as the apple isn't a core. If it's small, get somewhere safe, it'll restore itself soon enough. This can be a handy way to avoid death at one apple.
  
  
• Cargo is picked up when it collides with you. That being said, if you can, it may sometimes be handier to drill a hole under it and let it come to you. This tactic is especially useful if it sits on the bottom-most hull wall and would be launched into space...directly at you. Do not do this with the larger container in 3x3s as you have to punch to break it and there isn't anything dangerous in those containers aside from the previously discussed threat.