OUT TO THE BLACK

Out to the Black is a free, browser-based multiplayer space game. There's nothing to download. Nothing to install. Click the PLAY NOW button anywhere on this site, sign in with Google, and you're in the galaxy thirty seconds later.

The galaxy is persistent. It runs 24/7. Your progress, your structures, your level — they're saved automatically and they're there when you come back. There are no matches and no lobbies. Every time you sign in, you're joining a world that's been running while you were gone.

This page walks you through everything you need for your first session, end to end. Read it once and you'll know more than 90% of new pilots when they first launch.

Click the PLAY NOW button. A Google Sign-In popup appears. Use any Google account. The game uses Google sign-in only as an identity check — it doesn't post anywhere, doesn't see your email beyond the address itself, and doesn't ask for any other Google permissions. Your account in Out to the Black is linked to that Google identity so the same character loads every time you sign in.

If you're on a phone or tablet: you'll see a FULLSCREEN gate before sign-in. Tap the FULLSCREEN button — the game requires landscape fullscreen on touch devices for the same reason a console game requires you to face the TV. Once fullscreen, the sign-in screen appears and the rest works the same as on desktop.

First-time sign-in creates a new character. You'll see a name field prompting you to choose a callsign. Pick something memorable — your name appears on the global leaderboard, on the hit list, on every kill notification involving your ship. Standard naming rules apply (no profanity, no impersonation of other players or staff).

After sign-in, the faction-pick screen appears. Four choices: Concordium, Unbound, Bone Collectors, Outlaws. There's no wrong answer; each is competitive at every skill level. The differences are about playstyle.

• If you like teamwork and structured combat: Concordium. Patrol with allies, lock down threats, defend your sector.
• If you like getting rich and building things: Unbound. Mine, claim asteroids, build turrets, hold territory.
• If you like sheer numbers and chaotic battles: Bone Collectors. The swarm has your back — five AI ships in your sector for every one anywhere else.
• If you want everything to count for you alone: Outlaws. No teammates, no shared kills, all your XP and all your asteroids.

For your first session, Bone Collectors is the easiest start. The swarm density means you're rarely fighting alone. Concordium is the second-easiest because of its structured patrol mechanics. Outlaws is the hardest start — recommended only when you've got the basics down.

Full breakdown of each faction is on the factions page.

You drop into the galaxy near your faction's home sector. The HUD lights up around you:

• Top center: event bar. Current gravity phase. Watch for color changes.
• Top left: stats. Health, Shield, Fuel — your three survival bars.
• Top right: weapon indicator + score. Current weapon (Bullet by default). Score and rank.
• Bottom left: galaxy map (minimap). Your position and the immediate neighborhood.
• Bottom right: leaderboard and controls. Mobile sees touch sliders here.
• Center of screen: your ship. A small triangle with your faction's color.

For the first thirty seconds, just fly. Use Q+E to thrust forward. Use A+D to slow down. Single keys rotate while thrusting (see the controls page for the four-engine flight model in detail). Get a feel for the movement before you go looking for trouble.

Find a small asteroid (tier-1 or tier-2). They're everywhere. Look for the floating gray rocks roughly the size of your ship or smaller.

1. Press W twice to cycle from Bullet → Harpoon → Mining Laser. The weapon indicator on the HUD now shows a green beam icon.
2. Point at the asteroid. Get reasonably close — within roughly your ship's length and a half.
3. Hold Space. The green beam latches onto the rock. Materials and fuel start flying into your hold.
4. Keep holding until the rock disintegrates. A small tier-1 takes about 5-8 seconds.

Congratulations, you've completed your first mining run. The materials in your hold can be spent on structures (later). The fuel just keeps you alive — you'll notice your fuel bar refilled while you mined. This is the core economic loop of Out to the Black: mining provides both income and survival fuel.

Now press W once more to cycle back to Bullet. The mining laser doesn't help against ships.

Sooner or later — usually sooner — you'll encounter an enemy ship. It might be another player; it might be an AI. The triangle is colored differently than yours. If it's hostile to your faction, it's going to shoot.

For your first fight, don't try to win. Try to survive:

1. Confirm your weapon is Bullet (HUD top right).
2. Point your mouse at the enemy (or face them on touch). Bullets fire toward the cursor.
3. Press Space repeatedly for bullet shots.
4. Watch your shield bar. If it drops below half, retreat. If you see a red flicker on your HUD, retreat immediately — you're in a 5-second shield reboot during which you have no defense.
5. Retreat with reverse thrust (A+D) or by turning away and forward-thrusting in a new direction.

A new pilot at level 1 will lose most fights to a level-10+ pilot. That's normal. The game expects you to die a few times early; respawn is instant, level persists, and you'll have your stat-allocated improvements for the next attempt.

After a few minutes of mining, surviving, and maybe scoring a kill or two, your XP bar fills and you LEVEL UP. The notification flashes. You now have an ability point to spend.

Open the Stats screen (button in the HUD). You'll see the eight stat categories. For your first level point, pick whichever feels most needed:

• Dying to single big hits? Put a point into Health.
• Running out of shields in fights? Put a point into Shield (specifically Shield Rate).
• Running out of fuel? Put a point into Fuel.
• Bullets feel weak? Put a point into Weapon Damage.
• You want to build stuff soon? Put a point into Command.

You can't undo allocations until you respawn from death (which resets your build choices). So don't overthink it — pick what addresses your most pressing problem from the previous five minutes. Full strategy is on the leveling page.

At this point you know enough to play. The rest is reps. A few things to keep in mind for your first hour:

• Don't venture far from home sector. Stay close to your faction's territory while you're low-level. The home sectors have ambient bot patrols that will help defend you.
• Watch the event bar. When it turns red (3x gravity storm or Blood Moon Purge), pull back to safer space.
• Mine more than you fight. Mining is reliable XP and reliable fuel. Combat is high-variance.
• Don't carry too much. You drop 50% of your inventory at death. A pilot with empty cargo loses nothing on respawn.
• Use the autopilot. The AI navigation modes can fly your ship while you think. Try Stay + Mine for hands-off mining.

And when you're ready for more, the full guide has every system in depth.

• Factions — deep dive on each side
• Controls — the four-engine flight model explained
• Combat — weapons, shields, the hit list
• Mining & Economy — the resource game
• Survival Tips — 20 things veterans wish they'd known

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