Shuttles and Planetary Transport

Shuttles and Planetary Transport

This guide covers player-facing shuttle transport in Rimgate: what each craft is best at, how launch fuel actually scales, and how to avoid wasting fuel and sortie windows.

For cargo staging and short-range hauling, see Mobile Logistics and Carts.
For gate movement and wormhole logistics, see Gate Network Guide.

At a Glance

• Rimgate currently provides three player shuttles: Tel'tak, Dart, and Puddle Jumper.
• Shuttle builds are in Architect under Odyssey.
• All three launch up to 120 world tiles per trip.
• Each launch consumes max(min fuel cost, fuel per tile * distance).
• Launch groups are one-shuttle only (max1PerGroup).
• Tel'tak is the heavy transport option.
• Dart is the fast light insert option with very low payload.
• Puddle Jumper is the balanced option with a built-in toggled shield.

Unlock Path

1. Tel'tak research (Rimgate_GoauldTelTak)
   • requires analysis of deteriorating Tel'tak
2. Wraith Dart research (Rimgate_WraithDart)
   • requires analysis of decaying Dart
3. Puddle Jumper research (Rimgate_AncientPuddleJumper)
   • requires analysis of dilapitated Puddle Jumper
   • also requires ancient research bank as a research facility

Shuttle Comparison

Shuttle	Cargo Capacity	Fuel Type	Fuel Tank	Fuel / Tile	Min Fuel / Launch	Cooldown	Max Range
Tel'tak	2200	naquadria	3000	4.0	75	4000 ticks (1.6h)	120
Dart	150	biomass	1500	2.2	45	2500 ticks (1.0h)	120
Puddle Jumper	1100	naquadria	2500	2.8	65	3000 ticks (1.2h)	120

Launch Fuel Math

Fuel cost per trip:

• trip fuel = max(min fuel cost, fuel per tile * world distance)

Examples at full 120-tile range:

• Tel'tak: 480 fuel
• Dart: 264 fuel
• Puddle Jumper: 336 fuel

Practical takeaway:

• Short hops are governed by minimum launch fuel.
• Long hops are governed by fuel-per-tile scaling.
• Round trips require planning both outbound and return fuel, not just the first leg.

Role Breakdown

Tel'tak (heavy logistics shuttle)

• Best for bulk payload, colony relocation chunks, and multi-pawn deployments.
• Highest transport capacity by a wide margin.
• Highest per-tile fuel burn, so route planning matters on long repeated flights.

Dart (light strike/insertion shuttle)

• Best for rapid insertion, extraction, and low-mass specialist teams.
• Very low cargo capacity (150) means it saturates quickly with gear.
• Most fuel-efficient launch profile among the three.

Puddle Jumper (balanced tactical shuttle)

• Good middle ground between capacity and fuel economy.
• Adds defensive shielding for contested operations.
• Intended for planetary/orbital transport, not dwarfgate transit.

Puddle Jumper Shield Operations

• Shield is toggled via a dedicated command (pawn performs the toggle job).
• While active, it intercepts ground and air projectiles.
• Shield radius is adjustable (4 to 6), and larger radius increases fuel draw.
• Under sustained pressure (especially EMP), the shield can overload and go offline until reset.

Operational rule:

• Keep shield off during safe transit/loading windows, then toggle on before entering combat-risk zones.

Build and Pad Planning

• All shuttles must be placed unroofed.
• All are large-footprint structures and should be given clear takeoff/landing lanes.
• Staging layout that works:
  • nearby fuel stockpile matched to shuttle fuel type
  • nearby armory and medicine shelves for fast loadouts
  • direct route to your gate room or perimeter exit

Common Mistakes

• Choosing Dart for cargo-heavy missions and hitting mass cap immediately.
• Launching on minimum fuel without budgeting return legs.
• Treating cooldown as negligible and overcommitting to back-to-back sorties.
• Leaving Puddle Jumper shield active continuously and bleeding fuel between fights.
• Mixing naquadria and biomass fueling lanes and creating refuel bottlenecks.

Strategy Checklist

• Use Tel'tak for freight-heavy or multi-colonist sorties.
• Use Dart for fast low-mass operations where speed matters more than payload.
• Use Puddle Jumper when you expect hostile projectile pressure.
• Plan launch fuel with round-trip math before committing distant flights.
• Build dedicated refuel pads and keep the correct fuel staged next to each shuttle class.