Important things to know before starting outbound

Outgoing doesn't have a long tutorial or many tips in the game. You only need to complete a small prologue before you are free to explore the world with your camper.

Due to the lack of hints in the game, you won't know much early in the game. And there just happens to be a bunch of things that you should probably be aware of if you're going to get the most out of the game. To help with that, here's a collection of tips to help those new to Outbound.

Never stray too far from the van

In a typical open world game where you have a vehicle, it's simply a way to get around. In these games, you are free to leave the vehicle whenever you want and roam around on foot. In Outbound, however, it's a little different.

Your van isn't just a mode of transport: it's all you have. It contains most of your items and any machines you have created. Also, you don't move very fast in this game, so getting anywhere on foot is a pain. Therefore, it is best to never go far from your van.

Upgrade your backpack as quickly as possible

In this game, your backpack acts as your inventory. You can put everything you find in your van, but when you first pick something up, it goes in your backpack. At the beginning of the game you have little space, which means it fills up pretty quickly.

So it's a good idea to build a sewing machine as quickly as possible upgrade your backpack and carry more. This means that when you collect resources, you won't have to return to the van as often to drop things off.

Charge your van while you sleep

You will need to charge your vehicle quite often while playing the game. Still, you can't charge it normally while driving. You can put the wood on the back and make it start, but it will stop when you start moving. This can be annoying if you're in dire need of a charge as you're just standing there waiting. To avoid many moments like this, let it charge while you sleep.

Every night in the game, before you go to bed, put some wood in the car and start charging. Then, sleep until the next day, and charging will be complete when you wake up.

Lock download vouchers and food items in your inventory

When you hover over an item in your backpack, you'll notice it's there an option to “lock” it. By doing that, this the item stays in your inventory even when you put your stuff in the van. Most items, such as wood, fiber and stones, do not need to be locked as there is no benefit to having them in your inventory all the time.

Nevertheless it can be useful to always have download coupons and food on you. The coupons let you download blueprints from the Signal Towers as you find them, while the food keeps you from getting too hungry. To use either, they must be in your inventory, so you might as well lock them in there.

Playing around with a third-person dash cam makes it easier

In the settings, you can change your driving camera. You can choose “Dashboard” (first person) or “Behind Vehicle” (third person). Everyone has their preferences when it comes to first-person or third-person driving, but the latter makes this game a little easier.

This is because when the camera is on the dashboard, it's much harder to see what resources are nearby. Therefore, if you're trying to stock up on things, you may need to keep stopping to take a closer look at what's around. When the camera is behind the vehicle it is much easier to see what is out there.

Make sure you don't weigh down your car too much

You can really customize the top of your car by build a whole base up there. But many of the structural elements you build, such as floors and walls, have weight. If you build more than your van can handle, you will start weighing it down.

You can check how well it can handle the weight by interacting with the motor on the back. From here you can see “Energy Use Rating”. If it is low, your van may be slowerand it will come burn through charging faster. So make sure not to add too much weight.

You can do things while driving

Any machines you build, such as the recycling machine, sawmill, sewing machine, etc., will either be placed in or on top of your van. Those at the top are put away when you close your vehicle and start driving. However, the ones inside are still in operation.

So, for example, if you fill the recycling bin with trash and start it, you can start driving and it will continue to turn trash into coupons. This can be handy if you don't want to stand there and wait for a machine to create ready what you need.

Don't rely solely on wood to charge your van

Early is the best way to load your van through uses Everwood as fuel. The downside to this is that wood is used in many crafting recipes. So if you burn through the stuff you have to keep on traveling to find more to build what you need.

Thankfully, you eventually can install solar panels on your vehicle to generate power. Plus there There are charging stations on the map that you can use. After you discover these things, you should move away from using wood so often and save it mainly for crafting.