Spiritfarer, the lovely management sim and platformer by Team Thunder Lotus, tends to overwhelm new players with a bevy of customization options available for their boat. Deciding where to place important structures such as lodges or workshops can have a drastic effect on the efficiency of your operation, as well as the aesthetic appeal of your vessel.
Nobody wants to worry about maximizing efficiency when there are lonely spirits to comfort and mysterious islands to explore. While there is no drastic punishment for a sloppy boat layout, It's helpful to understand some basic tips for maintaining elegance and utility out on the open waters.
10 Upgrade The Ship Frequently
The most straightforward method of improving your ship layout is to simply get a larger boat. Nothing ruins a painstakingly organized space quite like cramped living quarters, after all. Visit Albert's shipyard frequently. Its icon can be easily found near the center of the map. Alex the seal has a fast travel bus stop right next to it, so the journey never takes too long.
In addition to wonderfully silly jokes, Albert offers permanent boat upgrades that increase the amount of space on deck. Regular visits to the shipyard are already encouraged to gain new blueprints, so it can't hurt to spend some extra cash on a bigger vessel as well. The increased space will allow for easier access to essential production buildings, like the loom or foundry.
9 Get Familiar With The Controls
Unlike most great management sims, Spiritfarer is very much a platformer at heart. This means that lots of time can be saved by moving quickly and elegantly above board. While not directly related to the arrangement of your boat, mastering quick movements can turn even the clunkiest layout into a manageable situation.
Minimize time spent climbing ladders by using buildings as their own platforms, and always allow gravity to do the work when moving downwards. The generous double jump allows Stella to clear most structures without the need for climbing, and her big hat allows for quick gliding from one side of the ship to another. More advanced abilities, including the dash and light burst, increase the possibilities even more. The ship will feel far more refined when it can be easily navigated.
8 Try To Stay Dynamic
Players often marry themselves to trivial decisions, turning easy choices into stressful affairs. It's important to remember that everything in Spiritfarer is inherently temporary and that the journey must end at some point, even if you're not sure how to complete it. This applies not only to the spirits but to their homes as well.
If you clear a section of the game that required a lot of planks, go ahead and salvage the sawmill. The resources required to rebuild it will be credited back, and that sawmill can easily be built again when its presence is needed. This frees up space for the ship's most pressing needs without creating permanent roadblocks. Everything can be salvaged except the homes, and even those can move freely along the grid.
7 Use Ability Structures Sparingly
There is a small category of structures designed specifically to help the player move faster as new abilities are gained. These include the umbrella and air vent, which provide instant upwards momentum, as well as the zipline, which can essentially teleport Stella across the entire deck. While they can make for powerful traversal tools, they come with a cost: each still needs space aboard the ship to operate.
The best strategy is to implement one zipline that stretches from the bottom left corner to the top right, with a single air vent in the bottom right corner. This restrained approach ensures that the player can move fast without compromising too much space.
6 Keep The Important Buildings Close
Certain structures have a clear priority over the rest, due to how often they must be visited. Production buildings, like the garden and kitchen, should be placed near Stella's cabin for easy access, while more niche buildings can be left further away.
Spirit homes should first be constructed near the main quarters until they say farewell, at which point they can be relocated to the upper right corner of the ship. These rooms become nearly useless after their inhabitants leave, and it also helps with managing some bittersweet emotions that surface on their departure.
5 Make Plenty Of Gardens
Keep in mind that each station can be constructed multiple times. As the game progresses, it's wise to keep multiple gardens dispersed across the increasingly-huge deck. Not only does this save time, but it ensures that a full ship of patrons can be fed (using the game's extensive recipe-crafting system) without a hassle.
With plenty of fields, common food ingredients can be farmed quickly to craft more specialized dishes for specific quests and characters. Not all stations require this treatment, such as those that require bespoke minigames, but idle resource allocation is always a good thing.
4 Don't Worry About Plugging Every Hole
Spiritfarer, sadly, isn't Tetris, and the buildings aren't always designed to stack snugly with each other. Bruce and Mickey's mansion serves as an excellent example: Its awkward shape means that it can never fit practically among its peers.
Lounge umbrellas and air vents are small enough to fill the occasional void, but even those have space limitations. Thus, attempting a seamless look aboard the deck is not worth the time nor effort. It's smarter and more helpful overall to use the natural holes as pathways through the ship. This can be very difficult for those players who like to keep everything neat and orderly in their games, but it's essential.
3 Explore The World
The layout of your ship is directly tied to campaign progression in a few different ways, including resource availability. While it may be tempting to sit and fiddle with the editor for hours on end, active exploration is vital to achieving the ideal configuration.
Consider visiting the furthest corners of the map in pursuit of more opportunities for ship growth, such as new materials, minigames, and quests. Don't be afraid to grab some new friends along the way, either, as they'll make every chore a little more pleasant.
2 Understand The Editor's Rules
The ship editor runs on somewhat unrealistic logic, and it's useful to understand the limitations and bonuses that it provides. Gravity and structural integrity are basically nonexistent, so there's no need to be concerned with eccentric arrangements. Ladders, beams, and terraces automatically anchor every construction to the surface of the deck.
Also, ladders can be obstructed by other buildings without punishment, as the entire piece intelligently adapts. This means that useless buildings such as empty homes can be placed on the uppermost layer of the grid without needing support.
1 Don't Get Bogged Down In The Details
As convincing as the Siren's call of efficiency may be, Spiritfarer is ultimately meant to be played with the heart, not the brain. The wayward souls taking shelter on your boat are more than just data points on a spreadsheet, and their homes are more than space on a grid.
Yes, do your best to organize the ship's layout. Scrap old factories, relocate food sources and save time with ziplines. When all is said and done, though, it's important to try to remember that Stella's journey is larger than the boat it takes place on.