How do I recruit crew in Ostranauts?
Talk to NPCs at stations and enter Negotiation — social combat with Social Moves / Gambits. Steer moodlets to a hire-success state, then set salary, signing bonus, and death pay.
Ostranauts Crew Guide
Ostranauts crew guide: social-combat recruitment, salary/death pay, Work/Free/Sleep shifts, Insomniac and Shy traits, moodlets, and compatibility.
Martian Dan's HIRE CREW tutorial covers station recruitment, contract terms, roster shifts, and getting your first specialist aboard without blowing the payroll.
~11 min read
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At A Glance
Ostranauts crew are not autopilot bots — they are simulated people with traits, moodlets, substance needs, and social combat negotiations. You recruit at station bars and events by steering mood until they accept a contract: salary, signing bonus, and death pay. On board, the roster splits Work, Free, and Sleep shifts; only Work shift crew obey direct orders reliably. This guide covers recruitment Gambits / Social Moves, trait traps like Insomniac and Shy, and crew compatibility before you commit wages. Verified August 16, 2026 · Steam · Official wiki — Crew · Combat (Social).
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Recruitment | Negotiation minigame — social combat with moodlet targets |
| Salary | Daily wage — typical band ~$200–500, negotiable |
| Signing bonus | One-time upfront — default $0, raises acceptance |
| Death pay | Escrow $10,000–$100,000 — paid on death; refunded if fired |
| Shifts | Work (full control) · Free · Sleep · Untime |
| Social combat | Social Moves / Gambits / ADV — moodlet Negotiation (not a five-button wheel) |
| Traits | Physical + emotional tags — Insomniac, Shy, Craven, Arrogant, etc. |
| Related | Money · Life support · Ship building |
How do I recruit crew through social combat?
Hiring is not a shop transaction. When you talk to a potential crew member at OKLG bars, Gig Nexus contacts, or random station encounters, the game opens Negotiation — the same social combat engine used for police shakedowns and gang talks. You win when their moodlets align with a successful hire state, then you set contract numbers.
Negotiation vs shopping
Each turn you pick a Social Move / Gambit and watch moodlets shift toward a hire-success state. Moves unlock and score based on traits and current ADV/GMB — examples on the wiki include Insult, Promise to Pay Later, and other context moves. Failed gambits waste in-game hours and can spawn enemies — treat recruitment like combat with words, not a shop click.
Where to find candidates
Early game: OKLG social hubs and Gig-adjacent NPCs. Mid game: colony bars on Tharsis, Jade Rabbit, or Voltaire station maps added in 1.0. Check your Renbao Portal PDA contacts — crew leads sometimes arrive as follow-ups to gig completions.
Close the deal with contract terms
After mood success, you set Salary (recurring), Signing Bonus (lump sum, default $0), and Death Pay (escrow). Lower salary saves money but raises rejection risk. Raising the signing bonus can close a stuck Negotiation without another risky gambit round.
How do salary, signing bonus, and death pay work?
Crew contracts have three levers the wiki documents explicitly. All three hit your ledger differently — plan them against OKLG mortgage (end of each 6-hour shift) so you do not hire a genius you cannot feed.
| Term | When it pays | Typical range / note |
|---|---|---|
| Salary | Recurring while employed | ~$200–500 — skill and traits push asks higher |
| Signing bonus | Once, on hire | Default $0 — raise it to close stubborn Negotiations |
| Death pay | On crew death, to designated beneficiary | $10,000–$100,000 escrow — huge bankruptcy risk |
| Fire / quit | Death pay refunded to you | Firing avoids future salary but may tank social stats |
Salary is a recurring burn
Two crew at $400 each is $800 before mortgage, food, and O2. Pair hiring with a salvage route that pays wages plus station costs. If payroll exceeds income, delay recruitment — solo Work shift with Caps Lock control beats insolvent payroll.
Signing bonus as mood shortcut
When social combat stalls one gambit away from success, raising the signing bonus can close acceptance without another risky Gambit. Treat it as a consumable — not a failure.
What do Work, Free, and Sleep shifts do?
The Roster panel assigns each crew member to a shift block across the day/night cycle: Work, Free, Sleep, and sometimes Untime (off-roster idle). Shift determines how much control you have and what AI will voluntarily do.
| Shift | Your control | AI behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Work | Full direct control (Caps Lock / click) | Follows Orders — repairs, haul, combat if ordered |
| Free | Limited — no forced labor | Self-care, social, eat, wander — ignores "work" tasks |
| Sleep | Minimal | Seeks bunk — Insomniac trait fights this |
| Untime | None scheduled | Autonomous — good for RP, bad for precision builds |
Stack Work shift for ship projects
During a Ship Editor push or reactor wire-up, put all hands on Work and issue Orders from the command panel. Free shift crew will not finish that conduit run because you asked nicely — they eat instead.
Protect Sleep for morale
Crew need bunks with Sleep Comfort stats. Cramped unlabeled floors do not count — see ship building room setup. Schedule at least one Sleep block before debt day; exhausted crew botch repairs and pick fights in social combat later.
Free shift for relationship repair
After a harsh social combat exchange during an onboard dispute, Free shift gives AI time to cool moodlets naturally. Micromanaging every interaction burns captain hours you need for docking clearance.
Next: cover shift costs
Matched by build plan, shared topics, and guide progression — not random related links.
Which traits matter most — Insomniac, Shy, and more?
Traits are intrinsic personality/health tags (separate from skills). Almost every trait also changes which Social Moves are available or how they score. Hire pools and Build-a-Resume both use the same trait set — there is no "Claustrophobic" or "Neurotic" tag in the official list.
| Trait | Effect | Ship impact |
|---|---|---|
| Insomniac | Sleep Comfort −3 | Harder rest — needs better bunks / Sleep Comfort |
| Shy | Higher contact need / lower privacy tolerance | Crowded bars and open habs stress them |
| Craven | Lower intimidation / security thresholds | Poor boarding fights — keep on station work |
| Arrogant | Higher respect / self-worth thresholds | Flattery-style moves can backfire |
| Charismatic / Comedian | Social thresholds favor Negotiation | Cheaper hires when moodlets cooperate |
| Feeble / Fragile | Combat damage / wound penalties | Keep off EVA boarding teams early |
| Fit / Strong / Tough | G-force, encumbrance, wound bonuses | Better for salvage hauling and fights |
Insomniac on small tugs
Default character creation often starts young captains with negative sleep traits including Insomniac. Adding a second Insomniac without duplicate bunks means someone works Sleep shift on zero rest. Fix: separate bunk room, higher Sleep Comfort mattress, or reject Insomniac candidates until hab expands.
Emotional traits change dialog, not just stats
Shy, Gregarious, Arrogant, Humble, Cruel, and Kind alter available Social Moves and how NPCs read you. Read the full trait list on a candidate before you open Negotiation — the wrong opening Gambit can waste an hour of bar time.
Skill training vs traits
Build-a-Resume Work on Skills buys engineering/EVA/piloting competence. Traits change thresholds and dialog. First hire priority: Spaceship Engineering or EVA Suits skill coverage; second: a social-friendly trait set if you want cheaper Negotiations.
What are moodlets and how do they drive behavior?
Moodlets are short-lived emotional states stacked on long-term needs (hunger, oxygen, Thermal Comfort, privacy, esteem). Recruitment success requires pushing the right moodlet mix; onboard, moodlets decide whether crew obey, flee, or start social combat with each other.
Moodlets in negotiation
The Negotiation UI shows active moodlets on the candidate. Your Gambit / Social Move either advances toward a hire-success state or adds anger/threat. Success usually needs calm + esteem without rage — spamming one aggressive move can win a bar fight and lose the hire.
Moodlets from the environment
Hab breach, cold rooms, visible corpses, and unpaid wages spawn negative moodlets without social combat. A crew member can enter Work shift already furious because CO2 spiked overnight — fix life support before blaming AI stupidity.
Substance and mood
Alcohol and drug references are part of Ostranauts's world. Some crew carry substance needs — denying them spawns stress moodlets that cascade into refused orders. Read trait and bio text before you declare a zero-tolerance ship policy you cannot afford socially.
How does crew AI choose tasks?
Off Work shift, crew AI simulates a person: satisfy hunger, thirst, fatigue, temperature, then consider Orders, ship damage, and relationships. They use the same need hierarchy as the captain — oxygen beats pride.
Orders vs autonomy
Orders (repair this, haul that, follow me) work best on Work shift. Free shift crew interpret Orders as suggestions unless the ship is actively depressurizing. Set Orders immediately after shift change, not mid-meal.
Past experiences matter
The wiki notes AI references past experiences — a crew member who survived a hab fire may refuse engine-room Orders until moodlets cool. Watch relationship panels after disasters; social debt is real.
Direct control fallback
Toggle control with Caps Lock or click the portrait — you become that crew member for precise tasks (airlock cycle, single-tile weld). Use for training wheels, then release to AI once the hab is stable.
How do I check crew compatibility before hiring?
Crew compatibility is trait overlap, shift coverage, hab volume, and social graph math — not a single menu score. Think before you add a third personality to a two-room tug.
- Do01Read full trait list — psychological + skill
- Do02Compare against existing crew traits (Insomniac × 2?, Shy + crowded hab?)
- Do03Verify bunk count ≥ crew on Sleep shift simultaneously
- Do04Model salary + death pay against next week salvage income
- Do05Probe temper with a low-risk Social Move before full Negotiation
- Do06Confirm EVA skill if you expect exterior work — reduces death pay events
Trait matrix quick rules
Avoid: double Insomniac without double Sleep Comfort. Avoid: Shy crew on an open one-room tug with no privacy. Avoid: spam one aggressive Gambit on every hire. Prefer: engineer + EVA specialist + one social-friendly trait set (Charismatic/Comedian).
Shift coverage
Three crew cannot all be on Sleep while the ship depressurizes — keep at least one Work shift block overlapping awake hours during long editor sessions. Stagger Sleep so one person is always controllable.
Relationship carry-over
Some Build-a-Resume outcomes spawn Friends and Enemies in the system. Hiring an enemy's friend imports bar drama onto your bridge. Check PDA contacts for faction ties before you sign.
Mistakes that turn crew into a budget sink
Avoid these payroll and morale traps common in 1.0 runs.
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Max death pay on first hire | Cap at $10k–25k until hab and EVA are proven |
| Hire before bunk room exists | Build quarters first — ship building |
| All Free shift during reactor build | Work shift + Orders for construction weeks |
| One-gambit recruitment style | Match Social Moves to moodlets — enemies cost more later |
| Ignore Insomniac sleep debt | Better bunk or reject trait |
| Shy crew in open one-room hab | Add private bunks / partitions before hiring |
| Two specialists, zero pilot | Keep captain on nav or hire Piloting skill |
| Skip salary math vs OKLG mortgage | See money guide before signing |
Ostranauts crew FAQ
What is a typical crew salary?
Roughly $200–500 depending on skills and traits. Signing bonus defaults to $0; death pay is negotiated separately.
What do Work, Free, and Sleep shifts do?
Work shift gives full captain control and task obedience. Free shift crew prioritize personal needs. Sleep shift crew seek bunks — Insomniac trait makes this harder.
What does Insomniac do?
Insomniac crew struggle to get restful sleep, leading to fatigue, slower work, and bad moodlets unless Sleep Comfort is high.
Is there a Confront / Flatter / Joke / Intimidate / Pacify wheel?
No — that five-button list is not how the game works. Use Social Moves and Gambits that unlock from traits and the current Negotiation (see the Combat (Social) wiki page).
What happens to death pay if a crew member dies?
Escrowed death pay goes to the designated beneficiary — up to $100,000. If you fire them first, death pay refunds to you.
Related pages
Matched by build plan, shared topics, and guide progression — not random related links.
How does social combat (Negotiation) work?
Hiring and many NPC talks use Combat (Social) — a Negotiation of Social Moves, Gambits, and ADV/GMB scoring against moodlets. It is not a fixed five-button "Confront / Flatter / Joke / Intimidate / Pacify" wheel; available moves change with traits, etiquette, and the current encounter.
Recruitment sequencing
Open with low-risk moves that match the candidate's visible moodlets, then escalate only if ADV allows. If the Negotiation stalls, raising signing bonus is often safer than forcing an aggressive Gambit that creates a long-term enemy.
Onboard social combat
Crew fights use the same system. Captain intervention can stop a spiral before someone walks out the airlock without a suit. Free shift cooling + careful moves beats firing both and paying death pay.
Physical vs social
Melee combat moves are separate from social Negotiation but share intimidation / surrender thresholds. Do not start a physical fight during a hire talk unless you intend piracy gameplay.