Getting Around Cities and Spaceports

New Player Guide

Getting Around Cities and Spaceports

Before you fly across the stars, you need to survive something far more dangerous:

Finding the tram.

Star Citizen cities are large, detailed, beautiful, and sometimes deeply confusing. Your first home city can feel like a maze of elevators, corridors, terminals, signs, platforms, shops, and NPCs who all look like they know where they are going.

You, meanwhile, are trying to work out which door leads to your ship and which one leads to a convention centre you absolutely did not mean to visit.

This guide will help you understand how cities and spaceports work so you can move around with a bit more confidence.

We will cover:

  • How cities are structured
  • How spaceports work
  • Elevators and transit systems
  • Trams
  • Signage
  • Storage kiosks
  • Hospitals
  • Shops
  • Food and drink
  • TDDs
  • Ship shops
  • How to stop getting lost quite so often

Not completely.

But less often.

That is the dream.

Cities Are Not Just Menus

In Star Citizen, cities are physical locations.

You do not simply click a menu and appear at your ship.

You usually need to:

  1. Wake up or spawn at your home location
  2. Leave your room, hangar, or local area
  3. Use elevators
  4. Find transit
  5. Take a tram or shuttle
  6. Reach the spaceport
  7. Use the Fleet Manager
  8. Retrieve your ship
  9. Go to the assigned hangar
  10. Board your ship
  11. Contact ATC
  12. Take off

That might sound like a lot, and at first it is.

But over time, these routes become familiar. You will learn the shape of your home city the same way you learn your local shopping centre, train station, or the fastest way to avoid talking to someone at Bunnings.

At first, follow the signs.

Later, you will move on instinct.

Eventually, you will become the person telling new players, “Nah mate, wrong tram.”

This is growth.

Spaceports

The spaceport is the main connection between the city and your ship.

This is where you usually find:

  • Fleet Manager terminals
  • Hangar elevators
  • Transit platforms
  • Storage kiosks
  • Small shops
  • Rental terminals
  • Access to your ship hangar

If you want to leave the planet, you usually need to get to the spaceport first.

Every major city has one, though they all look and feel different.

Examples include:

  • Riker Memorial Spaceport at Area18
  • New Babbage Interstellar Spaceport at New Babbage
  • Teasa Spaceport at Lorville
  • August Dunlow Spaceport at Orison

The names matter less than the signs.

If you see signs pointing to the spaceport, follow them.

If you end up at a shopping district, hospital, or convention centre, congratulations. You have taken the scenic route.

Elevators

Elevators are everywhere in Star Citizen.

You will use them to move between:

  • Hangars
  • Spaceport terminals
  • City areas
  • Station levels
  • Hospitals
  • Shops
  • Habitation areas
  • Landing zones

To use an elevator, approach the panel and interact with it.

Most of the time, you will hold or press your interaction key and select a destination from the screen.

The destination names matter.

If you are trying to reach your ship, look for options like:

  • Hangars
  • Spaceport
  • Lobby
  • Fleet Manager
  • Vehicle Retrieval
  • Your assigned hangar number

If you are trying to leave your hangar, look for the main spaceport or city destination.

Elevator Advice

Elevators are useful.

They are also, historically, suspicious.

A few tips:

  • Do not sprint blindly into an elevator shaft
  • Wait for doors to fully open
  • Check that the elevator has actually arrived
  • Read the destination buttons
  • Do not panic if it takes a few seconds
  • If an elevator seems broken, try another one if available

Sometimes elevators behave perfectly.

Sometimes they behave like they have joined an anti-player movement.

If something feels wrong, step back and reassess.

Or ask in chat if the elevator is currently cursed.

Someone will know.

Trams and Transit

Most major cities use some form of public transit.

This may be a tram, shuttle, train, or platform system that moves you between major districts.

You will use transit to travel between places like:

  • Spaceport
  • Main city plaza
  • Shopping districts
  • Business districts
  • Convention centres
  • Residential areas
  • Other city hubs

At first, transit can be confusing because there may be multiple platforms.

Not every tram goes where you want.

Read the signs above or near the platform.

If one tram goes to the convention centre and another goes to the city plaza, make sure you board the correct one.

Unless you wanted to go to the convention centre.

Which you probably did not.

Trams Are Physical Travel

Trams in Star Citizen are not just loading screens.

Your character is physically travelling through the city.

That means:

  • You may need to wait for the tram
  • You can miss the tram
  • You can sit or stand during the ride
  • The trip may take a minute or two
  • You need to get off at the correct stop

This can feel slow when you just want to reach your ship, but it is part of the city experience.

The good news is that once you learn the route, it becomes routine.

The bad news is that you will absolutely watch a tram leave just as you arrive.

This is part of becoming a citizen.

Follow the Signs

The best navigation advice in Star Citizen is simple:

Read the signs.

Cities and stations are full of directional signs.

They will point you toward:

  • Spaceports
  • Transit platforms
  • Hospitals
  • Shops
  • Plazas
  • Hangars
  • Elevators
  • TDDs
  • Refineries
  • Cargo centres
  • Habitation areas

When you feel lost, stop sprinting and look around.

The sign you need is often nearby.

Sometimes it is above you.

Sometimes it is behind you.

Sometimes it has failed to render properly and now you are navigating by vibes.

But generally, signs help.

Use them.

Storage Kiosks

Storage kiosks let you access local inventory at your current location.

You will find them in many cities, spaceports, stations, and shops.

Use storage kiosks to manage:

  • Armour
  • Weapons
  • Ammo
  • Food
  • Drinks
  • Med pens
  • Multi-tools
  • Attachments
  • Loot
  • Clothing
  • Random items you collected because they looked expensive

Remember: inventory is location-based.

If your gear is stored at Area18, it is not automatically available at New Babbage.

Before leaving a city, use a storage kiosk to make sure you are actually carrying what you need.

Buying gear is only step one.

Equipping or carrying it is step two.

Forgetting step two is how you arrive at a bunker with no gun and a powerful sense of regret.

Hospitals and Clinics

Hospitals and clinics are very important.

They are where you may:

  • Respawn after death
  • Recover from injuries
  • Buy medical supplies
  • Set your regeneration point
  • Access medical services

Major cities usually have hospitals.

Space stations often have clinics.

As a new player, you should learn where the hospital or clinic is at your home location and at any station you regularly use.

Later, you may want to set your respawn at a convenient space station clinic so you do not wake up all the way back in your starting city every time something unfortunate happens.

And something unfortunate will happen.

Probably involving a ramp.

Food and Drink

Your character needs food and hydration.

This is not usually difficult to manage, but it is easy to forget until your character starts wheezing like they have been living on engine fumes.

Cities and spaceports often have food courts, vending areas, cafes, or small shops.

Useful early supplies include:

  • Drinks
  • Food
  • Cruz Lux or similar items that help with both hydration and nutrition
  • Extra supplies to carry in your backpack or armour storage

Before leaving for missions, bring something to eat and drink.

It is a little embarrassing to survive pirates, bunkers, and bad landings only to be defeated by dehydration.

Weapon and Armour Shops

Major cities usually have shops where you can buy basic gear.

These may include:

  • Weapons
  • Ammo
  • Armour
  • Undersuits
  • Helmets
  • Multi-tools
  • Attachments
  • Medical supplies
  • Backpacks

In Area18, for example, Cubby Blast is a useful early shop for weapons and armour.

Other cities have their own equivalents.

When shopping, remember:

  • Do not overspend early
  • Buy gear you can afford to lose
  • Get ammo for the weapon you actually bought
  • Buy a helmet before leaving atmosphere
  • Bring med pens
  • Bring a multi-tool and tractor beam attachment

A gun without ammo is just an expensive stick.

A helmet left in local storage is just a decoration.

Component and Utility Shops

Some shops sell ship components, tools, attachments, and other utility items.

These can include:

  • Multi-tool attachments
  • Repair tools
  • SRT canisters
  • Mining attachments
  • Ship components
  • Other technical items

You do not need to understand all of this on day one.

But it is useful to know that different shops sell different categories of items.

If a weapon shop does not sell what you need, a component or utility shop might.

Star Citizen shopping is partly about knowing what you need and partly about remembering where the shop that sells it is hiding.

TDDs

TDD stands for Trade and Development Division.

TDD locations are used for commodity trading and selling certain goods.

As a brand-new player, you may not need the TDD immediately unless you are getting into trade, cargo, mining, or commodity sales.

But it is worth knowing what it is.

You may use TDDs later to:

  • Sell commodities
  • Trade goods
  • Sell mined materials or related cargo, depending on the current economy and systems
  • Interact with parts of the trading loop

For now, just remember:

TDD equals trade and commodity business.

If you are only buying a rifle and trying to find your ship, you can leave the TDD alone.

It will still be there when you become a space accountant.

Ship Shops

Some cities have ship shops where you can buy ships in-game.

These are different from the pledge store.

In-game ship shops let you spend earned in-game credits on ships.

Examples include shops like:

  • Astro Armada
  • New Deal
  • Other ship dealers depending on location and patch

As a new player, you probably will not be buying ships immediately.

But knowing these places exist is useful.

You do not need to buy every ship with real money.

You can earn credits and buy ships in-game.

This is healthy information for your wallet.

Your wallet deserves care.

It has suffered enough looking at the pledge store.

Rental Terminals

Some spaceports and stations have ship rental terminals.

Renting ships is a good way to try something before buying it.

You may be able to rent ships for set periods, such as:

  • One day
  • Three days
  • Seven days

Rental options vary by location and patch.

Renting is useful if you want to:

  • Try a different ship
  • Test a gameplay loop
  • Do cargo with a bigger ship
  • Mine or haul temporarily
  • See whether a ship actually suits you

This is much safer than immediately buying something expensive because it looked cool in a trailer.

Rent first if you can.

Regret is cheaper by the day.

Area18 Example Route

If you start at Area18, a common beginner route looks something like this:

  1. Spawn at your home location or hangar
  2. Find the elevator
  3. Travel to Riker Memorial Spaceport
  4. Follow signs to the transit platform
  5. Take the tram to ArcCorp Plaza
  6. Find the shops, hospital, food court, or TDD
  7. Buy whatever gear you need
  8. Return to the transit platform
  9. Take the tram back to Riker Memorial Spaceport
  10. Use the Fleet Manager
  11. Retrieve your ship
  12. Take the elevator to your assigned hangar

Once you understand one city route, the others become easier.

Different city, same basic logic:

Hab or hangar. Elevator. Transit. Shops. Spaceport. Fleet Manager. Hangar. Ship. Mistakes.

New Babbage, Lorville, and Orison

Every city has its own layout and personality.

New Babbage

Clean, modern, snowy, and popular with many players. It can be easier to enjoy visually and has useful facilities, though it still requires transit and some walking.

Lorville

Industrial, practical, and grim. It has strong “corporate dystopia” energy and can be useful once you learn the layout.

Orison

Beautiful floating city above Crusader. Very scenic, but it can be slower to navigate and heavier on performance depending on your PC and the current patch.

The details differ, but the survival method is the same:

  • Read signs
  • Find transit
  • Learn the spaceport route
  • Remember where shops are
  • Do not rush
  • Ask for help if lost

Getting lost in Star Citizen is not failure.

It is content.

Annoying content, but content.

Using the MobiGlas Map

Your MobiGlas has a map that can help with navigation.

You may be able to use it to:

  • View your current location
  • Find nearby areas
  • Locate shops or points of interest
  • Set routes
  • Navigate city interiors, depending on current functionality

The map is useful, but it is not always perfect.

Sometimes it works well.

Sometimes it behaves like it was built by someone who hates clarity.

Use it, but do not rely on it completely.

Signs, landmarks, and community advice are often just as important.

Common City Navigation Mistakes

Taking the Wrong Tram

This happens constantly.

Check the destination before boarding.

If you end up somewhere weird, just wait for the return tram.

You are not lost forever.

Probably.

Forgetting Where the Spaceport Is

When in doubt, look for signs pointing to the spaceport or transit platform.

The spaceport is your path back to your ship.

Buying Gear and Not Equipping It

Storage kiosks matter.

If you buy gear from a shop, it usually goes into local inventory.

You still need to equip or carry it.

Not Bringing Food or Drink

Before leaving on missions, bring supplies.

Your future self will appreciate not becoming dehydrated halfway through a cargo run.

Ignoring Hospitals

Learn where clinics and hospitals are.

Later, setting a convenient respawn location can save a lot of time.

Sprinting Everywhere

Sprinting is useful.

Sprinting blindly is how you miss signs, fall off things, run past your destination, or arrive at the wrong tram with confidence.

Walk sometimes.

Look around.

The city is trying to tell you where to go.

In its own weird way.

What Should You Learn First?

For your first city session, focus on learning:

  1. How to leave your hangar or starting area
  2. How to find the spaceport
  3. How to find transit
  4. How to reach the main plaza or shopping area
  5. Where the hospital is
  6. Where to buy basic gear
  7. Where storage kiosks are
  8. How to return to the spaceport
  9. How to reach the Fleet Manager
  10. How to get back to your ship

Once you can do that, your starting city becomes much less intimidating.

It may still be large.

It may still be confusing.

But it becomes your confusing city.

That is different.

SCANZ Recommendation

Before doing serious missions, spend a little time learning your home city.

Find:

  • The spaceport
  • The tram route
  • The hospital
  • A weapon and armour shop
  • A food source
  • Storage kiosks
  • The Fleet Manager
  • Your hangar elevators

This will save you time later.

A new player who knows how to buy gear, reach the spaceport, and retrieve their ship is already doing better than many fresh citizens wandering around in a hospital gown asking where the train is.

No shame.

We have all been there.

Some of us more recently than we admit.

Final Advice

Cities and spaceports are part of Star Citizen’s learning curve.

They are not just decoration. They are systems you need to understand.

At first, they feel slow and confusing.

Then they become familiar.

Eventually, you will know exactly where to go, which tram to take, which shop sells what, and how to reach your ship without thinking.

Until then:

Read signs.

Use elevators carefully.

Check tram destinations.

Use storage kiosks.

Buy snacks.

Learn where the hospital is.

And if you get lost, ask SCANZ.

Someone will know the way.

Or at least confidently lead you to the wrong tram, which is also a kind of community experience.

Next Guide

Next: Essential Starter Gear