The Icarus Device

The Icarus Device is a quest mod in which the player assembles a device that suspends gravity at will.

The device is the brainchild of Dr. Ulfrich Tanzer and will require the player to travel to multiple sites (including two new POIs) to acquire the needed components. Once you have completed Tanzer's work, you will be able to surround yourself with a personal anti-gravity bubble and fly freely without a spacesuit or boost pack. Additionally, you will be able to summon your ship to land beside you, or, if you are on uneven terrain, to hover above you. As the ship hovers, you can automatically be tractored aboard by the device or use it to fly into the open landing bay.

Your quest begins in Neon. When you land and take the elevator to the upper level, turn right. You will stumble across a wrinkled flyer offering to purchase certain books. One of these books is "On Gravitic Anomalies" by Dr. Ulfrich Tanzer, a scientist formerly employed by Argos Extractors. To acquire the book, you must travel to Akila City and visit Sinclair's Books. Tanzer's tome, once purchased, reveals the location of an anomaly on Procyon III. You will need to travel to the Procyon system to investigate.

Once you have arrived on Procyon III, you encounter a shuttered mining site and a temporary lab erected by Dr. Tanzer. The scientist is not present, but you can access his computer and immediately become enmeshed in his story and his aspiration to create a machine unlike any other the world has ever known.

Your quest to finish Tanzer's device will require surmounting multiple challenges. You will encounter automated defenses that require intelligence and heavy firepower to overcome. You will explore underground chambers infested with predators and scattered with the remains of those who have gone before you. In the Tau Ceti system, you will be called upon to defeat boss-level pirates to acquire documents critical to your success. Ultimately, you will travel to a distant random system to acquire the final component for Tanzer's prototype. Lastly, you will assemble all your gathered parts in Tanzer's lab to create the Icarus Device.

Some points about this mod:

The rewards upon completion will consist of the Icarus Device Controller and a ship summoning remote. They are in the Aid section of your inventory. The best way to use them is to make them favorites and access them via hotkeys. When you equip the Icarus Controller, you will automatically be encased in an anti-gravity bubble, allowing you to fly at will. Unequipping the device will disable the bubble.(Obviously, you should unequip it close to the ground to avoid injury.) The ship remote allows you to summon your ship to land at your location or to hover above you. If you choose for it to hover, it will automatically bring you aboard using the Icarus Device if you do nothing. However, you can try to maneuver yourself into the open landing bay, and if you are successful, you will be awarded some XP and occasionally, a piece of gear. I treat it like a mini-game. One thing to be aware of: If you are standing close to your ship and it is in your line of sight, you must watch it take off then wait for it to land again. Tedious! Avoid looking at your ship when you summon it.

This quest is intended to be DIFFICULT! I have included a means to dial back the difficulty in some places (see the following paragraph). The construction crane on Procyon and the pirate-infested site in Tau Ceti are populated (respectively) with boss-level turrets and pirates. I recommend having a companion and a 40mm launcher with a lot of ammo before beginning the quest. If you have a boost pack, it makes some of the challenges much easier. I generally play without one, and there is no challenge in this quest that requires a boost pack to complete it.

I have included some configuration and debug aids. When you install the mod, a minute after startup, you will find a new slate in your notes declaring itself to be the Icarus Config and Debug Aid. If you equip it, you will be given a menu allowing you to change some settings for difficulty and an option to enter the Icarus control room. The control room is intended to be used in case you encounter problems. You can check (or start) the mod's quests and find components in the event you lose them or can't get them in the game. Be cautious here, and if there are any questions find Wynterhawk on YouTube or Reddit and let me know about your issue.