Hello! Its Jon from Runner Duck here. Badlands Crew is out next week, 28th April! Thank you for all your support so far. Its been a big project for us, and were really excited that youll all finally be able to play it!

As its now close to the games release, I thought we should write a different kind of news post, and give you a few little tips and tricks which will help you out along your way in the Badlands.

USE THE MIDDLE-CLICK SHORTCUT MENU

One of the new features in Badlands Crew is the middle-click shortcut menu. With a crew member selected, middle click somewhere on the screen. The shortcut popup menu will appear. It has shortcuts for common actions, such as sending crew to other stations, attacking enemy boarders, or repairing broken systems. This is a great way to quickly do common actions (e.g. sending a crew member to a rejuvenator to heal, or quickly sending someone to repair the engine).
The middle-click shortcut menu

This works especially well for Badlands Crew, as unlike our previous games, your vehicle may have multiple rejuvenators, and loads of turrets. Dont forget to try it out, and hopefully itll bring your command of your crew to a new level!

RE-BIND YOUR KEYS IF YOU DON'T GET ALONG WITH THE DEFAULTS

Weve had a lot of back and forth on what the default keyboard controls should be. Weve set them to what we think will be the most consistent throughout the title, and give you the best chance of survival long-term. However, some players will probably prefer to remap their vehicle nudge/speed adjustment inputs to WASD. This is fine! Please do this if you find it easier or more natural.
The control rebinding options

Control rebinding options can be found in the options menu. There are also options for axis inversion.

USE 'SLOW TIME' WHENEVER YOU'RE UNDER PRESSURE

Things can get intense quickly in the Badlands. If things arent going so well, you can use Slow Time to give yourself a bit of time to get all your problems sorted. By default Slow Time is bound to the Shift key.
The Slow Time shortcut (Top-Left Corner of the UI)

Dont forget to use Slow Time - it really can give you the time you need to save your crew and your Battle Wagon.

UPGRADE YOUR VEHICLE'S FUEL CAPACITY EARLY

Theres nothing worse than running out of fuel in the middle of the Badlands. I would recommend adding an auxiliary fuel tank to your vehicle as soon as you unlock it. As the game progresses, and you are able to, Id recommend adding a couple more!
An auxiliary fuel tank being added to a vehicle in the garage

DON'Y GET EATEN BY A SANDWORM

Dont get eaten by a sandworm. If your vehicle sits idle for too long, theres a chance a sandworm will snap it up. Repair your engine, get someone in the driving seat, and get moving!
A sandworm about to eat a Battle Wagon

If you start seeing a sandworm rising up from the ground around you stay calm, and try to escape through the gaps!

USE ABILITIES (USE THEM ALOT)

If youre not using your crews Abilities, youre not getting the most out of them! It can be easy to forget you have them in the heat of battle, so use Slow Time too if you need to! Using your crews Abilities strategically can make the difference between success and failure!
The Swerve ability being used

If things are intense, get your driver to use Swerve - enemies will have a harder time aiming at you, and this can buy you some time

LOOK OUT FOR OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES

Theres loads to discover in the Badlands. Crew at your Command Station can be used to spot Optional Objectives. Of course, be careful not to get in over your head - if youre low on fuel, or your crew are in poor health, then perhaps its best to stay on mission!
A cache bunker containing some blueprints

Finding relics around the Badlands will reward you with additional Blueprints, giving you more options for your Battle Wagon and your crews gear.

USE ESCAPE DEVICES TO SAVE YOUR CREW

If it looks like youre not going to get back to base in one piece, but you want to save some of your crew: use an Escape Device. Its not always worth battling on - escape, and live to fight another day! Unlike Bomber Crew, crewmates who use an Escape Device will always survive (however, they may not always return to base instantly, and might need to be rescued in a subsequent mission).
An escape device on a Battle Wagon

UPGRADE YOUR CREW & GARAGE FACILITIES

Upgrading your Crew & Garage facilities will lessen the blow of losing your crew or vehicle, so its definitely a good idea to remember to do this.
Upgrading Crew Facilities

You can upgrade your Crew facilities to increase the starting level of new recruits.
You can also upgrade your Garage facilities so that more of your Battle Wagon is salvaged (for free) when it is lost.

THERE'S MORE TO LEARN!

Theres even more to learn than Ive written here but hopefully these tips will help you get off to a good start! The Badlands is a dangerous place. You will lose crewmates, you will fail missions but I hope that ultimately you will triumph. Were all looking forward to the games launch on Monday. See you then!

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE BUNDLES!

Our last tip applies IRL! If you own Bomber Crew and/or Space Crew, you'll get an extra discount when Badlands Crew launches, so make sure to take advantage of stacking launch and bundle discounts!

Jon, Dave, Joe, Greg (Runner Duck)

[ 2025-04-26 13:55:51 CET ] [Original Post]