CRYTHIUM Field Manual
Everything a new commander needs for the war over Sector 12. For per-unit stats and doctrine, see the ISRC Field Database — every vehicle and structure has its own declassified file.
1 · Getting started
Every match begins with a Keystone — your mobile construction vehicle. Deploy it (select it and order Deploy) and it unfolds into a Construction Yard, the root of your entire base. From there, the classic loop:
- Power Plant first — everything downstream needs power. If demand outruns supply, your whole base drops to half production speed.
- Refinery next — it comes with the harvesting chain that turns Crythium crystal into credits.
- Barracks or War Factory — infantry for cheap map control, vehicles for the real fight.
- Expand toward new crystal fields before your first one thins out. Fields regrow, but slowly.
2 · Camera
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| W A S D | Pan the camera (screen-relative) |
| Q / E | Rotate the camera |
| Middle mouse · drag | Rotate the camera |
| Right mouse · drag | Pan the camera ("grab the ground") |
| Mouse wheel | Zoom (the view tilts up as you zoom in) |
| Screen edge | Edge scrolling (can be disabled in Options) |
3 · Selection & orders
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| Left click | Select a unit or building |
| Left drag | Box-select multiple units |
| Double-click | Select all units of the same type on screen |
| Right click | Move order · attack target · set rally point (production buildings) |
| Ctrl + right click | Attack-move: advance and engage everything on the way |
| Shift + right click | Queue waypoints |
| A / F | Arm attack-move — the next left click is the order (right click cancels) |
| Ctrl + 1–9 | Assign the selection to a control group |
| 1–9 | Recall a control group — press twice to jump the camera to it |
| Space / H | Jump the camera to the current selection |
Tip: a short right click gives an order; holding and dragging the right button pans the camera instead. No more accidental move orders while flying over the map.
4 · Economy
- Crythium fields are clusters of crystal under an ice-blue haze. They are mined crystal by crystal and regrow over time — a thinned field is an investment, not a loss.
- Haulers (ground) chew through fields fast and dock at the Refinery. Fleet upgrades — plating, mining lasers, drivetrain, even weapons — apply to every Hauler at once.
- Extractors (air) fly cargo home over any terrain, but only operate from a Korsair carrier deck.
- Overflow beyond your treasury is lost unless you bank it in Silos. A destroyed Silo spills its contents back onto the ground as a fresh field — for whoever holds the ruins.
- Power is a hard economy: low power halves all production speed. Watch the meter, and consider the Power Plant overdrive upgrades before building plant number four.
5 · Combat doctrine
- Everything has a counter. Armour grinds, skirmishers flank, artillery outranges static defense, jammers erase drone swarms, and anti-air deletes gunships. Mixed forces beat massed single types.
- Fog of war is real. Radar unlocks the minimap; Scouts and Kestrels answer the questions that win matches.
- Repair wins wars of attrition. A deployed Forge mends vehicles around it; Menders heal from the air. The army that repairs fights twice.
- Capture, don't just destroy. An Engineer walked into an enemy building takes it over — production, tech and all.
- Watch the sky. Falcon swarms and Goshawks end economies. SAM Sites, EW Towers, Outriders and the Static are your umbrella.
6 · The level editor
Crythium ships with the same editor its own missions are built in — open it from the main menu. Paint crystal fields, rocks and props, place the player start and enemy bases (one per AI doctrine), tune weather and fog, and attach a briefing video. Playtest drops you straight into your map.
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| Left click | Place the selected element (same element on its own cell removes it) |
| Right click | Clear the stamp — left click then selects placed props |
| 1 | Open the tile selector (⚙ on a prop card edits its properties) |
| Z / X | Eyedropper a placed element / clear a cell |
| WASD · Q/E | Pan / rotate — plus the same mouse camera as in-game |
7 · Skirmish & AI
Enemy bases follow tunable AI doctrines — rush, economy, turtle, balanced — each with its own build priorities and aggression. Mix doctrines in the editor for asymmetric scenarios.
Manual for the Early Access build · updated July 15, 2026 · REDFLARE Game Studios