DERELIKT Level 1 Walkthrough: Von Neuman Outpost
The complete Von Neuman Outpost route: every crew conversation, the 0451 restroom, the flashlight run and the three Gun Nut quiz answers.
Von Neuman Outpost is the tutorial level, but it is also the level that decides whether you finish the game with a full document count. Nine of the game's named NPCs live here, the only guaranteed sidearm is handed out here, and two of the thirteen Shriver's Notes are in rooms you can walk past in under a minute.
The route below follows the order that keeps every conversation available. If you only remember one thing: do the lower-maintenance loop before you ride the elevator, because the surface has no way back until the story returns you to the station.
The restroom keypad is the first of several locks, and the door codes list→ collects every one in order.
Objectives in order
| Step | Objective | Where it ends |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Check the coffee and read the Personal Log | Your ship, before the airlock |
| 2 | Report to Dr. Braun | Mainframe |
| 3 | Get a Space Pop for Preston Goffart | Vending machine above the Armory |
| 4 | Meet the Chief and collect the sidearm | Armory |
| 5 | Find a way into Dr. Shriver's room | Restroom, lower maintenance |
| 6 | Collect the flashlight and Marching Orders | Shriver's room |
| 7 | Pass the guard gun quiz | Mainframe elevator |
| 8 | Ride to the surface | Elevator |
Mainframe: the five conversations that matter
The airlock opens into Mainframe, the station's central hall. Dr. Braun stands at the far end and starts the objective chain; the other four conversations are optional but change what you can do later.
- Dr. Braun explains that the crew has lost contact with the excavation team and asks you to check Operations. He is also the NPC who re-briefs you every time you return from the surface.
- Preston Goffart is thirsty. He wants a can of Space Pop and will trade the Worm V.1 for it. The Worm is a living weapon that does not consume pistol ammo, which makes it the best early sidearm.
- Rose Salem knows more about Shriver than she admits. Ask about the excavation twice and she reveals that Shriver has been sleeping in his lab.
- Dr. Vlodnikov delivers the backstory: the station is studying a glyph found in the asteroid, and the crew has been hearing a song. None of this is optional if you want the Librarian documents, because his dialogue unlocks a document in Operations.
- Albert Nedry sits in the room to the right of Braun. He tells you Shriver locked himself in two days ago and that the only other way in is through the maintenance deck.
Operations is behind Braun. The terminal there is a full computer: read the emails, download the station map and take the BIGHEAD cheat code if you want the Cheater achievement. There is a save station at the back of the room, which is the one you should use before the lower decks.
The station map is a terminal download, not an inventory item. It adds a map screen that marks save stations and doors, but not objectives. Without it, the maintenance deck is a maze.
Armory: the sidearm and the quiz
The Armory is on the opposite side of Mainframe from the labs. The Chief is at the counter with a Firepower Magazine on the desk next to him. Talk to him and he issues the sidearm, then points you toward the elevator.
Before you take the elevator, walk up the stairs on the left side of the Armory to the vending machine. One Space Pop costs nothing and Preston's trade is the only way to get the Worm V.1. You can carry the can in your grid, so do not drink it.
The guard standing by the elevator runs a three-question gun quiz. The answers are all in the documents you have already walked past, which is the game's way of teaching you to read them.
| Question | Answer | Where the answer is |
|---|---|---|
| How many rounds does the PB-12 pistol hold? | 12 | Sidearm manual, Armory desk |
| What is the Standard-Issue AOC shotgun's designation? | PL-SI | Firepower Magazine |
| What is the R4-21 assault rifle's main body material? | Polycarbonate | Firepower Magazine |
Answer all three correctly and the guard gives you a box of ammo and the Gun Nut achievement (4.5%). A wrong answer is not fatal; he repeats the question, but the achievement only fires on a clean run.
The restroom and the 0451 code
The restroom is on the left side of the main hall, past Braun's office, and it is locked. The code is on a sticky note beside the door: 0451. This is the first keypad in the game and the number recurs as an easter egg on later terminals.
Inside:
- Shriver's Note 3/13 on the sink counter.
- A medkit on the wall bracket.
- A storage locker with ammo.
- James Park, who is hiding and asks you to find his lost tape.
The tape is in lower maintenance, on a crate near the cargo bay. Returning it to James is one of the steps toward Savior complex (10.1%), and it costs nothing but a walk.
Lower maintenance: flashlight, PDA, Shriver's room
The maintenance stairs are behind a narrow corridor to the right of Braun's office. The route is linear until the cargo bay:
- Cargo Bay 0215. Gregory Gold is trapped behind a door. Talk to him through the window; he tells you Shriver has been excavating the asteroid and that the crew has been hearing the song.
- The flashlight. On the floor to the right of Gregory's door, next to a handwritten note. Pick it up. The lower deck is unlit and the flashlight is required for the rest of the level.
- The terminal. Gregory's password opens the cargo manifest and marks the vent route. The password is in his log on the crate nearby.
- The vent. Crouch through the left hatch, turn left, and take the Personal PDA from the shelf. It adds a document and a map layer.
- Shriver's room. Climb the ladder on the right, take the left opening, and you are in the lab. Shriver's Note 2/13 is on the sofa; a handwritten note is on the desk; Marching Orders is on the table by the back door.
Shriver himself is alive but incoherent. He repeats fragments about the song and the glyph, then tells you to go to the surface. The conversation is short, but it is required for the objective and it sets up the Anomaly Surface rescue.
The Personal PDA is the only way to see the excavation team's last known positions on the surface map. Without it, Level 3's first junction is guesswork.
Leaving for the surface
Save at the Mainframe station, check the inventory for a free column, and take the elevator. The game does not warn you that the surface is a one-way trip until the rescue is complete, and the return trip happens through a story beat, not a door.
Before the elevator, confirm:
- Gun Nut unlocked, or the quiz retried.
- Space Pop still in the bag.
- Flashlight equipped.
- Both Shriver's Notes collected.
- James Park's tape in the bag.
- All five Mainframe conversations finished.
FAQ
Can I come back to Level 1 later? Yes, after the surface rescue, but the station is repopulated with enemies and some NPCs move. Collect the documents on the first visit.
What if I miss the Space Pop? The vending machine restocks. The Worm V.1 trade remains available until you finish the surface section.
Does the gun quiz have a time limit? No, but the guard will not repeat the answers. The Firepower Magazine on the Chief's desk has all three.
Is the 0451 restroom optional? The room is optional, but the document and the James Park quest are not if you want a full completion.
Sources and further reading
The pages below are the sources this guide checks against. The store page and the developer's post are primary; the reviews are secondary and are used for enemy names, weapon names and the state of the game at launch.
- DERELIKT on Steam ↗ — the store page, system requirements and the 27-achievement list.
- Visuwyg's announcement post ↗ — the developer's own description of the outpost and the PS1 rendering work.
- Into Indie Games' Von Neuman Outpost walkthrough ↗ — an independent route check for the station section.
Official source: Visuwyg — DERELIKT announcement post ↗, 8 September 2025.
"grafted onto an anomalous derelict asteroid in orbit around Saturn" — Visuwyg, DERELIKT announcement post, 2025