Article source: Love Mac | Software download link: “Before We Leave” for Mac

“Before We Leave” is a non-violent city-building game set in a retro-futurist universe. Players will guide the surviving descendants of humanity as they rebuild civilization on shattered planets, manage resources, explore neighboring planets and star systems, and carefully contend with ancient threats lurking in the darkness of space. This article aims to provide Mac players with a detailed interface breakdown and operation guide.

I. Core Interface and Workspace Detailed Explanation

The game interface is designed to be clean and intuitive, mainly divided into the following areas:

Top Resource Bar: Located at the very top of the screen, it displays in real time the core resource quantities currently owned by the settlement, such as wood, stone, potatoes, plastic, and power.
Bottom-Left Information Panel: By default, it displays detailed information about the currently selected building or unit, available action buttons, and efficiency status.
Bottom-Right Main Control Panel: This is the game’s core control area, including:
- Build Menu (hammer icon): Used to construct all buildings.
- Research Menu (flask icon): Unlocks new technologies and buildings.
- Planet View Switch (planet icon): Quickly switch views between colonized planets.
- Overview Menu (list icon): View global information such as population, resources, pollution, buildings, etc.
- Game Menu (gear icon): Perform actions such as save, load, and settings.
Central Work Area: This is the main view of the planet. Here you can place buildings, observe the activities of residents (“Pops”), view resource transport routes, and check the spread of pollution (“Void”).
Minimap and Time Controls: Usually located in the upper right corner of the screen, displaying a thumbnail of the current planet, along with game speed control buttons such as pause, normal speed, and fast-forward.

II. Complete Operation Flow: From Starting a New Save to Interplanetary Export

The following flow uses a standard new game as an example.

1. Create and Start a New Game

Steps:

Launch the game and click “New Game” in the main menu.
Select the mode you want to play (for example: peaceful mode without “Void”, standard mode, custom mode).
Name your colony and click “Start Game”.

2. Initial Planet Construction Phase

Steps:

Gather basic resources: After the game starts, your “Peeps” will automatically collect wood and stone from ruins. Select a “Peep” and right-click a nearby resource point to command it to gather manually.
Build the first building:
- Click the Build menu in the lower right corner (hammer icon or shortcut B).
- Select “Small House” under the “Basic” category.
- Click to place it in the green highlighted buildable area. The small house will automatically assign a “Peep” to move in and become a worker.
Establish a food chain:
- Under the “Food” category in the build menu, build a “Potato Farm”.
- Then build a “Warehouse” next to it (under the “Basic” category) to store potatoes and other resources.
Start research: Click the Research menu in the lower right corner (flask icon or shortcut R), and select the initial “Basic Logistics” technology to begin research. Research consumes research points generated by “Peeps” in the “Small House”.

3. Expansion and Automation

Steps:

Build a Workshop: After research is complete, build a “Workshop” to process basic resources into tools, greatly improving construction and gathering efficiency.
Pave Roads: Under the “Logistics” category in the build menu, select “Road”. Use your mouse to drag and connect farms, warehouses, factories, and huts. “Pips” move faster on roads, significantly improving material transport efficiency.
Handle Pollution: When “Vacuum” appears, build a “Purifier” (under the “Basics” category) next to the affected buildings to control its spread.

4. Exploration & Colonizing New Planets

Steps:

Research Nautical Technology: Unlock the “Simple Boat” technology in the research menu.
Build a Dock: Build a “Dock” (under the “Logistics” category) on the coastline.
Build an Exploration Ship: Select the dock and click the “Build Ship” button on the info panel. Once the ship is built, select it and right-click on unknown land across the sea or another visible planet to explore.
Establish a Colony: When the exploration ship arrives, it will reveal that area. You can send ships carrying “Pips” and resources there, and place a “Colony Warehouse” on the new land to establish an outpost and begin developing the new planet.
Switch Planet View: Click the planet icon in the bottom right corner or use the shortcut Tab to cycle through views of your colonized planets.

5. Interstellar Trade and the Final Launch

Steps:

Research space technology: Gradually unlock technologies such as the “Observatory” and “Rocket Platform” in the research menu.
Build rockets and trade: Build rockets on the rocket platform. Select a rocket to set an automated trade route for it: load specified resources on Planet A, then transport them to Planet B for unloading, achieving automated interstellar logistics.
Find ancient technology and the launch pad: Explore more planets and nebulae to discover “ancient technology.” After researching these ultimate technologies, you can find “spaceship” components in the “Wonders” category of the build menu.
Build and launch the ark: Build all ark components on the planet (requires a large amount of resources and planning). Once assembly is complete, you can trigger the game’s ultimate goal——launch the ark and lead your civilization into deep space.

III. Advanced Tips for Common Features

Batch operations: Hold the Shift key and click on buildings to continuously build the same type of building without having to select it from the menu each time.
Advanced road planning: When building roads, hold the Command (⌘) key to force straight-line drawing, making it easier to plan neat industrial zones.
Quick Selection & Navigation: Double-click a building to select all buildings of the same type on screen. Click or drag on the minimap to quickly move the main view camera.
Efficiency Monitoring: Frequently open the “Buildings” tab in the overview menu (shortcut O) to check whether any buildings have stopped working due to a lack of resources or workers, and adjust in time.
Pollution Buffer Zone: Between pollution sources (void fissures) and your core production area, reserve empty space or build a ring of purifiers as a buffer zone to prevent production from being suddenly interrupted.

IV. Common Problems and Solutions

Problem 1: “Peeps” stop working, buildings show “Waiting”

Solution:

Check whether the building has workers assigned (click the building to view).
Check whether the connected roads are blocked by pollution (void), or whether the road network is fully connected to warehouses and residential areas.
Check whether the warehouse has the raw materials required by the building (e.g., factories need wood and stone).

Problem 2: Population growth stalls, happiness declines

Solution:

Ensure a sufficient and diverse food supply (not just potatoes; later you will need to research and build food buildings such as fisheries and bakeries).
Build entertainment facilities such as “bars” to boost happiness.
Check whether pollution has spread to residential areas and purify it promptly.

Issue 3: Game stuttering (Mac platform)

Solution:

In the game settings (gear icon), under the “Graphics” options, appropriately lower shadow quality, anti-aliasing, and other effects.
Reduce the number of simultaneously active planets or the scale of colonies. Late-game saves spanning multiple planets contain large amounts of data and have certain hardware requirements.
Make sure your Mac system has enough available storage space (at least 10GB recommended).

V. Mac Shortcut Key Summary Table

Function	Shortcut	Description
Open Build Menu	`B`	Quickly start building
Open Research Menu	`R`	View and select research projects
Open Overview Menu	`O`	View global data
Rotate Building	`,` or `.`	Adjust orientation before placing a building
Toggle Resource Icons	`V`	Show/hide surface resource nodes
Toggle Pollution Display	`G`	Highlight “vacuum” pollution areas
Cycle Through Planets	`Tab`	Switch views between colonized planets
Quick Save	`Command (⌘)` + `S`	Instantly save current game progress
Quick Load	`Command (⌘)` + `L`	Open the load game screen
Pause/Resume Game	`Space`	Control game time flow with the spacebar
Camera Movement	`W/A/S/D` or `方向键`	Pan the main view camera
Camera Zoom	`鼠标滚轮` or `+/-`	Zoom in or out the view