Dig canals, compost bare land and grow watered forests to make fertile, breathable space. Beyond These Stars terraforming runs through the Landscaper: its workers reshape terrain, spread Compost from the Compost Heap and plant Saplings from the Tree Nursery. Start near your existing habitable area so your Peeps have atmosphere where they need to work.
How do you expand your Beyond These Stars biome?
Bring water to dead forests first, then plant new forests near the habitable edge to push the breathable area outward. Watered forests generate atmosphere, so a canal that revives existing trees can open land without requiring you to plant every forest from scratch.
Select a tile and check Condition to work out what it needs. Fertility and atmosphere are separate requirements:
| Tile condition | What it means | Your next move |
|---|---|---|
| Bare | No dirt layer | Add Compost |
| Dry | No water | Channel water into the area |
| Watered + Dirt | Fertile | Check that it is also Breathable |
| Not Breathable | Outside the atmosphere | Water existing forests or grow new ones nearby |
Aim for Fertile and Breathable land for forests, farming and settlement growth. Compost alone does not supply water, and fertile land still needs atmosphere before your Peeps can work there.
How do you dig canals and release the water?
Create a landscaping job at the desired height, add the channel tiles to that job, then complete it to release water into the excavated channel.
Open the Landscaper's Terraforming Mode
Choose the ground you want to lower along your planned water route. The Landscaper panel has a Terraforming Mode button beside its Pause and Priority controls.
Set the height and group the channel tiles
Create the job at your desired height, then select that job again to add more tiles. Batching the channel makes it easier to set the depth underwater and release water into the whole channel together.
Finish the excavation and complete the job
Digging beside flooded tiles creates a barrier that holds water back while construction continues. Once the channel is dug, complete the job to let the water through. If the excavation is ready but still dry, check the job's completion before starting another canal.
Digging produces Debris; raising terrain consumes stored Debris. If excavation stops because the Landscaper is full, move that Debris away or use it to build up ground. More digging orders will not clear a full store. Check your Beyond These Stars resources supply chain before committing to a large expansion.
How do you add topsoil in Beyond These Stars?
Supply the Landscaper with Compost from a Compost Heap, switch to Composter mode and create composting jobs on bare land. This adds the dirt layer; the tile also needs water to become Fertile.
You can batch several tiles into one composting job. Start with the land you actually need for farming or forests, rather than covering every bare patch. Early Compost production relies on Wood Waste, and a large job can take a while to supply.
You cannot compost underwater tiles. Keep the canal itself separate from the land you want to turn into farmland or forest.
Compost also competes with pollution work. One player paused planting and cancelled a cosmetic composting job so the limited Compost supply could go toward the toxin problem first. If your industrial edge is already struggling, deal with Beyond These Stars pollution before spending that supply on optional greening.
How do you plant trees to spread the atmosphere?
Have the Tree Nursery supply Saplings to the Landscaper, then create Forest Planting jobs on suitable land near the breathable edge. The new forest needs water to contribute atmosphere.
Batch nearby planting tiles into one job, just as you would with composting. If trees farther out remain dry, extend the water route toward them instead of assuming more planting will solve the problem. A player expanding south made most of that area breathable, but still had dry trees beyond the watered ground that needed another river extension.
Once you have watered dirt and functioning forests, you gain fertile land and more breathable room for your city. Forests also help suppress pollution, while healthier terrain supports Kewa's health and happiness. Keep expanding from that living edge, and check Beyond These Stars Kewa when your next priority is caring for the whale carrying your settlement.