Install FTL: Hyperspace on Steam Deck manually

The Deck runs the native Linux build, so no downgrade is needed.

1. Steam settings

   Two Steam settings will undo your work if you leave them alone. Right-click FTL: Faster Than Light in your library and open Properties.

   Show me how to open Properties

   

   Turn off Steam Cloud

   Under General, untick Keep games saves in the Steam Cloud. Left on, it restores outdated saves with broken state which can keep Hyperspace from launching.

   Show me the checkbox

   

   Turn off automatic updates

   Under Updates, set automatic updates to Only update this game when I launch it.

   Steam will undo your install

   If Steam updates FTL it replaces the patched game files, and Hyperspace stops loading. On Windows that also puts you back above 1.6.9, so you would have to roll back again.

   Once Steam Cloud is off, delete ~/.local/share/FasterThanLight/ before launching the game again. Cloud sync leaves a save behind that will otherwise keep breaking things, and this only needs doing once.

2. Switch to desktop mode

   Hold the power button and choose Switch to Desktop.

3. Install the Hyperspace library

   Download FTL.Hyperspace.x.xx.x-Linux.zip from the latest release and extract it. Inside you will find:

   • Hyperspace.ftl keep this for the mod manager step
   • README.txt
   • DirectoryLinux/

     • Hyperspace.1.6.12.amd64.so
     • Hyperspace.1.6.13.amd64.so
     • liblua5.3.so.0

   Which library you need depends on your FTL version. Launch FTL and read the version from the lower right of the main menu rather than guessing, then close the game.

   Your FTL version	Usually means	Library to copy
   1.6.13	Steam	Hyperspace.1.6.13.amd64.so
   1.6.12	GOG, Humble, DRM-free	Hyperspace.1.6.12.amd64.so

   Only a Windows copy? You will have to run it through Wine or Proton instead.

   1. Copy one Hyperspace library, the one matching your version, into the folder containing FTL.amd64.
   2. Copy liblua5.3.so.0 into that same folder.
   3. Open the FTL launch script in a text editor and add a line before exec:

   LD_PRELOAD=./Hyperspace.1.6.13.amd64.so exec "$here/$command.$arch" "$@"

   Copy both files

   liblua5.3.so.0 is easy to miss and Hyperspace will not load without it.

   If the game starts without Hyperspace

   Some machines need LD_LIBRARY_PATH set as well. Use this form instead:

   export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$here":${LD_LIBRARY_PATH}
   export LD_PRELOAD=Hyperspace.1.6.13.amd64.so
   exec "$here/$command.$arch" "$@"

   Requirements

   Multiverse wants 5 GB or more of RAM. Other Hyperspace mods vary. Any GPU with OpenGL support works, and Vulkan is not needed.

4. Set up a mod manager

   You need a mod manager to patch .ftl files into the game. Pick one. The rest of this guide follows whichever tab you choose.

   ftlman (recommended)

   Actively maintained, reads the same mods as Slipstream, and can install Hyperspace for you.

   1. Download the build for your machine from the ftlman releases page. Windows users want ftlman-x86_64-pc-windows-gnu.zip.
   2. Extract the ftlman folder anywhere you like. It does not have to live in your FTL directory.
   3. If FTL is currently modded, revert it to vanilla first. Coming from Slipstream, that means opening Slipstream, unticking every mod, and patching.
   4. Run ftlman. A Steam install is detected automatically; otherwise open Settings and paste your FTL folder into FTL data directory.

   Moving over from Slipstream

   Copy everything out of your Slipstream mods folder into ftlman/mods before the first run and your mod order carries across automatically.

   Slipstream (legacy)

   The original manager, unchanged since 2018. Still works, and worth keeping if a mod misbehaves under ftlman.

   1. Make sure FTL is vanilla before installing or upgrading Slipstream. Check ftl.dat: roughly 270 MB, or 212 MB on GOG. Much larger means mods are still patched in.
   2. Download Slipstream 1.9.1.
   3. Extract it to a folder you will keep. Do not run it from inside the ZIP.
   4. Java must be installed.

   Caution

   Slipstream 1.9.1 does not check whether ftl.dat is actually vanilla. It treats whatever it finds on first run as the baseline. Starting from a modded file causes problems

5. Patch Hyperspace in

   Put the Hyperspace.ftl from the ZIP into your manager’s mods folder, tick it, and apply.

   Installing Multiverse instead?

   Skip this step. Multiverse already contains Hyperspace, and patching both breaks the game.

6. Check it worked

   Launch FTL. About halfway through the loading screen, and again on the menu, a small version string appears in the top right. That is Hyperspace reporting itself, and it means the binary is loaded.

   If your mod’s main menu comes up with no errors, you are done.

   No version string

   Hyperspace is not loading at all. On Windows, check Hyperspace.dll is in the same folder as FTLGame.exe.

   Error mentioning AcheivementTracker

   FTL did not downgrade to 1.6.9 successfully. Run the rollback again and confirm FTLGame_orig.exe was created.

   Error mentioning hyperspace.xml

   The Hyperspace.ftl mod was not patched in. Or, if you are running Multiverse, it was patched in when it should not have been.

Hyperspace is now installed. Return to gaming mode and launch FTL as usual.

Adding Multiverse

Multiverse is the largest mod built on Hyperspace, and it installs differently from everything else.

1. Open the Multiverse release thread and scroll to DOWNLOAD RAW FILES (OTHER PLATFORMS, UPDATES, MANUAL INSTALL). Ignore the installer above it, that one is Windows-only and does its own thing.
2. Download both files listed there, the Assets File and the Data File.
3. Put both .zip files in your mod manager’s mods folder.
4. Patch them in this order, and nothing else:

ftlman (recommended)

• Tick Multiverse Assets first, then Multiverse Data
• Leave Hyperspace unticked
• Press Apply

Slipstream (legacy)

• Enable ZIP support: Preferences → allow_zip, then File → Re-Scan mods/
• Tick FTL-Multiverse first, then any Multiverse-compatible add-ons
• Leave Hyperspace unticked
• Press Patch

Do not patch Hyperspace.ftl with Multiverse

Multiverse already contains everything Hyperspace.ftl provides. Patching both is the single most common cause of a broken install.

Only add Multiverse-compatible mods

Anything not built for Multiverse can conflict with it. Add them one at a time so you know which one broke things, and ask on Discord if you are unsure about a particular favourite.

When Hyperspace updates

Updating Hyperspace does not disturb your saves, but you do need to re-patch Multiverse afterwards.