In order to recruit penguins the bar must be reopened by defeating the mini boss Dreadwing. Players can also recruit penguins as crew members from the Beakeasy bar beneath the outpost. The NPC type determines what role they'll assume on the players ship. These quests will earn favor with the quest-giver once completed, and they may ask to join your crew. To get crew members you have to do generated quests for NPCs throughout the universe - either in villages or summoned tenants. To upgrade your ship you will need crew members, each upgrade also increases the number of crew members which can be on the ship. These quests are given where he is stationed, just west of the outpost. After repairing the ship's thrusters and FTL drive, Penguin Pete, the shipyard captain at the outpost, will open quests to upgrade the size of the player's ship. To repair the ship engines, enabling flight to other systems, players must clear the Erchius Mining Facility mission. In addition to more space, larger ships can hold a larger number of crew members.

These additional upgrades provide more space on the ship for players to place objects, as well as crafting stations, containers, and furniture. A fully upgraded Apex shipAs the player progresses through the story of Starbound, they'll unlock additional upgrades to their starter ship.