You know, I never liked anything about Vega 5. But now I remember one of their rules was to always respect a living AI like a sentient being. I've never given that too much thought before, but they're right. Living AIs weres the most beautiful things our ancestors created in an age of corruption.
Ack is a living artificial intelligence (AI), created during the Age of Corruption to serve as a chef for the crew members of the Altair One space station. He is over 300 years old but did not witness the Day of Calamity or the Age of Darkness, as he had remained in maintenance mode for 330 years, 2 months, and 17 days, until the space station fell out of orbit and crashed in the Collapsed Wasteland. Now he lives in Portia, working as a freelance cook at a grill in Peach Plaza.
He is a peaceful, friendly, and well-spoken character. As the player gets to know him more, he will open up about his lost love, Lara, and will start visiting the Workshop upon completion of the The Lonely Robot.
Ack has no in-game biographical information available, even after reaching two full relationship stars. His biography only contains a set of question marks due to his enigmatic nature. He also has no birthday or weight registered.
Physical appearance[]
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Related characters[]
Ack has no family in Portia, but he has gotten to know some of the townsfolk including Arlo, who helped in rescue and repair efforts after Ack's space station crashed, and Toby, who finds Ack fascinating. He considers each of them a Buddy.
Ack's true love and crewmate aboard the Altair One was another living AI, Lara, who was destroyed in the space station's crash. Ack mourns her passing every day. The player eventually has the opportunity to build a Lara Model for Ack as a part of The Lonely Robot.
When befriending Ack, his relationship network with other NPCs will also be affected, resulting in the player receiving relationship points from those NPCs as well.
Note: Neither Lara nor the Lara Model are a part of Ack's relationship network.
If the player has a Lara Model in their yard and Ack is hired as a helper, then Ack will also sporadically visit the player's yard throughout the day.
This schedule is valid in the final part of the game where Ack visits a late game character.
This happens on Mondays and Wednesdays, so the default date is set to Sunday to avoid spoilers.
Developing a friendly relationship with Ack unlocks new dialogue that reveals more about Ack and gives the player access to special relationship perks.
Friend
10% off hire price
Good Friend
20% off hire price
Best Friend
25% off hire price
Although not listed in his in-game profile, if The Lonely Robot is complete, when Ack reaches Buddy status () with the player, he will offer to become their helper, offering his services during his daily visit to the Lara Model. The player must have a Lara Model in their yard to trigger this dialogue. If accepted, Ack can be hired to help with domestic work and resource gathering for a monthly fee.
Ack can gather resources around the workshop and place them in the red delivery box next to the mailbox to the right of the gate to the workshop.
Chat is a basic social interaction available at any relationship level. Chatting with Ack once a day can increase his relationship by 1 point, or 2 points with the Smooth Talk skill; subsequent chatting, on the same day, only results in the same conversation without any relationship gain.
Gift[]
Giving gifts to Ack affects the player's relationship with him.
Tips:
Every giftable item, except for the items below, will have a Neutral effect when given to Ack.
Gifts given on festival days earn the player 2x relationship points, and will show a unique dialogue.
Values listed below are without The Giver skill, which gives an extra 1-2 points.
Listed values are without The Giver skill, which gives an extra point.
Cook[]
While Ack is hired as the player's helper, he will cook for the player. Ack initially can only cook dishes in his recipe list, but as the player discovers recipes of their own via cooking on their Cooking Set or upgrades him with recipe data chips, he can begin cooking those recipes as well. Ack's data chip dishes are unique and cannot be cooked using any crafting station.
The player can access Ack's cooking menu by interacting with him and select the recipe and quantity they need. The cooked dish appears in the player's inventory. The player does not need to have the required ingredients in their inventory for Ack to cook.
Ack can be hired as a Helper around the Workshop after fulfilling certain requirements.
First, The Lonely Robot must be completed. After the player has completed the mission and placed the Lara Model in their yard, Ack will visit her every day. Once the player reaches Buddy level with him, Ack will offer his help with the workshop and can be hired for 1200 per month.
Once hired, Ack does not stay at the workshop all day, but will visit multiple times per day to tend to it. Ack's potential services include refueling machines and picking up finished products, feeding animals and picking up any drops, and harvesting, replanting, and fertilizingcrops. He can only use resources put in a Helper's Storage Box, and will place all collected items in the delivery chest next to the player's mailbox.
Ack will not perform certain functions, such as feeding fish, petting animals or mounts, or building things for the player.
Upgrading Ack[]
Ack can be upgraded with various data chips while the chips are in the player's inventory. These allow him to perform more functions around the workshop as well as cook more recipes.
The option to upgrade Ack becomes available after the player reaches Buddy level with him and completes Chip Upgrades. The option to upgrade Ack is only available while he is hired as the player's helper.
Data chips can be purchased at the Research Center Exchange and found while digging in the Abandoned Ruins. The second upgrade to the Relic Detector will show the shape and name of the data chip, as well as other relics.
Major involvement is defined as being directly involved, is one of the main character, actively participates (such as following), or talks a majority of the time.
Minor involvement is defined as indirect involvement, only assigned as a task (such as delivering a product to the character), gives a mission or rewards but does not continue involvement, or only talks a couple of times.
Indented missions indicate succession of the previously listed mission. Further missions in its timeline are in chronological order.
Ack is still locked up for the safety of the town, help him place some flowers on the grave of his deceased crewmates.
Trivia[]
When Ack was introducing himself during The Crashed Station, Ack was glitching, causing him to say "ack". As a result, the townsfolk simply refer to him as "Mr. Ack". Ack's real name, if any, is unknown.
Ack lives in the Happy Apartments; his home station will need to be installed on the second floor, near the stairs.
Ack may sometimes stand idly outside the player's yard, seeming as if he is waiting for them. When approached, he will give them 1 Ocean's Fortune.
Bugs[]
As of PC version Steam 2.0.134712, some users may experience difficulty getting Ack to perform his intended functions, including refuel crafting stations, even if they have the requirements fulfilled (in the case of refueling, that means they already have the following: Production Data Chip 2 installed, refueling allowed in their helper console inside their house, and the necessary fuel stored in their Helper's Storage Box in a place Ack can reach).
Visual guide to verifying game files on Steam
There is a chance verifying the game files may fix the issue.[ verify ]
If no solution is found, it is recommended to report instances of such bugs on the Steam Forums or email admin@pathea.net.
Gifting
Love: +18
Like: +8
Neutral: +1
Everything Else
Dislike: -1
Hate: -5
Ack's recipes Ack's recipes
+6 per second
+1 per second
per month.
Meteorological Data Chip
Production Data Chip #1
Husbandry Data Chip #1
Agricultural Data Chip #1
Production Data Chip #2
Husbandry Data Chip #2
Agricultural Data Chip #2
Automated Planting Data Chip
major • 
minor • 
friendship • 
romance
