Playing tips

[Captain Apollo]

The Enemy Fleet tends to move in 30 second intervals so time your Warp jumps carefully. The game timer in the upper left will flash as a reminder just before, during and after the 30 sec mark. Sectors with 1 or 2 ships will move every 30 seconds while those with 3 or more ships will move less often.

[Captain Apollo]

If fighting 4 ships on Ace and in danger, tap the Hyperdrive button then abort after 3 seconds. Get some distance before resuming attack. (But it's not all good...every time you initiate a Jump it costs you at least 100 units of energy...even if you abort the jump.)

[Thanks Admiral Nelson]

[Captain Apollo]

There are two different strategies on when to attack the enemy. I like to blast them from far away (300, 400, 500 units away).  Tom likes to kill up close.  By attacking from a distance there is minimal change of my ship getting hit and I save fuel by having to close the distance as well as the extra time it takes.  But I always end up firing more torpedoes than is needed.

Tom waits until the ships are fairly close or for lock-on. This assures direct hits on them and minimal torpedo use. So which one works best? Both...Tom and I frequently score very close on the same maps, sometimes by as little as 11 points!

So use whatever works best for you, or a combination of either tactic.

[Captain Apollo]

The Last Starbase mission is tricky and on Ace can be pretty tough. The enemy is always focused on your single starbase and there will be times your get the base under attack message, and yet there doesn't seem to be enough adjacent sectors with ships in them for this to happen. That's because there are cloacked Ghost ships in this mission.  These are special versions of the crystal Ghost fighters that are invisible on the Galactic Map. Well almost invisible. You can briefly see them when they are on the move from one sector to a new one. So at 30-second intervals check the Galactic Map and try and spot these ships...before it's too late!

[Captain Apollo]

Like a spacecraft built by NASA your starfighter has backup systems to get you out of a fight even after you have taken damage.

• if you loose you engines your ships thrusters will still power you up to a throttle setting of 3. Plus your warp engines can let you make quick jumps within a sector or get you to a starbase for repairs. Damaged engines will not provide constant speed and your velocity will fluctuate.
• If your subspace radio is damaged, enemy ship icon movements may not update on your Galactic Map but tapping on any sector may indicate where ships have moved to in the text at the top of the map.
• Damaged shields will flicker in yellow. Taking a hit when they flicker on might save you...if it occurs when they flicker off then...
• Damaged torpedoes will still fire but the reload time will slow. You can also loose one side but still fire with the other, sometimes.
• Long Range Sensors can suffer from various problems when damaged but will still provide some use.
• A damaged computer can prevent target tracking and lock-on, and Auto Nav functions in the Long Range Sensors can be lost.

[Captain Apollo]

Did you know that warping to a destination not only uses more energy the further you have to travel, but it can use more than is needed?

Each additional sector you travel bumps up the amount of energy use, however it's not a liner curve. Try this: tap on sectors one at a time starting from the sector adjacent to your ship. Moving one sector at a time, you'll see the energy needed a few sectors out jumps from 230 to 500. A bit further along it will jump from 900 to 1200 (or 1250). As a warning the "Warp" readout at the top of the Galactic Map changes color from green-to-yellow-to-red when reaching a shift in the fuel use.

So unless you have to get somewhere fast, making multiple jumps to one destination can save lot a of energy.

[Captain Apollo]

The Hyperspace Button on the Main Screen can be used to:

• Warp you out of danger to a new (and random) sector
• Activate warp to travel to a sector pre-selected in the Galactic Map (instead of tapping a sector twice in the GM)
• Travel a short distance quickly in the sector you are already in. Do this by tapping the Hyperspace button twice, then aborting (by tapping it again) when you travel far enough, but before you enter then "warp tunnel".  This comes in handy when your engines are destroyed but you still want to fight.

Remember that tapping the Hyperspace button once arms it, then you must hit the button again within 3 seconds or it will disarm.

Activating warp uses 100 units of energy, even if you travel within the same sector. This is in addition to energy used to travel to where you are going.

[Captain Apollo]

Here's a hidden feature.  Did you know that in the Galactic Map you can use "pinch apart" to zoom in on the map?  This allows players with large phalanges to accurately tap the correct sector. You can even scroll around. Zoom will remain until you "pinch" to zoom out.

[Captain Apollo]

So how bad is it?

• Losing a base lowers your overall score
• The enemy builds two new ships from the base debris (wow they are fast!)
• Even worse, the ships are Demon-class...the toughest to kill
• This occurs with Starbases and Fuelbases
• And, of course, you have one less base for repairs or refuel

[Captain Apollo]

As you gain experience playing Star Rangers you'll destroy the enemy more efficiently and games will take less time to complete. You'll discover that there are three aspects to the game that will effect your score.

(1) Survival. Avoiding damage will keep you in the fight longer. Traveling to a Starbase for repairs consumes a fair amount of time and fuel.
(2) Defend your bases. Not only does losing a base give you one less place to refit, but it will cost you big points in your final score.
(3) Energy conservation. Assuming you can win missions on Ace and haven't lost a base, you need to start paying attention to energy use. Read the "Scoring" section in the Mission Briefing Help file within the game to learn more.