User manual GAMES PC STARLANCER

[. . . ] COMMAND TRANSMISSION / / TO: ALL SHIP PERSONNEL PRIORITY ALPHA-ONE My fellow countrymen and defenders of the Alliance: The future had never looked so bright. We had terraformed Mars and established fledgling colonies on the outer moons and planets. With abundant raw materials mined from asteroids, the discovery of new nanotechnologies, and automated zero-gravity manufacturing plants, the human race was poised to reach beyond our solar system. Forty-eight hours ago, a surprise strike force decimated the French and Italian fleets moored in Martian orbit. [. . . ] The number beneath the icon indicates how many countermeasures remain. Mission Objective (B)/Wing Status Display (X) Ejection If your ship suffers critical damage, an audio warning will prompt you to eject. This pod has maneuvering thrusters and a communications system to contact a nanny ship for retrieval. Eject only as a last resort. There's no guarantee our guys will get to you before enemy fighters can target your pod . Directional Calipers slide along the edges of the HUD signifying the target's direction and range. When you make a direct visual sighting of the target, a ring appears (a red ring for hostile units and a green ring for friendly units). In the lower portion of this ring the target's range is given in meters. The Lead Cursor (red box with trailing line) shows where you need to shoot to hit the targeted ship. When the Lead Cursor and the Targeting Reticle overlap, your ship's weapons are correctly aligned. Missile Lock Ring Lead Cursor Targeting Reticle Targeted Ship Range 16 17 Smart Targeting When this system is enabled, any ship fired upon becomes automatically targeted. Smart targeting is toggled on and off by pressing CTRL+E. Target Display When the targeting computer is activated, additional data on targets appears in the lower-right corner of the HUD. This Target Display provides information on smaller ships like Coalition fighters, or for larger objects such as a capital ship. A red display indicates a hostile ship, while a green display denotes a friendly unit. Shields Armor Name of Target Ship Type Range Targeted Ship Speed Missile Lock and Targeting Missiles require a lock to successfully hit a target (with the exception of fire-and-forget missiles such as the Solomon). Lock is achieved by keeping an enemy craft in the forward cockpit view long enough for its tracking system to identify and acquire the target's visual, heat, or electronic signatures. This lock time varies depending on the type of missile (see "Fighter Selection and Loadout"). When lock is acquired, the missile-targeting ring will zoom in around the target and turn white, and then a tone will sound confirming missile lock. For larger targets, you will see a different display. Big Target Subtarget (will cycle) Name of Target Ship Type Status of Main Target Without first achieving missile lock, it is highly unlikely a launched missile will hit its intended target. WARNING "If you rookies have problems using the 2D target indicator (red triangle) to find a bogey in real 3D space, try rolling your ship until the triangle points straight up, then pull back on the yoke. Good hunting. " --Mark "Bandit" Banister Status of Subtarget Range Speed Instead of targeting the entire structure of a large target, you generally target specific subtargets. Subtargets can be features such as gun turrets, radar dishes, or reactor cores. To pick a subtarget to attack, press S to view all available subtargets (or SHIFT+S to cycle backward through the list of subtargets). The segmented bars in this display indicate damage inflicted. 18 19 RADAR DISPLAY Target is to the left and above player ­ Green dots are friendlies ­ Red dots are hostiles Target is to the right and below player SHIP STATUS INDICATOR Armor Shields Alliance fighters are equipped with fast-Fourier pulse radar arrays to accurately identify potential threats. Radar-identified objects are displayed within the three concentric rings in the Radar Display in the center bottom of the HUD. The wedge radiating from the center denotes your forward field of view. Objects are positioned to the right or left, or--as indicated by lines perpendicular to the concentric rings--above or below your fighter. Red dots indicate enemy units, green are friendly objects, and blue dots indicate those units broadcasting to your communication system. [. . . ] If you fire your weapons, cloaking becomes inoperative. "If you've got a spare nanosecond between dogfights, check out your buddies. You might be doing great, but the rest of your team could be getting blown to bits. Don't end up alone out there. " --Linc "Diceman" Stevenson Blind Fire When activated by pressing SHIFT+F, your guns automatically track any target within the HUD's central targeting cluster. 28 29 MISCELLANEOUS PROCEDURES Landing Ship To land after a mission, you must first request permission to board your base capital ship. Select the F8 shortcut key or activate your Communications Display by pressing C, followed by 2 to contact your base, and then 1 to request permission to land. [. . . ]