Star Raiders/Strategic Tactics

Here are some survival tactics that experience Star Raiders use to help them complete their missions and earn a promotion.

How to make a fast retreat
When your shields are destroyed, the next enemy hit will destroy your starship. To get out of the sector fast, press the Hyperspace key and hyperwarp out of the sector without consulting the Galactic Chart. When you're safe in an empty sector, return to the Galactic Chart and locate a starbase.

How to reach a starbase faster
If you know there's a starbase next to an enemy sector you're in, you can hyperwarp directly to the starbase sector without using the Galactic Chart. In hyperspace, move the Hyperspace Target Marker to the edge of the crosshair that points in the direction of the starbase.

How to find a starbase without a computer
How can you find a starbase when your Attack Computer Display doesn't work? Here's some help:

Locate a starbase on the Galactic Chart and engage your hyperwarp engines. As you enter hyperspace, note the position of the Hyperspace Target Marker and try not to stray from that position.

When hyperwarp is completed, press the Scan key. If you're in the starbase sector, the starbase should be visible on the Long-Range Sector Scan. If it is not, return to the Galactic Chart, correct your position, and try again.

When you get the starbase on the Long-Range Scan, center it as instructed in the Long-Range Sector Scan section. Then press the Fore View key. The target should now be visible on the screen.

Low on energy?
If your energy supply threatens to run out while you are trying to dock at a starbase, turn off your shields temporarily. This will save 2 units of energy per second and may buy you enough time to establish orbit and energize your starship. Don't forget to turn your shields back on before you hyperwarp into an enemy sector.

When to sacrifice a starbase
When you cannot save a starbase, it is better to destroy it yourself than let Zylon destroy it. Mission Control doesn't penalize you as much when you destroy a starbase, because Zylon cannot use the starbase debris to build two new combat ships.

Need a little target practice?
After you destroy a starbase, the Attack Computer tracks meteors in the starbase sector, since there are no enemy targets to track. This gives you a perfect opportunity to practice homing in on the target and locking on the photon torpedoes (see the Photon Torpedoes section). Meteors make good tracking targets because they never alter course. Sorry, you do not get kill credits for zapping meteors.

Technical Information
Time in centons: 100 centons = 1 centor Distance in metrons: 100 metrons = 1 centron Velocity is measured in metrons per seconds (V = metrons/sec) Acceleration is measured in metrons per second² (A = metrons/sec²) Angles are measured in gradons (0 - 99) Energy is measured in mergs
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