Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon/Space Battle

Space Battle
 Strategy:


 * First and foremost, make sure that you are in Attack Speed (Main Computer menu option (6), since the minigame is not accessible otherwise). Configure your global game speed to one that suits you (this guide recommends 6 or slower). Enter the Weapons Systems menu (8) on your computer to commence the fight.


 * Pay close attention to the radar reading. It will always tell you if the enemy ship is "In Front" or "In Rear." Set up your shields accordingly (meaning (F) for "In Front" and (B) for "In Rear.") The game will always alternate between front and back, which means that you can flip the shield setting immediately after an attack.


 * Generally, the ships that attack "In Front" will not allow you to get a lock on them. In other words, for most of "In Front" attacks you can simply relax and watch the animation of the ship futile attempt to destroy you (provided your shields are set correctly).


 * Every "In Rear" ship you will get a chance to destroy. To get a lock on, simply follow the ship with your cursor using the Arrow Keys. Although the ships will attempt to move out of the way, there is no non-trivial strategy here: just move your cross-bow cursor on top of an enemy ship.


 * Destroy four ships to finish the game.

This is a mandatory section of the game. The rules are rather simple: you can not withstand enemy damage with your shields down, and you can shoot some of the attackers. In comparison to the challenge of Dukem Nukem Robots, or the unfriendly controls of Astro Chicken, this minigame will probably be the easiest "arcade" section of Space Quest III.

Controls

The controls are painfully simple: (F) sets up the Front Shield, while (B) sets up the Back Shield. Once engaged in combat, use Arrow Keys to track the cross bow cursor around, following enemy ship's movements, and use Spacebar to shoot.

Speed

As is the case with almost all 'arcade' sections of the Space Quest universe, it helps tremendously to lower your speed setting. As is the case with Astro Chicken, it's generally a good idea to keep it around 6, although the value would greatly depend on the performance of your computer (or the settings of your DosBox).

Bottom Line

This is a very simple fight, and it should not take much of a learning curve to master. The only real "challenge" of this minigame is in tracking of the enemy ship. Considering that your speed isn't set up to some obscenely high setting, it won't take you long to understand how that works.

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