Ship basics

The Arduxim is a fast, manoeuvrable starfighter. It can rotate in three axes (yaw, pitch and roll), has a powerful engine for forward movement and some ability to strafe horizontally and vertically.

The starfighter has no shields but has heavier armor than most enemy fighters. This armor is repaired between missions.

Weapons are on gimballed mounts and track the pilot's gaze within a small arc. Some pilots disable this tracking as they prefer to keep the guns in a fixed forward firing position.

Built for long range operations, as well as a warp drive to enable fast in-system flight, the Arduxim has a hyper drive allowing it to use hyper gates to travel between systems.

NavComp

The navigation computer (NavComp) provides access to mission details, ship status and other information. It's also through the NavComp that you activate the warp drive.

Missions

When flying missions in the Arduxim, check the NavComp for the current objectives.

There are primary and secondary objectives. Primary objectives must be completed to succeed in the mission. Secondary objectives are optional but should be completed if possible. Primary objectives are shown with a yellow '!' before them, secondary objectives with an orange '!'.

Scanner

A scanner is displayed on the ship's cockpit dome. It will follow your head movement.

If a target is off to one side the scanner displays an arrow pointing to it. The smaller the arrow the farther away the target is. The narrower the arrow, the more you need to turn to face it.

Targets in the center of the view are highlighted by a cross. The selected target has a broken ring around it which, if you have guided missiles loaded, expands as the Arduxim locks on. When the ring is complete you have a lock and missiles will track toward the target.

If the selected target is off-screen it is distinguished by a double arrow.

The scanner is a sensitive piece of equipment and electrical storms or other interference will cause it to randomly cut out.

Icon key:
Red - Enemy
Blue - Allies
White - Hyper Gate
Yellow - Warp destination
Green - Navigation point

Warp drive

The warp drive allows for fast travel between different areas within a star system. Activate the warp drive by opening the NavComp, selecting the Warp Drive tab and pressing Enter Warp.

The warp drive will only activate if the following conditions are met:
* There is a valid destination programmed into the mission computer.
* The ship is facing the destination. This is shown as a yellow icon on the scanner.
* The ship is not near any large masses. These prevent the warp tunnel forming.
* The path to the target is not obstructed. This would result in a collision at supra-light speed.

Some ships and installations have warp jammers to prevent enemies dropping in too close or fleeing into warp.

Hyperspace

Hyper gates connect star systems. Ships with a hyper drive can use the gates to travel from one system to another. Active hyper gates show a white glow within the gate structure.

Ships in hyper space travel many times faster than the speed of light but at a variable speed depending on its speed and angle entering the gate. With the right instruments a following ship can analyse this to ensure they exit hyper at nearly the same time as the ship being pursued. The Arduxim does not have such instruments, but some fighter sized ships do.

Bases

Fly slowly into the hanger of a base to dock. The automated docking systems of the base will take over and tractor the ship into place. If you fly too quickly into the dock the Arduxim's inertia may overwhelm the automated docking system and the ship won't slow down quickly enough.

If there are multiple hangers on a base, the one you are cleared for will be open.

Weapons

The Arduxim is normally armed with a pair of auto cannons as its primary weapons and image recognition missiles as its secondary weapon. If other weapons are available, you can switch to them using the Loadout tab of the NavComp while the Arduxim is docked.

Primary weapons have unlimited ammunition while secondary weapons are more powerful but can only be fired a few times in a mission.

Primary weapons

Auto Cannon
This rapid firing machine gun is the basic weapon for starfighters. The Arduxim is armed with two of them to pack a greater punch. The auto cannon becomes inaccurate if fired for long periods. As the weapon is fired it is pushed back in its mount - the farther back the gun is, the less accurate it is.

Flak Gun
This weapon fires clouds of flechettes. Individually they do little damage, but combined they form a cloud of projectiles that make it easier to wing an enemy and which are devastating if the full blast hits. The cycle time for the weapon is fairly slow and the range is slightly less than the auto cannon.

Plasma blaster
This energy weapon is much more effective than the auto cannon but its capacitors don't hold enough charge for continuous fire.

Beam Laser
The beam laser is particularly effective when using the gimballed weapon mount of the Arduxim. Like the plasma blaster, its capacitors limit its ability to fire continuously.

Secondary weapons

Image Recognition Missiles
IR missiles need a few seconds to lock on - keep the enemy in the center of your gaze to lock on faster. The missiles can also be fired without a lock, in which case they fly straight forward from the launcher. The Arduxim has a limited stock of missiles so use them wisely.

Swarm Missiles
These unguided missiles are fired in bundles. The cost is kept down by using cheaper parts, leading to poor stabilisation and a spiralling flight path. This means they are better used at close range or on larger, slower enemies.

Ion torpedoes
Some capital ships and large installations have ion shields which are virtually impenetrable to normal weapons. Ion torpedoes bypass these shields and are extremely powerful, but they are unguided and slow moving so are of little use in normal combat.