1: Welcome

Stellar Frontier is a real-time multimedia 2-D action/strategy multiplayer internet game where you compete against (and cooperate with) other players around the world via the internet or a private intranet.  There is no greater fun than commanding your own starship in real-time, patrolling the solar system in search of your enemies.

To play Stellar Frontier, you will need a computer running Windows or OS/2 (Warp 3.0 or higher).  Stellar Frontier is enhanced with full multimedia and network capabilities, but if you are not hooked up to a network, there is a single player mode, complete with computer opponents.  In short, our goal with Stellar Frontier is to use whatever enhancements your computer offers to give maximum enjoyment to computer technophiles without excluding gamers with lower end configurations.

We have greatly enjoyed playing Stellar Frontier during developing and testing and we're sure that you will too.


 

2: Getting Started

In the following pages, you will find information to help you to get Stellar Frontier installed and start playing.  If you have already installed Stellar Frontier. then you will most likely want to skip down to Starting the Game for instructions on getting up and playing over the internet or on a private intranet.
 


 

3: Where to get it?

Stellar Frontier is published by Stardock.  Visit  The Stellar Frontier Website to download a free demo or to purchase it online.  Once you download the install file, save it to your hard disk somewhere.  Alternately, you can purchase it online and receive a CDROM by snail mail.
 


 

4: Installation

Choose the appropriate Installation instructions for your platform and distribution type.

4.0: Self Installing Executable Installation

4.0.1: Windows Zip archive Installation:

4.0.2: OS/2 Zip Archive Installation:

4.1: CDROM Installation

4.1.1: Windows CDROM Installation:

4.1.2: OS/2 CDROM Installation:

4.2: Zip Archive Installation

To install from a downloaded Zip archive, you will need some program that can unzip Zip archives.

For Windows users, WinZip is the best tool for the job.  You can download a copy of it at  Winzip Homepage .
OS/2 users should download Info-Zip's unzip utility at  Info-Zip's Homepage .

4.2.1: Windows Zip archive Installation:

4.2.2: OS/2 Zip Archive Installation:


 

5: Starting the Game

Now that Stellar Frontier is installed, you're ready to play.  To start playing Stellar Frontier, perform the following steps.
 

5.1: Windows

5.2: OS/2

Read up on game play in the later sections of the document.
 


 

6: Running a Server

To start a local Stellar Frontier server on your machine, perform the following steps:

NOTE: The Server requires port 20001 to be open, should you need that information.

Now that the server is running, other players can connect to your server by finding your server in the "Play on the Internet" list or entering the IP address of your machine in the "Play on local intranet" dialog box.
 


 

7: Playing Stellar Frontier

The following sections give an overview of playing Stellar Frontier..  The first section is a quick primer to get you started.  In the next section, The Solar System, we describe the model of the solar system and how it relates to real life.  In The Ships, we describe the ships and their basic capabilities and then in Weapons and Systems we describe the weapons and other systems that are in the different ships.  The Keyboard Controls section is a handy reference that you might want to print that shows all the keyboard controls and their functions.

7.1: A Quick Primer

7.1.1: Objects in the Game

The are five types of objects in Stellar Frontier.  The following table outlines the characteristics of each.
 
 

Object Type

Example

Description

Planet

The sun, planets, moons, and asteroids make up the solar system.  Some can support life while others cannot.  Planets are the keys to the conquest of the solar system.  By placing a population of your people on a planet you can exploit the raw materials to build ships and ship parts to aid the expansion of your race within the solar system.

Colony

Colonies serve a variety of purposes in Stellar Frontier.  Their primary function is to serve as a home to large populations as they move between planets.  During this first stage of their life they move through space, generally with the intent to travel to a habitable planet, but they can perform other functions en route.  Most colonies are towed by friendly ships. Once they arrive at a planet they start on the second phase of their life by serving both as a shipyard for the construction of ships and as a line of defense for the colonists on the planet should they be attacked by hostile forces. 

  • Colonies can be armed, and in general they carry heavy firepower for repelling attacks.  They can use their weapons while in space or on a planet.
  • Unlike ships, colonies will surrender in the face of a blockading force but only if they are on a planet.  If one of your colonies is blockaded be sure to respond so that the colonists do not lose hope and surrender.
  • Colonies can perform any function that ships can perform, including fleet action, docking, and attacking enemies.  For the purposes of rank, colonies will obey commands from all friendly commanding officers.
    Colonies can be told which planets to colonize by officers of their own race.  See Guiding Colonization Efforts for a description. 
  • Colonies distribute powerups but cannot be upgraded.   They cannot pick up power-ups or debris.

Ship

In Stellar Frontier each player is given a ship to command.  There is a one-to-one correspondence between players and ships in the game.  Each ship you see is controlled by either an AI robot run by the computer or a human player.  Like the colonies, ships are aligned with a race and their mission is to further the expansion of their race by helping to conquer enemy planets and destroy enemy ships.  There is a rank-based hierarchy that exists within each race that determines which ships perform which functions.  As a player your rank will determine which players you can direct the actions of. 

  • Ships will never surrender, but they can be captured and the crew, along with the commanding officer, will switch sides to the capturing race.
  • Different ships possess a variety of offensive and defensive capabilities.

Weapons

Weapons of course, represent the primary offensive capability in Stellar Frontier.  In general they are fired by ships and colonies at other objects with intent to do damage.  Weapons differ in their capabilities, such as velocity, warhead strength, and lifespan.  In addition some have special characteristics that suit them for specific tasks and/or targets.  Some missiles may have no offensive capability, but may nevertheless have characteristics that make them strategically very valuable.  Examples of some specialized missiles include: 

  • Plasma
  • Laser
  • mines
  • grenades
  • Seeking Missiles
  • Ram

Power-Up / Debris

When a ship explodes some ship parts may survive the blast and float freely in space for a short time.  These parts may be picked up by any ship, friendly or unfriendly, and incorporated as a functioning system.  Technology can be stolen by this means so it is important to safeguard your technology by picking it up when you see it floating about or destroying it.  To destroy floating technology of a friendly ship, press the Del key. In addition to getting them from exploding ships, ship systems, or power-ups, are manufactured by friendly colonies to aid in upgrading the fleet to the best technology available.

 
 

7.1.2: Things to do

Upon first entering the game you should find yourself taking off from a planet.  Your ship will automatically place itself into orbit around the planet, but once the orbit is established the actions of your ship are determined by the commands you issue.  Here is a quick tutorial to explain the basic actions/commands to start you on your way to becoming an Admiral.
 
 

Action

What to do

Examine your ship

Press the 's' key to bring up the status window in the upper left of your display.  You should see a list of the installed systems in your ship along with status information for each indicating the level of damage and the current power level.  In addition the color of the damage gauge indicates the level of functionality of the system.  The color code is as follows: 

Green Operationalunctional, but level of performance may depend on damage and power level.

Yellow Operational. Level of performance may be compromised by damage.  This is a warning state.

Red

Non-functional, must be repaired for function to return.

To the left of the weapon tubes are numbers that indicate what number tube they are. By using the '<' and '>' keys you can move the ">" symbol through each system.  By positioning the ">" on a system and pressing 'shift s' you can obtain status detail data for that system. 
 

 

 


The Heads Up Display (HUD) is a visual pad located at the lower left of the screen. It tells you information like your shield strength, power, engines, and other things at a glance. You can also find out similar information about the target on the right.

 

 

Moving about

Use the thrust and arrow keys.  The following is a list of keys that control the thrust and/or direction of your ship. 

  • The center key on the numeric keypad ("5") is the primary thrust key.  It will cause your ship to accelerate in the forward direction.
  • The "1" and "3" keys on the numeric keypad allow you to thrust to the left and right, respectively, without first having to turn in either direction.  These keys are useful for strafing a target or dodging a series of missiles.
  • The left- and right-arrow keys (on either the numeric keypad or the "inverted-T" next to the keypad) will turn you to the left or right, respectively.
  • The down-arrow key will create a reverse thrust, which will accelerate you backwards.
  • The up-arrow key will not only activate your forward thrust (as though you had pressed the "5" key on the numeric keypad),  but it will also activate your booster (if you have one) which will accelerate you at an even greater rate in the forward direction.
  • The "Ins" or "0" key on the numeric keypad will activate your brake (if you have one) and slow your ship, regardless of your direction of travel.

Explore the Solar System

If you are pacifistic by nature, or you merely want to acquaint yourself with your surroundings, you may find the desire to visit the nine planets (for your own good, you should stay away from the sun). Press the "n" key (or the "N" button on the video window). The navigation window will appear.  This window will display your sensor readings of the planetary object closest to you. You can press the "<" key or the ">" key (or use arrows on the video window) to scroll backward and forward through all the major planets. By simultaneously holding down the key you can scroll through all friendly planets and by holding down the control key you can scroll through all possible destinations (except the Sun). When you have selected the planet you want to visit, press "g" to go there.

Build up your ship

The ships in Stellar Frontier are meant to be upgraded.  If you see ship parts floating around, fly into them and if they can be of use to you, then they will be incorporated into your ship.  For example, the bigger ships don't come with a cloak, but if you see one floating around you can pick it up.  Likewise, smaller ships can upgrade their shields to get close to those of even the Dreadnoughts and Star Bases. For a list of what systems your ship has, press the "s" key or the "S" button on the video window. To drop a ship system select the status window by pressing "s". By using the "<" and ">" keys select a system.  Press <shift>-"\" to drop it. Note that engines, power plants, and tubes may not be dropped. Ship systems are upgraded by either picking up the debris of ships that have recently exploded, or picking up powerups created by colonized planets. Be aware that stealing enemy technology may provoke a response. Normally, when you pick up a ship system, the computer will decide if it should replaced an onboard system already in use. To prevent a system from being upgraded automatically you can lock it by pressing "\" until the message line says "system is locked". If the status window is showing then a "+" will appear next to the system.  Once in this mode a system cannot be replaced until it is unlocked. To unlock press "\" until the message says "system is on standby". This is the default for all systems and in standby mode the computer will automatically make the decision to upgrade systems. To force the computer to upgrade to the next available powerup of the same class, even if it is inferior, a system may be left unlocked.  To unlock a system press "\" until the message line reads "system is unlocked" (a "-" will appear next to the system if the status window is active). 

Trading in a system: ship systems can be traded, either for credit or another system, while docked at a space station.  The credit you accumulate will stay with you throughout the current game and it will be carried between games.  To use or accumulate credit, simply use the controls described above to select a system.  Once selected a system can be traded in for credit by pressing shift-"\" or for another system by pressing shift-"<" or shift-">" to scroll though a list of available items. 

Acquiring a target

Other ships can be acquired as targets by several different methods. To bring up the target window push "t". To acquire the nearest enemy target, press "a". To acquire a specific target on the screen use one of the following: 

  • Press Z to target your nearest ship, A to target the nearest enemy target.
  • Point the mouse at a ship and click the middle mouse button (if you have one).
  • Hold down the shift key and left-click the mouse on the intended target.
  • Press "<" or ">" repeatedly until the target is displayed in the target window.

Once an object has been targeted a red box will appear around it to indicate that it is your target. 
 

Attack a target

Acquire an enemy target (see Acquiring a target). You will notice that the video window will give you a readout of the targeted ship. Press "f" to automatically go to it and engage it in battle. Press the up arrow or any other ship control key to go back to manual control.

Board an enemy ship

If you have a dock, then you have the ability to capture enemy ships. To do this you must follow these instructions to the letter.  (1) Weaken an enemy until his engines are damaged and in the red on your target display.  (2) Check to make sure you have a larger crew than he does. To check your crew, hold down the shift key and then either click on your ship with the mouse or press "z". (3) If you have more crew than the ship you intend to board, then acquire the ship as a target. shift-click on the ship with your mouse to acquire it.  (4) Now press "y" (yank) and wait until it is attached with your ship. If you are successful, then his name should change colors to be the same as yours.  Press "/" to release the ship.

Capture a planet

There are several ways to take over a planet. 

  • If the planet is inhabited you can
    • Blockade it by orbiting the planet. First, orbit the planet by getting close to it and pressing "o". Then press N to look at the 'supply' display. When supply reaches 0%, your race has aquired the planet's colony, population and any ships being built on it. Some more self-sufficient planets are not blockadeable.
    • direct friendly ships and colonies to attack it.  See directing other ships.
    • direct colonies to land on it.  If they have a larger population then the colony on the planet then they will take it over.  See Guiding Colonization Efforts. 
  • If the planet is uninhabited you must land a friendly colony to take it over. If a planet's habitability is 0%, a colony can not land.

Destroy an enemy colony

Any enemy colony you run across should be destroyed or captured.  Colonies can be armed so be careful. The best way to defeat a colony  is to target it by pressing "a" or shift clicking it with the mouse and pressing "t" to bring up the targetting computer.  Then press "h" to get any unoccupied friendlies to help you attack it.  Once your friends arrive, attack it with all you've got and be patient.  Colonies take a while to die or surrender. Watch the power level on your targeting computer to get an idea how healthy the colony is. Also, watch out for an enemy response when the colony sends a distress signal.

Evacuating a colony from a planet

If one of your  inhabited planets is under attack and the cause appears hopeless you can try to evacuate the colony and therefore concede the planet to the enemy.  You must have dock and it must be available.  To pick up a colony simply target it (see Acquiring a target), and activate your tractor.   You will have to maneuver your ship in close to the colony so that it is at the attachment point for the dock, but if you do it right you will pick up the colony.  Once you are in possession of the colony you can move away from the planet with the colony in tow.  Note that you can use this technique to pick up a colony under any circumstances, whether it is under attack or not.

Request a new colony from a friendly planet

If your ship is equipped with a dock you can request that a friendly planet create a new colony for you to transport.  If a planet has "[Colony Available]" below the name, then the planet can spare a colony. Press O to orbit the planet and press "j".  A colony should appear, attached to your dock.  Note that the planet must have at least 50% of the optimal population or the request will be denied. You may accumulate colonies around a planet for defense by orbiting, pressing j, and pressing / to drop the colony. Colonies have lasers that, in numbers, can be deadly to any player. If you want more colonists in the colony you’re carrying, orbit and press "j" until you have the number you want (and the planet can spare), up to 1 Billion.

 

7.2: Directing Other Ships

As a human player in Stellar Frontier you are given complete autonomy when controlling the actions of your own ship.  Computer-controlled players, however, must obey the rank-based chain of command.  Your rank entitles you to direct the actions of all subordinate officers and in some cases those of equal rank.  The are three levels of control you can exert over your junior officers that range from directly controlling their movements and weapons to broad directives that affect their behavior over longer periods of time.

We shall use the word fleet to indicate a group of ships under your control.

All fleets consist of at least two ships.  To start building a fleet you can either send out a call to all available junior officers or you can build your fleet one ship at a time.  To gather all available ships press <shift>+<control>+"J".  To request that an individual ship join your fleet first target it (see Acquiring a target) and then press <shift>+"J".

7.3: Guiding Colonization Efforts

By default colonies will first seek out uninhabited or friendly planets with low populations.  Once these passive targets have been exhausted  they will begin to colonize enemy planets.  When the game enters this phase skirmishes between the races are inevitable.  As a ship commander it is your job to facilitate the expansion of your race.  There are many ways to accomplish this task, not all of which involve direct ship-to-ship or ship-to-colony combat.  The following list details the different means that are at each players disposal:

 

7.4: The Ships

Players of Stellar Frontier will have the option of choosing between a number of different ships.  The following are descriptions of the different ships available in the default server.  Note: You can also refit your ship during gameplay while docked with a space station.  What ship you can refit to is limited by your rank.

Remember that the following descriptions are for ships immediately after they are created.  Players will undoubtedly find ship modules floating around in space and pick them up (by flying into them).  For example, what seems like an innocent scoutship, just waiting for your torpedos to blast it, may actually have picked up some level 4 shields and be a menacing opponent.  Because of this, you should make sure you scan your targets and see that your weapons are doing the damage you expect them to.
 
 

Ship Name

Description 


Scout

The scout ship comes equipped with level 1 shields, so it can't take more than a few torpedos and you're best off if you avoid any large scale firefights.  It has a cloaking device, level 3 sensors and level 2 engines so it makes a good ship for quick attacks on lone ships or small convoys.  With one forward firing massdriver tube, one laserI, and a grenade, it can easily take out another scout or a destroyer especially if the approach is made while cloaked. More experienced players find that a full upgrade with three plasma tubes compressed in one shot can even destroy some dreadnoughts. Do not underestimate this ship.


Destroyer

Like the scout ship, the destroyer comes equipped with level 1 shields, so as with the scout, it can't take more than a few torpedos and you're best off if you avoid any large scale firefights unless you upgrade fully.  It also has a cloaking device, and level 2 engines so it makes a good ship for quick attacks on lone ships or small convoys.  With three forward firing torpedo tubes, it can easily take out a scout another destroyer or a cruiser, especially if the approach is made while cloaked.  One drawback to flying a destroyer is the weak level 1 sensors that prevent you from seeing many of your enemies until you are right on top of them.  When upgraded to power 5, shield 4, engine 3, and with three plasma tubes, a destroyer can be a formidable ship in the right hands. You must have a rank of at least Lieutenant to fly a destroyer.


Cruiser

The cruiser, being a larger ship, affords its captain the luxury of more powerful shields, although at the expense of not having a cloaking device.  It has five forward firing torpedo tubes. For such a large ship, it is relatively nimble, although the lack of a cloak makes it hard to escape some sticky situations.  You must be at least a Captain to fly a Cruiser.


Battleship

The battleship bridges the large gap between the cruiser and the dreadnought. It has three torpedo tubes, one laserI, and a grenade tube. When upgraded and in the right hands, it can be deadly. The battleship is a little faster than your average dreadnought but has the same number of tubes. And hey! It just looks scarier too!


Dreadnought

Powerful shields up to level 6, room for Power:5, laserI, and four forward firing rapid fire torpedo tubes.  If you can't rack up kills in this baby, don't go online.  A tractor beam module allows friendly players to dock with you and help repair their ships or you can use it to capture enemy players and convert them to your race.  The tractor/dock is also used to transport your colonies from planet to planet although it is a slow process with a Dreadnought.  You must be at least a Commodore to fly a Dreadnought. Dreadnoughts are very capable of blockading because of their heavy shielding. If you're new, try to avoid them.


Starbase

A starbase is a key element of your race's resources. Without a starbase, you can't upgrade and your home planet is vulnerable. Starbases have a laserIII system, one Rapid2 tube, and two Plasma Tubes. In combination, this can be sudden death for many players. Few experienced players can survive an attack from a starbase and attacks on planets guarded by a starbase are usually in groups. When flying a starbase, your best defense against humans is the laserIII. To use the laser, press "A" to select your nearest enemy and press "F" to fight them. The laser will auto-fire at them. Starbases are also good for blockading enemy planets because of their shielding.

 

7.5: Weapons and Systems

Following are descriptions of the different ships systems.  

System Name

Description

Shields

Shields help prevent your ship's systems from taking damage.  They aren't perfect and shields lower than level 2 are very weak. When your shields are at zero percent, the functionality of your power plant and other devices inside starts to drop.

Power Plant

All your ships systems derive their energy from your power planet. When its functionality goes to zero, your ship blows up.

Torpedoes

Normally front mounted, torpedoes are the basic weapon brandished by all ships.  Torpedoes do between 90 and 500 points of damage.  Watch out for rapid fire torpedo tubes that can launch about 30 rounds per second. Plasma is the most powerful Torpedo tube.

Seeking Missiles

Watch out for these self-propelled missiles.  They lock onto you and are very hard to shake and do between 120 and 180 points of damage.  They make for an extremely tough long range weapon since you never have to see your enemy to fire at him. Use the cloaking device to escape these weapons, as they go right over you in cloak.

Mines

If you see these sparkling balls floating around take extreme caution.  The blast from a mine can cause damage from a distance and it will continue to damage for as long as the explosion is visible.  They will explode when an enemy ship comes within a certain distance of them.  You could lose your ship with one hit.

Lasers

Lasers come in three classes - laserI and laserII and laserIII. LaserI is weaker and has a small reach. It is often mounted on smaller ships. It has a firing radius of about 90 degrees. LaserIII is most common on starbases and can reach extremely far. Beware these deadly weapons in combination with others.

Grenades

Grenades are smaller mines that can be propelled at roughly the speed of a Torpedo. They have warheads of from 1500 to 2000. Look out they can be dangerous to the target or to the user. The blast range is huge. Often, if one of these is fired at you, you can fire your own grenade and detonate it so that the other bomb blows up in your enemies' faces. To detonate one of your grenades, press the "Delete" key on the number pad of your keyboard. Grenades come in three different classes. GrenadeI is the one with the warhead of 1500. GrenadeII is the same but has a warhead of 1750. GrenadeIII has a warhead of 2000 and can seek your ship just like a seeker missile. If a GrenadeIII hits you with anything lower than shield 5, you are dead.

 

7.6: Keyboard and Mouse Controls

The main controls of your ship are on the numeric keypad.

7.6.1: Numeric Keypad Ship Controls

 

Key

Function

End (1)

Left thrust

Down Arrow (2)

Reverse Thrust

Pg Dn (3)

Right thrust

Right Arrow (6)

Rotate clockwise

Center Button

Forward thrust

Left Arrow (4)

Rotate counter clockwise.

Up Arrow (8)

Boost

Pg Up, Home

(nothing)

Ins

Brakes

Enter

Send a chat message.  Must press Tab first to enter the chat window and type message.

+

Zoom radar and mini-map windows in

-

Zoom radar and mini-map windows out

7.6.2: Mouse Controls

 

Button

Function

<shift> 
Function

Right

Thrust

 

Left

Fire Weapons

Select Object

Middle

Select Object

 

When using the right button to turn your ship, thrust is applied as long as the button is pressed.  Your ship will turn until it is facing where the mouse pointer was when you clicked.

When using the left button to fire your weapons, ll weapons that can fire in the direction toward the mouse pointer will fire in that direction.
 

7.6.3: Main Keyboard Ship Controls

 

Key

Function

<shift> 
Function

<control> 
Function

<shift> 
<control> 
Function

<space>

fire all normal-fire tubes

 

order fleet to fire all non-specialized tubes (coming in a future update)

 

1

fire tube 1

toggle the auto-fire setting.  When set to auto-fire the tube will continue firing until it has discharged or runs out of missiles.

toggle the manual-fire setting.  When set ot manual fire the tube will not activate when the space bar is pressed, but it will always respond to its corresponding number key.

 

2

fire tube 2

toggle the auto-fire setting.  When set to auto-fire the tube will continue firing until it has discharged or runs out of missiles

toggle the manual-fire setting.  When set ot manual fire the tube will not activate when the space bar is pressed, but it will always respond to its corresponding number key.

 

3

fire tube 3

toggle the auto-fire setting.  When set to auto-fire the tube will continue firing until it has discharged or runs out of missiles

toggle the manual-fire setting.  When set ot manual fire the tube will not activate when the space bar is pressed, but it will always respond to its corresponding number key.

 

4,5,6, etc.

fire tube 4,5,6, etc.

toggle the auto-fire setting.  When set to auto-fire the tube will continue firing until it has discharged or runs out of missiles

toggle the manual-fire setting.  When set ot manual fire the tube will not activate when the space bar is pressed, but it will always respond to its corresponding number key.

 

c

stealth system toggle on/off

 

order fleet to toggle stealth system state on/off (coming in a future update)

 

d

dock with nearest available dock (it could be a transport).  To dock with the nearest space station press <shift>-"d"

 

order fleet to dock with nearest spacestation with available docks (coming in a future update)

 

<tab>

Toggles Chat window on/off. A green border appears around the Chat window to indicate it's active.

 

 

 

r

 

 

 

 

+

zoom main window in

 

 

 

-

zoom main window out

 

 

 

v

 

 

 

 

t

switch to targeting computer

 

 

 

a

acquire nearest enemy target

 

 

 

z

 

aquires self as target

 

 

f

attack (fight) target

follow target (do not attack)

 

 

y

tractor (yank) target and board. Once boarded, a friendly pilot takes control of the ship

 

 

 

d

dock with nearest available dock (it could be a transport). Once docked, press "d" again to undock.

dock with the nearest space station with available docks 

 

 

j

ask friendly ships to join you (low priority request)

ask targeted ship to join your fleet (high priority request).  If the targeted object is a friendly colony, then it will request a colony (see  Request a colony )

summon all available lower rank officers to join your fleet (low priority request)

summon all available lower rank officers to join your fleet (high priority request)

<backspace>

refit your ship (only if docked to a space station).  The available ships are dependent on your rank

 

refit a ship under construction.  You must have targeted a computer-controlled ship under construction and you must outrank the player whose ship you are refitting (coming in a future update)

 

n

switch to video screen view to navigational computer and show nearest planet,asteroid, or moon

switch to video screen view to navigational computer and show nearest friendly planet,asteroid, or moon

 

 

g

go to the planet shown in the navigation computer.  If the navigation window is not active you will go to the last planet you viewed.

go to the planet shown in the navigation computer.  If the navigation window is not active you will go to the last planet you viewed.  If a colony resides on the planet it will be targeted.

 

 

s

switch video screen to status window.  Pressing "s" additionally will toggle the status detail view.

 

 

 

m

switch the video screen to the message window

 

 

 

p

switch the video screen to the player list window.  Pressing "p" additionally will toggle the race list.

 

 

 

<

the function depends on which mode the video window is in. 

navigation: selects the preceding planet (does not include moons and asteroids) 

status: moves the ">" pointer to the next system 

status detail: displays detail for the next system 

target: selects the preceding visible target

the function depends on which mode the video window is in. 

navigation: selects the preceding friendly planet, moon or asteroid

the function depends on which mode the video window is in. 

navigation: selects the preceding planet, moon or asteroid (friendly or otherwise)

 

>

the function depends on which mode the video window is in. 

navigation: selects the next planet (does not include moons and asteroids) 

status: moves the ">" pointer to the preceding system 

status detail: displays detail for the preceding system 

target: selects the next visible target

the function depends on which mode the video window is in. 

navigation: selects the next friendly planet, moon or asteroid

the function depends on which mode the video window is in. 

navigation: selects the next planet, moon or asteroid (friendly or otherwise)

 

\

toggles the lock state of the ship system between locked, unlocked and standby.  See Build up your ship. 

restriction: the video screen must be in status or status detail mode ("s")

drop the designated system

 

 

' (back quote)

activate counter measures (if installed).  A message will indicate how many missiles were scrambled.

 

 

 

[

display the currently assigned colonization target

 

 

 

]

assign the colonization target to the planet, moon or asteroid shown in the navigation computer. 

restriction: the video screen must be in navigation mode.

 

 

 

o

orbit the nearest planet, moon or asteroid

 

 

 

/

generic release: if docked, it will release you; if docked to another object it will release you; if you are being tractored by a friendly ship or are tractoring an object, it will turn the tractor beam off; if assigned a duty, it will release you to manual control.

 

releases all ships assigned to your fleet, or that are currently following you

 

x

self-destruct.  Damage will accumulate for as long as you depress the key, so hold it until the ship explodes.

 

 

 

<f1>

toggle in-flight help

 

 

 

<f7>

toggle debug/lag information on/off

 

 

 

<f10>

Exit

 

 

 

<f9>

Resync with the server (when lag is really bad).

 

 

 

 

 

Tips and Tricks for Mid-level Players:

These are just some small things that can help you win a battle in Stellar Frontier. Besides the basic idea of colonizing, these are some of the most important tactics in the game.

(1) Always keep moving. Stopping your ship to do anything is suicide in a large game. When moving around in a dogfight, move in circles around your opponent and back up when needed to avoid fire. Don't try to go forward to dodge.

(2) Defending a Planet:

o Planetary Defense System: to lay out a huge amount of mines, or grenades, simply orbit a planet and press 1o1o1o1o1o1 as much as you like. A steady stream of bombs come out that can be lethal to many ships that are attacking your planet. But be careful. These bombs can easily blow up in your face. Also, beware using GrenadeIIIs since when you orbit, you automatically target the planet colony.

o A good defense perimeter for a planet is laying out colonies around it. The colonies have lasers that can, in large amounts, cripple even shield 6. The enemy often must destroy the colonies to get to the planet, so you may want to use colonies with low population.


(3) Sniping starbases is an easy way even for a scout to take out a race's means of upgrading, if the starbases are not set to invulnerable in the game you are in. First, get just outside of the range of the StarBase. Then, get up a good speed and start shooting in the direction of the Base. Back up just before you are in range and do it over again. Soon, the StarBase will be taken out and you won't have a scratch on your hull. This method does need some practice to master it, though.

 

Copyright 2000 Stardock