Home | System Data | Ship Data | Equipment Data | Trade Goods | How to Play | Hints and Tips | Bulletin Board


FRONTIER HELP - HOW TO FLY


This guide is intended to teach rookie pilots how to operate their ship's controls. Most veteran pilots will swear by their own methods, which may well be different to those detailed here, but each pilot flies differently, and the style one man favours may not be appropriate for the next.

1. The standard in-flight controls and different engine modes
2. Launching and Docking
3. Using the Current System Map
4. Different Views
5. the Stardreamer Time Control Unit
6. Fuel Condumption and Refuelling



Basic Controls

To make the ship dive: Hold the A key, push the joystick shaft forward or move the mouse forwards while holding down the right-hand mouse button.

To make the ship climb: Hold the Z key, pull the joystick shaft back or move the mouse backwards while holding down the right-hand mouse button.

To go left: Hold the < key, move the joystick left or move the mouse to the left while holding down the right hand mouse button.

To go right: Hold the > key, move the joystick right or move the mouse to the right while holding down the right hand mouse button.

To Accelerate / increase set speed: Hold the ENTER key

To Decelerate / decrease set speed: Hold the SHIFT key

Engine Modes

The F7 icon, on the right hand side of the display, is operational in View mode only. It switches between Engines Off and Manual flight. The Autopilot is by far the easiest way to control your craft but does not give you a sense of achievement. If you have an Autopilot and have selected a target, then the Flight Control icon will cycle through Autopilot too. When you are landed, the Vertical Take-Off icon is the only option available. The term "Engines Off" is misleading - you can still use your engines when Engines Off is selected.

When Manual Control is selected, two numbers are shown in the lefthand corner of the screen - Set Speed and Actual Speed. Speed is controlled with the Return key to accelerate and the right-hand Shift key to decelerate. Two speed values are displayed on the screen: Set speed and Actual speed. The first is the requested speed, set by the keys above and the second is the speed relative to the most important body in your vicinity. This important body can be a planet, star or a space station or very large spaceship, and is selected by the on board computer. If you fly away from it and the computer then designates another, the actual speed will change, as will the velocity.

You will notice that the velocity sight will move as the on-board computer adjusts your speed relative to the new body. For those who are happy to point your ship at something and go, this is all you need to know.

The main problem for beginners is that they are usually accustomed to driving surface based vehicles in reasonable gravity, or have only used poor quality space flight simulators. What needs to be borne in mind is that when direction is changed, the experience is rather like skidding. If your ship is travelling in one direction changing course will mean that the nose will turn but you still have momentum in the direction you were originally going. The engines will compensate for this but there is a lag, the duration of which will depend on the type of ship. For example the response rate of a fighter will be faster than that of a heavy cargo ship. This must be borne in mind at all times.

When Engines Off is selected, the ships engines do not work automatically. However, if you press ENTER the main thrusters fire for as long as you hold the key down, and if you press SHIFT the reverse thrusters fire. Only one number is shown - the Actual Speed.

To activate your autopilot, you must first have a target selected - usually a space station or starport. Most pilots select their target as soon as they enter the system by using the System Map, although you can select a target by clicking on it in the normal view. When a target is selected a sight will come up with targeting squares and the range in astronomical units or kilometres. If the target goes off the screen an arrow will appear pointing in its direction. If it is behind then Target Behind is displayed. Clicking where there is no potential target deselects any previouslyselected target.
Once your target is selected, press F7 or the engine icon until the autopilot icon appears. The computer will fly your ship for you, but be warned that it is a little unreliable and is liable to crash into other ships and planets - it will avoid them if it gets enough warning, but don't tell it to fly from one side of a planet to the other. Clicking where there is no potential target deselects any previously selected target.

The Autopilot balances fuel consumption against speed - and so does not optimise either. To get to your destination faster, put your mmain engines on full thrust for the first half of your journey, then at the halfway point turn your ship around and keep the engines going. As your main engines are more powerful than your retro thrusters, you should get to where you're going much quicker. If you want to decrease your fuel consumption, thrust until you reach a certain speed, then cruise with engines off until you near your destination.


Launching

Surface Take Off

A warning sign is shown over the Take Off icon (shown in place of the normal engine icons) if permission to launch has not been granted. If you are landed anywhere other than a starport (Landed Rough) you do not need to ask for clearance. If you are in a starport select the Communication icon F4 followed by Launch Request.

In View mode, press the takeoff button, or F7 on the keyboard, for take off. This gives you vertical thrust. The console will display Take Off.

Once you are airbourne, tilt the nose of your ship upwards and increase your Set Speed with the Enter key. After a certain time, the vertical thrust is turned off and your ship will fall back to the ground, so do this quickly. Using the rear view will display a pleasing panorama.

Launch From A Dock

Activate the Commuication icon F4 and select Launch Request. The Space Station authorities will open the airlock and propel your ship outwards. Then accelerate forwards using the Enter key - you must leave the area promptly because your clearance expires.

Landing And Docking

Landing Using the Autopilot

Select the starport or Space Station as the target for the autopilot. Activate the autopilot, and the computer will automatically get docking clearance and dock your ship. This is by far the easiest way to dock, but it can only be used when landing at a space station or starport, and not if you want to land rough (for mining etc.)

Landing Manually At A City With A Breathable Atmosphere (An Outdoor City)

Executing a manual landing will require practice, so try it in a relatively safe area. You may find it easier to use External View to align the ship. Remember though that the ship will appear to be stationary and the ground will seem to move. You may also find it helpful to use the targeting squares, obtained by setting your destination as a target .

The easiest method is to make a pass over the port while waiting for clearance (Communication icon F4) and lowering the undercarriage (Undercarriage icon F9). The Autopilot does this automatically when landing, but in Manual Flight you must operate it yourself. If the undercarriage has not been lowered you will crash land. When you have been told which landing pad to use, aim to be more or less at zero speed when you come to rest above it. If you select Engines Off, gravity will take you down, with the on board computer stabilising the ship. If you feel that you are descending too fast, angle the nose of your ship upwards and thrust slightly. If there is little or no gravity, you may have to thrust slightly with the nose down to start with, but be careful.

Landing At A City With No Breathable Atmosphere

Follow the same guidelines as for an outdoor city with a breathable atmosphere. The only difference is the appearance of the landing area, covered with a hexagonal airlock door. When clearance is granted, the aperture will open to reveal the landing pad. Don`t ask for permission too early or you will find that the clearance will be withdrawn and the airlock shut. Again, the targeting squares may be helpful by providing a 'tunnel' through which you can fly.

Docking At A Space Station

Request permission for docking (Communication icon F4) and wait until the red flashing light turns white and orange homing lights are visible it is illegal to approach prematurely. When you get close to the space station, the onboard computer matches your roll with that of the station so you do not have to make difficult calculations in order to dock. Position the ship immediatly in front of the docking entrance and proceed slowly. The dock`s vechicle arrest mechanism will halt the craft provided your speed is not excessive.

Landing Rough

Landing Rough means landing at a place on a planet's surface where there is no spaceport. Landing procedure is the same as landing at an open-air starport, except that you don't need to ask for permission, and you can't get targetting tunnels or use the Autopilot.


Using The Current System Map

Viewing The Configuration Of Orbits

1. Select the Map icon F2 twice and a map of the system you are currently in is displayed, showing the configuration of the orbits.

2. Zoom in and out with the Zoom icons F7 and F8.

3. Alter the viewing angle by holding down the right-hand mouse button and moving the mouse as for the Galactic map.

Viewing Orbits With Respect To Time

The orbital map shows a 'snapshot' of the positions of bodies. Select the Forward or Rewind icons on the right of the view screen to predict the positions at different times. The time and date shown at the bottom left-hand side of the screen will change. The real time is displayed underneath it.

Viewing A Specific Body

Click on a body which will then become central on the screen and use the Zoom icons F7 and F8. Note that the Autopilot can be targeted using the Current System map

Manipulating The System Map

Select the Tools icon F9 and two different icons become available which enable you to adjust certain features of the map.

The Orbital icon F9 will remove the Orbital paths.

The Information Text icon F10 will remove the names of the bodies.


The F1 icon allows you to cycle through a choice of views of the space through which you are travelling. They are: Front, Rear and External (and Turret if fitted).

Front View

This gives the view in the direction in which your ship is pointing. It is not necessarily the direction in which you are travelling. If you have a gun at the front, a sight will be positioned on the screen in the shape of a cross.

In Front View mode you will see two crosses on your screen. One is a gun sight cross which shows which way you are facing, and the other is a diagonal cross, the velocity sight which indicates the direction in which you are travelling. When the two are in line it means that you are moving in the direction you are pointing. If they are separate, it means that your velocity is in the direction of the diagonal cross and you are pointing in the direction of the gun sight because, for example, you have suddenly changed course. If in "Manual Flight", you will hear the engines fire until alignment is achieved, You may see the velocity sight disappear when your direction of travel is not within the area of the screen if, for example, you veer wildly and the engines have not yet compensated enough.

To summarise, the gun sight shows the orientotion of the ship and is controlled by the pilot, the velocity sight indicates the direction of travel and is controlled by the on- board computer.

Your ship's internal gyros enable it to rotate, much like those in the ancient Earth satellites, good examples of which are now in the space museum in Apollonius City on the Moon. While greatly superior now, the gyros still have a limit to the rate at which you can turn, so don't expect to spin 'on a sixpence' (small coin used in Britain on Earth, about 1,200 years ago).

Rear View

A view in exactly the opposite direction to the front view. A sight will only be visible if you have a gun mounted on the rear.

External View

An external view is simulated by your onboard computer and can be useful for aligning your ship. Some landings are particularly pleasing if viewed in this mode. Use the Arrow (Cursor) keys to change the angle of view, the - key to zoom in and the + key to zoom out. This can be used for general surveillance of the surrounding space.

It needs to be borne in mind that the view is locked to the orientation of the ship. For example, if you are looking at the craft from the side and it is rolling, you will not see it roll, but the space around it will appear to move and the craft will stay still.

Turret View

If you have top or bottom turrets on your ship this icon will become available and is needed in order to fire lasers from turrets. If you have two turrets (top and bottom) and you select this icon, the view presented will come from the turret you were using last. Use of the right- hand mouse button will move the angle of view, not the orientation of the ship. If, when using the mouse, you dip below the level of the turret, the view automatically changes to the other turret if you have one.


The Stardreamer Time Control Unit

The Stardreamer Time Control unit is fitted as standard on all ships due to regulations regarding Wilbron's psychosis. This condition is known to afflict the space traveller who endures lengthy, uneventful journeys. Boredom becomes so intense after all leisure pursuits have been exhausted that pilots have been known to fly their craft into the odd star or planet just to liven things up a bit.

Using The Stardreamer Time Control

This is best used with the Autopilot, although it can be used in Manual flight. Use the Time Control icons to the bottom left of your screen, above the view icons (after targeting your destination if using the Autopilot) toselect the rate of time acceleration. Time appears to increase in steps often from ten times to ten thousand times, depending on the icon selected. Return to real time by selecting the single arrow.

Sit back and a combination of a Zilman field and ultrasonic waves induce a semi- hypnotic state which renders you unaware of the passage of time other than seeing the range indicator change rapidly in front of you. This effect was discovered by Dr Rabbne by accident when he revised why his projects were running over time for no apparent reason. Reassuringly, if your ship is attacked or hailed or you have arrived at your destination, the Stardreamer will restore you to full consciousness and real time. If there is still a hostile ship within 20km, you will not be allowed to re-activate the Stardreamer until the enemy has been destroyed or you have moved further than 20km away from him.


Fuel Consumption

Normal flight consumes much less fuel than hyperspace jumps and for that reason fuel for this purpose is kept separately in an engine tank from the hyperspace fuel (kept in the hold). Class 1 Engines hold one tonne, Class 2 Engines hold two tonnes, and so on. You do not need to refill very often and the current level can be seen on the green gauge (left most of three) in the dials area, to the right of the scanner.

Refilling The Engine Fuel Tank

Spare fuel for refilling the engine tank is carried in the hold in one tonne units.

To refuel the engine tank, select the Inventory icon F3 until the Ship Equipment page is displayed. (Refuelling is done automatically with the Auto Refueller fitted.)

Click on the Refuel button to transfer the fuel into the engine tank from the hold. Each time you click you transfer one tonne of fuel, so for bigger ships you may have to click several times.

If the engine tank only needs one third of a tonne, two thirds will be wasted as the hold tank transfers units of one tonne only.

Return to the main "How to Play" page