Ships

Movement controls

The movement controls menu

If a formation action menu is opened movement controls will be applied to the guide ship.

Display	Setting	Effects
ORB	Orbit Position	Move to a designated area and orbit around it
POS	Move To Position	Move to a designated area and hold position
CHD	Clear Hold Heading	Cancels a Hold Heading command
HDG	Hold Heading	Face the selected direction regardless of heading
CRS	Drive Course	Travel in a direction indefinitely
CRL	Clear Roll Ship	Cancels a Roll Ship command
ROL	Roll Ship	Selects a new direction as the "up" direction of the ship
FRM	Form With Ship	Choose a ship to become a guide ship and then designate a position around it
CLR	Clear HDG/ROL	Cancels Hold Heading and Roll Ship commands
ALD	Assume Lead	Become the new guide ship of the formation
ALL STOP	Hold Position	Cancels all movement commands

Tactics

• ORB / Orbit Position allows most weapons to have a good angle on the target. However it also exposes the same armor side continuously, which can be whittled down with enough fire.
• HDG / Hold Heading can be used to avoid exposing the main engines, drive module and reactor to enemy fire but the ships will have less acceleration.
• ROL / Roll Ship can be used to keep certain weapons or radar panels angled at an enemy ship. Ships can roll faster than enemy ships of the same size can position around them.
• ALD / Assume Lead is useful if the guide ship becomes disabled but the rest of the fleet need to carry on with their objective.

Posture controls

Posture controls determine how a ship will operate and maneuver and which sensor and defensive systems are enabled.

Display	Full name	Settings
THRTL	Throttle Control	1/3: Ship will move at 1/3 of max speed. 2/3: Ship will move at 2/3 of max speed. FULL: Ship will move at max speed. FLANK: Ship will move above max speed. Prolonged use will cause damage to engines.
MNVR	Maneuvering Posture	DIRECT: Ship will move in a straight line. EVADE: Ship will make random course changes to attempt to avoid incoming fire.
FORM	Formation Positioning	Determines how all ships in the current formation take position relative to the guide. True positioning will keep the same true bearings regardless of the direction the guide is facing. Relating positioning will reposition escorts when the guide turns. Setting this applies to all ships in the same formation. In Loose mode the guide will not slow down to let lagging escorts catch up.
BSHRT	Battle-Short	OFF: Specialized equipment will shut down after 90 seconds of use. ON: Specialized equipment will periodically receive damage after 90 seconds of use.
RADAR	Radar Emissions Control	ON: Ship sensors are active. OFF: Ship sensors are inactive. -25% signature.
COMM	Communications Emissions Control	XMIT: Ship comms are active. RECV: Ship sensors are inactive. -10% signature.
ESUPT	Electronic Support Modules	Controls the activity of passive electronic support modules. Does not reduce signature, but can be toggled to reduce clutter once a sensor track has been acquired on a signal.
WCON	Weapons Control	FREE: Ship will automatically return fire with non-missile weapons on targets that are firing at them. TIGHT: Ship will not attack except when given a target. HOLD: Ship will not attack. Turrets will still bear on any current target.
PDTRT	Point Defenses - Turrets	Controls the automatic or manual tasking of point defense turrets. When in MAN, turrets will only shoot at designated point defense priorities. When in DEDI, only dedicated point defense turrets will be used and dual-purpose weapons will be left idle.
PDSML	Point Defenses - Missiles	Controls the firing of interceptor missiles. Click to open policy settings.
DECOY	Point Defenses - Decoys	LEAST: Only the lowest-capability decoy necessary to defeat a given threat will be deployed. If the missile type is unknown all decoys will be fired. BEST: Only the highest-capability decoy necessary to defeat a given threat will be deployed. If the missile type is unknown all decoys will be fired. AUTO: All decoys compatible with the threat will be deployed. If the missile type is unknown all decoys will be fired. MAN: Decoys can only be deployed manually via the Action Menu.
PDZNE	Point Defense Zone	AREA: Point defenses will target all missiles, prioritizing the ones threatening the ship. POINT: Point defenses will target only missiles threatening the ship.

TODO: ADD PIC

Missiles

Missiles are the most powerful weapons but they have limited ammunition, can be shot down and fire slower than other weapons. The number of missiles that can be prepared to fire at the same time depends on the ship's maximum salvo size. There are three types of missile guidance:

• Command guided missiles are guided by the launching ship. They fly in a straight line and if they miss the target they will turn around and try again until they runs out of fuel, are shot down, or finally hit the target. They are very difficult to avoid but can be rendered harmless by destroying the launching ship or jamming its sensors or communications. Command guided missiles must be shot at a sensor track.
• Active radar guided missiles guide themselves. They can be ordered to fly along indirect paths. When they reach the end of their path they will seek a target in a cone in front of them. If fired at long range they can be avoided with evasive maneuvers. They are also vulnerable to jamming or sufficiently advanced decoys.
• Semi-active guided missiles guide themselves but require an illuminator to home in on a target. The illuminating signal can be provided by any ship with an illuminator but can be blocked by asteroids. They are less vulnerable to jamming and decoys.