FAQs

General

Is this game suitable for children?

The game content itself is all pretty child friendly provided if you are ok with ship to ship violence, but I cannot vouch for all the in game chat. There is a swear filter that is on by default and you can disable chat if concerned. I will also be adding an offline version soon.

I am also toying with the idea of adding an in game casino with simulated gambling (just in game money). Please contact me if that idea concerns you, I could maybe also have that as an option that could be switched off.

The game is in Early Access, how finished is it?

The game is pretty expansive, with lots to find and do. There are already players with hundreds of hours logged. But that said, there are still a few bugs, errors and issues that need sorting out. I also have a fair bit more content that I plan to add. Its possible that occasionally a version may occasionally break something, but if that happens, please let me know and I will fix asap.

Is this game like elite dangerous, eve online etc?

"Starfighter" started out as a "top down" game, and the gameplay here has been described as 2.5D. So the action takes place on a flat plane, but you can switch between 3 viewing modes: Top Down, Third Person/Follow Cam and Cockpit View. This kind of gameplay simplifies the action making it easier - you are not always wondering which way is up and can focus on dodging and fighting. Players often like to switch between these views depending on how far away enemies are or depending on their tactics. So its not a simulation like elite dangerous and its more of an action game than EVE.

The graphics are not as advanced as those games, but this means that weapons and content can be added quickly, meaning that there is a vast array of weapons, equipment and ships in this game that act differently allowing you to be creating with your ship setups

How is PvP handled in this game? Can you just get attacked randomly?

In normal play, by default all sectors are fully multiplayer. But due to there being a lot of sectors, you wont tend to run into enemies all that often, and if you do you may well be backed up by AI ships. However, if it gets difficult, you can always switch to co-op only mode, or single player mode.

There are also some occasions when you will be put in a separate instance of a sector e.g. if doing a mission, just to stop other players coming in and completing it for you, or making the mission extra difficult for you

Can the game be played offline?

I am working on an offline mode that will have seperate characters to online and no multiplayer, but will allow people to play singleplayer if they have no connection for whatever reason. This also ensures that the game will always be playable even if something happens to the servers, not that I foresee any reason that something should. 

Whats the best way to get XP/Level Up quickly?

I've tried to design the game around choice, so whether you want to explore, do missions or fighter other players, you will make XP progress. But if looking for place to start, maybe try doing some missions: Mission targets give a higher XP reward than a standard enemy and you will not have to wait around to encounter enemies randomly.

What happens when you run out of lives?

You launch an escape/survivor pod that attempts to hyperspace to the nearest friendly station. A escape/survivor pod is like a normal ship, but cannot be locked onto, and has low shields and is not very well armed. If that escape pod gets destroyed then it will launch another pod, but for a cost.

You lose the ship you left behind and any equipment its had on it + the contents of its cargo hold. So its best avoided, especially later in the game when you might have an expensive ship and rare items.

Is the UI/Font Scalable?

Some people have found the font in game a bit small depending on their display. There is a setting in the options menu: HUD Scale to make it all bigger. This is just a temporary fix until I find time to redo all the screens with a new font.

Does the game support 4K?

Yes, the game graphics will run at 4k, however the HUD is scaled up and will therefore wont be as crisp as the game itself - at least until I improve this at a later stage.

Does the game support ultrawide displays?

The game will run fine on ultra wide, the only thing is that some HUD elements things are displayed on the right/left of the screen, so you might have to turn your head. Not ideal, but I will add an option to bring in these elements to a more central position.

Can I play with a joypad?

The game supports an Xbox controller, or controllers designed to be similar. Other controllers might work, but aren't officially supported

Can I play with a mouse?

You cannot steer with the mouse as that won't really fit the gameplay style - its supposed to be like controlling a fighter jet and some ships are slow to turn + you can use the mouse to click on things on screen. So its not a good fit. However, after feedback from players, I added the ability to map the mouse buttons to keys, so you can use the buttons to shoot and the mouse wheel to select weapons or zoom in/out if that's what you would prefer. It plays quite well this way.

Can I design an Alien race or planet for the game?

This game was funded by a kickstarter campaign, and those were both rewards for backing with a certain amount, so it would be unfair for me to just allow anyone to do it. However feel free to post ideas on the discord, especially for Relics/objects to find.

If you want to have a planet in game named/designed by you, then I could consider doing it in return for a donation.

Any general, beginner tips?

I would say have a read through the help terminal at a station to figure out how things work. Try to use guided weapons at long range, and use the primary weapon at closer range. Upgrade and experiment with different primaries to find which one suits your play style.

Look into getting some equipment to stop incoming weapons, a Shield Bubble is a good one that is available early in the game.

You can mine asteroids and sell the minerals at a station via the Ships terminal (in cargo).

Also other players in game or on the discord might be willing to offer advice

VR

How VR friendly is this game?

The game was designed/planned initially around playing on a screen with the VR mode added in later, but on the whole I think it plays pretty nicely on VR controllers or with a joypad and is a great way to explore the game. There are a lot of controls that might take a while to memorise and chatting in game will be a bit slower due to having to type with a virtual keyboard. But I hope to add some voice 2 text, and/or some voice commands later, which might make this easier. See the videos page to see some footage

Do you have to play in VR?

No, VR is an additional option, the game trailer footage is pretty much all from screen gameplay and probably most players are not VR players.

Can I play with a joypad?

Yes, you can use an Xbox controller, the same way as in non VR mode, the controller bindings are the same, except right thumb has a weapon select radial menu instead of looking around (because you can use your head for that)

Is Windows Mixed Reality supported

Yes it is, although only with the xbox controller at the moment

Any more questions?

If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me and ask