Tutorial
Basics
This is a simple text based tutorial.
To start the round tap a star you want to start at and you will warp to it.
To quit Practice (or any other) mode, just tap the Pause button, then when the Abort slider appears slide it all the way to the right.
Drag your finger to the right slowly.
Mission
Your mission is to earn as many credits as you can by collecting stars. Each star color is worth a different amount, but try to avoid black holes.
Star Values:
- (Blue) New Star: 2 credits
- Yellow Dwarf: 4 credits
- Red Giant: 6 credits
- White Dwarf: 10 credits
- Black Hole: -10 credits
Combos
You can earn even more credits by collecting the same type/color star as the one you previously collected. This action is called a combo.
While three Yellow Dwarfs are normally only worth 12 credits when, you collect them right after the other you have earned 24 credits. Add a fourth Yellow Dwarf and your total is now 40 credits!
Bounties
Besides trying to get large combos you should also be on the look out for bounties.
By collecting the stars in the order shown for the current bounty sequence you earn a bonus amount of credits when you finish the sequence.
When you collect a bounty the bonus amount will increase for the next available bounty.
Star Field
The star field contains a max of 100 stars.
You must navigate your starship so that you maximize the credits that you earn.
However, you must move fast because you have a limited time before the star field adjust.
When the star field adjusts, it will be refill with stars and your current combo and work on the bounty will be reset.
Difficulty
There are four difficulty levels:
The difficulty level is connected to how fast your ship moves.
As the speed gauge increases, the distribution of star types in the star field will also change.
Note: The speed gauge does not affect the speed of your ship’s movement in the star field.
Warping
If you are stuck or want to be somewhere else in the star field you can warp there.
First touch the star you want to warp to (the star you are touching will appear bigger). Then touch anywhere else on the screen with another finger to activate the warp.
While this is very useful it will also reset your combo and your work on the bounty.
In other words to warp you need to press and tap.
First select which star you want to warp to.
Press the star you have picked. The star you are pressing will grow to show your selection. If the wrong star is selected move your finger around until the right one is.
Tap with another finger anywhere on the screen. This could be on the star field or on the dashboard.
You will need to keep your first finger on the screen until you have finished tapping. The lifting of the second finger will trigger the warp to the star that is currently selected.
After you have finished tapping with the second finger the starship will warp to the selected position.
Also note that you can use this more precise warping gesture at the star of the mission if you prefer it.
Practice
You have now finished the tutorial.
To start Practice mode just press the green button in the upper right corner now or at any time while viewing the tutorial.
You can change the Tutorial star into a Practice star with a setting.
To get to the settings click the blue “i” button when it is visible then pick the Settings star.
Game Modes
Endurance
Endurance missions test your stamina as you try to keep flying and collecting stars as long as you can.
When you collect a star as part of a combo the progress meter fills up. Every time the star field refills the progress meter goes down.
Your mission will be over when the progress meter gets completely empty.
Time
Time based missions are very simple.
You just collect stars until time runs out.
There are four time lengths available:
2, 4, 6 and 8 minutes.
Out of Control
Being out of control is different from other missions. Your ship is \"Out of Control\" and is always moving forward.
It is your job to keep the ship on the best path until it runs out of fuel.
Also note that warping is not available.
You can start with a full or half tank of fuel.
Round
There are 20 rounds to clear and they get harder as the round number gets higher.
Your goal in each round is to collect your star quota by collecting stars that add to the current combo.
You can choose to skip easier rounds, but you will miss out on large round completed bonuses.
Puzzle Modes
To complete a puzzle you must collect all the stars in the star field in one continues sequence.
If one of the stars is in the puzzle is a black hole you must collect it last.
No warping is allowed.
There are three different modes to try to solve the puzzles in.
Normal Puzzle Mode
When facing a puzzle in the normal mode you can take as much time as you need to solve it.
It doesn't matter how you solve it or how long you take. It just matters that you solve it.
Score Puzzle Mode
If you want more of a challenge then the normal mode provides, you can try to solve the puzzle with the highest possible credit total.
So there is more to solving the puzzle then just collecting all the stars in the star field.
Out of Control Puzzle Mode
For a real challenge, try to solve the puzzle when you cannot stop and think.
Your ship is out of control and all you can do is change the direction the ship is going as you try to solve the puzzle.
If this is still too easy for you?
Try a higher difficulty setting, which will make your ship move faster.
Practice
This mode has no goal and just lets you practice collecting stars as long as you want.
Settings
Most of the settings are implemented with a check box type of system.
Right Handed
This setting determines if the controls are setup for use with a right or left hand.
When this setting is on the dashboard and controls will be on the right hand side, when it is off they will be on the left hand side.
This shows the default of the dashboard on the right side of the screen.
This shows the dashboard on the left side of the screen.
Practice Visible
This setting determines if the Practice or Tutorial star is shown in the Main Star System.
When this setting is on Practice will be visible.
Access to both practice and the tutorial will always be available in the Main Star System regardless of the state of this setting.
You can access the tutorial from the Practice star by using the Help button, and you can start up Practice mode with the green button at anytime while viewing the tutorial.
Quick Resume
This setting determines if a mission that was interrupted by using the 'Home' button will automatically load the next time the App starts.
When this setting is on the mission will automatically resume and when it is off a new star for resuming will be in the Main Star System.
Also, when this setting is on, the current star system will also be restored if you are not inside a mission.
For more information about resuming a mission after the 'Home' button is pressed see the State Restore section.
Sound Settings
You can adjust the sound volume levels independently for the background music and sound effects.
Note: The sound volume is based on the device’s setting. So if you want the sound loader try increasing the device’s volume.
Profile
There are five profile slots which can be used by different users of the application. A profile is used to link high scores and statistics to a specific person.
Quick Profile Switch
This setting determines if there will be a star in the Main Star System that will bring you to the star system where you can change the current profile.
When this setting is on the profile switch star will be in the Main Star System.
This is useful when there are multiple people sharing the same device.
This shows the profile switch star in the Main Star System.
State Restore
When the 'Home' button on the device is pressed or the application is stopped by accepting a call the current state of the game will be saved so it can be restarted later. The saving of the state does not always happen, for example if you are at the end of playing a mode or have not yet started a mode it will not be saved.
Normal Restore
During the normal restoring, the menu state is never saved and to restart the mission where you left off you need to use the "Resume" star on the Main Star System. However, starting a different mode or changing profiles will prevent you from resuming this specific mission.
Please note that you must finish or abort a mission that can be restored in order to have it update your stats.
This shows the resume star in the Main Star System.
Quick Restore
When the quick restore setting is on the mission will automatically resume when you next start the application. If you were still in the menu system when the application was last quick the menu page you were last on will be returned to on startup instead of the default Main Star System.
Please note that when accepting a phone call the state that is saved will alway be saved in quick restore mode even if you have this setting off.
Star Collection
Your star collection contains achievements that you have collected in your missions as well as stats and information on those you have not yet achieved.
There are ten different stars to collect, which are used to determine your pilot rank.
Can you collect them all?
Pilot Rank Based on Stars in Collection:
- 0: Pilot Trainee
- 1-2: Copilot
- 3-4: Pilot
- 5-6: ???
- 7-9: ???
- 10: ???
Pay Day
Earn at least 25000 credits on a single flight in Endurance mode.
Mission Complete
Complete round 20 in Round mode.
Time Traveler
Complete all 4 of the time lengths in Time mode.
Puzzle Master
Solve all 40 puzzles.
In Control
Get through a full tank of fuel in Out of Control mode without collecting a Black Hole.
Combo Royalty
Achieve a combo of at least 20 stars. Combos in Practice and Puzzle modes do not count.
Bounty Hunter
Collect at least 10 bounties in one flight. Flights in Practice mode do not count.
Frequent Flyer
Log at least 5 hours of flight. Flight time from Practice mode does not count.
Collector
Collect at least 25000 stars. Stars collected in Practice mode do not count.
Millionaire
Collect at least 1000000 credits. Credits from Practice and Puzzle modes do not count.