Exploration

Exploration and boldly going where nobody has gone before (except for a few billion aliens in their sleek spaceships, all better than the Vindicator) is a core element of Star Control.

System navigation
There are two things a starship captain needs to keep in mind when navigating in space. The first is to keep an eye on your fuel; the helium-3 that powers a ship's reactors only lasts so long. Second, Newton's laws still apply; just because you cut thrust does not mean that you will come to an immediate halt. The gravity wells of the planets and stars you will often be in proximity to will see to that.

To actually control your flagship use the A and D keys or left controller stick to turn left and right. The W key or the up direction on the stick will engage thrust. Keep the thrust on to accelerate until you reach your maximum velocity that your current configuration can sustain.

To interact with a station, ship or planet simple move to intercept it, and in the case of a friendly alien/world use the E button to hail. Remember, you can always cut thrust and turn before re-engaging to alter your trajectory. With a little practice this should quickly become second nature.

Hyperspace
Reaching the edge of a star system will activate your hyperdrive module and open a window into hyperspace. Once in hyperspace the controls to turn and thrust are much the same as they are while traversing from planet to planet. Two differences to your movement in this space are an increased use of fuel and the lack of any gravity wells altering your course.

In the top right is your hyperwave radar. Depending on your upgrades this will give a deep range snapshot of not only nearby stars and artificial bodies, but also other interstellar vessels. You can see other vessels as grey triangles, while starbases will appear as blue circles with crosshairs. Opposite of the radar you will see your coordinates represented in an X and Y axis.

One very important feature of hyperspace is that when you enter a star system you will emerge from the same angle as you enter. Take note of the planets and vessels in a system before you move to enter a system. Taking advantage of hyperspace can help you avoid combatants and more quickly reach your intended destination.

Hypergates
Hypergates are a unique feature of Precursor starbases, even less well understood than hyperdrives themselves. But the advantage of this alien supertechnology is immediately obvious: from any Precursor starbase you can immediately jump to any other previously discovered Precursor starbase at no cost.