Thanks again  I avoid them (speed of flagship is on max already). It's simply overhelming sometimes Thanks to your help the fight will go on! 

Thank you! Two more questions I have at the moment.

1. Is there any way to gather infos or is it only random, if I go to the right star systems? My base commander says, the red/blue cristalls with the absurd agil ships will overrun everything within a year or so. I shall stop that. Ok. So what now? The master trader has no infos about them (or has so much infos, that I can't find the infos I need ) I tried every dialogue, but no clue where they come from. Is there any ingame method to find out? An other example: I found this lemon-aliens (orz or something like that). They talk in riddles. My character is not sure, if we have an ally or not. How to find out? Third: Made an alliance with this enlightened bird-guys (really love them!  ) They told me to destroy the spider-eggs. So - where to get a clue, where to find it? You get the idea: There are so many interesting plots - but nearly no clues how to make the next step in the storyline.

2. Combat still is so fast/hard, that it is demotivating me sometimes. I travelled to ZogFot (the Rigel-Mission-Line) and met some black Ur-Quan-whatevers. They blow me out of space so easy, that I have to ask: Do I have to beat them? I stand no chance against them oder the cloaked spiders, not the slightest chance. I'm an awful space captain for sure So: Makes it sense to invest so much time, if I fight so bad? Or do I still have a chance to beat the game? At least I overcome this quick-cristalls quite easy with my flagship. They are the only ones I can beat 

Hm, I loose much time.... guess I will loose the first try  However - are star systems always the same? Is it helpful to make notes on the systems, or are the random generated in every game?

First I want to thank you guys - no "haha it's so easy you noob" posts here, but many very valuable tipps. Great help from your side!    Startet new yesterday, stayed out of Spider-Space and had the one or other little victory in space. Mankind is not lost yet!  Although I regard space combat very strong depending on luck... Had some battles against these machine-guys who tell of peace and run havoc some seconds later (could also be human behaviour  ). They are so fast, had to reload from time to time...
However, the game is great fun and thanks to you advice, I will keep on fighting for the "Federation of Stars" 
Thanks again!

Ok, I tried about 30 different battles in melee mode and won not a single one   Seems I'm too slow / old / stupid to get it As battles are such an important part of the game, which I don't want to leave to the AI, it's just a game for faster players then me. But I really want to say thank you for your patient and nice help So: Thanks. Maybe a life as slave of alien supreme masters isn't bad at all  

Edit wants to add: Although I'm still not sure, if it runs as it should - space battles of 3-5 seconds seem somehow ridiculous to me.

Susan wants to add: In Melee, I have no chance to outmanouver a spider ship with a human missile-cruiser, although it's not cloaked. It closes in, I fire 3-4 missiles, killing about 1/10 of his crew. From then I'm under fire for 3 seconds and then destroyed. Any movement is followed by the spidership. How could I keep it away? Its faster and has better curving-ability? Depressing.

Does the missile cruiser have only missiles? I can't fire any other weapon with shift or ctrl? And I cant fly backwards - is that wanted?

Ok, it's 3 spiders now  Whenever I manage to escape one battle, I'm immediatly soaked into the second bubble (wihin half a second - no chance to react). Space battles take never longer then 5 or six seconds - is that normal? Even an action-used player will have problems at that speed, I guess. Is the game meant to run on a modern laptop?
The spiders set themselfes behind me, as soon as they uncloak, it only takes 2-3 seconds to destroy my ship - no countermeasures possible. Do I have wrong settings?

Thank you. Well, that answers a part of my post in the Quick questions thread.  I guess, combat is such a relevant part of the game, that I either learn it or let the game be. Maybe it's just to fast for an old man 
Well, I'll try again. Maybe the gods are with me this time. Can I pause a combat at least?

Thank you, but / doesnt work. Simply nothing happens?

I won't give up so fast, but I'm getting desperate. Space combat is far too hard for me - I simply stand no chance I was hunted by an enemy through hyperspace. I escaped to a star system. But when I leave it, the enemy "buble" is waiting for me. It's a spider with working cloak, and I have just my mothership and this weak guy from Pluto.
The enemy is cloaked, I stand no chance. So I hit esc to escape, but while the drive loads, the enemy uncloacks and kills me. If I try to run away first, he stays cloaked, but suddenly he appears in my rear, no matter what I try. 

Trying 10 times, one or two times I escaped - just to be soaked into the planetery system again, from which I came. Leaving it - the spider waits. One time I get away, but was followed by two (!!!) bubbles, which hunted me down, beeing faster then me.

Is it a situation without chance? Is there any way to slow down combat, so that I guy, common to turn-based-games, stands a chance? Is there no way to escape a faster and stronger enemy?

Thanks, well it did, but got destroyed... combat is so fast - any way to make it slower?

Hi!

I didn't find such a thread, so I start one

1. Got a broadcast from Rigel. How can I find this (or any other) star system? There are so many of them, I can't just look around...

2. Found a planet with biological activity, but this things harmed my crew a lot. Are they just "monsters" to make it harder to collect minerals? How do I know, that contact is possible? Can I make any use of the "primitve" lifeforms?

Thanks a lot,

Cfant

Hi guys!

Started the game the frist time an hour ago and - after I accepted, that I will die because of eye-cancer, I have the feeling it will be a hell of experience to play! On the other hand, mankind may be doomed, as I don't know, if I understand what to do  
After exploring Luna, the first battle against spider-aliens takes place (easy to hate them , isn't it? Imagine: sweet babycat-aliens - would be hard to destroy them  ) I won after the third try by sacrificing my landing craft (or whatever other ship I had there to choose) first, but it's not very sofisticated, I guess. How to win a space fight without loosing 95% of my crew? It's so fast, an old man like me is at his limits. Can I pause somehow? Are there tipps?

Thanks and greetings,

Cfant