Drifter Quickstart
Eventually there will be some in-game instructions but in the meantime here is some info to get you started with the Drifter beta!
Contents
Tips
- You need 1kg of Antimatter to perform a hyperspace jump. You can buy Antimatter in the station's commodity exchange/stock market
- Jump drives require 1 minute to cool down before they can be safely activated again
- You can override the jump drive cool down but there is a chance it may damage your ship
- After buying anything in a station it is delivered to your cargo storage in the station. You have to go to the ship bay to then move that cargo into one of your ships
- You can turn ore obtained via. asteroid mining into trade goods inside the Ore Processing facility of stations in Mining systems
Keyboard Controls
Keyboard Commands (configurable through the options menu)
- w - thrust
- a - bank left
- d - bank right
- s - all stop
- e - next target
- q - previous target
- f - closest hostile target
- b - activate afterburners
- z - activate slip-stream drive for fast travel within star systems (will not activate near navigational hazards such as asteroid fields and space stations)
- space - fire
- r - hold to lock missiles on currently selected target. Target must be within so many degrees of the front of your ship. Release once locked to fire missile
- . - toggle camera between first person and third person
- m - toggle mouse control, which allows you to use your mouse to steer the ship (needs work)
- esc - pause (you can save/restore from the pause menu)
The game currently features pre-configured button mappings for Logitech "Dual Action" style controllers and Xbox 360 controllers. On some systems the game can auto-detect the controller and select the appropriate mapping, but you may have to go to the options menu to manually select or configure your controller
The Inflight Menu
Click the center of the screen to bring up a radial menu with the following ship functions. (The target for this is a bit small and should probably be centered on your ship)
Ship Status - Access the Ship Status menu. Currently allows you to access your ship's cargo hold and view your currently active missions.
Modules - Activate/deactivate currently attached modules.
System Map - View the current star system.
Galaxy Map - View the galaxy map.
Dock With Station - If a space station is near, dock with it.
Communications - Interact with targeted container, Contact nearby NPCs (Unavailable).
Jump to Selected System - If you have a star system selected from the galaxy map, this will activate your hyperspace jump drive and travel there.
All Stop - Reduce ship velocity to zero relative to the local star.
Galaxy Map
The galaxy map allows you to view remote star systems and select them so you can travel to them using your hyperspace jump drive. Use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out. Click on the map or a star system to center the view/select a star system. Click and drag to rotate. Click the "system inspector" icon in the top left corner to view the star system. Click the "center on current system" icon to reset the map on your current location. When viewing the star system you can view its stock market and compare prices to the star system you are currently in.
System Map
The system map allows you to inspect the system's economy, tech level, physical make-up and stock market. Use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out. Click and drag to rotate. Click on an object to focus the view on that object. Click the stock market button in the top left-hand corner to view the system's stock market.
Space Station View
The space station menu allows you to visit the different services offered by the station. You can buy and sell trade goods in the Stock Market, ships and equipment at the Ship Dealer, view and equip the ships you own in the Docking Bay. The Bulletin Board is currently unavailable.
