Hi,

I've played a few games of SF1, and it seems like its really hard to get enough money to buy decent fuel/engines, and when I do, most of the planets I can feasibly reach, which are not really close, like 16 sectors away max, and they're all pretty bare, the fuel use calculations in the navcomp are really wrong, and I end up stranded, get fined, have no money, game over.

I really don't see how you can possibly get enough fuel engines to do some actual exploring without spending a lot of time mining. And already, its that time mining that really makes it painful to start a new game.


Also, is the Amiga version that much better? I feel stupid for buying this otherwise, I mean, yeah, it introduced me to this, but I'm not entirely sure it was worth the money just to be introduced to it.


I do like the game though, aside from being real disappointed when i would spend all that time to mine for enough fuel to go to a distant star, only to find out that its completely bare, no planets, and then go back, but for some reason, with not enough fuel, even though I had 5 m^3 of fuel over the calculated cost of round trip.

Yes, Amiga version is much better. Not just the audiovisuals, but also UI and saving system.

Mining is quite effective if you do a survey of the planets first. The results should give you an idea of how mineral rich the planet is.

But the most effective way of making a fast buck is to report the existance of hospitable planets.

But unfortunately it takes a lot of fuel, a lot of a lot of fuel, and a good engine class to go anywhere interesting.


Also I did try the Amiga version, and wow, its so much better. Are all Amiga games this much improved from the DOS versions? I've used DOS to play my games since, like, I was actually using DOS to play my games. I never had an Amiga. I knew it was nicer in some ways, but I liked my DOS.

No, not all Amiga games are that superior. Electronic Arts generally did a very good job with their Amiga conversion, while some SSI games have inferior Amiga games.

Generally you don't miss that much by playing DOS versions of games IMO. Amiga version usually have superior sound and graphics, but if the Amiga game can only be played via emulated floppy disk drives instead of a HD drive, the chaning of disks and saving/loading times can get rather tedious compared to the much faster DosBox.

But Starflight is definitely one of those games of which I wouldn't dream of playing the DOS version.

Was the DOS version a port? It seems like it was originally developed for Amiga, because of the better ui and such

You do not need to leave your home system 125,100 or your neighboring system 123,101 before you get good engines.

Granted, the first phase of the game is all about mining and gaining enough money to buy the best engines. Then, it is all about exploration. Then, it is all about spoiler. I assume you are playing the ega version? If so, then I can give more detailed advice. You are also spending fuel taking off and landing from planets.

Okay. I will give you some spoiler-free advice:

The first planet you should visit is the innermost planet of your home system. It costs no fuel to take off and land. It is nowhere close to being suitable for colonization, so you do not need a trained Science Officer. It has no atmosphere and no weather, so you do not need a trained Navigator. You are not getting damaged, so you do not need a trained Engineer. You are not meeting aliens, so you do not need a trained Communications Officer. And hopefully, you are not getting your Terrain Vehicle lost and your crew hurt, so you do not need a trained Doctor. All you need to start off is all your cargo pods, and you can train up your crew however you like.

For your convenience, I have attached landing coordinates for such a visit. When you get out of your starship, take a look at the map and look for the X's. Pick a cardinal direction and explore. When it says "exploring new terrain," you can check your map again and look for X's. Watch your fuel. At 50%, you will need to head back to the ship, but the next X is further away. Get a feel for how fast your fuel goes. At high elevations where you are mining, I have a rule of thumb that the percent fuel times 1.5. If your ship is farther away from that, you will really be sweating as you get back.

When I did this, I went straight back to starport with my haul. I have attached this too! Notice my fuel is at 3.0 because in that particular game I sold 17 cubic meters of fuel right away because I was just training crew members.

Next to visit is the third planet of the home system. In spite of the low Bio and Mineral percentages, it is a great planet to mine. Land somewhere between low ground and high ground. This planet features ruins, both Recent and Ancient. The Ancient Ruins feature Endurium. This is where the real money is and this is one of the reasons why this planet is one of the best for mining.

You need a trained Navigator for this mission, or you will get lost. The third planet has frequent storms. The fifth planet of the home system is also good to mine, and I went there for my second trip out. I think snowstorms are possible, so you need a trained navigator for this trip.

When I got back from this trip, it was only the 12th day of the first month and I already had Class 5 engines and trained crew members in the key positions.

The next system to explore is 123,101 and there is a hint in your messages that you should follow up on. After you have explored that system, you should have enough to go exploring in whatever direction you want to explore. You should not have to mine that much more.