Star Raiders is a space combat simulator set during a galactic war between the Atarian Federation and the Zylon Empire.[1][2] The player assumes the role of the captain of the Elite Atarian Starship fleet, fighting the Zylons before they eliminate humanity.[2] To win, the player must destroy the Zylon ships before they destroy the Atarian ship and before their own ship runs out of energy.[3][4]
Star Raiders is controlled using both a keyboard and a joystick.[3][5] It is primarily experienced from a first-person, 3D cockpit view and larger, 2D map overviews for long-distance travel.[6] The player can control the speed of travel in space, and the angle of display (rear and front-views), and engage a mini-display called the Attack Computer Display that displays the coordinates of enemy ships and other targets. In action sequences, the player will sometimes avoid or destroy asteroids before they damage their starship, while battling enemy ships using photon torpedoes.[5] In this mode, the control panel displays the player's velocity, energy, number of kills, and remaining targets;[7] Energy is consumed by traversing space, using shields, and firing photon torpedoes; energy can be restored by matching coordinates with a friendly starbase.[8]
The player can activate a long-range scanner, which displays a top-down view of their ship and nearby targets. When the long-range scan is damaged, the player will see the objects in the area and false reflections of them.[4] The player can also view a galactic chart, indicating the player's location, enemy ships, and friendly star bases. The player engages the hyper-warp to visit new sectors.[5][7] A subspace radio delivers messages through the galactic chart when star bases are surrounded or destroyed.[4] Six types of equipment can be damaged in action, which is tracked using the acronym PESCLR (for photon torpedoes, engines, shields, computer, long-range scan, and radio). Damaged equipment will affect gameplay, engine damage, for example, slows ship's movement.[7]
Star Raiders' skill levels are Novice, Pilot, Warrior, and Commander.[9] On high-difficulty levels, during hyperwarp moments, players must manually navigate their ship using crosshairs while warping.[10] Zylon ships will move faster and strike more deliberately, with less randomness in their attack algorithm.[11]
