One of the things you might notice about Flatspace is the sheer number of weapons, hyperdrives, scanners, radars and more that you have to play with. Where do you begin? Should you invest in that new plasma weapon, or are you better off with your machine gun? Is the range of a bigger hyperdrive going to be worth the loss of cargo space?

Each section of this guide covers a different category of equipment. It will list the various options and any notes on them. How you use this information is up to you.

Notes

1. Flatspace can be modded. Naturally I cannot cover any modifications that you or anyone else makes to the game, so this guide only relates to the default equipment lists.

2. Some of the information below could potentially be considered spoilers. You have been warned. New players are advised to stop reading and play the game by themselves for a while.

The Hyperdrive is an essential item for any captain wishing to leave the current sector. Since most of the action in Flatspace involves going elsewhere, you will probably want to have one.

The table below lists hyperdrives in order of type and then size. The "quotient" is the drive power and provides the jump distance in light years when divided by the mass of the ship - so a 4t Gray Hyperdrive with a 320 quotient can take a 20t ship 16 light years (or a 40t ship 8 light years). I have provided sample distances in light years for 25t, 100t and 500t ships.

Gray Hyperdrives

These are the standard make for smaller ships, but they won't have the oomph for a battlestation.


Adams Hyperdrives

The standard make for larger ships. Small vessels will not fit them at all, so I've only given the figures for 100t and 500t ships on these.


Other Drives

Two more hyperdrives exist, and these are shown here:


The Capstan Microdrive is an integral drive for escape pods and is not available for sale. It is shown here for comparison.
The Starleaper Hyperdrive is restricted to Couriers of sufficient rank. It can give a small ship an enormous boost to its range, though the effect on larger ships is considerably more limited.

An engine is an essential component of any ship. Without one, you're stuck in space with no way to get around. You can't even rely on regular space physics to drift you anywhere through sheer momentum - ships slow down in Flatspace as though they're travelling through atmosphere (this does not, however, appear to apply to asteroids).

Engines (also called Thrusters in various contexts) are a little different to most equipment. You can only fit one engine/thruster to your ship at a time, and it must be the right size. Your ship has a specific engine size and you can only fit an engine that goes in the hole.

The thrust values are pretty meaningless by themselves but they give a sense of relative power between the engines. Note that thrust is divided by the mass of the vessel, so a strong thruster on a large ship may still be slower than a weak thruster on a small ship.

Small Engines

Ships with smaller engine capacities can generally choose between the standard VL and the more expensive but ~10% more powerful XL thruster series, though there are a few options for 1t and 2t engine vessels.


Large Engines

Ships with larger engine capacities have two engine suppliers - Idiom is cheap and slow, while Sauros is expensive and a little less slow. However, don't expect to travel particularly quickly with any of these engines.


Integral Engines

These engines are built into various vessels and cannot be sold separately, but are listed here for comparison.

A generator is a must for any ship. Without it, you have no power for engines, weapons, shields or other equipment. A ship with a damaged generator is helpless - this is why stun weapons are designed to take out the generator of their target.

Flatspace generators can be divided into three groups. Note that you can only have one generator of any type at any given time.

Core Generators

The basic Core Generator models are larger but charge faster. This could be vital in a firefight, particularly if you are reliant on energy weapons. As Core Generators become less efficient as they get larger, you may find you value the space more than the limited extra capacity.


Solar Generators

Solar Generators are small but take longer to charge than their Core counterparts. Ideal for ships where space is at a premium but combat is largely avoided.
The Starstream Generator is only available to Alien Fighters of sufficient rank.


Integral Generators

These are built into the ships indicated and cannot be sold, but are listed here for comparison.

Pretty much every ship in the Flatspace universe is fitted with a front gun mount, and this slot can be filled with any of a whole host of weapons. This section attempts to break them down by type so you can figure out what works best for you.

Some ships also have gun turrets. While you don't have direct control over these, you can assign crew members as gunners and have them target enemies in any direction. Turret weapons are different to standard weapons - you cannot simply stick any old gun into a turret, and you cannot use a turret weapon as your main gun - but they are otherwise identical in all respects to their regular versions and I won't list them separately here.

For the weapons in the next couple of sections I have provided the damage per shot, the firing rate (how long a delay between shots in 1/50ths of a second) and the DPS for that weapon, so you can make a comparison.

Some weapons in Flatspace do not require energy, instead using a limited cache of ammunition. They are ideal for ships where generator power is limited as the energy output can instead be directed to shields and engines, but finding ammunition for them can be a problem. If you intend to blast asteroids apart, you'll be better off with an energy weapon - these have no ammo constraints.

All newly purchased ammunition weapons are supplied fully loaded, but there is no guarantee that the station selling them also has ammunition packs. See the Ammunition section of this guide for details on what ammo they require.

The only weapon in this list with a turret version is the M1 Machine Gun.

The Deltax D4 Minigun is only available to Crime Fighters of sufficient rank.

For non-energy weapons, and also for flare launchers, you will need to reload on occasion. To do this, you will need to find ammunition packs. These can be automatically purchased and reloaded from stations that stock them, or you can buy spare ammunition in case your guns run dry in the middle of a fight.

Stun Weapons

These weapons do not cause conventional damage but instead seek to take out the target's generator. Mostly used by law enforcement. There are no turret versions for these weapons.


Ion Cannons

A range of smaller energy weapons that provide a decent punch for smaller ships. Turret versions are available for all of these except the Enhanced Ion Cannon, which is only available to Alien Fighters with sufficient rank.


Rothspar Lasers

A range of larger energy weapons. Turret versions are available for all of these.


Simtex Plasma

The Simtex Plasma range has the curious trait of all being the same size - however, the power consumption and damage potential increase along with the price. Turret versions are available for all of these.


Other Energy Weapons

The following miscellaneous energy weapons don't fit in any of the above categories and there are no turret versions available for any of them.
The Triquoquaric Annihilator is integral to the Battlestation and is not available separately, but it is included here for comparison.

Fast, powerful and self-guiding, a missile can quickly turn the tide of any battle. Not all ships can carry them and the number they can fit varies, but they're well worth the effort. But which to choose?

Mines

At the very lowest end of the spectrum we have mines. These are limited in their ability as they do not move - you simply release them where you want them and clear the area. Powerful but difficult to use, and only really useful if you know where the enemy is going to be.


Torpedoes

These are missiles of a kind, but unguided - you have to aim and fire. Best used against slow or immobile targets as faster enemies will simply dodge, but they do a lot of damage.

The Dreadnought Slug is not really a traditional torpedo so much as a single shot projectile. It does have the advantage of being the only "missile" in this entire section that is completely immune to ECM, with the possible exception of a well-placed flare.

The Felimar NM1 Nuke is intended for destroying enemy space stations and is only available to high ranking Alien FIghters. It will always destroy the intended target on impact, and it also causes a high level of splash damage in the surrounding area. Stay well clear!


Guided Missiles

The largest assortment of autonomous death is the guided missile. Fire these to take out your current target - the missile will turn to track them as they take evasive action, but they aren't that bright and do not attempt to avoid any obstacles in their path. Firing a missile in an asteroid field is usually a waste of a missile. The agility of the missile, as listed below, refers to their turning circle - highly agile missiles make tighter turns and are harder to evade.

The Assassin Missile is only available to Outlaws of sufficient rank.
The E-3 Stun Torpedo is designed to take out space stations and is only available to high ranking Crime Fighters.


* The E-1/E-2 Stun Missiles and and E-3 Stun Torpedo do not cause regular damage, instead aiming to take out the target's generator.

One of your earliest purchases in Flatspace is likely to be a cheap shield unit. It'll protect you from a lot of minor damage and give you a better chance in combat, and unlike armour it will recharge over time.

Aside from a couple of special cases, Tetron make all the shield units in Flatspace. Note that the Intaris S1 Shield is only available to Merchants of sufficient rank. You can only have one shield unit at any one time.

Shields, unlike equipment such as hyperdrives, get less efficient as they increase in size. The protection offered by high end units increases linearly, but the size and cost of the units increases exponentially. You may find that a larger ship is better equipped with a smaller shield and more offensive capabilities.

There are only four types of additional armour in Flatspace. All come in 1t increments, and the protection listed below is per ton (so 1t of Plasteel Armour will increase your armour on all sides by 10, but 4t would increase it by 40).

You can only carry one type of armour at a time.

Nothing can ruin your day like a missile on your tail. Fortunately Flatspace has a range of electronic counter measures (ECM) that you can employ to take them out. Note that you can only carry one ECM device at a time.

ECM has a "level" that corresponds to the intelligence of the missile. If your ECM is of equal or higher level to the missile, it will fool it. If the missile level is higher, your ECM will fail to divert it.

Flares

The cheapest and simplest solution, a flare launcher simply lobs an electronic decoy out the back of your ship in the hope that pursuing missiles will target the flare instead. Flares are favoured by many experienced pilots as, even if the flare doesn't fool the missile, it has a good chance of hitting the thing if you aim right. The biggest problem with flare launchers is that they have a limited stock, and finding reloads (see Ammunition) is not always easy.

The Scimitar Flare Launcher is limited to Outlaws of sufficient rank.


EMP

All EMP (electromagnetic pulse) devices work the same way, and all are highly effective against pretty much all missiles, but the power drain is enormous. Larger EMPs require less energy but, obviously, require more space.
The Xekron X9 is limited to Couriers of sufficient rank.


Reprogrammers

The Xox Reprogrammers are expensive but quite fun, hacking into pursuing missiles and resetting their target to whoever you have targetted (particularly fun if this is the ship that fired it). If your target also has a reprogrammer, a game of "rocket tennis" may ensue until the missile either hits something or expires. As reprogrammers are unable to hack high level missiles, you may find yourself in trouble if you pick a lot of fights.

Crew perform three main functions on your ship (besides acting as human shields if you get shot). Medics heal injuries. Engineers fix broken equipment. And security personnel stop any passengers or prisoners from roaming the ship and causing trouble.

However, if cabin space is minimal (or you just don't like other people) a pilot can employ robots instead of human crew. They'll take up cargo space instead of cabin space and they cost a bit, but they don't need wages and they never complain. You can purchase robots to carry out medical, security or engineering duties, and some robots do all three.

Engineering Robots

Each of these will function just as a crew member with engineering skills would.
Note that the Happyman Mechanic is only available to Merchants of sufficient rank.


Medical Robots

Each of these robots will function like a crew member with medical skills.
Note that the Happygirl Autonurse is only available to Couriers of sufficient rank.


Security Robots

Each of these robots, just like the human equivalent, can stand guard over one passenger. As long as your security personnel outnumber your guests, they will never cause you any problems.
The Guard Dog, as well as technically not being a robot, is limited to Crimefighters of sufficient rank.
The Pet Tiger, also not really a robot, is limited to Outlaws of sufficient rank.


Multifunction Robots

These expensive mechanical assistants are each the equivalent of three crew members in one, having mechanical, medical and security capabilities.

There are many different scanners in Flatspace, and they all have different uses. So which do you go for? It rather depends on what you're doing. Some scanners combine multiple functions, but at considerable cost. You can only fit one scanner at a time, so you may find you switch between them as your career changes.

• All scanners show the designation of the target (ship name).
  
• Some show the pilot's name - handy if you're looking for a specific target.
  
• Some show the kill and/or capture bounty of the target - ideal for crime fighters and bounty hunters.
  
• Some have hyperspace tracking, allowing you to target specific ships across the galaxy.
  
• Some scan the cargo type carried by target ships - mostly used by pirates.
  
• And merchant scanners return the import/export types of space stations.

As all scanners return the designation, I have not included this in the below table. There are indeed two different VT1 Trading Scanners at different prices (they have different descriptions but no practical difference).
Note that the Crystal Lotus Scanner is only available to Crimefighters of sufficient rank, and only high ranking Merchants can purchase the Lexx U1 Ultra Scanner.

You can only carry one radar unit at a time. While they are useful for "seeing" what is beyond the visible screen, note that you can only cycle between nearby targets that are visible. The "T" and "H" targeting controls will only target the nearest ship/hostile.

For reference, the visible screen has an approximate range of 6.

Scoops are an optional but useful feature to add to any vessel, and come in two main flavours - to pick up stranded passengers in their yellow/black lifepods, or to pick up cargo (including asteroid debris). However, some scoops can do both - and some do other things.

You can only fit one scoop at a time, of any type, so you may need to choose whether you want to gather cargo or people. Note that there's a maximum size for objects scooped - bigger items won't fit. Lifepods are a standard 10t size.

Note that any cargo scooped will be destroyed if your ship has no space for it, and any lifepods scooped will be destroyed (and the occupant killed) if your ship has no free cabins.

The Lifesaver Scoop is integral to the Ambulance, and is not available for sale.
The Hoobson Pro-L Scoop is limited to Outlaws of sufficient rank.

If you're playing in "undead" mode, you may never see the need for an escape pod. If you get blown up, you can just reload your last saved game. For those where death is permanent, however, it may be a shrewd investment. Note that escape pods do not always launch successfully and that there's nothing stopping a more unscrupulous pirate from blasting your escape pod to bits too. You may want to save up for the Xanadu or Wolf, so you can jump to a "safer" sector; the Genie is limited to the current sector, which is a real problem if there are no friendly bases around.

The biggest headache for an escaping pilot is buying a new ship. There is no insurance policy to cash in here - make sure you have plenty of cash in the bank. Naturally any crew, passengers or courier packages you have on board your ship will perish, and you can say goodbye to any equipment or cargo you wanted to hang on to.

Obviously, you can only have a maximum of one escape pod on board at a time.

The following special items are available somewhere in the galaxy. They don't do anything in themselves - collecting them is optional.

But they aren't completely useless. When your ship is hit, random equipment or crew can take damage - and having these on board may increase the odds that you'll damage a random "useless" item rather than a key system.

Not equipment as such, but it takes up space. Cargo comes in 1t increments and can be bought and sold at various stations. Not all cargo will be available for trade at every station. You can also find cargo in the holds of some trade ships that can be scooped up if you are so equipped, and you can also blast asteroids apart to collect smaller pieces.

The cost of cargo varies enormously between stations and over time, but the table below gives the base cost for that cargo type. Expect this price to be higher if the station lists this class of cargo as an import, and lower if an export.

Certain cargo scoops refine the cargo they collect. This is chiefly used for mining to produce higher value cargo, but various other cargo will also be refined and the results are shown in the table. If no option is given, the cargo is merely collected and not refined.


* The base costs for Meat/Fish, Crystals and Metals are estimates - these are integral items to Flatspace's code and cannot be edited.

Again, not equipment - but they take up space, so worth a mention. The name and the "shown as" columns are different as these packages are often named differently in the mission briefing than in your cargo hold.