CHAPTER 14
Reference
Use this chapter for quick definitions, fixed limits, common control states, and the first checks to make when a command is unavailable.
QUICK RULES
Numbers worth remembering
Campaign sectors
The current campaign region contains exactly 115 strategic sectors.
Battle zones
Each tactical sector map contains 73 movement zones.
Factions
Campaigns and quick battles require at least two and support up to six participating factions.
Ships per faction sector
No faction may place more than six mobile ships in one campaign sector.
Mobile classes
Escort, destroyer, cruiser, and battleship are the four mobile ship classes.
Campaign victory modes
Choose Score or Elimination during Campaign Setup; either mode also ends when only one faction or alliance remains.
Ship build costs
Escort, Destroyer, Cruiser, and Battleship construction costs use these values.
GLOSSARY
Common Battle Astra terms
Strategic location
One hex on the 115-sector campaign region. A sector contains its own tactical map.
Tactical location
One hex within a battle or inspector map. Ships and astral objects occupy zones.
Moving ship group
One to six mobile ships assigned the same campaign movement order.
Battle cycle
The period in which every surviving ship acts or completes its activation once.
AI strategic tendency
The readable behavior band derived from a faction’s aggression setting.
Level control
A segmented control used to select a value from a visible range.
Sliding panel
A settings, report, statistics, or event panel that opens over the current screen.
Accelerated resolution
A battle resolved by the same game state without presenting every movement and attack.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Why is this control unavailable?
- 1
The game says to wait
Fleet movement, battle calculation, ownership changes, saves, and transitions temporarily disable input. Wait for the resolving state to finish.
- 2
A fleet cannot move
Check for a battle lock, a stationary unit, the six-ship destination limit, an invalid destination, or blocked tactical entrance zones.
- 3
Execute is disabled
Execute requires at least one locked player fleet order. Before any order exists, use Skip Turn or AI All Ships.
- 4
Skip Turn is disabled
Skip Turn is a hold button: keep pressing to leave the remaining player ships unmoved. Wait for active movement or resolution to finish before issuing more commands.
- 5
No attack is available
Check weapon power, firing direction, distance, line of fire, obstacles, and whether another ship blocks the target.
- 6
Retreat is unavailable
The ship must begin in an exit zone, face outward, retain engines, and have a safe neighboring sector with an open entrance.
CONTROL SUMMARY
Read appearance before selecting
Cyan normally indicates an active interface command, faction color connects a command to a specific side, white carries neutral information, orange warns of consequential or retreat actions, and gray identifies disabled controls.
State dots show toggle and multi-state choices. Countdown bars show remaining time. A spinning wait indicator means the game is calculating. The bottom hint line names the most useful current action.
FIND MORE HELP
Use the chapter that matches the current screen
Start with Interface when a control is unfamiliar, Fleet Orders for the campaign planning buttons, Battle Setup for automatic resolution choices, Battle Map and Combat for tactical decisions, and Saving & Settings for persistent preferences.
This manual is a living document. Names and screenshots may change as Battle Astra develops, but rules stated here describe the current playable build rather than planned future editions.