The ships are piloted in cockpit view with an extensive control scheme including joystick support with a keyboard on PC, while the Dreamcast version is limited strictly to the controller.

The game also has nine fighters belonging to the enemy faction the Coalition which are not playable through the storyline. Better ships are unlocked as the player is promoted for mission performance. There are twelve Alliance ships divided into three classes with individual attributes and special abilities. The game is largely focused on defense missions where the player must fend off waves of enemies attempting to destroy Alliance capital ships, but there are also later missions devoted solely to dogfighting and assaulting Coalition fleets.

The bulk of the narrative is communicated through radio or video transmission, the tone varying with mission performance. Through the course of the game as the player is promoted to higher ranks, he or she meets or fights against important figures referenced in cutscenes, indicating the larger role they begin to play in the intergalactic conflict. Proficiency at dogfighting earns respect from NPCs and unlocks new shipsīetween missions the player is informed of events happening in the larger scope of the war between the Alliance and the Coalition. The story follows the 45th Flying Tigers, aVolunteer squadron, as they recover from the initial attacks and take part in the larger maneuverings of Alliance forces to recover lost territories. Starlancer opens with a brutal attack on an Alliance base by Coalition forces following their feigned acceptance of a peace treaty, but it is only a part of a larger attack in which the Coalition wrests control of several key planets from Alliance hands. This resulted in an acquisition by Microsoft Studios, the departure of Chris Roberts from the company, and development of the game's successor, Freelancer. The game was created by Erin Roberts during the decline in popularity of space combat simulators and doomed the Roberts' brothers development company Digital Anvil to financial failure. As a rookie pilot in a volunteer division on the Alliance side, the player is evaluated on mission performance to climb up the military ranks. The Alliance, embodying the nations of the contemporary 'Western World' is at odds with the Coalition representing Russia, China, and the Middle-East, and the story covers the outbreak of the war between them. Starlancer is a space combat simulator set in the year 2160 as a conflict breaks out between two intergalactic colonial powers from Earth in an escalated pseudo-Cold War.

Starlancer mission 5