Starflight - RetroAchievements/guides GitHub Wiki

starflight title2


Overview

  • Achievement set difficulty: 4/10
  • Estimated time to complete: ~4 hours
  • Number of play throughs necessary: 2
  • Missable achievements: 5

Introduction

Originally released for MS-DOS on August 15, 1986, Starflight would receive a revamped port to the Sega Genesis on May 15, 1991. The Genesis port brought with it new graphics, modifications to the ship, and upgrades for the Terrain Vehicle, including equipment to allow for travel/mining over water. The enhancements did come at a cost, though: some of the game's content had to be cut down due to hardware limitations. In 2011, Mass Effect director Casey Hudson tweeted that "Starflight was a key inspiration for the Mass Effect series."


Achievements

The vast majority of the set can be done in a single playthrough but there's a single achievement that requires a second run. The game is actually very short, however, with a full run taking less than five minutes. There are five missable achievements and they will be listed at the top of this guide. The rest will be listed in the same order as the Retro Achievements website.


SF_F2
Seekers of Knowledge [m]

Befriend an Elowan group.

  • When hailing, use a friendly posture. If they ask "have you eaten headfruit?", reply no.
  • If you have a Thrynn on your crew, have traded with the Thrynn recently, or have been friendly with the Thrynn recently, they will not be friendly towards you.

Important: If you destroy their home planet Elan for the achievement The Nuclear Option, they will always be hostile towards you, so make sure you do this achievement beforehand.


Starflight_BB
Rebuilding the Old Empire [m]

Befriend a Thrynn fleet.

  • When hailing, use a friendly posture. If you have an artifact on you, they will want to buy it. This will trigger the achievement and selling isn't necessary.
  • You can buy the Black Box from them if you have 30 Endurium+ to spare.
  • If you have an Elowan on your crew, or have been friendly with the Elowan recently, they will not be friendly towards you.
  • Destroying Thoss for The Nuclear Option doesn't impact their behavior towards you.

Starflight_C4
Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee [m]

Destroy an 8 ship Uhlek battlegroup without enabling your shields.

  • You can consistently encounter this battlegroup by using the flux at coordinates "136, 84".

  • The easiest way to win the fight is to have the following setup:

    • Engines: Class 4 or 5
    • Armor: Class 5
    • Shields: None
    • Weapons: Buzz Bombs
    • 100 or more Endurium+
  • After taking the flux, face your ship to the east and wait. Once you get the message that you're being encountered, hold the accelerate button (Up) and start spamming buzz bombs.

  • You can shoot three bombs at a time and they will trail behind you. As long as you fly in a straight line, their shots will usually miss you by a good bit.

  • Once you're just out of reach of their projectiles, stop holding accelerate. Tap accelerate a couple of times, wait, tap, wait, etc. If you get too far away from the battlegroup, the encounter will end before you're able to destroy all 8. It's a battle of attrition, which is why you need a lot of Endurium+. Endurium+ is used as ammunition, as well as fuel, and if you run out, you're dead.

  • You can scavenge the enemy ships by flying over their wreckage during the fight, which gives a good bit of titanium and a lot of Endurium+. The battlefield is infinite and loops around.

Important: If you do the achievement Bugging the Hive Mind, the Uhlek will no longer appear in the game, so make sure you do this achievement beforehand.


Starflight_XE
Envoy of Arth [m]

Encounter all alien civilizations in one session.

  • Which civilizations you've met is not stored in the game's save file, so all seven must be encountered without powering down the emulator. If you close the game, the achievement can no longer keep track of which civilizations you have and have not encountered.

  • The seven civilizations are:

    • Ulhek
    • Elowan
    • Thrynn
    • Mechhan
    • Spemin
    • Velox
    • Gazurtoid

Important: If you do the achievement Bugging the Hive Mind, the Uhlek will no longer appear in the game, so make sure you encounter them at least once beforehand.


Starflight_BB_v2
Those Bastards Lied to Me [m]

Purchase the Black Box from the Thrynn.

  • If you are friendly with the Thrynn, they will sell you the Black Box in exchange for 30 Endurium+.
  • The Black Box does nothing but is necessary for the achievement Heir to The Institute.
  • If you have an Elowan on your crew, or have been friendly with the Elowan recently, they will not be friendly towards you.

Important: If you destroy their home planet Thoss for the achievement The Nuclear Option, they will always be hostile towards you, so make sure you do this achievement beforehand.


Starflight_Inst
What Needs to be Done

Find the remains of the Institute and learn how to save the galaxy.

Starmap Planet Planet Map
165, 84 1st 75S x 66E

Starflight_HV
Successor to Noah

Reach Heaven and log it's location for a new colony.

Starmap Planet
145,07 4th

Starflight_P1_v2
I Have Become Death

Find a 'Black Egg' planetary bomb."

Starflight_BE
Herald of Destruction

Collect all three black eggs, they don't need to be in your cargo hold at the same time.

  • Even if you use the egg, it still counts towards the achievement.
  • It's one of two necessary items to finish the game.
  • Creatures can be found on the first planet for Traveling Xeno-Zoo.
Starmap Planet Planet Map
143, 115
234, 20
238, 189
1st
2nd
3rd
28N x 4E
35S x 99E
52N x 16E

Starflight_P2_v2
Raid on the Most Magnificent Hexagon

Steal the Crystal Orb from the Veloxi.

  • The orb negates the Crystal Planet's defense systems and is one of two necessary items to finish the game.
  • You'll need answer the questions given by a Veloxi Probe, or destroy it, in order to land on the planet.
Artifact Starmap Planet Planet Map
Crystal Orb 132, 165 1st 46N x 14E

Starflight_SQ2_v2
The Scanning Device

Find the Dodecahedron and recover the Shimmering Ball from the Gartuzoids.

  • The artifacts can be collected in either order.
  • The planet where the Dodecahedron is located can be logged for Dedicated Surveyor
Artifact Starmap Planet Planet Map
Dodecahedron 118, 146 4th 16S x 20W
Shimmering Orb 68, 66 1st 12N x 32E

Important: Do not save after getting the Dodecahedron if you have not done Daring Pacifist yet.


Starflight_SQ3_v3
Cradle of Humanity

Find the Ring Device and Hypercube artifacts.

  • The artifacts can be collected in either order.
  • The 2nd and 3rd planets can be logged for Dedicated Surveyor.
  • The 3rd planet can be blown up after being logged for Oh, The Humanity
Artifact Starmap Planet Planet Map
Hypercube 215, 86 3rd 12N x 104W
Ring Device 215, 86 4th 90N x 0

Important: Make sure to grab the Hypercube before blowing up the 3rd planet. Otherwise, you will blow up the Hypercube along with it, locking this achievement.


Starflight_SQ4_v2
Chasing Ghosts

Follow the trail of Harrison to get the Rod Device and Ellipsoid artifacts.

  • The artifacts can be collected in either order
  • Following the clues isn't necessary in order to collect them
  • Creatures can be found on both planets for Traveling Xeno-Zoo.
  • The planet where the Ellipsoid is located can be logged for Dedicated Surveyor.
Artifact Starmap Planet Planet Map
Rod Device 180, 124 2nd 59N x 22E
Ellipsoid 81, 98 1st 44S x 137W

Starflight_SQ5_v1
Galactic Explorer's Essentials

Fly into Uhlek Space and recover the stolen Red Cylinder and Tesseract artifacts.

  • The artifacts can be collected in either order
  • Creatures can be found on both planets for Traveling Xeno-Zoo.
Artifact Starmap Planet Planet Map
Red Cylinder 112, 200 3rd 59N x 64W
Tessaract 18, 50 5th 15N x 44W

Starflight_SQ6_v2
Panic Button

Discover the artifact in the City of the Ancients.

Artifact Starmap Planet Planet Map
Crystal Pearl 56, 144 1st 29N x 13W

Starflight_SQ7_v2
Into the Maw of the Beast

Steal the Crystal Cone from the Uhlek.

Artifact Starmap Planet Planet Map
Crystal Cone 20, 198 1st 29S x 55W

Important: Do not save after getting the Crystal Cone if you have not done Daring Pacifist yet.


Starflight_P3
Hero of Arth

Stop the solar flares before Arth is destroyed.

  • Progression achievement for beating the game

Starflight_AR3_v2
Vanguard of the Old Empire

Get the loyalty of the Mechans.

  • Hail with a friendly posture
  • The Mechans will ask you various questions which you need to answer correctly. Not all questions listed may be asked.
Are you Group 9? Yes
Do you serve Layton? No
Are you ready for Heaven? Yes
Shall we wait for Noah? No
Should we maintain code blue? No
Should we go to code red? Yes
Are you an enemy of Noah? No

SF_F1
Slightly Disgusting Alien Friend

Befriend the Veloxi.

  • Hail with an obsequious posture to start.
  • If you have the Ellipsoid in your cargo, they will ask for it. After giving it to them, the achievement will trigger.

Starflight_AR6_v2
Aggressive Negotiations

Subjugate a Spemin group without using the artifact to do so.

  • Hail with a hostile posture and continue to make hostile statements until they become obsequious.

Starflight_AR8
The Sacred Number

Get past a Veloxi Defense Probe by answering its questions.

  • Answer yes to any number that is divisible by six and no to any that are not.
6 12 18 24 30 36
42 48 54 60 66 72
78 84 90 96

Starflight_AR5_v2
A Song About What Was

Encounter a Minstrel and listen to their poem.

  • They will be encountered randomly as you travel. Hail with a friendly posture.
  • The achievement will trigger once it starts talking.

Starflight_AR7
A Nice Tip!

Find a NOMAD Probe and retrieve its data.

  • They will be encountered randomly as you travel. Hail with a friendly posture.
  • They will give coordinates for viable planets to log.

Starflight_AR9
Where's My Translator?

Receive the Mysterion's message.

  • They will be encountered randomly as you travel. Hail with a friendly posture.
  • The message they give is in binary and has no real purpose in the game.

Starflight_TV
All-Terrain Commander

Fully upgrade your TV.

  • Purchase all of the upgrades from Starport.
  • Pontoons should be purchased first. If your TV sinks in water, it's destroyed.
  • The value of selling the upgrades is equal to their cost.
Upgrade Cost
Ice Runners 1,000
Snow Treads 2,000
Pontoons 3,000
Extra Cargo 5,000
Turbo Chargers 10,000
Heavy Armor 20,000
Wide Angle Stunner 50,000
Radar 150,000
Mineral Scanner 2 450,000
Total 691,000

Starflight_Ship
Master Engineer

Fully upgrade your Starship.

  • Purchase all Class 5 upgrades from Starport, including all weapons. Lower class upgrades are not necessary.
Upgrade Cost
Engine 100,000
Shield 125,000
Armor 25,000
Pulse Cannon 1,000
Tri Canon 2,500
Buzz Bombs 50,000
Fusion Blaster 100,000
Photon Torpedo 250,000
Lance 8,000
Twin Beam 100,000
Phaser 450,000
Total 1,211,500

Starflight_1
Dedicated Surveyor

Log at least 12 viable planets for colonization.

  • There are a lot of viable planets throughout the game. Here is a list of convenient planets that you have to visit, or ones nearby, if doing all achievements.
Coordinates Planet Achievement
145, 107 4th Successor to Noah
215, 86 3rd Cradle of Humanity
215, 86 2nd Cradle of Humanity
55, 32 2nd Bugging the Hive Mind
165,84 6th What Needs to be Done
81, 98 1st Chasing Ghosts
129, 33 2nd The Nuclear Option (Thoss)
118, 146 4th The Scanning Device
149, 133 4th N/A
175, 94 1st N/A
163, 119 3rd N/A

Test_v2
Interstel's Finest

Have a 5 member crew where each of them has at least one level 250 skill.

  • Each race has specific skills that can be increased to 250.
  • All members of your crew can be the same race, as long as you have five total.
Race Skill
Human Science
Veloxi Navigation
Engineering
Thrynn Communication
Elowan Communication
Medical

Starflight_XZ
Traveling Xeno-Zoo

Have at least 14 different alien species in your cargo hold at once.

  • There are a total of 20 different species in the game. Not all are listed in the chart but the ones listed can be found on each planet you have to visit if completing the achievement set.
Creature Coordinates Planet Achievement
Orbula
Draggin
143, 115 1st Herald of Destruction
Spinster
Termode
165, 84 6th What Needs to be Done
Aerodactyle
Biwing
Gigantick
18, 50
5th Galactic Explorer's Essentials
Crawleye 112, 200 3rd Galactic Explorer's Essentials
Amorphlux
Wingwraith
180, 124
81, 98
2nd
1st
Chasing Ghosts
Octapede 55, 32 2nd Bugging the Hive Mind
Aspect 129, 33 2nd The Nuclear Option
Slugyte
Zeeb
125, 100 3rd Next to Starport

Starflight_Mine
Seasoned Prospector

In one session, have at least 400 units of valuable mined minerals at once. These are silver, gold, platinum, plutonium and rodnium.

  • You must mine and have it all in your cargo hold at once
  • Buying any at the Starport trading center will lock the achievement and all related materials must be sold down to zero before it will unlock.
  • Many planets have the necessary materials but here are the two best.
Coordinates Planet Minerals
125, 100 1st Silver
Plutonium
217, 88 4th Rodnuim

Starflight_CL1
Heir to The Institute

Find all Artifacts except for the Flat Device and Whining Orb. They don't need to be in your possession all at once.

  • You can sell, trade away, or use the artifacts and they will still count
Artifact Starmap Planet Planet Map
Black Egg 143, 115
234, 20
238, 189
1st
2nd
3rd
28N x 4E
35S x 99E
52N x 16E
Crystal Cone 20, 198 1st 29S x 55W
Crystal Orb 132, 165 1st 46N x 14E
Crystal Pearl 56, 144 1st 29N x 13W
Dodecahedron 118, 146 4th 16S x 20W
Ellipsoid 81, 98 1st 44S x 137W
Hypercube 215, 86 3rd 12N x 104W
Red Cylinder 112, 200 3rd 59N x 64W
Ring Device 215, 86 4th 90N x 0
Rod Device 180, 124 2nd 59N x 22E
Shimmering Orb 68, 66 1st 12N x 32E
Tessaract 18, 50 5th 15N x 44W

Starflight_C1_c
Daring Pacifist

While keeping the Dodecahedron in your cargo hold, collect the Crystal Cone and clear the game without interfering with the Uhlek Brain World.

  • These artifacts must be collected in this order.
  • Do not save after collecting either one. Since the Crystal Cone is located in Ulhek territory, there is a good chance you will be attacked.
  • If you die, the achievement will unprime and will not prime again until the Dodecahedron is picked up.
Artifact Starmap Planet Planet Map
Dodecahedron 118, 146 4th 16S x 20W
Crystal Cone 20, 198 1st 29S x 55W

Starflight_C3
Speed Star

Win the game within two in-game days.

  • The game can be completed in around five minutes following this route:
    • Hire one Android and assign it to all five crew slots
    • Purchase 2 cargo pods
    • Spend the rest of your money on Endurium+
    • Take the flux at
    • Pick up the Black Egg at: 143, 115, 1st planet, 28N x 4E
    • Pick up the Crystal Orb at: 132, 165, 1st planet, 46N x 14E. Make sure to pick up the Endurium+ off the ground.
    • Fly to the Crystal Planet at 192, 152 and land at 47N x 45E
    • Drop the Black Egg and fly away.
  • It's recommended to save throughout the run. Dying and reloading does not lock out the achievement.

Starflight_Exp
You Can Explore EVERY Planet

Land on a gas giant.

  • Any planet that's large and red. When trying to land, you will be warned that trying to land will crush your ship.

Important: Getting this achievement will kill you, resulting in a game over. Save before attempting!


Starflight_PD1
Oh, The Humanity

Destroy Earth.

  • Drop a Black Egg anywhere on the planet and fly away.

Important: The Hypercube is on Earth. If you destroy the planet before getting it, you can't get it anymore. Make sure to get the Hypercube first!


Starflight_Elan
The Nuclear Option

'Settle' the conflict between the Elowan and the Thrynn by destroying either Elan or Thoss.

  • You don't have to talk to either race, only blow up their home world. Show up, drop a Black Egg, and fly away.
  • Thoss is recommended, since it can be logged for Dedicated Surveyor and has a creature for Traveling Xeno-Zoo.
Race Coordinates Planet Achievement
Thrynn (Thoss) 129, 33 2nd Rebuilding the Old Empire
Those Bastards Lied to Me
Elowan (Elan) 148, 63 2nd Seekers of Knowledge

Important: Regardless of which you choose, make sure you any other achievements regarding their race first. After you blow up the planet, they will always be hostile towards you.


Starflight_Spewia
Is This a Time Paradox?

Destroy Spewia, the Spemin homeworld.

  • You don't have to talk to the Spemin, only blow up their home world. Show up, drop a Black Egg, and fly away.
Coordinates Planet
82, 148 1st

Starflight_UBW
Bugging the Hive Mind

'Destroy' the Uhlek Brain World by logging it for colonization after analyzing it.

  • Show up to the planet and log it as viable.
  • Due to a programming oversight by the game's developers, logging the planet has the same results as destroying it with a Black Egg.
Coordinates Planet Achievement
55, 32 2nd Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee
Envoy of Arth

Important: Make sure you do the related achievements first. Unlike with other races, 'destroying' their planet causes them to stop appearing in the game entirely.


Starflight_C2_v2
Dogfighter

Destroy an Uhlek or Gartuzoid Battlegroup of at least 3 ships.


Starflight_SQ8 The Truth, at Last

Discover the real identity of the Ancients.

  • Progression achievement while beating the game.

You did it! You scoured the galaxy, ravaged some planets, and probably made everyone mad along the way! Go, humanity!

⚠️ **GitHub.com Fallback** ⚠️