As a fleet commander in HighFleet, players will need to utilize squadrons of ships (labelled Strike Groups in-game) to complete their objectives and reach the rebel capital. HighFleet’s control scheme can be a bit confusing at times, but this guide should make commanding Strike Groups easier and more efficient.
Here are the main components of Strike Group control in HighFleet:
– Detachment
– Orders
– Intelligence
– Strategic Missiles
– Aircraft
Players can control as many Strike Groups as they want, as long as it contains at least one ship. While keeping all ships together as one big ball of death is still a viable approach, splitting the fleet up into multiple Strike Groups is far more efficient for covering ground and is a vital strategy to succeeding in HighFleet. In addition, all Strike Groups will have the same UI elements available, however, based on the equipment availability of the ships within the squadron, some UI elements will be locked off or unavailable.
Detachment
At the start of any playthrough, all the player’s ships will start together in one fleet with the expedition’s flagship. The squadron’s roster panel will be on the right side of the screen, where players can select ships for inspection.
To create a new Strike Group, players will need to click on each ship in the roster they want in their new squadron, and then on the strategic map in the center of the screen left-click on a location for the ships to detach. There will usually be an audio cue of officers confirming that squadrons have detached. Once detached, these ships form their own Strike Group and can perform actions independently from their parent fleet.
Occasionally, the player’s trusty advisor will ask whether you want to detach ships into a separate Strike Group, so players can also use this as an option to create new squadrons.
Orders
Once players have multiple squadrons operating on the map, they will need to know how to select and command them. A currently selected Strike Group will be represented by a hollow white circle on the strategic map, while all other friendly squadrons will appear as green hollow circles.
To select a group, players need to left-click on an unselected Strike Group on the strategic map. To move a squadron, right-click on a location and the squadron will proceed to move as quickly as possible to reach the destination.
The right-click command is universal for movement, reattaching Strike Groups, or intercepting enemy fleets. To reattach or intercept, simply right-click on a friendly or enemy fleet and the selected squadron will automatically calculate the most direct path for it to reach the target.
Intelligence
Depending on the intelligence equipment available to a Strike Group, they will have all or none of the main methods of detection: radar, ELINT, and IRST. Regardless of detection equipment, all Strike Groups will have direct visual spotting and radio signal interception available to them. It can be useful to detach ships with powerful detection systems from the flagship to act as scouts and decoys.
Strategic Missiles
Some ships in HighFleet will be classified as strategic ships and will usually carry powerful cruise or even nuclear missiles. If a Strike Group has a ship loaded with these strategic missiles, players will see a panel in the top right of their screen.
To use a strategic missile, players can turn the knob using the mouse scroll to select the missile they want then left-click on a highlighted switch to select a missile, after which a red radius will appear on the strategic map, indicating the range of the missile. Left-click on a location on the strategic map within the radius to select as a target and then click the launch button at the top-right of the screen to send the missiles on their merry way.
Aircraft
Some ships in HighFleet will have the ability to carry combat aircraft and in many ways they act similarly to strategic missiles. To use aircraft, players will need to click the down pointing arrow at the bottom part of the screen next to the label “Aircraft Group” to expand the aircraft menu.
Left-click on an available aircraft option as many times as they want planes in the group and then click on the Aircraft Group to ready the mission. To send the aircraft on a mission, left-click a location on the strategic map, after which the planes will take off, loiter or attack, and then return to the Strike Group if they have enough fuel left.
On the whole, HighFleet Strike Group command is relatively simple with the main point of confusion found in the detaching and movement commands. As more varied ships get added to a squadron, not only will its strategic capabilities increase, but the complexity of command will also go up. The challenge now for prospective admirals is to utilize these various elements to optimize their squadron’s impact on the map.
HighFleet is available on PC.
READ NEXT: The Best Turn-Based Strategy Games of All Time
Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site.
