How to play & controls NOVA SQUADRON · 3D Space Dogfights with Friends
NOVA SQUADRON is a 3D space combat game in your browser. You fly a starfighter of the Nova Squadron against the drone fleet of a runaway machine legion, across six missions: Asteroid Patrol, Convoy Escort, Nebula Ambush, Dreadnought Assault, Trench Run and Fleet Showdown.
Three fighters fly very differently — the balanced Lancer, the fast Stinger and the heavy Bulwark. Lasers need leading, missiles and torpedoes need a lock, and an evasive roll or a decoy gets you out of trouble.
Friends join your wing with a link or a four-character room code, even in the middle of a mission, for co-op up to four. Or split into Nova and Red teams for dogfights from 1v1 to 4v4.
Goal
Fly your starfighter and complete the mission goals (top left): shoot down fighters, protect freighters and flagships, break a dreadnought’s generators and core, and hit the vent at the end of the trench.
How it works
- Turn the nose to bring enemies into the centre reticle. Aim at the small yellow lead circle in front of a target and your lasers connect.
- Keep a target near the reticle and the lock ring fills. Once LOCKED, fire a missile — big targets like turrets, generators and cores get a torpedo.
- Under heavy fire, EVADE — lasers and missiles slip past while you roll. When the missile alarm sounds, drop a DECOY.
- Shields recharge when you avoid hits for a moment. Fly through glowing supplies (weapons, missiles, repairs) to collect them.
Modes
Solo campaign
Six missions in order, each unlocking the next and earning up to three stars. Two AI wingmen fly with you. Solo play can be paused.
Co-op with friends
Up to four pilots on the same mission. The host can launch first; friends join mid-mission. More pilots bring more enemies and fewer AI wingmen. Co-op does not pause.
Team dogfight
Nova team against Red team, 1v1 to 4v4, in the asteroid belt, a dreadnought wreck or an ion nebula. Bots can fill empty seats. First to four kills per seat plus two, or the most kills after 5 minutes.
Controls
| Action | Mouse & keyboard | Touch | Gamepad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steer | Mouse (like a stick around the screen centre) or W/A/S/D, arrow keys | Press and drag anywhere in the lower left | Left stick |
| Roll | Q / E | — | Right stick |
| Lasers (hold) | Left click or Space | FIRE button (auto-fire can be switched in the pause menu) | RT |
| Missile / torpedo | Right click or F | MSL button — the ring around it fills as you lock | RB |
| Evade | C, or double-tap A / D | EVADE button | A |
| Decoy | X | DECOY button | B |
| Boost (hold) / brake | Shift / Z | BOOST button | LT / LB |
| Next target | T or Tab | Picked automatically in front of you | Y |
| Pause | P or Esc | ⏸ | Start |
Tips
- Lasers overheat if you hold the trigger too long — fire in bursts.
- Red diamonds mark mission targets. Bombers hunt freighters and flagships — down them first.
- In the trench, climbing out draws heavy flak. Fly energy barriers through the glowing gap.
- Friends join your wing — even mid-mission — with the lobby’s Invite link.
Strategy tips
Aim at the yellow circle
Bolts fly at 900 m/s (820 on the Bulwark), so aim at the small yellow lead circle in front of the target, not at the ship. When an enemy's lead point is within a narrow cone of your nose, your bolts bend toward it — about 2° with a mouse, 6° on touch.
Hold the lock
Keep a target within about 15° of the nose and 1,700 m for 0.9 s to lock a missile (60 damage). On a big target with a torpedo left, the same button fires a torpedo after 1.2 s from up to 2,200 m: 420 damage, but only 30% of it on fighters.
Roll through fire
EVADE makes lasers and missiles pass through you from 0.04 to 0.48 s after you press. It recharges in 2.4 s on the Lancer, 1.7 s on the Stinger and 2.9 s on the Bulwark.
Drop decoys early
A missile more than 260 m away always chases the decoy; between 120 and 260 m about two times in three; closer than 120 m about one time in three. A decoy also breaks enemies that are locking onto you.
Break off to recharge
Shields start to recharge 3.2 s after the last hit, at 16% of their maximum per second. A few seconds away from the fight often saves the hull.
Generators first
A dreadnought's reactor core (1,100) ignores damage while any shield generator stands. Generators have 360, so a single torpedo breaks one when you fly alone. The hangar sends two drones every 24 s until you destroy it.
Stay low in the trench
You get two torpedoes when you cross the rim. More than 24 m above the rim for over 1.2 s and surface flak hits you; fly through the moving gap of each energy barrier or lose your shield and 34 hull.
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