To play Cosmic Rift you must first download and install the Station LaunchPad on your machine. The Station LaunchPad is used to launch several different games that are hosted on Station.com. After installation, there will be an icon on you desktop titled Station LaunchPad. Run the Station LaunchPad by double clicking on that icon. You will then be asked to enter your Station name and password. This is the same Station name that you use for logging into the web site or other Station games. If you do not have a Station name, you can create a new Station account at that same screen. This is not the name or alias that you will be known by when playing Cosmic Rift (you create that alias later).

Once you have logged in, you will be presented with a list of games to play. Click on the Cosmic Rift game icon. The Station LaunchPad will then auto-download, install, and run the game for you.

Once the game is started you will be presented with the Cosmic Rift zone selection screen. On this screen you enter the alias you wish to use in the game and select which zone you wish to connect to. The list of live zones is auto-updated every time you run the game; however, you can force it to manually update the list by hitting the 'Refresh' button in the lower-left corner.

To create a new alias, simply enter it by typing it. Names must start with a letter and should be kept in good taste. Once you have chosen a name you like, you must select which zone you wish to connect to. Each zone represents a variation on gameplay. You should try all the gameplay variations to decide which style of game you most enjoy.

With your name chosen and a zone selected you are ready to play the game by pressing the 'Fight' button. Upon pressing the 'Fight' button, your machine will connect to the game server and make sure that you are allowed to use that name. Other players have already taken many names and if this is the case, the server will prompt you for a different name.

On a side note, before hitting the 'Fight' button, you may wish to change some of the game configuration options by using the standard windows menus at the top of the screen. In particular, the game defaults to playing in 800x600 resolution. If your machine can handle higher resolutions than that, we recommend you pick one of the higher resolutions. If you are running your windows desktop in a 16-bit color mode, you will also have the choice to run the game in a resizable window. You will also find a keyboard configuration dialog box that will allow you to easily customize your keyboard, or switch to mouse-based flying.

After entering the zone, you will be randomly placed inside an arena within the zone. Where a zone represents a style of gameplay, an arena represents a specific game that is in progress. The server automatically creates new arenas, and places players in them based on the current load. You will most likely be placed in an arena with several dozen other players. Initially you start the game in spectator-mode, meaning that you are simply watching the game that is in progress. (Note: You may actually start out viewing the zone-news, which is a brief description of how to play the game style or zone that you have selected…press Escape to exit this screen and start viewing the game in action.) If you are new to the game, it is probably worth your time to simply watch the game for a while to learn how it works. When you are ready to get in and start fighting, you can do so by pressing F12. If you have not already picked a ship, you will be told that you need to first pick a ship by pressing F11. There are many ships to choose from and each has strengths and weaknesses. Pick the ship that appeals to you the most.

Upon entering the game, you will automatically be assigned to a team with other players. You are free to enter and leave the game at any time (in most zones) simply by pressing F12. Most in-game options can be viewed through the main in-game menu system, which is accessed by pressing Escape or clicking on the 'Menu' button in the bottom-right area of the screen. Most aspects of the user interface can be controlled with the mouse, and there are keyboard shortcuts and message shortcuts to the more popular features.

The screen is divided up into 5 areas: The playing field, the message area, the radar area, the arsenal or inventory area, and the player list area. The playing field is where all the action takes place. The message area is used to communicate with other players. The messaging system inside Cosmic Rift is very sophisticated, allowing you to create chat-channels with your friends, or talk to players in different zones (or even players who are in other games such as Infantry). The details of how the messaging system works are documented elsewhere and are accessible from the online help within the game (Escape/Help…). The radar area displays a portion of the current map that the game is being played on. You can view the full map by clicking on the radar map, or by pressing F3.

The arsenal area displays a list of weapons and other items that you have in your inventory. You can see a list of keystrokes that are assigned to the various weapons in your arsenal by holding the mouse pointer over the inventory list. The player list area is a list of everybody who is in the arena playing the game with you. Teammates are listed in yellow and enemies are listed in white. Players with a small 'S' next to their name are in spectator mode, simply watching the game. Initially you are placed on the 'spec' team along with other spectators. With both the inventory list and the player list, you can right-click with the mouse on a particular name/item to get a popup menu of things you can do to manipulate that item.

All of the different areas can be resized to suit your taste by grabbing the edge or corner and dragging/dropping it larger. For example, the message area can be made larger by grabbing the separator bar and dragging it up. The radar map can be made larger by grabbing the corner and dragging it as well. The same can be done with the player list/inventory list area. The message area can be toggled to/from its full size by pressing F4. The player list/inventory list area can be toggled in/out of its full size by pressing F2.

Unless you have reconfigured your keyboard or input device, when you enter the game you control your ship using the arrow keys. You rotate the direction your ship is facing using the left/right arrow keys and then move forward in the direction you are facing using the up-arrow key to fire your thrusters. You can also move backwards using the down-arrow key to fire your reverse thrusters. Because you are in the frictionless environment of space, once you start moving in a particular direction you will continue to move in that direction until you thrust to counter it in some way.

Each ships is equipped with a battery that holds energy (typically up to 1700 units of energy) as well as a device that recharges the battery at a given rate. The energy you have acts as shielding for your ship from enemy weapons. When an enemy weapon hits you it damages you by draining your energy. If a weapon hits you and your energy goes below zero, it kills you. Firing the weapons in your arsenal also requires energy, so the more you fire your weapons, the easier you will be to kill. You need to balance your use of weapons against the need to survive a hit. Keep close watch on your energy indicator to ensure that you are not firing faster than you can recharge.

While the objective involved in each of the zones or game styles varies, the fundamental battle scenario remains the same; that is, you spend your time in battle trying to kill the other team. To accomplish this you are given a variety of weapons depending on which ship you have chosen. All ships are equipped with a light weapon, a heavy weapon, a mine of some sort, and a repulsor. These four items represent the bread-and-butter of your arsenal and are described below.

The light weapon is usually a rapid-firing weapon that does limited damage and tends to only damage the player that it actually hits. As such, it is best used for close combat situations. The default key for this weapon is the CTRL key.

The heavy weapon is usually a slow-firing weapon that does a lot of damage and tends to damage anybody near the explosion (including yourself and teammates). These weapons also tend to have large proximity triggers, meaning they will explode if they get near the enemy. As such, it is best not used when you or your teammates are near the target. You will find that this is your most used weapon. The default key for this weapon is the TAB key.

The mine is very similar to the heavy weapon from a damage model point of view, but unlike the heavy weapon, which is fired like a gun, the mine is dropped and remains stationary at a fixed location. While all weapons have a limited lifetime, mines tend to be long-lived and are useful for defending fixed points. Because they last so long, you (and your team) are limited to having only a few active at any given time. The default key for this weapon is SHIFT-TAB.

The repulsor is your primary defensive weapon. When fired, it repels everything in the area around you, forcing them away from you, except for things that belong to your team. This includes enemy weapons and enemy ships. You start out with a few repels and are limited in how many you can have in your inventory at once. You find more repels by picking them up as prizes scattered around the map. By default the repel key is SHIFT-CTRL.

Every ship is also equipped with the ability to warp to the location of one of their teammates. This is done by highlighting the teammates name on the player list (using either the mouse or PgUp/PgDn) and pressing the Warp Team key that by default is F7. This takes a significant amount of energy to execute. (Note: Your teammates appear in yellow on the player list.)

The final inventory item that is standard equipment on every ship is an ECM Device (electronic counter measures). While the details of how this device works can vary from ship to ship, in general the ECM Device will let you see cloaked ships in the area as well as act as an anti-warp device, preventing enemies in the area from being able to warp to their teammates. By default, you turn this device on and off by using the END key. Keeping the device on uses vital energy.