Combat takes place in a fixed amount of time. Each combat is restricted to just 30 combat turns. Once this time expires, combat is over.

Each combat turn, the combat pieces can be moved. If a piece has movement points remaining, it can be moved up to that many squares during this combat turn. Next turn, they will have their movement points restored so that they can move again. Movement points are computed by totaling up the number of engines a ship has and taking into account any factors such as no supplies.

Only one combat piece can occupy one square in combat at a time. The only exception to this rule is for seeking weapons ("seekers") which can overlap other pieces as they move towards their target.

During a combat turn, a combat piece can both move and fire its weapons. These can be done in any order you wish.

A ship can fire one or more weapons during its combat turn. Each weapon is rated with a reload rate so that once it has been fired, it will take that many turns until it can fire again. Only weapons which are undamaged can be fired at an enemy.

The number of targets a piece can fire is 1. It can increase this number by adding Multiplex Tracking components. A planet can automatically fire on up to 10 targets at a time.

There are 4 basic types of weapons in the game. The first is "direct-fire", which means that the weapon will immediately fire and either miss or hit its target. The next is "seeking" which means that the weapon will launch when fired, and then will move towards it target and attempt to hit it. The third is "point-defense" which means that the weapon will automatically fire on enemy fighters and seekers which come into range. The last is "warhead" which cannot be fired, but will detonate if the ship rams an enemy ship.

"Direct-Fire" and "Point-Defense" weapons have a chance that they will either hit or miss their target. The chance to hit is based on the distance between the targets, the attacker's Combat Sensors bonus, the defender's ECM bonus, any experience the two pieces might have, and any environmental factors that may interfere.

See Weapons and Damage for more details.

When a ship is hit by weapon's fire, it will take damage. Damage is applied first to any shields the ship may have. Once the shields are depleted, the armor takes damage. And finally, once the armor is gone, all internal components will be damaged. Some damage types done by weapons skip certain types of components or even shields. Planet's are damaged in much the same way with the population being the target. As the population is destroyed, facilities may be destroyed as well.

See Weapons and Damage for more details.

Ships flying through space typically fly in some kind of formation. To indicate this, their are combat groups in Tactical Combat. A combat group consists of a leader and a group of members. When the leader moves, all of the members of the group will follow along attempting to stay in formation. This is very useful if you are trying to move large groups of ships. When a fleet enters combat, the ships in the fleet are automatically assigned to the same combat group. If the leader of a combat group dies or is removed, then the combat group is dissolved.

See Tactical Combat for more details on how to set these groups up.

If you have a carrier or planet in battle which is carrying fighters or satellites, then you will want to launch them to take place in the battle. Launching units is done automatically in Strategic Combat, and through orders in the Tactical Combat Window. Each ship is rated with how many units per combat turn it can launch. This amount is based on the components which store and launch your units. You can launch only up to that amount in one combat turn. The next combat turn, you can launch that many again.

Units that are launched into combat are composed of groups of units. So each combat piece actually consists of many units at one square on the map. For all interactions with that group of units, they are considered one combat piece with a lot of weapons. When you fire their weapons, the firing is summarized as one shot for each different type of weapon. So for example, if you had a fighter group with 10 fighters, then when they fire, you would see just one shot for their 10 Anti-Proton Beams. The single shot is computed to do as much damage as the 10 individual beams would do if they had hit.

When combat is over, you do not need to recover your units back on to your ships. This is done automatically. If there is not enough space to recover the unit, then it remains in space at that location.

Ground combat occurs when troops are dropped onto an enemy planet. Ground combat takes place in the Ground Combat Window. At the moment the troops land on the planet, ground combat begins. Ground combat consists of a battle between the attacker's troops which are dropped, and the defending units on the planet plus any population present. Don't underestimate the general populous, they will defend their planet vigorously.

Several turns of the ground combat will take place until it is completed, or its time has expired (ground combat has a limited number of turns like space combat). Ground combat may extend pass the end of this space combat, and may occur over several game turns (at the end of each game turn, ground combat may be displayed again to continue the battle). At any time, you can drop additional troops onto the planet to help take it over. The only limitation in dropping troops is that you cannot drop troops onto a planet where a ground combat is currently in progress by two other empires.

The victor in ground combat gains control of the planet. This includes any surviving facilities or units in storage. The population that's left is also subjugated by the enemy troops. This population is now yours to do with as you please. You will probably need to keep troops present to prevent them from rioting. You can also transport the population to other planets.

Combat is a little different in simultaneous games. First off, you do not get to go through Tactical Combat. All combat in a simultaneous game is completely computer controlled. On your next turn, you will receive a log message reporting the results of the combat.

Combat in a simultaneous game takes place when enemy forces are in the same location in a solar system. Different than in a Turn-Based game, combat does not begin automatically when enemy ships first enter the same location. Combat only takes place every 5 days in the 30 days of the turn month. If the enemy forces are at the same location on a 5th day, then combat will take place.