Orbit Sling tips
A stuck level is usually off by a small amount in either angle or power. Try these ideas in order.
Use gravity assists
A planet bends the probe more the closer and the slower it passes. If the target sits behind a planet, do not go around it. Skim past it and let it turn you. Too close and you crash, too far and nothing happens, so the answer is often a narrow gap between the two.
Read your last trajectory
A failed flight stays on screen as a faint line until your next aim. See which way and how far you missed, then change the angle one notch at a time. On a keyboard the arrow keys move the angle by half a degree and the power by one percent. With a finger, keep the power and nudge only the angle.
Put repulsors to work
A repulsor is a steering tool, not a wall. You can pass through it, so use its push to bend the path away from a planet right before you would touch it. Some levels combine planet gravity and a repulsor into an S-shaped path.
Moving planets
A moving planet starts circling the instant you launch. While aiming it is frozen, so trust the dotted preview and think about where the planet will be when the probe arrives. When the preview is short you cannot see that moment, so read the orbit and estimate.
Tips by level range
- 1-5: get used to pulling and releasing. The preview is up to 3 seconds long.
- 6-10: one or two planets block the straight line. Curve around the side.
- 11-15: more planets and sometimes an asteroid. Asteroids have no gravity, so just aim around them.
- 16-20: repulsors appear. Read which way they push first, then combine with planet gravity.
- 21-25: moving planets appear. The launch moment is time zero, so avoid spots where the planet will be passing.
- 26-30: moving planets and asteroids together, with the smallest target ring and a 0.7 second preview. Use the first two shots to get a feel.