Keep an eye on the condition of your ship in the upper left corner.
You can see how much armor,hull, and shield strength you have bye their color.
Green is healthy, while red means you are in trouble.
You can push (f) and (r) to lock on to various non-allied targets to see a similar readout of their ship in the upper right corner.
Enemy readouts have indicators for which faction they belong to, as well as their faction relationship with you.
Always check your targets, so you don't accidentally fire upon friends.
Watch your capacitor level, as it directly controls your ability to fire weapons.
Shields, cannons, lasers and launchers all take power to operate.
Even sustained thrust will slow your recharge rate. If you tap out your power supply, you'll be left defenseless until it can recharge.
Make your shots count, and fire in short bursts.
