In this guide What Orbit Relay is Controls Catching rings How a relay is scored What ends a run How it ramps, and the modes Tips Questions and answers
What Orbit Relay is
Orbit Relay is a one-thumb slingshot game set in open space. Your ship circles an anchor. A tap lets go, the ship flies off in a straight line, and the dashed capture ring of the next anchor pulls it into a new orbit. Each catch is one relay. Chain them upward for as long as you can, because a single mistake ends the run.
Controls
Tap anywhere to release. There is no steering after that: the ship leaves along the direction it was traveling at the moment of the tap, which is the tangent of its orbit, not the direction of your finger. Timing is therefore everything. Release just before the ship is pointing at the next ring.
Nothing forces you to hurry. You can circle an anchor for as many laps as you need while you read the line.
Catching rings
Crossing the next capture ring grabs the ship automatically. If the flight line passes close to the center of the ring it counts as a PERFECT transfer. Back-to-back perfects build a chain, and an ordinary capture resets it.
How a relay is scored
| Event | Points |
|---|---|
| Any successful transfer | 10 |
| Perfect transfer | 5 more for each perfect in the current chain, counted up to ten |
| Near miss (skimming the edge of a ring or shaving a hazard arc) | 6 more |
| Long transfer (a flight of most of the playfield width) | 8 more |
| Gold ring, every tenth relay | The whole relay is tripled |
A banner marks every 25 relays. Your best score is saved on the device and the STATS screen keeps lifetime totals.
What ends a run
- Missing the ring and drifting away into space.
- Flying off the side of the lane.
- Entering a ring through one of the red hazard arcs that rotate around some rings.
How it ramps, and the modes
As the relay count grows, capture rings shrink, orbits mix clockwise and counterclockwise, orbit speed rises, flights get longer and some anchors start to drift along small paths. Hazard arcs appear on later rings.
After a crash you get a single three-second TAP TO REVIVE offer per run, which puts you back with a brief shield. The title screen lets you choose CLASSIC or HYPER. Hyper plays 25 percent faster and multiplies every score by 1.5.
Tips
- Aim with the ship's nose, not your thumb. The release direction is where the ship is heading on its circle.
- Use extra laps. Waiting one more orbit for a clean line costs nothing, since there is no timer.
- Go for the center on gold rings. A perfect chain bonus is tripled along with the base 10.
- On a hazard ring, time the release to the arc as well as to your own orbit. The gap has to be facing you when you arrive.
- For a drifting anchor, release toward where the ring will be at the end of the flight.
- Keep the perfect chain alive over reaching for near misses. The chain bonus grows to 50 per relay, and a near miss is always 6.
Questions and answers
Can I steer the ship after releasing?
No. The flight is a straight line from the moment you tap.
Is there a time limit on an orbit?
No. You may circle an anchor as long as you like before releasing.
How often do gold rings appear?
Every tenth ring is gold and pays triple.
How many revives do I get?
One per run, offered for three seconds after a crash.