As a gameplay element, the "Trailblazer" cruiser can only be crippled but not destroyed. The ship also contains a view the ship's engine room, which allows the player to enhance the ship's performance by upgrading or replacing the ship's components. The engine room is split into various areas including the "Spindrive" FTL engine, main cannon, sublight engine, turret, and deflector shielding. These components can be destroyed in battle or by the use of the "Emergency Spindrive" function in order to retreat from battle and head to a safer star system to recoup and repair. If the "Spindrive" is running without additional components its fuel efficiency could drop to the point that it could become impossible to reach a friendly base to re-equip without running out of fuel. In this situation, the player would be forced to use the escape pod and return to main base for a replacement "Trailblazer". This however would cost precious mission time.