Gameplay
Gameplay consists of maneuvering one's ship to approach enemy ships and assault them in the areas where various systems and ship's shields are vulnerable. It also consists of achieving various other objectives specified in mission assignments, which are provided at the beginning of each scenario. This can include interacting with various ships, aliens, planetary bodies, and other objects in space, depending on the specific assignment.
One important point to note is that gameplay is not continuous; i.e., players do not do a variety of missions within a single game scenario. Players are given a specific mission to accomplish within a scenario. When the mission is completed, the scenario ends. After a set of screens for refit and repair, the next scenario begins with a new mission. This is different from earlier games of this category, in which players might be given the ability to warp around the galaxy in order to continually fight enemies and achieve various objectives in a single session.
Read more about this topic: Star Trek: Starfleet Command