Standoff is a bit intimidating the first time you play through it. By mixing the Vision engine, which allows massive furballs and puts a huge emphasis on speed and afterburning, with WC1 + 2 caliber weapon lethalities and armor/shield levels, the authors created a situation that is far more lethal (and, probably far more realistic) than in any other Wing Commander game, with the possible exception of WC4 (due to the good AI and the lethality of missiles in that game).
In Standoff, you NEED to follow Paladin's advice in Claw Marks--rank your own survival first and foremost, rather than hanging on to get the kill. A few tips:
* NEVER rush a target head on flying straight and level...even if you give as good as you receive, you're still going to receive a hell of a lot, and there are just too many adversaries to take a pounding each time you engage one.
* INSTEAD, get good at the "Shelton Slide" or "Undercut", aim to one side of the opponent, and intermittently tap your burners, and once you're inertia is built up, pull up and squeeze off a few shots at the target. OR simply juke ("shake, rattle, and roll") to close with him, not trying to hit him head on, and then get on his tail and take him out.
* NEVER allow someone to stay on your tail, firing at you. Even if you're in the process of finishing off his wingman. If someone gets on your six, break, burn, and evade. Don't rely on your shields and armor to protect you from the "first few hits"...do your best to avoid getting hit at all. Your shields and armor are there in case you occasionally make a mistake and get hit. Survive first.
* This is doubly true when flying a Stilletto. It's armor is practically non-existent.
* Use your AB fuel wisely, especially when flying a Gladius, which has precious little of it. Your AB fuel is your main tool for survival, as it allows evasive maneuvers, so don't waste it just trying to close with a target more quickly so you can get one more kill to pad your score.
* Bring up the Nav Map peridocially. Moreso than any other WC game, you'll need it. Not only does it pause the game and let you get your bearings, but you can see which enemies are targeting which ships (including you), and make strategic decisions accordingly. You can even pick a new target in this map, and when you leave the map, that target will be your current one, allowing you to close on a given enemy that is attacking a specific asset.
Keep in mind, with the exception of a few missions, most of the Wing Commander games were relatively easy--anyone with average video gaming skills could take the role of the "hero of the confederation" and rack up massive kill scores and hosts of successful missions relative to all the other pilots. Standoff is a bit more realistic...if you're not very careful, you will die. And if you're not very careful and quite skilled (and sometimes lucky), you will fail missions.