: From what I remember, the only way to advance from one level to the next is to reach the extraction point before it disappears; i.e. you can't just "hide long enough". I can believe that you can ignore targets, but the game is still pretty hard even if you do.
You're right, I'm sorry for being unclear. Ignoring targets is what I meant, which in some levels allows you to skip most of the enemy fire. In others, just reaching the extraction point is a challenge.
You get docked points for being late to the extraction point, but does it ever disappear? I never did wait long enough to find out. In practice mode, you can turn on unlimited lives so fuel isn't a worry, but I never checked to see what happens when you hang out until midnight.