advpak-starflight-manual - Museum of Computer Adventure Game
Contents
1. The Elowan are a bi pedal photosynthetic race 1 to 2 meters in height They are willowy and delicate with numerous prehensile vines Their color may range trom a light yellowish green to a deep greenish blue They have two large compound eyes which are characteristically a deep reddish brown They are highly empathetic and are particularly STARFLIGHT creative thinkers Although weak physically they excell in interpersonal skills Their excellent learning rate allows them to learn all skills relatively quickly Science Your ship s sensors are your primary means of gathering information and it is the duty of the Science Officer to interpret that information The more skilled a Science Officer the more complete and accurate will be the information from the sensor reading This information can be of vital importance e g an alien vessel s military Durability 02 Learning Rate 10 inherent Aptitude Science Average Navigation Good Engineering Average Communication Excellent Medicine Excellent ANDROID tals king a race Because they are constructed of Sii ons and not strictly speaking y benefit from training e numerous models uiring Androids are sophisticated automat and plastics they are the most durable of all the races At the same time however they cannot ing i kilis are set at a tixed efficiency level Of th because their programming is hard wired and their s available Interstel uses the popular Biosynthetic DX99 series2. best suited for use in tasks req straight forward computation and linear analysis Durability 10 Learning Rate 00 Fixed Skill Levels Science 50 Navigation 150 Engineering 100 Communication 00 Medicine 20 tween the Elowan and the Thrynn it is not advisable to include a member of two races would undoubtedly deal with each other pace encounter This is Note Because of the ancient enmity be er j idual members of these each race on your crew Although the individua civilly on board your ship you would be unable to communicate with either race inas because the presence of a member of one race precludes any useful communication with the other race 1 3 Skills Overview j tial skills science roids see Races above can be trained in five essen panit d medicine All training is done in Personnel A given crew member s learning rate depends on the learning rate of his or her race All skills are important n e lep tunctioning of your vessel with the most important being Communication Science and Navigation FO ng brief description of each skill and its relevance to your crew Crew members except f navigation engineering communications an capability a planet s suitability as a potential colony world At skill levels greater than 150 a Science Officer can detect aliens over long distances and can pinpoint their position Navigation Navigation is of primary importance to space travel Without an effective Navigator yo
3. game by i i i pressing Escape to bring up the Game Options Menu The Game Options Menu gives you four options that can be selected nd aiei the corresponding number keys 1 Save Game saves your current position in the game and exits Everything will be exactly as you left it the next time you play 2 Resume Game returns to the game without saving Can be used to pause the game for short periods of time 3 Change Display Options brings up the configuration menu so you can reselect your display options 9 End Game permanently ends a game The only way to start a new game after using this option is to recopy the master disks onto your play disks Use with caution Starflight runs in real time That means that if you leave your ship parked in deep space while you go take a break you may return to find your ship surrounded by alien ships some of which may not be friendly If you are planning to leave the game for an extended amount of time press Escape to bring up the Game Soara Menu this stops the passage of time in the game Choose 2 Resume Game to continue To save games from the Game Options Menu press the 1 key to select the first option and save the current game After the game has been saved on the play disks press any key to exit the game At this point it s a good idea to make a backup of your play disks This way if your ship is destroyed the next time you play you ll have a backup so you won t have
4. position 3 1 1 Main View Screen ine This screen displays spatial and communications information On it your computer will display tactical information during encounters contour maps of planets from orbit and planet and stars during system and hyperspace travel Planet size as reflected on this screen is to scale STARFLIGHT This screen displays Status and Sensor data from your Science Officer and Damage and Repair information from your Engineer You will also see system maps Mercator projections and malfunction alerts displayed here 3 1 3 Control Panel The Control Panel can execute all the main ship commands through an array of buttons Here you can select a crew member and then select a function associated with that crew member 3 1 4 Text Window All text messages both incoming and outgoing are presented here When you enter a System the Text Window displays the following information Spectral Class see Spectral Chart Ecosphere The band of acceptable radiation around a star capable of sustaining lifebearing planets Given in terms of orbital position e g Ecosphere 2 4 3 2 Filght Operations Ship Functions are accessed via the Control Panel Each crewmember controls a specific set of ship functions To access a particular function you first need to select the appropriate crewmember Following is a brief description of all available functions classified by crewmember 3 2 1 Captain The Captain is the ulti
5. Disembark This option allows the crew to leave the ship when it has landed on a planet or docked at Starport Cargo This option allows the Captain to examine the current cargo list jettison undesired items and pick up debris from destroyed alien spaceships Note that any item jettisoned is considered destroyed and cannot be recovered Note also that messages obtained from ruins are considered cargo Log Planet This option allows the Captain to recommend a planet to Arth for colonization via a superphotonic homing drone Recommendations may be made either from orbit or from the planet s surface but can only be made once for any given planet Ship s Log This option allows the Captain to read from and write to a personal ship s log There is a limited amount of space in the log To quit this option move to EXIT and press the Return key Bridge This option is the same for all crew members and restores you to the Control Panel so you can choose another function 3 2 2 Science Officer The Science Officer is responsible for gathering and analyzing all relevant information about the status and condition of the ship as well as its surroundings When Science Officer is selected from the Control Panel the following options become available Sensor This option provides various items of information depending on current status or location The Sensor is one of the main sources of information about your ship alien ships and plan
6. Friendly Hostile Obsequious R Your message will be transmitted in accordance with the chosen posture Becoming friendly with aliens can give you access to new information When you Respond as appropriate you can choose from Statement f you wish to make a statement of some kind Note that statements are more likely to affect the aliens attitudes than are questions Question If you wish to ask a question You can choose from the following possible areas of inquiry Themselves Other Races Old Empire Ancients General Information Posture To change your posture You do not need to select this if you wish to maintain the same posture Terminate To terminate communications Distress Launches a superphotonic homing drone to Starport This results in your ship and crew being put in stasis and towed home by another Starport vessel There is a stiff fee for this service which will vary depending on the distance you are towed Bridge Return to Control Panel 3 2 6 Doctor The ship s doctor is responsible for examining and treating injured crewmembers The higher the doctor s skill level the faster the cure Selecting Doctor from the Control Panel provides you with the following options Examine This option allows the Doctor to study a readout of the physical condition of any of the crewmembers Treat This option allows the Doctor to treat injured crewmembers Even though natural healing will occur on board
7. MANUAL STARFLIGHT Starport Central Arth Orbit Station T 30 10 4619 Dear Starship Commander We are sorry you were unable to attend the Operation Starflight briefing last week Those who attended can vouch for the enthusiasm and excitement that prevailed during the meeting We at Interstel feel that this is the beginning of a new era and that you and your colleagues will be instrumental in making this mission a success To make sure you will have all the information you need we have included your own copy of the Technical Reference Manual This document contains the information you need to operate your starship without it you could find yourself in deep space with no way out Guard it carefully Neediess to say it is highly confidential and is if you will excuse the old cliche For Your Eyes Only The briefing transcript is included for the background information it contains k i ST As you know Interstel is in no position to outfit starships as fully as you might like consequently a lot hinges on Instruction for Amiga IBM Atar your entrepreneurial ability to generate revenues early on You will then be able to use those revenues to outfit your starship for more distant and more profitable voyages The following are a few suggestions in that direction re Tandy Apple and Apple Il Commodo y PP Your initial allotment of 12 000 mu s is enough to allow you to buy four cargo pods and to gather and train a crew last pages Your shi
8. Playing Starflight Your starting point in the game is the Interstel starport docking bay To find out what your first actions as an Interstel starship captain should be read the Captain s Briefing Letter and the Interstel Technical Reference Manual Never remove the game disks from the computer turn off the power or use memory resident programs such as Get Organized or Sidekick during game play doing so may permanently damage the game in progress Starflight does not support joystick control Use the cursor keys to move characters vehicles and make selections Use the Enter key to open doors and confirm sclections The numeric keypad also functions as a cursor diamond the keys shown below each designate a direction A a u N WwW wn wo x 4 at f Additional key commands are described below Ctrl S Toggles game sound on and off Esc Activates the Game Options Menu There is a short pause from the time you press Esc until the menu appears The Game Options Menu is available at all times except when executing a cargo command or a maps command planetside Activates computer controlled cruise control while travelling in interstellar a ms pests se on a planet s surface To activate cruise control hold down a cursor key and press the Insert key at the same time Activating cruise control lets your starship or terrain vehicle travel unattended in its current direction Press any cursor key to deactiva
9. Use this menu to specify the type of hic card and displa computer is equi with The four choices are Launching or landing 25 cubic meter per G of the planet ree sail ies Pere ae i 1 Black White for black and white display 2 RGB for RGB color display 3 Color TV or Composite for composite color display 4 Hercules monochrome for Hercules monochrome graphics cards Press the number of the option you want to use then Enter In a few moments the Siarflight title screens appear Press Enter to continue Compaq users with an external composite monitor should type Control Alt lt press the Control Alt and lt keys simultaneously at the DOS prompt before starting Siarflighi to activate composite display output NOTE Starflight looks best if you use a composite color monitor Check your display adapter reference manual to see if it provides composite output Using the Hercules option produces an image that is smaller than your display screen Colors will vary depending upon your computer graphics adapter and monitor You may need to adjust your monitor in order to match the colors you see with those described in the manual If you own a VCR you can use it to turn your color TV into a composite monitor Simply plug the composite video out signal from your adapter board into the video in of your VCR Switch your VCR to camera mode so that it will recognize the video signal and you have a color monitor
10. ds on the Engineer s skill rating In addition key elements may be required for repairs and the longer a repair takes the higher the probability that one of these element will be required Repairs must be suspended until the missing element is obtained All the elements that may required for repairs can be obtained in the Trade Depot at Starport see Part 2 below Communications Alien races will be your primary source of information The Communications Officer interprets all communications using an on board translating device The less skilled the Communications Officer the more untranslated material you can expect to receive It is also helpful if your Communications Officer and to a lesser extent any of other crew member is a member of the alien race with which you are communicating Thus if one of your crew is a member of the alien race your Communications Officer s skill level will be effectively increased by 25 points during the encounter And if the Communications Officer happens to be a member of the alien race his skill level is effectively increased by 50 points Medicine Your Doctor s skill level determines the speed and efficiency of his medical treatment Even though your ship is equipped with the latest in Medi Tech devices it is the Doctor s skill level that determines the speed and efficiency of the treatment The higher the skill level the less time it will take to treat a wound All injuries heal naturally over the course of t
11. essels at any time If you need to quit an encounter enter your Navigator s Maneuver mode and move away from the alien ship until it is no longer visible on your view screen Note that during an encounter the alien ship can scan your ship and analyze your strengths and weaknesses just as you can theirs In particular they can detect if your shields are up and whether or not your weapons are armed These may be interpreted as hostile gestures 4 2 1 Communications Communicating with aliens can be an enlightening experience The main points on alien communication have already been covered in Section 3 2 3 above here are some additional hints to make your communications more effective First you can pause communications for up to two minutes by pressing the key This will give you a little time to gather your thoughts without the realtime clock ticking Second not all races respond optimally to the Friendly posture Experiment with different postures until you discover the most effective approach for each race Make notes of any information you receive during each encounter including information on the success or failure of a particular posture as well as general information that can help you complete your mission Once you develop friendly relations with a race they will be willing to give you more information STARFLIGHT Finally note that not every member of a given race will have the same knowledge and information as any other member of tha
12. ets The following information is available through the sensor classified by location In Orbit Auxiliary View Screen Mass Mass of planet in tons Bio Percentage of life density Min Percentage of mineral density STARFLIGHT Note 100 life or mineral density would be the maximum possible under that planet s geologic and life sustaining conditions Text Window Atmosphere Lists the main components of a planet s atmosphere in decreasing order i e first listed is the primary component etc Hydrosphere Major components of a planet s liquid surface area Lithosphere Major minerals to be found on a planet s land surface area During an Alien Encounter Auxiliary View Screen Mass Mass of alien ship in tons Bio Displays percentage of undamaged Lifeforms on board the alien vessel If 50 per cent of the Lifeforms are dead the display will read 50 Energy Undamaged percentage of alien ship Text Window Object Constituents Displays the composition of the alien vessel Analysis Use this option to have the Science Officer present his analysis of sensor data he has gathered Note that the Science Officer needs to take the corresponding sensor reading before you can exercise this option Analysis data is given below classified by location In Orbit Text Window Orbit Number Each star has eight possible orbit positions ranging i from Orbit Position 1 the closest to the star to Orbit Position 8 the
13. eturn to Control Panel 3 2 4 Engineer The Engineer is responsible for surveying any damage to the ship and for repairing it Highly skilled engineers are capable of repairing more than their lesser counterparts When you select Engineer from the Control Panel the following options become available Damage This option displays the Engineer s damage report on the Auxiliary View Screen Graphs indicate percent of damage for each section of the ship Note that percent of damage is also equal to the percentage probability that the damaged section will fail altogether Thus if a section of the ship has sustained 50 damage there is a 50 probability of total malfunction of that section Repair This option allows the Engineer to repair damaged sections Bridge Return to Control Panel 3 2 5 Communications Officer The Communications Officer is responsible for all communications with Interste as well as with alien life forms encountered in space The higher a Communications Officer s skill the more efficient the communications See Section 4 2 below for more information on alien space encounters When you select Communications Officer you are presented with the following options Hail Respond This reads Heil unless you have already been hailed by another vessel in which case it would read Respond All communications activity is carried out through this option When you Hail Respond you can adopt one of the following postures
14. fficiency To re enter the ship move the terrain vehicle over it and press any non arrow key 5 2 3 Cargo This presents you with a list of all the cargo you are carrying and gives you the option of dropping anything When an object is dropped on a planet s surface it can be picked up again Cargo also allows you to pick up any item including Lifeforms next to your terrain vehicle record messages found in Ruins and make holographic recordings of Lifeforms You must be directly beside an object to put it into Cargo Note that any messages you find are identified by the date found The cargo hold has a capacity of 50 cubic meters 5 2 4 Look This option places a moveable cursor on the tactical map allowing you to examine any part of the terrain Move the cursor with the arrow keys and press a key 5 2 5 Scan This option places a moveable cursor on the tactical map allowing you to scan the terrain using your sensors The results of your scanning are made available in a readout Only lifeforms can be scanned Note that lifeforms are not distributed evenly over the planet s surface but tend to clump in the lower elevations near the equator or other temperate areas The configuration of lifeforms on a planet is consistent with that planet s gravity 5 2 6 Weapons Your Terrain Vehicie is equipped with a laser and a stunner You can choose which one to fire through the Weapons option Bracket the target by using the arrow keys and fire by pressing any othe
15. h represents the number of skill points s member of that race acquires from a single training session The Velox are insect like creatures with two legs two arms and two intermediate appendages which can serve as z ical damage a either They have a hard red chitinous exoskeleton two large compound eyes and two antennae which serve as Durability a number from 0 to 10 which represents the amount of physica olfactory sensors When in an upright position a Velox is approximately 1 1 2 meters in height if male and 2 1 2 member of that race can sustain meters if female Velox culture is akin to hive culture and they are not known to be particularly intelligent They are Y i kills The range however exceptionally strong and durable and they have excellent hand eye coordination These traits in Inherent Aptitude the TE ey hpdhige tte canoes definds the beginning conjunction with a well developed spatial sense make them well suited for engineering and technical tasks ilities i llent Good Average a aa ee phy Maximum Value defines the maximum skill level a member of that race Durability 08 is capable of attaining These values are tabulated as follows earning R aes 06 nherent Aptitude Ability Level Initial Value Maximum Value TERIDA noel Navigation Excellent Excellent 50 250 Engineering Excellent Good 30 ren Communication Poor Average 100 Medicine Poor Poor i THRYNN See Section 1 3 Skills Overview tor a description of the five essent
16. he components of i i l your ship so you can buy a higher or lower class item Note that depreciation begins the moment you buy an item so that your selling price will always be aai than your purchase price with the possible exception of cargo pods Repair Thi i i cofivenience is option offers you quick dry dock repairs Be prepared for the high cost of this Name Use this option to name or rename your ship Unchristened ships may not leave Starport Exit Returns you to the Starport amphitheater 2 2 7 Docking Bay When you are ready to launch you ship into space maneuver your character onto the docking bay in the center of amphitheater see Figure 1 and press a key Starport will direct you fr Securi om there Remem rity Code Whee handy as you leave Starport 7 emember to keep your STARFLIGHT PART 3 Interstel Superphotonic Starship 3 1 Ship s Console AUHILIARY VIEW SEREEIN CONTROL PANEL Test wWihivow Figure 2 Ship s Console The Ship s Console is divided into four main areas The Main ng Sye the a ino a ve een j i iew reen for viewin spatial displays and communications the Auxiliary V i ONO i Control Panel for executing commands through an ch of son atn be pe kena j i j ai i here all the text messages are displayed These four areas are descri ed in ji nikaa Main Screen diaciays your coordinates in space The first number displays your horizontal position and the second your vertical
17. ht bar exit Crew Assignment and reenter 2 2 5 Bank Here you can examine your bank records in the form of your 10 most recent financial transactions showing dates descriptions amounts and your ending balance If your ending balance is negative and you need to buy engines or Endurium you will need to sell off inventory in order to leave the Starport You may not buy anything on credit 2 2 6 Ship Configuration Here you can outfit your ship repair damage sell old equipment and name or rename your ship You can choose from the following options Buy Use this option to outfit your ship with cargo pods engines shields missiles and laser cannons The following equipment is available for purchase given sufficient funds Cargo Pods Cargo pods can hold 50 cubic meters of cargo Only one class of pod is available at a cost of 500 mu Tip as soon as you can afford it buy a pod fill it with fuel and take it with you It will extend your effective range Engines you can choose trom five classes of engines ranging from Class 1 1 000 mu to Class 5 100 000 mu The higher the class the better the fuel efficiency and the greater the ship s acceleration during encounters Shielding Shieids provide protection during combat and range from Class 1 4 000 mu to Class 5 125 000 mu The higher the class the more effective they are against enemy missiles and laser cannons Shielding uses energy and shields need to be raised or
18. ial skills and their roles in the successful E exploration of space The Thrynn are a bi pedal carnivorous reptilian race Although graceful with long necks and tails they are very v muscular and are covered with tough protective scales They range in color from green to grey and are g approximately 1 1 2 meters in height Like Humans they have an internal skeleton and two forward set eyes The HUMAN f Thrynn are cultured and diplomatic but are said to be devious and cunning For no apparent reason they harbor an ts ir They are 1 1 2 to 2 ancient animosity for the Elowan The plant people in turn have little love for the Thrynn see note below The Humans Wia bi fecel nee ee Y e ai soekin H cane an ome aie and two small Thrynn have a fair overall learning rate and a fair constitution They excell in situations involving protocol and i i i r Hum rs in height and are light beige to dark brown in i lin ile moderately diplomacy areal ae which allow binocular nasi This a aiaga eee bing sate oa pad pe Humans are highly flexible menta i Durability 06 e tt and Arinos Finally although there is a degree of sexual dimorphism in this race the Esan Gls i differences are insignificant Inherent Aptitude m Science Good ili Navigation Good pari Nib 09 Engineering Good Inherent Aptitude Communication Excellent Science Excellent Medicine Poor Navigation Good Engineering Good ELOWAN Communication Good Medicine Good
19. ighlighted area to make a planet suitable for colonization 5 3 6 Bio density Planets with a higher bio density are more preferable but this is not a necessity 5 3 7 Minerals Planets with abundant mineral deposits are also preferable although this too is not a necessity Note that a planet may be suitable in a number of ways but have just one feature that makes it untenable as a colony world 1 SPECTRAL CHART COLOR CLASS Red M coolest Orange Yellow White Green Light blue Dark Blue OwWrngaz hottest STARFLIGHT 2 PLANET SURFACE CHART COLOR Red Brown Biue White Violet 3 MINERAL VALUE CHART Repair Minerals Lead Iron Cobalt Nickel Copper Zinc Molybdenum Tin Magnesium Aluminum Titanium Chromium Antimony Promethium Mercury Tungsten Silver Gold Platinum Plutonium Rodnium Endurium TYPE Molten Rock Ocean Frozen Gas Giant STARFLIGHT IBM and Compatibles 4 LIFEFORM VALUE CRITERIA CHART STARFLIGHT Use the following five criteria for judging the value of a lifeform New Species It must be a species not previously captured or recorded Intelligence The more intelligent it is the more valuabie Getting Started Niche The higher its position on the food chain the more NEVER try to play Starflight using the master disks Boot your computer with a PC DOS disk and make valuable it is copies of both Starflight disks Sce your PC DOS User s Manual for copy i
20. ime at a rate proportional to the Doctor s skill level Planetside treatment can never equal shipboard treatment where the Doctor has access to Medi Tech equipment The Captain Although there is no single command skill your Captain s combined skill levels in the above five areas contributes to your ship s apparent power A highly skilled captain can effectively double your ship s STARFLIGHT he perceived power Also if any of your crew should be killed the next most capable crewmember will take over t dead crewmember s functions Training your captain can therefore provide backup skills PART 2 Starport 2 1 Overview The Starport is your stepping stone to the universe the place where each new adventure a a sind ai a ai Starport you can select your crew outfit your ship read your messages make ini ate ta generally take care of all your affairs before launching into space The Starport consists 0 i oo i anoi and a docking bay Each module provides you with a number of options each one ais Lp choad operation or activity To enter a module maneuver your character to the module s entry e et vice nodis ere welcome mat in front of the door and press a key See the enclosed reference card for details described in detail below Refer to Figure 1 below ERATIONS lease Figure 1 Starport o STARFLIGHT 2 2 Starport Modules 2 2 1 Operations In Operations you can receive messages from Interste and have your colony wo
21. l i furthest from the star The Orbit Number refers to the orbit position or slot occupied by the planet you are orbiting Not all positions are occupied so it is possible that a planet may appear to be the third planet trom the star when in tact it is occupying Orbit Position 5 i Predominant Surface The planet s primary suface constituent Gravity Shows the planet s gravitational force A gravity of more than STARFLIGHT 8 0 g s will crush your hull if you attempt to land on the planet Atmosphere Shows the primary contituents of the planet s atmosphere Temperature Shows the planet s possible temperatuere range Global Weather Shows the predominant global weather conditions During an Alien Encounter Text Window Object States the general nature of the object e g SHIP Type States the general type of object e g SCOUT Size Gives the size of the object in relation to the size of your ship Shields Gives the alien vessel s shield status e g Equivalent of Class 3 raised Weapons Status Shows whether the alien vessel s weapons are armed Status This option presents the ship s General Staius on the Auxiliary View Screen The following information is provided on the Auxiliary View Screen Date Day Hour Month Year Damage Amount of damage sustained by your ship Cargo Percentage of cargo hold full Energy Displays amount of Endurium remaining in cubic meters Shields States whether shield
22. lowered by the Navigator as circumstances dictate A good Navigator should not be caught with his shields down but neither should he keep them raised unnecessarily in addition shields are more expensive than armor see below and they do not function in nebulas On the positive Side shields do not slow your ship down with a lot of weight as does armor they can be ired i i th they automatically recharge slowly during each encounter n be repaired if damaged and Armour Armour provides alternative protection durin i i i g combat Unlike shields see above weighs a great deal and will slow your vessel down In addition armor cannot be repaired when e odas hi be replaced On the positive side armor is cheaper than shielding Class 1 1 500 j j s 1 1 if always in place and continues to function in nebulas mai mu to Class 5 25 000 mu it is Missiles Missiles cost more than lasers see below th i or they can be dodged and they use five times much energy when fired On the positive side missiles inflict three times the damage of come and they are effective at long range Missile launchers cost more than laser cannons ranging from 12 000 mu to 200 000 mu Lasers Lasers are Strictly short range weapons and they inflict less damage than missiles On the other hand lase i oiar pa r cannons are cheaper than missile launchers ranging from 8 000 to 150 000 mu and they Sell This option lets you sell t
23. mate authority both in space and at Starport The Captain decides when to launch or land the ship which planets to recommend to Interstel and when to disembark When you select Captain from the Control Panel you are provided with the following options Launch Land This Option reads Launch until the ship has launched from Starport or a planet after which it reads Land The ship can only land from orbit Choosing Land presents you with the following options Select Site Allows you to select a promising landing site on the planet s surface Move the cursor using the arrow keys over the target landing site The planetary coordinates of the cursor s position will also be shown You will be aided by a topographic map of the planet in the Auxiliary View Screen To the right of this map is a topography key The color of the top bar represents the highest altitude the bottom color represents liquid terrain While it is possible to land and travel in liquid terrain it is not recommended since fuel efficiency is low and there are no minerals lifeforms or ruins to be found Note Generally lifeforms tend to Cluster in temperate climes at the lower altitudes and minerals are found in much greater density at higher altitudes STARFLIGHT Descend This option engages the autopilot Descent to a planet s surface is automatic once the landing coordinates have been chosen in the Select Site option Abort Returns you to Captain s option screen
24. nstructions After you have Size The bigger it is the more valuable copied both disks put the master disks away Do not write protect your play disks or the computer won t be Distance The farther away from Arth the greater the lifeform s value able to record game information as you play Whenever you want to start a new game of Starflight follow this same procedure copying the master disks is the only way to start a new game Note that you cannot capture flying or floating lifeforms To start insert the copy of the A Disk in drive A and the copy of the B Disk in drive B if you have a second disk drive The first thing you should do is read the file called README TXT on the A Disk Appendix B Energy Usage Chart Make sure that the computer is logged onto drive A you ll see the A gt prompt and type TYPE README TXT Enter Press Control S to stop and restart the scrolling text To start the game type Hyperspace travel 48 to 16 cubic meters coordinate STARFLT Enter travelled based on engine class NOTE If you are using only one disk drive Starflight will prompt you when you need Firing laser 01 cubic meters to swap disks You will perform the most disk swaps during the booting process but after the game is in progress the disk swaps will be minimal Firing missile 05 cubic meters Game Configuration Shields raised 1 cubic meter star hour When starting a new game you are first presented with the Display Chafieuestina menu
25. nterstel headquarters we would like to ne mission May the Rock of Truth shine brightly upon you Terrence Willwater Director Interstel Technical Reference Manual Confidential T STARFLIGHT PART 1 General information 1 1 Objectives Apart from goals you may set tor yourself two goals will be of primary importance to you These are 1 gathering information 2 generating revenue The more information you gather the more effective your explorations Capital is indispensible for building an optimal ship and crew thereby maximizing your efficiency Interstel offers only a minimum amount of capital at the outset of your explorations You can generate revenue measured in monetary units or mu s in a number of ways The following is a partial list Commanders with an entrepreneurial bent should find no difficulty expanding the list 1 1 1 Sale of Minerals Interstel will purchase any minerals you bring back Some are worth more than others You will need to decide which ones are worth bringing back The values of minerals can be found in the Mineral Value Chart in Part 5 Planetside of this Reference Manual 1 1 2 Sale of Artifacts Interste will pay for any artifacts you find The amount of mu received depends on Interstel s evaluation of the artifact You can repurchase artifacts previously sold 1 1 3 Sale of Lifeforms and Lifeform Data Alien lifeforms can be captured or holographically recorded and then sold at Star
26. o train your crewmembers in any of the five skill areas outlined above see Section 1 3 Skill levels increase in accordance with the following formula number of training sessions times learning rate Note that training is expensive and that initial capital provided by Interstel may not allow you to train all your crewmembers to the highest skill levels STARFLIGHT Delete This option deletes all the data from the selected file Note that any funds expended in training a deleted crewmember are not refunded upon deleting the file Exit Returns you to the Starport amphitheater 2 2 4 Crew Assignment Any assignment or change in the duties of your crewmembers takes piace in the Crew Assignment module Here you can page through your personnel files and make or change any assignments Each crewmember is summanzed on the cover of his or her personnel file which is displayed on the lower part of the screen Duties and current assignments if any are displayed on the upper part of the screen You can assign a crewmember to a particular duty when that crewmember s file is on the screen and when the required duty is highlighted on the upper part of the screen Once you assign a crewmember the highlight bar moves down to the next position When all the duties have been assigned the highlight bar disappears and you can return to the Starport amphitheater See your reterence card for details If you want to change any assignments above the highlig
27. p comes equipped with one Class 1 engine and 20 cubic meters of endurium so you won t need to do i anything to your starship except name it We suggest you train your crew with the funds you have remaining after you purchase the cargo pods You will then be in a good position to mine the minerals found on the planets in our own solar system Fill the cargo pods with minerals and bring them back to Starport where you will find willing buyers We realize that some of you may find this strictly commercial endeavour somewhat degrading but we have found that it is necessary in order to complete your primary mission Of course you are free to follow whatever J Strategy you see fit just be aware that Interstel cannot afford to give you a second chance should you fail in your first attempt No matter what strategy you choose to adopt it is wise to avoid the following any one of which can spell disaster Running out of fuel Running out of energy in your terrain vehicle Running out of money Getting killed in combat Landing on a planet with crushing gravity Engine or communication failures Getting killed on planetside by storms or hostile lifeforms NOMAWN In addition we recommend that you check your Notices in Starport Operations before embarking on a journey Notices often contain valuable clues and may help you avoid potential disaster Starport Central Arth Orbit Station On behalf of all the personnel here at I
28. port Specimens bring a higher price than recordings but take up cargo space Interste will not purchase specimens or recordings already in its collection 1 1 4 Recommending Viable Colony Worlds Superphotonic message drones installed in the ships can be used to recommend planets that appear suitable for colonization Do not take this responsibility lightly since the lives of thousands of colonists may depend upon your recommendation When you return to Starport you will be given a report on the suitability of your recommendations Should your recommended planets be found unsuitable you will be fined The rest of this manual contains valuable information including descriptions of the races found on Arth a list of mineral values a chart of specific lifeform evaluation aids and the criteria to be used in determining the suitability of a planet for colonisation Your kit contains two additional items First the Starmap an invaluable guide to the galaxy provides important information on space coordinates and interstellar distances Second the Security Code Wheel provides the access code that allows you to leave Starport See instructions for its use in the Command Summary reference card 1 2 Races You can choose from the following races of Arth when composing your crew Each category includes a descriptive synopsis and some characteristic statistics These statistics include STARFLIGHT VELOX Learning Rate a number from 0 to 10 whic
29. r Projection of the surface of the planet Site Select allows you to choose your landing site while Descend engages the auto approach sequence See the Spectral and Pianet Surface Charts in Appendix A for selecting favorable planets and suitable landing sites 5 2 Planetside Once on the surface of the planet you have a number of options available These are listed at the bottom of the screen Maps Move Cargo Look Scan Weapons and Icons 5 2 1 Maps Your Terrain Vehicle is equipped with numerous sensors as well as an on board computer This computer is capable of generating contour maps of the terrain at three levels of magnification You can toggle between these three levels by pressing any key The colors or patterns on these maps represent different altitudes and surface types The key for these can be seen whenever the contour map is up It is a good idea to check Maps after the message Scanning New Terrain appears on the screen Use right arrow key to leave this option STARFLIGHT 5 2 2 Move This option returns control of the Terrain Vehicle s movement Move your terrain vehicle by using the arrow keys Because of continual need for life support and the limited capacity of your environment suits extended travel on foot is not possible Your terrain vehicle has a small reserve fue supply sufficient to take you from 5 to 25 steps depending on terrain Fuel efficiency is a function of altitude the higher the altitude less the e
30. r key 5 2 7 Icons This option presents a key of all the icons used by the Terrain Vehicle computer in the Tactical display and a topographical key for the planet It also lists the mineral and the ancient and recent ruins icons 5 3 Planetary Conditions Recommending a planet for colonization requires assessment of a number of variables Remember that if you recommend a planet as habitable and it turns out to be otherwise you can incur heavy penalties The following is a set of guidelines to help you make the right recommendations 5 3 1 Temperature Some portion of the planet must fall within an acceptable temperature range The following table shows the range of temperatures SUB ARCTIC ARCTIC TEMPERATE TROPICAL SEARING INFERNO Parts of a planet must fall within the highlighted range to be suitable for colonization 5 3 2 Gravity The gravity of a planet must not be crushing and it is preferable if it is lighter than very heavy Gravity must be below 2 0 g s for a planet to be suitable for colonization 7 to 1 3 is optimal STARFLIGHT 5 3 3 Atmosphere The planet must have an atmosphere and the atmosphere must contain Oxygen 5 3 4 Water There must be at least a minimal amount of free water 5 3 5 Atmospheric Activity Planets with violent or very violent atmospheric activity are unacceptable The following chart can serve as a guide NONE CALM MODERATE VIOLENT VERY VIOLENT Weather conditions must be within the h
31. ress at times particularly when orbiting a planet or trave pi banhe a This is normal and is caused by the large number of graphic calculations the game must perform Your key press is stored in a buffer and will be executed when Starflight is finished with its calculations usually after 1 or 2 seconds Security Access Code Wheel ships leaving Starport are operated by authorized Interstel personnel you must enter a security beso wilt Gea haind by Interstel Security at launch Failure to do so is in direct violation of Interstel penal code 0116 59 terstel ity for an access code consists of three variables a location an artifact and a race Ih se verablae aasar on the Acones Code Wheel tho locaicms ore on ts UUA ARAL the rtifact or on the outer part of the inner wheel and the races are on the inner part of the inner wheel To find the correct access code align the given location on the outer wheel with the given artifact on the inner wheel Now without changing the alignment find the given race the third variable on the inner wheel The correc code will be visible in the window above the race name Type the e i cote ype the access code and press the Enter key to For example suppose Interstel s request is Akteron Black Box Uhlek To find the correct ac ony with Black Box and then look in the window above Uhiek on the inner wheel for reer a Pausing and Saving Games Any time a menu is active you can pause and save your
32. rld recommendations evaluated The following options are available Notices This option lets you read the messages in your electronic mailbox Messages can provide clues regarding alien encounters possible colony world recommendations locations of continuum fluxes etc Evaluation Use this option to evaluate your colony world recommendations and to be informed of fines levied Exit Returns you to the Starport amphitheater 2 2 2 Trade Depot At the Trade Depot you can buy or sell commodities or artifacts and analyze any artifacts in inventory whether yours or Starport s The following options are available Buy Shows items that are for sale and their cost per cubic meter Sell Shows all the salable items in your inventory except ship components Analyze Describes all artifacts listed for sale Will also describe for a fee any artifacts in the depot s inventory and all those in your ship s hold Exit Returns you to the Starport amphitheater 2 2 3 Personnel The Personne module controls the selection and training of crewmembers and the maintenance of all personne files The following options are available Create Use this option to select the members of your crew You can select crewmembers from any of the five races described above see Section 1 2 Each crewmember has his or her own personnel file containing Statistics on race skill levels training and so on Train Use this option t
33. s are up or down Weapons States whether weapons are armed or unarmed Bridge Return to Control Panel 3 2 3 Navigator The Navigator is responsible for maneuvering the ship through space for raising and lowering the ship s shields and for arming or disarming the ship whenever necessary In addition the Navigator is responsible for firing your ship s ss during combat When you choose Navigator from the Control Panel the following options become available Maneuver This option engages the navigational controls Once engaged you can maneuver your ship by using the appropriate keys See your Reference Card for details Raise Shield Drop Shield This option reads Raise Shield when the shields are down and Drop Shield when they are up Shields use energy while they are up STARFLIGHT Arm Disarm This option reads Arm when weapons are disarmed and Disarm when they are armed Weapons must be armed before firing Combat This option allows the Navigator to fire the ship s weapons once they have been armed see above Once Combat has been engaged you can aim by swiveling the nose of the ship Your ship also has a limited Maneuver capability while in the Combat option Fire your weapons by pressing the space bar If your ship has more than one kind of weapon the on board combat computer will fire the most appropriate one depending on the range of the target To exit the combat option press the Return key Bridge R
34. ship selecting Treat will speed up the process Bridge Return to Control Panel STARFLIGHT Part 4 Space 4 1 General information All navigation and maneuvering in space is effected with the help of the Main View Screen displays generated by the on board computer The computer provides spatial information at four different levels as follows 4 1 1 Hyperspace This is where interstellar travel occurs When you are in Hyperspace you can see stars see Starmap continuum fluxes and nebulae Note that the size of a star in hyperspace varies with its spectral class see Appendix A below 4 1 2 Star Approach Approaching a star lets you enter its solar system To return to Hyperspace simply maneuver past the edge of a system A planet s color or pattern indicates its primary surface type See Appendix A below 4 1 3 Planet Approach Approaching a planet lets you establish an orbit around it To enter into orbit around a planet press any key when you are over the planet s center To leave a planet s orbit use the Navigator s Maneuver option The same applies to exit Starport 4 1 4 Tactical Level The Tactical level is automatically obtained whenever an encounter occurs with an alien vessel You can enter the Tactical level from Hyperspace from the solar system or from orbit To leave an encounter you must continue traveling until the alien craft is no longer visible on the screen 4 2 Alien Encounters You can encounter alien v
35. t from scratch When you are ready to stop playing press Esc then save and exit through the Game Options Menu see Saving Games above and the system will return to DOS Once in DOS make sure you are in the PLAY subdirectory and backup your game to the SAVE directory by typing COPY COM STARFLT SAVE To resume a saved game make sure you are in the PLAY subdirectory and start the game as described above If your ship and crew are destroyed you can restore your game from the copy saved in the SAVE subdirectory Make sure you are in the PLAY subdirectory and type C OPY STARFLT SAVE COM The saved game files are then copied into the PLAY directory replacing any files of the same name that are already there You can then resume your game at the point where you last backed up the game in the SAVE subdirectory Hercules Compaq Sidekick Get Organized are registered trademarks of Hercules Computer Technologies Inc Compaq Computer Corp Borland International and Electronic Arts 5 Starflight Manual 1986 1987 Electronic Arts San Mateo CA USA All tights reserved Printed in the U K ELECTRONIC ARTS Home Computer Sottware
36. t race Feel free to ask others the same question 4 2 2 Combat The greater the number of combat incidences with any race the less likely it is that you will ever be able to establish friendly communications with that race It sometimes pays to be friendly or even obsequious if that doesn t offend your sense of dignity Note that some alien vessels are impervious to certain kinds of weapons so even a direct hit may amount to nothing against a vessel immune to that kind of weapon Experience will guide you on the correct choice of weapon under the circumstances And while you may be able to evade missile attacks you cannot evade laser fire Note that it is not always desirable to completely destroy alien vessels during combat If you cease combat and enter communications the aliens may surrender and tell you anything you want to know When the smoke settles from a hostile encounter and if you emerge victorious you can pick up any item of debris from the destroyed alien spacecraft Have your Navigator Maneuver over to the craft and then exit Maneuver Enter the Captain mode and select the Cargo option Pick up any valuable debris For more detailed information refer to the Combat option of the Navigator mode Section 3 2 3 above Part 5 Planetside 5 1 Planetfall As Captain you can give orders to make pianetfall via the Land Option When you select Land you are presented with the options Site Select and Descend as well as a Mercato
37. te cruise control Spacebar Equivalent to the Enter key everywhere except during combat The Spacebar fires your weapons during combat while the Enter key ends combat mode Pauses and restarts incoming messages The text window border lights up when incoming messages are paused Continue the message by pressing the key again While operating planetside or in the trade depot in starport you will need to select cargo to pick up sell or buy First selec the option you want from the option bar along the bottom of the screen i c Cargo Sell Buy then press Enter If you are planetside your terrain vehicle must be next to or on top of the ou you want to add to your cargo This brings a list of the available items and amounts categorized by ocation item type and item name e g Planet Surface Elements Endurium Chromium Promethium etc the cursor down to highlight the name of the item you want to add and press Enter Now another c i appears asking what to do with the selected item If you are planetside the option will be Pickup for elements and artifacts or Capture and Record for lifeforms Select the action you want to take and press Enter If you are buying or selling elements in the trade depot you must specify how much of your pee transfer in the transaction Enter the number of cubic meters using the numeric keys at the top of the keyboard and press Enter to confirm i j iti lling ight be slow to respond to your key p
38. to start over from scratch This means that you will normally have three sets of disks six disks two unplayed master game disks two play disks containing your game in progress and two checkpoint disks containing a backup of your game in progress It s especially important to use this system when you have a lot of time and effort invested in your game ES Playing From a Hard Disk Starflight will operate normally from a hard disk Create a STARFLT directory and two empty subdirectories within it Call one subdirectory PLAY and the other SAVE To create the directory and subdirectories use the commands MKDIR C STARFLT MKDIR C STARFLT PLAY MKDIR C STARFLT SAVE Next make sure you are logged onto your hard disk you ll see the C gt prompt and copy all the files from the Starflight master disks in drives A and B into the PLAY directory on your hard disk The commands are COPY A C STARFLT PLAY COPY B C STARFLT PLAY If you are using only one disk drive you will need swap disks in drive A and use the first command twice When you are ready to play type CD STARFLT PLAY to change to the play directory then type STARFLT to start the program See Getting Started and Game Configuration above You should always play the game from within the PLAY subdirectory The SAVE subdirectory should be used only for backing up games in progress so that if your ship and crew meet a terrible fate you won t have to restar
39. u face the danger of becoming lost in space This may result in the loss of precious time and fuel and may even place you in hostile territory In addition a skilled navigator with a skill level greater than 150 can determine the presence of continuum fluxes in space These fluxes are paired and connected by extra dimensional worm holes so that by entering one of a pair of fluxes your vessel will be transported almost instantaneously to the other Although continuum fluxes can be useful in navigation since a highly skilled navigator can take advantage of their ability to transport you instantaneously they can also be very hazardous A poorly trained Navigator will have difficulty spotting fluxes and may even cause your vessel to hit one accidentally Navigators with skill levels of 150 or below will not be able to see them at all In addition after transportation through a flux it takes the Navigator time to determine the ship s new position The more skilled the Navigator the less time it will take and the less risk your crew will face It is the Navigator who fires the ship s missiles and lasers the more skilled the navigator the greater the accuracy of the shot Finally if your Navigator s skill is less than 200 your terrain vehicle may become lost during storms on a planet s surface Engineering It is your Engineer s responsibility to repair any damage your ship sustains The speed and efficiency with which the repairs are executed depen
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