Scratch

Many people have asked for a guide to help them play this game.  Well, here it is...

Click here to play:
http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/BoltBait/1610128

Star Trek: The Game
User's Manual

The game starts with the title screen:


Next, you receive a message from Admiral T'Mar of Star Fleet Headquarters:


Finally, you see the animated star field of the forward view port:


...and the game begins!

While it helps to be familiar with Star Trek: The Next Generation, it is not required in order to play this game.  Hopefully, this guide will answer any questions you might have.  If not, please post a question below and I'll do my best to answer it.

Overview

The game includes 3 main screens: Long Range Scanner, Short Range Scanner, and Status Report.  You can switch between these screens by clicking on the buttons on the left side of the screen.

Each of these screens include various buttons at the top of the screen for the things you can do on that screen.



On the status screen, you can also get a status report, repair the ship as necessary, or get energy out of dilithium crystals.



The status report includes the effectiveness (percentage) of each subsystem.  When a subsystem is less than 100% it may malfunction.  If it does, you will hear an error tone.  Try again.  If a subsystem reaches 0% it will always fail.  If your Impulse system reaches 0% you will not be able to move to a planet in order to orbit it and repair the ship.  This is probably the most critical subsystem.  Keep an eye on it.

You can't send an away team unless your shields are down and you are orbiting a planet.  You can tell if you are orbiting a planet if you can see it below the ship.

Adjust the shields power level by clicking on the shields bar.  Remember, in order to protect you, the shields must be powered and up.  You can raise or lower the shields by clicking the shields button:

Up: Down:

At the bottom of the status screen, you can see how much Dilithium Ore you have on board the ship. If you press the Convert button, you will convert 1000 into ship's energy.



This can be used as a reserve in case you are running low on ships energy.



To spend time repairing the ship, press the Repair button.  You can only repair the ship if you are in orbit around a planet.



If you are orbiting a planet and your shields are down, you can send an away team to the planet.  They will return with whatever resources the planet has to offer.  This can include raw energy, Dilithium ore, and/or photon torpedos.

You will definately want to keep an eye on your status screen in order to manage your ship's resources.  If you will be using phasers, remember that they take ship's energy to power.  Make sure you still have enough power after a battle to move the ship!  Also, it is a good idea to keep some Dilithium ore available as a reserve, just in case you run out of ship's energy.

If your ship's energy, shields energy, and Dilithium ore all reach 0 at the same time, you lose the game.  So, keep a careful eye on your resources.



The Long Range Scanner screen is used to find enemy ships and warp between sectors.



From here, you can click the Shields button to raise or lower the shields.  When up and powered, the shields protect the Enterprise from enemy fire.

You can also click within the sector grid to warp (travel) to the selected sector.  While you are hovering your mouse over the grid, the Ship's Energy readout displays how much energy the ship will have when you arrive in that sector.

The galaxy is 15 sectors wide by 10 sectors tall.  Each of the squares on the long range scanner corresponds to a sector on the short range scanner.  Each sector is 10x10 locations.





The short range scanner is where most of the action happens. Use photon torpedos and phasers to defeat enemy ships, then orbit planets to restock supplies.





From here, you can click the Shields button to raise or lower shields.  Your shields must be raised in order to protect you.

The Enterprise next to a planet:

You can click on planets to scan them for what type of resources they have.

If the Enterprise is right next to a planet, clicking on the planet will put you in standard orbit.  This is important because you must be in orbit to send an away team to the planet.

In the short range scanner, you can click on an empty space to move the Enterprise there.



Click on one of the weapon buttons to select your preferred weapon.  If you have selected photon torpedos and you do not have a clear shot for the enemy, your tactical officer will automatically use phasers.

Enemy ship:

Once you have selected a weapon, click on the enemy ship to fire at it.  It may take more than one shot to kill the enemy ship.  Of course, the enemy ships will try to kill you.  Make sure you kill them first!

If the enemy shoots at you, you can move to try and avoid the shot.

Time is the fire in which we burn

Everything you do in this game takes time.  You can see the current stardate at the top of the screen. Some things take longer than others.  Try to be more efficient to reduce the time necessary to win the game.

Moving with shields up takes more time than moving with shields down.

Sending an away team takes a long time, so don't spend more time doing this than necessary.

The game is won when all enemy ships have been destroyed.  It may take a few seconds for the system to verify that you have killed the last ship--no more than 15 seconds.

Typical game play

I generally start by clearing a sector of enemy ships.  Then, check my status screen to see how much energy the ship has.  I typically won't go to a new sector unless the ship's energy bar is more than 80%.  I then check all the subsystems.  If weapons or impulse drive are below 90%, I'll repair the ship.  These systems are the most critical when in battle.  Once all that is done, switch to the long range screen and warp to the next sector.

Live long and prosper.

This game includes real Star Trek sound effects, acting by my daughter (shown above as Admiral T'Mar), and professional looking graphics.  Also, this game plays great right on the web--no need to download in order to play!

NOTE:  This game works better in the Java player.  However, it does work in the new Flash player starting with v20 of the Flash player.

So...

If you think good quality games (instead of "add yourself" and "coloring contests") deserve to be on the front page, I encourage you to click "Love it" on the game's page.  Then, tell your friends about it!

Enjoy. 

Last edited by BoltBait (2011-02-26 20:02:54)