Starcross
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* SOLVING STAR * CROSS *
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* BY <D> <J> <C> *
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*CORRECTIONS BY: TAMERLANE OF THE RING*
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***************************************STARCROSS IS A RELATIVELY SIMPLE ADVENTURE-- IT'S ALL SIMPLY A MATTER OF SHOVING COLOR CODED RODS INTO THE APPROPRIATELY COLORED SLOTS. (FREUD WOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD). THE ONLY PROBLEM IS IN FINDING THE RODS AND SLOTS. THIS COLUMN WILL TELL YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW... (IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER!) SO BE SURE AND HIT THE SPACEBAR IF I START TO TELL YOU ANYTHING YOU *=> DON'T WANT TO KNOW YET! <=* A WORD TO THE WISE: IF YOU PUT A ROD INTO A SLOT OF A DIFFERENT COLOR, IT WILL DISAPPEAR FOREVER.
THE LANDING
GET UP. GET LIBRARY. E. PUSH RED BUTTON. READ SCREEN. GET THE COORDINATES FOR WHICHEVER UNIDENTIFIED MASS (UM-??) HAS BEEN CHOSEN AT RANDOM FROM THE CHART BELOW:
COORDINATES FOR MASS OBJECTS
OBJECT R THETA PHI TYPE
====== = ===== === ====
UM91 050 015 121 UNCHARTED MASS
UM12 100 345 107 UNCHARTED MASS
UM24 100 285 087 UNCHARTED MASS
UM08 150 210 017 UNCHARTED MASS
UM52 175 165 035 UNCHARTED MASS
UM70 100 135 101 UNCHARTED MASS
UM31 150 105 067 UNCHARTED MASS
UM28 250 045 178 UNCHARTED MASS
AB40 250 300 022 ASTEROID (CERES)
MARS 250 120 012 PLANET
US75 175 135 034 SHIP
AX71 125 180 047 ASTEROID
AX32 125 240 105 ASTEROID
AX01 200 240 134 ASTEROID
AX87 125 075 102 ASTEROIDENTER COUCH. SAY TO COMPUTER "R IS (R), PHI IS (PHI), THETA IS (THETA)". WAIT FOR COMPUTER TO REPLY THAT THERE IS INDEED A MASS THERE. IF IT DOESN'T THEN YOU GOT THE COORDINATES WRONG! TRY AGAIN. THEN TYPE: SAY TO COMPUTER "CONFIRMED." FASTEN BELT. WAIT. (THE ROCKETS WILL FIRE.) UNFASTEN BELT. GET UP.EAST.DON SUIT.GET LINE. W.SIT.FASTEN BELT. WAIT. WAIT OR LOOK UNTIL THE TENTACLES GRAB YOU AND YOU ARE SAFELY DOCKED. (A TOTAL OF 7 WAITS).
GETTING IN
UNFASTEN BELT. GET UP. OPEN INNER. OUT. CLOSE INNER. OPEN OUTER. OUT. PRESS FOURTH BUMP. (THE SCULPTURE IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE SOLAR SYSTEM. YOU PRESS THE FOURTH BUMP BECAUSE IT CORRESPONDS TO YOUR HOME PLANET (EARTH). WHY IS EARTH THE FOURTH BUMP AND NOT THE THIRD ? BECAUSE THE SUN COUNTS AS THE FIRST BUMP!). AT THIS POINT YOU SHOULD SEE A 'TINY BUMP'). PRESS TINY. NOW YOU WILL SEE A BLACK ROD RISE UP. THIS ROD IS A 'SELF-DESTRUCT' DEVICE! DO NOT PUT IT IN ANY BLACK SLOT, EVER!. TAKE BLACK ROD. THE AIRLOCK DOOR WILL OPEN WHEN YOU TAKE THE ROD. IN. CLOSE OUTER. OPEN INNER. IN. TA-DA! YOU ARE NOW IN THE 'ARTIFACT'!!!!
THE ARTIFACT
THINK OF IT AS AN INTERGALACTIC INTELLIGENCE TEST. PUT THE RIGHT BLOCKS IN THE RIGHT HOLES AND WIN THE PRIZE. THE ARTIFACT IS CYLINDRICAL IN SHAPE, AND DIVIDED (LIKE A PIE) INTO FOUR WEDGES, WHICH (LIKE THE SLOTS) ARE COLOR CODED. THESE COLORS ARE: RED, BLUE, GREEN, YELLOW. THESE WEDGES ARE TRANSECTED BY 5 CONCENTRIC RINGS: IN SHORT, THE CYLINDER IS DIVIDED INTO A SORT OF CIRCULAR GRID SYSTEM OF RINGS AND COLORS. (THIS WILL BE MORE OBVIOUS TO YOU AS YOU MOVE ABOUT IN THE ARTIFACT.) DIRECTIONS ARE: N,S,E,W,U, AND D. UP AND DOWN CORRESPOND TO IN AND OUT. EAST AND WEST CORRESPOND TO LEFT AND RIGHT, AND ALSO TO PORT AND STARBOARD. WHEN YOU ENTER THE ARTIFACT, YOU WILL BE UNABLE TO ENTER THE YELLOW SECTION WITHOUT BEING EATEN BY THE GRUES (WHICH WERE APPARENTLY CAPTURED ON THE PLANET ZORK, BUT WHO ESCAPED FROM THE ALIEN ZOO FOR THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF MENACING ADVENTURERS FOOLHARDY ENOUGH TO TRAVEL WITHOUT LIGHT. )
COLLECT THOSE RODS!
YOU CAN GET THESE IN DIFFERENT ORDERS, BUT THE FOLLOWING ONE WILL DEFINITELY WORK: BLACK, RED, SILVER, YELLOW, PINK, BLUE, GOLD, BROWN, VIOLET, GREEN, CLEAR (CRYSTAL), WHITE.
GETTING THE RED ROD: IT'S BEING HELD CAPTIVE BY 'ANT-MEN'! TO GET THERE: N. W. FORWARD. E. NOW, THE ANT-MEN WILL BE VERY NASTY IF YOU TRY TO TAKE THEIR ROD AWAY. SO LET'S KEEP THEM BUSY DOING SOMETHING ELSE--LIKE REBUILDING THEIR NEST.... THROW SOMETHING AT THE NEST--THE TAPE PLAYER WILL DO NICELY, AND YOUR SPACE SUIT WILL ALSO WORK IF YOU WANT TO BOTHER TAKING IT OFF. THEN GET RED ROD. DON'T FORGET TO RECLAIM WHATEVER IT WAS YOU THREW!! (GET LIBRARY)
GETTING THE SILVER ROD: (IT'S ON THE WAY TO THE YELLOW ONE, WHICH WE REALLY >NEED<!) FROM THE NEST: W. AFT. W. S. S. PORT. GET GUN. LOOK INTO GUN. GET SILVER ROD. (TOO EASY, NO?)
GETTING THE YELLOW ROD: IT'S IN THE SPACESHIP DOCKED OUTSIDE THE BLUE AIRLOCK. FROM THE WEAPONS DECK: E. N. OPEN INNER. OUT. CLOSE INNER. OPEN OUTER. OUT. S. S. GIVE THE TAPE LIBRARY TO THE SPIDER (THE CLUE HERE WAS THAT HE IS INTENSELY INTERESTED IN NEWS). HE'LL GIVE YOU THE YELLOW ROD, BUT THAT'S ALL HE'S GOOD FOR. (GIVE TAPE. GET YELLOW ROD.) THE YELLOW ROD IS ONE OF THE 'USEFUL' RODS: YOU'LL NEED TO STICK IT IN THE YELLOW SLOT TO GET SOME OF THE OTHERS. TO GET TO THE YELLOW SLOT: N. N. IN. CLOSE OUTER. OPEN INNER. IN. UP. (YOU ARE NOW IN THE GRASSLANDS. THE WEASELS AND UNICORNS HERE ARE STRICTLY LOCAL COLOR, NOT USEFUL.) S. OPEN HATCH. D. PUT YELLOW ROD IN YELLOW SLOT. (PUTTING THE YELLOW ROD IN THE YELLOW SLOT WILL TURN ON THE EMERGENCY LIGHTING IN THE YELLOW SECTION OF THE 'ARTIFACT'.) WHILE YOU'RE HERE, PUT THE RED ROD IN THE >SECOND< RED SLOT (THIS WILL TURN ON THE LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM AND GET THAT TELL-TALE WINDEX AROMA OUT OF THE AIR IN A FEW TURNS. LATER ON THIS WILL ENABLE YOU TO TRADE YOUR OLD SPACESUIT FOR SOMETHING TRULY USEFUL (LIKE A BROWN ROD)). GET CARD. YOU'LL NEED TO PUT THIS INTO THE COMPUTER-- I SUSPECT IT'S A DISK II CONTROLLER CARD-- CAN'T BOOT UP WITHOUT ONE!
GETTING THE PINK ROD: IT'S IN THE SPACESHIP DOCKED OUTSIDE THE YELLOW AIRLOCK. BE CAREFUL, ONE FALSE MOVE AND IT'S DEEP SPACE FOR YOU. TO GET THERE : U. N. D. W. OPEN INNER. OUT. CLOSE INNER. OPEN OUTER. GET BASKET. (THIS BASKET CAN BE USED TO HOLD THE RODS TILL YOU NEED THEM--THAT WAY THEY WON'T TAKE UP VALUABLE INVENTORY SPACE.) OPEN OUTER (YES, AGAIN: IT STUCK THE FIRST TIME!). OUT. ATTACH LINE TO SPACESUIT. ATTACH LINE TO HOOK. PORT. GET PINK ROD.
GETTING THE BLUE ROD: IT'S IN THE LABORATORY, WITH OTHER USEFUL IMPLEMENTS. TO GET THERE: E. DETACH LINE FROM HOOK. IN. CLOSE OUTER. OPEN INNER. IN. S. S. PUT ALL RODS IN BASKET. E. GET ALL DISKS. NOW COMES THE TRICKY PART: THE ROD IS IMBEDDED IN THE SILVER SPHERE. ALL WE HAFE AT OUR DISPOSAL TO OBTAIN IT IS THE 4-POSITION DIAL AND THE TWO DISKS.... FORTUNATELY, THESE ARE 'TRANSPORTER DISKS'. UNFORTUNATELY, THEY EXPLODE INTO NOTHINGNESS IF YOU ALLOW THEM TO TOUCH..... ANYWAY, HERE'S THE PROCEDURE: PUT RED DISK UNDER GLOBE. PUT BLUE DISK ON FLOOR. PUT CARD ON GLOBE. TURN DIAL TO 4. TURN DIAL TO 2. GET CARD. GET BLUE ROD. GET ALL DISKS. PUT BLUE ROD IN BASKET. W. PUT BLUE DISK ON FLOOR. (YOU *>HAVE<* TO PUT IT ON THE FLOOR HERE SO THE 'MAINTENANCE MOUSE' CAN COLLECT IT AND PUT IT IN THE GARAGE SO YOU CAN TRANSPORT THERE (AND OUT OF TROUBLE) LATER!!!)
GETTING THE GOLD ROD: N. N. N. N. W. AFT. NOW YOU'RE IN THE COMPUTER ROOM. OPEN PANEL. PUT CARD IN SLOT. CLOSE PANEL. TURN COMPUTER ON. (IT WILL SPEW OUT A GOLD BAR FOR YOU). PUT GOLD ROD IN BASKET. LOOK AROUND IF YOU LIKE, BUT THERE'S NOTHING ELSE TO DO HERE. THE ENUNCIATOR PANEL TELLS YOU WHAT YOU HAVE TO FIX TO PUT THE ARTIFACT IN ORDER, BUT I'M GOING TO TELL YOU THAT ANYWAY......
GETTING THE BROWN ROD: N. W. W. S. S. E. E. REMOVE SUIT. LOOK AROUND OR 'WAIT' OR SOMETHING UNTIL THE CHIEFTAIN COMES. OFFER SUIT TO CHIEF. POINT AT BROWN ROD.
GETTING THE VIOLET ROD: YOU HAVE NO TIME TO PUT THE BROWN ROD IN YOUR BASKET! FOLLOW THE CHIEF WHEN HE LEAVES. IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO GET THE THE VIOLET ROD!!! JUST KEEP SAYING 'FOLLOW CHIEF' UNTIL YOU GET TO THE 'CENTER OF THE WARREN'. THEN: D. CLOSE INNER. OPEN OUTER. OUT. P. P. GET VISOR. N. MOVE SKELETON. GET VIOLET ROD (MOVE THE SKELETON ONLY ONCE!!). S. S. PUT RED DISK ON FLOOR. STAND ON RED DISK. SURPRISE==> TRANSPORTER CITY. WITH ANY LUCK YOU'LL NOW BE IN THE GARAGE. IF THE MOUSE HASN'T COLLECTED THE BLUE DISK YET, YOU'LL BE BACK OUTSIDE THE LABORATORY. YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO WAIT TILL HE COMES AND GETS IT, THEN TRANSPORT TO THE GARAGE......
GETTING THE GREEN ROD: ENTER BIN. (KEEP TYPING 'ENTER BIN' OR 'AGAIN' UNTIL YOU FIND THE GREEN ROD. IT MAY TAKE UP TO 10 TRIES!). GET GREEN ROD. PUT GREEN ROD IN BASKET.
GETTING THE CLEAR ROD: F. P. N. N. N. N. W. LOOK AT LASER THROUGH VISOR. GET CLEAR ROD.
GETTING THE WHITE ROD: E. S. S. U. S. S. P. U. U. JUMP. PUT SILVER ROD IN SILVER SLOT. IN. GET WHITE ROD.
YOU'VE GOT ALL THE RODS NOW. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS FIGURE OUT WHY YOU'VE COLLECTED THEM.
FINISHING UP
PUT THE WHITE ROD IN THE WHITE SLOT. (A BLACK SLOT WILL APPEAR. DO =>NOT<= PUT THE BLACK ROD IN THE BLACK SLOT!).
GETTING TO THE CONTROL BUBBLE: OUT. U. JUMP. FIRE GUN AT DRIVE BUBBLE. AGAIN. AGAIN. (YOU SHOULD NOW BE 'ON CONTROL BUBBLE'.) D. PUT GOLD ROD IN GOLD SLOT. IN. PUT CLEAR ROD IN CLEAR SLOT. FIVE COLORED SLOTS WILL APPEAR. PUT THE APPROPRIATE ROD IN EACH SLOT--> THE ORDER YOU DO IT IN DOESN'T MATTER.
THE FINAL SEQUENCE: YOU NOW USE THE VARIOUS COLORED SPOTS TO SET THE COURSE OF THE ARTIFACT TOWARD EARTH. TOUCH LARGE SQUARE. (THE VIEW NOW COVERS THE AREA FROM THE SUN TO JUPITER). TOUCH BROWN SPOT. (YOU WILL HAVE TO TOUCH IT 4 TIMES, UNTIL THE EARTH IS HIGHLIGHTED). TOUCH VIOLET SPOT (THREE TIMES, UNTIL THE PATH FORMS A CIRCLE AROUND THE EARTH. (DON'T STOP AT THE ELLIPSE!)). TOUCH GREEN SPOT. (THE PATH WILL FLASH.) TOUCH BLUE SPOT. BLAST-OFF!!!!! YOU WIN!!
SIT BACK AND BASK IN THE GLORY OF A PERFECT SCORE.
<D><J><C>
