DP Tool Club 19/CD_ASCQ_19_010295.iso/vrac/__arcpk3.zip/TREK.DOC

Text File | 1994-04-20 | 15KB | 352 lines

TOMMY'S TREK (C) COPYRIGHT 1986 BY TOMMY'S TOYS
P. O. BOX 11261, DENVER, CO 80211 USA.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
CATALOG #86-001-1A

INSTRUCTIONS:

TOMMY'S TREK IS THE FIRST IN A NEW LINE OF LOW-PRICED TOYS AND GAMES FOR THE
IBM PC AND COMPATIBLES DEVELOPED BY ALIENS FROM OUTER SPACE FOR EARTHLINGS.

TOMMY'S TREK IS EASY TO PLAY.  LEARN JUST TEN FUNCTION KEY COMMANDS, A FEW
EXTRA KEYBOARD COMMANDS, AND THE 4 ARROW KEYS ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD WHICH SET
THE ENTERPRISE'S COURSE.  OR JUST START IT UP AND WATCH IT RUN ON ITS OWN LIKE
A NICKELODEON, IT HAS A SELF-CONTAINED AUTOPILOT WHICH IT STARTS OUT IN.

PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE INSTRUCTION MANUAL BEFORE RUNNING THE PROGRAM THE FIRST
TIME.

ANCESTRY:

THIS PROGRAM HAS A VENERABLE ANCESTRY.  IT WAS FIRST PLANTED ON EARTH IN THE
LATE 1960'S AND HAS BEEN SYSTEMATICALLY HOSTED, LIKE A VIRUS, ONTO EVERY
COMPUTER EVER COMMERCIALLY SOLD IN ORDER TO SUBVERT THE DIRECTION OF EARTH
HISTORY AND MAKE YOU WANT TO BUY TOMMY'S TOYS ONE DAY.  OF COURSE WE ALIENS
FIRST HAD TO CONVINCE EARTHLINGS THAT THE WHOLE STORY OF THE FEDERATION AND
OUR KLINGON FRIENDS WAS ALL MADE-UP.

TOMMY'S TREK (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH STAR TREK) PRESERVES THE NOSTALGIC
DISPLAY DESIGN (WHICH ORIGINALLY RAN ON A TELETYPE) SO WELL-KNOWN TO COMPUTER
PROGRAMMER SENIOR CITIZENS, BUT BRINGS IT INTO THE 1980'S WITH REAL-TIME
ANIMATION AND A COMPLEX AUTOPILOT WHICH RUNS THE SHIP FOR YOU IF DESIRED.

OF COURSE IT SEEMS KIND OF SILLY FOR THE HISTORIC BATTLES BETWEEN HUGE
STARSHIPS AND DEADLY KLINGON BATTLE CRUISERS TO BE REDUCED TO A TEMPEST IN A
TELETYPE, SO TO SPEAK, BUT THIS ISN'T TOMMY'S LAST WORD ON THE SUBJECT EITHER,
SO SAVE IT AND MAYBE ONE DAY IT WILL BE A COLLECTOR'S ITEM TOO.

TIME SCALE:
THIS IS A SIMULATION.  TO AVOID BORING SPACE SICKNESS THE TIME SCALE VARIES
DYNAMICALLY, DEPENDING ON THE SITUATION, TO KEEP THE EVENTS FLOWING.  THIS
IS THE WAY THEY DO IT ON TV, SO YOU PROBABLY WON'T NOTICE ANYTHING UNUSUAL.

AUTOPILOT:
AS THE PROGRAM ALWAYS BEGINS IN AUTOPILOT MODE, PERHAPS IT IS TIME TO START
THE PROGRAM AND JUST SIT BACK AND WATCH IT FOR A STARDATE OR TWO (IT BEATS
AN AQUARIUM AS A CONVERSATION PIECE FOR YOUR OFFICE).

THE SHIP WILL ATTEMPT TO FINISH THE MISSION COMPLETELY ON AUTOPILOT AND OFTEN,
AT LOWER DIFFICULTY LEVELS, WITH PERHAPS A LITTLE HELP FROM THE CAPTAIN, IT
SUCCEEDS.

                             *NOTE*
                          ************
  TO ABORT THE PROGRAM, HIT THE ESC KEY OR THE "Q" KEY: THEN TYPE
                 "Y" IN RESPONSE TO THE PROMPT.
                          ************

COMMAND SET:
AFTER GETTING THE HANG OF IT THROUGH WATCHING IT RUN ITSELF, IT IS TIME TO
TOGGLE IT OUT OF AUTOPILOT INTO MANUAL MODE AND TRY OUT THE CAPTAIN'S COMMAND
SET.  THE COMMANDS ARE AS FOLLOWS (F9 IS THE AUTOPILOT MODE TOGGLE SWITCH):

FUNCTION KEYS F1 THRU F10:

  F1      PHASERS. THE FIRST TIME YOU PRESS THIS KEY (IN MANUAL MODE) YOU
          ARE PROMPTED FOR PHASER MAX POWER; SUBSEQUENT PRESSES
          FIRE THEM.  WHEN IN AUTOPILOT MODE, THE PHASERS ARE COMPLETELY
          UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE COMPUTER, ALTHOUGH YOU CAN INDICATE A
          DESIRE TO FIRE BY PRESSING THIS KEY.

  F2      TORPEDOES. EACH PRESS FIRES THE PHOTON TORPEDOES, WHICH ARE ALWAYS
          AUTOMATICALLY AIMED AT THE NEAREST KLINGONS.

NOTE: FUNCTION KEYS F1 AND F2 ARE MEANT TO MERELY ISSUE THE ORDER TO FIRE A
      WEAPON.  THIS ORDER MUST PASS DOWN THE USUAL CHAIN OF COMMAND IN THE
      SHIP AND HENCE THERE IS ALWAYS SOME DELAY BEFORE THE WEAPON IS ACTUALLY
      FIRED.  YOU CAN'T RUSH THE MILITARY BUREAUCRACY, EVEN IN SPACE.

  F3      LONG RANGE SCAN. TOGGLES THE LONG RANGE SCANNER, WHICH
          DYNAMICALLY DISPLAYS THE NUMBER OF KLINGONS, BASES, AND STARS
          IN THE QUADRANTS IMMEDIATELY SURROUNDING THE ENTERPRISE.  (IF THE
          SCANNER IS DAMAGED THE DISPLAY WILL FREEZE UNTIL THE UNIT IS
          REPAIRED AND THEN UPDATE ITSELF.)

  F4      SPACEMINES. TOGGLES THE SPACEMINE LAYING MODE IN WHICH THE
          ENTERPRISE LAYS A MINE EACH TIME IT MOVES AT SUBWARP SPEED.
          (DON'T BE SURPRISED BY THE SPACEMINES APPEARING IN THE WAKE OF
          THE ENTERPRISE AS IT MOVES ALONG IN AUTOPILOT MODE.)  A KLINGON
          SHIP WHICH RUNS INTO ONE OF THESE MINES IS DESTROYED, AND EVEN THE
          ENTERPRISE MUST BEWARE OF RUNNING INTO THEM.

  F5      SHIELDS. SETS SHIELDS TO HALF OF AVAILABLE ENERGY.

  F6      CUMULATIVE RECORD OF LONG RANGE SCANS DURING THE MISSION.  (THE
          LONG RANGE SCANNERS CAN ONLY REACH TWO QUADRANTS OUT FROM THE
          ENTERPRISE.)

  F7      NAVIGATION. USE FOR SUB-WARP SPEED NAVIGATION IN QUADRANT.  NOTE
          THAT WHEN THE ENTERPRISE IS IN AUTOPILOT MODE, IT DISAPPEARS FROM
          THE SHORT RANGE SCAN SCREEN ON ATTAINING WARP SPEED, WHILE IN THE
          MANUAL MODE IT DOES NOT.  ALSO NOTE THAT THE ONLY WAY TO LEAVE THE
          GALAXY IS TO APPROACH THE INTERGALACTIC BARRIER IN MANUAL MODE
          MOVING AT WARP SPEED. (THE AUTOPILOT COMPUTER WOULD NEVER ALLOW
          SUCH A THING!)

  F8      WARP OUT OF QUADRANT. SETS THE WARP SPEED AND LEAVES QUADRANT.

  F9      AUTOPILOT/MANUAL MODE TOGGLE SWITCH. NOTE: THE PROGRAM ALWAYS
          STARTS OUT IN AUTOPILOT MODE; THE CAPTAIN'S COMMAND SET CAN STILL
          BE USED IN AUTOPILOT MODE, BUT ONLY AS A SUGGESTION TO THE COMPUTER
          WHAT TO DO NEXT: IT RETAINS THE FINAL DECISION CONTROL UNTIL MANUAL
          MODE IS TOGGLED INTO.  THUS, IF YOU TRY TO MAKE IT FIRE THE TORPS,
          IT MIGHT FIRE THE PHASERS INSTEAD; OR IF YOU TELL IT TO CHANGE COURSE,
          IT MIGHT TELL YOU TO TRANSPORT OFF.  "WISH? DID SOMEBODY SAY WISH?" --
          JAMBI.

 F10      KLINGON SCAN.  PRESSING THIS KEY WILL ERASE ANY LONG RANGE SCAN
          DISPLAY AND REPLACE IT WITH A DISPLAY OF KLINGONS IN THE QUADRANT,
          THEIR LOCATION, DISTANCE, ENERGY, AND THREAT (ENERGY DIVIDED BY
          DISTANCE, WHICH IS THE MAXIMUM ENERGY THAT THEY CAN HIT THE
          ENTERPRISE WITH AT THAT DISTANCE).  THE TOTAL KLINGON ENERGY AND
          THREAT IN THE QUADRANT ARE ALSO DISPLAYED ON THE LAST LINE.

NAVIGATION CONTROL PAD:
THE NUMERIC KEY PAD IS USED FOR ISSUING COMMANDS TO CONTROL THE SHIP'S COURSE.
THE 8 KEYS (THE "5" KEY DOES NOTHING) SET THE SHIP'S COURSE IN THE OBVIOUS
WAY:

                      NW    N     NE

                      W           E

                      SW    S     SE

ON AUTOPILOT MODE, THIS COMMAND IS TAKEN ON ADVISEMENT ONLY.

OTHER KEYS:
PRESSING CERTAIN OTHER KEYBOARD KEYS WILL GIVE FURTHER COMMANDS:

A: SAME AS F9, TOGGLE AUTOPILOT MODE.

C: COLOR CHANGE.  FOR THOSE WITH COLOR SCREENS, PRESSING THIS KEY WILL
   CHANGE THE SHORT RANGE SCAN SCREEN BASIC DISPLAY COLOR.

H OR ?: POP-UP A SUMMARY OF THESE COMMANDS.

P: PHASER SET-UP. SETS MAXIMUM PHASER POWER IF FN KEY 1 WON'T.  (FN KEY 1
   ONLY SETS PHASER MAX POWER THE FIRST TIME IT IS PRESSED IN MANUAL MODE).

Q: CAPTAIN RESIGNS (USE TO ABORT THE PROGRAM). (YOU CAN ALSO HIT THE ESC
   KEY).

R: REDRAW THE SCREEN.

S: TOGGLE THE SOUND EFFECTS ON/OFF

$: MANUAL SHIELD CONTROL. USE TO SET SHIELDS MANUALLY TO ANY DESIRED VALUE
   WITHIN AVAILABLE ENERGY.

!: SIMULATION SPEED CONTROL.  USE TO CHANGE THE SPEED OF THE SIMULATION:
   PRESSING THIS KEY CAUSES IT TO CYCLE FROM 2, 1.5, 1, TO .5 SECONDS
   OF TIME PAD AND THEN BACK TO 2 AGAIN (THE NEW VALUE IS DISPLAYED ON THE
   COMMAND LINE).

GALAXY LAYOUT:
THIS PROGRAM USES THE OLD GRIDIRON SYSTEM OF STAR NAVIGATION FOR WARP DRIVE
SHIPS WITHOUT TRANSWARP.  THE GALAXY IS AN 8 X 8 GRID OF QUADRANTS; EACH
QUADRANT IS AN 8 X 8 GRID OF SECTORS.  THE NUMBERING SCHEME OF THE QUADRANTS
IS "I,J", WHERE I RANGES FROM 1 TO 8 AND J RANGES FROM 1 TO 8 ("1,1" WOULD BE
THE UPPER LEFT QUADRANT AND "1,8" THE UPPER RIGHT). THE SECTORS ARE SIMILARLY
NUMBERED IN EACH QUADRANT:

     1,1  1,2   ....       1,8
     2,1                   2,8
     .                      .
     .                      .
     8,1  8,2   ...        8,8


SCANNERS:
THE SHORT RANGE SCANNER DISPLAYS THE CONTENTS OF EACH SECTOR IN THE CURRENT
QUADRANT IN AN 8 X 8 MAP WHICH DOMINATES THE LEFT SIDE OF YOUR SCREEN.

THE MAIN SYMBOLS USED ARE AS FOLLOWS:
      <E>     THE ENTERPRISE
      +K+     A KLINGON BATTLE CRUISER
       *      A STAR
      >B<     A STARBASE

(OTHER DISPLAY CHARACTERS USED DURING THE GAME ARE SELF-EXPLANATORY.)

IN THE LOWER LEFT HAND CORNER IS A NUMERICAL DISPLAY OF THE NUMBER OF
KLINGONS IN THE QUADRANT.  IN THE UPPER LEFT HAND CORNER IS A DISPLAY OF THE
SHIP'S COMPUTER STATUS, WHICH NOBODY BUT A VULCAN CAN MAKE SENSE OF.

THERE IS ALSO A LONG RANGE SCANNER WHICH DISPLAYS THE CONTENTS OF NEARBY
QUADRANTS AND IS EXPLAINED BELOW.

GALACTIC MAP.
OVER THE YEARS, AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE GRIDIRON NUMBERING SCHEME FOR QUADRANTS
GREW POPULAR AMONG SPACE GEEKS.  IN THIS SCHEME EACH ROW OF 8 QUADRANTS IS
DIVIDED INTO TWO STAR SYSTEMS, WITH ROMAN NUMERALS INDICATING THE PRECISE
QUADRANT.

THE STAR SYSTEM NAMES, CONFORMING TO THE REFORMED 2^6 AGREEMENT OF THE
MAGELLANIC POLICEMEN'S OTHER BALL, ARE AS FOLLOWS:

       1  2  3  4   5  6  7  8
       ..........   ..........
     1   ANTARES      SIRIUS
     2   RIGEL        DENEB
     3   PROCYON      CAPELLA
     4   VEGA         BETELGEUSE
     5   CANOPUS      ALDEBARAN
     6   ALTAIR       REGULUS
     7   SAGITTARIUS  ARCTURUS
     8   POLLUX       SPICA

FOR EXAMPLE, QUADRANT 1,1 IS ANTARES I, QUADRANT 1,2 IS ANTARES II, QUADRANT
1,3 IS ANTARES III, QUADRANT 1,4 IS ANTARES IV, QUADRANT 1,5 IS SIRIUS I,
QUADRANT 1,6 IS SIRIUS II, QUADRANT 1,7 IS SIRIUS III, AND QUADRANT 1,8 IS
SIRIUS IV.

TOO BAD YOU EARTHLINGS DON'T HAVE TRANSWARP; THIS SECTION OF THE UNIVERSE IS
ACTUALLY A BIG BORE.

COURSE:
THE COURSE SETTINGS ARE GIVEN NUMERIC VALUES AS FOLLOWS:

                 4  3  2
                  \ | /
                 5 -o- 1
                  / | \
                 6  7  8

THUS, A COURSE SETTING OF 1 CAUSES THE ENTERPRISE TO MOVE STRAIGHT RIGHT
(EAST) ON THE SR SCAN SCREEN, AND A SETTING OF 5 MAKES IT MOVE STRAIGHT
LEFT (WEST).


LONG RANGE SCAN:
THE LONG RANGE SCANNER CAN PROBE TWO QUADRANTS IN EVERY DIRECTION FROM THE
SHIP.  THE LONG RANGE SCAN DISPLAY IS FORMATTED INTO CELLS, ONE FOR EACH
QUADRANT, CENTERED AT THE CURRENT QUADRANT.  EACH CELL HAS THE FORMAT:

                KK/B/S
WHERE:
        KK = # OF KLINGONS IN QUADRANT
        B =  # OF BASES IN QUADRANT (FLASHING WHEN "VIRGIN", I.E., NEVER
             DOCKED AT)
        S =  # OF STARS IN QUADRANT (1 TO 8)

AS KLINGONS MOVE FROM QUADRANT TO QUADRANT, THIS IS REFLECTED IN THE
DYNAMICALLY UPDATED DISPLAY.

STARBASES AND DOCKING:
WHEN THERE IS A STARBASE IN THE CURRENT QUADRANT, AND THERE IS NOT A
"STARBASE ATTACK" CONDITION CODE, THE ENTERPRISE CAN DOCK WITH THE BASE
BY MOVING TO ONE OF ITS 4 "CORNERS" AND DROPPING ITS SHIELDS.  IF THE
SHIELD CONTROL IS DAMAGED AND THE SHIELDS ARE UP, THE ENTERPRISE MUST WAIT
UNTIL THE CONTROL IS REPAIRED AND THE SHIELDS CAN BE DROPPED BEFORE DOCKING.
(ACTUALLY THE DROPPING OF SHIELDS IS AUTOMATICALLY DONE BY THE COMPUTER WHEN
THE ENTERPRISE ENTERS THE DOCKING SECTOR).

EACH BASE HAS A SUPPLY OF ENERGY AND TORPEDOES WHICH CAN BE USED TO FURNISH
THE ENTERPRISE ONCE ONLY.  IN ADDITION, THERE IS A CREW OF TECHNICIANS READY
TO REPAIR THE ENTERPRISE ANY NUMBER OF TIMES.

AS THE BASE HAS ITS OWN SHIELDS, THE ENTERPRISE IS PROTECTED FROM KLINGON
FIRE WHILE DOCKED, WHICH IS GOOD AS THE ENTERPRISE HAS DROPPED ITS SHIELDS
TO DOCK.  THE ENTERPRISE CANNOT FIRE ITS WEAPONS WHEN DOCKED, ALTHOUGH IT
CAN USE ITS SENSORS.  THE REMAINING ENERGY IN THE BASE'S SHIELDS IS DISPLAYED
ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE SCREEN IN THE STATUS DISPLAY.

DAMAGE CONTROL:
THERE ARE 8 SHIP SUBSYSTEMS WHOSE OPERATIONAL STATUS ARE MONITORED ON THE
DAMAGE CONTROL PANEL LOCATED ABOVE THE SHORT RANGE SCANNER SCREEN.

FOR EACH SUBYSTEM, A STATUS OF 0 MEANS OPERATIONAL, AND A STATUS OF 1 TO
8 INDICATES INCREASINGLY HIGH STATES OF DISREPAIR.

THESE SUBSYSTEMS ARE, IN ORDER:
W=WARP ENGINES, S=SHORT RANGE SCANNER, L=LONG RANGE SCANNER
P=PHASER CONTROL, T=PHOTON TORPEDO TUBES, D=DAMAGE CONTROL
$=SHIELD CONTROL, C=LIBRARY COMPUTER

    1. WARP ENGINES.  WHEN THESE ARE DAMAGED, THE ENTERPRISE CANNOT
       ACCELERATE, AND PROBABLY WILL QUICKLY DECELERATE.

    2. SHORT RANGE SCANNER.  WHEN THIS IS DAMAGED, THE SHORT RANGE SCREEN
       GOES BLANK AND LIFE BECOMES MUCH MORE DIFFICULT.

    3. LONG RANGE SCANNER. WHEN THIS IS DAMAGED, ANY EXISTING DISPLAY WILL
       FREEZE BUT ONE MUST REMEMBER THAT THE ACTUAL BATTLE CONDITION IS
       CHANGING.

    4. PHASER CONTROL. WHEN THIS IS DAMAGED, MOST COMMANDS TO FIRE WILL
       RESULT IN A PHASER MISFIRE.

    5. PHOTON TORPEDO TUBES. WHEN DAMAGED, PHOTON TORPEDOES CANNOT BE FIRED.

    6. DAMAGE CONTROL. WHEN DAMAGE CONTROL ITSELF IS DAMAGED, NO WORK CAN BE
       DONE ON THE OTHER SUBSYSTEMS UNTIL THIS ONE IS COMPLETELY OPERATIONAL.

    7. SHIELD CONTROL. WHEN DAMAGED, SHIELDS CANNOT BE RAISED OR LOWERED BUT
       ONE MUST LIVE WITH WHAT ENERGY REMAINS IN THEM.

    8. LIBRARY COMPUTER. WHEN DAMAGED, ALL AIMING EFFORTS ARE LIKELY TO BE
       SEVERELY AFFECTED.

OTHER INFORMATION:

1. BLACK HOLES. THEY APPEAR AT RANDOM TIMES AND BEGIN TO SUCK EVERYTHING
   TOWARD THEM. IF AN OBJECT ENTERS THE BLACK HOLE IT IS THROWN INTO A
   RANDOM QUADRANT BUT NOT DESTROYED.  BLACK HOLES OFTEN SUPERNOVA, AT WHICH
   POINT THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE BUT TO WARP OUT OF THE QUADRANT AND ESCAPE,
   UNLESS YOU FEEL LUCKY, PUNK.

2. EFFICIENCY RATING.  THE CAPTAIN'S EFFICIENCY RATING IS THE NUMBER OF
   KLINGONS KILLED PER STARDATE, TIMES 1000.  A SCORE OF LESS THAN 1000
   (MEANING ONE KLINGON KILLED PER STARDATE) IS NOT TOO GOOD.

3. STARBASE ATTACK.  ONCE IN A WHILE AN UNGUARDED STARBASE IN A REMOTE
   QUADRANT BECOMES THE OBJECT OF AN ATTACK BY A KLINGON FORCE.  IF THE
   ENTERPRISE DOESN'T WARP TO THE QUADRANT AND KILL ALL THE KLINGONS BY THE
   STARDATE SPECIFIED, THE BASE IS DESTROYED.

4. CLOAKED KLINGONS.  IN SOME QUADRANTS, THE KLINGONS WILL USE THEIR
   CLOAKING DEVICES.  THEY WILL THEREFORE NOT APPEAR ON THE SHORT RANGE
   SCANNER SCREEN, BECAUSE THEIR LOCATIONS ARE UNKNOWN, HOWEVER, THEIR
   PRESENCE IN THE QUADRANT CAN BE SENSED AND SO THE SHORT RANGE SCAN
   SCREEN WILL DISPLAY THEIR NUMBER IN THE LOWER LEFT HAND CORNER USING
   A B-L-I-N-K-I-N-G SYMBOL.

COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS:
   S    START UP WITH SOUND OFF
   M    FORCE MONO DISPLAY MODE
   C    FORCE COLOR DISPLAY MODE

EXAMPLE: >TREK MS

----------------------
DID YOU LIKE THIS TOY?
DON'T FORGET TO TRY OUR GOBS OF OTHER NEAT LOW-PRICED TOYS AND GAMES FOR THE
IBM PC AND COMPATIBLES, DESIGNED BY ALIENS FROM OUTER SPACE FOR EARTH KIDS OF
ALL AGES.  OUR NIFTY DEMO DISK, CONTAINING AN ELECTRONIC TOY CATALOG PLUS
OTHER GOODIES, IS ONLY $2 SHIPPING/HANDLING TO ANY U.S. ADDRESS, $3 OUTSIDE
U.S. (U.S. DOLLARS ONLY OR CHECK DRAWN ON U.S. BANK).  PLEASE SPECIFY 3.5 INCH
OR 5.25 INCH DISKETTE.  IF YOUR PC BORES YOU WRITE US NOW.
TOMMY'S TOYS, P.O. BOX 11261, DENVER, CO 80211 USA.

GOOD LUCK!