-- This game is freeware. You may distribute this program freely, as long as you do not alter the program in any way. Failing to include this Instructions file in its untampered forms counts as altering the program, and is forbidden. Please feel free to upload this game to any BBS, Internet service, and so on.
PLOT: Welcome to Stardust, a game of problem-solving and logic. The plot is simple: two people have been lost in the surreal universe of the stardust, a kind of matter that is easily manipulated by thought. There are many kinds of stardust: some kinds can be created at will, others are permanent and immobile, while others still have strange effects on the heroes. Unfortunately, the two have somehow become separated from each other, lost in the tangle of portals and strange obstacles. Their only hope: to find each other, by using the portals to jump from plane to plane.
Your job: to navigate through the Stardust environment, finding ways to reach the various portals therein. You have only a scant few powers to help you - the ability of your mind to create and destroy barriers of stardust, and to use those barriers to levitate. With those powers and (most likely) the frequent use of the Restart command, you must get through fifty of the stardust levels. Good luck.
COMMANDS: All game play in Stardust is through the keyboard. To make the game convenient for all Macintosh users, two sets of keyboard commands are provided:
FOR STANDARD KEYBOARDS:
‘A’ = Walk Left
‘D’ = Walk Right
‘W’ = Up
‘S’ = Crouch
FOR EXTENDED KEYBOARDS:
‘Left Arrow’ = Walk Left
‘Right Arrow’ = Walk Right
‘Up Arrow’ = Up
‘Down Arrow’ = Down
FOR BOTH KEYBOARDS:
‘SPACE’ - or - ‘RETURN’ = Magic
Note that these keys can be used in combination. For example, to levitate magically, use the Up key and the Magic key together. Note also that a reminder of these keys can be found in the “Instructions” item of the “Information” menu in the game.
MOVING THE HERO: It is very easy to move around in Stardust, and by learning to use the keys together you can exercise a surprising degree of control. These are the actions the heroes can take:
- Walking: The simplest of movements. Press to Walk Left or Walk Right key to walk in that direction.
- Turning Aroung: To turn around without walking in Stardust, just tap the direction (Walk Left or Walk Right) you want to walk in. This is a new feature of Stardust 1.1: in the old version, you had to hold down the Up key, tap either Walk Left or Walk Right, and then release the Up key. This method still works, of course, and is advisable if you have trouble tapping fast enough (which is unlikely).
- Creating Blue Blocks: One of your powers is to create large blue blocks of stardust. You can make a block directly to the side of you (in the direction you are facing) by pressing the Magic key. You can make a block diagonally down and in front of you (so that you can walk on it) by holding the Crouch key and then pressing the Magic key.
- Levitating with Green Blocks: You can levitate by creating a green block underneath you. As it rises, it lifts you up. There is a limit, though: you cannot create a green block on top of another green block. To create green blocks, hold the Up key and then press the Magic key.
There is one exception to levitating with green blocks: you cannot levitate into the Entrance or the Exit Portals. Something about their nature resists the levitation process.
- Destroying Blocks: Certain kinds of blocks in Stardust can be destroyed magically. To destroy a block to the side (blue blocks, green blocks, etc.), walk up to it and press the Magic key. To destroy a block that is to the side and diagonally down, get next to it, hold the Down key, and press the Magic key.
Note that green blocks can also be destroyed when they are above or below you (a full description of the blocks can be found below). Just hold the key of the direction the block is in (Up or Crouch) and press the Magic key. Note that this means you can’t destroy a block that is down and to the side of you if you are on top of a green block.
LEVELS: You have to get through fifty levels to find the other hero and win the game. It may not seem that way, but it is possible to defeat all fifty levels. Note that some obstacles do not appear until later in the game - even some that are not described in these instructions. The first level with a new obstacle is created deliberately easy: this gives you the opportunity to learn how the object works. Oh, and after level 25, something really cool happens.
“DEATH”: There is no way to die in Stardust; this is a totally non-violent game. When you do something fatal - falling off the bottom of the screen or stepping on a red block, for instance - you disappear and come back in the entrance portal you started from.
Note that though you can't die, there are many ways to become inescapably trapped. Should this be the case, you can reset the level completely using the "Reset" command in the File menu. There is no way, however to "commit suicide" and make yourself reappear in the entrance portal without resetting the whole level.
BLOCKS: There are all sorts of obstacles in Stardust, referred to generically as blocks. Here are the descriptions of some of the blocks you’ll find along your quest:
Entrance Portal: This is the portal you enter from when you begin a level. It is also the portal you reappear from if you fall off the bottom of the screen, fall into a warp pocket, or step on a red block. Note that as a by-product of their teleporting nature, it is impossible to levitate into entrance portals.
Exit Portal: The portal you exit from when you finish a level. It is not enough to reach the exit portal: when you are in it, you must press the Up key to warp out of the level. Thus, falling through the portal accomplishes nothing. Note that as a by-product of their teleporting nature, it is impossible to levitate into exit portals. Note also that on levels with multiple exit portals, you can beat the level by exiting through any portal - though usually you can only reach one.
Gray Block: The most tightly-bound form of the stardust-- it is utterly impassable and indestructible. You can go around it, over it, even under it... but there is no way to go through it.
Star Block: A looser form of stardust-- it is impassable, but it can be destroyed with the power of the mind. You can destroy any star block that is directly to your side or diagonally down and to the side by using the Magic key, as described in the movement section above. Star blocks cannot be destroyed from above or below.
Blue Blocks: The stardust that you create with your mind. It is impassable, but it can be destroyed as easily as it is created by you. It is thus very useful for creating floors to step on, so you can get to otherwise inaccessible places. Once created, it reacts the same way as star blocks - in fact, they are the same substance; the star blocks look different only because they formed naturally.
Green Blocks: A special form of stardust you use to levitate. As you create the block beneath you, it grows, thus lifting you up. See the Movement section for how to create green blocks. These blocks are particularly fragile: first, you cannot create a green block on top of another green block, and second, you can destroy a green block directly above or below you. Note the special danger of green blocks: if you are on a green block and hold the Down key and Magic key in hopes of creating/destroying a block diagonally down and in front of you, you will instead destroy the block you are standing on.
Warp Pockets: A mutated form of the stardust. It is impassible from the sides and below, but hollow on the top. If you fall into a warp pocket, you are warped away, and reappear in the entrance portal. They can be destroyed, but only by a direct magic from the side - they are immune to magic from diagonal directions.
Red Blocks: Like a gray block, but hotter. Utterly impassable and indestructible, and what is more, you cannot step on one without being destroyed (but not killed - you reappear in the entrance portal). Moreover, it is hot enough to destroy any other block on top of it, so you cannot create blue or green blocks on top of a red block.
Stars: A very diffuse form of the stardust; you can walk right through it. It does get in the way, however, because of it's special resistance to magic. Specifically, no blocks can be created on top of a star. Note that you can still create a block to the side if you are in a star - you can even use a green block to levitate into a star; you just can't create a block in the same place a star is.
Fall Block: Similar to a gray block, in that it is impassable from the sides and below, and immune to all magic, but strikingly fragile at the same time. It cannot bear the weight of a human being: when you step on a fall block, it quickly breaks apart. Note that this is the only way to destroy a fall block - by stepping on it. Note also that you still have time to do about one action while the block is crumbling; that action may or may not be to get off the block.
There are other blocks as well, such as the one-way block, the tunnel block, the elevator block, and more, that you will discover on your quest. You'll have to figure out how they work by yourself.
HINTS: Stardust is a tricky game - it takes me a long time to beat the game, and I created the puzzles. However (and I've been asked this before), I can guarantee that each one of the fifty levels is beatable. I promise.
1. Learn to build stairs and ladders. You build stairs by creating a blue block, levitating with a green block, walking onto a blue block, and repeating - so that you keep going diagonally up. Ladders are like stairs, but vertical. You make a blue block, levitate, walk onto the blue block, and *turn around*, then repeating. Notice that you can't just go straight up with green blocks, because one green block can't be used on another.
2. Don't hesitate to use the Reset command if you have to. Don't worry about "dying" either - since you have the equivilent of an infinite number of extra lives. There are many levels that you can't beat without "dying" a few times, too; so be sure to investigate that option if you're stuck on a level.
3. Don't forget the password of the level you are on! If there is one thing that's really annoying, it's finally figuring out how to get to that next level, then being forced to quit for some reason - and then you don't remember how to beat the level again. Write that sucker down.
4. Remember that you don't just have to reach an exit portal, you have to press 'Up' while standing, too. So if you see an exit portal without anything under it, you'd better put a blue wall under that sucker.
5. If you are totally stuck, I'm always around on the Net as jimburtn@leland.stanford.edu. I get a lot of help mail, though, so be willing to wait a couple of days for an answer. And if you like this game, you should check out my home page, http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~jimburtn, for all the games I have created, including Vampire Chess and Bill the Demon.
