Instruction Manual for
STARCROSS
The year is 2186. Humanity has established colonies
on the moon, Mars, and several of the larger asteroids.
Earth's sky is dotted with space habitats, and the
spaceways are always busy. As usual, there is the urgent
need for energy to power this advanced civilization, one
of the primary sources of that energy is quantum black
holes.
In STARCROSS, you are a miner of black holes,
scouring the asteroid belt in your one-man survey ship.
Finding and harnessing a single black hole can make a
person's fortune. It's a lonely business, fraught with the
known and unknown hazards of space. You've equipped
your ship, the M.C.S. STARCROSS, with the best gear
you could afford. You've put everything into this venture,
and though you've tried before, you somehow sense that
this time will be different.
The ship's computer handles the functions of
navigation and routine maintenance. You watch the
sophisticated mass detector as it unceasingly scans the
vicinity for uncharted masses. To assuage the tedium of
your long trip, you browse through the compact tape
library, a compendium of human knowledge and culture.
But the drone of the ship gradually lulls you into a deep
sleep.
As you sleep, you dream of the riches which would be
yours if your search for a quantum black hole is
successful. Little do you suspect that the alarm on your
mass detector is about to jolt you out of your dream -but not to grapple with the long-sought black hole. Your
quest has taken an unexpected turn, for you are destined
to rendezvous with a gargantuan alien spaceship from the
outer fringes of the galaxy.
If you're experienced with interactive fiction, you may
not feel like reading the entire manual right away,
However, you should at least read the appendix of
recognized verbs (page 19). | Table of Contents| An Overview | Page 12 | • What is interactive fiction?
• Moving around
• Turns and scoring | | | Tips for Novices | 13 | | Nine useful pointers about interactive fiction. | | | Communicating with STARCROSS | 14 | • Basic sentences
• Complex sentences
• Talking to characters in the story
• Vocabulary limitations | | | Starting and Stopping | 16 | • Starting STARCROSS („Booting Up“)
• Saving and restoring
• Quitting and restarting | | | Appendix A: Quick Reference Guide | 17 | This briefly describes the most important things to know
about interactive fiction. You should familiarize yourself
with this section before you begin STARCROSS. | | | Appendix B: Important Commands | 18 | | Appendix C: Some Recognized Verbs | 19 | | Appendix D: STARCROSS Complaints | 20 | | Appendix E: Sample Transcript and Map | 21 | | Appendix F: We're Never Satisfied | 23 | | Appendix G: Author Biography | 24 | | Appendix H: Warranty and Copyright Information | 24 |
|
