Star Trek: The Motion Picture

From Star Trek Game Information

Title: Star Trek: The Motion Picture Release Date: 1982 Platform: Vectrex Genre: Arcade Creator: Milton Bradley

STAR TREKâ„¢ THE MOTION PICTURE

Welcome, Captain Kirk, to your command on the Starship Enterprise. Your mission is to seek out and destroy the enemy Klingon Mothership. Travel through nine sectors of space, each more difficult, or take a shortcut through the Black Hole. Be careful ... the Klingons and Romulans are hiding in space, waiting to destroy you at every turn!

[edit] Setting up

• Make sure the console power cord is plugged into an electrical outlet that is appropriate for your Vectrex unit.
• Check to be sure the plug for the built-in control panel is firmly seated in the control panel outlet on the right.
• Make sure the console is turned OFF before inserting the cartridge. Insert the cartridge into the slot with the label side up. Be sure it is firmly inserted to the guideline marked on the cartridge.
• Insert the screen overlay behind the tabs at the top and bottom of the screen.
• Turn the OFF/ON/VOLUME CONTROL to the ON position (clockwise). You will see the Vectrex title for a few seconds, then the name of the game.
• Adjust the volume control to the desired listening level.

[edit] Controls

Star Trekâ„¢ - The Motion Picture is designed to be played with the built-in control panel only. The functions of the controls are:

Joystick Moves your ship through space from the pilot's view.

Power Link (button 2) Locks your ship on your Space Station door (to refuel) or in the Black Hole.

Shield (button 3) Puts up your protective shield.

Fire (button 4) Fire lasers at the Romulans, Klingons, and their torpedos.

[edit] How to Play

Player Selection

Star Trekâ„¢ - The Motion Picture can be played as a one or two player game. When 'PLAYER 1 - GAME 1' appears on the screen, press Button 1 to switch to a two player game. 'PLAYER 2 - GAME 1' will then show on the screen. When played as a two player game, only the built-in control panel is used, and the players take turns using this control panel. You can return to a one player game by pressing Button 1 again before starting game play.

Black Hole Sector Selection

You can select which of the first eight sectors contains the Black Hole, which is the shortcut to the enemy Klingon Mothership. When 'PLAYER 1 - GAME 1' appears on the screen, press Button 2 to change the sector in which you want the Black Hole to appear. For example, if you press Button 2 twice, 'PLAYER 1 - GAME 3' will appear on the screen. This will put the Black Hole in Sector 3. If you do not choose a particular sector, the Black Hole will be in Sector 1.

Starting Game Play

Once you select the number of players and the sector of the Black Hole, press button 4 to enter the first sector of space and start game play.

If you do not press button 4 once the number of players and the sector of the Black Hole are selected, the game will be in a self-play mode. Pressing any button when you are in this mode will return you to the beginning of the game.

[edit] Enemies

[edit] Game Play

As Captain Kirk, you view the action from behind the windshield of the Starship Enterprise. Use the Joystick to maneuver your ship through space and aim your gunsight at the appropriate target. Use button 4 to fire lasers at your enemies and the torpedoes they hurl at you. If you can't hit the torpedo, press button 3 to place a protective shield in front of your ship. Your shield will cause the torpedoes to bounce off. If you destroy all the ships in a sector, you will automatically move to the next sector. Each new sector has more enemies who move even faster. If your clear out the first eight sectors, you will enter Sector 9... and face the dreaded Klingon Mothership.

Getting Hit

If you are hit by a torpedo, your windshield will crack. If you have additional ships left, you will be given another chance to clear out the sector you are in.

The Black Hole

Rather than fighting through all eight sectors in order to get to Sector 9, you can take a shortcut through the Black Hole. To enter the Black Hole, aim your gunsight and press button 2, the Power Link. You will automatically be transported to Sector 9. There is only one Black Hole in each game.

Klingon Mothership

Sector 9 contains the deadly Klingon Mothership, which furiously shoots torpedoes of all types at you. The Mothership must be hit directly on the nose in order to be destroyed. Additionally, the Mothership can only be destroyed when its nose is lit up.

Beware... very few get out alive! If you do manage to survive (somehow) you will be automatically transported back to Sector 1 and the game will continue.

Laser Power and Shield Strength

Laser power and shield strength are limited. The gauges are at the bottom of the screen - the line on the left is your remaining laser power and the line on the right is your remaining shield strength. Each of your ships will start with full laser power and shield strength. Keep an eye on your gauges. When the lines start to look low, you will need to refuel at your Space Station. Watch carefully each time you complete all nine sectors in a galaxy. Every new galaxy uses up lasers and shield at quicker rates.

Refueling

Time your refueling carefully because you only have 1 Space Station in each sector. To refuel, you must hook up with the door of your Space Station by lining up your gunsight with the door and then pressing button 2, the Power Link. If you make contact, the Space Station will freeze as your tanks fill up.

Number of Ships

At the beginning of each game, you will have 3 ships. A bonus ship is awarded each time you destroy the Mothership.

Scoring

Points are earned for destroying enemy ships, torpedoes, and the Mothership, as follows:

Object                                              Points
---------------                                  ----------
Torpedo                                            300
Romulans and Klingons in Normal Flight             300 - 800
   *The farther the enemy is from
     you the more points you get.
 Romulans and Klingons near your ship              1000
 Mothership                                        5000

Additionally, you are awarded a bonus of 1500 points for destroying all ships in a sector. No points are earned or lost for destroying your own Space Station.

[edit] High Score Memory

As long as your machine is on, with the Star Trekâ„¢ - The Motion Picture cartridge in place, the high score is retained. Once the machine is turned off and the cartridge is removed, the high score is lost. To view the high score, press the Reset Button on the console.

[edit] Restarting the Game

To restart a completed game with the same number of players and with the Black Hole in the same sector, press any of the four action buttons once the game is over. If you wish to restart the game before it is completed, or change the number of players or the sector of the Black Hole, press the Reset Button on the console. If you change the number of players or the sector of the Black Hole, remember to press Button 4 to start game play. Otherwise the game will be in self-play mode.

[edit] Playing the game on WinXP via Emulation

To play the game you will need the [MESS Emulator], the game cart image, and a system.img file. Download and unzip MESS to a directory. Then go into that directory and into the /software folder and create a new folder called vectrex. Place the game cart file ( STARTREK.BIN ) into that directory. Then go into the /bios folder and create a directory called vectrex. In that folder place the SYSTEM.IMG file.

Start MESS and right click on the properties, select the 'Controllers' tab and then enable the Keyboard LEDs and Mouse Input. Keys: SPACE = Shield SHIFT = Fire ALT = Dock CTRL = Pause

[edit] Reference & Links

• [Ozyr's Vectrex Archive]
  
• [Multiple Emulator Super System]