.STARFIRE 1992 EXTRA NOTES: To start: STARFIRE.EXE To quit: F10 Problems: Keyboard control is a big problem in this game. You cannot use keys simultaneously. If you hold down the fire key, it start beeping and the screen jumps about. If you move your ship it doesn't stop when you let go. To cheat: While on the title screen, press F4. The game then asks for a PASSWORD? You enter a 10 character password from the following list. The first 2 respond with PASSWORD ACCEPTED. The others give no response. JRBIFKKEAU Takes you straight to level 2 MFHRISLSOR Takes you straight to level ? KSDURMOSEE ???? Makes it harder? LDFUTRNFGI ???? Makes it easier? DONTKILLME Makes you invincible on the level you start on Level 1 is Grey. Level 2 is blue. Level 3 is green. Level ? is cyan. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STARFIRE.DOC - Instructions for playing Starfire. FILE LIST --------- Essential Files: STARFIRE.EXE FIGHT1 .SHX ENEM1 .SHX SP_MISC .SHX SHIP .SHX MOTHER .SHX LETTERS .SHX STARFIRE.PLT LEVELS .DAT ST00 .VOC ST01 .VOC ST02 .VOC ST03 .VOC ST04 .VOC If any of these files are missing, you will not be able to play the game. So get another copy. Also, there are... Others : STARFIRE.DOC ( don't worry, you've got that one) ORDER.FRM HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS --------------------- 286,386 or 486 PC ( 12 MHz+ recommended ) VGA Card and Monitor Also supported ( but not required ) Joystick ( recommended ) Mouse Adlib/SoundBlaster Card COMPATIBILITY ------------- SoundBlaster Users ------------------ If you are using a SoundBlaster card, you will be able to hear digitized speech when you collect a token. A driver called CT-VOICE.DRV is used to play back the samples. This driver is provided with your SoundBlaster when you buy it. CT-VOICE.DRV should be located in a sub-directory from your SoundBlaster software, called /DRV. If you do not have this driver installed, you will need to copy it into the directory in which Starfire is located. Unfortunately, only genuine SoundBlaster cards seem to work with speech. If you have a SoundBlaster compatible sound card, such as a Media Vision ThunderCard, you may have to use Adlib sound mode. If you have an earlier version Soundblaster (version 1), you may not get speech if your card is not set to default values (base port, interupt, DMA channel). If your card setting are not the default, you will need to add the BLASTER environment variable to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Check your manual, or contact your dealer for details on how to do this. Video Cards ----------- Starfire requires a 100% compatible STANDARD VGA card and monitor. Most SUPER VGA cards work fine, but in a small number of cases, problems have occurred. This is because in SuperVGA mode, standard VGA compatiblity is sometimes partially lost. Most programs work fine, but Starfire does some reasonably tricky things with the hardware to produce the smooth scrolling. If you encounter problems, as unlikely as that is, check your VGA card manual to see if a driver program exists to switch modes, or maybe you have to change a switch on the card itself. THE STORY SO FAR... ------------------- As in just about every arcade style game that's ever been written, the Earth is under threat. An evil, cowardly race of beings, called the Sloboids, are sending huge 'mother destructor craft' towards Earth. Carrying weapons capable of destroying entire planets, all of mankind is under threat. General Instructions -------------------- Type STARFIRE to play the game. You get 4 lives, and one or two players can play, but they take it in turns. You can use a joystick, mouse (the mouse driver should be previously installed), or keyboard. Joystick is strongly recommended, but feel free to try all. When the program loads, it will auto-detect which of these devices are present. If a device is 'NOT FOUND' check your connections before trying again. At the title screen, press F1 to change player one's control device. Press F3 to change between 1 and 2 player game, and F2 changes player two's input device (if there is a player two). Simple. In the bottom corners of the screen you will see which devices each player will use. Also, if you press F10, you can exit to DOS. Press F4 to enter password mode. See EXTRA NOTES below. If you use the keyboard, use the keys on the numeric keypad to move in the required direction. The ship you control moves at two speeds, so press the same key twice to go at high speed. The '5' key in the middle stops you. fires. drops bombs. If you are using a joystick, button 1 fires the main weapon, and button 2 drops bombs. Push the joystick in the direction you wish to go, and centre it to stop moving. If you are using a mouse, the left button will fire your main guns, and the right button drops bombs. Push the mouse in the direction you wish to travel, and move to the original position to stop. Press to pause the game, and any key to start again Press 'S' to toggle sound on and off. If you have a SoundBlaster, and speech is enabled, you can press 'T' to stop speech. Also, if you need to re-calibrate the joystick during play, (this is only necessary if your processor speed changes, or if you stuff it up the first time) press 'J', and follow the instructions on screen. During player, pressing F10 ends the game. Your mission, should you choose to accept it.. ---------------------------------------------- The objective of the game is to destroyed the alien motherships which are currently headed toward earth. Along the way you will encounter .. heat-seeking missile launchers, gun turrets, & enemy fighters. Some fighters fire back , so beware !! Also you should avoid the various structures & pipes that protrude up from the deck. Colliding with one is instantly fatal. Dead guns are also a hazard. Use your main weapon to shoot enemy craft, gun turrets, heat- seeking missiles, etc. Your bombs can be dropped on missile launchers & guns. In the bottom left corner of the screen is your score. In the bottom right, from left to right, is the number of bombs you are carrying, a measure of your shields & the number of lives you have remaining. Shields are damaged by missile & bullets, and, obviously, if they reach zero, your craft will explode. Also along the way you can collect various tokens, if you shoot enough bad guys, and/or survive long enough. A flashing 'W' gives you a better weapon, an 'S' replenishes shields to full, an 'I' makes you temporarily invincible, the space ship is a bonus life, and the bomb token gives you bombs. This version contains six levels. SILVER LIGHTNING SOFTWARE P.O. Box 445 Willetton W.A. 6155 AUSTRALIA.