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 black hole
miner, 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 mining vessel 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 shop 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 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.
Overview
Title |
Starcross |
Working Title |
A Gift From Space |
Author |
David Lebling |
Difficulty |
Expert |
Product Code |
IS1 |
Release Information
Release Date (Serial Number) |
Release Number |
Z-Code Version |
820901 |
15 |
Standard (3) ¹ |
821021 |
17 |
Standard (3) ² |
¹ Release found in the PC version of The Lost Treasures of Infocom I.
² Release found in the Mac and Apple versions of The Lost Treasures of Infocom I
Game Statistics
Rooms |
86 |
Words |
557 |
Objects |
25 |
Opcodes |
6566 |
The old "Folio" packaging of Starcross consisted of a flying saucer
box containing a space map and an instruction booklet.
The re-release of Starcross used the standard box format which
consisted of a grey box with coloured horizontal stripes. It contained
a "Log of the M.C.S. STARCROSS", a space map, and "Bureau of Extra-Solar
Intelligence" instructions for alien encounters.
Last revised: Tue Feb 6 11:08:27 EST 1996 / Peter Scheyen <pete@csd.uwo.ca>