Star Trek: conversion of the 1978 game

Fri, 09 Apr 2021 15:25:36 UTC

Star Trek 1.01

by emabolo

[Click to Play]

Star Trek txt game ported to PICO-8

I'm finally happy to post the final release of my adaptation to PICO-8 of the 1978 game "Super Star Trek". The original game was written by Bob Leedom and David Ahl and published in the book BASIC COMPUTER GAMES - Microcomputer Edition. It was an early example of a space turn-based strategy game, and it was entirely text-based.

The original game was based on a CLI and text parser. This version is entirely based on a graphic user interface and can be controlled with the PICO-8 buttons, so it's a big change. But I'm very happy because I kept most of the original gameplay and mechanics intact. At the same time, I added music and animations. Besides, it's my first PICO-8 game!

How to play

use ⬅️➡️ to select a command, and 🅾️ to confirm. Normally ❎ cancels a command.
your goal is to destroy all Klingons before time is over. Time passes when you warp to a new sector;
you start in a random sector. There are 64 of them divided into an 8x8 grid;
first of all, use the long-range sensor scans (LRS) to see if there are Klingons in the surrounding sectors - unless you start the game in a sector with Klingons, in this case, you can attack directly (see later);
with LRS, you will see a number for each sector. The first digit is the number of Klingon ships, the second the number of starbases, and the third the number of stars. Eg "205" means there are 2 enemy ships;
if you have identified a sector with Klingons, use WRP to see the map and select the sector you want to jump, then press Z to go there;
before attacking, you need to raise your shields. Use SHE to divert energy to shields; a value such as 500 should be fine;
if there is only one ship, it's a good idea to use photon torpedoes because they don't consume energy. You will have to select the torpedo course;
if there are multiple targets, select the phasers. Select the energy you want to use for the phasers and fire. Phasers attack all enemy targets automatically; if you are attacking multiple enemies, the energy will be split, so use more energy when attacking more than one ship;
after you have attacked, the remaining Klingons will attack you;
you will notice that energy will be consumed quite soon. You need to find a starbase to replenish your energy. Once you have found a sector with a base, use the impulse engines to go close to a starbase and then dock (DCK);
ship devices can be damaged during fights, this will affect the behavior of weapons, shields, sensors, etc. Docking at a starbase will automatically repair your systems
The game generates a random captain name at the beginning of the game, and stores it on the cartdata together with your hi-score. If you win, the game will show both your score and the hi-score. If you want to reset the hi-score, open options, and select "new captain". This will reset the hi-score and generate a new name.
There are 4 difficulty levels from 1 to 4. By default, the game is set to 3. If you find it too difficult or too easy, open the options and select "more difficult"/"less difficult".

I hope you like it, and let me know your comments.

UPDATE 1.01:

Now you can use UP and DOWN to raise/drop shields faster
You can now press 🅾️ during the title screen to show all the text, then press again to continue.

More info about the original game:

1978 Star Trek on Pico-8

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 20:19:14 UTC

This is my attempt to convert the 1978 Super Star Trek game to PICO-8. This early example of a turn-based space strategy game has been written in 1974 by Bob Leedom and was published in the 1978 book BASIC COMPUTER GAMES edited by David Ahl. After that, it was ported, converted, and enhanced many times, but I think nobody tried to make a PICO-8 version.
It's a text-only game, commands are entered on the console, so converting it to PICO-8 required several changes, but I tried to keep the original gameplay intact.

I would really love to know what you think about it. Let me know your feedback, suggestions, critics, and so on. Btw, this is my first PICO-8 game, so be patient.

If you already know Super Star Trek, playing my PICO-8 version should be quite straightforward. If you don't, below you can find a quick tutorial.

Super Star Trek P8

by emabolo

[Click to Play]

How to play

use ⬅️➡️ to select a command, and Z to confirm. Normally X cancels a command.
your goal is to destroy all Klingons before time is over. Time passes when you warp to a new sector
you start in a random sector. There are 64 of them divided into an 8x8 grid
first of all, use the long-range sensor scans (LRS) to see if there are Klingons in the surrounding sectors - unless you start the game in a sector with Klingons, in this case, you can attack directly (see later)
with LRS, you will see a number for each sector. The first digit is the number of Klingon ships, the second the number of starbases, and the third the number of stars. Eg "205" means there are 2 enemy ships.
if you have identified a sector with Klingons, use WRP to see the map and select the sector you want to jump, then press Z to go there
before attacking, you need to raise your shields. Use SHE to divert energy to shields
if there is only one ship, it's a good idea to use photon torpedoes, because they don't consume energy. You will have to select the torpedo course. You can try to move first, using impulse engines, to reach a better position, but remember that in this case, Klingons will attack first
if there are multiple targets, select the phasers. Select the energy you want to use for the phasers and fire. Phasers attack all enemy targets automatically
after you have attacked, the remaining Klingons will attack you
you will notice that energy will be consumed quite soon. You need to find a starbase to replenish your energy. Once you have found a sector with a base, use the impulse engines to go close to a starbase and then dock (DCK)
ship devices can be damaged during fights, this will affect the behavior of weapons, shields, sensors, etc.

If you are interested in the original game, check my article about Super Star Trek

or the Wikipedia entry

Let me know

emabolo [Lexaloffle Blog Feed]

Star Trek: conversion of the 1978 game

Star Trek txt game ported to PICO-8

How to play

More info about the original game:

1978 Star Trek on Pico-8

How to play