Instructions for Star Trek: the Continuing Voyage



The game is a graphical adventure in the style of 25th Anniversary and Judgment Rites in which you control Kirk and his crew, leading them on a number of missions.

Installation Requirements:

Windows 9x or higher
1024 x 768 screen resolution
32 MB of RAM (64 MB recommended)

This program should not tax your system significantly.


After installation, the program will prompt you to install a codec pack for Windows Media Player 6.4.  Allow it to do so, for you will need this codec to view the video portions of the game.


I. Bridge

You begin on the Bridge.  Clicking on different crew members with your mouse brings up menus that control different functions:

Kirk -
    Captain's Log - let's you see your mission objectives.
    Intercom - allows you to communicate with other areas of the ship.
    Utilities - quit/toggle sound/etc.

Spock -
    Scan - helps you find out what's out there.
    Give Advice - useful, consult frequently.
    Library Computer - access the Starfleet databanks.

Uhura -
    Hail - Exactly.

Scotty -
    Damage Report - Yes.
    Tractor Beam - tractor other wee vessels.

Chekov -
    Set Course - Important.  You need to do this before engaging warp to any destination.
    Lock Weapons - need to do this before:
    Firing Phasers/Torpedoes

Sulu -
    Warp - must do this after setting a course with Chekov if you want to get anywhere.
    Shields - up or down, doesn't matter, except if you want to use the transporter.
    Orbit - may need to do this when arriving at a new planet, but sometimes it will be done for you.
    Impulse - when the warp engines aren't working...

II. Turbolift

  Now you leave the Bridge.  You can access numerous decks:

    Deck 2/Lab - All sorts of fun experiments.
    Deck 5 - Kirk's quarters, Spock's quarters, and the Briefing Room.
    Deck 7 - Sickbay, Transporter Room, and Observation Lounge (eat, talk)
    Deck 14/Engineering - Scotty's domain.
    Deck 18/Shuttlebay - the alternative to the transporter.
    Deck 19 - Auxiliary Control and the Brig.

After making a selection, you will enter a new room, where you are first exposed to the game's main user interface.  It's surprisingly simple to use:

III. Interface

    Button on far left says "Inventory".  Clicking on it toggles the inventory toolbar.


In your inventory are various items.  Click on any item and your cursor will change to the item.  Move your cursor around the room and you will see what you can do on the status bar at the bottom of screen, below the image of the room you are in.  You start off with a tricorder, phaser, and communicator, you will acquire others along the way.

    tricorder - very useful for scanning anything in the room.  Use it often.
    
    communicator - communicate with the Enterprise or others when off the ship.
    
    phaser - use sparingly.  Spock tends not to like it.

    You can also sometimes use one inventory item on another inventory item.

To the right of the inventory button is a button that says "Landing Party".  It toggles a display of the crewmembers in your landing party at any given time.  In the beginning it will be empty.

Clicking on someone in your landing party will change the cursor to their icon.  You can then use them on anything in the room.  This will often come in handy.

Moving to the right again are four icons: use, look, talk, and walk.

They function as they should, with the cursor changing to them if they are clicked on, then a description of their function appearing in the status bar as they are moved over various hotspots in the room.

Keep in mind that you can also talk to members of your landing party by clicking on the talk icon and then on the desired crew member in the landing party display to the left.  Talking to your crew is very important.  They can often give you useful advice when you are stuck.

There is also an "Actions" menu that can perform all the same functions as the buttons in the graphical interface if you so choose.

That pretty much wraps up the discussion of the interface.


IV. Other Comments


The game should progress in a clear and logical fashion, where your actions will be clear after some careful thought.

The biggest drawback of the game is that you can't save in the middle of a mission.  At the end of each mission you will receive a code, which can be entered at the start of the executable to reload that mission.  The codes are case sensitive.  Write down these codes, otherwise you will have to repeat earlier missions!  If you don't mind leaving your computer on, you can also keep the game minimized on your desktop for as long as you want.  It takes up very few resources.

Some of the longer cutscenes can be skipped by pressing the "Esc" key.

I have distributed this game as a standard executable, but I have also included all the source code for those who have Visual Basic 6.0 and feel more adventurous.  There is definitely a lot that can use improvement, particularly, the graphics, movies, and the addition of a save feature.  Anyone who wants to fiddle around with the program and send me their changes is welcome to do so.

Send all comments, complaints, technical problems, and suggestions to: continuingvoyage@gmail.com

I believe that this game carries on the great tradition of the Star Trek adventure, and that it will be a rewarding experience to play.  I certainly enjoyed writing it.

Enjoy!!