by Jason Shankel
Contents
Introduction
App
Requirements
Install/Uninstall
Command-line Options
Win95/98
Linux
Navigation
Playfield
The Ship
Stellar Bodies
Planets
Starbases
Collective Cubes
Panels
Phaser Panel
Torpedo Panel
Nav Panel
Shields Panel
Status Panel
Map Panel
Computer Panel
Messages
Distribution
OpenTrek is an implementation of the classic "Super Star Trek" computer game.
The galaxy is under attack by the Collective, a race of cybernetic organisms. The Collective's goal is to assimilate the inhabited planets of the galaxy. You control a single vessel, armed with phasers and photon torpedoes. Your mission is to eliminate every Collective cube from the galaxy.
Changes in version 1.2:
DLL and shared library support for graphics drivers
Mesa support for Linux
Sound support for Linux
OpenTrek comes in Win95/98 and Linux versions.
The Win95/98 version comes with driver support for Glide, DirectX and OpenGL.
The Linux version comes with driver support for Glide and Mesa3D.
DirectX is available from microsoft (www.microsoft.com)
and Glide is available at 3dfx (www.3dfx.com).
Mesa3D is free software (released under the GNU GPL)
and is available at www.mesa3d.org.
Win95/98:
The OpenTrek installation program will installs OpenTrek
to its own program group. The OpenTrek uninstall program (located
in the OpenTrek group) will clean OpenTrek off your system.
Linux:
OpenTrek is distributed as a gzipped tarfile. To
run, type "./trekmesa" or "./trek3dfx" from the OpenTrek directory.
Command-line
Options
-use_blit: by default, OpenTrek uses the 3d pipeline
for 2d graphics. While this should be faster than using 2d blit routines,
it may behave badly or be slower on some systems.
-use_blit tells OpenTrek to use 2d techniques (glDrawPixels()
in OpenGL, Blit() in DirectX and grLfbWriteRegion() Glide) to render 2d
graphics.
-nosound runs OpenTrek without sound. Sound support for
linux is kind of shaky. If you have problems playing the game, try disabling
sound.
OpenTrek [-d3d] [-window] [-opengl] [-use_blit]
-driver filename: selects a driver for accelerated 3d (GlideDLL.dll, OpenGLDLL.dll or DXDLL.dll)
-window: runs in a window (d3d version only)
OpenTrek [-driver filename] [-window] [-use_blit]
-driver filename: selects a driver for accelerated 3d (libmesa.so or lib3dfx.so)
-window: runs in a window. Use this option for windowed
Mesa, otherwise OpenTrek will capture the mouse and keyboard
The OpenTrek galaxy is divided into 64 quadrants (8x8 grid), each of which is further divided into 64 sectors (8x8 grid).
The galaxy wraps in both directions. If the ship crosses the eighth quadrant, it will wrap back to the first.
The warp drive is used to navigate from one quadrant to
another. The impulse drive is used to navigate from one sector to another
within a quadrant. If the ship leaves a quadrant using impulse drive, it
will enter the neighboring quadrant. See Nav Panel
and Map Panel for further details.
The playfield displays the ship and the objects in the
sector with the ship. Selecting an object on the sector grid displays information
on the object in the computer (see Computer Panel).
The user can change viewing angle in the playfield with
the left and right arrow keys (<- and ->).
The ship has a forward saucer section and a rear tail
drive. When the shields are up, the ship will be surrounded by a blue glow
(see Shields Panel)
There are four kinds of stellar bodies: yellow suns, red giants, white dwarfs and black holes.
Yellow suns are stars like Earth’s sun. Red giants are
dying stars on the verge of going nova. White dwarfs are post-nova star
remnants. Black holes are fully collapsed stars. Navigating into black
holes can have interesting results.
In addition to the stellar bodies, there are three planet types: dead worlds, inhabited worlds and gas giants.
Dead worlds are barren, lifeless moons. Inhabited worlds
are Earth-like planet. Gas giants are Jupiter-like planets. Inhabited worlds
are either Hostile or Friendly. The ship can land on Friendly planets to
replenish its systems.
Starbases are advanced repair refueling stations. When
the ship docks at a starbase, it will be repaired and have its energy and
torpedo banks refilled (see Nav Panel).
Collective cubes are the enemy. Blow em up.
There are two sets of control panels visible on the OpenTrek playscreen. One set controls the ship and the other set provides information on the current tactical and strategic situation. Panels are activated by selecting their corresponding tabs on the tab control at the top of the playscreen.
The phaser panel allows you to fire phasers.
The control bar sets the energy level and pressing "Fire"
will target the enemy. You can select either Single Target, which will
target the currently selected cube, or Wide Dispersal, which will distribute
the energy to all present enemies.
The torpedo panel allows you to fire torpedoes. Click
in the navigation circle to point the ship at the target, or use the computer
and plot a targeting solution (see Computer Panel).
Press "Fire" to fire the torpedo.
The Nav Panel allows you to steer the ship. Click in the navigation circle to set the current heading. Increment and decrement the power factor with the ‘+’ and ‘-‘ buttons. Clicking on ‘Impulse’ will move the ship within the current quadrant and clicking on ‘Warp’ will move the ship to another quadrant in the galaxy.
If the ship is currently orbiting a friendly planet, you
can click on ‘Land’ to land on the planet and resupply the ship. If the
ship is currently orbiting a star base, you can click on ‘Dock’ to fully
repair the ship.
The Shields Panel allows you to raise and lower shields and set shield power levels. When the ship is attacked by a Collective cube, energy is drained from the shields before damage is taken. Energy drained from the shields is returned to the ship’s available energy pool.
The Status Panel displays the ship’s current status. Position,
time left in mission, energy, torpedoes, repair status, etc.
The map panel displays the current galactic status. Each grid reference in the map represents an individual quadrant. Blank grid references have not yet been scanned. Grid references are scanned automatically when the come within long-range sensor range (one quadrant away).
Scanned quadrants display three single-digit numbers.
The first digit indicates the number of Collective cubes present in that
quadrant. The second digit indicates the number of starbases in that quadrant.
The third digit indicates the number of planets and stars in that quadrant.
An entry of ‘123’, for example, would indicate one cube, two starbases
and three planets and stars (see Playfield)
The Computer Panel displays data on the currently selected
object and allows you to plot a targeting solution to the currently selected
sector. Plotting a solution orients the ship to face the selected sector
and sets the navigation power so the ship can navigate to the selected
sector under impulse power (see Nav Panel).
The Messages Panel displays the most recent messages sent
to the ship.
OpenTrek is free software, released under the GNU Public License. See the COPYING document for details.
No support is offered for OpenTrek, but fan/hate e-mail may be sent to shankel@pobox.com.
Info on OpenTrek and other projects is available at www.pobox.com/~shankel.