SAMPLE TRANSCRIPT
This transcript is not from STARCROSS, but it does show most of the usual
things you can do in the story. It contains several simple puzzles and their
solutions, and it will give you a good idea of how Infocom's interactive
fiction works. The player's sentences appear in capital letters after each
prompt (>). The map represents the terrain in the sample transcript as you
might have drawn it.
Engine Room
This large, cylindrical area houses the controls for the fusion drive of the
ship. The drive itself lies below the deck you're standing on. A hatchway,
closed, leads down toward the drive. Open doorways lie to port and
starboard, and a ladder leads up through an opening in the deck above.
>PORT
Storage
This is a tiny space for storing tools and supplies. The food dispenser is
set into the wall.
There is a Frobizzmus Wrench here.
>TURN ON THE FOOD DISPENSER
A tray of yummy-looking lunch food pops out of the dispenser.
>TAKE IT
The food dispenser is attached to the wall.
>TAKE THE TRAY
Taken.
>EXAMINE IT
The tray is coated with sticky tape to prevent food from floating away during
periods of weightlessness.
>STARBOARD
Engine Room
>SB
Cargo Hold
This space is for storing the ship's cargo, which on this particular trip is
a large crate containing radioactive isotopes.
>P
Engine Room
From the deck above you hear Sven McGillicuddy, your navigator, calling down
to you.
>U
Bridge
This is the bridge of the Moonshine, a trading vessel commissioned nearly a
decade ago. A ladder leads to the lower decks, and the ship's airlock is
fore of here. Through the viewport you can see the surface of Luna, Earth's
moon, sliding by a hundred kilometers below. Beneath the viewport is the
ship's navigation computer. Sven is sitting in the navigator's couch; the
captain's couch is empty. Sven holds up a print-out from the communications
port. "Message from Tycho Station."
>TAKE THE PRINT-OUT. READ IT
Taken.
"Divert to Clavius Station. Cargo urgently needed there."
>SVEN, SET COURSE TO CLAVIUS STATION
"I can give you the coordinates, but you'll have to tell them to the computer
yourself. You know that it's keyed only to your voice.
>EXAMINE THE COMPUTER
It is a typical navigational computer with standard features such as the
ability to give it verbal commands.
>SVEN, GIVE ME THE COORDINATES
The navigator fiddles with his instruments for a moment. "Coordinates for
Clavius Station are: Longitude 15 West, Latitude 58 South."
>COMPUTER, LONGITUDE IS 15 WEST
Lights blink across the front of the computer. "Okay, man," says the
computer. "I've got the longitude set. Wanna lay the latitude on me?"
>COMPUTER, LATITUDE IS 58 SOUTH
Lights blink across the front of the computer. "Okay, man," says the
computer. "Course set. Great bunch of coordinates. Totally. Like,
awaiting confirmation, you know?"
>COMPUTER, CONFIRM
"Okay. Better buckle up, man. Burn in, like, uh, around 30 seconds."
>GET IN THE COUCH
Which couch do you mean, the navigator's couch or the captain's couch?
>CAPTAIN'S
You are now lying in the couch.
>FASEN HARNESS
I don't know the word "fasen."
>FASTEN HARNESS
You are now belted securely into the couch.
>WAIT
Time passes...
Suddenly you are pressed into the couch as the computer activates the ship's
powerful thrusters. The burn lasts around 20 seconds, and then suddenly you
are weightless again.
>INVENTORY
You are carrying:
a print-out
a tray
Sitting on the tray is
a sandwich
a tube of juice
>GIVE PRINT-OUT TO SVEN
You can't reach him from the couch.
The computer speaks. "Hey, man...I hate to drop something like this on you,
but it looks like the reactor has, like, it's gone out. Without the next
burn we'll ram into Luna in, uh...Gag me! Just over 3 minutes!"
>DOWN
You'll have to stand up, first.
>UNFASTEN HARNESS.STAND UP.D
Unfastened.
You are on your own feet again.
>Engine Room
A red light on the controls is blinking "Reactor Malfunction-Damaged Fuel
Cylinder."
>LOOK
Engine Room
This large, cylindrical area houses the controls for the fusion drive of the
ship. The drive itself lies below the deck you're standing on. A hatchway,
closed, leads down toward the drive. Open doorways lie to port and
starboard, and a ladder leads up through an opening in the deck above. A red
light on the controls is blinking "Reactor Malfunction-Damaged Fuel
Cylinder."
>DOWN
The hatchway is closed.
>OPEN IT
It won't open by hand.
>EXAMINE THE HATCH
The hatchway is closed. You'll need a Frobizzmus Wrench to open it.
>P
Storage
There is a Frobizzmus Wrench here.
>TAKE
(Frobizzmus Wrench)
Taken.
>SB
Engine Room
A red light on the controls is blinking "Reactor Malfunction-Damaged Fuel
Cylinder."
>OPEN THE HATCH WITH THE WRENCH
The hatch opens. A steep gangway leads downward.
>D
Reactor Room
This room houses the ship's powerful fusion drive. An access panel, labelled
"Fuel Cylinder Housing," is closed. There is a spare fuel cylinder here.
>OPEN THE PANEL
Opening the panel reveals a damaged fuel cylinder. The computer's voice
comes over a speaker in a ceiling. "Hate to bug you, man, but only a minute
and a half until impact, and all the indicators are still red to the max."
>TAKE DAMAGED CYLINDER.PUT SPARE CYLINDER IN PANEL
Taken. There is now a space inside the panel for another cylinder.
You're not holding the spare fuel cylinder.
>TAKE SPARE CYLINDER THEN PUT IT IN THE PANEL
Taken.
The spare fuel cylinder is now mounted in the reactor.
>CLOSE THE PANEL
The panel is now closed.
"Way to go, man! Everything looks cool, now. Final burn in 30 seconds!"
>U.U.GET IN CAPTAIN'S COUCH.FASTEN HARNESS
Engine Room
Bridge
You are now lying in the couch.
You are now belted securely into the couch. The ship's thrusters burn long
and hard, pressing you deeply into the cushions of the couch. After what
seems like an eternity, the great weight is suddenly lifted from you, leaving
you lying comfortably in the one-sixth gravity of Luna.
