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Stellar 7
Faq/Strategy Guide
Version 1.0.2
Author: MysticWeirdo
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CONTENTS
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1. Introduction
2. Version History
3. Game Basics
4. Strategy Tips
5. Missions
6. Briefing Notes
7. Slowing the game for modern PC's
7. LEGAL
8. Contact Information
9. Credits
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1. Introduction
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I am MysticWeirdo also known by my real name Warren Grieder.
Stellar 7 is a combat simulation that puts you in command of the Raven,
Earth's most powerful fighting machine. You'll need to fight through the
forces of the Arcturan Empire through seven systems from Sol (Earth's sun)
through to Arcturus, where you'll need to defeat the flagship of the Arcturan
Supreme Overlord, Gir Draxon, to save the Earth from destruction.
This guide is based on the PC version of the game. There were also version on
several other systems, of which I've played the C64 version which was quite
similar.
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2. Version History
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Version 1.0.2 January 2, 2006 Note added about destroying some obstacles to
reveal warplinks that skip levels.
Version 1.0.1 November 20, 2005 Some typos corrected.
Version 1.0 August 13, 2005 Initial Version of this Guide.
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3. Games Basics
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============
3.1 Controls
============
Up Arrow - Forward
Down Arrow - Reverse
Right Arrow - Turn Right
Left Arrow - Turn Left
Space Bar/Joystick Button One - Fire Cannon
P - Pause
Esc - Exit (required confirmation)
F10 - Preferences
F2 - Toggle Sound and Music
Alt-S - Toggle Sound
Alt-M - Toggle Music
Alt-J - Toggle Joystick Support
Alt-C - Calibrate Joystick
Alt-D - Toggle Mouse Support
Z - Toggle Zoom
Tab/Joystick Button Two - Select Power Model
Enter/Joystick Both Buttons - Active Selected Power Model
Power Modules quick keys:
E - EEL Shield
T - MP Thruster
I - Inviso Cloak
S - Super Cannon
J - Jump Thruster
C - Cat's Eye
B - RC Bomb
=============
3.2 Main Menu
=============
The are five selection in the Main Menu:
Begin - starts a new game
Briefing - view the mission briefing (see transcript in a later section)
Prefs - change settings including graphic details, mouse and joystick support
toggles, music and audio toggles, difficulty select - easy, standard, or hard,
and a story panel toggle.
Score - Display High Scores
Exit - Exit to DOS
=================
3.3 Combat Screen
=================
The largest portion of the screen is a first person view of the current planet
where you can see enemies, obstacles, pickups, and incoming fire. Other
elements surround that.
At the top of the screen is a bird emblem that goes when the inviso cloak is
active. It flashes when the cloak is about to fail. Below that is the name
of the current system.
In the lower left is a display of the 7 power modules. Each module has three
small boxes that will contain a mark indicating a remaining use of that
module. The module will be grayed out if they are no remaining uses.
In the lower center is the radar screen. Blue dots are obstacles, yellow dots
are enemies, and red dots are weapons fire (both yours and the enemies).You're
position is in the center.
Below the radar is a meter of your remaining shield strength. When you get hit
it will drop a bit. If you can hit when your shields are gone you will be
destroyed. Easy difficulty allows two continues, and standard difficulty
allow one. Continue reset the score and being in the current system.
The lower right contains your current score and your cannon indicator. The
indicator will be red when the cannon is ready to fire, and blue when it's
reloading. Each shot damages .1 meters of an enemy unit's armor.
=================
3.4 Power Modules
=================
You're capable of carrying up to three of each of the power modules. The
inviso cloak starts with 3 uses in all modes, the others have 3 uses in easy,
1 in standard, and none in hard. Destroy 3 of certain enemies in a row cause
a module pick to appear, drive across it to get it.
EEL Shield (middle left) - Allow you to ram enemies to use their shields
against them. Get a pickup by destroying 3 Prowlers in a row.
MP Thruster (bottom right) - Give you a forward burst of speed. Get a
Sandsleds by destroying 3 Prowlers in a row.
Inviso Cloak (top left) - Make you invisible. Enemies will know your last
visible position and will detect your position when you fire. Recharge by
docking at a Fuel Bay.
Super Cannon (bottom left) - Increase damage done by your cannon fire and
eliminates reload time. Get a pickup by destroying 3 Assault tanks in a row.
Jump Thruster (top center) - Gives you a brief vertical lift. Use in
conjunction with the MP Thruster to jump over enemies.
Get a pickup by destroying 3 Skimmers in a row.
Cat's Eye (middle right) - Detect Cloaked Enemies. Get a pickup by destroying
3 Stalkers in a row.
RC Bomb (top right) - Drop a land mine behind you. Get a pickup by destroying
3 Seekers in a row.
WARNING: The pickups can be destroyed by weapons fire.
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4. Strategy Tips
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If you go head to head against an enemy vehicle, you'll be heading straight
into their weapon fire, thus this practice should be discouraged. If you find
yourself in this situation take a single shot and turn to either side to get
out of the way of the incoming fire.
Turning left or right while tracking an enemy makes you a stationary target
for other enemies, keep moving forwards or backward to avoid this.
Shooting directly at an opponent is almost a guaranteed miss, except at point
blank range or in head to head situation (see above). You'll need to lead
your opponent to hit them it they're crossing your path. The amount of the
lead will vary depending on the enemies speed and the angle it's traveling at
relative to your own trajectory.
If you're at point blank range and head-to-head, consider using the EEL shield
and ram the enemies if it requires multiple hits. Or use the MP Thruster,
Jump Thruster combo to evade it by jumping over it.
A red dot on the radar without a corresponding enemy on the screen is probably
a cloaked enemy. Use the cat's eye if available. Look for these in the sixth
and seventh missions.
Change direction immediately when you hear weapons being fired, if you don't
you likely be hit.
The fuel bays appear in the third and sixth missions. These are the only
places to recharge you shields and inviso cloak. You can't dock with a fuel
bay when cloaked.
You start off with three inviso cloak charges. You could consider using one
per mission at the begin of each mission to allow you to thin the enemy ranks
with reduced risk of being hit, as you'll have a chance to recharge the cloak
in the third and sixth missions.
Try to go for three kills of the same type in a row to get the power module
pickup to drop. This is especial important when facing the assault tanks in
the fourth mission as this will drop the Super Cannon Module which is vital
for defeating the guardians in the fourth and seventh missions. Save one of
the charges for the super cannon for each of them, the remain charge (or two
if you get another pickup in the fifth mission) can be used elsewhere.
If there's an enemy following you, try dropping an RC bomb in its path.
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5. Missions
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There are seven mission in this game. In each mission you need to destroy all
of the enemies to get a guardian to appear. Destroying the guardian will
cause a warplink to appear to take you to the next mission.
NOTE: (from Sahuagin) In certain levels, if you shoot the obstacles enough
they will be destroyed and reveal a warplink allowing you to skip some levels.
(It's either level 1 or 2 that will warp you to the last level iirc).
I'll present strategies for the new enemies for each mission as well as the
guardian for the mission in the following subsections.
=======
5.1 Sol
=======
Enemies: Hovercraft, Sandsleds, Skimmers
Hovercrafts and sandsleds are typical land units, you'll need to lead them a
bit. If you happen to ram into one, back up at take a shot. Try to get
behind them if you can.
The skimmers are a flying unit that can only be hit when they are near the
ground making them difficult to lead. You're best opportunity will be when
its about to go into a dive, which you can lead, or making an attack run at
you.
All of these enemies fall to 1 shot from you cannon.
Guardian: The best way to deal with this large bipedal unit is to back away
from it any keep firing.
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5.2 Antares
===========
Enemies: Laser Batteries, Seekers, Prowlers, Sandsleds
If you see a Seeker ahead of you start backing up and shoot it. If it touches
you it will damage your shield and destroy itself (no points for this).
Laser Batteries and Prowlers both take two hits to eliminate. The Laser
Batteries are stationary, try to line them up from the side to avoid there
fire. Prowlers are otherwise typical land units, threat them like the
sandsleds and hovercraft in the previous mission.
Guardian: Back off a bit while this arachnid unit is beaming down and let
loose a few volleys while it does so. Then pursue it, constantly firing and
steer around the webs it drops as this will slow you to a stop and destroy any
tiny arachnids that it drops.
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5.3 Rigel
=========
Enemies: Laser Tank, Pulsar, Stingers
Laser Tanks require two shots. Otherwise a typical ground unit.
Pulsars are stationary. More dangerous than the laser cannons as they fire in
multiple directions. A single shot destroys them.
Stingers are much like the earlier skimmers. One hit takes them out.
Other stuff: Fuel Bay
Use up you inviso cloaks and take out as many of the enemy units as possible
before using the fuel bay to recharge your inviso cloak and shields.
Guardian: Back away from this flyer when it beams down and fire a few shows.
Keep it in you sights will backing up and fire when it drops of a pair of
walker. Destroy the walkers with one shot each and line up the guardian again
and repeat.
=========
5.4 Deneb
=========
Enemies: Prowlers, Assault Tanks, Guisers, Heavy Cannon Batteries
Assault Tanks are like previous ground units except that they require three
hits to destroy. Do your best to get three of these in a row to fill up your
supply of super cannon power modules.
Guisers are stationary targets that look like obstacles, a single hit will
eliminate that. They don't appear to pose a threat other than being required
killed to get to the guardian.
Heavy Cannon Batteries are stationary target best approached from the side
like the laser batteries. They take four hits to destroy.
Guardian: This guardian is a two legged walker, the strategy of backing away
and firing won't work here. Hopefully you got stocked up on the Super Cannon
module earlier in this system, as it can take the guardian down before it can
close with you.
==========
5.5 Sirius
==========
Enemies: Skimmers, Laser Batteries, Seekers, Assault Tanks
Nothing new here. Try to replenish you super cannon with three assault tank
kills in a row.
Guardian: This guardian appears to be a stationary missile launch. Back away
out of its range, firing constantly. Once out of range, go forward until it
just become visible and you can shoot it with impunity.
===========
5.6 Regulus
===========
Enemies: Stalkers, Heavy Cannon Batteries, Seekers, Guisers
Stalkers are invisible tanks. If you have the cat's eyes you can make them
visible briefly. Otherwise you need to rely on the radar, the brief moment
when they make themselves visible some guesswork, and a bit of luck. Two hits
destroy them.
Other stuff: Fuelbay.
Try to take out as much as you can and use up your inviso cloak before using
the fuel bay to recharge.
Guardian: This guardian looks like a scorpion. You'll need to get behind it
to hurt it. Watch out for the webs that slow you to a virtual stop and the
tiny arachnid that it drops.
============
5.7 Arcturus
============
Enemies: Stingers, Guisers, Pulsars, Stalkers, Seekers, Prowlers
The enemies are much more numerous than previous missions, although all of
them are enemies you've faced before. You should have three inviso cloaks
left from the fuel bay in the previous mission, use them while you thin out
the enemies ranks. Drop any RC bombs you may be carrying, and use any
remaining EEL shield charges for ramming enemies. Make sure you save one
super cannons and maybe an inviso cloak for the final guardian.
Guardian: Gir Draxon drives a tank with some powerful missiles. If you have
a super cannon you can take him out with only a few shots. Defeat him to win
the game.
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6. Briefing Notes
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The following is a transcript of the briefing from the main menu:
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Raven Commander--
The information you are about to view is CLASSIFIED TOP SECRET. Study it
carefully. When you are ready to view the enemies, press the CONTINUE button.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SANDSLED
Armament: Light Laser 2 shots per round
Propulsion: Rocket Thrusters
Speed: 200 kph
Armor: .1 meters
The Sandsled's runners allow it to operate only on those planets that have
sandy or icy surfaces.
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LASER TANK
Armament: Medium Laser 1 shot per round
Propulsion: Nuclear Powered Treads
Speed: 128 kph
Armor: .2 meters
The Laser Tank is the lease dangerous of the Arcturan front line tanks, you it
still poses a serious threat.
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HOVER CRAFT
Armament: Light Cannon 1 shot per round
Propulsion: Jet Turbine/Air Cushion
Speed: 192 kph
Armor: .1 meters
The Hovercraft is operational only on planets with an atmosphere. BEWARE!
This little devil is tenacious.
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PROWLER
Armament: Light Cannon 1 shot per round
Propulsion: Nuclear Powered Treads
Speed: 160 kph
Armor: .2 meters
Speed: 160 kph
The Prowler's powerful weapons are augmented by the new EEL
offensive/defensive shield mechanism. The Arcturan EEL shield is a copy of
our own EEL device.
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ASSAULT TANK
Armament: Medium Cannon 2 shots per round
Propulsion: Nuclear Powered Treads
Speed: 120 kph
Armor: .3 meters
Caution: We Lost 3 scouts when they were attempting to gather information on
this extremely dangerous Arcturan unit.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STALKER
Armament: ??? ? shots per round
Propulsion: Agrav Generator
Speed: ??? kph
Armor: .? meters
We have no holodata file on this top secret Arcturan Agrav unit. Some
unsubstantiated reports indicate the Stalker is equipped with an Inviso Cloak.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LASER BATTERY
Armament: Heavy Laser 2 shots per round
Propulsion: None
Speed: 0 kph
Armor: .2 meters
It has been reported that there is a unit similar to the Laser Battery, that
is equipped with a heavy cannon.
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PULSAR
Armament: Laser? ? shorts per round
Propulsion: None
Speed: 0 kph
Armor: .? meters
Little is known about this recently deployed Arcturan robot unit.
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SKIMMER
Armament: Light Cannon 1 shot per round
Propulsion: Agrav and Rocket Thrusters
Speed: 240 kph
Armor: .1 meters
Federation reconnaissance informs us that there is at least one other type of
Flyer in the Arcturan Armada. All we know is its code name: 'The Stinger'.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SEEKER
Armament: Fission Bomb - shots per round
Propulsion: Agrav Generator
Speed: ??? kph
Armor: .1 meters
Arcturan Seekers will 'home in' on their intended target and detonate.
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OBSTACLES
The obstacles will obstruct movement and block shells and lasers.
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WARPLINK
Colliding with a Warplink will transport you to the next star system.
Warplinks appear only AFTER you have destroyed the Arcturan Guardian for the
star system.
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FUELBAY
Docking with a Fuelbay will replenish your shields. We are certain there is a
Fuelbay in the Rigel System. There may be Fuelbays in other systems.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GUARDIAN
This 'Guardian' was spotted on Sol, controlling the Arcturan units operating
there. Each Arcturan force is believed to have a deadly Guardian Commander.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RAVEN
The Raven is the most advanced destructive vehicle that mankind has ever
developed. You will have to use all the Raven's powers to stop the horror of
Gir Draxon.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some of the enemies have thick armor, and will require more than 1 hit to
destroy.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intelligence intercepted this transmission which originated from Deneb--
"Status Report: Guisers have been deployed. The Terrans will not be able to
distinguish the from..."
The rest of the message was garbled.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You must reach Arcturus and destroy Gir Draxon. He will be commanding the
Flagship of the Arcturan Armada. Good luck on your mission, Commander.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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7. Slowing the game for modern PC's
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The first challenge is getting the game to run on a modern pc. This game plays
a little fast on my 1.8 Ghz machine. While is not to the point of being
unplayable, I still recommend using software to slow it down.
I recommend using Dosbox, an opensource program available at
http://dosbox.sourceforge.net
This software does an admirable job of slowing down old software and emulating
the sound cards of the time. A must have for playing vintage games like this
one.
To installing the game under dosbox, assuming you cd is drive D.
mount c c:\
mount d d:\
d:
install.exe
Select VGA graphics, Sound Blaster DAC for Music and Audio, and Sound Blaster
Midi for Sound Effects. The SoundBlaster settings are necessary to hear the
voices in the game.
Install to C:
Run the game using
C:\Dynamic\stellar7.bat
(the mount command need to be entered first in Dosbox)
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8. LEGAL
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This document is Copyright 2005, 2006 MysticWeirdo aka Warren Grieder.
All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by
their respective trademark and copyright holders.
Permission to host this document is given to the following:
GameFAQs
IGN
Sites that DO NOT have permission and never will:
fuska.nu
cheats.de
CheatCC.com
cheatindex.com
supercheats.de
This file may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for
personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or
otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission,
except GameFaqs and IGN. Use of this guide on any other web site or as
a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation
of copyright.
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9. Contact Information
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For suggestions and/or corrections for this guide please email:
mystic.weirdo [at] gmail.com
The most recent version of this guide will be on www.gamefaqs.com.
Please check there before contacting me with additions/corrections.
Please include Stellar 7 FAQ in the subject of any email
regarding this FAQ.
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10. Credits
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Thanks go to the following:
Dynamix for making this game.
The following sites for hosting this FAQ:
GameFAQs
IGN
Thanks to Sahuagin for mentioning that some obstacles can be destroyed to
reveal warplinks.
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