Starcross

[Starcross Image]

The year is 2186. Humanity has established colonies on the Moon, Mars, and several of the larger asteroids. Earth's sky is dotted with space habitats, and the spaceways are always busy. As usual, there is the urgent need for energy to power this advanced civilization; one of the primary sources of that energy is quantum black holes. In Starcross, you are a black hole miner, scouring the asteroid belt in your one-man survey ship. Finding and harnessing a single black hole can make a person's fortune. It's a lonely business, fraught with the known and unknown hazards of space. You've equipped your ship, the mining vessel Starcross, with the best gear you could afford. You've put everything into this venture, and though you've tried before, you somehow sense that this time will be different. The ship's computer handles the functions of navigation and routine maintenance. You watch the sophisticated mass detector as it unceasingly scans the vicinity for uncharted masses. To assuage the tedium of your long trip, you browse through the compact tape library, a compendium of human knowledge and culture. But the drone of the shop gradually lulls you into a deep sleep. As you sleep, you dream of the riches which would be yours if your search for a quantum black hole is successful. Little do you suspect that your mass detector is about to jolt you out of your dream - but not to grapple with the long-sought black hole. Your quest has taken an unexpected turn, for you are destined to rendezvous with a gargantuan alien spaceship from the outer fringes of the galaxy.

Overview

Title Starcross
Working Title A Gift From Space
Author David Lebling
Difficulty Expert
Product Code IS1

Game Statistics

Rooms 86
Words 557
Objects 25
Opcodes 6566

Packaging Details

The old "Folio" packaging of Starcross consisted of a flying saucer box containing a space map and an instruction booklet.

The re-release of Starcross used the standard box format which consisted of a grey box with coloured horizontal stripes. It contained a "Log of the M.C.S. STARCROSS", a space map, and "Bureau of Extra-Solar Intelligence" instructions for alien encounters.

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This page was freely adapted from Peter Scheyen's excellent Infocom Site