Star Trek (arcade game)
Encyclopedia
Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator is a space combat simulation
arcade game
based on the original Star Trek
television program
, and released by Sega
in 1982
. It is a vector game, with both a two-dimensional
display and a three-dimensional
first-person
perspective. The player controls the Starship Enterprise
, and must defend sectors from invading Klingon
ships.
The game was presented in two styles cabinets, standard standup and sit-down/semi-enclosed deluxe cabinet with the player's chair modeled after Star Trek Motion Pictures
bridge chairs with controls integrated into the chair's arms.
Unlike most arcade games of the time, the player is presented with multiple views of the playfield, and only one ship per credit. Throughout the game, survival depends on the player's ability to accumulate shields. These are rewarded by docking with starbases, which sometimes must be saved from destruction at the hands of the Klingons.
The control system for Star Trek employed the use of a weighted spinner for ship heading control, while a series of buttons allowed the player to activate the impulse engines
, warp engines
, phasers, and photon torpedoes. The warp button was deliberately placed farther away from the rest of the buttons, in order to force the player to reach for them in heated battle.
The booth version of the game had convenient location of the warp button at the right hand thumb.
, TI-99/4A, the Atari 8-bit family
and Atari 5200
in 1983, Tandy Color Computer in 1984 (as Space Wrek), the Atari 2600
, Commodore VIC-20
, ColecoVision
and the Apple II
.
The VIC-20 version had a bug. Once you depleted your warp power, the ship was still capable of maneuvering, at "Impluse speed." Basically if you held down the warp button and you had no warp energy left, you could maneuver, firing weapons, etc, and take no damage from the enemy ships. Part of the warp effect would also allow you to pass through objects unharmed. So you could fly into/through the Klingons or the Starbase and take no damage. You were invulnerable.
Space flight simulator game
A space flight simulator game is a genre of simulation video games that lets players experience space flight. Highly realistic examples lacking any sort of combat include Orbiter and Microsoft Space Simulator...
arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
based on the original Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
, and released by Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
in 1982
1982 in video gaming
-Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console....
. It is a vector game, with both a two-dimensional
2D computer graphics
2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models and by techniques specific to them...
display and a three-dimensional
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
first-person
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
perspective. The player controls the Starship Enterprise
Starship Enterprise
The Enterprise or USS Enterprise is the name of several fictional starships, some of which are the focal point for various television series and films in the Star Trek franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. It is considered a name of legacy in the fleet...
, and must defend sectors from invading Klingon
Klingon
Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
ships.
The game was presented in two styles cabinets, standard standup and sit-down/semi-enclosed deluxe cabinet with the player's chair modeled after Star Trek Motion Pictures
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
bridge chairs with controls integrated into the chair's arms.
Gameplay
The game makes use of painstakingly synthesized speech, since memory costs at the time made the use of sampled audio almost prohibitive.Unlike most arcade games of the time, the player is presented with multiple views of the playfield, and only one ship per credit. Throughout the game, survival depends on the player's ability to accumulate shields. These are rewarded by docking with starbases, which sometimes must be saved from destruction at the hands of the Klingons.
The control system for Star Trek employed the use of a weighted spinner for ship heading control, while a series of buttons allowed the player to activate the impulse engines
Impulse drive
In the fictional Star Trek universe, the impulse drive is the method of propulsion that starships and other spacecraft use when they are travelling below the speed of light. Typically powered by deuterium fusion reactors, impulse engines let ships travel interplanetary distances readily...
, warp engines
Warp drive (Star Trek)
Warp drive is a faster-than-light propulsion system in the setting of many science fiction works, most notably Star Trek. A spacecraft equipped with a warp drive may travel at velocities greater than that of light by many orders of magnitude, while circumventing the relativistic problem of time...
, phasers, and photon torpedoes. The warp button was deliberately placed farther away from the rest of the buttons, in order to force the player to reach for them in heated battle.
The booth version of the game had convenient location of the warp button at the right hand thumb.
Ports
Star Trek - Strategic Operations Simulator was ported to most of the contemporary computers and consoles of the era; namely Commodore 64Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, TI-99/4A, the Atari 8-bit family
Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips...
and Atari 5200
Atari 5200
The Atari 5200 SuperSystem, commonly known as the Atari 5200, is a video game console that was introduced in 1982 by Atari Inc. as a higher end complementary console for the popular Atari 2600...
in 1983, Tandy Color Computer in 1984 (as Space Wrek), the Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
, Commodore VIC-20
Commodore VIC-20
The VIC-20 is an 8-bit home computer which was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the PET...
, ColecoVision
ColecoVision
The ColecoVision is Coleco Industries' second generation home video game console which was released in August 1982. The ColecoVision offered arcade-quality graphics and gaming style, and the means to expand the system's basic hardware...
and the Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
.
The VIC-20 version had a bug. Once you depleted your warp power, the ship was still capable of maneuvering, at "Impluse speed." Basically if you held down the warp button and you had no warp energy left, you could maneuver, firing weapons, etc, and take no damage from the enemy ships. Part of the warp effect would also allow you to pass through objects unharmed. So you could fly into/through the Klingons or the Starbase and take no damage. You were invulnerable.
External links
- Star Trek - Strategic Operations Simulator at GameFAQsGameFAQsGameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...