THE SPECTRUM GAMES DATABASE

STARQUAKE

PUBLISHER
Bubble Bus

AUTHOR
Stephen Crow

YEAR
1985

CATEGORY
Platform

DESCRIPTION
Explore a large colourful maze, finding the correct objects to
save the Earth.

CONTROLS
Redefinable keys, plus Kempston, Sinclair and Cursor joysticks.

INSTRUCTIONS
In order to save the Earth from a rogue planet, you must take
control of BLOB (Bio-Logically Operated Being) and repair the
planet's core. At the start of the game you have just crash
landed on the planet and must explore the flick-screen play-area
to find the core. Once at the core you will notice it looks like
a number of objects. Collecting these objects and bringing them
to the core will repair it, once piece at a time, until the whole
thing is complete.

Nasty flying beasts are out to get you, and you are equipped with
a laser (with limited energy) to kill them. Most nasties will
drain your energy apart from the ones that look like spinning
tops, which will destroy you immediately! You are also given a
supply of bridges, which you can build beneath you to form
platforms up to unreachable sections. However, these bridges
don't last long and soon crumble away to nothing! Further
supplies of energy, laser and bridges can be picked up along the
way.

To make things easier for BLOB, he can use the various pieces of
equipment scattered around the place. The most useful are the
flying platforms. Step on one of these and push UP and you'll
take off! Flying around the place is much easier than walking,
but you can't manipulate objects whilst using a platform, you
must find somewhere to land first! Teleports are also a useful
way of moving around, providing a handy short cut back to the
core! In order to open some doors you will need to find a key
(which is in a different place every game), but by far the most
useful item in the whole game is the access card. Once found,
this will allow you to use the security doors which sometimes
block your way, and will also allow you to use the trading
pyramids. The pyramids will allow you to trade one of your
objects for a more useful one - more often than not one of the
objects needed to repair the core!

Along the way, BLOB will encounter many different things,
including vacuum tubes (which suck him up to higher levels), weak
floors (which he can smash by falling on them from a height), and
secret passages (which are just big enough for BLOB to walk
through and lead to new and exciting places!).

INLAY TEXT FOR STARQUAKE:

From the great abyss of a black hole emerges a danger of awsome consequences
- a planet so unstable that if its core is not rebuilt the resulting
explosion will render the Galaxy a lifeless wasteland. To the rescue, BLOB,
hero of the moment. This Bio-Logically Operating Being is chosen not for his
super intelligence, not for his fearlessness nor for his super powers - his
is the only spaceship available. Out to face danger he goes - trusty
spaceship, flightboard computer and galaxy A-Z. Will he succeed? Will he be
in time?
He'd better, there's no other chance for the world.

STARQUAKE
Message has just reached Earth of an unstable planet emerging from a black
hole somewhere at the edge of the galaxy. If the core of this planet is not
rebuilt it will implode causing the whole universe to go "Ka Boomf!" -
Strewth, a Starquake...

The Bio-logically operated being is chosen for this ultra-dangerous mission -
but why Blob? 'Cause of his mind blowing hybrid capabilities? Or the
artificial intellect of his anti-brain? Nope - 'Cause all the other guys have
pranged their spaceships. So Blob sets off for outer-space in his trusty ship
with just a flightboard computer and a galaxy A-Z for company - Golp, is he
gonna succeed? - Will he even get there? - Or will the universe and Blob go
blip?...

- Gosharooties who knows? But all these and many more answers must be
questioned before it's too late!!!

CONTROLLING BLOB
Keyboard:
O Left P Right
A Down or lay bridging platform Q Up or pick up an object
M Fire Also user definable key option

Joystick:
Use Sinclair Interface 2, Kempston or Cursor Joystick.
Pause game with BREAK/SPACE key and key or joystick action to restart.
Abort by pressing keys ASDFG simultaneously.

GALAXY A - Z
Blob Teleports
Walking Plants
Flying Spikes
Dropping Lunar Undergrowth
Pause Key Platform Packs
Anti-Gray-Lifts Key Code Cards
Stars Pieces of Core
Weapon Zapping High Density Cloud
Planet's Core Rocky Lunarscape
Electrons Molecular Structures
Zap Rays Impalers
Energy Packs Space Hopper Pads
Abort Option Antimatter Objects
Flexible Thingydoo Space Locks
Chepos Pyramids Joystick Options
Olly Superb Sound
Space Hopper Key
Bridging Platform Game Tunes
Weapon Packs User Defined Keys
Bonus Lives Spaceship
Re-Equip Packs Skeletonauts
Secret Passages Smash Traps
Flowers Mushrooms
Signposts

Bubble Bus Software
87 High Street, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1RX England.
Copyright (C) 1985 Bubble Bus Software. All rights reserved.

CHEATS
Use the Multiface to enter POKE 50274,0 for infinite lives and/or

POKE 54505,201 for infinite energy.

Here is a complete list of the teleport codes, which may prove
useful -

EXIAL, VEROX, RAMIX, TULSA, ASOIC, DELTA, QUAKE (takes you
straight to the core), ALGOL, EXIAL, KYZIA, ULTRA, IRAGE, OKTUP,
SONIQ, AMIGA, AMAHA.

SEQUELS/PREQUELS
None.

SCORES RECEIVED
Did pretty well as far as I can remember, but I don't have any
magazines on hand.

GENERAL FACTS
Steve Crow previously wrote Wizard's Lair (an Atic Atac clone)
for Bubble Bus. He went on to work for Hewson and wrote/co-wrote
several other games such as Firelord and Zynaps.

This is one of the few games that includes an "exit the game"
option on the main menu! Pressing it displays a fun picture and
then resets your Speccy!

Starquake was successfully converted to many other formats
included the "new and exciting at the time" Atari ST and Amiga.
In my opinion, though, none of the other versions matched the
playability of the Speccy original! The teleport codes were
different in every version.

The original tape version had a very interesting loader. The
loading lines in the border were black and blue until about three
quarters of the way through loading, whereupon they burst into
multicoloured life.

NOTES
Starquake isn't very difficult to finish (I can do it every time
now), but the important thing is that it always remains fun to
play. The objects are randomly placed every game, so there's no
chance of getting bored. It's fast, it's varied, it's fun, it's
colourful, it's very playable. What more could you ask for?
Starquake was inspired by a hundred other games and spawned a
hundred clones, but I still find this the best of a (rather
large) bunch.