|
Post by champskees on Oct 5, 2013 0:28:37 GMT
Starship Traveller is a unique entry in the FF series as you do not need to roll any dice to complete the adventure (aside from generating your starting stats). This solution is the 'true path' solution; it is quick, it is boring and uneventful, but it can be fun and satisfying finding this on your own.
- Press on towards the life bearing system ahead. - Leave orbit & continue onwards. - Plot a course to avoid it. - Press onwards. - Leave orbit & continue onwards. - Investigate the small grey planet. - Tell them to return to your ship. - Seal off the docking bay. - Evacuate the air from all the affected sections. - Head for the blue planet. - Beam down & visit the planet. - Thank him, but politely decline. - Accept his offer & go through the portal. - Step forward through the portal. - Go left. - Go left. - Go right. - Go left. - Step off the path into space. - Add Note: Sector 159. - Continue into deep space. - Continue onwards. - Ignore the planet & continue on your journey. - Enter hyperspace & jump towards a small black planet. - Ignore this planet and proceed towards another. - Beam down to the planet. - Follow the child. - Search for a passage to your own universe. - Record Stardate 21. - Honour your agreement. - You have the time & space coordinates of the black hole. - 159 - 21 = 138. Turn to Para 138. - You have made it through the black hole and back into your own universe. You have successfully guided the Traveller and its crew, safely home.
|
|
|
Post by vastariner on Oct 12, 2013 13:22:38 GMT
One of the best visualizations of the solution to any FF book is this one: And it's one of the first I saw...
|
|
|
Post by a moderator on Oct 12, 2013 15:04:06 GMT
That is magnificent.
Though my pedantic streak will not let go of the fact that the book doesn't have 400 sections.
|
|
|
Post by johnbrawn1972 on Apr 16, 2016 21:42:37 GMT
I am not going to be so pedantic as to post an identical solution when every character can be 7-14-7 and the solution is set in stone.
|
|
|
Post by weaselfierce on Dec 5, 2019 17:29:22 GMT
Not sure if OP is still around (or remembers!) but I am curious: Does the solution skip so many of the planets because they are risks that don't further the mission or are any of them "Visit here and you are now unable to finish the book" ?
|
|
|
Post by a moderator on Dec 5, 2019 18:01:14 GMT
TTBOMK, most of the skipped planets are just unnecessary risks, but visiting Dar-Vil, the second Ganzig ship or the starport means not getting to visit a planet where essential information is to be found.
|
|
|
Post by weaselfierce on Dec 5, 2019 18:15:10 GMT
Interesting. As a kid, I never could finish this one but I also couldn't resist landing on everything
|
|
|
Post by Akharis on Jan 15, 2020 12:53:09 GMT
There's a map for Starship traveller at the twitter account:
@bvkjxqz
Check it out! :-)
|
|
vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
|
Post by vagsancho on Jan 15, 2020 16:05:00 GMT
There's a map for Starship traveller at the twitter account: @bvkjxqz Check it out! :-) Curse of the Mummy... WOW...
|
|
|
Post by Charles X. on Jul 11, 2021 21:42:29 GMT
Starship Traveller had the potential to be one of the best books in the series. I didn't like the way they did it; I felt it was like a tribute, short and unambitious, without even the need for any random rolls in the true path. I don't doubt there might be worthy fan fiction\amateur out there which has taken the concept further, there deserves to be. There hasn't been a new sci-fi in the new FF books (don't think BOTZ counts, being set in the present, not the future).
|
|
|
Post by misomiso on Aug 17, 2023 19:14:07 GMT
One of the best visualizations of the solution to any FF book is this one: And it's one of the first I saw... Can anybody see this map?
When you google Starship traveller map it comes up as a link to this forum, but the image is very small and you can't really make out anything.
If anybody can let me know how to access it that would be helpful!
Ty
|
|
|
Post by scouserob on Aug 17, 2023 20:21:03 GMT
|
|
|
Post by vastariner on Aug 18, 2023 6:17:45 GMT
That's the one - here it is slightly tweaked and enlarged...
|
|
|
Post by misomiso on Aug 19, 2023 20:02:38 GMT
Perfect ty
|
|
|
Post by paperexplorer on Mar 16, 2024 2:16:00 GMT
Maybe I'm alone on this, but surely using prior knowledge and only landing on planets with useful information is against the spirit of the book. Surely a captain desperately searching for information is not going to bypass planets like the optimal solution suggests
|
|
Per
Traveller
AHAHAHA!
Posts: 139
Favourite Gamebook Series: Morris VR, some FF, Chalk LW
|
Post by Per on Mar 16, 2024 21:21:49 GMT
Well, that's why it's called "optimal solution" and not "some stuff that could happen".
|
|
|
Post by paperexplorer on Mar 17, 2024 6:45:28 GMT
I guess that's the difference between seeing it as a game to be clocked rather than a story to be read
|
|
|
Post by CharlesX on Mar 17, 2024 10:45:34 GMT
It's a bit like choosing the middle door in Masks Of Mayhem or guessing Kylltrog is who you're there to heal in Citadel Of Chaos. If anything there's definitely a logic about bypassing planets in the same way there's a logic about bypassing a door that will kill you out-of-the-blue (apologies for comparing Steve Jackson with Ian Livingstone) especially in a space scenario. From a gameplay pov I prefer gamebooks by Jon Green or Keith Martin where you explore most of it at a time, over city adventures or very badly-written out-there gamebooks like Chasms Of Malice and Sky Lord. So, that Starship Traveller is a good bit shorter than the average FF just adds to that negative.
|
|
|
Post by scouserob on Mar 17, 2024 11:08:25 GMT
Compare it with of House of Hell.
I'm sure 99% of people in the place of that protagonist would, after finding themselves upstairs, head straight down those stairs, straight to the front door and then straight to the kitchen and certain death.
Using prior knowledge gained through failed adventures isn't against the spirit of the game, it is an integral part of the game (and where I derive a large amount of the fun and enjoyment.)
The solutions are just the ultimate refinement of those journeys, the culmination of of playing and replaying through every possible branch and then attempting to calculate which is the optimal route to take through to victory.
|
|
trialmaster
Wanderer
Enter your message here...
Posts: 62
Member is Online
|
Post by trialmaster on Mar 17, 2024 12:09:16 GMT
Much as I admire gamebook writers such as Keith Martin, my preference is to have to make numerous attempts to be able to really explore all available routes, regardless of whether they are on the one true path. Although it gets bad press I don't actually mind the occasional generic left, right, straight on etc options as these create much more routes for exploration in future play throughs as long as they are done well. This is why my favourites tend to be the classic IL adventures or books like COH or LOTSW rather than books such Legend of Zagor or Crystal of Storms where you can pretty much explore everything in one (very long) sitting.
|
|
|
Post by paperexplorer on Mar 19, 2024 9:15:18 GMT
Compare it with of House of Hell. I'm sure 99% of people in the place of that protagonist would, after finding themselves upstairs, head straight down those stairs, straight to the front door and then straight to the kitchen and certain death. Using prior knowledge gained through failed adventures isn't against the spirit of the game, it is an integral part of the game (and where I derive a large amount of the fun and enjoyment.) The solutions are just the ultimate refinement of those journeys, the culmination of of playing and replaying through every possible branch and then attempting to calculate which is the optimal route to take through to victory. I don't disagree to any of this, my comment is purely that the solution has been too refined and takes away from the story. The captain should be searching everywhere for clues, not skipping planets. "Captain, shall we beam down and search for clues?" "Nah, I'm just not feeling this plant." I don't have this issue with other books btw, so probably a design fault with the book
|
|
|
Post by scouserob on Mar 19, 2024 10:18:24 GMT
I'm with you now, and I agree. 👍🏻 (I somehow thought you were criticising the solution itself. 🤷🏻♂️)
From a design perspective, I would have liked the optimal solution to have plenty of away party action, including at least one of each of the battle types (Hand-to-Hand, Ship-to-Ship and Phasers ... especially Phasers).
Knowing which planets to fly away from (most of them) does feel a lot more artificial, and whole lot less fun, than improbably managing to choose all the correct turnings, rooms, and side tunnels in Deathtrap Dungeon.
So, yeah, I'd say it is definitely a design fault as of all the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks that I've completed this is the only one where replaying it whilst following the optimal path is as dull as dishwater. Even Blood of the Zombies will give you a fast-paced action-packed ride before you die. (And I prefer playing Blood of the Zombies' 0.0% chance of success to Starship Traveller's 100% chance on the optimal paths.)
|
|
|
Post by vastariner on Mar 19, 2024 10:56:42 GMT
"Captain, shall we beam down and search for clues?" "Nah, I'm just not feeling this plant." Maybe the captain just wants to leaf it alone.
|
|
|
Post by CharlesX on Mar 19, 2024 15:59:22 GMT
I've read in TinMan App's version you have a random 1 in 6 chance of getting victory outcome via black hole if you do not have even both co-ordinates. Unfortunately my understanding is everything else in the App (that isn't cosmetic) is the same. Having alternate ('useless') co-ordinates is a bit weird, because like The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain some are in interesting and active locations. Another missed opportunity, perhaps . For example, the harder-to-reach co-ordinates could have had a high chance of success for those who rolled well on their starting stats, with a moderate chance of success via the standard route with perhaps no dice rolls until the end.
|
|
|
Post by paperexplorer on Mar 21, 2024 23:15:50 GMT
"Captain, shall we beam down and search for clues?" "Nah, I'm just not feeling this plant." Maybe the captain just wants to leaf it alone. That's the root of the problem
|
|
|
Post by linflas on Mar 22, 2024 7:22:54 GMT
I've read in TinMan App's version you have a random 1 in 6 chance of getting victory outcome via black hole if you do not have even both co-ordinates. Unfortunately my understanding is everything else in the App (that isn't cosmetic) is the same. I remember some helmet to pick up that is not is the book.
|
|
|
Post by CharlesX on Mar 22, 2024 8:12:16 GMT
I've read in TinMan App's version you have a random 1 in 6 chance of getting victory outcome via black hole if you do not have even both co-ordinates. Unfortunately my understanding is everything else in the App (that isn't cosmetic) is the same. I remember some helmet to pick up that is not is the book. Interesting. Is this helmet essential to victory and do you have to run risks to pick it up? If not it would ultimately be cosmetic, like I was reckoning.
|
|
|
Post by scouserob on Mar 22, 2024 8:23:46 GMT
I remember some helmet to pick up that is not is the book. There is a (possibly different) helmet in the book on the purple planet with the Population Controllers. You get it in #160 when you disable all the PCs by trying to contact the Traveller. You discover via the Electronics Lab on the Traveller, in #269, that it will increase your SKILL by 1 point whilst wearing it.
|
|