27) Star Strider

[thealmightymudworm]

From TUFFF...

daikoku said:

I thought I'd give this a go.  Odd, thinks I taking it down from the shelf, it's in mint condition, unread even.  Then I started playing and remembered why.
 
It's awful.  Really, really awful.

The set up is woefully clunky and my mission was about as thrilling as a trip to Sainsbury's.

What does everyone else think?

[thealmightymudworm]

From TUFFF...

paltogue said:

I may not have read this since I first got it in 1987. I remember it being awful, and not only coz I don't care for Sci-Fi. For me definitely one just to complete the collection.

[thealmightymudworm]

From TUFFF...

daikoku said:

I do rather like sci-fi but just not in FF.  I think having read the likes of Clarke, Gibson, Verne, Wells, Adams, Asimov etc my expectations had been raised too far.

There's even a few shocking examples of product placement for the likes of Coke and Access (now Mastercard), that might have escaped my attention as a 7 year old but are pretty obvious now:

'[the MegaCorp Android] eventually takes your credit card and utters what you will soon recognize as a traditional Earth, "That'll do nicely."'

Worst of all is the nannying deduction of a SKILL point right at the start if you choose to have a cocktail on the shuttle to Earth. I was imagining a ride much like the drop-ship Cheyenne in Aliens ("one express elevator to Hell") and I'm a nervous flyer, blast it!

[thealmightymudworm]

From TUFFF...

masterchief said:

I quite enjoyed it, apart from the ridiculously crap instant deaths and the generic writing. I do enjoy a couple of Luke Sharp's books in general though; ok they'll never win any awards for being the best written material of even good FF really, but they supply me with a welcome break-from-the-norm when I'm deciding what to play. And I have to say, I thought the Houlgan's description in the rules section of the book was pretty well done


~ Vae Victis! ~

[thealmightymudworm]

From TUFFF...

kieran said:

I think it starts well - I like the pretentious aliens and the houlgans and the variety of things you can do, but as it goes on the humour diminishes and the difficulty becomes extreme. Also it's pretty sloppy - vehicle combat rules make no sense, most of the terminals you access aren't helpful and it's unclear whether you can exceed your initial stats.

[thealmightymudworm]

From TUFFF...

masterchief said:

kieran said:

...it's unclear whether you can exceed your initial stats.

I think you can... Yes it's unusual, but for two reasons: One, the fact is never stated in the rules that you can't as it is with other FF, and also right at the beginning of the book (paragraph 1) you get this:



The android asks you what you will have. Do you reply

Nothing            (Turn to 199)

A cocktail         (Turn to 69)

Food cubes       (Turn to 203)

If you choose food cubes, on paragraph 203 you are instructed to "Add 1 STAMINA point". It's not possible to have lost any STAMINA before choosing this option.

For me, that cements it: Yes, Luke Sharp is a sloppy writer but surely not sloppy enough to make a mistake like that with the very first decision you have to make in the book.


~ Vae Victis! ~

[thealmightymudworm]

From TUFFF...

The Editor (Alex B) said:

None of the above matters (although perhaps it might make the gameplay a little more streamlined). I just remember being a very excited young 'un playing this book. I recall enjoying it a lot as I battle to save the President.

Mind you... I don't ever recall finding Sky Lord as wacky-out-there as everyone else seems to think it is.


(328) Despite your best efforts, you find yourself decaying in front of a computer screen. Your adventure ends here.

[thealmightymudworm]

From TUFFF...

kieran said:

masterchief said:

I think you can... Yes it's unusual, but for two reasons: One, the fact is never stated in the rules that you can't as it is with other FF, and also right at the beginning of the book (paragraph 1) you get this:



The android asks you what you will have. Do you reply

Nothing (Turn to 199)

A cocktail (Turn to 69)

Food cubes (Turn to 203)

If you choose food cubes, on paragraph 203 you are instructed to "Add 1 STAMINA point". It's not possible to have lost any STAMINA before choosing this option.

For me, that cements it: Yes, Luke Sharp is a sloppy writer but surely not sloppy enough to make a mistake like that with the very first decision you have to make in the book.

That's my interpretation too. But doing that means you end up with a lot of Luck points which doesn't seem quite right either.

[thealmightymudworm]

From TUFFF...

masterchief said:

Yes, I know what you mean, plus, it always feels like I'm cheating!


~ Vae Victis! ~

[thealmightymudworm]

From TUFFF...

wilf said:

I'd never noticed the dropping of the Initial rule before!

I do like my sci-fi, but it seems FF very rarely did it right.  Rebel Planet is a good one, and I like Star Strider, too, but they're the only ones.

Star Strider is the exception to another rule, too: it's the only Luke Sharp book I actually like.

[thealmightymudworm]

From TUFFF...

a moderator said:

It always pays to check the rules for variations from the norm.

(Except with all the Wizard reprints that used the wrong ruleset.)

Beneath Nightmare Castle has no restrictions on exceeding Initial Skill, but standard limitations apply for Stamina and Luck. Knowing that makes the potion that gives you +4 Skill for just one fight a lot more useful.

[thealmightymudworm]

From TUFFF...

hynreck said:

First time reading Star Strider. First impression: Meh.

Keep in mind though: while I was reading this book, I was also moving in a new place, and keeping very busy with all sort of things. So my attention was obviously divided. So that's that.

I wouldn't say it was awful. But it sure ain't great either. Part of the problems in the meh department comes from the illos themselves: the cover seems unattractive, quite bland and dangerously close to boring, and inside illos by Gary Mayes are just something I've got lots of difficulties with. They're not bad unto themselves; I just hate that type of - borderline technical - drawings.

The lazy Space Opera writing is also a problem (as is the lazy writing on it's own, let's not forget). The book is peppered with annoying scify Z-grade movie terms, thrown on every pages for no other reason but to "sound" futuristic and cool. Why a friggin' Space Dagger? Isn't a dagger good enough? What more can be find in a SPACE dagger for cryin' out loud? What the heck is a Gravity Second? What does it do? It's beyond geek language; even geeks will be left scratching their head... it's bad geek; it's geek translated by Babel Fish or some other automated translation program.

Then there's all the ridiculous deaths. Sometimes it's not so much that they are ridiculous as they clearly spells the author's intentions and/or the laziness of the process, as he gives you options that might seems logical, but all he does is that he quickly takes those options away, replaced by a quick death with barely no reasons nor explanations.

I did enjoy exploring Earth's future, going through non-fictitious cities even if it wasn't very thorough. And the book did offer some fun moments and entertaining humour. But overall, it failed to excite me. Maybe in the future, though, who knows, with the right set of mind...


Speak in extremes, it will save you time.

[thealmightymudworm]

From TUFFF...

milk said:

This is one of my favourite SF FF books. Well my favourite actually with rebel planet (which in my opinion starts great and considerably gets worse). Not to say it's awesome but I think it's solid even if yes I did mind some of the cheap wrong turn or decision instant deaths but they are certainly no worse than they can be in OTP books like House of Hell. So the cover is bad. True. Otherwise, solid, not great, but solid.

[thealmightymudworm]

From TUFFF...

kieran said:

milk said:

So the cover is bad. True.

I quite like the cover actually. My tastes in FF covers seem to be quite different to the norm (the cover of Demons of the Deep for instance does nothing for me).

[thealmightymudworm]

From TUFFF...

wilf said:

I think Star Strider has a fantastic cover.  What's so bad about it?

[thealmightymudworm]

From TUFFF...

hynreck said:

I guess Space Faun aren't my thing.


Speak in extremes, it will save you time.

[thealmightymudworm]

From TUFFF...

slloyd14 said:

masterchief said:

I think you can... Yes it's unusual, but for two reasons: One, the fact is never stated in the rules that you can't as it is with other FF, and also right at the beginning of the book (paragraph 1) you get this:



The android asks you what you will have. Do you reply

Nothing (Turn to 199)

A cocktail (Turn to 69)

Food cubes (Turn to 203)

If you choose food cubes, on paragraph 203 you are instructed to "Add 1 STAMINA point". It's not possible to have lost any STAMINA before choosing this option.

For me, that cements it: Yes, Luke Sharp is a sloppy writer but surely not sloppy enough to make a mistake like that with the very first decision you have to make in the book.

I had a different thought on the "Add 1 stamina point" before you have even lost any.

I don't think Luke Sharp intended you to exceed your initial scores but he still put in that food cubes restore stamina for consistency.  In his book, eating food cubes restores stamina, so he would communicate this in the paragraph.  It also gives you a clue as to how you can restore stamina.  If the food cubes didn't restore stamina, it would make the food cubes rule inconsistent.

[thealmightymudworm]

From TUFFF...

masterchief said:

That's an interesting point; as in, he used it as a tutorial of sorts that would stick with you, so if you got into a spot of bother further down the line you know that you have a way to restore lost STAMINA?

I guess this can only be answered on way, by the man himself, if he remembers of course.

It raises the question - How were the books originally published? I mean, once the commission was given to write a full 400 reference adventure, how were the rules approached by the author? If they just had to explain any extra rules and then the editors fit them in, then that COULD mean Luke Sharp deliberately asked them to leave out the initial stats ruling. If they submitted rules themselves based on a template given by the publisher, then they could have been edited out by him. The only thing I can think of is that Puffin made an error when printing the rules.


~ Vae Victis! ~

[thealmightymudworm]

From TUFFF...

a moderator said:

There's no obvious reason why he couldn't have said something along the lines of 'normally eating food cubes will restore STAMINA, but as you're already at maximum, these ones just leave you feeling comfortably bloated'.

[thealmightymudworm]

From TUFFF...

bleh said:

The best sci-fi FF imo, better than Rebel planet, which I didn't care for back in the old days.

[a moderator]

Salvaged from the 'Books in Order' thread:

So, the President has been kidnapped by the Gromulans (at least it's not the Klinkgons or the Vulcrans, and it's a few years too early for the Blorg, or even the Feprengi), and as the region's top-ranking Rogue Tracer, I get quasi-blackmailed into trying to get him back. And how does the best bounty hunter in the system look?
Sk 12
St 20
L 11
F 11
Yes, I can believe that someone like that could rise to such a rank. But this is a Luke Sharp book, and an early one at that, so I'm still doomed.

As this book does away with all attribute caps, I start off by exceeding my Initial Stamina. Once I reach Earth, a quick word with Marvin establishes that I will have to take the bus. My ID attracts unwelcome attention at the checkpoint, but like a Kappa I keep a level head, and when interrogated I don't do the one thing Rogue Tracers never, ever, ever do (which makes me wonder why I was even given the option of doing it). For no adequately explained reason, the Grom commander tries to scare me, but the CGI is too unconvincing to trouble me, and back on the bus I go.

Business intrudes on breakfast time, as a wanted man I've already apprehended once assumes I'm back for more of the same, and abandons his croissants. My Catchman works, neatly gift-wrapping the fugitive for the law to collect, and back at the diner I chat with the proprietor and miss breakfast. Still, I did get a potential contact in Madrid, so it's not all bad.

In sunny Spain I am approached by an android, but consider its advances a little too 'forward', and don't flirt with it. What are the chances that the first bunch of Houlgans I encounter in the city will be the ones about which I've been told? Naturally, they are, and before long I'm being treated to scampi and given a choice of breaking-and-entering jobs that could give me a chance to log on at whereisthepresident.grom. Anything I find at the Plaza de Toros is likely to be bull, so I choose to make things awkward for the aliens at the hacienda. Mr Sharp's fondness for penalising people who throw doubles prevents me from getting in, but as the anti-intruder illusions were set by someone who doesn't cheat at Chess, I make it back to the station unharmed, yet none the wiser.

Onwards to Rome, where I see no locals to imitate, but do spot a familiar face, and decide to say hello. She's in my line of work too, and on the trail of a man named Orvium, who's stolen something that sounds like it could provide me with useful info, so I offer to help out. She has two leads, so we opt to check one each. The Roxyrama sounds that bit too tacky for me, so I head for Gino's to check out the ice cream. Again my ID gets the Groms excited, but they want Orvy as much as I do (albeit for different reasons), and send me on my way. En route I run into a gang of androids demanding maintenance with menaces, and as I don't have time to call the customer service line, I think back to my computer programming days, and try Run. Given that my Stamina has risen to 29, I outpace them with ease, and proceed to my intended destination. As luck (or possibly gamebook design) would have it, Orv is there, giving someone a good kicking. He has too many cronies with him for me to let my fists do the talking, and he insists on my playing 'the game' before he'll do business with him. Not, alas, Chess, Snakes and Ladders, or even the TWoFM boardgame, but Russian Roulette. This could get nasty - it is going to get nasty, but maybe not for me. Nine pulls of the trigger later, my opponent loses his head.

I request an opportunity to check that the gear he's selling is genuine, and get 30 gravity seconds to test it out. Are they a proper measurement of time, a misused term like the parsecs in which the Millennium Falcon did the Kessel Run, or a silly SFnal fabrication of Sharpie's, on a par with sticking 'space' infront of any noun to make it sound futuristic? Regardless, I use a somewhat awkward-sounding interface to get close to the data I seek, and come across what's either a bit of useful information in the right context or the number for a clue in a massive crossword puzzle.

Orvium is suddenly more keen for me to stay and have a drink than to make arrangements for getting the cash I made out that my employers were willing to pay for his ill-gotten goods. Sounds like a trap to me. My attempt at flight proves unsuccessful, and I am knocked out (strangely without Stamina loss), coming to in some partially-flooded catacombs. A few ludicrously easy rolls are all that stand between me and escape.

Not entirely surprisingly, I miss my bus. I get a lift with a shady-looking character, and must choose between telling him my real job or giving an unconvincing lie. I risk the truth, and discover that he's a pirate just as I'm gassed into further unconsciousness.

Judging by the crates to which I'm chained when I come round, I'm now in Paris. Local low-lifes have paid good credits to see me and a Gigantian kick the stuffing out of each other. Despite his height advantage, I play David to his Goliath. The audience wanders off to find me a nastier opponent, but leave me close enough to my equipment that I'm able to send out a signal. Bunch of amateurs. I am rescued by my erstwhile ally from Rome, still hot on Orvy's trail.

Resuming my quest, I risk responding to a call, and get unfeasibly lucky: a Grom whose Illus-o-Scope and androids are all out of action owing to a malfunction has mistaken me for a repairman. I tell him to show me what I need to know about Monsieur le President, or I'll fix him. He provides me with coordinates for London, plus the data I got from Orvium and a further bit of code. On the way out, I encounter the actual repairman and his android escort (the protective kind, rather than an indication of odd proclivities), and create a little extra work for the man from PowerTech.

Feeling the need to be on my way, I see a craft with no obvious indications that it's bound for London. The alternative is to return to the Silverhound terminal, despite never having been there before, so I stow away on it after all. It does take me to London, and the poster I find there shows the significance of the inadequately-described logo that would've been a clue if I'd figured out what it was. Time to go exploring the Tube, and I am deeply disappointed that the Presidential coordinates I discovered do not indicate him to be at Mornington Crescent.

I start in Brixton, and 'borrow' the speedboard from the cover illustration. Speeding between the closing metal doors with ease, I proceed to Victoria. From there I go on to Green Park, and stay on the Victoria Line to head to Oxford Circus. Switching to the Central Line, I advance to Tottenham Court Road, but there's no time for visiting Forbidden Planet or any of the Charing Cross Road second-hand bookshops right now, especially as the line is blocked, and I'm going to have to make a detour via Leicester Square and Covent Garden. Alas, I never get to hear Yeti massacring soldiers above ground, as the treacherous Groms have replaced a stretch of the Piccadilly Line with metal spikes. No 'Mind the gap'-style warnings, either.

[deadshadowrunner]

Who exactly is the alien on the cover anyway?It is YOU?I mean,the book states you find a hoverboard and a laser sword thing at teh underground section.
I certainly did not read SS end to end,so for those experts out there,who is the alien?

[kieran]

No, it's not you, it's an enemy you can meet in the underground, I forget what it's called.

I think the hero of SS is meant to be human given that he/she was entrusted with saving the human president and that he/she is accepted by the Houlgans in Madrid who are supposed to be anti-alien.

[deadshadowrunner]

Oh,okay,thanks,didn't really pay attention to those details.

[a moderator]

Feb 2, 2015 13:50:45 GMT kieran said:

No, it's not you, it's an enemy you can meet in the underground, I forget what it's called.

It's a Horned Dog-Faced Guard. Not the most imaginatively-named opponent Luke Sharp's ever come up with.

[vastariner]

The book smacked a little of being knocked off in record time. It was as if the author couldn't wait to hurry through the scenario. Also it was a step back in terms of difficulty - after all, who would have chosen the wine in the first paragraph, and how could you gain stamina before you'd lost it?

I think there was a much better gamebook to be written about dystopian earth - Joe Dever for instance did so in an American setting - and it was wasted on Star Strider.

[kieran]

how could you gain stamina before you'd lost it?

Star Strider has no rule about exceeding your Initial stats.

[cyranotheswordfish]

Despite owning this book, I've never really played it much as I learnt early on that my copy is missing a page! To this end, if somebody could upload a scan or otherwise communicate to me the details of references 61-64, I would be immensely grateful.

Thanks! (I promise to make a more useful post on this book soon!)

[a moderator]

In brief:
61

SPOILER: Click to show

Five heavily armed men come after you. You run. Roll three dice: if the total exceeds your STAMINA, the men catch and kill you. Otherwise, you get away (turn to 376).

62

SPOILER: Click to show

The north and west exits from this chamber are blocked. Deduct 2 TIME units. Will you go east (139), north-east (318), south-west (21), south (48), or south-east along a small modern tunnel (82)?

63

SPOILER: Click to show

You overpower the Android, and have time to ask one question before it self-destructs:
Where is the President kept? (259)
Where are Grom secret records kept? (339)
How to get into the administrative building? (281)
What do the Groms know about your mission? (102)

64

SPOILER: Click to show

You are correct. The terminal tells you the President is not in Madrid, but in a high-security Base. It starts to provide coordinates (ref: 169A), but then asks for a security code you don't know, and says 'ILLEGAL ACCESS' when you hit a random key (turn to 124).

[cyranotheswordfish]

Thank you! Much appreciated