Stellar 7

"Stellar 7" is a futuristic tank simulation computer game based on the arcade game "Battlezone" in which the player assumes the role of a tank pilot. The enemies include anything from other tanks to mechanical birds. Several years later a sequel game, "Nova 9" was released. The game's creator, Damon Slye, created similar tank games, including "Arctic Fox".

"Stellar 7" was developed by Dynamix, which is now defunct.

Game Description

The original game was written by Damon Slye in the 1980s for a variety of home computer platforms. It had minimalistic, 3-dimensional wireframe graphics. The player's tank (the Raven) had a front-facing cannon with an unlimited supply of bullets. The cannon could fire up to two shots at a time. The tank also had a cloaking device that, when triggered, would render it invisible to enemies for about a minute. Gauges on the left side of the screen indicated the amount of shields and power remaining. The tank started with enough power to cloak twice, and power slowly trickled away as the time passed. The game ended when either shields or power ran out.

Each of the seven levels representes a different solar system, hence the title. The player's objective is to get to the last level and defeat the enemy boss, Gir Draxon. Each level is depicted as a nearly featureless plain dotted by geometric obstacles, some indestructible and most not, and various enemies. After the player destroys a certain number of enemies, a "warplink" will appear that provides a gateway to the next level. The levels are:

# Sol: Its regular grid of "indestructible" obstacles provides plenty of cover. The relatively weak set of enemies includes sandsleds, skimmers, and hovercrafts. The guardian here is easy to defeat. Just keep moving backwards while staying clear of the obstacles.
# Antares: The laser batteries make their first appearance here, along with seekers and prowler tanks. Obstacles are fewer and farther between than on Sol. The easiest way to destroy the arachnotron assault vehicle is to employ the exact opposite tactic used to defeat the first guardian: move forward and engage it up close (before the spider eggs hatch to deal serious damage).
# Rigel: Rigel is most notable for its fuel bay, which restores the player's shields and power. This level introduces the laser tanks, pulsars, and stingers. To defeat the guardian, move backwards and sideways, firing at it while it decends. Watch out for the attack robots.
# Deneb: Deneb is the first level that features destructible obstacles. Assault tanks are seen for the first time in addition to cannon batteries. The guardian here is similar to the one on Sol, but moves much quicker, making it almost impossible to defeat without special weapons.
# Sirius: Sirius mostly consists of flying enemies that circle the player, landing only briefly to fire. Moving in a backwards circle most of the time seems to be the best tactic against such. Watch out for the three seekers that home in from the left at the beginning. Attack the guardian from the rear to avoid its cannon.
# Regulus: This level has another fuel bay and introduces the dreaded inviso-cloaked stalker tanks. The guardian is similar to the one on Antares, but does a lot more damage. Special weapons may prove useful.
# Arcturus: Arcturus features the confrontation with Gir Draxon. While using special weapons is not necessary, be sure to avoid ramming his annihilator, which has a super eel shield.

pecial Weapons

The special weapons can be accessed by pressing the tab key to toggle between the different icons at the bottom left of the screen and then pushing enter. The chosen icon will turn purple while activated. Each weapon is represented by a certain symbol (see bottommost screenshot above) and can be used up three times, depending on the difficulty setting. The weapons consist of the following:
* Inviso-cloak (bird) – Makes the player invisible for a short time. When activated, the screen will turn red.
* Eel shield (bird with dotted circle) – Shields the player from enemy projectiles while destroying anything that comes in physical contact with the Raven for a duration of time.
* Yellow projectile (cannon) – Does more damage than the standard cannon; often proves useful against guardians.
* Jump (arrow) – Launches the player into the air.
* Mine (spike ball) – Instantly destroys an enemy that runs it over.
* Infrared vision (eye) – Allows Inviso cloaked Stalker tanks to be seen as wire outlines on the screen.
* Turbo thrust (rocket booster) – Gives player a forward speed boost for a few seconds.

External links

*moby game|id=/stellar-7|name="PAGENAME"
* [http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/stellar7/stellar7.htm "Stellar 7"] at GameSpy