"Star Trek: Shattered Universe" FAQ
Version 1.0
First made in June 2004 for my own use. Decided later to update, edit
and post it for others to use.
Last updated: November 2004. Decided to finish the advice for all parts
and put the emphasis on entertainment and Star Trek fan interests.
Collected and written by Neil
Disclaimer and general information:
The purpose of this FAQ is partially to collect all of the bits and
pieces of advice for the game into a single location and put them in a
logical manner. I am also including my own findings from playing the
game that might deviate from what others say. I will make this FAQ in a
form that hopefully enhances the enjoyment of others and give notes on
my preferences.
Here is a list of web sites that contain information that are used
in this FAQ:
http://boards.ign.com/Star_Trek:_Shattered_Universe/b6348/
http://www.planetps2.com/stsu/chatlog.shtml
http://dynamic6.gamespy.com/~stsu/index.php?p=livechat (Same as above)
http://www.planetps2.com/stsu/tipsandcheats.shtml
http://dynamic6.gamespy.com/~stsu/index.php?p=cheats (Same as above)
http://www.a2zweblinks.com/cheats-guides/playstation2/s/star-trek-
shattered-universe.htm
http://www.neoseeker.com/forums/index.php?fn=browse_forum&f=5835
Thanks also for TDK and Starsphere Interactive. Some of the
information is paraphrased from their booklet and interviews.
The game is rather enjoyable in that it allows you to see graphics
of scenes from the original series and movies and fight it out with the
most notable opponents. The one part that might get on a lot of
peopleÕs nerves is the high difficulty of the game even on Easy mode.
Hopefully this FAQ will of use for others.
This FAQ will be arranged in rough chronological order.
Before beginning, you may want to make sure your screenÕs brightness and
contrast are sufficiently high, since there are times when your fighter
craft enters shadows of large objects and it can be difficult to see
what is going on the screen.
Beginning Section
When you first get by the title screens you will be given two
choices in the lower right hand corner that you can change with the
arrow keys and select with the X button. Pressing the Triangle button
cancels the selection.
New Game: Which is just starting a new game.
Load Game: Loads game from memory.
Load Game selection causes a diagram of the ship Excelsior to
appear with a dotted deflector section lighted up. Press the arrow keys
to move among the different saved files to find the one that you want.
After that you get to the Main Menu Section.
Main Menu Section
You will see a scene of the main bridge of the Excelsior. From
here you can move with the arrow keys to the different menu selections
with a corresponding view of the bridge. In general, the X button
selects the choice and Triangle button cancels the current menu location
and goes back.
Main Screen View (Play choice)
While looking the main screen you can activate various codes to
help make things easier. When the code has been entered, the name of
the code will appear in the upper-right hand corner of the view for a
few seconds. They are:
All Ships: L1, Square, L1, R1, R1, Circle, Select.
All ships give access to all ships.
All Missions: R1, L1, Circle, Square, L1, R1, Triangle, Select.
All missions give access to all missions and nearly all movies.
All Medals and Ranks: L1, R1, L1, Circle, R1, Triangle, L1, Select.
All medals and ranks is something that can be viewed in the Options
section of the menu. It does not appear to have any other effect on the
game.
Kobayashi Maru Difficulty Level: L1, Triangle, L1, L1, Square,
Triangle, R1, Select.
Kobayashi Maru difficulty level is a level of difficulty above Hard. It
also unlocks the remaining movies ("4.2 Conclusion" and "Closing
Titles").
Invincibility: L1, Circle, L1, R1, Triangle, Triangle, Circle,
Select.
If you are a dedicated game player it is suggested that the only
ones to be used are "All Ships" and "Invincibility" as the others would
be gained through simple playing and have no effect on how you play.
If you are more interested in just the Star Trek aspects and only
expect to be a casual player at most, then it is suggested that you use
the rest of the codes so you can see the movies and look at the medals
and ranks. Also check out "Mission 5 Š The Way of All Empires" in the
walkthroughs for your can just have fun playing with the fighters and
training.
Invincibility just makes your selected fighter ship immune to
standard weapons. Your fighter can still be destroyed by gravitational
wells, exploding capital ships, and similar hazards. You can still fail
missions easily, since it does not make Excelsior any more resistant to
damage. The main use for this is so that you can draw enemy fire away
from Excelsior by acting as an aggressive decoy for enemy fire. The
Invincibility code must be entered each time that you load the game to
function, since it ceases whenever you exit the game and is not stored
in saves of the game.
If you select Play, you get the Mission Briefing Screen / Star Map.
Excelsior makes its way from the bottom of the map to the top. The top
of the map has a row of squares that keep track of what difficulty level
you have completed in the game. The mission you are currently selecting
is highlighted on both the star map and the top row, with the name of
the mission in the upper right. You can change the highlighted mission
by pressing the arrow keys. Press the X button to enter the mission and
choose your fighter and the type. From there you will enter the game.
Chair Controls View (Options choice)
There are a number of sub-menus in the Options. Some you will only
need to check a few times, though others are for enjoyment of fans of
the show.
Difficulty Setting. You can select settings of "Easy", "Normal",
and "Hard". If you unlock it, you can also obtain "Kobayashi Maru"
(Very Difficult). Most people will just stick with "Easy" as it is
difficult enough for non-dedicated game players.
Audio Setting. You can change the volume and stereo for "Music
Volume", "Sound Effects Volume", and "Voice Over Volume". "Music
Volume" is the background music, and I prefer to lower it from the
initial setting so that it does not distract from the fight. "Sound
Effects Volume" are things like the sounds of equipment, and I prefer to
leave it around the initial setting. "Voice Over Volume" is generally
when Sulu tells you about mission updates or the current state of
Excelsior, and I normally leave it near the initial setting though it
can be lowered a little as the helpfulness of his statements varies
greatly in giving you hints on what you should be concentrating on at
that time. Do not make set the Voice Over Volume to a level that you
canÕt hear it, since there are certain key events that must be done in
order when Sulu says to do something.
Controller Configuration. You will probably want to test this
option on which controller arrangement works best for you. There are
three types. I strongly recommend looking over all the controls, since
some controls that is very useful to trigger that most players ignore.
Configuration is A is the default and may be what most people will be
comfortable with. Configuration A is the default and is good for casual
players. Configuration C can be useful for more advanced players.
The cinematic function is useless, since it only interferes in
playing. Target lock on what is nearest reticle is very useful
function. Toggle view can be useful.
Controller Configuration A:
L1: Roll left
R1: Roll right
L2: Reverse thrust
R2: Forward thrust
Up button: Next capital
Left button: Previous target
Right button: Next target
Bottom button: Next enemy fighter
X: Fire primary (referred to in this FAQ as "primary system")
Square: Fire secondary I (referred to in this FAQ as
"secondary system"
Triangle: Target lock on what is nearest nearest reticle
Circle: Fire secondary II (referred to in this FAQ as
"tertiary system")
L stick: Steering control
R stick: R3 button controls cinematic function
Select: Toggle view between forward view and "default third
person" view
Start: Pause
Controller Configuration B:
L1: Fire primary (referred to in this FAQ as "primary system")
R1: Fire secondary I (referred to in this FAQ as "secondary
system"
L2: Reverse thrust
R2: Forward thrust
Up button: Next capital
Left button: Previous target
Right button: Next target
Bottom button: Next enemy fighter
X: Fire secondary II (referred to in this FAQ as "tertiary
system")
Square: Fire secondary II (referred to in this FAQ as
"tertiary system")
Triangle: Target lock on what is nearest nearest reticle
Circle: controls cinematic function
L stick: Steering control
R stick: Roll control
Select: Toggle view between forward view and "default third
person" view
Start: Pause
Controller Configuration C:
L1: Target lock on what is nearest nearest reticle
R1: Fire primary (referred to in this FAQ as "primary system")
L2: Fire secondary II (referred to in this FAQ as "tertiary
system")
R2: Fire secondary I (referred to in this FAQ as "secondary
system"
Up button: Next capital
Left button: Previous target
Right button: Next target
Bottom button: Next enemy fighter
X:
Square:
Triangle:
Circle: controls cinematic function
L stick: Thrust and roll control
R stick: Steer control
Select: Toggle view between forward view and "default third
person" view
Start: Pause
View Starfleet Record. You can look at your promotions (ranks) and
medals. Ranks are: Recruit, Shuttle Pilot 4th Class, Shuttle Pilot 3rd
Class, Shuttle Pilot 2nd Class, Shuttle Pilot 1st Class, Ensign,
Lieutenant Junior Grade, Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, and
Commander. Medals are: Starfleet Citation for Conspicuous Gallantry,
Preantares Ribbon of Commendation, Grankite Order of Tactics (Class of
Excellence), and Starfleet Medal of Honor
View Ships. You can look at some of the ships in the game and
rotate them around to look at them in various views.
View Movies. This has the various introduction and ending scenes
of nearly all the missions and the overall game. It has some nice
graphics that is worth looking at and comparing with the original
television show that they were drawn from. See the walkthrough section
for where the movies fit into the game.
View Credits. To see a list of those who made the game.
Exit Game.
Deflector Console View (Load Game)
Same as the Load Game menu at the beginning.
Door View (Save Game)
Same as the Load Game menu, except that this saves the game rather
than loads.
Fighter Ship Types
Here is a list of the various fighter ship types that the player
can use during the game. The Speed, Hull, and Shield ratings are
derived from physically measuring the "measurement bars" during the
fighter ship selection screen (14 is maximum, 0 is minimum), and this
appears to be accurate in how the ships handle in the game. Note: I
call "Secondary I" and "Secondary II", "Secondary system" and "Tertiary
system" respectively to avoid confusion within the FAQ.
In general, the higher the system type number, then the more
powerful it is though the slower the rate of fire or usage. Secondary
systems are generally good for damaging capital (large) ships. Guided
weapons goes to a target if fired while on screen and target locked.
MIRV weapons are guided weapons that can turn into multiple weapons a
short distance after being fired. While primary and secondary systems
can be used together and the primary and the tertiary systems can be
used together, the secondary and tertiary systems canÕt be used
together.
Name: Imperial Wraith, Type 1
Speed: 13.5
Hull: 7
Shield: 10
Primary system: Phaser Beam 6A
Secondary system: Phaser Bolt 1
Tertiary system: Photon Torpedo 1
Name: Imperial Wraith, Type 2
Speed: 13
Hull: 7.5
Shield: 11
Primary system: Phaser Beam 6B
Secondary system: Phaser Bolt 2
Tertiary system: Photon Torpedo 2 (2 torpedoes)
Name: Imperial Wraith, Type 3
Speed: 12.5
Hull: 8
Shield: 12
Primary system: Phaser Beam 8A
Secondary system: Phaser Bolt 3
Tertiary system: Photon Torpedo 2 (2 torpedoes)
Imperial Wraith notes: Fastest of the Imperial fighters. It is the
fighter that you start out with. Weakest ship design in terms of
weapons and defenses.
Name: Imperial Spectre, Type 1
Speed: 12.5
Hull: 8
Shield: 11.5
Primary system: Phaser Beam 6A
Secondary system: Phaser Bolt 2
Tertiary system: Photon Torpedo 1
Name: Imperial Spectre, Type 2
Speed: 12
Hull: 8.4
Shield: 11.5
Primary system: Phaser Beam 6B
Secondary system: Pulsed Phaser Bolt 1
Tertiary system: Guided Photon Torpedo 2 (2 torpedoes)
Name: Imperial Spectre, Type 3
Speed: 11.5
Hull: 8.6
Shield: 13
Primary system: Phaser Beam 6B
Secondary system: Pulsed Phaser Bolt 2
Tertiary system: Guided Photon Torpedo 2 (2 torpedoes)
Imperial Spectre notes: Comparable to the Imperial Wraith overall,
trading speed for better weapons and defenses.
Name: Imperial Phantom, Type 1
Speed: 12.8
Hull: 9
Shield: 12.5
Primary system: Phaser Beam 6A
Secondary system: Phaser Bolt 3
Tertiary system: Photon Torpedo 1
Name: Imperial Phantom, Type 2
Speed: 12.2
Hull: 9
Shield: 13.4
Primary system: Phaser Beam 8A
Secondary system: Pulsed Phaser Bolt 2
Tertiary system: MIRV Photon Torpedo 1 (4 torpedoes)
Name: Imperial Phantom, Type 3
Speed: 11.5
Hull: 10
Shield: 14
Primary system: Phaser Beam 8B
Secondary system: Pulsed Phaser Bolt 3
Tertiary system: MIRV Photon Torpedo 2 (8 torpedoes)
Imperial Phantom notes: Best of the Imperial ships. Speed is
comparable to the Imperial Spectre. Weapons and defenses overall are
among the best of all the fighters. Type 3 is the only ship where the
MIRV torpedoes can destroy a fighter in a single salvo if they all hit.
The recharge/reload time for the MIRV torpedoes are the fastest of all
the fighters.
Name: Orion Corsair, Type 1
Speed: 12
Hull: 8.7
Shield: 12
Primary system: X-Meson Beam 1A
Secondary system: X-Meson Bolt
Tertiary system: Kaon Torpedo
Name: Orion Corsair, Type 2
Speed: 11.5
Hull: 9.6
Shield: 12
Primary system: X-Meson Beam 1B
Secondary system: Pulsed X-Meson Bolt
Tertiary system: Pion Torpedo
Name: Orion Corsair, Type 3
Speed: 11
Hull: 12
Shield: 13
Primary system: Pi-Meson Beam 2A
Secondary system: Pulsed Pi-Meson Bolt
Tertiary system: Guided Pion Torpedo (2 torpedoes)
Orion Corsair notes: Overall it seems to perform similar to
Imperial Spectre with even more speed being traded off for better
weapons and defenses. The weapons appear to perform less than the
Imperial Phantom though.
Name: Klingon Bird of Prey, Type 1
Speed: 14
Hull: 9
Shield: 12.3
Primary system: Guided Photon Torpedo 1
Secondary system: Disruptor Bolt 1
Tertiary system: Plasma Cannon 1
Name: Klingon Bird of Prey, Type 2
Speed: 13
Hull: 8.9
Shield: 12.5
Primary system: Guided Photon Torpedo 2 (1 torpedo)
Secondary system: Disruptor Bolt 2
Tertiary system: Plasma Cannon 1
Name: Klingon Bird of Prey, Type 3
Speed: 12.5
Hull: 9.4
Shield: 13.3
Primary system: MIRV Photon Torpedo 2 (4 torpedoes)
Secondary system: Pulsed Disruptor Bolt 2
Tertiary system: Plasma Cannon 2
Klingon Bird of Prey notes: Faster than the Imperial Phantom. The
weapons appear to be more focused on fighting capital ships than fighter
type targets. Defenses are slightly less than the Imperial Phantom.
Weapons are less than the Imperial Phantom.
Name: Romulan Shrike, Type 1
Speed: 13
Hull: 10
Shield: 11.5
Primary system: Disruptor Beam 1A
Secondary system: Disruptor Bolt 1
Tertiary system: Cloaking Device 1 (Temporarily makes ship "invisible"
to opponents)
Name: Romulan Shrike, Type 2
Speed: 12
Hull: 12
Shield: 12
Primary system: Guided Plasma Torpedo 1
Secondary system: Pulsed Disruptor 1
Tertiary system: Cloaking Device 2 (Temporarily makes ship "invisible"
to opponents)
Name: Romulan Shrike, Type 3
Speed: 11.7
Hull: 14
Shield: 13
Primary system: MIRV Plasma Torpedo 2 (5 torpedoes)
Secondary system: Pulsed Disruptor 2
Tertiary system: Cloaking Device 3 (Temporarily makes ship "invisible"
to opponents)
Romulan Shrike notes: Cloaking device prevents usage of secondary
systems for some time, and they take a while to "recharge" between
usage. Speed is comparable to the Imperial Phantom. If the cloaking
device is not used, the weapons appear to be slightly better than the
Klingon Bird of Prey, but the Plasma Torpedo is slow in getting to the
target.
Heads-Up-Display Screen View
This description will not be as detailed as the manual, since you
will generally be too busy than give a quick glance at any particular
information.
In the upper-left hand corner is information of whatever is
currently being targeted. If it is an enemy it will be given a red
surround, while a friendly will be given a green surround. The top bar
is the current shield strength. The bar below that it is the current
hull strength. The bar below that displays the distance between your
ship and that ship. The bottom bar displays the name of the target.
In the upper-right hand corner is the information on your craft.
The top bar is your current shield strength. The bar below that is your
current hull strength. The bar below that is your current mission timer
that counts down to mission failure. The two bars below that display
the recharge/reload rate of your primary and secondary (and tertiary)
systems. To the right of that is your local radar.
A target lock symbol surrounds whatever your ship is currently
targeting. This symbol changes to triangular arrow pointing in the
nearest direction. The arrow is red for enemy, and green for allies.
Crosshair is the symbol that is the front of your ship and points
to wherever your unguided weapons will go.
Target lead is normally a yellow symbol that shows where your
currently target locks ship will be for your unguided weapons. Make
sure your crosshair is on the target lead for using unguided weapons.
Excelsior is given a blue triangular arrow.
Crisis timer is something that appears on the bottom of the screen
when a capital ship is about to explode. This timer is how long you
have to get far enough away from being caught in the explosion. The
minimum distance needed is somewhere over 100.
Gravity well appears in the middle as a grid-like pocket that
deepens as you get closer to the danger of something that has a high
gravitation effect, generally planets and stars. If the symbol gets too
deep, your ship is destroyed. Your ship gives a smoke-like effect
during this time.
General Strategy and Tactics
It is a good idea to note the three types for each ship fighter and
how they affect the performance. Type 3 is the most powerful version,
but you may want one with different systems. In particular, consider
how the simultaneous firing (holding down the buttons rather than
tapping) of primary, secondary or the primary and tertiary, and the
individual usage of systems fits into your fighting style of various
threats for a given mission. It appears that most weapons have an upper
range of roughly 150 as measured by left readout in the upper left
corner of the screen, and this rather short range should be gotten a
feel of so you know which targets are closer and not require chasing
after to attack them. The practical limit of your weapons is closer to
100 for anything that moves with any appreciable speed, such as
fighters. Capital ships can hit you from a lot further away than the
range of your weapons, and capital ships generally have a range of about
200.
Picking up objects is probably best done with toggle view to the
forward view, since the default third person view can lead you to miss
the target due to the off-center perspective.
Watch out for getting too close to "gravity wells". You will see a
gravity well symbol appear on your screen with the "depth" indicating
how much danger you are in and your ship appears to give a "smoking"
effect. If it gets too "deep" your ship is destroyed even if you have
"Invincibility" on. Usually you will see a planet or other celestial
body nearby that is the source of the gravity well, so you can just
change your direction to be more away from it.
Enemy fighters and capital ships will normally have shields that
form a bubble around them. The shields can regenerate as long as some
of the shield is still there, but when the shields are completely
damaged then the shields will not normally regenerate. When the shields
are down then it is possible to get even closer capital ships. Romulan
capital ships will not normally be able to cloak when their shields are
depleted.
If you are using MIRV type weapons against large numbers of fighter
type targets and you are sure a single salvo will destroy one, then here
is a tactic to use to speed up your rate of kills: Target lock a fighter
on screen, fire one or two salvoes, then instantly switch a different
target without waiting for the salvos to hit.
It should be noted that torpedoes and similar weapons have a
relatively low rate of fire and are rather slow, so be able to hit fast
moving targets with beam and bolt weapons too as some missions require
that level of skill when you have to destroy large numbers of small
targets in a short period of time. For fast moving targets, means being
able to aim at the target lead reticle rather than the current position.
You will often find it useful to use the button that target locks the
nearest ship to your crosshair rather than using the buttons of the next
target, which might not be the closest target.
Make sure that the targeted enemy craft is not with ExcelsiorÕs
shields or hull in the way or you could end up damaging Excelsior
instead.
Simultaneous continuous firing of the secondary and primary systems
are the best way to destroy capital ships, by holding down both of the
appropriate buttons. The official best way is to use rapid firing
weapons (beams and secondary systems) to take down the shields followed
by unguided torpedoes or cannons, but it seems the way mentioned at the
beginning of this paragraph is much faster and less complicated.
There appears to some limited AI in the capital ships that can
cause them to run away by warping out of combat when their shields are
completely gone, sustained some hull damage and a short period of time
has passed. This action only occurs infrequently so do not rely on it
much. It is possible that if you damage the warp engines or the
connection points with the rest of the ship that it prevents from being
capable of running away, but this is only really known in Mission 8
(From HellÕs Heart). When they warp in or warp out, there is a brief
cinematic view that unfortunately takes up time and canÕt be cancelled.
If you want to rely on pure skill on fighting capital ships, as
opposed to the invincibility code, after you knock down the shields you
will need to be able to position yourself at a point where the capital
ship canÕt hit you from "blindspots" in the firing arcs of the weapons.
This is usually just behind the engines (like warp nacelles). This can
be the impulse engines of the saucer sections of the imperial capital
ships. In some cases, it is better to position yourself so that the
shipÕs own warp nacelles are between you and its weapons. Some people
alternate between forward thrust and reverse thrust to help throw off
the aim of capital ships.
Whenever a capital ship is damaged enough to completely deplete the
hull, it will soon explode. This causes a "crisis timer" to appear and
you will need to be somewhere over 100 away from it to escape the
explosion. When it explodes there is a brief cinematic view that takes
up time and canÕt be cancelled. "Invincibility" mode will not protect
you from this explosion. The explosion distance can be used to take out
other enemy targets if they happen to be close enough. Make sure you
are moving in the direction of the next enemy by the time the crisis
timer ends so that you can spend the cinematic view time getting to the
next target.
If you are using the "Invincibility" mode, it is often useful to
use the "Reverse Thrust" function to almost "hover" in place when
attacking capital ships.
When it comes to listening to SuluÕs statements it is best to
separate them into two categories.
The first category is the status of the ExcelsiorÕs shields and
hull and existing conditions. An example is when he says the
ExcelsiorÕs shields are buckling or the hull is nearing critical damage.
Basically, ignore these statements beyond knowing the ship is taking
damage. Similarly, you can ignore when he is telling you the current
reading on the mission timer if it is just interfering with your
concentration. A gray area is when Sulu announces something is in the
area without specifically saying to destroy it.
The second category is mission critical statements. Examples
includes directions to go after fighters or capital ships. Generally,
whenever he says to do something at that time, it is best to do it.
This is because the game missions follows a script of certain events
that occur in a certain order. Trying to do something ahead of time
generally causes a mission failure (Such as trying to shoot the docking
clamps in the Renegade mission before Sulu tells you to). Sometimes
SuluÕs commands may not make much sense to you, but he is your
commanding officer. Aside from that, you are free to do whatever you
want.
Walkthroughs
Movie placement is also included here with the number and title as
given in View Movies function of the Option Menu. I will also include
mention of scenes that I consider to be good from a fan point of view.
If you are just a casual player and want to practice flying various
craft, then just go to Mission 5, where I will point out the part where
you have unlimited time to practice maneuvering and using your weapons.
You can try out your other controls and get a feel for finer points of
enjoying the game. It is the one mission that I personally enjoy
playing over and over for that reason and is far less stressful than any
other mission.
Unless stated otherwise, it is assumed that the Difficulty is set
to Easy.
Teaser movie
This is a prologue movie for the story in which an accident causes
the crew of the ship Excelsior to be sent into a "Mirror Universe". The
scenes of the Excelsior crossing over universes is nice.
Opening Titles movie
This is patterned after the original television seriesÕ opening
title sequence.
0.1 Introduction movie. Until Chapter 2.1 you are within Imperial
(Mirrorverse version of the Federation) territory.
Checkov, commanding the Enterprise and fighter craft, declares the
crew of the Excelsior to be traitors and attacks.
Mission 1 - Shattered Universe
Attack the Enterprise until the shields are down some hull damage
is done to it. The Enterprise will then fire off a bomb and run away in
a cinematic scene.
You then are given a limited mission time to destroy the 4 fighters
that are attacking the Excelsior before the bomb explodes within 4
minutes. Note that the Excelsior will send out some friendly fighters
to help you, though you will end up doing most of the work.
There appears to be no way to destroy the Enterprise even while
hitting it with continuous heavy weapon fire. If you position you ship
in the way of Enterprise, you will be bounced off the ship no matter how
you position yourself
The Shattered Universe is the Mirror Universe of the Original Star
Trek Series where there is an alternate reality where the same beings
exist except evil. In the missions there will be events that show that
there are other differences as well.
0.1 Conclusion movie
Excelsior is forced to head to another vortex to return to their
home universe. The graphics of the vortex collapsing and the Excelsior
heading out is pretty good.
1.1 Introduction movie
This gives an overview of the situation in Imperial space.
Mission 2 - Fire & Ice
You are sent on a scouting mission with a limited mission time.
You proceed to 6 asteroid listed as "navigation points". Go to each of
them, destroy them at short range and go straight over that location to
pick up material for the Excelsior. During this, you will be fighting
Klingon fighters in small disorganized groups.
A Klingon capital ship shows up, and you just scare away the
capital ship by destroying its shields and a little hull. The Imperial
ship named Renegade shows up and it will get credit for scaring the
Klingon capital ship even if you were the doing all the damage when it
runs away.
1.2 Introduction movie
The Renegade escorts you to a starbase for repairs, apparently due
to CheckovÕs message of ExcelsiorÕs renegade status not yet reaching the
starbase.
There are some nice graphics of the Excelsior passing by the
starbase and entering into the drydock.
Mission 3 - Renegade
The Excelsior is being repaired in drydock when it turns out to be
a trap. While it is being repaired, quickly fly to the starbase and
destroy the antenna on top to prevent more enemy fighter reinforcements
beyond what is sent before it is destroyed. If you can, destroy any
fighters on your way to the antenna but do not let them distract you
from attacking the antenna. Then head back to the Excelsior to destroy
fighters. Get ready to position yourself to destroy the drydock clamps
when the current mission timer gets down to around 30 seconds.
When Sulu says that the drydockÕs clamps are holding the Excelsior,
you have to shoot the clamps (beam or secondary weapons only) that
between the drydock and the Excelsior, above and behind the bridge of
the Excelsior. The easiest way is to go in from the ExcelsiorÕs front
along its top between Excelsior and the drydock, but you can do this
from the rear as well. Do not shoot directly at the drydock. The
clamps can become target locked during this time. You can try to use
the "target lock nearest target to recticle" button if it will help. It
help to use short taps of the "reverse thrust" to allow for better
aiming at the clamps. You need to destroy the clamps before the drydock
explodes. Do not attempt to destroy the clamps before Sulu tells you to
and you can target lock the clamps, or it will just destroy the
Excelsior.
Then destroy as much enemy fighters as possible before an enemy
capital ship (Renegade) warps in. Destroy the capital ship. Then
destroy any fighters remaining.
The name of the mission is an ironic reference to the name of the
capital ship you have to fight and relationship of the Excelsior with
the Imperial forces.
1.3 Introduction movie
Excelsior is now on the run from a fully alerted Imperial forces.
The Excelsior takes a shortcut across a weapons testing area that turns
out to have been abandoned due to a deranged AI going out of control.
Mission 4 - Tyranny of Numbers (M-5 mission)
The M-5 computer in the original series was a deranged combat
computer that only controlled one capital ship. In this mission, the
Imperial Forces improved on it so that it can control lots of capital
ships and fighters. There are many ways to do this, but basically the
first major part involves destroying the capital ships under its control
as well as the fighters. It should be noted that as long as the M-5 is
still operational, it can send an unlimited number of fighters.
Here is a quick way to take out the first four of the capital
ships. You will need to destroy the first capital ship, identified as
the Hood. You can take on some fighters until the other capital ships
start to move in, though do not let them get close to the Excelsior.
Damage the closest one leaving just enough hull strength above
destruction. When all three enemy capital ships get close together,
destroy the damaged enemy capital ship so that the resulting explosion
destroys the others.
While you are doing that, if you have time or need a chance to let
your shields replenish during your fights with the capital ships,
destroy the fighters attacking the Excelsior.
After you are done with the M-5 ships, an Orion capital ship with
fighters shows up. Destroy the enemy capital ship and its fighters.
Make sure that Orion capital ship is some distance away from the
Excelsior or headed away from it when you destroy it or the explosion
will destroy the Excelsior. As an alternative, if you destroy all the
fighters first, the capital ship will run away.
1.4 Introduction movie
Excelsior reaches the border between Imperial and Klingon space
where there is an Imperial starbase.
Mission 5 Š The Way of All Empires
If you are just a casual player then play this mission first for
getting the feel of the controls and one for which you are likely to get
the most enjoyment for the far less stress.
Another mission with a space station. Destroy the 2 Imperial
capital ships and then the fighters.
At that point, the doors just below the middle of the space station
has been opened to form a small corridor with the dilithium crystal at
the midway point. At this point, you are free to do whatever you wish
for any length of time. You can now just fly around and get the feel
for the game and your fighter. The starbase can essentially take any
amount of weapon hits from you while still releasing debris from the
impacts and it is huge, so you can use it like huge training area for
firing weapons and maneuvering with various ships. This is perhaps the
best mission of the game. When you are done practicing, make sure that
the Excelsior has had time to regenerate its shields if they have not
been completely destroyed in the fight.
Now, fly in the opened corridor and get the dilithium crystals and
head back to the Excelsior. If you are having problems finding the
crystals, scroll through your targeting list and circle around the
appropriate section of the starbase. You may want to increase the
brightness of your screen if the corridor looks too dark.
The Enterprise with fighters shows up again. Chase off the
Enterpise by damaging it and destroy the fighters as fast as you can.
The name of the mission is referred to later in the game in the
movie "3.7 Conclusion". "The way of all empires is to fall prey to the
next one."
1.4 Conclusion movie
It has some nice graphics of the Excelsior.
2.1 Introduction movie. Until 3.1, you will now be primarily within
Klingon territory.
It has a nice scene of the Excelsior moving through a debris field.
Mission 6 - Field of Honor
In this mission, the enemy uses more advanced tactics in how they
attack the Excelsior.
You have to go along 6 navigation points, along which you fight
Klingon fighters.
Then defend the Excelsior against Klingon fighters. They attack in
tight formations of synchronized waves for strafing runs against the
Excelsior. Stay close to the Excelsior rather than chasing after them.
Hose down the incoming formations with as much weapon fire as you can to
disrupt the aim of those you are not locked onto. As an example,
between the firing of guided or MIRV weapons on target locked ships,
have your beam or pulse weapons spraying the other fighters. As soon as
one wave passes, look for the next incoming wave and attack them as they
come in the same way.
Then defend the Excelsior against two Orion capital ships and
fighters. If you destroy one capital ship, the other capital ship runs
away. Generally destroy one capital ship first (unless you can target
some fighters along the way), then while the other is running away you
can spend the time going after the fighters. They will use tight
formations of strafing runs against the Excelsior which can deal it lots
of damage. Use the same tactics as that for fighting the Klingon
fighters.
2.2 Introduction movie
The first hints of the Planet Killer is given. The sound of the
Planet KillerÕs weapon is heard at the end. There is a nice scene of
the Excelsior moving through a debris field.
Mission 7 - A Dish Best Served Cold
This is an unusual mission in that you are trying to help the
Klingons while defending yourself against them.
The Excelsior will be towing away two damaged Klingon capital ships
before they explode. The other Klingons presume you are the enemy and
attack. Ignore the damaged capital ships beyond making sure you are not
close to them. Just stay next to Excelsior, preferably on top, and
destroy enemy fighters that get close to the Excelsior.
A few seconds before the second damaged capital ship explodes, two
Klingon capital ships show up to attack you. Destroy one capital ship
and the other should run away. Destroy the remaining fighters.
If you need help with the capital ships, try hitting the belly of
the ship.
The mission title is a reference from Wrath of Khan movie. It
refers to "revenge".
2.3 Introduction movie
There is some nice graphics of the Excelsior passing by a sun and
the Planet Killer.
Mission 8 - From Hell's Heart (Doomsday Machine/Planet Killer mission)
This mission is an intense fight with Klingons, Imperials and the
Planet Killer from the Original Stark Trek series. The Doomsday Machine
is a large cone-shaped machine that has indestructible armor and big
mouth-like projection that destroys targets. The only way to damage it
is to shove exploding capital ships into its mouth, though the Klingons
will do most of that.
There are actually two ways that you can go about completing the
mission, though the easy way lets the second Klingon starbase get
destroyed by the Doomsday Machine.
When the mission begins, the Planet Killer is seen in the area with
two Imperial capital ships above it acting as its escorts and
controllers as it destroys a base. Two Klingon capital ships warp in.
The first Klingon capital ship attacks the Planet Killer. The second
Klingon capital ship appears next to the Excelsior and attacks the
Excelsior. You have to destroy the Klingon capital ship attacking the
Excelsior. At this point the mission diverges and merges back later
Hard mission sub-branch: After destroying the Klingon capital ship,
chase after the Planet Killer and destroy its two Imperial escorts
before the destruction of the second starbase. This is not easy as they
are traveling very fast. They take a looping path around a "gravity
well". Hopefully the Excelsior holds out against the fighters. The
looping path takes you back to the Excelsior. Destroy enemy fighters
until you get a cinematic scene of an Imperial capital ship warping in,
where the mission branches re-merge back together.
Easier mission sub-branch: After destroying the Klingon capital
ship, destroy the fighters around the Excelsior until you get a
cinematic scene of an Imperial capital ship warps in, where the mission
branches re-merge back together.
Sulu will tell you to disable the Imperial ship that just warped
in. You need to destroy its shields, then disable its warp drive by
hitting it just in front of where the struts of the warp nacelles
connects to the lower main cylindrical section. This needs to be done
before it can try to warp out. Sulu will tell you if you succeeded in
disabling its warp engine. Then back off as the capital ship gets in
the way of the Planet Killer and its destruction serves as the final
explosion that destroys it. If the Imperial capital ships escorting the
Planet Killer are around at the time this capital shipÕs explosion
destroys the Planet Killer, then they will also be destroyed at that
time.
2.4 Introduction movie
There is a scene of the Excelsior moving in formation with Klingon
capital ships.
Mission 9 Š Enemy of My Enemy
You will have to destroy multiple enemy capital ships. One way to
help is to just focus on destroying the shields of the enemy capital
ships first, since they are the portion that regenerates if they are
still intact. This will allow your alliesÕ shots to actually inflict
some hull damage on the enemies. After all the shields of the enemy
capital ships are gone, then you can focus on the destroying their
hulls.
If your ship is powerful enough, then you do not need to do the
above.
2.4 Conclusion movie
The Excelsior leave Klingon territory. The graphics of the
Excelsior moving with star clusters in the background is nice.
2.5 Introduction movie
Excelsior encounters Balok. The scenes of Balok and BalokÕs ship
is from the original television series.
Mission 10 - Balok's War
Balok and the ships are from the Orginal series. The big spherical
ship canÕt be targeted or damaged.
The first part of the mission is to destroy incoming glowing cubes
that are releasing radiation before a set period of time. Stay near the
Excelsior and just destroy the cubes that gets near the Excelsior. You
will not need to use any thrust, just steer around to position yourself
to shoot. The preferable weapons are beam weapons, since they allow you
to spray a number of cubes at one time if it is powerful enough.
The second part is when Balok sends in fighters to attack the
Excelsior. Use the same tactics, except that these fighters move faster
and can shoot. Do not chase the fighters since they will all be
eventually coming near the Excelsior eventually.
2.5 Conclusion movie
There is a nice scene of the Excelsior entering a cloud.
3.1 Introduction movie. Now you will be primarily be in Romulan
territory until 4.1.
Nice graphics of the Excelsior.
Mission 11 - The Excelsior Incident
A wave of Romulan fighters attacks Excelsior. Destroy them.
Then 4 Romulan capital ships appears with several waves of
fighters. All enemy ships can cloak as long as they still have their
shields. See the General Strategy and Tactics section for dealing with
cloaked ships. Emphasize the destruction of the enemy capital ships,
before going after the fighters.
3.2 Introduction movie
There is a nice scene of the Excelsior going through a green debris
field.
Mission 12 - Sight Unseen
Follow SuluÕs instructions in going to various navigational points
and following his instructions. You will be collecting data and
destroying debris. Get ready to suddenly reverse if you suddenly hear
and see a "crisis timer" countdown appear on your screen since some of
the debris are either trapped or explodes after you do enough damage.
This destruction will help clear other debris in one situation. In one
case at the end it will be up to you if you want to destroy the remains
of a ship when Sulu tells you to come back. When he says to return to
Excelsior head back at maximum acceleration and wait for the enemy
fighters there, since they are coming at an angle from a distance.
Destroy the Romulan fighters until a huge Orion capital ship appears.
When the Orion capital ship appears, destroy its shields and bring
its hull to just short of destruction. When the capital ship decides to
move away, wait until it is a distance greater than 150 away before you
destroy it so the Excelsior is not caught in its explosion. Destroy the
enemy fighters after that.
It is strongly recommended that you have the brightness for your
screen set to maximum, since there are gravitation sources that are very
dark in appearance making it hard to know which direction to lessen the
danger.
3.3 Introduction movie
It has some nice graphics of the Excelsior entering a green cloud.
Mission 13 - No Immunity
Before the Excelsior gets to the starbase, destroy the shields of
the two Romulan capital ships. This will disable their cloaking
devices. In case that fails, it should be noted that guided weapons can
home in on cloaked ships as long as you happen to be faced in their
direction when fired. To make it easier, keep hitting the first capital
ship until the second capital ship appears (hopefully you are already
damaging the hull by that time), then head to the second capital ship
and keep hitting it until it is destroyed before going back to finish
off the first capital ship.
The starbase will then deploy an anti-matter bomb held in place by
5 tractor beams below the starbase. You have to destroy all of the
tractor beam emitters in a short period of time. Fly under the starbase
until you can clearly see where the tractor beams are coming from. The
tractor beam emitters are located at the end of the arms sticking out of
the lower-bottom of the starbase along the perimeter. Just shoot up
into where the tractor beams are coming from and proceed either
clockwise or counter-clockwise in destroying them. You can scroll
through the targeting list to target the emitters, but it might be too
distracting given the time limit.
After you have destroyed the tractor beam emitters, destroy the
remaining fighters.
This mission is one of the most troubling in terms of Federation
ethics. The Romulans attempt to destroy the giant space amoeba would
have failed and the Excelsior did have the right plan. The Romulans
would not have listened to a foreign renegade ship of an enemy power to
do it right. So was it right for Excelsior to do all this destruction
to Romulan forces and do would save the universe? In more absolute
terms, it was reckless and destructive. Still it was probably the only
way under the circumstances. It is fortunate that anyone who could have
reported the destruction caused by the Excelsior was killed off by the
giant space amoebasÕs life sucking energy field and the Excelsior was
the only one left to say how they saved the Romulans, otherwise the
Excelsior would be in big trouble with the Romulans.
3.4 Introduction movie
There is a scene of the Excelsior entering the giant space amoeba.
This is based on the original television series when the Enterprise
entered that universeÕs giant space amoeba.
Mission 14 Š Antibody (Amoeba mission)
For the most part, this is played like BalokÕs War, except that
these little amoebas attack the Excelsior. They also are very
destructive if they touch your ship, so you may want to use the
Invincibility mode.
Eventually Excelsior launches the anti-matter bomb, gotten from the
previous mission, against the amoebaÕs nucleus. After that you have to
destroy the rest of the little amoeba fighters using the same tactics.
During that time Sulu will tell you to pick up the torpedo bio-probes.
You will only have a limited time to pick up the torpedoes so make sure
that you can fly straight through the torpedoes accurately to get them
all. After that, finish up destroying the rest of the little amoeba
fighters.
The giant space amoeba was in the Original series. Basically it
gave off a life-sucking energy field and when it gained enough energy it
would have divided at a high rate to threaten the rest of life in the
universe. There was some fan speculation on what the origins of the
amoeba was from, whether it was from some alternate reality or
biological warfare agent.
3.5 Introduction movie
There is a nice scene of the Enterprise. Checkov plans to attack
the Excelsior again.
Mission 15 - Sunstorm
You will have some Romulan escorts with the Excelsior, but you will
need to protect them too. Make sure you do not accidentally target the
Romulans. In addition to the Enterprise there will be other Imperial
capital ships and fighters.
First hit the Enterprise until it is forced to run away. Next
destroy the other 2 Imperial capital ships. Then destroy the Imperial
fighters.
3.5 Conclusion movie
Checkov is sent to Tholian territory for his failure.
3.6 Introduction movie
This has a nice scene of the wormhole threat formation from the
first Star Trek movie.
Mission 16 - Wormhole
This is similar to a scene from Star Trek the Motion Picture (First
movie). The Excelsior is going down a space tunnel where some Imperial
ships have followed and some asteroids are obstacles in the way. You
canÕt leave the wormholeÕs walls as you will bounce off the edges.
Turn around and destroy the Imperial capital ships, then the
fighters. Whenever Sulu tells you asteroids are coming in, quickly go
in front of the Excelsior and destroy the asteroids that are on a
straight collision course for the Excelsior. There are some "gravity
wells" in the wormhole too. First priority is to destroy the Imperial
ships if you are having problems with this mission.
3.7 Introduction movie
Here are scenes of the Tholian from the original television series.
Sulu has a "Kirk speech" moment in this scene. Depending on your
view it is a great homage to the original television series to capture
that way of speaking or pretty funny.
Mission 17 - The Unwound Skein
The Tholians are from the Original Series. You will need to help
out Checkov and protect the Excelsior against the Tholians.
The web spinner fighters are indestructible, so do not target them.
Destroy the Tholian capital ships first. Then destroy the non-web-
spinner fighters.
The web spinners will first be around the Enterprise. Just wait
until the cut scene when the Tholian capital ship and fighters appears
and attack the capital ship then the fighters. After that the web
spinners runs away. Then new web spinners shows up around the
Excelsior. Shortly after that another Tholian capital ship and fighters
appear and you destroy them the same way. After that, the web spinners
runs away again.
3.7 Conclusion movie
Checkov sides with Sulu. CheckovÕs speech references the title of
"Mission 5 - The Way of All Empires".
4.1 Introduction movie
There is a nice scene of the vortex with the Enterprise and the
Excelsior.
Mission 18 - Vortex
You will have to defend the Enterprise and the Excelsior from the
Imperial armada made up of capital ships and fighters.
First destroy the two capital ships attacking the Excelsior. When
the Excelsior moves to help the Enterprise, then destroy the capital
ships attacking the Enterprise. Destroy fighters when possible, but
they are less priority than the capital ships.
Then another Imperial capital ship appears. Destroy that one.
Two more Imperial capital ships appear, but a Klingon capital ship
and a Romulan capital ship appears to destroy one Imperial ship and the
other runs away.
4.1 Conclusion movie
The talk between Sulu and Checkov references the talk between Kirk
and the mirror-universe Spock in the original television series. They
both engage in heavy acting similar to the original television series
that could be considered homage. There is a nice scene of the Excelsior
entering the vortex.
4.2 Introduction movie
There is a good scene of the Excelsior going through the more
turbulent sections of the vortex. There they encounter an irate mirror-
universe Sulu. The mirror-universe Sulu has a "Wrath of Khan" moment
where he curses Sulu for screwing up his life. The other Excelsior then
launches a lot Klingon and Romulan fighters.
Mission 19 - Mirror, Mirror
The last mission to get home. Do not destroy the other Excelsior,
though you are free to knock it down to the red if you want to. This is
probably the one mission where you need to use the Imperial Phantom Type
3 for its MIRV torpedoes against fighters. It will involve 10 minutes
until the Excelsior can fire the dilithium bomb, then another three
minutes for the bomb to trigger the shift back to the original universe.
The other Excelsior will be sending large numbers of waves of
Romulan and Klingon fighters, that appear from somewhere around its top.
Generally position yourself in front of your Excelsior and fire your
MIRV as any enemy fighter or wave of enemy fighters approaches the
Excelsior, quickly switching targets after firing a salvo of torpedoes
and not wait for the salvo hits. Be careful of using phasers as you
could accidentally hit your own allies.
You will often find yourself tailing enemies and firing torpedoes.
For incoming waves, you may want to fire non-target-locked MIRVs to act
as a cloud for the enemy fighters to ram into, but this requires a high
level of skill. Whenever Sulu states that there are more fighters
coming from the other Excelsior immediately position yourself to fight
the next incoming wave of fighters from just above the other Excelsior.
Keep in mind that the Excelsior and other fighters on your side
will also be helping out in shooting at the enemy fighters. You should
generally stay relatively close to the Excelsior since all enemy
fighters will return eventually and you do not want to waste time
chasing those far away. On the other hand, do not get too close to your
Excelsior since enemy fighters will also be targeting you and missed
shots can hit the Excelsior.
To help out with the fighters, at the beginning severely damage the
other Excelsior until it is just short of being destroyed. Then go
after the fighters as described above. This seems to reduce the rate at
which enemy fighters are sent in and distracts the enemy Excelsior into
attacking you instead of the Excelsior during the initial cut scenes.
If you do not take the other Excelsior to this level of damage, then it
is better to not do any damage as it appears that anything in between
actually increases the rate of enemy fighters sent, though you can try
to accelerate briefly to be between the two Excelsiors to soak up some
enemy fire as you angle up to start firing on the first fighter wave.
It should be noted that your allied fighters can kill enemy
fighters but they have to get on their "tail" and are very poor at
killing "head on". So "stunning" enemy fighters for your allied
fighters to get a good hit in can help.
There are two ending movies. One is where you fail, and it just
has a scene of the Enterprise outside of a collapsing vortex with
Checkov saying that the Excelsior is presumed destroyed. Presumably
this would mean that the mirror Excelsior crew is dead too. The other
is "4.2 Conclusion" movie where you succeed.
4.2 Conclusion movie
It has a nice scene of the Excelsior leaving the collapsing vortex.
The scenes and speeches appear to be patterned after the typical ending
of the original television series.
Closing Titles movie
The scenes are strongly based on the closing title sequence of the
original television series.
There is a separate View Credits in the Options Menu.
