                        STELLAR SEVEN SOLUTION

By RINGTHANE.  Edited by PARASITE.


Part 1

INTRODUCTION
 What's new in the year 3000? Oh, not much: The galaxy is a battleground;
your planet is under siege; hundreds of enemies are lurking around you;
and you're in the universe's most hi-tech tank. This is the setting for
Dynamix's STELLAR 7.
Gir Draxon and his Arcturan Armada have decided to attack the Earth and
conquer it. Of course, we can't have that. So, your mission is to battle
the Arcturans' most devastating, deadly artillery. You are given one
weapon to battle the Arcturans on seven different star systems. Each star
system contains a dozen or so enemies whom you must destroy.

 After destroying all the enemies in the star system, you must face the
Guardian of the star system. If you defeat the Guardian, a warplink will
appear, granting you access to the next star system. You'd figure that
Earth would use more than one weapon to battle the Arcturans, but the
weapon they've chosen isn't exactly standard issue. Your weapon is the
XCV Agl-2, better known as "The Raven," an armored assault tank.

 Your Raven is the most sophisticated weapon in Earth's history.
Basically, it's a tank with an anti-gravity drive system that keeps you
one-half meter above ground. But that's not all: Your tank's delicate
hull is surrounded by powerful protonic shields that can absorb heat,
kinetic energy, and radiation.
Unfortunately, they won't absorb shells, lasers, or high-speed
collisions, but they'll provide protection against them; each hit the
shields take will deplete them a bit.

 Your main weapon is a Bi-Phasal Thunder Cannon. This cannon fires shells
that contain a small nuclear warhead and which can penetrate .1 meters of
armor per shell. Your tank can fire two shells per volley; then, it has
to reload the next two shells. It takes about two seconds to reload. Your
on-board radar is the most sophisticated available. It will locate
obstacles, enemies, shells, lasers, and cloaked vehicles.

 Your Power Modules are invaluable and are the heart of your tank. Your
tank has seven of these modules: The first is the Inviso Cloak Generator.
The Inviso Cloak Generator is activated by pressing the letter "I." This
will cloak your tank for a short period of time. You will notice when you
engage the clock that the Raven will flash. This means that you are going
to cloak; it will flash again just before you come out of it. Cloaking
means that you are invisible to your enemies, except you will be noticed
if you fire, and you will be seen when cloaking. Other than these
giveaways, your enemies will only be guessing at your location. Use the
cloak sparingly. A few enemies have cloaking abilities, too.

 The next module is the Eel Shield. It is activated by pressing "E." The
Eel Shield is like a battering ram. It surrounds the Raven, and any alien
craft that touches it will explode; the shield only lasts about one
minute. The Eel shield reverses the enemy's shield on contact so that it
crushes him instead of surrounding him. This is effective when you're
cloaked because you don't have to shoot enemies; you can ram them
instead. The Prowler tank is also equipped with Eel Shields, so don't ram
them; otherwise, you will take heavy damage in the process of destroying
those tanks.

 The third module is the Super Cannon. It is activated by pressing "S,"
and it is the most powerful gun you have. It has the firepower of more
than double your Bi-Phasal Cannon, and can fire up to eight volleys
before you need to reload. It lasts for about a minute and is very
effective against guardians or tougher enemies.

 The fourth module is the MP Thruster. It is activated by pressing "T."
It will propel your tank forward at a tremendous rate of speed for about
10 seconds.
It's effective for getting out of tight situations.

 The fifth module is the Cat's Eye. It's activated by pressing "C." Your
radar can detect cloaked ships, but you won't see them on the view
screen. Cat's Eye will create a computer image of the cloaked enemies
onscreen to make cloaked ships easier to find. The only ship capable of
cloaking is the Stalker, and it tends to jump in and out of cloaking
rapidly.

 The sixth module is the RC Bomb. It is activated by pressing "B."
Activating it creates a discharge from the rear of the Raven in the form
of a large mine. If an enemy touches the mine, the unit discharges a
polarization beam that shifts the enemy's molecular structure causing a
nuclear explosion. An RC Bomb can be used over and over again. It will
remain where you dropped it until you leave the star system or die, no
matter how many times it's hit. Don't worry: The Bomb is attuned not to
detonate if you hit it.

 The last module is the Jump Thruster. It's activated by pressing "J" and
causes your Anti-Gravity Generator to kick out a burst of energy that
will thrust you 100 meters straight up. It's good for jumping over
enemies or shots fired at you. You will lose steering control over the
tank in mid-air, but you will regain it when you land.

 Depending on the level you're playing, you will get different reserves
of the power modules. On the easy level, you get three of each; normal
level, three Inviso Cloaks, one of everything else; difficult level,
three Inviso Cloaks, and nothing else. As you activate a power module,
one of the lit squares on the module display will disappear. Every module
has three squares: The lit ones indicate the amount of that unit you have
available.

 To refill power modules, you must destroy three of the same enemy in a
row.
Refer to your manual to see what each enemy will give you. You can only
refuel your Inviso Cloak in Fuel bays; these are only on the two starting
systems (Rigel and Regulus). Refueling will give you three units of each
power module.
If you're full; leave the refill where it is, it won't go anywhere unless
you shoot it or leave the level.

 Your main viewer is your game window. It shows everything as it happens.
The only function that will affect it is Zoom. Press "Z" to zoom in;
press "Z" again to zoom out. Zooming is useful for viewing distant
objects. Use it to hit enemies at maximum range.

TIPS ON TAKING OUT ENEMIES
 SANDSLEDS: Practice your shoot-ahead technique. Shoot in front of the
enemies so that they drive into your shots.

 HOVERCRAFTS: Just use this one to practice for upcoming tanks. Chase and
shoot them, or take them out from a distance.

 LASER TANKS: Keep away from their fronts. Hit them from a distance, or
sneak up on the them from their side or rear, and pop two shots at them.

 PROWLERS: The most annoying tanks! Don't get near them; instead, hit
them with two shots from a distance. Don't touch them either because
they're equipped with Eel Shields. These tanks shoot shells per round, so
practice avoiding incoming shots.

 ASSAULT TANKS: Same as a Laser Tank, except they shoot shells, and take
three shots to nail.

 STALKER: Same as the Laser Tank, except these can Cloak. Keep an eye on
the radar at all times. If you notice shots coming out of nowhere, or
tanks disappearing, you'll know it's a Stalker. Use Cat's Eye to make
them appear on your main viewer. Hit them from a distance because they
like to stop and sit in cloak mode. Else, try and chase them with the Eel
Shields.

 LASER BATTERY: A vicious little cannon. Its long-range laser does a lot
of damage. Keep your distance from it and fire two shots at it. Since it
rotates, it's hard to get behind it, but if you do, fire twice, then get
out of there;
they're usually in pairs. Cloak helps here, but get close before shooting
so itd oesn't fire back.

 ASSAULT CANNON: These are strong Cannons that take four shots to get
destroy.
They shoot shells, but rotate _very_ slowly. Either get behind them, or
take them out like the Laser Batteries. They don't tend to shoot unless
fired upon.

 PULSAR: You want Distance here! Hit them once from far out, or as you
pass one by. If you're in cloak, drive right at them, and just before you
hit them, fire once.

 SKIMMERS: Annoying bird-brains with little armor. Drive backwards;
they'll follow you into your sights. Then, when they drop to the ground,
fire twice.

 SEEKERS: Get rid of these fast so they won't hit you on your blind
sides. Drive right at them, get close, then fire _once_. If you miss,
fire again. This way, if you missed the first time, you don't have to
wait for the cannon to reload.

OTHER USEFUL TIPS NOT IN THE MANUAL
 Most importantly, save your super-cannons for the guardians: No enemy is
worth wasting a super-cannon on. You can refill the super-cannon by
destroying three Assault Tanks in a row.

 Use reverse a lot: Slower enemies can't catch up to you, and their
shells will not make it to you. You can also fire at them as they follow
you.

 Use the diagonal keys. Go right-forward, left-forward, right-backward,
and left-backward. Using this strategy makes it difficult for the enemy
to get a fix on you. And since their shots don't curve, you'll be pretty
safe. Fire just as you turn in their direction, and they'll usually drive
right into it.

 If someone fires at you, rapidly switch directions.

 Fire two shots at a time so that if you miss the first one, the second
may connect. Or if the enemy takes two shots to kill, you can take them
out fast without having to come back.

 Use the Jump Thrusters when your energy gets low: It's better to jump
over a collision than explode!

 RC Bombs are generally useless. Don't feel compelled to use them unless
the area is crawling with enemies.

 Get out of tight spots with the Thruster.

 Keep moving! Don't stop for more than a couple seconds, or you'll be
hit.

 If you go head-to-head with an enemy, use zoom to make sure he's far
away, fire two shots right at him, then turn and burn.

 Take out _all_ stationary enemies first. Then, you can keep an open
field for high speed maneuvers and attack runs.

 Keep away from groups, they'll take you out while you're taking out the
others.

 Keep behind or beside stopped enemies. They usually stop when they're
trying to aim at you; while they're doing that, kill them.

Part 2

SOL
 SOL is a simple level. It contains sandsleds, skimmers, and hovercrafts.
Sandsleds are good practice for chasing -- especially the one that starts
off right in front of you! Try and shoot in front of them so they drive
into the shots; this is the most valuable skill to have in STELLAR 7.
Hovercrafts are good practice for tanks. They stop a lot and turn to
shoot, just like tanks. So, catch them on their side or their rear, and
blow them to pieces. To practice avoiding shots, let the Sandsled fire at
you. Its lasers go faster than shells.
It's good to be able to dodge lasers in case you get too close to a laser
tank, laser battery, pulsar, etc. Once you have avoiding lasers down, let
the hovercraft launch a couple of shells: After dodging lasers, shells
are easy.

 If a shot is coming in your direction, move diagonally. Diagonal driving
is the best way to dodge anything. Now, go for the skimmers. Chasing one
is useless.
You may get one or two by shooting in front of them, but it's very slow
and annoying. Let them get close to you, then go straight backward. The
Skimmers will fly into your sights. When they do, fire, and they'll fly
into your shells.

 The guardian of the level is a huge Walker. After you kill your last
enemy, watch for the huge flying ship that will drop off the guardian
after you've finished each level: Use ZOOM to find it. Keep it in front
of you and three-quarters from the top of the radar. Now, quickly kick
into reverse. Aim for the legs, and go straight backward while keeping an
eye on the "Shot Ready."
As soon as it turns red, fire. Don't worry: The walker is very slow, and
his shots are short-range. After 10 shots or so, he'll explode. Keep
moving backward because there will be a couple of shots coming in your
direction from when he was still up and shooting. Then, drive into the
pulsating warplink.

 Keep damage to a minimum because the next docking bay is on Star System
3.

WARP
 There is one warp on SOL. When you begin the level, look at your radar.
Find the four obstacles in the shape of a square. Turn to face the lower
left one.
Turn on the Eel shields and drive into the obstacles four times. ZAP! A
blue warplink to the Deneb System will appear.

ANTARES
 Antares is where you've got to get serious. It contains dangerous laser
batteries, wimpy sandsleds, vicious prowlers, and lots of annoying
seekers. The best thing to do is knock out the laser batteries first. Use
your ZOOM to get them just on the radar screen, then from a distance,
send in two cannon shots.
Next to destroy are the seekers. Just drive in circles. Then, drive
forward so they don't surround you. Get close to them -- but not too
close -- and fire one shot (only fire one because if you miss, you don't
want to wait to reload; the seekers pack a wallop on the old Protonic
shields!).

 You should find one or two sandsleds on this system. Just chase them
down and get rid of them nice and easy. The Prowlers are the last to go.
Get them from a distance when they stop, but don't get close to them
because they have Eel Shields, and will do a lot of damage. Use the
cloaks if you have to, because you can refill them on the next level.

 The guardian of the level is an Arachnotron unit. It's a hard enemy. So,
as soon as you view the drop-off ship, get it within three-quarters of
the top of the radar screen. The Arachnotron will start dropping little
spiders units that will run up behind you and detonate. They are tricky
to nail, but they're easier if you use the drive-backward-and-shoot
technique. The Arachnotron will also drop electromagnetic webs that will
either bring you to a complete stop, or slow down tremendously. The best
thing to do is kick in the Super-Cannon when the guardian has almost
finished beaming down from the ship. Then, just hold down the fire
button, and hit it just as it appears.

 If you don't use the Super-Cannon, the Arachnotron will start dropping
off a lot of spiders, you'll be surrounded, and you'll eventually be
nailed no matter what you do, so attack it with the super cannon as soon
as it appears. The guardian drops off webs first and will ignore you, so
use this to your advantage. After you step on this over-grown spider,
jump into the warplink. For fun, try jumping the webs it drops; see if
you can clear them!

RIGEL
 Rigel is star system number three; there's a docking bay on this level.
It will refill Inviso Cloaks and Shield levels. Until now, you didn't
really need the cloaks. Don't use the docking bay until your shields are
really low, or until you're out of Cloaks.

 The enemies on the level are laser tanks, pulsars, and a new form of
skimmer. I suggest going into Cloak and turning on the Eel shields first.
Then, ram into _all_ the pulsars. Pulsars are easy from a distance, but
they're all bunched together. So if you fire at one, the rest will tear
you to shreds.

 The pulsars are mostly stationed just around the docking bay. If you
need to make it to the bay badly, use the thrusters to get in and out
before they can draw a bead on you. Laser tanks are easy to destroy. Just
speed around (they usually just sit there), and go for them from a
distance where you can avoid their shots. You can also speed into the
sides of them and fire two shots.

 The new skimmers look like rocket ships, but they're basically the same.
One shot takes them out; use the backward-shooting technique. Now, before
you take out the last enemy, be sure to fill up at the docking bay. The
guardian won't give you time to do it.

 The guardian of this level is a Giant Skimmer. It will fly around and
periodically land to drop off a few play friends for you, or to land on
your roof. Use your cannons, or even better, Super-Cannons to get it just
as it lands. The Giant Skimmer is the hardest of the guardians because of
the awkward timing. Don't let it get close or it'll put a wing right
through you. Its Eel Shields are very powerful. A lot of time is needed
to take out this guardian, and watch out for the little "friends" it
drops. You will have to kill the little guys before they get too
numerous. The only tips I can offer are: Stick to him, and don't let him
go off to drop more enemies. After you take out this bird-brain, drive
into the warplink, and get ready for Deneb, star system 4.

 By the way, you could have skipped Antares and Rigel if you read about
the warps on Sol!

Part 3

DENEB
 If you took the warp here, get ready for a fight. If you fought your way
here, you'll be okay. Unlike the other levels, some of the obstacles here
are enemies. An obstacle can appear as an enemy on the radar, but an
obstacle on the screen. One shot will get rid of them from anywhere, so
don't worry about them. The level also contains menacing assault cannons,
assault tanks, and prowlers.

 The first thing to do is get rid of the assault cannons. They have very
thick armor, so either use the Eel Shields and ram them from behind, or
fire four shots from a distance. I suggest the four shots because usually
they come in pairs. After you get rid of the cannons, go for the tanks.

 You can use the Cloak if you want to, but things aren't going to get any
easier on the later levels without the cloak. Keep going in a diagonal
pattern, and if you see a stopped tank, stop, quickly fire two shots at
it, then get moving again. Don't stop if there are many tanks in the
area. Use thrusters if you have to get out of tight squeezes.

 Go for three of a kind; that way you get a power module refill. Don't
mess it up by taking out two assault tanks, then a prowler. Three Assault
Tanks are worth a Super-Cannon refill, and three Prowlers are worth an
Eel Shield refill. Be patient: Large quantities of tanks are hard to
destroy. Also, you will want to drive straight and blind-side tanks like
you did in the earlier levels.

 Prowlers have Eel Shields, remember? Don't go hitting them! Eel Shields
are effective against the assault tanks, though. Assault tanks can be
treated like prowlers, except you can hit them without receiving damage,
and they take three hits to destroy. If you manage to rid the area of all
those tanks, you're ready to go on to the guardian.

 The guardian is a huge Stomper, much like the first guardian. But the
Stomper can walk faster and shoot farther, so kick in the Super-Cannon,
and drive backward with your finger on the fire button. Make sure the
guardian is three-quarters to the top of the radar screen. If it isn't,
use the thrusters and get out of there! If you take more time than that,
it'll have you flattened or shot up. Since the Stomper only shoots at
you, you can get out of there without worrying about it dropping other
robots.

 Once it's at a safe distance, repeat the backward-shooting technique. If
it's at a great distance, you can just use the regular cannon, and drive
backward while firing. If it gets close, go into a diagonal-reverse, then
quickly into a diagonal-forward, and get the heck out of there. Once you
nuke the two-legged clod, use the warplink to go to Sirius, the fifth
star system.

 When you begin the level, the obstacles are placed in an obtuse triangle
pattern. Face the lower-left obstacle in the triangle. Activate the Eel
Shields, and ram the obstacle four times. When the blue warplink appears,
take a free ride to Arcturus, the seventh and last Star System.

SIRIUS
 Sirius is a tricky system. It has skimmers, assault tanks, assault
cannons, obstacles, and laser batteries. First, go for the stationary
enemies. Destroy the laser batteries and the assault cannons from a
distance. Then, go for the tanks. Assault tanks are fairly easy to nail.
If you had trouble with them before, it was probably because there were
prowlers around. Take out the tanks from a distance because they like to
sit and turn in your direction. While they're doing this, send them two
shells express mail; then, two more to mail it back to where it came
from.

 Moving tanks are useless. Just chase them and fire into their rears. If
they keep moving, and you can't get a fix on them, ram them with Eel
Shields, or just ram them; as they turn to get their bearing, give them
the cannon.

 It is very important to destroy three assault tanks in a row in order to
refill the Super-Cannon for the next three guardians! Hit any enemy
obstacles you drive by just to get rid of them nice any easy. After
taking out the tanks, go for the skimmers with the backward-firing
technique. After riding the system of skimmers, the guardian will drop
by.

 The guardian is a Giant Crab. Use the Super-Cannon and move backward.
It'll fire at you, so keep a good distance (three-quarters from the top
of the radar).
This guardian is relatively simple if you get it fast. If you don't want
to use the Super-Cannon, then try driving right by the front of it, and
drop an RC Bomb. It's a difficult maneuver, but since you are coming in
at an angle, it can't hit you. Once you take care of the Crab, get ready
for Regulus.

REGULUS
 Regulus is a warm-up level for Arcturus. It contains stalkers, assault
cannons, and obstacles. Go for the assault cannons first, because they
guard the Docking Bay. Hit the cannons with the Eel shields, or four
shots from a distance.

 Now, go for the stalkers, but as you pass enemy obstacles, hit them to
finish them off. Use the docking bay if you're low on Cloaks, or Shields,
but try to save your visit to the bay until just before the guardian
arrives.

 Stalkers are about as tough and strong as laser tanks, except they have
cloaking abilities. This level will give you practice in destroying
invisible enemies. Watch your radar and ignore your screen unless you
want to use your Cat's Eye to display cloaked enemies. It's okay to waste
Cat's Eye on this level because three destroyed stalkers will give you a
Cat's eye Refill. Use the radar to line up enemies in front of you and
fire two shots. Look out for incoming shots. You can catch the occasional
stalker when it's uncloaking, so you can take it out more easily. Do not
use the Super-Cannon on this system! Only use it for the guardian;
otherwise, you'll run out before the guardian on Arcturus -- a
dire situation! The guardian will show up after you get rid of the
invisible tanks.

 The guardian is none other than Raf Taran, Gir Draxon's right-hand man
(if that's what they are). Generally, it's a small, _fast_ Arachnotron.
Use the Super-Cannon. This guy drops the little spider bombs fast. Just
unload your Super-Cannon into the legs of the thing, and then get ready
to gun the tank into reverse to pick off any little spider bombs that got
away.

 If you don't have any Super-Cannons, you'll probably lose the battle.
But if you concentrate your fire on Raf Taran, then quickly switch to the
spider-bombs and go back and forth, it can be done, but it's very hard.

Part 4

ARCTURUS
 The seventh and last system awaits you; it's a hard level. It contains
prowlers, stalkers, pulsars, obstacles, and seekers. Do not use the
Super-Cannon on this system, and make sure you have a least one Super-
Cannon left. If you don't, the odds are you'll be dead within ten seconds
when you face the guardian!

 Destroy the pulsars and seekers first, in order to clear the field for
the tank battles. Hit the pulsars from a distance and the seekers close
up, so you don't miss. Now, take out the tanks and any obstacles you may
pass. Use Cat's Eye, too, because the stalkers stay in groups of two.
Prowlers should be taken out from a distance, as usual, but try to leave
them until you've hit three stalkers in a row, or leave the stalkers
until last. Remember, three stalkers in a row will refill your Cat's Eye.

 In case you don't have any Cat's Eyes left, don't take your eyes off the
radar because all you'll see on the screens are laser blasts coming out
of nowhere. If you have Eel Shields left, use them, and go after the
stalkers from the sides and rear, _not_ head on!

 When they're cloaked, the stalkers will move slowly or stop. Use this to
your advantage: Shoot quickly, then move out of there. If you warped here
from Deneb and/or Sol, you will probably not make it, because the cloaked
enemies will sneak up on you, plus you won't be used to depending on your
radar. Be careful!
Don't take risks, keep a finger on Thrusters or Jump if you have to. Try
not to take much damage: You still have to battle Gir Draxon, remember?
Once you get rid of all the tanks, the final battle will take place.

 The guardian is Gir Draxon in his Annihilator Tank. It has a rapid-Fire
Heavy Cannon, so be very careful. If you have a Super-Cannon left, you'll
finish it off without a problem. Just keep a good distance between you
and Gir, and hold down the fire button just as he is beaming down. If you
do, the shells will hit him as soon as he appears on land.

 Now, if you don't have any Super-Cannons left, you're in for the fight
of your life. Use the technique you used for the Stomper. Drive backward
and fire, but keep turning, because Gir will fire a lot of shots at one
time. Cloaks won't help too much, because the Annihilator Tank will fire
shells in every direction if Gir can't find you; keep a distance even
when cloaked.

 Pop off as many shots as you can while you're still moving, because his
shots are long-range and come very quickly. Gir's Annihilator also has
Eel Shields, so never get close, and _never_ try to ram him.

 It's almost impossible to destroy Gir without Super-Cannons, so do not
use them up on Sirius, Regulus, or Arcturus. If you didn't make it here
with one Super-Cannon, you'll have to replay the game. And be sure to
refill your Super-Cannon on Sirius by taking out three Assault Tanks in a
row.

 Should you destroy the Annihilator Tank, you'll see Gir Draxon vow his
revenge on the Earth. But for now, congratulations: You've saved Earth
and many planets from destruction by the Arcturan Empire!

End.