Starship Takeoff

Book: Computer Spacegames

Author: Usborne Publishing
Translator: Marcus Medina

Story

In Starship Takeoff, you play as a starship captain who has crashed on an alien planet. The gravity is unknown, and your computer calculates the exact force needed to lift off. Your mission is to guess the correct force to escape. Guess too low, and the ship won’t lift off. Guess too high, and the fail-safe mechanism activates to prevent damage. You have ten attempts to get it right before aliens capture you.

Pseudocode

START
  CLEAR screen
  DISPLAY "STARSHIP TAKE-OFF"
  SET gravity (G) to a random number between 1 and 20
  SET weight (W) to a random number between 1 and 40
  SET required force (R) = G * W
  DISPLAY "GRAVITY = G"
  FOR attempt = 1 to 10 DO
    PROMPT user for force (F)
    IF F > R THEN
      DISPLAY "TOO HIGH"
    ELSE IF F < R THEN
      DISPLAY "TOO LOW"
    ELSE
      DISPLAY "GOOD TAKE OFF"
      END
    END IF
    IF attempt < 10 THEN
      PROMPT "TRY AGAIN"
    END IF
  END FOR
  DISPLAY "YOU FAILED - THE ALIENS GOT YOU"
END

Flowchart

flowchart TD
    A[Start] --> B[Clear Screen]
    B --> C[Display 'STARSHIP TAKE-OFF']
    C --> D[Set G = Random 1-20]
    D --> E[Set W = Random 1-40]
    E --> F[Set R = G * W]
    F --> G[Display 'GRAVITY = G']
    G --> H[For attempt = 1 to 10]
    H --> I[Prompt user for F]
    I --> J{F == R?}
    J -->|Yes| K[Display 'GOOD TAKE-OFF']
    K --> L[End]
    J -->|No| M{F > R?}
    M -->|Yes| N[Display 'TOO HIGH']
    M -->|No| O[Display 'TOO LOW']
    N --> P{attempt < 10?}
    O --> P
    P -->|Yes| Q[Prompt 'TRY AGAIN']
    Q --> I
    P -->|No| R[Display 'YOU FAILED - THE ALIENS GOT YOU']
    R --> L

Code

Pages

Starship Takeoff, sida 1 — Usborne Computer Spacegames Starship Takeoff, sida 2 — Usborne Computer Spacegames

ZX-81 BASIC 
10 CLS
20 PRINT "STARSHIP TAKE-OFF"
30 LET G=INT(RND*20+1)
40 LET W=INT(RND*40+1)
50 LET R=G*W
60 PRINT "GRAVITY=";G
70 PRINT "TYPE IN FORCE"
80 FOR C=1 TO 10
90 INPUT F
100 IF F>R THEN PRINT "TOO HIGH";
110 IF F<R THEN PRINT "TOO LOW";
120 IF F=R THEN GOTO 190
130 IF C<10 THEN PRINT " , TRY AGAIN"
140 NEXT C
150 PRINT
160 PRINT "YOU FAILED -"
170 PRINT "THE ALIENS GOT YOU"
180 STOP
190 PRINT "GOOD TAKE OFF"
C# 
using System;


class StarshipTakeoff
{
    static void Main()
    {
        Console.Clear();
        Console.WriteLine("STARSHIP TAKE-OFF");


        Random random = new Random();
        int gravity = random.Next(1, 21);
        int weight = random.Next(1, 41);
        int requiredForce = gravity * weight;


        Console.WriteLine($"GRAVITY = {gravity}");


        for (int attempt = 1; attempt <= 10; attempt++)
        {
            int userForce;
            do
            {
                Console.Write("TYPE IN FORCE: ");
            } while (!int.TryParse(Console.ReadLine(), out userForce) || userForce < 0);


            if (userForce > requiredForce)
            {
                Console.Write("TOO HIGH");
            }
            else if (userForce < requiredForce)
            {
                Console.Write("TOO LOW");
            }
            else
            {
                Console.WriteLine("GOOD TAKE OFF");
                return;
            }


            if (attempt < 10)
            {
                Console.WriteLine(", TRY AGAIN");
            }
        }


        Console.WriteLine();
        Console.WriteLine("YOU FAILED - THE ALIENS GOT YOU");
    }
}
Python 
import random


print("STARSHIP TAKE-OFF")


gravity = random.randint(1, 20)
weight = random.randint(1, 40)
required_force = gravity * weight


print(f"GRAVITY = {gravity}")


for attempt in range(1, 11):
    user_force = int(input("TYPE IN FORCE: "))


    if user_force > required_force:
        print("TOO HIGH", end="")
    elif user_force < required_force:
        print("TOO LOW", end="")
    else:
        print("GOOD TAKE OFF")
        break


    if attempt < 10:
        print(", TRY AGAIN")
else:
    print("\nYOU FAILED - THE ALIENS GOT YOU")
Java 
import java.util.Scanner;
import java.util.Random;


public class StarshipTakeoff {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Scanner scanner = new Scanner(System.in);
        Random random = new Random();


        System.out.println("STARSHIP TAKE-OFF");
        int gravity = random.nextInt(20) + 1;
        int weight = random.nextInt(40) + 1;
        int requiredForce = gravity * weight;


        System.out.println("GRAVITY = " + gravity);


        for (int attempt = 1; attempt <= 10; attempt++) {
            System.out.print("TYPE IN FORCE: ");
            int userForce = scanner.nextInt();


            if (userForce > requiredForce) {
                System.out.print("TOO HIGH");
            } else if (userForce < requiredForce) {
                System.out.print("TOO LOW");
            } else {
                System.out.println("GOOD TAKE OFF");
                return;
            }


            if (attempt < 10) {
                System.out.println(", TRY AGAIN");
            }
        }


        System.out.println();
        System.out.println("YOU FAILED - THE ALIENS GOT YOU");
    }
}
Go 
package main


import (
  "fmt"
  "math/rand"
  "time"
)


func main() {
  rand.Seed(time.Now().UnixNano())
  gravity := rand.Intn(20) + 1
  weight := rand.Intn(40) + 1
  requiredForce := gravity * weight


  fmt.Println("STARSHIP TAKE-OFF")
  fmt.Printf("GRAVITY = %d\n", gravity)


  for attempt := 1; attempt <= 10; attempt++ {
    var userForce int
    fmt.Print("TYPE IN FORCE: ")
    fmt.Scan(&userForce)


    if userForce > requiredForce {
      fmt.Print("TOO HIGH")
    } else if userForce < requiredForce {
      fmt.Print("TOO LOW")
    } else {
      fmt.Println("GOOD TAKE OFF")
      return
    }


    if attempt < 10 {
      fmt.Println(", TRY AGAIN")
    }
  }


  fmt.Println()
  fmt.Println("YOU FAILED - THE ALIENS GOT YOU")
}
C++ 
#include <iostream>
#include <cstdlib>
#include <ctime>


using namespace std;


int main() {
    srand(time(0));


    int gravity = rand() % 20 + 1;
    int weight = rand() % 40 + 1;
    int requiredForce = gravity * weight;


    cout << "STARSHIP TAKE-OFF" << endl;
    cout << "GRAVITY = " << gravity << endl;


    for (int attempt = 1; attempt <= 10; attempt++) {
        int userForce;
        cout << "TYPE IN FORCE: ";
        cin >> userForce;


        if (userForce > requiredForce) {
            cout << "TOO HIGH";
        } else if (userForce < requiredForce) {
            cout << "TOO LOW";
        } else {
            cout << "GOOD TAKE OFF" << endl;
            return 0;
        }


        if (attempt < 10) {
            cout << ", TRY AGAIN" << endl;
        }
    }


    cout << endl;
    cout << "YOU FAILED - THE ALIENS GOT YOU" << endl;


    return 0;
}

Explanation

  • The game randomly generates a gravity value and a weight value, then calculates the required force (G * W).
  • The player must guess this force within 10 attempts.
  • Feedback is provided after each guess: “TOO HIGH”, “TOO LOW”, or “GOOD TAKE-OFF”.
  • If the player fails all 10 attempts, they lose the game and are “captured by aliens”.

Challenges

  1. Increase Difficulty: Limit the range of gravity and weight to make guessing harder.
  2. Add Features: Introduce a timer to add pressure or a scoring system.
  3. Customize: Add a storyline or visuals to enhance the immersion.

These programs are adaptations of the original Usborne Computer Guides published in the 1980s. The books are free to download for personal or educational use from Usborne’s Computer and Coding Books. Programs and adaptations may not be used for commercial purposes.

Return to Computer Spacegames.