Star Trek: 25th Anniversary/Gameplay

Star Trek: 25th Anniversary has two gameplay modes, one in the Enterprise's bridge and other with the landing party.

Bridge
The bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise, controlled by Captain James T. Kirk and his crew. From here the player can check the ship's conditions and issue commands to the crew, each with specific duties.

By default the bridge screen is on normal bridge view and movement/fire mode:
 * Normal bridge view shows the whole bridge. The V key toggles between it and the full screen view, which disables the bridge to display only the Main View Screen. Note that this is not a zoom of the visible screen, so it improves visibility, at the cost of removing the bridge's ship position monitor.
 * Movement/fire mode is used to maneuver the ship and attack when the weapons are on. Tab or F3 toggles between it and crew selection mode, which takes the cursor outside the Main View Screen to select a crew member and select their options. As each option has a hotkey, it is recommended to only use them as toggling between modes during combat reduces efficiency.

Navigation
When ready to warp to another star system, ask Chekov to show the navigational map and decide the next destination. There are 44 star systems available, with only 20 of them being identified in the manual and detailed on the library computer. From those, only some are visited during the game, others having no purpose in the game other than training with random encounters. Each system has one of its planets visible as soon as the Enterprise arrives.

Combat
Sometimes the Enterprise will have to defend itself against hostile ships. When an enemy is detected, make sure to activate the shields and weapons (hotkey S and W).

Before proceeding with the mission, it is possible to practice space combat by travelling to the wrong system, which will result in a battle against one to four random enemy ships. These combat practices will not affect mission score, commendation points, or final game rating.

Tips

 * Both weapons use energy from the ship, so don't waste it firing like crazy if no enemy is in range. Saving energy will speed up repairs if the ship is damaged.
 * If the Enterprise is heavily damage, try to stay away from enemies to give time for it to be repaired, or use the emergency power if needed. Damage control can also be used to have Scotty focus the repairs on specific parts of the ship. It is recommended to give a higher priority to the shields, as they reduce the damage taken.
 * However, enemies can also repair themselves, so taking too long to attack will extend the duration of the battle. Concentrate fire on one vessel at a time, as spreading the attacks will only give each enemy ship time to repair. Against identical ships, use the Ship Position Monitor and Target Analysis to identify the right target.
 * Use the V, < and > keys when needed, which will help with finding and aiming enemy ships.
 * If no enemy is visible on the Main View Screen, as explained before, the normal bridge view has a Ship Position Monitor in front of Kirk that can be used to find targets. The enemy should be visible on the Main View Screen when its dot is on the center.
 * Cloaked enemies do not appear in the Ship Position Monitor until they reveal themselves when attacking or after some time, but with luck they can be found sooner by spotting their distorted silhouette, which is easier to spot when they move in front of the system's planet. Of note, while cloaking devices are mainly used by Romulans, some of their ships lack it, and cloaking devices are also used by some of the Elasi and Klingon ships.
 * Again, the full screen view is not a zoom of the Main View Screen, it only removes the bridge from the screen, so it improves visibility, at the cost of removing the Ship Position Monitor. If no enemy is visible, toggle on the bridge to reorient.
 * Reducing or increasing the Main View Screen magnification is also useful for locating enemies and aiming.
 * Although risky, the fastest strategy against most solo ships is to have the Enterprise stop moving and attack the target head on with both weapons, causing more damage first. Although not impossible, this tactic is less effective against stronger vessels and groups of two or more ships.

Landing party
When transporting from the ship to other location, Capt. Kirk will lead a landing party of himself, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy and a Security Officer. It is game over if Capt. Kirk, Mr. Spock, or Dr. McCoy die, but it is possible to continue without the Security Officer.

Commands
Movement is done with, while or space call up the Command Interface, which has different commands available, the cursor changing to a related icon when activated. The cursor will have a red border when placed over something that can be interacted. To close the Command Interface without making a selection, click outside the box, returning to the default Walk cursor.

Inventory
An Inventory icon appears in the upper left when using the Look or Use icons, which shows what the party is carrying. Its hotkey is I. There are six default items always available, and each scenario has a different amount of items.