The Star Pac is a small spaceship utilized by Ace and Kimberly which debuted in the original Space Ace arcade game. It has featured in subsequent games and media across the franchise.
Appearance & Abilities[]
The ship appears to be covered in a mostly white hull with twin propulsion thrusters in the rear of the ship. The name "Star Pac" appears on each side of the the ship alongside an insignia that resembles a whirlpool galaxy. The designation R632 is printed on each of the ship's top fins. The front seat of the cockpit houses the steering controls as well as a complex control panel that features a targeting panel and full-color screen used for video transmissions. The control panel's numerical keypad utilizes roman numerals as opposed to Arabic numbers.
The small ship is highly maneuverable in zero-gravity space and can also navigate tight corridors and tunnels. The ship is equipped with front blasters for offensive capacity, and appears to feature a warning system to alert the pilot to take evasive maneuvers if locked onto by an enemy vessel.
The Star Pac appears to facilitate short range transportation of living organisms. In the attract sequence to arcade game, Ace appears to target and teleport Kimberly safely into the rear cockpit seat.
Games[]
In the original arcade game, the Star Pac's cockpit holds two seats, presumably for a pilot and navigator. This design also appears in Space Ace II: Borf's Revenge. The Star Pac (referred to as “STARPAK” in the US manual) also appears in Space Ace (SNES) (with a slightly altered color scheme) in several vehicle-based stages which Ace must navigate around obstacles and enemies.
TV Series[]
In the Ruby-Spears animated series, the ship is somewhat larger and features two seats in the front cockpit with an additional seat behind them.
Comics[]
The ship's design closely resembles its appearance in the arcade game. After defeating Commander Borf with his own Infanto Ray, Ace and Kimberly visited the labs of an alien doctor in order to cure Ace from his condition of becoming teen in random intervals. After failing to do so, they returned to Earth, where Ace returned the ship's keys to the Intergalactic Alliance headquarters, boasting "...and not a scratch on it."
Development[]
The Bluth studio's animators employed rotoscoping techniques for several sequences in the game. A constructed model of the Star Pac was filmed and traced over to render moving animated images with very realistic depth and perspective.[1]
Gallery[]
Promotional Art[]
TV Series[]
