How to play Solar Storm online
Solar Storm was designed for the paddle controller, a dial you turn to move. The emulator above switches to paddle mode automatically for this game.
- Move your laser ship: left and right arrow keys
- Fire: Space bar
- Start a new game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
- Choose one or two players: F11 (the console’s Select switch)
- Switch between paddle and joystick mode: Alt + L
- Save and load your progress: Ctrl + 0–9 saves to a slot, Alt + 0–9 loads it
The difficulty switches have no effect in this game.
Gameplay
You defend the planet surface at the bottom of the screen. Sun spots and solar flares from the exploded sun fall towards you, along with alien Deltoids, Shield Blasters, Landers and the dangerous Sizzloids. If anything, or its ray, hits your ship, you lose it. You start with three ships in reserve and can build up to eight.
Everything you let through heats the planet up, shown by the heat bars at the sides of the screen. Sun spots add very little heat, the aliens a bit more, solar flares a lot, and Sizzloids the most of all. When the bars start flashing, the next hit may make the planet overheat and explode. The game ends when that happens, or when you run out of ships.
| Target | Points |
|---|---|
| Sun spot | 5 |
| Deltoid, Shield Blaster or Lander | 10 |
| Solar flare | 20 |
| Sizzloid | 50 |
| Fleet ship (bonus screen) | 10 |
If your score has passed 500, 1,000, 1,500 and so on at the end of a wave, the view pulls out into orbit and an orbital platform appears. Hit at least five of the enemy fleet ships before the timer reaches zero to win an extra laser ship. In the two-player game, players take turns, one wave each, plus the bonus screen if they earn it.
Tips
- Shoot the Sizzloids first. They are worth the most points and add the most heat, so one that gets through hurts twice.
- Let sun spots go if you must. They add very little heat, so when the screen is busy, focus on flares and aliens.
- Watch the heat bars. Once they flash, stop chasing points and just block everything you can.
- Get the bonus. Reaching each 500-point step gives you a chance at an extra ship, so keep your score climbing.
About Solar Storm
Solar Storm came out in 1983 and is known for its colourful, flicker-free graphics. Besides the regular Imagic release, the game also appeared as a rare Xante cartridge. Xante ran software kiosks in convenience and grocery stores in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where customers chose a game from a catalogue and had a cartridge made on the spot.
