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Solaris [Model CX26136]

Atari 2600 cart. published 38 years ago by Atari Corp.

Listed in MAME

Solaris [Model CX26136] screenshot

Solaris © 1986 Atari Corporation.

To attack a Zylon force or defend a Federation Planet, move to its sector and press the fire button. You immediately hyperwarp to that sector. Watch your Targeting Computer during hyperwarp. It shows your StarCruiser hyperwarping in and out of focus, while the number on the right of the Computer displays your hyperwarp focus value (0 is a perfect warp, 3 is terrible). Move the joystick handle left or right to keep your fighter in focus.

Once you land in an enemy sector, start blasting. Watch your Targeting Computer to find unseen Zylon ships. The number on the left of the Computer tells their left/right distance from you; the number on the right tells their up/down distance. Zero means they're straight ahead. When your Targeting Computer is damaged it will flash bright white. Use the left/right, up/down numbers to track the enemy until you can dock at a Federation Planet for repairs.

When you've destroyed all Zylons in a sector, the Galactic Scanner reappears. (If you're using a second joystick, press its fire button to redisplay your Scanner at will, even during battle.) To hyperwarp to another quadrant, move the StarCruiser to a sector with an Exit and press the fire button. Choose an enemy sector from that quadrant and get going!

An alarm will ring when Zylons are attacking a Federation Planet in your quadrant, or you'll spot the attack on your Galactic Scanner (the planet will flash). You've got 40 seconds to save the planet. If you fail, the whole quadrant regresses into a Red Zone, and joystick control is reversed. Watch it!

When your fuel gets critically low, another alarm buzzes. Hyperwarp to a Federation Planet as soon as you can for refueling. Dock in a Docking Bay, by flying into it, to refuel and repair any damage to your StarCruiser. If you run out of fuel, your StarCruiser explodes.

Battle gets increasingly fast and furious as the game goes on. You must continue to search for Solaris while destroying all enemy ships. You'll know Solaris when you find it -- it's the only blinking planet in the galaxy.

The game ends when all your ships are destroyed or you can reach Solaris. Press Reset, then the fire button, to play again.

TECHNICAL

GAME ID: CX26136

TRIVIA

Solaris actually started out as a game called Universe (as noted in the source code), but was quickly renamed The Last Starfighter when Atari needed a game based on the new movie. Why Solaris was choosen to become TLSF is unknown, but Tod Frye was working on an official version which he quickly abandoned. Atari may have wanted Tod to work on other higher priority projects, and by slapping The Last Starfighter name on a generic space themed game they were kill two birds with one stone (Atari got their game and Tod was now free to work on other things). However, as crafty as Atari was in rushing TLSF out the door, it was never released due to the crash of 1984. It wasn't until Atari Corp. (not Atari Inc.) decided to revive the 2600 in 1986 that Solaris was finally released (minus the Last Starfighter license).

SCORING
Making it through a Corridor 8,000 points
Rescuing all Cadets on a Zylon Planet 8,000 points
FlagShip 500 points
Raider 400 points
Kogalon Star Pirate 320 points
Targeter 320 points
Glider 320 points
Mechnoid 300 points
Blockader 260 points
Cobra Ship 80 points
Guardian 60 points
Distractor 20 points
TIPS AND TRICKS

* When you rescue all Space Cadets on a Zylon Planet, you earn an extra StarCruiser and blow up the planet. You blow up another Zylon Planet when you make it safely through a Corridor.

* Map your progress! It will help you find Solaris more quickly.

* Try to keep your StarCruiser in focus during hyperwarp. The better job you do at focusing, the less fuel you waste. When you arrive in the enemy sector you'll also be closer to the Zylon fleet.

* Destroy the enemy closest to Federation Planets first.

* Save fuel in an enemy sector by blasting at neutral planets only to avoid colliding with them.

* Don't shoot your Docking Bays or you'll turn the quadrant into a Red Zone.

STAFF

Programmer: Doug Neubauer

PORTS

OTHERS:
usa "Atari Flashback 6" (sept.15, 2015) by AtGames
usa "Atari Flashback 7" (oct.1, 2016) by AtGames
usa "Atari Ultimate Portable Game Player" (nov.2016) by AtGames
usa "Atari Flashback 8" (sept.22, 2017) by AtGames
usa "Atari Flashback 8 Gold Edition" (sept.22, 2017) by AtGames
usa "Atari Flashback 8 Gold Activision Edition" (sept.22, 2017) by AtGames
usa "Atari Flashback Portable Game Player" (sept.22, 2017) by AtGames

SOURCES

Game's ROM.