- Revised Instruction Manual and Solution to Solaris (atariage.com)
I remember when I was a kid and Solaris was one of those games that I had bought with my own money. I proudly inserted it into my Atari 2600 I knew right away that this game was different from the rest. It had a plot, a goal and an ending; something that was a rarity for Atari games. I was immediately fascinated and after reading the instruction manual, something I always did, I was determined to finish the game. I spent hours on my living room floor happily drawing maps by hand on graph paper and trying to reach Solaris. I never did, but the strategic game play was so good that I actually enjoyed failing and didn’t get frustrated. Time passed. I never forgot this game and over the years I would keep coming back, each time more determined to finish it. Now, decades later, the internet has finally given me the tools I needed to complete this amazing game. I have made this guide so that others can do the same.
- Solaris (Atari 2600) online game (atarionline.org)
The galaxy of Solaris is made up of 16 quadrants, each containing 48 sectors. The player uses a tactical map to choose a sector to warp to, during which they must attempt to keep their ship “in focus” to lower their fuel consumption rate. Fuel must be carefully managed, as an empty tank results in loss of one of the player lives. Space battle ensues whenever the player navigates into a hostile battlegroup via the tactical map. Space enemies include pirate ships, mechanoid ships, and aggressive “cobra” ships. Each battlegroup has at least one enemy flagship, which shoots out fuel-sapping drones.
- Solaris (video game) (Wikipedia)
Solaris is a space combat video game for the Atari 2600 published in 1986 by Atari. The game involves a player seeking out the planet Solaris via their starship. To accomplish this, the player must navigate the galactic scanner to explore quadrants of a map. Doing so allows them to explore Federation planets to refuel their ship, and engage in combat with hostile aliens known as the Zylons.
