SOLAR BLASTER: CHALLENGE STAGE
The Earth is under attack from the invading alien war machine! Take control of the Solar Blaster fighter ship and strike back!
Solar Blaster: Challenge Stage is an action packed space shooter where you’ve got 2 minutes to get the high score. Destroy as many enemy waves as you can within the time limit, collect power ups like rapid fire and spread shot and cause massive destruction with your 3 super bombs.
This game is based on the 2 minute ‘caravan’ shooter format from classic PC Engine games. I wanted to create a simple, fun shooter that was easy to pick up and play and that players would want to keep coming coming back to again and again.
Solar Blaster: Challenge Stage is my first completed game for Pico-8 and I hope you all have fun playing it! Try competing with your friends to see who can get the high score.
The game has also launched on itch.io, where it can be played in your browser or you can download for free the stand alone versions for Windows, Mac, Linux and Raspberry Pi:
https://gsgames.itch.io/solar-blaster-challenge-stage
Take up the challenge and go for the high score!
7 May 2021 - Now updated to version 1.1 with the new 'Endless Attack' mode selectable on the title screen!
14 May 2021 - Updated to version 1.2 containing fix for scoring exploit in Endless Attack mode and other minor fixes.
8 June 2021 - Updated to version 1.3 with some fixes to the presentation of the game.
Duuuuuuuuuuude why the game had to end like this! Make a endless mode!!! Amazing shooter!
Very Great, Endless mode would be nice, but it is still great! I give it a 246/246
thipeto, stilvoid, JackJack3136 - thanks so much for your comments! I'm glad you are all enjoying the game! Endless mode is an interesting idea, for me the whole concept and design of the game revolves around the time limit so to have a mode where the time limit is removed is certainly something to think about!
Just a quick update to this to say that I am currently working on version 1.1 of the game which will feature the new 'Endless Attack' mode! This mode removes the time limit and allows you to play for as long as you can survive. The difficulty will increase the further you get, and should provide a fun alternative challenge! The regular 2 minute Challenge Stage mode is still the main focus of the game, but you'll be able to switch between games modes on the title screen. The new Endless Attack mode will also have its own separate high score. I'm currently testing the new version and will hopefully have it ready for release by the end of this week.
Version 1.1 now available!
Endless Attack Mode is here!
As well as some minor fixes and improvements to the code, the major part of this update is the addition of the new ‘Endless Attack’ mode, which is now selectable on the title screen by pressing the X key.
Endless Attack mode allows you to play the game with the time limit removed, and the goal is to survive as long as you can against the never-ending waves of alien invaders. The further you get the harder it becomes as the enemies will speed up and their shots will also be faster. Endless Attack mode also has its own separate high score to the standard Challenge Stage mode.
Challenge Stage mode remains the core focus of the game but I hope that you all find Endless Attack mode to be a fun alternative way of playing Solar Blaster.
Thanks so much for the Endless Mode! The difficulty is well balanced and fair, and gameplay is nice and fun to play, the ship noises and upgrades are well done.
Glad you like the Endless Mode thipeto! I hope it makes the game even more fun for everyone. Thanks for posting your score too! Can anyone here beat it?
Version 1.2 has now launched!
This update contains a fix for Endless Attack mode where it was previously possible to exploit the generation of UFOs and break the scoring system of the game! This has now been fixed so that the exploit no longer works, resulting in a more fair and more fun game. This fix only applies to Endless Attack mode as the same exploit is not effective for breaking the scoring system in Challenge Stage mode.
This update also contains a few alterations to enemy shot speeds in the later stages of Endless Attack mode, to make the game’s difficulty scale a bit better when the game speed increases.
I hope you all enjoy the new version of the game!
Solar Blaster: Challenge Stage has now been updated to version 1.3!
This is a small update that makes a few changes to improve the presentation of the game:
-The intro screens that display if you leave the game running at the title screen now display for a longer amount of time. Some players had said the screens changed too quickly so this will give you more of a chance to read everything.
-The keyboard controls are now displayed along with 'Get Ready' when starting a new game. I noticed that players don't always realise that the game uses 2 buttons and don't know about pressing X to use a super bomb, so this should now make it more clear.
-When you pick up a power up, text is now displayed to say what it is. This was added following on from the point above about the super bombs, sometimes players would get the bomb power up and not realise what it is. Combined with the controls display this should improve overall readability of the game.
-The Pink Sniper enemy will now move downwards and off the screen after a certain amount of time has passed. This was added to improve the overall flow of the game.
Thanks to everyone for playing and enjoying Solar Blaster!
Currently my favorite shooter for Pico8, love the timed power ups and the variety in the different stages.
SandwichBlam and WoodDragon1964 - thanks, I'm really glad you are both enjoying the game!
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