One of my favs back in the day. I remember getting a high score on it and my mom tried to take a picture of the screen so that I could get a prize but she had the flash on and...well, all we got was a very bright picture of the TV.
For the first time in my life I imagined myself as the parent of a child who spent the whole day playing this game and I could see how I would surely drift into madness with it's sound effects
Yeah, your controllers seem to have developed the infamous Atari paddle jitter. It's a common issue they develop, usually you can just open them up and clean them and it corrects it. Atari age has a thread about how to do it
I'm gonna be a little bummed if Jason from British Columbia ever stops being a Patreon backer. It always brightens my day to hear "Jason Jason Jason Jason from British Columbia."
It looks to me like your paddle controller "pots" are dirty inside, thats why its glitching. It doesnt look like a bad game, kind of a mix of Kaboom and Demon Attack.
I'm guessing the jiitter will be because the other paddle games apply some subtle "smoothing" to the motion while Solar Storm doesn't, to keep the response as twitchy as possible. Smoothing would help hide any iffy performance from a paddle controller that's a bit worn-out, while lack of smoothing would reveal it. Anyway, have you tried M-Network's "Astro Blast"? It's basically a 2600 port of "Astrosmash" from the Intellivision, but they upped the difficulty and went with paddle controls on the 2600. It's a surprisingly decent blast :)
The PADDLE controllers! Haven't thought about those in 30+ years! Thank you!!! "The controls seem intentionally broken": take a sip for every Atari 2600 game of which you could say that!
I want to buy your amazing Special broken copy of Solar Storm. Thats totally looks freaking cool. It does not jump like a jittery paddle and you even show its not the controller it is definitively the game which I think is killer because it just looks like so much fun knowing your absolutely going to loose. The chaotic nature seems like something other then a coding error and I can not help it I want it so much I asked on the Atariage forums if some one can hack me a ver of it but I some how think even if they can get something like that made it wont be as cool as how yours works. you got a one of a kind master peice.
I know you tested it but that looks exactly like a busted controller, having repaired a bunch of them. It could just be that this game notices the controller defects more than what you compared it to. But worn out paddles are super jerky like that.
Well, he did use them for quite some years now.. I'm curious. Paddles work thanks to potentiometers, right? So they should be relatively easy to fix, compared to.. a joystick, or a racing controller, right?
It really does look like a paddle that needs cleaning. I've played this and don't remember it jittering like that. It could be for some reason Solar Storm is more sensitive.
After 3-5 hits in 1982, to put out a bunch of junk in 1983, that I never heard of when it came out, makes me feel they deserved to go out of business. Their high point seems to be making Intellivision games, some of which were enhanced versions of their Atari carts. Activision made Intellivision versions but didn't seem to enhance them.
If they didn't make the controls on this one broken I bet it could be fun for a little while... [Edit] Turns out it was just Mark's copy for some reason... Oh well, this is certainly an unique paddle game, I'll give it that much!
Especially since Mark already has a really nice CRT. But I guess without the abandoned space arcade there is not enough room for it. It is really hard now to get a CRT with a nice big and flat tube, 50Hz for light gun games and a not worn out picture.
+Gillian Seed Well... except it is not. I doesn't matter if Plasma, LCD or even most modern Tubes. Important is the native 50Hz (or 60Hz depending your Region) interlaced Video display what a Plasma certainly will not do.
One of my favs back in the day. I remember getting a high score on it and my mom tried to take a picture of the screen so that I could get a prize but she had the flash on and...well, all we got was a very bright picture of the TV.
For the first time in my life I imagined myself as the parent of a child who spent the whole day playing this game and I could see how I would surely drift into madness with it's sound effects
your paddle is busted. it was smooth on mine
I sent in a high score for Solar Storm to Activision many years ago, and got a nifty t-shirt! I wore it proudly! I wish I still had it...
Yeah, your controllers seem to have developed the infamous Atari paddle jitter. It's a common issue they develop, usually you can just open them up and clean them and it corrects it. Atari age has a thread about how to do it
The sound effects are so futuristic, I love it.
I'm gonna be a little bummed if Jason from British Columbia ever stops being a Patreon backer. It always brightens my day to hear "Jason Jason Jason Jason from British Columbia."
I love the pre-8-bit systems episodes
I recognize the explosion sound effect. Atlantis!
It looks to me like your paddle controller "pots" are dirty inside, thats why its glitching. It doesnt look like a bad game, kind of a mix of Kaboom and Demon Attack.
Seems like a weird combination of missle command and Astro smash for the intellevision. Great review as always
I'm guessing the jiitter will be because the other paddle games apply some subtle "smoothing" to the motion while Solar Storm doesn't, to keep the response as twitchy as possible. Smoothing would help hide any iffy performance from a paddle controller that's a bit worn-out, while lack of smoothing would reveal it. Anyway, have you tried M-Network's "Astro Blast"? It's basically a 2600 port of "Astrosmash" from the Intellivision, but they upped the difficulty and went with paddle controls on the 2600. It's a surprisingly decent blast :)
The PADDLE controllers! Haven't thought about those in 30+ years! Thank you!!!
"The controls seem intentionally broken": take a sip for every Atari 2600 game of which you could say that!
I come here every time for the dog.
VIRAL DOG! Gets everyone here.
lol the ending... your copy of the game is just special... it's the CGR version!
I want to buy your amazing Special broken copy of Solar Storm. Thats totally looks freaking cool. It does not jump like a jittery paddle and you even show its not the controller it is definitively the game which I think is killer because it just looks like so much fun knowing your absolutely going to loose. The chaotic nature seems like something other then a coding error and I can not help it I want it so much I asked on the Atariage forums if some one can hack me a ver of it but I some how think even if they can get something like that made it wont be as cool as how yours works. you got a one of a kind master peice.
...and Tac-Scan
I remember buying all games from Imagic just because the carts looked so fucking cool!.. they enticed me and said buy me!!! buy meeeeeee!!!
Thank You
New 2600 review! Awesome!
I truly hope there are really good sound effects when I die.
Imagic and their awesome games for the Atari 2600.
My first videogame
I know you tested it but that looks exactly like a busted controller, having repaired a bunch of them. It could just be that this game notices the controller defects more than what you compared it to. But worn out paddles are super jerky like that.
Well, he did use them for quite some years now..
I'm curious. Paddles work thanks to potentiometers, right? So they should be relatively easy to fix, compared to.. a joystick, or a racing controller, right?
They are very easy to fix
just open them up and use some alcohol to clean the contacts and disk, then put it back together.
It really does look like a paddle that needs cleaning. I've played this and don't remember it jittering like that. It could be for some reason Solar Storm is more sensitive.
It's the paddle controller, the controls in my game is smooth.
After 3-5 hits in 1982, to put out a bunch of junk in 1983, that I never heard of when it came out, makes me feel they deserved to go out of business. Their high point seems to be making Intellivision games, some of which were enhanced versions of their Atari carts. Activision made Intellivision versions but didn't seem to enhance them.
The paddle controllers need to be cleaned. It's easy to do.
If they didn't make the controls on this one broken I bet it could be fun for a little while...
[Edit] Turns out it was just Mark's copy for some reason... Oh well, this is certainly an unique paddle game, I'll give it that much!
Yours is an awesome dog.
You should do some Sinclair zx spectrum stuff
Shakey controls just like good ol Encounter at L5
Awesome 😈
Cool game, but no CRT? :/
It's Oh-VEE-doh Florida
can i play with normal pad?
Please play Atari on a crt television.
No
space problems, there should be a flat crt tv
Especially since Mark already has a really nice CRT. But I guess without the abandoned space arcade there is not enough room for it.
It is really hard now to get a CRT with a nice big and flat tube, 50Hz for light gun games and a not worn out picture.
there is, its called plasma
+Gillian Seed Well... except it is not. I doesn't matter if Plasma, LCD or even most modern Tubes. Important is the native 50Hz (or 60Hz depending your Region) interlaced Video display what a Plasma certainly will not do.
How About Reviewing Robot Arena2014
*new jersey!*
So what you're saying is, they were Atar-high
I was under the impression that CGR shut down awhile back? what happened?
Dane N he sold out and went to Amazon Prime.
Someone should redo this game make it smoother and add something to it
this game is ear rape >.
:) first comment yay
🏆 M-V-P! Lebron who?