Solar Quest

Solar Quest Description

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Cabinet Information

In the center of the monitor overlay where the sun is displayed, there is a yellow starburst area. At the top, where scores are shown, there is a rectangular orange area. The remainder of the overlay is blue.

The monitor itself is mounted facing the rear of the cabinet and the image viewed by the player is reflected from a pane of bronze, semi-reflective glass. The rear of the cabinet is lit with a blacklight. This light source illuminates the backdrop, a fluorescent orange and green starscape, and allows the image to show through the rear of the glass to combine with the monitor's display.

Cheats, Tricks and Bugs

Conversion

Game Introduction

The game is organized into numbered phases. During a phase, seven different types of invading alien ships appear. The types of alien ships get smaller and harder to shoot as the phase progresses. Most of the time all the alien ships on the screen are of one type, although two or three different types can be present at the same time. Up to 8 alien ships can be on the screen at once. The phase is complete when all seven types of enemy ships have been eliminated from the solar system.

The alien ships typically fly around the solar system in a somewhat random fashion, but the longer the game is played, the more aggressive they become. Early in the game, enemy ships will sometimes change course and begin to chase your ship. If you don't destroy them or leave the area, they will ram you. The longer the game lasts, the more often this happens. At higher levels, the alien ships have weapons and they will shoot at you as well.

The player's weaponry consists of a cannon and a nuke. The cannon fires a single shot in the direction your ship is pointed. Up to four shots can be outstanding at any given time. There are no restrictions on ammunition. The nuke, as the name implies, destroys all alien ships in the area when the device is detonated. The player's ship starts the game with only a few nukes, so they must be used sparingly. Additional nukes are earned every 10000 points. Using a nuke is a two step process, so the player has to plan ahead a little bit. The device is fired using the nuke button in a manner similar to the cannon. Then, when the nuke nears its target, the player again presses the nuke button. This detonates the device and all enemy ships in the area of the blast are eliminated. If all else fails, the player always has the option of escaping through hyperspace.

Whenever an alien ship is destroyed, a "survivor" is left drifting in space. One of three things can happen to a survivor: He can be shot (by you), he can be rescued (by you) or he can fall victim to the gravitational pull of the sun and suffer a fiery death. The player is awarded more points for rescuing survivors than shooting them, and if enough survivors are saved, extra ships can be earned. The game is over when all of the player's space ships have been destroyed.

VAPS Arcade Census

Common - There are 22 known instances of Solar Quest owned by one of our 900 members. Of these, 20 of them are original dedicated machines, and 2 of them are only circuit boards which a collector could put into a generic case if desired.

Of the 56,612 video games (3,411 unique) tracked by the Video Game Preservation Society, this game ranks a 15 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most commonly seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on ownership records.

Wanted - There are 2 VAPS members currently looking for Solar Quest.

Rarity is NOT necessarily an indication of value. Some common games show up as very rare here because collectors don't want them (they are common because arcade operators might be sitting on tons of them in warehouses), while some fairly scarce games are grabbed by collectors every time they show up. Additionally, some games made in the last 5 years are still making money for operators and are thus not yet affordable to the typical collector. For a clue to value, compare how many people have this game vs. how many people want this game and then click on the eBay links to help determine an accurate price range.

Technical

Trivia

eBay Listings

Alternatively, check out the IAM/KLOV custom report of the hottest coin-op machines on eBay, powered by Ace.com (updated throughoutthe day).

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Manuals

1. Operation and Maintenance Manual  99 Pages, 10586 KB File.

Foto-Finder™

1. The Encyclpedia of Arcade Video Games, Kurtz (ISBN 0764319256): Page: 116; Color photo;