The next big thing I'm working on (and getting close to completion), are alternatives to the classic "tank" controls. Soon you'll be able to use the mouse to orient the ship when playing with keyboard controls, and use the thumb sticks to orient the ship when using controllers with analog capabilities. I’m also planning some limited twin-stick style controls.

This update adds a few small features and tweaks that I hope you'll enjoy till then. There's a new power-up, along with some balancing/bug fixes, but probably the most exciting is that some of the Terminator style bosses can now be destroyed before finishing off all their peripheral parts. Alas, normal energy-based guns can't do this, but missiles can, and so can your ship. So… as at least one person requested, and others have eluded to, the ability to kamikaze is born! It's quite satisfying to see the remaining pieces of the boss drift off as space debris.

• Added a Primary Weapon Recharge power-up which allows more standard/outrider bullets to be fired at once (normally limited to 4). This also increases the auto-fire rate.
  
• Bonus ships are less likely to be found and can only be collected up to level 10.
  
• Add kamikaze dynamic. Ramming asteroids and enemies at high speed result in detonation of your ships core.
  
• Enemy cores can now be destroyed using missiles (or player ships) before all peripheral parts have been destroyed. Normally they are invulnerable until they are the last remaining piece.
  
• Free Play mode has now been locked until level 10 has been beaten.

• Main cannon bullets were not being limited to 4 as they were supposed to.
  
• Terminator MKII bosses were not firing strafe bullets as they were supposed to.
  
• Fixed issue that caused activation of "trial mode".

• Borderless window option is only implemented for Windows right now.
  
• Disconnecting an external audio device being used by the game will cause a crash/freeze on Linux/OSX.
  
• Some options are English only.

The next big thing I'm working on (and getting close to completion), are alternatives to the classic "tank" controls. Soon you'll be able to use the mouse to orient the ship when playing with keyboard controls, and use the thumb sticks to orient the ship when using controllers with analog capabilities. I’m also planning some limited twin-stick style controls.

This update adds a few small features and tweaks that I hope you'll enjoy till then. There's a new power-up, along with some balancing/bug fixes, but probably the most exciting is that some of the Terminator style bosses can now be destroyed before finishing off all their peripheral parts. Alas, normal energy-based guns can't do this, but missiles can, and so can your ship. So… as at least one person requested, and others have eluded to, the ability to kamikaze is born! It's quite satisfying to see the remaining pieces of the boss drift off as space debris.

• Added a Primary Weapon Recharge power-up which allows more standard/outrider bullets to be fired at once (normally limited to 4). This also increases the auto-fire rate.
  
• Bonus ships are less likely to be found and can only be collected up to level 10.
  
• Add kamikaze dynamic. Ramming asteroids and enemies at high speed result in detonation of your ships core.
  
• Enemy cores can now be destroyed using missiles (or player ships) before all peripheral parts have been destroyed. Normally they are invulnerable until they are the last remaining piece.
  
• Free Play mode has now been locked until level 10 has been beaten.

• Main cannon bullets were not being limited to 4 as they were supposed to.
  
• Terminator MKII bosses were not firing strafe bullets as they were supposed to.
  
• Fixed issue that caused activation of "trial mode".

• Borderless window option is only implemented for Windows right now.
  
• Disconnecting an external audio device being used by the game will cause a crash/freeze on Linux/OSX.
  
• Some options are English only.

Hello everyone! Just a small update to add the new Parallax option.



An often requested feature, the Parallax option adds depth to the background elements providing a richer visual experience. It is adjustable between 0-400% to suite your tastes, and can also be used with or without the Seamless Wrapping option turned on.

I've also discovered that the frameworks that I use (XNA/XACT/FNA) do not support disconnection of external audio devices while in-game. I've come up with a workaround for Windows (Vista+) but finding solutions for Linux/OSX (and pre-vista) are still ongoing research. In the meantime be careful with your USB.

• Add Parallax video option. When enabled, stars and other background elements have simulated depth. Adjustable from Off to 400%.

• Crash/freeze on Windows when unplugging external (i.e. USB) audio devices that are being used by the game.

• Fixed issue where player and outriders could "lose" their color.

• Borderless window option is only implemented for Windows right now.
  
• Disconnecting an external audio device being used by the game will cause a crash/freeze on Linux/OSX.
  
• Some options are English only.

Happy blasting!

Hello everyone! Just a small update to add the new Parallax option.



An often requested feature, the Parallax option adds depth to the background elements providing a richer visual experience. It is adjustable between 0-400% to suite your tastes, and can also be used with or without the Seamless Wrapping option turned on.

I've also discovered that the frameworks that I use (XNA/XACT/FNA) do not support disconnection of external audio devices while in-game. I've come up with a workaround for Windows (Vista+) but finding solutions for Linux/OSX (and pre-vista) are still ongoing research. In the meantime be careful with your USB.

• Add Parallax video option. When enabled, stars and other background elements have simulated depth. Adjustable from Off to 400%.

• Crash/freeze on Windows when unplugging external (i.e. USB) audio devices that are being used by the game.

• Fixed issue where player and outriders could "lose" their color.

• Borderless window option is only implemented for Windows right now.
  
• Disconnecting an external audio device being used by the game will cause a crash/freeze on Linux/OSX.
  
• Some options are English only.

Happy blasting!

EMERGENCY ALERT!!!

Space is a cold, even frigid, place and a sinister plot has been hatched by unknown forces. Working against us, an alien presence has deployed the biggest snow machine known to man, or any other-worldly inhabitant for that matter, in the hopes of sneakily invading our little corner of the galaxy.



Battle the most fearsome and retaliatory snowflakes (and the slithery snowman) you've ever laid eyes on, in a deadly battle against what would appear on the surface as a winter wonderland.

Use your skills acquired playing... ahem… Solaroids, to defend our little home. Do you have what it takes? Do you even care enough to stand up and be counted among humanities last hope for survival?

Briefing Instructions to access the xmas game branch:

1. Right-click on the game within the Steam client and select the Properties menu item at the bottom.
   
2. From the Solaroids: Prologue - Properties dialog select the BETA tab.
   
3. From the BETA tab pick xmas - Happy Holidays from the Select the beta you would like to opt into drop-down selector. You should immediately see an update queued.
   
4. Close the properties window and prepare for battle!

Once you have either saved mankind or screamed in agony at defeat, you can return to your normally scheduled program by returning to the BETAS tab and picking NONE - Opt out of all beta programs from the drop-down selector.

Happy Holidays and merry X-Mas HO HO HO!

EMERGENCY ALERT!!!

Space is a cold, even frigid, place and a sinister plot has been hatched by unknown forces. Working against us, an alien presence has deployed the biggest snow machine known to man, or any other-worldly inhabitant for that matter, in the hopes of sneakily invading our little corner of the galaxy.



Battle the most fearsome and retaliatory snowflakes (and the slithery snowman) you've ever laid eyes on, in a deadly battle against what would appear on the surface as a winter wonderland.

Use your skills acquired playing... ahem… Solaroids, to defend our little home. Do you have what it takes? Do you even care enough to stand up and be counted among humanities last hope for survival?

Briefing Instructions to access the xmas game branch:

1. Right-click on the game within the Steam client and select the Properties menu item at the bottom.
   
2. From the Solaroids: Prologue - Properties dialog select the BETA tab.
   
3. From the BETA tab pick xmas - Happy Holidays from the Select the beta you would like to opt into drop-down selector. You should immediately see an update queued.
   
4. Close the properties window and prepare for battle!

Once you have either saved mankind or screamed in agony at defeat, you can return to your normally scheduled program by returning to the BETAS tab and picking NONE - Opt out of all beta programs from the drop-down selector.

Happy Holidays and merry X-Mas HO HO HO!

Happy holidays everyone!

I present to you a small but significant update, as it has a few features that have been commonly requested. Now that I have an option menu in place it makes it much easier to surface some of these tweaks!

First, a very common request has been to eliminate the traditional "screen edge effect" that simulates the classic Asteroids wrapping from one side of the play area to the other. As Solaroids has a much larger playing field, this can be jarring (especially in the arena corners) and is unnecessary. So now the default is to use a Seamless Wrapping mode where there will be no discernable edge to the play area. The sun becomes a constant landmark to help re-orient yourself and is conveniently shown in the player reticle. While this is the new default, you can globally turn the mode on and off during gameplay from the video options.

Second, there are several options geared toward tweaking the visibility in the game. One is that the faster you are flying the more the camera will look ahead. This should give better visibility of what your heading towards, like a giant space centipede (Infiltrator). In addition, I've adjusted the default camera to be panned back just a little more, but you also can now adjust it even further (within reason) using the new Zoom video option.

Third, you may or may not have noticed that at the end of November I released a FREE DEMO, so if you can, please spread the word. The demo has a few limitations, one being you can only play for 15 minutes at a time or through level 4, whichever comes first. In addition, Free Play mode is locked, and Steam global leaderboards and achievements are unavailable. If the full game is purchased in-game, then these restrictions are lifted except for the global leaderboards and achievements. A restart is necessary to activate these Steam features.

I hope you enjoy the new additions, and I would love to hear any feedback you are willing to share via reviews or discussion threads. Thank you for your continued support, and happy blasting!!

• Add seamless wrapping video option that eliminates the edge of screen transition at the edges of the arena. This is now the default.
  
• Increase camera look ahead amount to allow seeing further ahead when moving.
  
• Adjust default zoom level. It is zoomed out about 5% more than before.
  
• Add Zoom Level option that allows some limited tweaking of the camera zoom level (80%-150%).
  
• Change Controller Vibration player option to allow a percentage from Off to 100%.
  
• Change Camera Shake player option to allow a percentage from Off to 200%.
  
• Change bloom video setting to allow a percentage from Off to 200%.
  
• The high scores for the steam account are highlighted.
  
• A set of basic tips are deployed around the sun to quickly guide the new player instead of being mixed in with the other level tips that can be found.
  
• Added 144fps to frame rate option.

• Improved memory efficiency.

• Limit the number of found power-ups to restrict the maximum number active to approximately 25.
  
• Fix timing issue for frame rate limiter that would cause the target framerate to be slightly lower than the requested rate.
  
• Fix Infiltrator boss (serpent) when running at greater than 60fps.
  
• Reduce popping of large nebula.
  
• Default Friendly Collisions to off.

• Borderless is only implemented for Windows right now.
  
• Some options are English only.

Happy holidays everyone!

I present to you a small but significant update, as it has a few features that have been commonly requested. Now that I have an option menu in place it makes it much easier to surface some of these tweaks!

First, a very common request has been to eliminate the traditional "screen edge effect" that simulates the classic Asteroids wrapping from one side of the play area to the other. As Solaroids has a much larger playing field, this can be jarring (especially in the arena corners) and is unnecessary. So now the default is to use a Seamless Wrapping mode where there will be no discernable edge to the play area. The sun becomes a constant landmark to help re-orient yourself and is conveniently shown in the player reticle. While this is the new default, you can globally turn the mode on and off during gameplay from the video options.

Second, there are several options geared toward tweaking the visibility in the game. One is that the faster you are flying the more the camera will look ahead. This should give better visibility of what your heading towards, like a giant space centipede (Infiltrator). In addition, I've adjusted the default camera to be panned back just a little more, but you also can now adjust it even further (within reason) using the new Zoom video option.

Third, you may or may not have noticed that at the end of November I released a FREE DEMO, so if you can, please spread the word. The demo has a few limitations, one being you can only play for 15 minutes at a time or through level 4, whichever comes first. In addition, Free Play mode is locked, and Steam global leaderboards and achievements are unavailable. If the full game is purchased in-game, then these restrictions are lifted except for the global leaderboards and achievements. A restart is necessary to activate these Steam features.

I hope you enjoy the new additions, and I would love to hear any feedback you are willing to share via reviews or discussion threads. Thank you for your continued support, and happy blasting!!

• Add seamless wrapping video option that eliminates the edge of screen transition at the edges of the arena. This is now the default.
  
• Increase camera look ahead amount to allow seeing further ahead when moving.
  
• Adjust default zoom level. It is zoomed out about 5% more than before.
  
• Add Zoom Level option that allows some limited tweaking of the camera zoom level (80%-150%).
  
• Change Controller Vibration player option to allow a percentage from Off to 100%.
  
• Change Camera Shake player option to allow a percentage from Off to 200%.
  
• Change bloom video setting to allow a percentage from Off to 200%.
  
• The high scores for the steam account are highlighted.
  
• A set of basic tips are deployed around the sun to quickly guide the new player instead of being mixed in with the other level tips that can be found.
  
• Added 144fps to frame rate option.

• Improved memory efficiency.

• Limit the number of found power-ups to restrict the maximum number active to approximately 25.
  
• Fix timing issue for frame rate limiter that would cause the target framerate to be slightly lower than the requested rate.
  
• Fix Infiltrator boss (serpent) when running at greater than 60fps.
  
• Reduce popping of large nebula.
  
• Default Friendly Collisions to off.

• Borderless is only implemented for Windows right now.
  
• Some options are English only.

Hello everyone!! I'm happy to announce the V1.1.0 release of Solaroids.

This is a big update (at least for me) as it is one of my milestones to finally have proper option menus to control various typical game settings as well as a few extras for tweaking the mechanics of the game. I'm planning some additional options in the future, but this definitely feels like a good base.

A few of the other gameplay tweaks that are worth highlighting are that friendly fire and friendly collisions can now be turned off. While friendly fire was a specific design choice for the game to allow a co-op (or not) experience as well as a little extra danger, it has been a top requested feature. Note that these are available from the global options menu before starting a game; they are not available from the player-centric option menu in the pause screen. Similarly, there is also now the option to globally turn Auto-fire on/off for all players. When Auto-fire is on, you can still take control of the shots to fire bursts when things get intense and you need a little extra for a moment or two. This is the default for new installs.

Another tweak is the ability to control how many "credits/continues" are allowed per game session. Previously this was unlimited, which required discipline to not continue if you wanted to compete only on the "first credit" leaderboards. I've defaulted this to zero for new installs, but it can be changed from the option menu.

Also, this update provides a tip system to give a little coaching here and there. There are a lot of subtle/hidden details with how things interact in the game, so along with the typical instructional material to help clarify key game elements quicker, the tip system sheds light on many of these. Not all tips are available immediately, but they present themselves the further you progress. Similar to power-up prompts, they are not available in Free Play mode, so they are only available in the normal "campaign" mode. They can also be turned off via options once you've mastered them.

I hope you enjoy the new additions, and I would love to here any feedback you are willing to share via reviews or discussion threads. Thank you for your continued support, and happy blasting!!

• Tips - New "Power-up" that provides tips and hints about the game. New tips become available as the game progresses.
  
• Options, including controller/keyboard configurations for players are saved. Steam cloud is used to mirror settings between computers However, some settings are excluded from syncing such as (resolution, full-screen, border-less, frame rate, and vsync).
  
• When changing an option, an icon now indicates if the option participate in steam cloud synchronization.
  
• Added brief descriptions for menu items on the title screen (English only right now).
  
• An icon indicating first credit or any credit is displayed next to the score showing what leaderboard it qualifies for. These icons are also shown in the high score listings.
  
• The player name is now displayed in the player HUDs.
  
• For the current game session the last and best scores are displayed under the player name for reference.
  
• In the player HUD, when continuing, the number of remaining credits is displayed.
  
• Turn Speed, Bullet Strength, and Bullet Speed power-ups now detach when your ship is lost, so you'll have to retrieve them before someone else does.
  
• A hint is now displayed on the option menus and credits page showing how to leave the page.
  
• Adjusted player HUD layouts.
  
• The location of the sun is now indicated in the player reticle as a solid yellow circle.
  
• Changed bullet speed increase power up icon away from the too generic
• Plus symbol; It is now a ball with speed lines.
  
• The Bonus Points power-ups now show their approximate value instead of the misleading $ symbol.
  
• Moved the Increase Cannon Strength Power-up to earlier levels so you can now begin to upgrade your main cannon sooner!
  
• Various stability improvements.
  
• Global Options:
  
  • Video
    
    • Common video options including Resolution, Fullscreen/Windowed, Borderless, Framerate, and VSync.
      
    • Bloom - Allows turning the bloom effect on/off which can help frame rate on some under-powered systems.
      
    • Language - Allows override of the current Steam language; the only way to access languages not supported by Steam such as Serbian.
      
    • Powerup Prompts - Allows turning off the pop-up prompts that display when collecting the various power-ups in campaign mode. Power-up prompts are always off in Free Play mode.
      
    • Tips - Allows turning off the tip "power-ups" that become available throughout the levels in campaign mode. Tips are always off in Free Play mode.
  • Audio - Master, Music, and Effects volume.
    
  • Gameplay
    
    • Credits/Continues - Allows restricting the number of credits/continues in a game session. Once a player runs out they can no longer re-join. Great for tournaments or simulating "death-match" until additional game modes are released.
      
    • Friendly Fire - Allows turning on/off the effects of bullets and other detonations between the local players.
      
    • Friendly Collisions - Allows turning on/off collisions with other local players.
      
    • Autofire - Allows holding down the primary weapon key/button for a nominal rate of fire. For extra bursts where needed, you can still manually control the fire rate for regular guns and attachments.
  • Miscellaneous
    
    • Logging - Allows turning on/off the diagnostics log that can be useful for bug reporting. The diagnostics log, when enabled, is in the game directory and is called diagnostics_<time>.html. A new one is created with a new timestamp on each launch.
      
    • Expire Anonymous Scores - Allows a schedule to be set for retaining local high scores under the Anonymous label.
      
    • Expire Extra Scores - Allows a schedule to be set for retaining local high scores by the same player name. The highest score for each player name is retained.
      
    • Clear Local Scores - Allows the clearing of the local high score listings.
      
    • Local Leaderboards Only - When turned on the steam account is no longer used for player 1, and it behaves the same as guest players. That is it defaults to a player name of Anonymous but allows the player to edit the name used to label the local high score.
• Player Options:
  
  • Player
    
    • Camera Shake - Allows turning on/off the camera shake effect used when taking damage or near explosions.
  • Controls
    
    • Vibration - Allows turning on/off the controller vibration/rumble used when the player takes damage or is near explosions.
      
    • Controller Type - When a game controller is connected, allows the selection of the controller type used for button glyphs/layout. Currently Xbox 360/One and PlayStation Dualshock 3/4 are supported.
      
    • Layout - Allows adjustment to the buttons/keys used to control the ship.
  
  
  Previously Released Patches
  • Fixed issue where the players shield was not blocking shock waves from some enemy types.
    
  • Stability improvements.
  
  
  Known issues
  • Some previously supported languages are not fully supported at this time.
    These are still available from the language option and include the identifier "(partial)" next to the language to indicate which languages are not fully translated. In the cases where it is a partial translation, English is used for any missing translations. For most languages this is power-up prompts, tips, options, and menu items.
    
  • Borderless is only implemented for Windows right now.

Hello everyone!! I'm happy to announce the V1.1.0 release of Solaroids.

This is a big update (at least for me) as it is one of my milestones to finally have proper option menus to control various typical game settings as well as a few extras for tweaking the mechanics of the game. I'm planning some additional options in the future, but this definitely feels like a good base.

A few of the other gameplay tweaks that are worth highlighting are that friendly fire and friendly collisions can now be turned off. While friendly fire was a specific design choice for the game to allow a co-op (or not) experience as well as a little extra danger, it has been a top requested feature. Note that these are available from the global options menu before starting a game; they are not available from the player-centric option menu in the pause screen. Similarly, there is also now the option to globally turn Auto-fire on/off for all players. When Auto-fire is on, you can still take control of the shots to fire bursts when things get intense and you need a little extra for a moment or two. This is the default for new installs.

Another tweak is the ability to control how many "credits/continues" are allowed per game session. Previously this was unlimited, which required discipline to not continue if you wanted to compete only on the "first credit" leaderboards. I've defaulted this to zero for new installs, but it can be changed from the option menu.

Also, this update provides a tip system to give a little coaching here and there. There are a lot of subtle/hidden details with how things interact in the game, so along with the typical instructional material to help clarify key game elements quicker, the tip system sheds light on many of these. Not all tips are available immediately, but they present themselves the further you progress. Similar to power-up prompts, they are not available in Free Play mode, so they are only available in the normal "campaign" mode. They can also be turned off via options once you've mastered them.

I hope you enjoy the new additions, and I would love to here any feedback you are willing to share via reviews or discussion threads. Thank you for your continued support, and happy blasting!!

• Tips - New "Power-up" that provides tips and hints about the game. New tips become available as the game progresses.
  
• Options, including controller/keyboard configurations for players are saved. Steam cloud is used to mirror settings between computers However, some settings are excluded from syncing such as (resolution, full-screen, border-less, frame rate, and vsync).
  
• When changing an option, an icon now indicates if the option participate in steam cloud synchronization.
  
• Added brief descriptions for menu items on the title screen (English only right now).
  
• An icon indicating first credit or any credit is displayed next to the score showing what leaderboard it qualifies for. These icons are also shown in the high score listings.
  
• The player name is now displayed in the player HUDs.
  
• For the current game session the last and best scores are displayed under the player name for reference.
  
• In the player HUD, when continuing, the number of remaining credits is displayed.
  
• Turn Speed, Bullet Strength, and Bullet Speed power-ups now detach when your ship is lost, so you'll have to retrieve them before someone else does.
  
• A hint is now displayed on the option menus and credits page showing how to leave the page.
  
• Adjusted player HUD layouts.
  
• The location of the sun is now indicated in the player reticle as a solid yellow circle.
  
• Changed bullet speed increase power up icon away from the too generic Plus (+) symbol; It is now a ball with speed lines.
  
• The Bonus Points power-ups now show their approximate value instead of the misleading $ symbol.
  
• Moved the Increase Cannon Strength Power-up to earlier levels so you can now begin to upgrade your main cannon sooner!
  
• Various stability improvements.
  
• Global Options:
  
  • Video
    
    • Common video options including Resolution, Fullscreen/Windowed, Borderless, Framerate, and VSync.
      
    • Bloom - Allows turning the bloom effect on/off which can help frame rate on some under-powered systems.
      
    • Language - Allows override of the current Steam language; the only way to access languages not supported by Steam such as Serbian.
      
    • Powerup Prompts - Allows turning off the pop-up prompts that display when collecting the various power-ups in campaign mode. Power-up prompts are always off in Free Play mode.
      
    • Tips - Allows turning off the tip "power-ups" that become available throughout the levels in campaign mode. Tips are always off in Free Play mode.
  • Audio - Master, Music, and Effects volume.
    
  • Gameplay
    
    • Credits/Continues - Allows restricting the number of credits/continues in a game session. Once a player runs out they can no longer re-join. Great for tournaments or simulating "death-match" until additional game modes are released.
      
    • Friendly Fire - Allows turning on/off the effects of bullets and other detonations between the local players.
      
    • Friendly Collisions - Allows turning on/off collisions with other local players.
      
    • Autofire - Allows holding down the primary weapon key/button for a nominal rate of fire. For extra bursts where needed, you can still manually control the fire rate for regular guns and attachments.
  • Miscellaneous
    
    • Logging - Allows turning on/off the diagnostics log that can be useful for bug reporting. The diagnostics log, when enabled, is in the game directory and is called diagnostics_<time>.html. A new one is created with a new timestamp on each launch.
      
    • Expire Anonymous Scores - Allows a schedule to be set for retaining local high scores under the Anonymous label.
      
    • Expire Extra Scores - Allows a schedule to be set for retaining local high scores by the same player name. The highest score for each player name is retained.
      
    • Clear Local Scores - Allows the clearing of the local high score listings.
      
    • Local Leaderboards Only - When turned on the steam account is no longer used for player 1, and it behaves the same as guest players. That is it defaults to a player name of Anonymous but allows the player to edit the name used to label the local high score.
• Player Options:
  
  • Player
    
    • Camera Shake - Allows turning on/off the camera shake effect used when taking damage or near explosions.
  • Controls
    
    • Vibration - Allows turning on/off the controller vibration/rumble used when the player takes damage or is near explosions.
      
    • Controller Type - When a game controller is connected, allows the selection of the controller type used for button glyphs/layout. Currently Xbox 360/One and PlayStation Dualshock 3/4 are supported.
      
    • Layout - Allows adjustment to the buttons/keys used to control the ship.
  
  
  Previously Released Patches
  • Fixed issue where the players shield was not blocking shock waves from some enemy types.
    
  • Stability improvements.
  
  
  Known issues
  • Some previously supported languages are not fully supported at this time.
    These are still available from the language option and include the identifier "(partial)" next to the language to indicate which languages are not fully translated. In the cases where it is a partial translation, English is used for any missing translations. For most languages this is power-up prompts, tips, options, and menu items.
    
  • Borderless is only implemented for Windows right now.