Welcome to this guide on Solarian II! It's the last one you'll ever need. If you're playing seriously, you might find something useful here.

However, a word of caution: I recommend that you don't use this guide if you're new to the game.

One of the biggest rewards is figuring this game out on your own, and learning your own style of play. It is challenging but rewarding as you progress. Reading this guide may spoil some of that fun.

So read on only if you're really looking for some extra info that might improve your gameplay. And if you have your own suggestions, please sent them in!

WIthout further ado, I present...

📌 THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO SOLARIAN II - Part 1

In this section:

• General Gameplay
• Know Thy Enemy
• Timing of Rewards
• Supply Ship Strategy
• Present Strategy
• Evasive Presents

General Gameplay

This game rewards precise movements.

Keep your eye on the marker (it's inevitably your next destination) and be very deliberate about where you travel.

The temptation (for beginners) is to evade enemies and find "safety" at the sides of the screen, but you will often have better control in the central column of the screen where all the action is. As the saying goes, keep your enemies close! Speaking of which...

Know Thy Enemy:

The list of enemies from the game's help screen:

Most enemies have an "attack" mode were they follow a path expertly designed to kill Solarian ships, so it pays to learn these movements. Shooting enemies when they're in standard mode gets you standard points. Shooting an attacking enemy gets you bonus points (in addition to standard points).

By now you'll be familliar with the rules of regeneration, but if not, take note of which enemies regenerate after attacking:

Do Regenerate	.......	Do Not Regenerate	.......	Static
Bluebottle		Pentagon		Swarm Leaders (Krushu, Udie, Sly the Eye)
Delta		Kamikaze Arrow		Bodyguards (Rotor, Star, Triangle)
Bee		Flagellate		Shock Troops (Bird, Eyedroid)
Dots		Oing
Spike

---

Non-regenerative enemies each have one shot at trying to kill you and that's it, their purpose has been fulfilled (oh my god) and you never have to worry about them again (so that's nice!).

The 3rd column enemies stick to their post, i.e. they have no means of attacking. It's feels weird calling the Birds enemies, they literally cannot hurt you, but you still have to shoot them to finish a level. It feels inhumane. I find them peaceful, calming... vaguely maritime. BLAM BLAM. Take that you non-threatening space gull.

Bodyguards disappear once all other enemies are defeated. Shooting them is not required to finish a level.

Now, Bluebottles. Trying to outrun them isn't always recommended, nor is staying in the corner. They tack at 45 degrees, often to the corner of the screen, or bounce off the side, dropping fire all along the way. So rather than waiting and hoping for the best, look for a gap in the curtain of fire, and put the marker there. Easy.

Otherwise, shield is your friend. Shields last only a few frames. Holding the key down makes your shield last longer, but it rapidly depletes, so you only want a quick tap. Getting the timing right takes practice. Aim to tap in that fraction of a second before you're hit.

The swarm leaders shoot to where you are, not where you will be. And sometimes their aim isn't even that good, depending on which phase of the game you're in. So really, the strategy is to move, or not move. There's no advanced strategy, just evade their fire. The most common mistake for beginners is panicking and changing direction which usually results in moving INTO their fire. Instead, stay calm, pick a line and hold it.

And by the way, when a swarm leader shoots from one side of the screen to the other, its fire will sometimes appear to hit you. However the hit box is at the base of the ship, so you're actually OK. This isn't so much a tip as it is a reason not to panic. Not panicking is good advice for the whole game.

Timing of Rewards

I haven't timed this but approximately:

• Bonus blip gives you about 5 seconds
• Challenge stars last about 7 seconds
• Multipliers about 10 seconds

You can use this knowledge to prioritise your movements

Supply Ship Strategy

Catching the 'Movement' and 'Speed' presents will greatly improve your chances of shooting the Supply Ships and catching more presents. It helps to hover around the middle of the board so you have less distance to chase presents. But then, generally the middle has a higher density of enemies, and thus harder to slip a shot through the hoard. In which case you might be better shooting on the flank. It really depends on the level and timing.

Presents are key to winning, so chase them where you can, but don't forget you still need to contend with all the other nasties. As YesterYear's MacGames puts it:

Giving the present your undivided attention, will frequently lead to DEATH.

So watch out for that. You know. Death. It's not great. For the whole staying alive thing. It's actually kind of the opposite of that. So don't do that and you'll be fine.

Anyway the Supply Ships come in 6 forms, changing every other level:

Levels 1 & 2

Stork / Great Egret

Presents are given freely on Levels 1 and 2, so get as many as you can, both from Supply Ships and Challenge Rounds. You can get 4 easy presents here. 5 with 100% on the challenge round.

Levels 3 & 4

Goodyear Blimp

Every Supply Ship from Level 3 onward needs to be shot. Missiles and Scissors will do the trick, but it's usually better to hold onto them for the swarm.

Levels 5 & 6

Biplane

Same as the Goodyear Blimp, perhaps slightly faster.

Levels 7 & 8

Chopper

Same as the Biplane, perhaps slightly faster.

Levels 9 & 10

Space Shuttle

Fast moving so catch it while you can.

Levels 11-16

Satellite

The satellite bobs up and down as it goes, in a sinusoidal movement. It can make it a lot more difficult to hit.

Present strategy

This is probably the most important element of the game. That, and not dying.

YOU NEED PRESENTS. You cannot beat this game without them. I would love to see a present-less run. But it's very very very unlikely a regular mortal can achieve this without TAS.

Now, try to become zen with the fact you're not going to catch every present. Going after them in a rush can be reckless. The risk is sometimes worth it for the right present (e.g. Protect when you've got a full house of power ups), and usually only under the cover of shield.

Know your presents. Learn the colours! The best prize depends on the situation:

If you're low on Shield that's your first priority.

If you're loaded up with other powerups, getting Protect is supremely good. You now have an insurance policy.

Speed and Movement are a very effective combo. Speed is usually the first I'd pick. Shooting enemies faster is often easier than evading them faster. And there's two modes. I call them "Speed 1 - Anthony Hopkins" and "Speed 2 - Willem Dafoe"

Note that Speed and Movement both make you "faster" at something:

• Speed is your firing rate / how fast your shots travel
• Movement is how fast your ship moves left and right

Skilled players are rewarded with a choice of present in Challenge Rounds. In order of preference, I generally go for:

• Shield (if needed)
• Speed 1
• Movement
• Speed 2
• Protect

Note this depends on your goal, whether it's speedrunning or points, or simply finishing the game. But in essence, those are the "good' powerups.

Now. 2x shots is a mightily bodacious powerup...at first glance. You soon find out it's a double-edged sword: sure, you get twice as many shots, but it slows down your firing rate. For that reason I tend to leave it. I'd rather have the extra speed, but it depends on your preference. 2x shots is helpful for Levels 1-4 and 9-12, but for the rest of the levels it's a poisoned chalice. Yes it's a sword and a chalice. What of it?

The Flagellates tend to sneak through. So, unless you're quick to move and react, or you're trigger happy on the shield key, you're vulnerable to getting spunked when the Flagellate slips between your pair of shots. That sounds bad in more ways than one.

You might pick one up if it's offered in Levels 1-2 or 8-10, in which case you're teetering along the the risk/reward tightrope. But any other level, I reckon it's best to leave it at the table because you're stuck with it until you die. Most certainly though, try to pick one up at Level 16, knowing what awaits beyond.

Missiles and Scissor Snips are good to have, especially in the later levels. You only get one scissor, and it's best used on L16, but you can of course use it earlier and resupply from presents. They drop fairly reliably when you have none.

Once you've hit the max no. of missiles (3), and maxed out the other powerups, the only remaining prizes are bonus points, bombs and duds.

• Bonus is 6k points. Better than a kick in the gametes.
• Duds are duds. Spot the grey (gray for you freedom spellers) wrapper, and now you know not to chase them.
• Bombs are the only actively bad presents. The explosion will hurt you, so avoid. You can tell them apart from good presents because they drop faster and they're red orange and yellow. It's nature's way of saying "watch out". Fascinating creatures. So maligned. So misunderstood.

Evasive Presents

If you're reading this far, you're usually well enough into the game that presents start displaying odd behaviours that make them trickier to catch. Some will actively avoid being picked up. It's kind of fun trying to chase them down. But can be a pain in the patookie too.

Get familiar with their two main evasion tactics, it will help in later levels.

Their first trick is they will defy gravity if you travel beneath their path. If this happens, you may need to travel away from them (the ol' reverse psychology trick), and allow them to descend at a regular rate. AND THEN NAB 'EM just before they disappear through the floor.

The second trick is they go on a bizarre curvilinear path going all over the screen like a mad hatter at a circus. I would love to know the maths behind this, it very spline-y. I bet it involves some funky trig functions or cubics.

It appears the path is based on the relative position between your arrow and your ship. The path is constantly updating as you move. You CAN catch these presents by the way. And there's a trick that means you can get them reliably. The code is very intentional, according to Ben Haller, and quite rewarding when you succeed. I haven't fully got the hang of it, but players smarter than me will be able to get the present more often than not.

One other tip on catching these slippery boys is to clear the nastiest enemies from the screen first. The presents take a zany path, and gift-hunting requires lots of back and forth (and potentially getting yourself hurt). It's like playing frisbee on a highway: don't do it unless you enjoy turning into a smear. I'm not gonna yuck your yum.

And, if it's the second present to deploy in a level, you can try wipe out all but a couple of Shock Troops to preempt clearing the level. And look at that, bonus points be damned, you're now INVULNERABLE. It's an open highway baybeeeee.

Don't get too drunk on that feeling though, there's always more waiting on the next screen. Speaking of which...

CONTINUED IN PART 2