Solterra - reloaded

**hnelson59** · 03-18-05, 04:00 PM

A couple of months ago I posted about the Solterra demo - a game specifically designed to take advantage of the X50v's Intel 2700g video capability. Well since then, Solterra has been released (2/3/2005). Not sure how I missed that bit of software news, but I am making up for it now. Being a sci-fi fan and a fan of cool space shooters, I gotta let you all know . . . Solterra has been released and it looks awesome on my X50v! The game costs $24.95 and is available for download here from Blacksmith Studios. There is a demo version which can be downloaded to main memory, BIS, or a memory card. Axim X50v owners - you owe it to yourself to try this out! :approve:

BTW - there was a thread about the Solterra release, but this deserves Front Page exposure, IMHO.

03-18-05, 04:59 PM

I wish I could have at least tried it on my X5, but the FAQs say this

"Solterra for the Pocket PC requires you have an Dell Axim x50v with Intel 2700G."

biohzrd · 03-18-05, 11:53 PM

OK, I just tried out the demo, and can easily say this is NOT worth $25!

1. The sound is horrible. Cool background music, but umm... no explosion sounds? do these guys in space just fall apart?
The weapon sounds are not powerful sounding at all. even with headphones it sounds like a pea shooter.

2. The 3d culling is horrible. How about a "space fog" or something
for the rocks in the distance to appear out of rather than just APPEAR
a few polys at a time? I KNOW the 2700g can do some sort of fog, b/c
there was an example 3d shooter (can't remember the name) that did it
flawlessly (and for free).
3. The guns shoot through the meteors and wierd structures? How is this possible?
4. The bosses... you just arrive after a few seconds of playing the "level", only realizing you arrived at him b/c a boss' life appears on the right hand side of the screen.

I'm sure there are other things, but this game looks like beta to me.

How about a polished product for $25!!

Journey to Arvale was much better(although, understandably not 3d) and only $20.

manub · 03-19-05, 07:52 AM

Originally Posted by biohzrd

but umm... no explosion sounds? do these guys in space just fall apart?
The weapon sounds are not powerful sounding at all. even with headphones it sounds like a pea shooter.

Didn't you know that 'In space no one can hear you scream' ? ;)

Technically speaking there should be no sound in space at all, because as you know sound doesn't travel in a vacumn, but then we also don't have space ships fighting alien races either so i guess the game can't exactly be classed as a realistic simulator ;) hehe

Overall the game was a little disappointing, graphics asside (they only look cool because it's pretty much a first for a PDA) the game lacks any real game play, the levels are short and very repetative, the controls not precice enough and the collision etc very poor. Bring back xenon in 3d!

Manub

Theophilus · 03-19-05, 11:06 AM

I tried this game a while ago, and yes it was beautiful, but gosh this game is sooo lame...

For 3D shooters, there are very good ones out there (though not VGA and not specifically for the 2700G)

To name a few: Anthelion (PDAMill), Darxide EMP (Frontier), ...

03-19-05, 11:48 AM

I tried to install this on SD memory instead of into main memory, it did not seem to complete the installation. So, I deleted the program. Bad installation program...waste of time.

biohzrd · 03-19-05, 12:31 PM

Originally Posted by lawman

I tried to install this on SD memory instead of into main memory, it did not seem to complete the installation. So, I deleted the program. Bad installation program...waste of time.

Even thought it's not worth trying to install again...

It installed just fine to my SD card. Bad download?

Di Fine · 03-19-05, 03:05 PM

Originally Posted by biohzrd

2. The 3d culling is horrible. How about a "space fog" or something
for the rocks in the distance to appear out of rather than just APPEAR
a few polys at a time? I KNOW the 2700g can do some sort of fog, b/c
there was an example 3d shooter (can't remember the name) that did it
flawlessly (and for free).

I belive you were thinking of "cube" :approve:

stonehenge8 · 03-19-05, 04:05 PM

I played this and I agree its poor. Underwhelming graphics and 3D and very fiddly control mechanism. Sub-SNES.

Am I right in saying that apart from this there are no games that take advantage of the 50v's graphics acceleration and vga abilities (apart from Fathammer's Stuntcar Extreme which I got free with the 50v and is nothing more than a glorified demo).

I know there's also some Super Breakout game - but this is designed to make use of VGA alone and (obviously) not the 3D capabilities.

Theophilus · 03-19-05, 08:30 PM

Originally Posted by stonehenge8

Am I right in saying that apart from this there are no games that take advantage of the 50v's graphics acceleration and vga abilities

There is one very cool thing... Not a "finished" game though, more a demo or beta version, but it's playable, and I use it to show off the Axim to my geek-gamers friends.

It's called the Yetti engine, and some clever guy compiled it for the 2700G. Find it here, and the original discussion is in this thread

And also, the Cube engine that was mentioned. Game is here

stonehenge8 · 03-21-05, 03:57 PM

Thanks Theo good :approve: link.

3D acceleration or not I wonder if anything will ever rival the sheer addictiveness of Street Duel.

03-23-05, 07:05 AM

I could not get it to install on a CF card or in the main memory. Installer just freezes every time. This is a big waste.

03-23-05, 08:04 AM

I tried installing last night and the installer froze on me, as well. I am going to redownload and try again.

**edit** Seems to be working fine now. Guess I'll give it a spin and see how it is.

03-27-05, 05:05 AM

There is a Video Review on Pocket PC media of the FULL version of Solterra.. check it out and find out what we have got to say about this game:
http://www.pocketpcmedia.nl/reviews_media.php3?id=27

Axim-P · 03-27-05, 05:24 AM

I tried the demo and its not bad, but nothing great either.

actually most pda game developers are of the worst(lazy) kind.

and why is it that most pda games have terrible sound or no sound?

for example stunt car extreme has only sound effects. and its very jerky. considering that the x50v is more powerful that the n64 the games don't show otherwise. I would rather they produce a good game, regardless of the size it takes on the pda but offers good graphics, game play + sound, and something most new pda games lack longevity. For a game having the above qualities i don't mind paying even $30-40.