Solar Winds: The Escape and its sequel Solar Winds: Galaxy also known as Solar Winds II: Universe are top-down, space-themed role-playing action games developed by James Schmalz and published by Epic MegaGames in 1993. The main character of both games, bounty hunter Jake Stone, takes on a series of missions that has him shipping cargo and fending off attackers. The story is told through simple conversations and brief cutscenes. In some ways, the series is reminiscent of Star Control II, without the ship customization and fleet building aspects. Gameplay Gameplay is presented in a top-down view. The focus is always on Stone's ship. The keyboard or a joystick is used to navigate the ship and fire weapons (which consist of lasers and missiles). Mice are also supported. Many functions, such as scans, communication, and power distribution, are controlled by the control panel. The player can zoom out to see details, the amount of which depends on how much power is allocated to sensors. Power is allocated to various ship's systems, such as shields, weapons, life support, engines, and is consumed by the hyperdrive, whose maximum speed is determined by engine power allocation. Hull integrity is shown through a square superimposed on top of the ship. Over time, the ship will repair itself, the speed of which depending on how much power has been dedicated to the life support systems. The waveforms of shields and weapons can be adjusted. The specific waveform selected for a laser blast or shield configuration dictates their effectiveness against each other. Lasers can be set to fire for either one, two, or three laser cannons firing simultaneously. Communication is implemented in the form of the other party talking and the player selecting a response. Items in the player's cargo hold can be transported to planets and other ships. In the first episode, many missions involve delivering cargo in return for useful items. Development Solar Winds was the first major title designed by James Schmalz. As a young developer, his simple motivation was "just thinking about what’s going to be fun to make, or what interests me". He created Solar Winds based on inspiration from the game Star Control II, as well as his love of the science fiction series Star Trek: The Next Generation. Released by shareware publisher Epic MegaGames, Solar Winds became successful enough that Schmalz could afford to develop his next games for Epic: