Star Hopper

Click on game to unmute.

Controls Reference

Keyboard Controls

Key
Move Starship	← → ↑ ↓ Arrow Keys or WASD
Fire Primary Weapons	and key
Start / Pause	Enter

Gamepad Controls

Button / Input
Ship Steering	D-Pad or Left Analog Stick
Fire Weapons	Any button
Start / Pause Game	Start Button

Mission Overview & Story

The flagship vertical shoot-em-up for the Picocomputer 6502. Fight your way through 7 intense levels of enemy attack waves, evade dense bullet patterns, shatter drifting asteroids for power capsules, and face off against massive multi-phase boss flagships at the climax of each stage.

Score Multipliers & Combat Waves

Battle 7 distinct enemy types with escalating point values. Destroying enemies in rapid succession without taking hull damage builds your Score Multiplier from 1× up to 5×. Taking a hit resets the multiplier to 1×. A bonus screen tallies your kills after each cleared sector.

Boss Encounters (4-Minute Timer)

Each sector concludes with a gigantic flagship encounter. Bosses feature vulnerable points highlighted in bright yellow. Some commanders require tactical preparation — such as clearing out escort fighters before the primary core exposes itself. Defeat the boss within 4 minutes, or the enemy retreats!

Asteroids & Power-Up Sequence

Shattering drifting asteroids reveals power capsules following a repeating cycle:

• P (Power): Increases fire rate (faster shots, reduced cooldown).
• E (Energy): Restores 8 HP to your starship hull.
• S (Speed): Raises maximum thruster velocity.

Ship Health & Extra Lives

Your ship has 48 HP. The health bar in the HUD turns warning red below 12 HP. Brief invincibility frames protect your craft after taking a hit. Extra lives are awarded every 100,000 points!

Scoring & Multipliers

Scales with enemy tier × Multiplier

Maintained by dodging damage

Scales with stage difficulty

Awarded automatically

Points
Enemy Fighter Waves	10 to 70 pts
Multiplier Chain	1x → 5x
Boss Flagship Defeat	5,000 to 25,000 pts
Extra Life Threshold	Every 100,000 pts