Infiltrator for Atari 8-bit computers | part 1

November 19, 2009 • Updated: Mar 11, 2025 - 08:47 PM

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"The game that shook America." Under this - apparently - pretentious slogan was sold this game, developed by Chris Gray and released for the Atari 8-bit in 1986 by Mindscape.

The statement was not a boast, to be honest. Infiltrator is a gem that combines action, strategy and an interesting flight simulation, quite complex for its time.

The program in question puts us in the shoes of Johnny "Jimbo-Baby" McGibbits, a renowned pilot and master of espionage (so fashionable these days) whose general goal will be to dismantle the organization headed by Mad Leader.

To do this, we must complete three missions, each of which follows a similar sequence: fly in theGizmo DHX-1, the brand new onehelicopterDesigned byWhizbang Enterprises; land at the enemy base and infiltrate inside to accomplish a specific task.

In this guide, we will focus onHow to maneuver the helicopter, which we must program and drive from our base to enemy territory. Along the way, we will have to determine if other vehicles are allies or enemies and fight them if you do not identify yourself correctly. Finally, we will land the helicopter trying not to be detected. Otherwise, we will be shown the following screen...

INFILTRATOR

Posted by:Mindscape, 1986.
Gender:Adventures, espionage.
Extra:1 player, joystick and keyboard.

LOADING THE GAME

Depending on the versionof the game you have, the first screen will give you the optionchooseone of the threemissions. As you might expect, the level of difficulty increases according to the mission selected. To do this, simply press thekeys 1 to 3

Below is thetitle screenof the game, followed by thesummaryof the mission (which is usually a couple of screenshots). Don't kill yourself by pressing the keys or the fire button:There is no way to skip the presentation

As a preamble to the mission, a fourth screen shows usthe basefrom where we will depart for enemy territory.

And finally, we are already installed in thecockpitof the Gizmo DHX-1. For practical/educational purposes, we will look at the cockpit controls in two parts.

FLIGHT CONTROLS

Joystick: Control the movements of the helicopter

Fortake off/rise: pull the lever back
Fordescend: push the lever forward
Foraccelerate: press the fire button and push the lever forward
Forcurb: press the fire button and pull the lever back
Forspin: Press the fire button and move the stick to the right or left
Fortilt: move the lever to the right or left

Keyboard: Used to control the other functions of the helicopter. In the case of flight, the keys will be used:

B...Turn on thebattery
STurn onthe on-board computer and communication systems
Yo...Turn on theengines
T... Displays the screen of thecomputeron board
... Displays the screen of thecommunication system
W... Activate the mode ofsilent flight
...Turn on theturbo booster
... Turn off theturbo booster

Now we will explain a little about how to interpret the numbers and lights on the pilot's display. For that, we have identifiedtwelve (12) elements, corresponding to thenext figure. While all are important, the truly vital ones are inred letters

1. RPM indicator: It tells you the revolutions per minute of the engine. The optimum and minimum necessary to take off is2340At that point, a takeoff alert will be activated and will not cease until you have taken off to a minimum of 500 feet.
2. Artificial horizon:It indicates your current position and also whether you are ascending or descending relative to the horizon line. If it is level and centered, it means you are flying straight and at a fixed altitude.
3. Directional compass:shows the direction the Gizmo is flying in degrees. Personally, I find this to be irrelevant.
4. Silent mode indicator: The white "W" will indicate that you are in that mode - although the reduction in engine sound is also noticeable, by the way. It is important to know that using silent mode for too long causes an increase in oil temperature; which is one of the causes of crashing. A landing without silent mode activated will alert your enemies.
5. Fuel gauge:The fuchsia line - what a gay tone - tells you how much fuel is available. When you take off, you are obviously at the top. If the line disappears in mid-flight, surprise! Get ready for a spectacular nose-dive landing.
6. Turbo Gauge:The white "T" will indicate that you have the turbo booster activated. Your speed will double, as will your fuel consumption (Did you read point 5 correctly?)... To switch to silent mode, you must disable the turbo.
7. Altimeter:Show your altitude infeet. The digital version shows us increases/decreases ranging from a minimum offive (5) feetto a maximum offifteen (15) feet. The maximum altitude at which you can fly is8010feet. Obviously, the higher you fly, the longer it will take you to land and therefore the more fuel you will have to consume. If your altitude is lower than200 feet, one of the lights is activatedalert
8. ADF:heAutomatic Direction Findero Automatic Address Searchwill guide us to our destiny. To do this,You have to program it firstwith the correct coordinates immediately after takeoff. The arrow will indicate the direction in which to steer the helicopter. If we deviate from the route, the arrow will rotate to adjust to the orientation in which we are flying. If we do not program the ADF after takeoff, the arrow will blink until we enter the correct data. If the arrow spins wildly and blinks, however, we will know that we have reached our destination.
9. Oil temperature gauge: When the bar reaches the white zone, the temperature is critical, activating the warning lights. To lower the temperature, we will disconnect the silent mode.
10. Warning lights: will alert you to any situation that requires your attention. The six warning lights flash red while a beep is heard. They indicate:AND- damaged engine;EITHER- overheated oil;TO- height less than 200 feet;B- overheated battery;F- Low fuel;R- Lack of engine RPM.
Generally speaking, you will have some direct control over the lights.B, OandTO. The lightsE, FandRThese are problems that cannot be corrected in flight. In this case, you should try to reach your destination as soon as possible.
11. Battery temperature indicator: When the bar reaches the white zone, the temperature is critical, activating the warning lights. To lower the temperature, we will disconnect the turbo booster and/or reduce the speed.
12. Speed indicator:It shows the speed in knots. The maximum speed without turbo is 450 knots; with the turbo activated it can reach 900 knots.

ARMAMENT

We havetwo offensive elementsandtwo defensive. They are all represented by lights that indicate whether they are active and ready to be used. Oncearmed, they can be activated by pressing and releasing the fire button. One or all of them can be damaged by enemy fire. Using thefollowing keysYou can activate them:

H... Activate theHeads Up Display(shooting sight)
G... Arm thecannons
R... Arm themissiles
B... Prepare theflares
C... Prepare therefractory material

Let's see how these are represented in the cockpit and some details of their use.

1. Cannons: It is a good idea to activate your HUD first before using them. In order for an enemy to be damaged, they must receive cannon blasts passing through your HUD. You have unlimited ammo.
2. Missiles:You have up tofour (4) thermal missilesper mission. In order to hit the enemy, the enemy must be visible on the screen - but not necessarily in the HUD field.
3. Refractory materialChaft): It is used to distract radar-guided missiles by creating a false image of your helicopter. You can use itup to six (6) timeson a mission.
4. HUDHeads Up Display): This is a simulation of your guns' aiming point. Use it to choose the direction of fire. To turn it off, press the "H" key again.
5. Missile alerts: Lights flash and a siren goes off to warn you of a missile approaching the Gizmo. If the "R" lights up, it means that it is aradar guided missile. If it is the "H", then it is aheat-guided missile
6. Flares: They are used to deflect enemy heat-seeking missiles. You can use themup to six (6) timeson a mission.

ONBOARD COMPUTER

It is represented by the small screen on the right side of the control panel. By pressing the "T" key, you can access data about(1) the status of the helicopter; either,(2) the flight map. To return to the pilot screen, press thespace baror any unassigned key. Enemy fire can cripple the computer and you simply won't be able to access it for the rest of the mission. Logging into the computer can alsocan be used as a pausein the development of the game.

1. Helicopter status: You are shown the possibledamagessuffered by Gizmo and ainventoryof available missiles, refractory material and flares. Damage is represented by circles in specific areas of the helicopter.

2. Flight map: Theupper stripshows us a value, which is none other than thefrequency for ADF. Those are theflight coordinatesof our mission. Below, we are shown atactical mapwhere our position is represented by a small clear rectangle with a shadow below it. The distance between it and the shadow represents the altitude at which we are flying. If you have programmed the ADF, asmall flagalso on the map, indicating yourdestination

COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

Pressing the " key" (asterisk) we access thecommunication systemfrom the Gizmo. Once there we can:

(A) Setting up the ADF: Once we review theflight mapand we have thecoordinatesFor our mission, we mustenter data into ADF, so that the arrow guides us correctly to our destination. Press the "A" key and then enter thethree digits, without taking into account the decimal point. Then, we press "Enter" to confirm. Unless we have set the wrong values, it will not be necessary to reprogram it for the rest of the mission.

(S) Communicate with other ships: With the "S" key we enter thetransmission mode, which allows ussend messages to other ships. Use the " keyRecoil" to delete or go back. We will see the following lateronly three recognized messagesby the system. Once the messages have been typed, press "Enter" to send them. TheSeitherRflashing indicates whether we are in the mode of transmitting or receiving messages. Press thespace barto return to the cockpit view.

COMMUNICATION WITH AIRCRAFT

Along your route to the enemy base, you will encounter other vehicles - specifically,airplanes. Some areallys, and othersenemiesat the service of the Mad Leader.

As soon as you see a plane, you must try to determine which side it belongs to. Since there are no visible markings identifying the Gizmo, theother pilotsThey will also try to communicate with you to see if they allow you to continue or attack you... logically, the key here istry to be the firstto establish contact. Once on the communications screen, press the "S" and type the message:REQUEST ID

We press "Enter" and we wait for theanswerfrom the other plane. Depending on this, we will reply with thecode namecorresponding:INFILTRATORfor the allies; andOVERLORDfor enemies.

Giving the correct ID to a plane will allow you to continue your mission without interruption. If you give the wrong ID, there will be a battle that will not end until one of the two is shot down.

While getting caught up in abattleIt can be entertaining, it is also the best way for us to beexhaustedfuel. On the other hand, it should be noted that the brilliant programmers of the game included an additional category: the pilotsmaniacs, who will attack you regardless of the answer you give them.

In this post, you can access theFull list of Infiltrator ID codes

HANDLING DYNAMICS OF THE GIZMO DHX-1

Below is a series of steps to take to the enemy camp and some recommendations to avoid dying in the attempt:

1. Press the sequence:B, S, Ito turn on the helicopter.
2. When the indicatorRPMshow you the value2340, we will pull the joystick to rise to a minimum of500feet. Only then can you access the on-board computer (T) and the ADF (
3. If youyou leanor you try tospinduring takeoff before 500 feet youstarsThe maximum rate of climb is 15 in 15 feet; the minimum is five (5) feet.
4. Enter thecoordinates to ADF, according to the mission:72.8for mission 1;17.5for mission 2; and26.3for mission 3.
5. Press the fire button and push the joystick toaccelerate. Try to maintain aspeed of 300 knots, alternating it with the use of the turbo booster (+, -) to save fuel.
6. Make sure that youraltitudeDo not exceed thethousand (1000) feet, so that when you reach your destination you don't spend too much time - or fuel - landing.
7. If you seeother shipsOn the road, trybe the firstin asking them to identify themselves (*, S: REQUEST ID). Respond to them as appropriate as an ally (S, INFILTRATOR) or posing as a lackey of the Mad Leader (Yes, Overlord
8. If you get caught up in abattle, remember that against radar missiles (R) you must throw refractory material (C); against heat missiles (H), instead, use flares (F
9. Summon your shooting scope with the " keyH". Press "G" to arm yourcannons; either "R" for yourfour (4) missiles
10. Check your status from time to time.flight map, to know how much longer you have to reach your destination.
11. You will know that you have reached the enemy base when theADF arrowstart tospin wildlyIt doesn't matter what altitude you're at, by the way.

To begin landing,disconnect the turbo boosterandreduce speed to zero(0). Then,push the leverto descend. Being by the500 feetaltitude, activate thesilent mode(W). When the helicopter reaches the200 feet, the low altitude alarm will be activated. From here, you mustreduce the rate of declineat ten (10) feet. Below theone hundred (100) feet, you must reduce it to five (5) feet.

12. Just like in thetakeoff, if you tilt or try to turn during thelandingyou will crash.

Finally, if everything goes well, you will be shown a screen informing you thatyou have landed successfully

A CONFESSION FROM THE PART

I had been longing to play for many years (two decades I think)Infiltrator. Finally, with the emulator and the game in my hands, days ago I began to regain interest and decided to release this guide.dozens of attemptsuntil I finally manage to reach theenemy baseand many more still trying toland without crashing. But,Oh calamity!Behold, the faithful oneemulatorasks meload the second partof the game.

I located what is supposed to be the corresponding file. And whenpress the trigger button...voila! Theemulator hangs.

Update: I was about to throw in the towel, afterdozens of unsuccessful attemptsfor loading the second part of the game. Fortunately, with the collaboration ofKr0tki, an Atarian from Poland, was able to discover the problem that was causing the emulator to "hang": The second level filewas corrupt. I invite you to review the secondof thisguideof theInfiltrator