Flight of the Intruder: Intruding into Staging

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A guide to running the Rowen & Spectrum Holobyte developed, 1990 sim, Flight of the Intruder in DOSBox Staging. Based on the book and film of the same name, Flight of the Intruder (FotI) is a sim of the naval carrier aircraft F-4 Phantom II and A-6 Intruder based in the Vietnam theater during the war.

In 1990 there was little to choose from graphics-wise between the Amiga and PC, with the introduction of VGA although the Amiga still retains superior sound. As a DOS only sim DOSBox Staging is used. This game was considered the spiritual successor to the original Falcon (from Spectrum Holobyte) before the release of Falcon 3.0.

Version & patch history

The versions and patches released for FotI are listed below.

Initial release

The initial release was in July 1990 and distributed on 3 x 5.25" floppy or 3 x 3.5" floppy disks. There is no version listed for the game in the credits but is believed to be version 1.0, given the subsequent version numbering. The first disk is used to install/run with CGA graphics, while the remaining two disks are used to install the EGA/VGA version.

Version 1.1

A re-release occurred in August 1990 and was again distributed on 3 x 5.25" or 3 x 3.5" floppy disks. The version is listed at the end of the credits. Like the initial release the first disk is the CGA version while the remaining two disks allow the EGA/CGA version to be installed. There are no release notes accompanying this version.

Update disk (version 1.2)

An update disk was released in December 1990 on a single 3.5" floppy, which updated the game to version 1.2. The version is listed at the end of the credits. The update was applicable to the EGA and VGA versions. There were no release notes accompanying the update disk.

This is a recommended update for versions 1.0 and 1.1.

Version 1.2

Releases occurred throughout the 1990's with version 1.2 release on cd-rom in May 1995. The minimum spec also being raised a 386 processor and VGA graphics only. The game is first run from the cd, with the game installed to the hard disk as part of running the game. The game can be played later from the cd-rom or hard disk. The version is listed at the end of the credits and there are no release notes detailing changes or enhancements.

Digital release

The game was re-released digitally on the gog.com platform in 2024. The digital edition uses version 1.2.

Retail media

Due to the age or the media and the drives required to read the media, it is recommended to rip floppy and cd-rom media to image files, to save wear and tear on media and the mechanical drives.

The floppy disks should be ripped to a DOSBox staging compatible .ima or .img image format. The cd-rom can be ripped to a data only .iso image format as there is no cd audio on the cd.

A digital edition of the game is available on gog.com.

Game management

It is recommended to use my DOSBox game management strategy or similar strategy you may have developed. The recommended game management folders for the DOS version are:

cd - for any cd images.
fdd - for any floppy images.
hdd - the folder use as the emulated DOSBox hard disk
conf - to store DOSBox and HOTAS configuration files.
docs - for documents..

HOTAS config

Joystick, throttle and rudder pedals are supported. The game supports either a stick and throttle scheme or a stick, throttle and rudder scheme. Configuring axes may not be required if your HOTAS has 4 axes or less. When using a combination of devices totaling more than 4 axes, a virtual controller can be configured (with vendor software or Joystick Gremlin), limited to 4 axes.

For those using controllers from multiple vendors, the vJoy/Joystick Gremlin combination may be required instead of vendor specific HOTAS profile software. You may also have to use HidHide as a device firewall, to hide your real controllers, so only the vJoy virtual controller is detected by DOSBox. [6][7][8].

The physical axes to Windows axes were configured as follows:

Physical axis	Stick & throttle	Stick, throttle & rudder
Joystick x-axis	DX_X_AXIS	DX_X_AXIS
Joystick y-axis	DX_Y_AXIS	DX_Y_AXIS
Throttle	DX_Z_AXIS	DX_Z_AXIS
Rudder	N/A	DX_XROT_AXIS

DOSBox config

The DOS version is configured to run under the latest released DOSBox Staging version, v0.83.0-RC1 (at time of writing).

[dosbox]
vmem_delay = 500

[cpu]
core = simple
cycleup = 100
cycledown = 100

[voodoo]
voodoo = off

[mixer]
reverb = small
chorus = light

[sblaster]
sbtype = none
oplmode = opl2

[joystick]
joysticktype = 4axis
timed = false
swap34 = true
deadzone = 0

[autoexec]
@echo off
# mount a "D:\Games\DOS\FLight of the Intruder\fdd\disk*.img" -t floppy
mount c "D:\Games\DOS\FLight of the Intruder\hdd2"
mount d "D:\Games\DOS\FLight of the Intruder\cd\intruder.iso" -t cdrom

mixer opl 1000 /noshow
mixer master 100 /noshow

d:
intruder.exe
pause
exit

The following zipo file contains an example DOSBox Staging config. It should be changed to match your hardware and personal preferences.

Due to the revised defaults with this DOSBox version, most settings are now personal preference or optimal settings, such as sound or joystick settings. Only those settings that differ from the DOSBox Stagiing v0.83.0-RC1 default config are shown.

The vmem_delay is set to improve the timing issues within the sim. The credits scroll too quickly without this setting, with it the sim is slowed to a better pace.

The cpu is set to simple as it is optimised for, and provides better compatibility with older real mode games.

Voodoo emulation isn't required and is disabled.

The Sound Blaster settings emulate an AdLib Music Synthesizer Card as described in the DOSBox Staging wiki Sound cards.

The mixer and joystick settings are a personal preference and suitable for my joystick hardware.

The autoexec has example mount commands for mounting installation floppy disk images, a hard disk folder and a cd image of the game.

The Adlib sound is extremely quiet in-game, possibly due to the game expecting the Adlib audio to be played through amplified speakers (according to the FotI manual). In order to hear the Adlib audio, the master volume is restored to 100% and the OPL volume is increased to 1000%.

Note: It is recommended to increase this volume in increments from 100% until a suitable OPL volume is found, to prevent a volume that may damage speakers.

In this example config the cd version of the game is run.

Floppy release

The floppy release includes the CGA, EGA and VGA versions of the game. The CGA is run/installed from a single disk. The EGA/VGA versions are installed from the remaining two disks. Installation and patching are dependent on version.

Installation

The CGA version is installed onto a hard disk by copying the contents of the CGA disk into a suitable hard disk folder.

The EGA and VGA versions must be installed from the remaining two floppy using the DOS installer app (install.exe).

Patching

Only the EGA and VGA versions can be patched to version 1.2. The patch was distributed as a separate floppy update disk. The image of this disk should be mounted in DOSBox and the update utility (update.exe) run from within DOSBox.

Running

The game is run from the installation folder (the default is intruder) with:

C:\INTRUDER> intruder.bat

CD release

The CD release uses a unique combined installation and running process. When the game is first run from the cd, it installs on the hard disk, before running the game. When subsequently run from the CD, the hard is checked for the game folder and files and if they exists the game is run.

This means the game can be run from the CD or directly from the hard disk folder created by the installation process. To run the game from the cd:

D:\> intruder.exe

And directly from the hard disk:

C:\INTRUDER> intruder.bat

Configuration

All configuration is performed in-game. THe sound source can be selected from the File menu and the optimum setting is Adlib. The Control menu allows the selection of graphics, sound and control settings as shown below: