Choplifter(Arcade)FAQ
version 1.0.0
by Andrew Schultz [email protected]

Please do not reproduce this FAQ for profit without my prior consent. However,
if you write a polite e-mail to me referring to me(and this FAQ) by name, then I
will probably say OK. But if I ignore you that means no--and I am bad about
answering e-mail. Sorry.

**** AD SPACE: ****
My home page: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762

================================

           OUTLINE

 1. INTRODUCTION

 2. CONTROLS

 3. POINTS

 4. STRATEGIES

 5. LEVEL OUTLINES

 6. VERSIONS

 7. CREDITS

================================

 1. INTRODUCTION

 Choplifter is two steps up from Defender: more realistic and more fun. You
control a helicopter which must bust open enemy bases, rescue your people
trapped inside, and bring them back alive. Of course there are enemy air and
ground units that will try to take you out. There are four levels with good
variety, and in each you must rescue twenty of the thirty-two people(four
buildings, eight people in each) to advance. If you get shot down with men
aboard, they all die, and if thirteen die you start the level over. Your fuel
does not recharge.

 Although there's a lot of just good plain shooting, you also will need to
pivot precisely and take fire from the ground and the air to be successful
bringing your people back. There aren't any corners but there's still a sort of
way to get stuck in them. The game has a high barrier to entry and sometimes
kills you off maddeningly, but it's pretty easy to classify what is to be done.
The actual execution is a bit harder. But fortunately even if you wipe out
quickly, there's one of the coolest game ending tunes in classic arcade history.
It ekes out Rush N Attack.

 Dan Gorlin originally wrote this game for Broderbund as an Apple game, and I'm
impressed how they polished it here. I never got to play it as a kid(or I was
too stingy to pay 50 cents, and I'd probably had longer fun marveling at it than
playing the game and getting frustrated easily) but the steering feels right,
and the voices are cute. If there's one flaw it's that levels 2 and 4 are a good
deal easier than 1 and 3. With a good grasp of the game, the imbalance seems
clearer and not just 'Oh, I remember how tough it was to get started.' Still the
even numbered sea levels are cool and the deaths at sea/people swimming in the
water contrast nicely with the desert/forest feels of the other levels.

 Oh, and I'm not telling you where to get it(sorry!) but the ROM you need to
play this on MAME is chplftbl.zip as chplft.zip and chplftb.zip don't work.
Someone had to hack it. Another game this happens for is Super Qix, which is
much, much less cool.

 2. CONTROLS

 You have one button to fire and another to rotate from head on to side view
and back. Which way your chopper faces depends on which way you push the
joystick or--if you haven't pushed it left or right--the last way you pushed it.

 The first thing to note about your helicopter--momentum. There's no way to
start and stop quickly. The second thing--you can fly in the opposite direction
you're facing, but it's SLOW. You can fly at a moderate pace either way  with
your helicopter facing you.

 When you're in the air, it's a bit slower to move if the chopper is facing out
from the screen. However, you can fire at land targets, and they have less of a
wide target to fire at. You can also adjust the angle your chopper is at. If you
pull up or go backwards, your chopper can possibly fire up. With your chopper
proceeding to the left/right it is very hard to hit the planes, etc. that zoom
in and out. They'll appear at your level, you'll fire down, and you'll miss
them.

 There's a trade-off to being at the top, though. That's where you're fastest,
and it's easier to avoid ground fire there. To bounce back to the bad things,
it's possible to get trapped up there by fire from the ground and air. I
recommend in general starting at mid-screen and moving up when an enemy fires,
and if you get back to the top, pull sharply down. Also you'll want to fire
continuously when you know enemy bases are ahead below.

 If the chopper faces at the screen, it can shoot down the tanks at the bottom
that fire continually, but if it's in side view, it can only shoot stuff in the
air and the mobile artillery trucks that pass once you've picked up passengers.

 Switching directions can be confusing as you may be near the side of the
screen you're traveling towards in a bit. This actually isn't all bad; the game
doesn't try to cheat against you, so you can get a bit of safety.

 Picking up people is simple. Just sit and wait. Don't land on them, though,
and don't fire when you know they're around unless you're purposefully trying to
restart. Leaving with them safely is harder although the tanks do appear to be
bunglers.

 Don't descend too fast into the ground/sea. That will result in a crash.

 3. POINTS

--50 points for shooting down a missile, including the probes in the first
level, or even a spark from the volcanos in the third
--100 points for gathering a person
--200 points for shooting most everything else including surface to air missiles
from trucks as well as compounds where prisoners are held
--400 to 600 points, occasionally, for shooting boats
--200/400/600...1600 points for each prisoner released. If you leave the base,
even slightly, while people debark, your bonus will be reset. But you will still
get fuel back if you go back. But sometimes they sit and say thank you or wave
annoyingly and back things up for the people behind them--and you, to get on
with your mission.
--10000 points for completing a level
--50000 points for completing it without loss of hostages' life. It says
'PERFECT' but that's not 100% accurate, as you can 1) leave people behind a
prison you've blown up or 2) get your own copter killed with no-one in it and
still get the bonus. Not sure what the dancing girl with the kimono is about.

Dip switch settings can give extra life at 2000 and then every multiple of 70000
or alternatively 50000 and multiples of 100000.
There's an easy/hard dipswitch which seems to set you at level 5 of easy if you
pick hard.
You can also start with 2-4 lives.

 4. STRATEGIES

 Below are some general hints that should apply to all levels. Wave specific
stuff is in the level outlines.

 Much of the strategy depends on overcoming misconceptions about the game where
you assume it works certain ways due to general logic. I had to try things out
and often wound up finding something I could do by accident. The general
strategy of just firing away except when people are around works well. You also
don't want to pin yourself to the top because the ground and air fire can trap
you. But even if there were only ground fire, being able to move up helps
because the ground gunners can't adjust to you as quickly as you can move, so
when you have a stalemate(enemy shots cancelling each other out) a little wiggle
room gives you a hit.

 The big one to remember is this--if your chopper's tail sticking up, bullets
will go past it. The second is that bullets can be camoflagued--by the planes
themselves(as the bullets are only slightly faster) or by clouds. So pay
attention to the landscape.

 There are some relatively simple things you can do with your chopper to fool
the game. The best one is, when you land and pick people up, move your chopper
up briefly every half-second. The tanks on the ground won't detect that you're
picking people up that way.

 On the subject of picking people up, the best way is to open the prisons one
at a time(shoot at the door to open them) and work right to left. The reasons
are pretty clear. Less travel time means less fuel and fewer enemies, for
starters. And if you bust open one prison, go past, and turn around, it's never
clear when to stop firing to avoid killing hostages--and if you quit firing, it
may be lethal anyway. Eight people can be on the ground at any one time, with
eight in your 'copter. Prisons' fires go out when no-one else is left, and it's
possible someone may have gone a screen or two over but not likely.

 The best place to start picking up people is equidistant from the ones on the
left and right ends. They determine how long it will take for everyone to get to
your chopper. Don't worry about exactitude as avoiding landing on people is more
important.

 You can't shoot while picking people up, unless you tap the controls up a bit
and fire. There's still a problem in that you can gun down hostages by the
truckload that way--but on the other hand, if there's a pesky machine on the
ground to your left, you can shoot it before you run back home. Shooting from
the ground is also a good way to open up a prison you couldn't hit from the air.

 Picking up eight hostages at a pop is obviously best, as there are no
stragglers, but getting six or seven isn't all bad. With twenty hostages needed
for the next level, two sevens and a six will let you pass. So if you need to
leave in a hurry, one poor soul can be left. Stopping on your way back to get
him later is not too bad, either, but there is a risk he'll be killed. So if
you're trying for the 50000 bonus it's best to get eight, eight, four. You'll
want to try to win the level with hostages just from the first three buildings.
The fourth should be insurance in case you get shot down with everyone aboard.

 If you have 10 or 11 people killed, you may wish to just shoot a few more and
restart the level. Similarly if you start out poorly and go down in flames, you
might want to shoot everyone in the area. It's a bit of a gambit as you won't
get fuel recharged and things can get tight, but if you know you can get a
'perfect' you may get points and an extra life thrown into the deal.

 You can run through planes that come at you. However, there's a cheat right
back at you; their bullets are only a bit faster than they are. Bullets can
overlap with clouds or even planes to send you to a surprising fiery death. Note
that planes usually fire as they turn back, and they fire in a straight
horizontal line. So be prepared to move to the right area. You'll pretty much be
cruising so you have the screen in front of you, but you may need to duck and
weave. Remember that momentum plays a part in your rise/descent as well, so
don't delay moving around. Pulling up for a firefight isn't really recommended--
just let the planes pass. Also note that as enemy planes adjust altitude, they
won't fire.

 Also don't go below 1/2-way up or ground-to-air ammo may trap you from above.
If it does, just go to the ground(not too fast or you'll crash) and shoot the
ground stuff from the side.

 After your first hostage pickup, two trucks will come after you from the right
and fire missiles. Being in the upper corner is a great way to get hit by them,
so be prepared to move up/down quickly to avoid the ammo. Later on they'll
rumble by at regular intervals and are actually easily avoidable--the one risk
is if you tap up while rescuing hostages as they go by. They'll fire at you and
nail you point blank. But you can waste them pretty easily from behind if you
wait for them to go past.

 Tanks are morons. They never hit you. They get up too close and lob shots
diagonally at you. Be worried only if they back away from you, and even then you
don't need to rise much to get away from a landing bomb. Don't worry about
trying to waste tanks as you go back. Just push the rotate button and go right
after rescuing hostages. You're more likely to squash a hostage landing on it
then get one shot by a tank.

 The only time you shouldn't go hard right/left is when you know you'll
encounter planes and guns at the same time, and it will be too much for you.
There are also some tricks with the volcanos on level 3. Also, watch when you're
just about back at the base's end. Usually only two or three enemy craft fly in,
but I've had four. You should also note that, since the game can't scroll any
further right, new planes coming in can ambush you. Also, beware that bad guys
seem a bit denser on your return flight than on entry.

 Occasionally a weapon will fire from off the screen after you land--if so,
creep towards them 'til they're on screen and fire. There's an exception in
level 4 which is nasty, but I'll deal with that in the general hints.

 Oh--and you can't shoot people once you've dropped them off at the base. I've
tried. I admit, occasionally I play this game and shoot hostages as stress
relief.

 5. LEVEL OUTLINES

 There are four basic levels in Choplifter: the first and third on land, the
second and fourth over the sea. The first is straightforward, with big domed
prisons. The third has you going into a cave where you avoid stalagmites and
stalactites. You have to be careful maneuvering there. The second level has you
firing at battleships, and the fourth has skyscrapers and guns stationed on top
of buildings. The game then repeats, with the tank entities being slightly less
stupid.

 LEVEL 1 OUTLINE

Ledger:
1 = easily swiveling(blue) guns, the tougher of the two as they follow you
fluidly
2 = manned gun stations(left/right at specified angle)
8 = set of 8 to rescue
() = packed close together

8 (1p1) 8 (22) 8 (2p2) 8 (212) 2 1 1 2 2 1 2 |

 Here you start by passing over what seem to be a bunch of markers, and then
the firefights begin. You should be facing down, and you should fire continually
and don't worry if you miss a few bad guys. It may take too much time to fly low
to the ground, go horizontal and nail them. Remember where they are on the way
back and fire away.

 The first dome will already be broken open, with hostages running willy-nilly.
Have your chopper face the screen and land. Jump around a bit to pick the
hostages up quicker and turn around. Here you'll have to beware of a missile
truck coming from the right. A green jeep may follow, and whatever you do you
can't stay in the same place on the left of the screen.

 You'll want to stay in the middle as you get back to base. There may be a last
wave of fire to avoid before landing. Here you can land so that your skids are
touching the H-pad, or you can go in further right.

 Next you'll have to pass the probes. Don't be too lazy getting past the
planes, but don't worry about picking fights either. Here you may want to skim
the ground to blast the probe/gunners and then move across under the probe
released if you find the timing's awkward, although you'll want to watch for
trucks that may have an easy shot at you. Another jail is beyond that, and you
should be able to gun it down from the side. If not move up to it, tilt down and
fire. Touching the ground at a small angle and speed is harmless. Try not to
land for too long or tanks will appear and you'll need to kill them before
scooping folks up.

 There are two more guns after that for your third trip to the left. Again you
can swoop down to make sure of things, and the third base is just beyond. That
should do it, and you'll want to, as a tough set of guns is after that.

 LEVEL 2 OUTLINE

Ledger:
4   = 4 gun battleship. 3 swivels and the gun on the right fires right.
3   = 3 gun battleship. 3 guns, none of them swivel, and they all fire right.
(8) = has prisoners

4(8) 3 U(8) 4 U(8) 3 4(8) 3 3

 This level can start very nastily. The first planes that come at you fire so
that if you run into them you'll crash. The solution is to change altitudes, and
I recommend starting in the middle so you can get to the top. The four-gun
battleships have huge masts you can crash into, although you can afford to touch
the very top. If you miss the sea-level guns on the ships as you go left,
they're easy pickings on the way back. The swivel guns actually aren't much of a
worry as they can't seem to 'see' you anyway. But do note that the battleship
masts can make it a tight squeeze--if it looks like enemy planes would have a
free shot at you as you go through the top gap, wait a bit.

 One problem about the prisons(U-boat and small compartment on the left end of
4 gun battleships) is that you can't fire horizontally and hit them. You have to
move in at a small angle facing the ground and fire. This creates complications
on the battleship especially when a gun from the right can get to you. So if you
get fire from a gun to the right you can't see, back up, take it out, and go in
again. Also beware that while picking up people on the battleship, air ships can
gun you down. Don't worry about the people if you want to duck such a shot; it
won't damage them, strangely enough.

 The battleships are so big that you can tell when their masts are approaching,
and again getting back to base should be a matter of just avoiding planes. There
is a bit of a problem with gunboats firing up, especially since the bullets seem
to stay in the same place on the screen. You can usually duck down or change
direction completely, though, and here's a good chance to go to the chopper's
front view and fire at the boats in the water--which act like tanks in the first
wave but are much smarter. U-boats are much easier to rescue prisoners from, as
the small boats around you seem to try to miss you. I've never been hit close
in.

 There are fewer firefights than in level one, but there is some tricky
navigation. Because there are also fewer accidental deaths, I find this a
particularly easy level to get perfect on--the best of the four. Just watch out
for landing on people. And oh--isn't it cool how they swim in the water? A neat
variant from the usual wandering around.

 LEVEL 3 OUTLINE

Ledger:
^ = jagged edge from below(don't fly into it,) with volcano to follow
8 = prison
! = spray of fireballs, predetermined
r = random fireballs, fly slowly and be prepared to duck
B = big end prison, same number of prisoners but looks different
1 = flexible anti-aircraft gun
2 = hard to swivel gun--take from the side in tight quarters
> = guns mounted at cave entrance
8 = keyhole shaped prison

Outside cave:
> 1 1 2 1 2 1 2
Inside cave:
B (2^!r^) 8 ^!^ 8 2 8 ^r^

 The skills you need to sneak around the cave area make level 3 very daunting.
Fortunately the early part is not so bad. Although the guns may be dense, once
you've cleared it there aren't many firefights because of the short distance
back. But first you have some old friends. They're accompanied by some air cars
which are smaller and sleeker than the enemy planes from the first two levels.
They're just about as tough to hit even if they are more aerodynamically
impressive. As you're firing all the time and they creep below you, it's still
not worth it to try to kill them.

 I recommend taking out the guns at the start of the cave before entering. The
best way to do this is to pull up and fire straight left. Take your time to make
sure you get it right. Firing horizontally is the best way to do things, and if
you pull up you may even be able to get past the volcano area that comes next a
bit easier.

 The volcano areas here are tricky but fortunately the game plays fair by not
letting fire spurt ahead of you off the screen. This is great when you turn
around to bring your hostages home. You can just go at a reduced speed and duck
to avoid fire that's spewed--ducking is generally better. Going in seems much
tougher, and often you'll need to duck under one spurt of fire and then pull up
and to the left to get by another one that would get in your way otherwise. You
want to stay in the middle height-wise as you don't want to be 1)ambushed by
fire or 2)pinned by fire into the cave ceiling, which will cause an accident.

 Past the first batch of flames is the first prison. Neat high tech keyhole
shaping there. But don't bust it open right away if you can help it. Instead,
keep low, land a bit to the left and take out the gun to the left. Then turn
around, fire to blast open the prison, and collect everyone. Fly slowly back
right so you don't have two lava bursts ahead of you at once(which traps you)
although once you're out of the cave you can cruise for the short final
distance.

 As an emergency there are ledges to land on between places where the lava pits
upchuck fire. You can even land on the stalagmites if you are careful and make a
break after the fireworks seem to have settled.

 The next prisons aren't far away from each other, but there are barriers at
the top and bottom between them. The second is, in fact, just beyond the gunner.
Your main troubles are--being surprised by the trucks from level 1 in the
caves(they look incongruous gliding on bumpy ground) and the tanks, which got a
bit less silly.

 After the second group of eight, you have to go under a cyclic volcanic
eruption. Five fireballs go out in five determined angles, and it's not too bad
to duck under them. Do so quickly, though, because they catch chunks of the
ceiling and bring them down. This part is easier than the random fireballs. Be
careful on the way back through, and if you want to be sneaky, turn left at the
first prison and then turn back right and go slowly--you see? The short screen
again.

 Enemy aircraft aren't much of a factor here, but you do need to make sure
you're ot of their sight before a slow movement, or you'll be a sitting duck.
Unless you panic. Either way you will likely go down in flames.

 Oh--if you are very low on fuel and have the option of taking people back, you
may just want to crash. There's no straight shot here, and you don't want to
lose people. It's not usually a factor, but if you inch around too much, it can
be. The steering requires patience to learn, but being too cautious has its own
problems.

 LEVEL 4 OUTLINE

= = building base
g = gun on building
8 = hostages
3g, 2g = 3 or 2 guns
^ = manhole with missile in it
% = skyscraper
=+etc = building shielding gun

                    %           %
=+ 3g g8g 2g 2g^ g8g % 2g 3g g8g % 2g^ g8g ==+ 2g^
g| == === == === === % == == === % === === 2g| === [pad]

 This is a very weird level with skyscrapers offshore. There are some new ideas
thrown at you, but if you're careful you should be able to neutralize even the
unfair ones.

 First, the nasty bits--you rescue hostages by shooting open what seem to be
elevators on the rooftops of certain buildings. These buildings look half like
castles, with epaulet towers on the left and right and a helicopter landing pad
as a clue for where you need to go. Also if you go too far left over the roof,
you may land and be shot at from what appears to be well off screen. This can
actually trap you--the bullets whiz over your head a bit, then...RIP.

 And once you get near the people, be sure to give your chopper the jitters!
Otherwise weird hovercraft will appear from above and start dropping blue
twinkly bombs. They will likely kill the people you're rescuing. To avoid this,
always bounce up a little. You'll also want to position your helicopter facing
the screen just in case things go wrong. As before, to exit you may want to loop
left before going back right.

 Also, there will be gunners in the sea, and they can be quite nasty after
you've picked people up and after you've dropped them off. After you've picked
people up, I find you can often go one way and reverse to shake them off long
enough. The sea gunners aren't quite as fast as you, and they do react to
momentum. The gunners can be nasty after you've dropped people off--you should
be able to drop off eight without moving, even though the hovercraft will appear
from above, but the big problem would be the sea gunners. Two often pair up and
fire up/left and up/right to catch you in a cross-fire. Wobble back and forth to
take them out before moving on, as even if you try to escape the bullets they
fire seem to follow you.

 As for the other bits: the spacemen with jetpacks aren't a real problem,
except for the point wher you run into a skyscraper and don't have much room.
The ground-to-air missiles aren't particularly potent, although some are
shielded so that you can't take them out from the right. The manholes with
missiles only take out severe loafers. The worst parts are the skyscrapers, and
you should know when they appear. The first is the second building after the
second batch of hostages, and the second is three after the third. For these you
should realize that you need to get to the top and turn around pretty quickly,
which is just another reason to pull left and go back right. But the rooftop
guns aren't up to much and so all you really need to worry about is avoiding
fire from the new entities, each of which can be dealt with separately.

End of FAQ proper

================================

 6. VERSIONS

1.0.0: submitted to GameFAQs 1/10/2004, pretty much complete

 7. CREDITS

The usual GameFAQs gang. They know who they are, and you should, too, because
they get some SERIOUS writing done. Good people too--bloomer, falsehead,
Masters, RetroFreak, Snow Dragon/Brui5ed Ego, ZoopSoul, and others I forgot.
War Doc for his initiative and example in writing old games up. Maybe one day
all old arcade games will have guides on GameFAQs.
CJayC for creating GameFAQs.com so that I could post cute little time wasting
guides like this. mame.net and the cheats section for helping me replay this--
and get somewhere in it.

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