C64 Scramble Infinity

Play 'Scramble Infinity' on C64 online.

Scramble Infinity game data

Commodore 64 game name: Scramble Infinity | Release date: 2021 | Publisher: 5 O'Clock Software | Game media type: d64 | Language: en
User rating of this C64 game (you can also rate it under the C64 emulator):

About Commodore 64 Scramble Infinity

Scramble Infinity is a 2021 remake of Konami’s 1981 arcade shooter Scramble for the Commodore 64, made by Mirage (Lars Verhoeff) and released by 5 O’Clock Software. It took about twelve years. The game started in 2009 as “Scramble 2010” and finally came out on the ZZAP! 64 Annual 2022 coverdisk in December 2021, followed by a free scene release. Its detailed scenery is streamed from disk while you fly.

Note: Scramble Infinity currently does not start in our browser emulator. It stops at the “Entering Scramble System” loading screen, because the game streams its levels from disk with a fast loader that the emulator doesn’t support yet. To play it, download the disk image from CSDb and run it in VICE or on a real C64 with a disk drive. We are working on a better emulator for games like this.

Quick facts

• Genre: horizontally scrolling shoot-’em-up
• Based on: Scramble, Konami arcade, 1981
• Code, graphics, directory art: Mirage (Lars Verhoeff)
• Music: Jammer (in-game and menu) and Dane (loader)
• Loader: Krill. Help from JackAsser and WVL.
• Released: ZZAP! 64 Annual 2022 coverdisk (December 2021). Scene release 21 December 2021, V1.2 with high-score saving 30 December 2021.
• Players: 1
• Controls: joystick in port 2
• System: PAL C64 with disk drive (level data streams from disk)

How to play

Your jet flies right over an enemy planet, and the screen keeps scrolling. Fire forward at anything in the air and drop bombs on whatever is on the ground: rockets on their launch pads, mystery targets and fuel tanks. The fuel gauge at the bottom drains all the time, and the only way to refill it is to bomb fuel tanks. Run dry and you crash.

As in the arcade original, the planet is split into six sections, shown in the numbered bar at the top. You fly over mountains with rocket launchers, through flying saucers and a meteor shower, into tight city caverns and a maze, and finally reach the enemy base. A flag counter tracks how many times you have completed the whole loop.

Tips

• Never pass a fuel tank. Fuel matters more than points.
• Rockets launch as you approach, so bomb them on the pad or stay out of their column.
• In the meteor shower you can’t shoot the meteors. One player got through “by hugging the rocky surface”.
• The maze section is tight and your forward missile reloads slowly, so line up shots early.

The long road to Infinity

Mirage showed the first previews in 2009 under the name Scramble 2010. The project was later renamed Scramble 2020 and stalled for years. A July 2021 ZZAP! 64 preview promised all six original levels, faithfully recreated, with a reworked final boss level. The game appeared first on the coverdisk of the Kickstarter-funded ZZAP! 64 Annual 2022, then as a free scene release on 21 December 2021 with improved menu music by Jammer. Version 1.2 followed on 30 December 2021 and saves the high-score table to disk, using a saver by Krill.

Instead of the usual character-based scenery, Scramble Infinity streams detailed bitmap graphics from disk during play. It needs accurate disk drive emulation, and the game itself warns about a buggy 1541 Ultimate firmware. CSDb users rate it 9.9/10. Raistlin wrote that it improves “on all the C64 versions immeasurably”.

Other Scramble games on c64online.com

Compare it with the 1980s takes on the same arcade game: Scramble 64 (Interceptor Micros), Skramble!, Penetrator and Scramble.

FAQ

Can I play Scramble Infinity online?

Not in our browser emulator yet. It stops at the loading screen because the game streams its levels from disk. Download the D64 from CSDb and play it in VICE or on a real C64 with a disk drive.

Who made Scramble Infinity?

Mirage (Lars Verhoeff) of 5 O’Clock Software and Booze Design did the code and graphics. Music is by Jammer and Dane, and the loader is by Krill.

When was Scramble Infinity released?

It first appeared on the ZZAP! 64 Annual 2022 coverdisk in December 2021. The free scene release followed on 21 December 2021 and V1.2 on 30 December 2021.

How faithful is it to the arcade Scramble?

It recreates the six sections of Konami’s 1981 arcade game, including the fuel mechanic. The final boss level was reworked.

Which joystick port do I need?

Port 2, as the loading screen says. In the browser that is the cursor keys plus the fire key from the keyboard mapping table.

Does it work on NTSC machines?

No. Scramble Infinity is PAL only.

Credits & download

Code, graphics, directory art: Mirage
Music: Jammer, Dane
Loader: Krill
Help: JackAsser, WVL
Download: Scramble Infinity V1.2 on CSDb · development history on Games That Weren’t

In order to play Scramble Infinity online, click on the start button located below the Commodore 64 emulator window.