Constructing The Ideal Computer Gome
COMPUTE!
The Leading Magazine Of Home, Educational, And Recreational Computing
Special Games Issue
$2.50 July 1983 Issue 38 Vol. 5, No, 7
£1.85 UK Sa25 Canada
63J79
ISSN 0194-357X
Some Of The Finest Games Ever For VIC-20, 64, Atari, And Other Computers: , Roadblock, ih
Castfe Quest, Goblins, And More!
Circles: A—^ Machine Language ;:s?' Tutorial For Atari '
Backing Up Your^ VIC-20 And 64 Disks
REM Revealed: A Tutorial For PET, ViC-20, And
PLUS:
Build Your Own Data Manager, Star On The Radio Shack Color Computer, Gold Miner Game F The TI-99/4A
0 7
^74470"633?9"
Major Feature: New Products At The
OMDEX Dealer Show
BUY A BAHAMA.
SAVE A BUNCH.
MORE TO COME.
-r-.
Leading Edse Products, (nc, 225 Turnpike StreH Canton; Massachusetts 02021. CaW: toll-free V800-343 6833. or in Massachusetts call collect (617) 828-8150 Telex 951 624
FOR YOUR COMMODORE WORDPROCESSING NEEDS
INVEST IN THE BEST
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With over 30,000 happy clients churning out letters and documents all over the world, the WordPro Pius'" Series is unquestionably the #1 selling soft- ware package on Commodore computers! So when you choose WordPro, you know you're investing in a trial-tested program that's a real winner. And WordPro is NOW available for your Commodore 64™ computer— at prices starting as low as $89.95.
Designed for the user who has no computer or word processing experience whatsoever, WordPro Plus brings a new dimension to the term "user- friendly." More than just easy to use. WordPro will turn your Commodore computer into a sophisticated time saving word processing tool — loaded with the same inventory of features found in systems costing much, much more.
Our nationwide team of over 600 Professional Software/Commodore com- puter dealers will help you choose the WordPro Plus system that is best for your needs. Our full-service dealers have been set up to provide strong customer support, fn addition to helping you choose the right system, many Professional Software dealers also offer WordPro Plus training and system installation.
Professional Software offers a complete spectrum of WordPro word process- mg software for Commodore computers ranging from the Commodore 64 to the more business oriented 8000/9000 series computers. And WordPro 4 Pfusand 5 Plus also interact with ourdatabase management systems includ- ing InfoPro and The Administrator, So whatever your Word Processing needs, there's a WordPro system that's right for you.
/VordPro" and WordPro Plus'" are trademarks of Professional Software Inc. rhe WordPro Plus Series was designed and written by Steve Punter of Pro Micro Software Ltd, Commodore'* and the Commodore 64" are trademarks of Commodore Electronics. Inc. Sealer inquiries invited.
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aliens^Dur Kids can
reasQii^^ instead of destim
This year, thousands of kids will be searching for the most amazing thing
At5pinnaKer, we don't believe in the "hill or be Killed" concept behind most connputer games. In fact we believe computer games should be instruc- tive, riot destructive. Butjustas importantly, they should be fun.
That's why Ih 5EARCh OF THE MOST AMAZIMQ TMIhQ'^is designed to let your Kids negotiate with aliens instead of destroy- ^0 ing them. Because given the opportunity im^ Kids enjoy using their minds. It's Amazingly Fun.
The host Amazing Thing is out there ^somewhere. Finding it won't be easy But relax, your Kids will have the I help of their old uncle 5moKe Bailey He'll give them a B-liner (sort of a cross between a hot air balloon - and a dune buggy) to use on their journey They'll have to learn how to fly the B-liner and navigate It through storms and fog. But before they do anything, your kids will have to talK to Old 5moKe. he'll tell them about the Hire People and the strange language that they speak he'll also tell them to avoid the dangerous Mire Crabs and how to get fuel for the B-liner
Your Kids will visit the Metallican Auction where they'll trade with the aliens for valuable chips. Your Kids will then use these chips to buy things they'll need for their trip. And your Kids will learn how to fly over the planet using their jet pacK.
The Most Amazing Thing holds great powers, but it wi take great sKill, persistence and imagination to find it. Ifs Amazingly Educational. lh5EARChOFThEh05T AMAZIhQThlhC] is written by Tom 5nydec educator and author of the best-selling Snooper Troops'Detective Series. ___
And IlKe all Spinnaker games, IN SEARCh OF ThE MOST AMAZING ThlhCj has real educational value. For instance, your Kids wi sharpen their ability to estimate distances and
quantities. And since theyll be navi- gating their B-liner, they'll become aware of distance, direction and time. They'll also develop a KnacK for economic and monetary
principles through trading with the aliens.
And they'll solve problems through trial
and error They'll learn all of these things, plus they'll
learn that nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it A Novel Approach to Computer C5ames.
Besides offering your children all of the above, Ih SEAf^Ch OF ThE MOST AMAZIhCj Thlh(3 gives them an opportunity to develop their reading sKiils. Because included with the game is Jim Morrow's new novel The Adventures of Smoke Bailey* So your children wlil have hours of fun reading the book or playing the game. And they'll be learning at the same time. Parental Discretion Advised.
If you're a parent who would rather see your kids reason with aliens than destroy them, you've got plenty of reasons to asK your local software retaiier forlMSEARChOFThEMOST AMAZIhCj ThIhCj. It's compatible withApple;- IBM/ Atari;-' and Commodore 64"* computers. And it offers so much fun you'll probably be tempted to play it yourself. Or you can write us directly at: Spinnaker Software, 215 First Street, Cambridge, MA 02142.
You'll find this is one computer game that won't alienate you from your children
s>inff^Mi^ER
\Afe make learning fun.
Apple, (AM fSnd AMf [ are fegistefed tradernarKf, of Apple Computer, Irvc, Irslematiorial Business hAcnJOCi Cwp and Atafi, inc, fespecttvcly Ct>mrnodore 64 is a irademarh of Commodore CtecUonics Umued © 1985 Stpinrvahef 5oltwafc Corp All rights reserved
^vc.--.!^«s.'r
^'^^ ,, o^^^^ r none Dt:^^
SS^Sgfess
i^*'^&^.^s.
pet*pr:v:/vKSfi\'
^'''^■' Lra\s af^° ^«<; soc'r> 3^
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July 1983 Vol. 5. No. 7
FEATURES
30 Constructing The Ideal Computer Game, Part) ..,.,. Orson Scott Card
42 New Products At The Comdex/Spring Computer Show ., . , Tom R. Ha!fhill
98 Techniques For Writing Your Own Adventure Game ....Charles Perkins
104 Game POKEr For VIC And 64 Dan Carmichael
EDUCATION AND RECREATION
54 RATS! ..,. , ..., MikeSteed
^ Goblin .....DanGoff
76 SpeedSki DubScroggin
85 Castle Guest ...........Timothy G Baldwin
92 The Fortress Of Adni I George W, Miller
108 Roadblock , Brian Holness
116 Time Bomb , DougSmook
REVIEWS
120 Copy-Writer Word Processor Louis F. Sander
123 Mastertype Tjna Holcomb
124 Claim Jumper For Atari Fred Pinho
126 Courseware Report Cord And Educational Software Directory Sheila Cor/
128 Legionnaire For Atari E. P. McMahon
COLUMNS AND DEPARTMENTS
6 The Editor's Notes ., Robert Lock
10 Readers' Feedback The Editors and Readers of COMPUTE!
18 Computers And Society: TTie Fifth Generation .,..,... David D.Thornburg
22 The Beginner's Page , .....Richard Mansfield
28 Questions Beginners Ask Tom R. Half hill
136 On The Rood With Fred D'lgnozio Fred D'Ignazio
142 Friends Of The Turtle ,. .,....,.,.,. David D.Thornburg
146 Learning With Computers: A Library At Your Fingertips Glenn M. Kleiman
150 The World inside The Computer: Super baby Meets The Computer Fred D'Ignazio
186 INSIGHT Atari , Bill Wilkinson
192 Machine Language: Numeric Output Part III Jim Butterfield
196 Programming The Tl: Planning Color Sets C, Regena
THE JOURNAL
156 How To Create A Data Filing System: Part L Choosing The Right File Type Jim Fowler
160 How To Moke Backup Disks For VIC And 64 Harvey B. Herman
165 Circles Jeffrey S. McArthur
170 PET Uncompactor David L Evans
172 Statistical Test Of Commodore And Radio Shack RND Brian Flynn
178 How The VIC/64 Serial Bus Works Jim Butterfield
200 Atari Sound Experimenter . , ,,,... Matt Giwer
204 Commodore REM Revealed ......,...,...!!!!!!! John L. Darling
212 VIC Musician Bloke Wilson
216 Timex/Sincloir Screenscrolls ,..,.,.. , , Gien Martin
218 Commodore64 Video -A Guided Tour, Part VI Jim Butterfield
221 Atari Artifocting Judson Pewther
224 All About The Commodore USR Command John L Darling
230 Commodore Programmer's Alarm Clock Bruce Jaeger
233 Stars , George Trepal
235 Visiting The VIC-20 Video, Pari III Jim Butterfield
239 Atari Laser Gunner II: AVerticol Blank Enhancement Thomas A Marshall
242 Tl Mailing List ^ Doug Hapeman
246 VIC Bitmapping C.D.Lane
112 COMPUTEI's Author Guide
132 How To Type COMPUTEI's Programs
134 A Beginner's Guide To Typing In Programs
252 CAPUTE! Modifications Or Corrections To Previous Articfes
255 News & Products
268 Product Mart
272 Advertisers Index
NOTl: See page 132 before typing in programs.
GUIDE TO ARTICLES AND PROGRAMS
V/64
P/64 V/64/AT/TI/AP V AT T/S AT V
AP/P/64
AT/AP
AT
AT
AT Tl
V/64
AT
P
PA//64/CC
V/64
AT P/V/64
V
T/S
64
AT P/V/64 PA//64
C
V
AT
Tl
V
AP Apple, AT Atari, P PET/ CBM,VVIC-20,OOSI,C Radio Shack Color Com- puter, 64 Commodore 64, T/S Timex/Sinclatr, Tl Texas Instruments , *AII or several ofthecbova
COMPUTE? The Journal for Progressive Computing (USi^: 537250) is published 12 times each year bv COMPUTE! I'ublic^tiuns, Inc., P,0. Box 5406, Greensboro, NC 27403 USA. Phone: (919)275-9809, Edilorial Offices'are located at 305 Edwardia Drive, Greensboro, KC 27409. Domestic Subscriptions: 12 issues, S20.00. Send subscription orders or change of address (P.O. form 3579) to Circulation Dept., COMPUTE! Magazine, P.O. Box 3406, Greensboro, NC 27403. Second class pt^stage paid at Greensboro, NC 27403 and additional mailing offices. Entire contents copvrieht © 1983 by COMPUTE! Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. ISSN 0194-357X.
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Order Line
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EDITORS NOTES
The Magazine Epidemic
It's mildly distressing to observe the rash of new computer magazines in preparation or now being launched. While some appear to be the result of dedi- cated, sincere efforts at serving a market niche^ and serving it well, many seem to be efforts to simply get something on the shelf/
It would seem that every publisher, large and small, in the country has suddenly dis- covered the personal computer marketplace. We welcome those of you providing genuine reader- ship; we'll reserve comment on those of vou who are slapping a computer label on inferior edito- rial matter as a medium for selling advertising. We're firm believers in the inherent decision-making strength of the free marketplace. Time will telL
The New Computers
Will the surge of intelligent keyboards for game machines have a massive impact on per- sonal computer sales? We think not. With Atari, Commodore, and TI battling it out in the price trenches, we expect to see the less than $100 market begin to expand in the features area. Principal change: more memory
at less cost. And we'll just keep growing from there.
Random Bits
IBM's home computer (code name Peanut) is now rumored to appear by August. We expect this baby PC to come in as a mid- market machine with superb design, lots of support, and a slightly high price point in the $600 range. From a marketing/ value added standpoint, the IBM name and reputation carries clout and has consimier impact. If and when it arrives, it will be an interesting competitor for the Commodore 64 and the soon-to- be-introduced Atari 600 and 800XL.
We hear that John Wiley, the book publishing house, is hard at work setting up a magazine staff to launch a per- sonal computer magazine. Atari, Inc. has decided to accept adver- tising in their users magazine. As with Commodore publica- tions, expect serious restraints on what type of advertising is allov^^ed. Rumor has it that Atari won't be accepting game soft- ware advertising. We find that one hard to believe.
CBS is now looking for an entry into the computer maga- zine market. Rich Richmond,
formerly Adventure Interna- tional Marketing Manager, prepares to launch an Atari magazine (should w^e sav "Another one..."?). All of this after unsuccessfully trying to raid COMPUTErs staff for several weeks.
Commodore, now in the publishing business, has become distant with COMPUTE! and COMPUTE!' s Gazelle editors. We've always maintained that there's intrinsic value in independence.
Next month: The Consumer Electronics Show and a flock of exciting new products. We just returned from the National Com- puter Conference in Anaheim and, as far as the personal/home market goes, it simply makes us long for the arrival of CES. One point worth noting: several hundred exhibitors at this multi- million dollar show were housed in quasi-permanent, infla table Quonset huts. Air conditioning failed and by late Monday, May 16. internal temperatures ap- proached 115. So much for state- of-the-art technology at a state- of-the-art show.
6 COMPirrei Juty1983
ATARI" DOES MORE THAN ANYONE
ELSE TO GIVE ^U TWD HELPFUL
KINDS OF ODMPUTER SERVICE.
LOCAL. LONG DISIANCE.
" ' ,c„it: of your ATARI system is avait- ..fOR INFORMATION CALL"
AUTHORIZED SERVICE
DIGITALWORLD.INC. ''In Army Trail Rd.
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If you need someone to fix your ATARI® Video Game or Home Computer, youll find the best place is also the closest.
We have over 1,600 ATARI SERVICE''^ Centers coast to coast; just look in the Yellow Pages under Video Games or Computers.
And if you have any kind of question about your
ATARI Home Computer— how to do something new with it, how to debug one of your own pro- grams, what kind of peripherals are best— call the ATARI Help Line and taD< to an ATARI expert. Our toll-free number is 1-800-538-8543.*
At ATARI SERVICE, we take care of you. As well as your ATARI system.
HiHmocnvHiC
FACTORY mJHMZED NETWORK
WE ANSWERXXfRCALL FOR HELP
"California: 1-800-672-1404
am © 1983 Atari, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 0*A Warner Communications Company
Publ isher/t d itoM n -Cn ief Publisher's Asststont
Robert Clock Alice S-Wotte
Senior Editor Monagmg Edilor Assistant Managing Editor Production Editor Features Editor Tectinical Editor Program Edifor Assistant Editors
Assistant FeaJures Editor Assistant Copy Editor Editorial Assistont programming Assistants
Administrative Assistants
CopyAssistonts
Associate Editors
P.O
Richard Monsfield Ka'h.ieen E. Marti nek Tony Roberts Goii Walker TomR.Holthill Ottis R Cowpef ChoriesBronr^on Don CornriFchael Lance Elko John Blockfofd Juonfto Lewis KattiyYakol PatrckParrish Gfegg Peele Jdnathon B^d Vicki Jennings Lauro MacFadden Julia Fleming Becky Hall Sa rati Johnston Linda Sliow Jim fiuttertiefd, Toronto, Canada HoA/eyHerrrTon, Gf eensbof o, NC Fred DTgnozJo. 2117 Coftef Ra S.W, RoarX)ke. VA 24016 David Thornburg Box 1317, Los Aitos. CA 94022
Contributing Editor
COMPLfT^rs Book Division
Editor
Assistant Edilor
Ad m in ist rative Assi sta nt
Artist
Onon Scott Card Stephen Levy Carol Eddy Janice Fa IV
Art Di rector/Prod u cti on Manage r Geo rg ia Papadopoulos
Assistant Artists
Typesetting llfustratoi
Promotion Assistant Production Assistanl
trma Swain De Potter Jeon Hendrix Terry Costi HcrryBtair Todd HeinrrarcJ.' DoiRees
Associate Publi slier/ N at iono I Ad ve rtisi ng SaSes Manager Advertising Coordinator Advertising Accounts Sales Assistont
Andy Meehon Potti Williams
Bon ni e Va f enti no Rosemane Davis
Operation s-'Customer Service Manoger Assistants
Dealer Coofdinotof Assistonts
Shipping & Receiving
Carol Lock Patty Jones Shannon Meyer Fro n Lyons Gail Jones Shoron Minor Christine Gordon Cossondra Robii^tson MarySprogue DofOttiyBogan Chris Potty Rhonda Savage LisaFloharly Corol Dickerson
JirT\ Coward Larry OConnor CtifJs Coin John B. McConnel!
Data Processing Manager Assistant
Leon Stokes Joan Compton
Accourifing Moriager Bookkeeper Accoun t ing Assista nts
Assistants
W Jerry Day
Ellen Day
Linda Miller Doris Holt
Ruth Granger Anna Harris EmilieCovil
Anne Ferguson
Robert C. Lock President
W. Jerry Day, Vice-President and Comptrolier
E. Normon Groham, Vice-President ond General Counsel
Kothleen E Martinek. Assistant To The President
Sonjo Whitesell. Executive Assistant
Debbie iSlash. Receptiordst
Coming In August
The Coming Year: Interviews With Industry Experts
CES: The Fall Computer Collection
Weather Forecasting On Several Computers
Neat Numbers For VIC
Z-0 Color Computer Art
Atari Verify
And Three Excellent Gomes
COMPUTE" Publicattona Inc publishes:
COI«»UTl~ COMPUTE! Books
Tetephone: 919 275-9809
Corporate office:
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MaJlirvg oddrasi: COMPUTEt
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Authors of manuscripts warrant that oli materials submitted to COMPUTE! are originol materials witti full ownership rights resident in said authors. By submitting articles to COMPUTE!, outhors ocknowiedge that such materials, upon acceptance for publication, become the exclusive property ot COMPLfTE! Publica- tions, Inc. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. Entire contents copyright •* 1983, COMPUTE! Publications, Inc. Rights to programs developed and submitted by authors are explained in our author contract. Unsolicited materials not accepted for publica- tion in COMPUTE! will be returned if author provides a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Programs (on tope or disk) must accompany each submission. Printed listings are optional, but helpful. ArticJes should be furnished as typed copy (upper- and lowercase, pleose] with double spacing. Each page of your article should bear the titte of the article, date and name of the author. COMPUTE! assumes no liability for errors in articles or advertisements. Opinions expressed by authors ore not necessarily those of COMPUTE!.
P£T. CBM, VIC- 20 and CommodOfe 64 cue ncxJemoria of
Comrrxxiofe Bustfiess Pitochinsi Inc. orxi/of Commtxlcxe Electronics Limrted
ApQie IS a tTodemarit o* Apple Computef Componv
ATAia li o tfodemoric of Atoix Inc.
TI99/4A IS a tiodemofk oT Texas Instrunwnts. Irx:.
ftadio Shock Cokx Compolef h5 o trodemork of Tondv. i
8 COMPUTE! Jufy1983
V
Qz commodore
CBM
computer
AN INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR YOUR COMMODORE COMPUTER
InfoPro is a menu driven and interactive "information management" system for the Commodore 8032 computer, InfoPro uses "friendly" screen prompts that "guide" you from function to function. This makes InfoPro unusually easy to learn and just as easy to operate.
For Mailing List applications InfoPro can print up to 8 labels across and even has a built in "structure" with fields already pre-set. This structure can easily be changed to fit many other types of office jobs.
Another extremely powerful feature of InfoPro is Super Scan. The Super Scan feature acts like an "electronic filing cabinet" and pro- vides the user with almost instantaneous access to the data stored in a file. The powerful Report Generator allows you to "select" infor- mation for printing based on up to 5 different parameters or criteria and to perform various math functions.
Another powerful and indispensable feature is InfoPro 's ability to interact with the WordPro family of word processing programs. This provides the user with a "link" from the area of data information
WordPro and InfoPro are registered trademarks of Professional Software
management to the area of word processing, allowing the user to manipulate, sort, and select data by certain criteria, which can then be inserted into "personalized" letters, documents, overdue notices, etc. InfoPro will also allow you to ADD, DELETE or CHANGE your information "fields" any time you wish. This means that as your business changes, InfoPro has the flexibility to change with it.
As with all Professional Software products, InfoPro comes complete with a professionally written and fully-tested user oriented manual. InfoPro also includes a program ROM, and InfoPro System Diskette .
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READERS' FEEDRACK
The Editors and Readers of COMPUTEi
64 Screen Problems
I own a Commodore 64 computer. While I am quite pleased with its performance, there is a prob- lem. Any program that uses the BASIC commands GET or INPUT causes severe interference in the form of many white (silver) horizontal lines which shoot across the color TV screen.
I also purchased some software (namely The Word Machine and The Name Game) from Commo- dore and these programs exhibit that same, quite annoying, problem. I might add that three friends here in Albany who also own the C-64 have the exact same problem. I have heard that Commo- dore replaced a video chip in the later models (of which mine is one) and that there are problems with this new chip.
My question is: will Commodore solve what may be a very large (in number of computers) problem? My warranty is close to expiration.
Donald G. Weiser
This is probably the question we're asked most about the Commodore 64. The problem that you are referring to has come to be bwwn as ''sparkle/'
The problem starts zcith the 64' s character ROM, and the sparkle is caused by the way the 64 generates its characters to put onto the screen.
However, this problem can he more than a were inconvenience in the early machines. It can cause diffi- culties with some programs, especially ganws. When utilizing the advanced 64 Sprite features (user defined, moveable objects), the sparkles can cause the computer to register a sprite collision when none has occurred.
There are some solutions. Oiw is to make a fetv hardware modifications inside the 64, but this solutioti isfroioned upon by Commodore, ami may void your loarranty. Another is screen relocation. It is said that if you relocate the screen memory into another area of RAM, the sparkle will disappear.
As for the intmber of units plagued by this problem. Commodore's estimate is five percent. It should be iwted though, that ahuost all of the early nmdels had sparkle, and as of this writing the problem is apparently still not solved. As a matter of fact, COMPUTE! recently pur- chased txvo 64s for testing purposes, and one has a very severe "sparkle" problem.
In answer to your question on repairs, Commodore has no set policy in this area. For units that are under
10 COMPUTEi July 1983
warranty, Conn}iodore says that it "will attempt to repair anything ?p/7/? which the customer is dissatisfied.
Conceriiijjg units out of warranty, Commodore had no comnunit. However, a number of computer dealers and repair centers have stated that they will install the jww or updated character ROMs if they can get them froin Comnunhre. Commodore has said that they have not yet decided whether or not they will make the ncio character ROMs available to the service centers.
ATimex/SinclairTip
I have sometimes experienced problems on my ZX81 while changing line numbers. A line 30 that I am unable to delete, for instance, might appear after a line 2000. As a solution of sorts, 1 came up with the following short routine (also applicable to the T/S 1000) which allows me to locate the line in memory and POKE in a valid line number. This routine gives the location in memory of a program by line number. RUN it by typing GOTO 9500 - After INPUTing a particular line number, it will tell you the length of that line and how long the program is through the end of that line. As you can see in the sample run, the portion of the program considered here is 516 bytes long (inci- dentally, line 1 will not work in this test).
John B. Swetland
1 LET TEST=9500
10 LIST
9500 PRINT "ENTER LINE NUMBER"
9502 PRINT
9503 INPUT AQ
9504 LET N=16509 950 5 LET N=N+2
9506 LET N=N+(PEEK N)+ ( PEEK (N+1) *256 )
9507 LET N=N+2
9508 IF (PEEK N*256 ) -i-( PEEK(N+1 ) )=AQ THEN
PRINT r "LINE ";AQ?" STARTS AT ";N
9509 IF (PEEK N*256 ) + ( PEEK (N+l ) ) =AQ THE
N GOTO 9511
9510 GOTO 9505
9511 PRINT
9512 LET I=(N+50)
9513 FORR J=N TO I
9514 IF PEEK J=118 THEN PRINT *'LINE ";AQ;"
ENDS AT ";J
9515 IF PEEK J=118 THEN GOTO 9517
9516 NEXT J
9517 PRINT
Look to the future with . . .
^is the *1 selling printer Interface for VIC20® and *--' Commodore 64 computers because It works.
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y
Can A COMPUTER MAKE YOU CKf? ,
Right now; no one knowsThis is partly because many would consider the very idea frivolous. But it s also because whoever successfully ans- wers this question must first have answered several others.
Why do we cry? Why do we laugh, or love, or smile? What are the touchstones of our emotions?
Until now, the people who asked such questions tended not to be the same people who ran software companies. Instead, they were writers, filmmakers, painters, musi- cians. They were, in the traditional sense, artists.
IS We're about to change that tradition.The name of our company is Electronic Arts.
SOFTWARE WORTHY OF THE MINDS THAT
USE IT. We are a new association of electronic artists united by a com- mon goal — to fulfill the enormous potential of the personal computer.
In the short term, this means transcending its present use as a facili- tator of unimaginative tasks and a medium for blasting aliens. In the long term, however^ we can expect a great deal more.
These are wondrous machines we have created, and in them can be seen a bit of their makers. It is as if we had invested them with the image of our minds. And through them, we are learning more and more about ourselves.
B We learn, for instance, that we are more entertained by the involve- ment of our imaginations than by passive viewing and listening. We learn that we are better taught by experience than by memorization. And we learn that the traditional
distinctions— the ones that are made between art and entertainment and education — don't always apply
TOWARD A LANGUAGE
OF DREAMS. In short, we are finding that the computer can be more than just a processor of data.
It is a communications medium: an interactive tool that can bring people's thoughts and feelings closer together^ perhaps closer than ever before. And while fifty years from now, its creation may seem no more important than the advent of motion pictures or television, there is a chance it will mean something more.
Something along the lines of a universal language of ideas and emotions. Something like a smile.
The first publications of Electronic Arts are now available. We suspect you'll be hearing a lot about them. Some of them are games like you've never seen before, that get more out of your computer than other games ever have. Others are harder to categorize— and we like that.
Watch us. WeVe providing
a special environment for talented, independent software artists. Its a supportive environment, in which big ideas are given room to grow^. And some of Americas most re- spected software artists are beginning to take notice.
We think our current work reflects this very special commitment. And though we are few in number today and apart from the main- stream of the mass software market- place, we are confident that both time and vision are on our side.
Join us. We see farther. Electronic arts
m
Software ARTISTS? 'Tm not so ^
sure there are any software artists ytt" says Bill Budge/* We've got to cam that title." Pictured here are a few people who have come as dose to earning it as anyone we know
That's Mr. Budge himself, creator of PINBALL CONSTRUCTION SET, at the upper right. To his left are Anne Westfall and Jon Freeman who, along with dieir colleagues at Free Fall Associates, created ARCHON and MURDER ON THE ZINDERNEUF
Left of them is Dan Bunten of Ozark Softscape, the firm that wrote M. U. L.E.To Dans left are Mike Abbot (top) and Matt Alexander (bottom), authors of HARD HAT MACK. In the center is John Field, creator of AXIS ASSASSIN and THE LAST GLAD- IATOR. David Maynard, lower right, is the man responsible for WORMS?
When you see what they've accom- plished, we think you'll agree with us that they can call themselves whatever they want.
9518 PRINT"LINE ";AQr*' IS ";J-N;*' BYTES L
ONG"
9519 PRINT
9520 PRINT J-16509;" BYTE PROGRAM (PLUS D
IMS)" 9600 STOP
9990 INPUT H$
9991 SAVE"TEST"
9992 GOTO 1
9509 IF (PEEK N*256 )+(PEEK (N+l ) )=AQ THEN
GOTO 9511 9513 FOR J=N TO I
Sample Run
ENTER LINE NUMBER LINE 9600 STARTS AT 17020 LINE 9600 ENDS AT 17025 LINE 9600 IS 5 BYTES LONG 516 BYTE PROGRAM (PLUS DIMS)
Thank you for this handy tip. We can see where this program might also be useful in handling machine Ian- guage routines.
VIC Memory Loss Cure
When using programmable characters, you lose some of your present memory. Is there any way to regain that memory without turning off the VIC?
Brian Gaetjens
YeSr and it can be done tvith a few easy POKEs. The most common way that monory is reserved for pro- grammable chnraclers is by POKEing locations 51 and 52 (the "pointer" for string storage in RAM), and locations 55 and 56 (the pointer for the limit, or "top/' of memory). In the unexpanded VIC, the most common ivay to reserve character set space is to: POKE 57,0: POKE 55,0: POKE 5228: POKE 56^8. This will reserve, or partition off, 512 bytes (enough for 64 pro- grammable characters) at the top of BASIC RAM, leav- ing the programmer with 3069 bytes for BASIC pro- grams. To )'esel the VIC to its original parameters, )ype: POKE 5h0: POKE 52,30: ^POKE 55,0: POKE 56,30. This will restore the VIC to its original configuration, and give you 3581 bytes for BASIC programming.
Monitor Sound
I currently have a 48K Atari 800 with a PERCOM disk drive. I would like to connect my computer to an RGB color monitor instead of a TV, But in doing so, I would lose all audio. Is there a way to have the sharpness of a color monitor and yet retain the sound capability necessary for the majority of Atari programs?
John C. Nardi
First of all, check the particular brand of color monitor
you intend to buy. Some monitors do have a built-in audio capability. Other solutions would be to connect
14 COMPUra* July 1983
the audio output signal (pin 3 of the Atari's numitor plug) to your stereo system, or to an iiwxpensive, battery-powered amplifier available at nwst electronics supply houses.
An Atari/Commodore 64 Connection
Can an Atari 810 or other Atari disk drive be in- terfaced to a Commodore 64? I am thinking of buying a 64 as a second computer and would like to use my present Atari peripherals on the 64. Also, can the 64' s SID sound chip be hooked up to an Atari?
David Lee
Both machines could communicate oi^er a telephone modem hookup. Alternatively, you could Iux}k them up directly using Commodore's RS-232 cartridge and Atari's 850 interface module (through its RS-232 piort). You would likely be unsatisfied, though, at the slow rate by zohich data would be transferred between the two computers. Likewise, attempting to connnuiiicate to the SID chip from the Atari would be azokward. The whole ivould probably be less than the sum of the parts if you tried to gang these compmters together and think of them as a team.
Atari and Commodore use very different peripheral buses (interface plugs). Although both have a serial bus, the 64 uses a variant of the popular RS-232C bus, while the Atari uses a complex serial standard.
VIC Disk Details
1 own a Commodore VIC-20. I need a disk drive now, but I do not want to get a 1541 because I may upgrade to a PET in the future and do not want to buy a whole new drive. If ! use a VIC to lEEE-488 interface to a 2031 drive, will I retain all the standard Commodore disk commands? Will I need DOS for the 203] or the 1541? Please help.
Larry Abramowitz
You will retain all of the standard commands. One of the main reasons for the manufacturing of an lEEE-488
interface is for upgrade adaptations like the one you're contemplating. There are several such interfaces on the market nozv. DOS is buill into both the 2031 and the 1541.
Automatic BASIC To Machine Language Converter
Is there anything on the market that will convert standard BASIC programs into machine language? I need this for my Commodore 64 and its graphics.
Ben Savage
Your question is about speed: a program written in machine language can run a thousand times faster than the same thing programmed in BASIC, Some games,
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large sorting tasks, and other kinds of computation require that the computer run at maximum velocity. That means machine language.
There are large programs called compilers which do something similar to what you loant. They take a BASIC program apart and generate a high-speed version written in "P-code/' a fast-running language similar to forth. You can expect a ''compiled" BASIC program to run anywhere from 10 to 40 times faster. One minor drawback is that the compiled program will usually be someiohat larger than the original BASIC version.
There are also ''optimizing" compilers which, during the process of compilation iiito P-code, also re- arrange the program's structure to maximize efficiency. For example, the most commonly used variables in the program might be stored in zero page (the computer's first 256 memory cells) where storage and retrieval is far faster than it would be higher up in memory.
In any case, there is no way to turn BASIC pro- grams into true machine language. You might want to use compilers for some programs, hut also learn to pro- gram in machine language for those situations when speed is of the essence. Compiler programs for various computers are advertised in COMPUTE!.
Retirement Planning
I read with interest the article in COMPUTE! on retirement planning (April 1983). It is reassuring that retirement planners are finally acknowledging that inflation may be here to stay. Unfortunately, the program assumes that inflation will stop on the day you retire. A pleasant assumption, but one that could result in a lot of retirees who may not be able to afford subscriptions to COMPUTE! ten years down the road.
1 have found the following program extremely useful for computing with my Atari 400, how much capital I would actually need in order to retire early. The program assumes:
1, That inflation will continue at a constant rate, and your yearly expenses will increase at this rate.
2. That you wish to spend your capital after retirement,
10
?"ENTER CAPITAL AT RETIREMENT":
INPUT A:?
?"ENTER EXPECTED RATE OF INFLATION"
INPUT B:?
?"ENTER YEARLY ANTICIPATED RETURN
ON INVESTMENTS AFTER TAXES AND
INFLATION:INPUTC:?
?"ENTER YEARLY EXPENSES LESS ANY
INDEXED PENSION PLAN OR SOCIAL
SECURITY BENEFITS":INPUT D:?
?:?"YEAR";/INCOME";/'CAPITAL"
Y = 0 INC= INT(D*(1 + B/100)'^Y)
Y = Y+I Z = B + C
90 A = INT(A*Z/100 + A)-INC 100 ?Y,INC,A
20
30
40
50 55 60 70 80
110 IF A<0 THEN ?"CAPITAL EXHAUSTED":END
120 GO TO 60
Craig Cole
More Atari Automation
I'm writing in response to Joseph Wrobers pro- gram, "Automate Your Atari" (January 1983). The following program neatly displays your disk directory (in two columns if necessary) each time you boot up your system. Just run "Automate" and enter each line below for each command. For example, command #1 would be 10 GR.O: DIM N$(17):T.60 and command #8 would be RUN without a line number. Since "Automate" counts characters, all spaces have been removed, end quotes are left off where possible, and abbrevia- tions are used.
Rainer Forsch
10 GR.0:DI^4N$(17):T.60
20 P0S.2,3:PRINT"FIL£S CONTAINED ON THIS
DISKETTE ARE: 30 O,#1,6,0"D:*,*":PRINT
40 I . # 1 ; N$ : PRINTN? : T=T+1 : 1 FT=14THENG0S * 70 50 G,40
60 POKE82,2:PRINT:POS.2,20:NEW 70 POS.2,4:POKE82,20:PRINT:RET. RUN
PET Pause
While trying out one of Commodore's Model 8032 microcomputers, I stumbled upon a key function which would be handy for program debugging. 1 mentioned it to one of my instructors at Wake Forest, and he suggested that 1 share it with your readers.
Stopping program listing or execution can be useful for finding statement errors or viewing intermediate results of a calculation. Formerly, the only way to stop a program and the screen scroll was with the RUN/STOP key. This necessi* tates typing in the CONT command and pressing RETURN in order to resume execution. However, if the program is stopped by means of the colon key on the top row, scrolling may be resumed merely by tapping the back-arrow key, which also serves to slow the scroll if held down.
Interestingly enough, if a pure timing loop is running, the colon key will not halt execution. However, inclusion of a PRINT statement in the loop will enable the colon/halt function,
Jonathan Kerfoot
COMPUTE! we koines questions, coJinuents, or solutions to issues raised in this column. Write to: Readers' Feedback, COMPUTE! Magazine, P.O. Box 5406, Greensboro, NC 27403. COMPUTE! reserves the right to edit or abridge published letters, " @
16 COMPUTll July 1983
of The Hundreds of Reasons You Ought To Be A COMPUTE!
Magazine Subscriber:
From "Tlie Editor's Feedback" Card, a monthly part of our continuing dialogue with readers of COMPUTE!. These are responses to the question,
"What do you like best about COMPUTE! ?"
l*"It is written so a beginner can read and understand it... it's layman oriented..." 8* "Clear, clean layout, good presentation..." 3. "The Atari game programs..." 4*"Best and most information on PET..." 5."Cover to cover, and all in between..." 6,"Reviews of software and hardware..." 7. "Good balance of application and technical articles..." 8. "It is the best source of info about various levels of VIG/PET/CBM machines and ap- plications.. " 9. "The BASIC and machine language programs..." 10, "I Uke programs that can be typed into a computer, 3?un, and then used right away (a program without bugs!)..." ll,"That it is organized weU, and covers a broad range of information con- cerning Atari. Keep it up! please, I'm learning..." 18. "Table of contents listings and computer guide to articles is a great idea. Best magazine for personal home computer users..." 13. "Best I have fotind for VIC info..." 14. "Informative articles: ^Secrets of Atarf, Game programs, especially programs that teach the reader about the Atari..." IS. "I like all the articles and programs for my computer, the PET. IVe learned and found out things about it that I never even thought existed. Other magazines don't have too much material for the PET and, for that reason, I find COMPUTE! invaluable..." 16."The up-to-date hardware reviews..." 17.'*Maclilne language utihties for Atari..." 18."Articles are terse but understandable and accurate. Utility and applications pro- gram listings very helpful..." 19 ."The April, '82 issue is my first. I am impressed that you not only acknowledge the VIC-20,you even have applications for it..." 20»"I really enjoy (since I am one) the Beginner's Page..." 81. "The attention it gives to Atari and the easy-to-understand language it's written in..." 88. "It is concerned with ex- plaining programs, not just listing them. It is the best VIC magazine I could buy..." 83."The new table of contents 'Guide to Articles and Programs' is excellent, particu- larly the indication of 'multiple computer' items..." 84."Broad range (sophistication) of programs..." 8S."You don't speak over the average user's head..."
Whether you*re just getting started with personal computers, or very advanced, you*ll find useful, helpful information in every issue of COMPUTE! Magazine. We specialize in supporting the Atari, PET/CBM, VIC-20, and Apple computers. Editorial coverage is expanding to include the TI-99/4A^ the Sinclair ZX-81, and the Radio Shack Color Computer.
Every issue of COMPUTE! brings you user-fpiendly articles, applications programs, and utilities you can type right into your computer and use. To subscribe to COMPUTE!, or to order a sample issue, use the attached reply card or call our toll-free number. COMPUTE!... We're the resource for thousands and thousands of home, educational, and small business computer users. Shouldn't you be one of them?
1 year, twelve issue subscription: $20.00 in the US,
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COMPUTE! Magazine is a publication of Small System Services, Inc. 625 Pulton Street. P.O. Box 5406. Greensboro, NC 27403.
Computers And Society
David D, Thornburg, Associate Editor
The Fifth Generation
I can hardly resist the temptation to point out that Orwell's vision for 1984 is (thankfully) not going to come true. It is interesting to note that, as with many other futurists, Orwell overestimated the amount of social change that would occur by 1984, and seriously underestimated the amount of tech- nological innovation that will have been de- veloped by then. While it is true that office workers in OrwelTs novel dictate their letters into a ''speak write/' an automated stenographer/printer, much of the remaining technology is neither advanced nor inspiring.
1 was reminded of the impact of technological advances as I created the first draft of this month's column on my Brother EP-20 battery-operated electronic typewriter. This marvel of design is quite compact, fits on an airplane tray table, and is almost silent. Since it retails for about S200 and allows the user to correct up to 16 characters of text before it is printed, I would not be surprised to see this device open up whole new markets for typewriters. 1 never used a typewriter for rough drafts before, simplv because they were too bulky. Now, this device has become my portable work- station (sadly missing the storage that would make it a terminal for my wx^rd processor), and 1 take it everywhere.
Is it significant that this innovation was de- veloped by a Japanese company? As we look at the computer industry, it is clear that it is taking on a decidedly international flavor. And yet, so far, the big names in personal computers are defi- nitely American (Tl, Commodore, Atari, Apple, IBM, etc.).
KIPS Super Computer
A recently published book. The Fiftli Gciwration (Addison-Wesley, $15.95), suggests that we must be much more aware of Japanese advances in computer technology if we are to survive as a technological nation. Far from being a "scare" book designed to erect protectionist trade barriers, The Fifth Ceiiemtiou is more a call to arms. Its au- thors are Edward Feigenbaum, a pioneer in the
18 COMPUTE! July 1983
field of artificial intelligence, and Pamela McCor- duck, a science writer who has written extensively on computers and intelligent behavior in machines. The authors say that Japan has em- barked on a ten-year crash program to develop a new type of super computer -a "fifth generation" machine that is called a Knowledge Information Processing System (KIPS). The KIPS is expected to be markedly different in architecture from the computers in use today. Furthermore, it is ex- pected that users of the KIPS will interact with it very differently from the way people use com- puters today.
What is a KIPS? While most of today's com- puters are used for data processing and, with the exception of languages like LISP and Logo, most computer languages are geared towards data pro- cessing tasks, the KIPS is an optimized blend of hardware and software, tailored to perform gen- eral symbol manipulation and symbolic inference. This shift in emphasis recognizes that most of our work is nonmathematical in nature. Much of our work involves reasoning, not calculating.
A Reasoning Machine?
Can one build a "reasoning" machine? According to Feigenbaum and McCorduck, the Japanese lack our preoccupation with this question. From their perspective, it is sufficient to note that com- puter systems powerful enough to be fifth gener- ation machines will function at a lev^el far beyond that with which we are presently familiar.
Modest projects in the development of sys- tems that outperform human "experts" are an important result of research in artificial intelli- gence. For example, programs that perform certain types of medical diagnoses, analyze and propose synthetic pathways in the creation of new chemical compounds, and predict the location of geological deposits hav^e already been implemented on existing commercial computers using languages such as LISP. Such programs must operate with both a '"knowledge base" and a set of "inference procedures." To read a map, for instance, one
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must have both maps to read and a procedure for reading them.
Intuitive Solutions
The fifth generation KIPS will be built around the collection of vast amounts of data and the collec- tion of problem-solving techniques that range from rigid deterministic methods to those that mimic the human ability to act on "hunches." You need not become embroiled in the machine intelligence controversy to appreciate that such systems have the potential to completely redefine computers, their use, and their place in society. In order to create the KIPS, advances are re- quired in both computer hardware and software. The computers we are familiar with operate in serial fashion. Instructions are executed one at a time. This type of computer architecture was de- veloped by John von Neumann, and speed limi- tations in such computer systems are caused by the "von Neumann bottleneck" - processing in- struction by instruction, byte by byte. In order to create faster computers, the fifth generation machines may favor a system using many proces- sors in parallel.
A Billion inferences Per Second
To appreciate the need for this approach, you should remember that the KIPS is to be used primarily for the linking of a knowledge base by symbolic representations (e.g., a sparroiv is a kind of bird), or for the representation of rules (e.g., // the temperature is over 400 degrees, then the boiler must be turned down). To be used effectively, a problem-solving program must scan its library of "IPs" to find one relevant to the problem at hand. Finding this needle in the knowledge-based hay- stack of the size anticipated by the Japanese will require much more computational horsepower than we have seen to date. For example, today's big computers are capable of executing no more than 100,000 logical inferences per second (LIPS). (One logical inference corresponds to one IF/ THEN statement.) A personal computer such as an Apple II might execute (depending on the lan- guage chosen) about 100 UPS. The KIPS will be designed to execute up to a billion LIPS.
Such achievements are not the result of hardware alone. Interestingly, the language of present interest to the KIPS project leaders has already been developed by the Europeans - PROLOG.
How feasible is this project? There is much diversity of opinion on this topic, but there is con- sensus that, even if the project goals are not met in the allotted ten years, the interim results will most certainly change the nature of computers and computing. As Feigenbaum and McCorduck say:
\Nord literacy has given us power, access to
20 COMPUTE! July 1983
an opulent, soari}\^ worhi of mind - an alter- ation of thought processes - that is detiied the illiterate. Computing literacy, even in its present form, opens still a^wther world, one that all eventually may enter as routinely as they enter the tvorld of letters, and it loill confer perhaps even more power than the mighty pen and press have already given us. This is not idle promotion. As human muscle- poxver has been amplified by mam/ special- purpose machines, so human mind-poxver will be amplified. The computer will change not onhj what we think, but how.
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Ken Uston 's computer- optimized card- counting strategies, from basic to advanced levels. Menu -driven interactive drills — augmented by superb documentation - lead you through each skill level At any point you can choose to sec accurate running counts, continuous siatisttcal evaluations, discard deck totals and instructional prompts, com- plete with sound effects So you develop and refine the skills you need to WIN BIG.
Ken
sTiS"
In the package containing this winning pro- gram, we'll include, absolutely free, a coupon that entitles you to a free copy of Millton OoHar Bhckjack, Ken Uston s authoritative text on the game of black[ack - an S18 95 value! This book fully describes the blackjack system that won Ken Uston a reputation as the world's forerrrast blackjack player and rocketed him to nationwide fame in his ap- pcrances on 60 Mmutes This \s the system that made Uston such a threat to casinos that he's been barred from their playing tables — and It's implemented fully m this program and described in-dcpth in this book If you want **givestig3te the reasoning behind the win- pest blackjack system ever designed, this ok IS a must If you want to LEARN the system, quickly and painlessly, this program is a must We're offering you both — at a winning price.
G FEATURE 112 ■
"2vahfy Low Prs^e The price for the winningest blackjack sys- tern ever is a winner, too. Including the software, the coupon and thorough docu- irientation. Ken Uston s Prof essionaf Blackjack IS an amazingly low $69 95, There are other programs that cost less aixi offer less There
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les been barred from their playing tables - IBM PC ' REQUIREMENTS 48K RAM. disk winningcst blackjack player Only from Intelli ind It's implemented fully m this program and dnve. PCDOS'. 80-cfiaracter display Color gent Statements Try your dealer or, if \k Jescribed in-dcpth in this book If you want and monochroine versions supplied with each doesn't have it, call 1-800-334-5470 today * investigate the reasoning behind the win- package Be a winner with Intelligent Statement*
pest blackjack system ever designed, this APPLE 11" REQUIREMENTS: DOS 3 3, software, ok IS a must If you want to LEARN the 48K RAM. disk drive. 40-character display iystem, quickly and painlessly, this program is OSBORNE f ^" REQUIREMENTS Staixiard I must We're offering you both — at a Osborr>e I package winning price. ATARI" 400 800 1200 REQUIREMENTS:
48K RAM and one disk drive. j
Disptay shows actual photograph o( tBM PC g,
version Apple and Alan color graphics and Os^ ^
I borne monochronye graphites are similar Versions /'
for TRS BO ' ' atKi other bratids will be avatlable
shority
*IBM PC andKDOSemt^dem&fki of fSM • * Apple. Osborne, Atari atuS TRS 80 on tra<kmarki of Appk; Compincr, fnc . Osfeorne Computer Corp . Atari Uk . and Tandy Corp . mpectivtly
THE BEGINNER'S PAGE
Richard Mansfield. Senior Editor
Writing A Simulation Game
There are three basic types of computer games: arcade, adventure, and simulation games. Let's briefly look at the characteristics of arcade and adventure games and
then write a simulation.
Reaitime Action
Arcade games feature what's called realtime action. Unlike chess or bridge, things happen fast. You can't sit back and plan your next move; you must react immediately to the space invaders. In other w^ords, events take place at the same speed as they would in reality: realtime.
Arcade games also hav^e a strong appeal to the eye and ear. There is much animation, color, and sound. In fact, your ability to respond quickly and effectively depends in part on all the clues you get from the graphics and sound effects. Strategy, while often an aspect of arcade play, is clearly secondary. These games are a new kind of athletics: the fun of man versus machine. Like auto racing, arcade games are essentially isometric exercises - you don't run around; you just stay in one place flexing and unflexing your muscles, tensing and relaxing.
Story And Strategy
Strategy, however, is more important in "adven- ture" games. The emphasis is on planning ahead and solving riddles. It can be like living inside an adventure novel. There is drama, characterization, and plot. You might start out, for example, in a forest with a shovel and a trusty, if enigmatic, companion parrot. As you try to figure out what to do next, the parrot keeps saying "piny dells, piny dells." After wandering aimlessly through the trees, it suddenly comes to you that the bird is saying "pine needles" and you dig through them and find a treasure map.
Your "character" will travel, meet friends and enemies, and hav^e the opportunity to pick up or ignore potentially useful items such as food, magic wands, and medicine. It's customary that you cannot haul tons of provisions. You'd have to
22 COMPUTil July 1983
decide whether or not to leave the shovel in the forest. Yet you might be sorry that you'd dropped it if you're involved in a cave-in later in the game. In any case, adventure games are fundamen- tally verbal. The computer displays the words:
YOU ARE IN A BOAT ON A LAKE. NIGHT IS FALLING.
to which you can respond in any number of ways. You might type:
DIVE OFF BOAT.
and the computer would reply that you now see an underwater cave or whatever. You move through the scenes the way a character moves through a novel. There is generally no penalty if you take time to plan your next move. It's not realtime.
Imitations Of Life
The third category, simulation, is the least com- mon kind of computer game. This is because to really imitate something, to simulate it effectively, you need lots of computer memory to hold lots of variables. However, memory has recently become far less expensive so we can expect to see increas- ingly effective simulation games. Star Trek and Hannnurabi, both simulations, have long been popular home computer games. Although they are similar to adventure games, simulations are random. That is, there is no secret to discover, no puzzle to solve, no plot. Like real life, things hap- pen with unpredictable, complex results.
Here's a program which simulates investing. The key to simulating is to arrange realistic inter- actions between variables. Look at line 600. If there is "international unrest," the price of gold (PGLD) goes up and the price of Bundtfund stock (PB) goes down. This relationship between gold, stock, and an international crisis is true to life. Alterna- tively, stock goes up and gold goes down in line 700 during a "market rally/'
The game allows you to make inv^estment decisions, and then a "month" passes during which the value of your investments will go up or down. In line 510, three variables are given ran-
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dom values. Stock can gain or lose up to 10 points (variable X), and gold can change by $20 an ounce (Y). Variable Z will be used to simulate flipping a coin. Also notice lines 520 and 525. In 520, we determine whether or not there will be unrest. The variable CH is just a counter. Each "month/' CH is raised by one. Two conditions are required for unrest to happen: in a given month, CH must be greater than 4 and it must be less than whatever X turns out to be. If both these conditions are met, CH is reset to zero and we've got interna- tional unrest. This has the effect of creating unrest roughly every four to six months. Likewise, another rhythm is set up in line 525 to cause market rallies. In both cases, however, you cannot be certain exactly when to invest in gold or in stocks.
The decision to raise or lower stock prices is made in line 530 and based on the coin toss vari- able, Z. Again, stocks move in opposition to gold. Prices will rise about 50 percent of the time, but you can never know what will happen in a given month.
Donkey Koh<^ change the play field as you earn more points.
There are several ways to add to the appeal of our investment simulation, beyond just making it a more complex, more accurate simulation. You could add the visuals and sound of arcade games. Try creating a tickertape across the top of the screen to show price changes and news events. Maybe add a bell sound to indicate the end of further transactions. If your computer has a voice synthesizer, news events couki be announced over the ''radio." And from adventure games you could borrow two elements: riddles and the neces- sity of planning ahead. One easy way to incorpo- rate these two elements would be to make paying taxes a part of the game. After all, the closer it is to real life, the better the simulation.
20 So
Ha
Suggested Complications
This is the core, a rough sketch, of an investment simulation game. There is much you can do to make it a more effective simulation and thereby a more enjoyable game. The more variables in a simulation, the better. For example, add leverage and additional ''incidents'' which affect prices, improve the randomizing, and include other types of investments. You could even use a separate counter which, every five years, causes the X and Y variables to swing more widely to reflect reces- sion/recovery cycles.
As you can see, a simulation should be lifelike. It has interdependent cycles and a degree of un- predictability. Its realism derives from including a sufficient number of variables. And those variables must interact in plausible ways and wath just the right amount of randomness. A simulation is a little world you create. You can define cause and effect and then fine-tune the whole thing until it seems well-balanced. Adventure and arcade games are certainly enjoyable, but this investment simulation can be built up to the point where it's AQ just as much fun as any other kind of K^ime. ^'^
Mixing Styles ^«
Of course, these three categories - arcade, adven- ' ture, and simulation - are somewhat arbitrary. Some of the best games contain elements of each. There are adventure games with graphics - you see the forest, the shovel, the pine needles. After you say DIVE, your character jumps into a lake and the screen transforms into an underwater scene. Likewise, arcade games can include the ^•Vg^ different "settings" so characteristic of adventure |^ games. Popular arcade games such as Tron and mlm
26 COMPUTE! July 1983
Special Program Notes: Ifi/ou have an Atari. you'll need to add semicolons (;) betiueen I he vari- able names and the PRINT statements to make everything pri)il on a single line. If you have a TI, put each statement on its own separate tiiw. In other words, you cannot use colons (:). Line 10 would he CASI / = lOOOOO and you'd iwed to add a line: U PGLD = 400, If you have a Timex/ Sinclair, use LET whenever a variable is defined. For example, line TO would start: 10 LET CASH=100000, [f you have a TRS-80 Color Computer, add the followiii^ line: 5 RAN- DOMIZE,
Investment Simulation
10 CASH=100000:PGLD=400 PB=80
PRINT: PRINT" BUNDTFUND IS $"PB" PER SHARE* YOU HAVE "B" SHARES, — $"PB*B PRINT" GOLD IS [3 SPACES ]$ "PGLD" PER 0 UNCE.{2 SPACES} YOU HAVE "GLD" OUNCES, — ?"GLD*PGLD Ji^ T=PB*B+GLD*PGLD
Ji^ PRINT" [31 SPACES) TOTAL INVESTMENTS ~ 4i> $"T ^6^ PRINT" {31 SPACES} YOU HAVE $"CASH" TO /^ SPEND."
PRINT "I 24 SPACES} GRAND TOTAL ( INVESTM ENTS + CASH) ?"T+CASH IFCK=lTHENMa %ll^
PRINT: PRINT "^, BUY [2 SPACES } 2 . SELL {2 SPACES} 3. DONE"
INPUTA:IFA=3THENCK=1:G0T0M' \xi PRINT"WHICH?[3 SPACES } 1 .GOLD {2 spaces} OR [2 SPACES} 2. STOCK" INPUTF
PRINT "HOW iVIANY (SHARES OR OUNCES)?" INPUTN
IFF=1THEN«^ VE^e
PRICE=PB*N:IFA=1THENCASH=CASH-PRICE: B=B+N:GOTO«flt ^\^ ^0
CASH=CASH+PRICE : B=B'N : G0T04#e' ** PRICE=PGLD*N:IFA=1THENCASH=CASH-PRIC E : GLD=GLD4-N : GOTO4#0.
jf^
1110
ll0 0 0 0 0
ife
iP 't^J CASH=CASH+PRICE:GLD=GLD-N
%i^4mr GOTo^fe ^^^
-;j^-&^^ GK=0: PRINT: PRINT" ONE MONTH LATER .. ^ . ":F0RT=1T07 00 :NEXTTi PRINT -jJ6.&«^ X=INT ( ( RND ( 1 ) *100 ) /10 ) : Y=INT ( ( RND ( 1 ) j« *200 ) /10 ) : Z=RND ( 1 ) ^.''feflr CH=CH+l:IFCH>4ANDCH<XTHENCH^0:GOTOa«
♦•^ T2^ IFCH=2GOTO?«f Z^9
-SOT IF Z> .5THENPB=PB+X:PGLD=PGLD-Y:GOT0^■ WjdJffl^ PB=PB-X:PGLD=PGLD+Y;GOTOAl$^
..sap PRINT "INTERNATIONAL UNREST • . . " : PGLD= -1?^ PGLD+2^Y:PB=PB-2*X:GOT03a fo
Md-'PRINT "MARKET RALLY . . . { 2 SPACES } " : PG ^C LD=PGLD- 2 *Y : PB=PB+ 3 *X : GOTO^l £ q
Use the handy
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TO BITS
Masteriype"^ makes typing a blast.
Now there's a typing prosram for the Apple II, Atari and IBM PC that dares to be fun. And it's soon to be available for the VIC-20. It's MasterType. A combination of fast-action blow 'em up video sames with the best instruc- tional programs available. The result? Highly motivating and enjoyable learning.
MasteiTVpe earns a ten-gun salute.
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"MasterType is an excellent instructional typing game. We had fun reviewing it, and we highly recommend it to those who want to learn typing in an unconven- tional but motivating way."
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Masteiiype teaches your fingers to fly.
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Questions Beginners Asic
Tom R Holfhill, Features Editor
Are you thinking about buying a computer for the first time, but don't know anything about computers? Or maybe you just purchased a computer and arc still a bit baffled. Each month, COMPUTE! xvill tackle the ques- tions most often asked by beginners,
QAre there any problems I could cause while using a computer that could perma- nently damage it? How about any commands used in the wrong way? In other words, what are the chances that I could do real damage to the computer by not knowing how to use it right?
There's an old saying in computing that goes something like this:
''The only way you can hurt a computer through its keyboard is to hit it with a hammer,"
Of course, this isn't completely true; spilling liquids into a computer keyboard isn't too healthy for it, either. But the general thrust of that adage is pretty certain - aside from physical abuse, a computer can't be damaged by anything you can type on its keyboard.
There's only one rare exception we've ever heard of. A certain POKE command on one Com- modore PET computer (PET/CBM's with 4.0 BASIC) can drastically speed up the process by which the computer creates the screen display. If this command is left running wild, the computer keeps speeding up until it eventually self- destructs. The chances of this POKE happening by accident are extremely remote. There are 65536 memory locations in a PET that can be POKEd, and there are 256 possible numbers that can be POKEd in each location (0 to 255). Therefore, the chances of accidentally typing in that fatal POKE command are only one in 16,777,216.
Other than tliis rare example, you really don't have to worry about damaging the hardware of your computer system by experimenting with commands or programs. The same pretty much holds true for the devices attached to the com- puter. At worst, you might cause an error which traps a device in an endless loop - for example, the disk drive might keep spinning, or the printer might keep spewing forth paper. Conceivably, if the system were left unattended, the device could eventually overheat or suffer excessive wear. But if you're there, you can always stop such "run-
28 COMPUTE! July 1983
away" events by switching off the power. Anytime you switch off a computer or device and then switch it back on again, it resets itself.
Remember, though, we're talking about hardware damage. There are lots of ways you can cause perrnanent software damage. Simply typing NEW on the keyboard and pressing RETURN will wipe out any BASIC program in memory. If the program has not been saved on disk or tape, it will be lost. Likewise, certain commands can erase a program from a disk or tape, or overwrite it with something else. A wrong command, a pro- gram bug, or a typing error when entering a pro- gram listing can cause a system crash - your com- puter "locks up" (refuses to accept commands). Since the only way to recover, usually, is to switch the computer off and on again, the program in memory will be lost. But you can rest assured that the computer itself is always safe from permanent damage.
Can I do word processing with a tape recorder, or must I have a disk drive?
Alt is quite possible to do word processing with a tape recorder.
Make sure, however, that the word pro- cessing program you buy or use is designed to work with tape. Some programs are for disk only; still others work with both.
The peripheral device which is most essential for word processing is a printer. Without a printer, you won't be able to generate a paper printout of your writing. And since the whole object of word processing is writing, a printer is indispensable. If you want to do word processing and must choose between buying a disk drive first or a printer, opt for the printer.
For casual word processing (average letter- writing, etc.) you may find that a tape recorder is a sufficient storage device. However, for more serious applications, you'll probably discover that a disk drive is necessary. Tape recorders can be reliable, but they are very slow compared to disk drives. Also, a disk drive adds flexibility to word processing. Depending on the word processing program, a disk drive can make it possible to easily store frequently used paragraphs on disk for merg- ing with other files; to link several files together for very long documents; to merge files of names and addresses with form letters; and other ad- vanced functions. ©
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Parti
Constructing The Ideal Computer Game
Orson Scott Cord, COMPUTEi Books Editor
In this first article of a two-part series, the author examines curreutiy available types of home computer games ami suggests a new approach: a game lohere the player creates his or her own world. As an example, he describes the elements of a ''game-building game" called "Railroader/' It's something of a cross between tradi- tional entertainment and computer programming.
Next month, the article concludes with advanced applications and specific techniques for programming Railroader on your computer.
When I first bought an Atari 400, I told my wife all kinds of stories. About how computers were the wave of the future. About how our kids had to become computer literate. About how useful the computer would be.
I didn't fool her. I didn't even fool myself. I knew I was getting the machine because of the games.
And I've done my time. My Super Breakout game regularly tells me "Wow!" My Centipede scores are respectable, and my wife and 1 make a great team playing Ghost Hunter.
But now, after a couple of years with the ulti- mate garne machine, I've discovered a dreadful secret: true home computer games are rare.
Look at your games for a minute. What are they actually doing? Most of them are doing what pinball machines are designed to do - enticing you to try to beat the machine, with the odds hopelessly stacked against you. That makes sense for arcade games. They are supposed to make money, and the only way to make money is to force you to play against the clock, pumping in as many quarters per hour as possible. When the local wizards started playing 30 minutes per quar- ter on the Dig-Dug machine in the corner Seven- Eleven, they flipped a switch inside it and sud-
30 COMPUTEI Juty1983
denly the old patterns stopped working. 1 stopped getting 250,000 points a game - and the company started getting a lot more quarters. That's business.
But why do home games have to play that way? The arcade games are fun on the home machine, at first. But they can get frustrating or boring. After a while I begin not to care anymore whether I get above 70,000 on Centipede, I'm never going to "win," and I don't lose a quarter when I don't win.
There's something worse than boredom. Something a little pernicious. Teenagers who come to my house to play my games have a great time. But when my four-year-old son and I sit down to a few games of Sahnon Run or Picnic Paranoia, he almost always ends up in tears. Not because I always win - I'm a nicer father than that - but because the machine always wins. He doesn't stand a chance. He can never finish. He can never accomplish anything.
Why should all those wonderful graphics, all those fantastic imaginary worlds, be devoted to either frustrating my son or programming him until he learns how to do his part perfectly?
Because that's what all but three computer games I've tried end up doing ~ programming the pilayer. Rewarding and punishing me until 1 learn to display the correct behaviors. What are the arcade wizards, except human beings who have learned to obey the demands of a computer program?
Don't get me wrong. 1 still love a new arcade game. I'm in there flapping away at joust, making hamburgers and McMuffins with Burgertime, and mastering the art of swinging on chains and ropes in Donkey Kong lunior. I'm as eager as anyone to find out what the next screen will look like, to find out what the programmer has created in his or her little world. But it's still the programmer's
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HOW DO YOU GET STARTED?
Just buy the original M*A*S*H game. The contest mles and entry blanks are in every package.
And if you win, you might say the rewards are monumental.
Games of the Century
THE M^A^S^H CONTEST. IT'S A SMASH.
world, not mine.
Even the adventure games, both text and graphics, usually boil down to puzzle-sol \ing, out-guessing the programmer.
But in the home, where the family has un- limited access to the computer, there can and should be a different type of game. A different kind of play.
What Is Really Fun?
I've noticed a couple of important things in my family. First, about myself. I almost never stay up late playing computer games. But I have been known to stay up until three or four or six o'clock in the morning working on a program. You might say that, in a way, programming is much like arcading: after all, BASIC is forcing me to react in certain patterns, and I'm only just now beginning to learn when to PEEK and when to POKE. I have been trained, right?
There is a difference - all the difference in the v^orld. When 1 program, I can save the result on something a lot more permanent than a vanity board. And Fm not just charting through someone else's program - I'm creating something that never existed before, at least not in the exact form I'm giving it. When I'm through, there's a lasting result. And I can take all the time in the world. 1 can take the time to do it right,
A second thing I've noticed is the way my children plav when they arc) I't using the computer. They do like a shoot- em-up game as much as other kids. But games like that are only a minority of the things they do.
They also like solving puzzles, and spend much more time doing mazes or putting together picture puzzles than they ever spend on fast-action games.
Most of all, though, their playing time is spent making things or pretending things. They spend hours with wooden or plastic building blocks, making castles or spaceships or houses or any- thing they can imagine. They draw and color, write stories or act out plays, dress up in costumes or read aloud from books - whether they under- stand the actual words on the page or not.
In fact, they do exactly what I like to do with the computer: create their own small world that works just the way they want it to w^ork. They don't want anyone to tell them that they can't make a castle that way, or to insist that six legs are too many for a horse. "You made your txvos backw^ard," we tell our son, and he looks at us impatiently and says, ''Let me do it my way."
How many hundreds of dollars have we sunk into our home computer? We own it, don't w^e? Why, then, do we have so many programs that tell us what to do? Why can't my children - or my wiie and I, for that matter - play games that
34 COMPUni July 1983
let us tell the computer what to do, that let us create something that will last, that let us use the magic of the computer to make things we could never make before?
The Few Games That Work At Home
I've found three games that approach the sort of play that only the home computer can allow - games that are neither elaborate puzzles nor quarter-stealing pinballs.
Galahad and the Holi/ Grail. At first glance, this Atari (APX) adventure game looks pretty much like other realtime graphics adventures. Only after you've played it awhile do you begin to realize that this is the first game to give you the freedom to play your own game. True, there are fast-moving knights and spiders and a persistent, maddening moth to kill you when your reflexes are too slow, and there are puzzles to solve. But there are no win conditions. The program never congratulates you and says, "That's it, you've solved it all" It's fun simply to explore the dozens of different rooms and find out what secrets they hold. It's no coincidence that my son loves to play it, and has never found it frustrating, though it is always challenging.
Eastern Front. This APX game isn't for chil- dren, and there are definite win conditions, but it is a war game that gives you freedom to plan your own moves, to develop your own strategy, and there are hundreds and hundreds of possible ways to play, none of them "wrong." Your deci- sions are shaped by events, but the events do not control you any more than you control them. {ATARI Program Exchange, 155 Moffett Park Drive, B-I, P.O. Box 427, Sunnyvale, CA 94086,)
Pacemaker. It runs slowly, but 1 find that mv son never gets impatient with the game from Spin- naker. The choice of facial features is very limited, but the important thing is the way the program and the child interact, ll allows a child whose drawings are still very primitive to make faces that actually resemble real faces, and program them to perform a series of actions. When my son plays with Pacemaker, he is creating something, and doing things with it that could not possibly he done without the computer. (Spinnaker, 215 1st St., Cambridge, MA 02142,)
The Five Types
There are probably other games that make use of the special advantages of the home computer, but the point is that they are distressingly rare. Most of the games coming out today are variations on the same old themes:
• Target Shoot. The targets move, they dance, they are cute or they are menacing, but the game always consists of shooting them down.
• Tag, The same old targets, but you have to
The Official
«IP%.-
s«.'
The game that puts space games in perspective. Zaxxon", one of the most popular arcade games of 1982. is now avail- able for use with your home computer system.
Zaxxon" technology and creativity present a 3-dfmensional-like playfield which sets Zaxxon '" apart from other computer games.
Zaxxon^" looks and sounds like aircraft flight, and players can soar to new levels of
home computer entertainment. From the daring attack on the enemy's floating for- tress and the blazing battle against the en- emy's fighter fleet to the final showdown with the deadly armored robot, Zaxxon" chal- lenges the skill and imagination of every player at every level of skill.
Imagine yourself the pilot, attacking the enemy fortress-climbing, diving, strafing to score points and extra fuel. The enemy fights back with a barrage of missiles and gunfire. Then you face a fleet of enemy fight- ers in a gripping dogfight of altitude strategy and flying skill. Survive this battle and the enemy's fortress, defended with laser bar- riers, then you Ve earned the ultimate chal- lenge; a blazing confrontation with the pow-
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Zaxxon "" is the one game that you must see to believe. You have to play it to feel its im- pact. If you're ready to face the challenge, check with your local software dealer or send check or money order with S2.00 post- age handling. California residents add 6V2% sales tax. Available on cassette or diskette. Suggested retail price S39.95.
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catch them instead of shooting at them.
• Corning at You, Tag, only they're trying to catch you or shoot you, anci you spend a lot of time running and dodging.
• Scramble. You have to get from here to there, and there are things in the way.
• Maze. Like scramble, only there are several routes you can follow, and you have to figure out the best one.
Have 1 missed anything? Even sports simula- tions, like the sports that inspired them, are com- binations of these elements. Football is tag plus scramble - or coming at you, depending on whether you're playing offense or defense. Hockey is target shoot plus scramble. Baseball is scramble, target shoot, and tag. Lots of fun, but all these w^onderful new^ games are just combina- tions of the same old things.
New, creative game elements are getting rarer. An arcade game like joust, which really does introduce a whole new w^ay to move a player on a screen, still turns into tag-plus-scramble once you master wing-flapping. Donkey Kong Junior has that wonderful swinging motion and the dif- ference between two-handed and one-handed climbing, but it's still a maze with things coming at you.
What else is there?
Games That Let You Create
What I want to see are games that let the player create things. BASIC and LISP and PASCAL and PILOT all fit the bill - but they also require mas- tering some pretty sophisticated concepts. They're fun, but they aren't exactly play. What 1 would like to see is something as simple as building with wooden blocks, while exploiting all the strengths of the home computer.
And what are those strengths?
1. Time. Running out ofquarters doesn't mean you have to quit. Nobody's rushing you to finish. You can think, instead of letting the computer train your reflexes.
2. Permanence, You can save the result of w4iat you've done, change it, re-use it, limited only by the number of cassettes or diskettes you have on hand.
3. Wor/d creation. You're manipulating num- bers, it's true; but the result can be visible and audible, and it can move. You can create worlds the way fiction writers create them, and bring them to life as, until now, only movie-makers could.
4. Individuality. It's your computer. Why shouldn't the results of your play, and your chil- dren's play, be uniquely your owai? Why should the only difference betw^een you and any other player be your score?
Let's Design A Game
It's easy to talk about this kind of game. It's only a little harder to design it. So I'll give you a detailed game design that you can program. But after what I've said about individuality and creativity, there's no way 1 could provide you with a complete pro- gram listing. I'll just offer detailed documentation for the game, then a few hints on how^ to program it, and let you design the way the program works yourself. It can easily be executed in BASIC, though at some points you may be happier with machine language subroutines.
(The documentation that follow^s is long and detailed, but w4ien you're designing a computer game, it's usually a good idea to figure out exactly what the player's experience of playing the game will be like. This is especiall)^ true if you aren't as conversant with your programming language as you are with English. By waiting out the instruc- tions and rules first, as I have done here, you can save yourself debugging and revising time later.)
Railroader
You are building a network of railroads. When it's all built, you control the switches and make your train run on the tracks wherever you want.
The game, though simple enough for a pre- schooler to master, is really an introduction to programming. Model railroaders were designing loops and branches long before electronic computers were a twinkle in Sperry-Rand's eye. If the player does not close all the loops and resolve all the branches, the program will provide a few re- minders. If the player still refuses to tie up loose ends, the program will do it.
And, for those who have the most fun playing cooperatively with someone else, the program allows two players to design railroads on the same screen, and run their trains at once (with some- times disastrous effects).
The Track-Laying Stage
"Railroader" begins by announcing its name and finding out the answers to a few questions. Do you want to lay track or run a train on an already- created track layout? Will there be one or two players? Do you want to lay track at the beginner or expert level? Do you want to save the track layout you create, and if you plan to save it in a disk file, w^hat should the file be named?
When you have made your selections and pressed START, the screen displays a list of instructions:
"Use joystick and joystick button to lay
track units,"
"Type 1 to go on to the next track unit."
"Type 2 to choose w^hich railroad spur to complete."
36 COMPUTE! July 1983
BECOME AN INTREPID SPACE ADVENTURER
by William Muk CoCo version by Roger Schrag Atari version by John Anderson Far beyond the known galaxies, you venture deep into the vast reaches of outer space. But you are not alone! In a flash, without so much as a how-do-ya-do, they're in hot pursuit and you're left to do before you're done unto. Can you elude your pursuers? Will you elude your pursuers? And who are these guys anyway? Find the answers to these and other compelling questions in AREX. See your dealer today!
AREX . . . Coin-op arcade realism at home for 1 to 2 players.
AREX
CoCo 16K TAPE
TR&80 Model 1 S 3 16K TAPE TR&80 Model! & 3 32K DISK .
0600172 $34.95 0100172 S34.95 012-0172 S34.95
OR FLY HIGH IN THE IKDRLD OF HIGH FINANi
by George Schwenk TRS-80 version by Dave Simmons
CoCo version by Roger Schrag **Yas, after purchasing diamond nnines in South Africa, oil wells in Saudi, and rare beer cans in Walla Walla, Washington, I had begun to wonder what other trendy commodities remained to be added to my swelling portfolio. Then a snip of a ticket girl dared to tell me (ME, Hartley J. Wormsflather III!) that my flight was overbooked. To avoid future misunderstandings, I bought the airline."
*M think I'm on to something profitable here." Hartley J. Wormsflather
AIRLINE . . , A no-holds-barred strategy game for 1 to 4 players.
AIRUNE
ATARI 400 & 800/ CoCo/ Model 1 &316K TAPE., 1400169
Published by
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INTERNATIONAL
write for our free catal
8
please) or ARE INVIT
"Type 3 when your layout is complete. At this point, if you haven't brought every spur back to the main line. Railroader will do it for you, and if you want to save the layout. Railroader will save it." "Press any key or joystick button to begin."
When you give the signal, a light green screen appears. If there is one player, a single orange square appears about one-quarter of the way in from the left on the bottom of the screen. If there are two players, a second square appears a quarter of the way in from the right. These squares work like cursors - they mark the area where you are laying track.
Laying Simple Track Units (The Beginner Level)
To lay track, use your joystick. Push forward to make a straight vertical track unit appear in the square. Push left for a track that curves to the left, right for a track that curves to the right. If you change your mind, push a different direction, and the track unit changes. However, the first track unit always starts at the bottom center of the square.
These simple hack units look like this:
|
■\ |
~\ |
When you are satisfied with your choice, you reach over to the computer and type 1 . Your square now moves to the blank area just beyond the end of the track unit you placed on the screen. If you put on a straight track, your square will appear just above it; if you curved left, your square will appear to the left.
If you are playing alone, you may immediately lay the next unit of track; if there is another player, you must wait your turn to lay track again; when the other player types 1, it will be your turn.
The next time you lay track, your new track unit will begin where the old one left off. If you curved left before, your new track unit will start in the middle of the right-hand edge of your cur- sor, like this:
Cursor
-
i V>/// / /////////////
i-
Again, to lay simple track units you have three choices. Let's say that you curved left on your first track unit. Now if you push the joystick left, a straight horizontal track unit will appear. If you pull the joystick toward you, the track will make another curve, this time downward. If you push the joystick away from you, the track unit wall curve upward.
With e\ ery simple track unit you lay, the track will always begin where the last square left off, and will end up heading in one of the three valid directions you can push the joystick.
If you cause the track to end at the edge of the screen, your cursor will appear at the opposite edge. This means that track that ends on the left side of the screen is continued on the right side; track that ends at the top is continued at the bottom.
Erasing. If you want to go back and change the last track unit you completed, push the joystick in the direction of that track unit. Any track unit you laid in the new position will be erased, and your cursor will move to the former square, where you can either lay a track segment or go still farther back, erasing each track segment as you leave it behind. You may erase as many track units as you like, or stop at any point and lay a new track segment. But remember, if you are playing with another player, your turn ends w^hen vou type 1. You can erase as many units as you like, but you can lay only one track unit.
When Tracks Touch. Ai the beginner level, if you cause the track to touch an existing track seg- ment, either your own or the other player's. Rail- roader will automatically create the following valid patterns:
|
■\ |
^ |
V |
Crossover
Curved by-pass
At the beginner level, and whenever you are touching the other player's track units, you may not cause the two tracks to join. If you are about to cross a curved track, you can choose to curve onhj in the opposite direction. If you are about to cross a straight track, you can lay only a straight track across it, not a curve that would join it. And if a new track unit would cause your track to run into the end of another player's spur, you will be allowed to lay only curved tracks that turn away from the other player's track:
38 COMPUTE! July 1983
miiM*DflTflj SOFTWARE
FORTHECOMMODORE64; PET:ANDVIC20
TAKE AN EXCITING TRIP DOWN AVENUES OF ADVENTURE WITH:
• Pakacuda*
• Escape*
• Logger*
• Ape Craze*
• Centropods*
• Supercuda*
• Street Maze
• Caves of Annod
• Capture the Beast
• Market
THROUGH TRAILS OF CREATIVITY WITH:
• Sketch and Paint
• Music Mentor
u A
,g
12345 _
9x9=81 8
y^
I
& *;i
ARRANGE PASSAGE TODAY!
ALONG THE PATH TO KNOWLEDGE WITH:
• Wordspot
• Math Tutor Series
• Alphabet Tutor
• Geography Smash
• Gotcha Math
• English Invaders
• Math Invaders Series
ASK FOR COMM*DATA
COMPUTER HOUSE SOFTWARE
AT YOUR LOCAL DEALER.
Or Send for FREE Complete Catalog:
COMM*DATA COMPUTER HOUSE
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(313)685-0113
Dealer Inquiries Welcome.
Commodore 64, PET, and VIC 20 are Registered Trademarks of Commodore Business Machines, Inc. "High Res Full Machine Code Arcade Style Games.
Not Allowed
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Erasing Crossovers and By-passes. If you are erasing and come to a unit where your track by- passes or crosses over another track, either your own or the other player's. Railroader will leave the other track intact, and remove only the track from the line you are erasing.
Ending the Track-laying Session, With the beginner-level game, that is the whole track-laying sequence. You just keep laying track until you match up the end of your track with the beginning at the bottom of the screen. When you are ready to quit, type 3. If you haven't linked your track with the beginning track unit. Railroader will automatically lay track from the last unit vou created until it links with the first unit, so that the track always makes a closed loop.
Next month we'll go on to the Expert l^evel Game,
COMPUTE!
The Resource,
40 COMPUTE! July 1983
V3-^'%^
THE PLACE: a remote outpost on an ice world light years from earth.
Suddenly the small planet THULE is surrounded by alien life orbs destined to change the atmo- sphere to suit themselves. However, this speils certain death for your base as the frozen mountains start to melt!
You take the command of your single seat fighterto destroy the aliens before it's too late. But you didn't know the aliens had help. . .
STAR SENTRY is an arcade-type space action game written entirely in machine language for one player. Cassette or disk, 24K. $29.95.
|
—^V] |
Wi |
wrmr : •A. mi |
|
.^^Hjt^^^ |
•^ |
RO. BOX23 \A/ORCESTER. MA 01603
{61T)892-348S
Star Sentry is a trademark of A.N.A.L.O.G. Software.
NEW PRODUCTS AT THE COMDEX/SPRING
COMPUTER SHOW
Tom R Holfhill Features Editor
Neza products displayed at the Comdex/Spring confer- ence, held in Atlanta during late Aprii show a trend toward still more home computers, lower-priced home peripherals, and increasing support for the popular home computers already on the market.
This year's Comdex/Spring show was more inter- esting than most for home computerists. Known officially as the ''National Spring Conference Ex- position for Independent Sales Organizations/' Comdex is primarily a sliovv for computer dealers, manufacturers, and businessmen. Consequently. almost all the wares on display at this large show are for the more expensive personal and business systems.
At the show this year, however, there seemed to be more than the usual number of exhibitors displaying products for lower-priced home com- puters. Two new home computers were shown - both imports; several low-cost printers and other peripherals made impressive appearances; and software started catching up with hardware (at least a little) as new programs were introduced for all the popular home computers. Most of these products should be on the market by the time this article appears. Here's a rundown:
New Computers
It's hard to imagine how the low-end home com- puter market can absorb many more machines, especially with such leading contenders as Com- modore, Texas Instruments, Atari, and Tandy engaged in runaway price wars. But the home market is expanding so fast that no one wants to be left out, least of all the Japanese and the British.
That's why you can expect to see more im- ports invading the U.S. market. The British suc- cess with the Timex/Sinclair isn't easily ignored.
42 COMPl/TE! July 1983
The newest British entry is the Oric-1, man- ufactured by Oric Products International Ltd., of Berkshire, England. Reputedly the second best- selling micro in Britain and Europe (next to the Sinclair), the Oric-1 appears to be a good computer in search of a good U.S. distributor. An Oric rep- resentative said the company experimented with mail order sales, but quit in favor of setting up a more conventional distribution network. Oric hopes to have one in place by midsummer.
The standard Oric-1 includes: 16K of Random Access Memory (RAM); a 57-key keyboard, with moving keys arranged typewriter-style; full repeat on all kevs; standard ASCII character set with upper/lowercase; 96 redefinable characters; 16 colors; 40-column by 28-row screen display in text mode; and a 240- by 200-pixel high-resolution graphics mode. For sound there is a three-channel sound synthesizer with a seven-octave range and programmable envelopes, similar to the Commo- dore 64, an internal speaker, and connections for external speakers.
A cassette interface works at 300 baud or a very fast 2400 baud, and interfaces include a built- in Centronics-standard parallel printer interface; an expansion port for RAM and Read Only Mem- ory (ROM) cartridges; and a Red -Green- Blue (RGB) interface for high-resolution color video monitors. The built-in BASIC programming lan- guage includes such interesting commands as INK and PAPER (for color control), DOUBLE, FLASH, and INVERSE (for character control), DRAW, CIRCLE, and PLOT (for graphics), and even SOUND, MUSIC, PLAY, PING, SHOOT, EXPLODE, and ZAP (for sound control).
The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the 6502A microprocessor, basically the same chip found in Apple, Atari, and Commodore com- puters. While this doesn't mean the Oric-1 is
^P)tf U Wd my KoalaPad TbucftTal f kid KoalaWarc software ^^ ""
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Introducing the KoalaPad™ At less than $125 -with software - it's the friendliest, least expensive graphics pad on the market.
Your Atarif Commodore,® Apple,® and IBM® customers will love it. They'll find it faster than paddle controllers. More flexible than joysticks* And much easier to use than a keyboard.
Plus it's compatible with most of their game and educational software. And most KoalaPad sets come with a graphics program called Miao -Illustrator™ The most exciting way yet to create colorful, high resolution computer graphics. At the touch of a finger.
There are KoalaWare programs for computer fans of all ages. Dancing Bear,"^ the funny, furry computer cabaret. Spider Eater™ the lively music learning adventure. And Spellicopter,™ the action- packed spelling game.
Sellmg Koala products is as easy as falling out of a tree. Particularly with our 5% co-op allowance, color p.o.p. materials, and traffic-building promotions. Not to mention our extensive national advertising featuring, ahem, yours truly.
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Trademarks: KoalaPad, KoalaWare, Spider Eater and Dancing Bear are trademarks of Koala Technologies Corp. Micro ^Dlustrator Js a trademark of Island Graphics, and Spellicopter is a trademark of DesignWare Inc. r- *-
X^^"^:'
■-LI
Ijookwhat tor your VIC 20.
'ast actioiir Conh plex^^trateg les. Interesting characters. Supe- ■ rior sound effects. Multiple levels
of play Ij^r-^^^rTSL/
These are the things you want from your VIC 20™
They're also the things you get from Tronix. From the people who brought you Swarm!, Sidewinder and Galactic Blitz. r">-yL. / '7^ ^7- And now, there'smofe. "^ ' Now Tronix brings you the same rewarding rapid-fire excitement in three brand-new game cartridges. 7^ Each one is something dif ferent. Something new. But they a^ have one thing in common. / "'^ They're all designed to bring / out the best in your VIC 20. You shouldn't settle for any thing les
oii«»*
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By , Jimmy Huey :^
In a predatory world ^ of killer worms, dragons, stalk-/ '^ el's, pods and fly traps, the scor- TW- pion prowls the maze in search 7---/^ of sustenance. Frogs and their eggs rnean survival to the scorpiony But they can also mean instant ^
death! (Suggested retail $39.95).
7^
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we have in store
Your helicopter gun- ship hovers over the enemy's military bases and missile emplace- ments. Your mission is to destroy them. But as the sky fills with smart bombs and anti-aircraft fire, there's less and less room for a wrong
move! (Suggested retail $39.95)
By Corey Ostman.
Deep in the earth, a 7^^ fortune awaits. But the dark passageways are filled with peril as well as profit. Runaway boxcars. Crashing boulders. A claim jumper with murder in his eyes. Be careful. But be quick— oxygen is in short supply! (Suggested retail $39.95)
8295 South La Cienega Blvd., Inglewood, CA 90301 Look for Tronix games in your nearest store. If you can't find them there, write to us.
VIC 20''*' IS a trad^rpar k ol CcHnmodof^Electfomcs I rd
compatible with these computers^ it does mean that machine language programmers could adjust to it fairly easily.
The standard Oric-1 will sell for about $120 in U.S. funds. For about $240, there's a 64K RAM version with 16K of overlaid ROM, similar in ar- rangement to the Commodore 64.
Oric also makes a full line of peripherals for the Oric-1. At Comdex, Oric was showing pro- totypes of a microfloppy disk drive using the Hitachi 3-inch disks. The microfloppy is expected to sell for about $240.
If Oric succeeds in setting up a good U.S. distribution network, the Oric-1 could prove com- petitive in this country, especially if its overseas software base is also brought to America.
The Japanese Sord
Of course, the Japanese aren't standing idly by, either. Their newest export to the U.S. is the Sord M5, a $199 computer with impressive graphics and three different plug-in BASlCs. The M5 is made by Sord Computer Systems, the fastest- growing microcomputer company in Japan. Founded in 1970 with $2500 by 26-year-old Takayoshi Shiina, Sord now commands about 15 percent of the Japanese business microcomputer market. Sord is exporting a line of high-end per- sonal and business computers to the U.S., and the M5 is its first home computer.
The M5 will be sold in two different config- urations: the M5 Fun Computer and the M5 Multi- Computer. The basic specifications are the same: 20K of RAM expandable to 32K (although 16K is used for the screen); 8K of ROM with a machine language monitor; 16 colors; a 55-key keyboard with moving rubber keys; upper/lowercase and graphics characters; a flip -up top that conceals a cartridge slot for games, programming languages, and other plug-in "firmw^are"; built-in Centronics- standard parallel printer interface; cassette interface for standard tape recorders; sound gen- erator; Z80A CPU; and a Texas Instruments video chip which allows up to 32 sprites (screen objects which can be created and animated by your own programs).
The two packages do vary, however, in terms of included accessories. The M5 can accept any of three BASIC language cartridges - BASIC-I (Intro- ductory), BASIC-G (Graphics), and BASIC-F (Floating Point). BASIC-I is for beginners and children, BASIC-G is for general home use and graphics programming, and BASIC-F is a full- fledged floating-point BASIC for business, science, and math applications. The M5 Fun Com- puter comes with BASlC-1 and a game cartridge. The M5 Multi-Computer comes w^ith BASIC-G, an interesting dialect with special commands for the graphics and sprites. The Multi-Computer
46 COMPUTE! July 1983
also has a carrying case and the FALC cartridge, a home data base program adapted from Sord's business software.
The M5 will be distributed through local dealers by Sord Computer of America, New York.
The Gorilla Banana
When personal computers cost $1000 or more, it seemed reasonable that printers sold for around $500 or $600. But now that full-featured home computers are widely available for under $100, the same printers can seem disproportionately expensive. That's why manufacturers are rushing to produce printers (and other peripherals) that are priced for the hundreds of thousands of people who are buying inexpensive mass-market computers.
Vie Gorilla Banana is the first in a new Hue of low-cost peripherals from Leading Edge.
Several new low-cost printers were seen at Comdex. Probably the one which attracted the most attention was the Gorilla Banana, the first in an upcoming line of low-cost peripherals from Leading Edge Products, Inc., of Canton, Mas- sachusetts (best-known for Elephant Memory disks). Due this summer at S249.95, the Banana is an 80-column, tractor-feed, unidirectional, dot- matrix printer capable of 50 characters per second. It has four character sets (U.S., British, Swedish, and German), a double-width print mode, and upper/lowercase (although without true descen- ders). There's also a dot-addressable graphics mode with a density of 63 x 60 dots per inch.
The Banana attaches directly to any computer with a Centronics-standard parallel printer inter- face. Computers without a parallel port will need an interface at extra cost. An interface for Com- modore 64 and VlC-20 computers will be available for $29.95, and an optional cartridge for the same price will allow the Banana to print the special Commodore graphics characters.
Another interesting 80-coIumn dot-matrix printer is the STX-80 from Star Micronics, Inc., of Dallas^ Texas, Suggested retail is $199. Although the STX-80 is a thermal printer- it uses a special print head and heat-sensitive paper to form its type instead of an inked ribbon - you wouldn't
HES:
Expanding the Computer Experience.
HES offers a broad range of soft- ware and peripherals for Commo- dore 64, VIC 20, Timex-Sinclair, and Atari computers.
These products include exciting educational programs, versatile utilities, and series of hot challeng- ing computer games. Contact your distributor or HES now for full product information.
< 1983 Human Engtrieered Soltwaie
commodore 64 and VIC 20 are TMs or Commodore.
Human Engineered Software A Division of USI International 71 Park Lane
Brisbane, California 94005 Telephone: 415 468 4110
us
Wm.
^■■^%
5^"
Gartridqe fprV!G?0
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guess it from the printouts. The thermal paper looks and feels much like standard typing paper. Unlike most thermal paper, which is silver, this paper is white with crisp black lettering. The STX- 80 is a unidirectional printer that works at 60 characters per second, has upper/lowercase with true descenders, a double-width text mode, block graphics characters, European characters, a dot- addressable graphics mode, and a Centronics parallel interface.
Star Micronics also offers a 40-column, inked ribbon, dot-matrix printer for $250. The DP-8240 prints at 50 characters per second, has friction or tractor feed, upper/lowercase without true descenders, graphics characters, scientific and European characters, and a dot-addressable graphics mode.
The lowest-priced printer exhibited was the $129.99 Impact Printer from Fidelity Electronics, Ltd., of Miami, Florida, The Impact Printer works with the VIC-20 and Commodore 64 with no ad- ditional interface. Printing at 30 characters per second, it has a 24-column line and uses standard adding machine roll paper. Other features include upper/lowercase, graphics characters, inverse characters, and dot-acidressabic graphics.
Custom Joysticks
Since the "feel" of a joystick is highly subjective, manv independent companies are introducing "custom" joysticks for those who dislike the stan- dard models (for an overview of custom game controllers, see "The Joy Of Joysticks," COM- PUTE!, Februaiy 1983). A few more new joysticks surfaced at Comdex.
Suncom, Inc., of Northbrook, Illinois, makers of the Slik Stik and Starfighter joysticks for Atari- ct^mpatible computers, came out with a Starfighter model for the Apple. The Starfighter is about the same size and shape as a standard Atari joystick, but with comfortably rounded edges. Overall, it's a luxurious controller with right- and left-handed fire buttons; an alternate fire button for games that require two buttons; a centering adjustment to fine-tune the stick's neutral position to each Apple; a switch to select either a long or short throw of the stick; and a high-low sensitivity switch to further tune the stick's response. Also, Suncom guarantees the Starfighter for two years. Suggested retail is $49.95 for the Apple He version (a $5.95 adapter is needed for the Apple II/II + ).
Suncom also introduced two new controllers for Atari-compatible machines (Atari 400/800/ 1200XL, Commodore 64 and VIC-20, Atari VCS 2600, Sears Telegame). The most unique is the Joy-Sensor, a stickless joystick. The Joy-Sensor is a hand-holdable box with a flat disc where the stick should be. Instead of flexing a stick, you rock the disc. It lists for $34.95.
Suncom's other new joystick is the TAC-2 (Totally Accurate Controller). This looks like an adaptation of the Starfighter, with the addition of a longer, ball-tipped stick, and both right- and left-handed fire buttons. The TAC-2 is guaranteed for two years and lists for $19.95.
For users of Texas Instruments computers, Suncom introduced a $12.95 adapter so that Atari- style joysticks will work on the TI-99/4A, and a $13.95 dual cassette recorder adapter.
Since the "feel" of a joystick
is highly sub|ective, many
independenf companies are
Introducing "custom" joysticks
for those who dislike the
standard models.
Two new joysticks were also introduced by the Kraft Systems Company of Vista, California. The Kraft Joystick is a lightweight Atari-compatible controller with an unusually short, tlexible stick designed for fingertip action. It includes an extra- long eight-foot cord, a one-year warranty, and retails for $16.95. Another joystick, the Switch- Hitter, has two fire buttons for use by right- or left-handed players. Otherwise identical to the Kraft joystick, it retails for $19.95.
Accessories And Peripherals
Numerous other add-ons were introduced at Comdex/Spring, too. Here are some which de- serve special note:
• A low-cost modem for the Apple. The $119 Networker modem, by Zoom Telephonies, of Boston, Massachusetts, plugs into a single expan- sion slot and requires no other connections or external power source. It's a 300-baud direct- connect modem that hooks up to any modular phone jack. It has an originate/answer switch, a carrier detection LED, and is compatible with any standard telecommunications software. For $169, the Networker comes with Netmaster, a terminal program with upload/download, and a 40K text buffer (on a 64K system).
• Plug-in boards for Commodore and Texas Instruments computers. Microtek, Inc., of San Diego, California, introduced a $299 64K memory board for the TI-99/4A which fits into the expan- sion box. A 32K board also is planned. For the VIC-20,' Microtek introduced VIGOR (VICs Grand
48 COMPUTES July 1983
1983 SpACtro Vid«o, Irtc
THE PERSONAL COMPUTER YOU'LL GROW INTO, NOT OUT OF.
|
SPECTRAVIDEO SV.318 COMPUTER COMPARISON CHART |
||||||
|
SPECTRAVIDEO SV)1« |
APPLE 11 KUS |
ATARI BOO |
COMHOOORC (4 |
NECSOQi |
RADIO SHACK COLOR COMPUTER |
|
|
BASE PRICE |
S299 |
t1,S40 |
SBN |
SS9S |
i3^ |
S299 |
|
COMPUTING POWER FEATURES |
||||||
|
BUItT-IN ROM |
33H |
l?K |
1(JK |
2W |
1SK |
m |
|
EXPANDABLE TO |
WK |
NfA |
«K |
NfA |
33K |
16K |
|
BUILT-IN EXTENDED MICROSOFT* BASIC |
VES |
YES |
AOOIUONAL COST |
MO |
YES |
ADDITIONAL COST |
|
BUILMN RAM |
nn' |
*BK |
leK |
64K |
ICK |
*R |
|
EXPANDABLE TO |
t«Hl" |
64K |
4&K |
N^A |
33K |
lEK |
|
KEYflOAHD FEATURES |
||||||
|
NUMBER Of= KEYS |
/I |
'jl |
bi |
C« |
n |
Si |
|
USER DEFINE FUNCTIONS |
10 |
N.rA |
4 |
8 |
10 |
NONE |
|
SPECIAL WORD PflOCESStNC |
I'es |
UO |
NO |
NO |
NO |
NO |
|
GENERATEDCRAPHICS (FROM KErBOARD* |
^£S |
NO |
YCS |
yts |
NO |
NO |
|
UfPEfi.'LOWtRCASE |
ihS |
UPPER ONLY |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
|
GAfMEJAUtJlOFEATuBES |
||||||
|
SEPARATE CARTniDGE SLOTS |
ves |
NO |
YES |
NO |
NO |
NO |
|
BUILT-IN JOYSTICK |
VES |
NO |
r^O |
NO |
NO |
NO |
|
COLORS |
le |
li |
12S |
IE |
9 |
9 |
|
RESOLUTJON (PIXEL51 |
?» r 192 |
JSOi 16Q |
3?Q«19J |
320*200 |
256*112 |
tSfluM |
|
SPRITES |
M |
NIA |
e |
N/A |
N« |
|
|
SOUND CHANNELS |
3 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
|
OCTAVES PER CHANNEL |
e |
4 |
* |
a |
10 |
|
|
AOSR ENVELOPE |
YES |
NO |
NO |
YES |
YES |
NO |
|
PERIPHERAL SPECIFICATIONS |
||||||
|
CASSETTE |
? CHANNEL |
1 CHANNtL |
?CMA»<NtL |
1 CHANNEL |
I CHANNEL |
1 CHANNEL |
|
AUOtO iO |
YES |
HQ |
YiS |
NO |
NO |
NO |
|
BUILT IN MJC |
YtS |
NO |
NO |
NO |
NO |
NO |
|
DISK DftlVE CAPACITY |
»eK |
143K |
96K |
If OK, |
WA |
1?^ |
|
(LOW PROFILE) |
YES |
«o |
HO |
NO |
NO |
NO |
|
CPj¥' COHPATi0!LfTY f M CDlumn programs) |
||||||
|
ttS |
NO — |
NO |
NO- |
|||
|
CP/M' 3 0 |
vtS |
HO |
JiO |
NO |
NO |
NO |
' CoiiimnjDft 64 Kx«p(3 40 cciutnn CP/M
FOR UNDER $300 ^^TWHy/ga7
This device has nol been approved by the Federal Coinniufticatiofis Commission. This device is rat and may not be offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased uniil Ihe approval oi the FCC has been obl^ined.
SV3I8
Represented Nationwide by The Lexingston Group (301)664-6611
P6RS0NAL COMPUTER
SPECTRA VIDEO INC . 39 W 37m St N Y , N v >OOm
Sadiy. many pmsona! computQrs wiH become fomor row's junk in the attic. 7heSV'3l8isoneft^at wllinot. Because os you get better, it gets better, tt does so because of its copobility and BxpandabiHty—both for beyond tt)oseof any other aftordable computer.
CAPABILITY. The SV-316 isn't Just more capable, it's much more capabte. No ottier computer at even twice the price combines oH these extraordinary features: 32K /?OjM expandabte to 96K; 32K RAM expondabie to 144H; Extended Microsoft Basic (the industry standard): even Standard CPft^ eOcolumn capability soyaucon immediate ty utiiize over 10,000 existing software programs.The SV-3i8 also has a un/qi/e buitt-in joystick/ cursor controi—an immeasurabty useful teature when it comes to playing your favorite video game.
EXPANDABtUTY. As you become more and more skillful with computers, you'll love how the SV-31B "sttetches" to meet your demands (dnd actuoiiy leads yau in foscinoting. new directians). Far one thing, all eleven of our important peripherals are available immediately. With most ott}er models, you have to wait months. Far another, the SV-318 is beautifully designed to interface with new options as they became available.
AFFORDABIUTY. The SV-3W is hot ohty emlnentty afford- able, it's the first true bargain of the computer agel Besides home budgeting, business applicatians, wotd processing, programming and seitteachihg. theSV-3!disthe best entertainment value in town. Not only can you use it with your TV to play hundreds of different video games, you con also use your SV-318 with a TV as a drawing tablet or music synthesizer, in play, as in wori(. the SV'3}6 will continually expand to meet your patentiai
Whether you're just wetting your foes in computers, or fully asoifon the woofers, the SV-3}6 is a computer that will serve you tor many, many years. You see, we believe that even in the computer age, you don t become on object of real value unless you're around for a white.
Old RAM-cage). This is a $39.95, three-slot ex- pansion board. For both the VIC and Commodore 64^ there's the CC-2064, a $70 interface cable which allows the computers to drive parallel printers,
• New disk drive for Atari. The Rana 1000 Atari-compatible disk drive, by Rana Systems, of Carson, California, also was shown at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco a few weeks before Comdex/Spring. Due on the market this summer, the Rana 1000 is switchable single/ double density and will retail for $449 ($49 extra for the double-density Disk Operating System).
The Rana 1000 disk drive for Atari offers single a} id double density for $449.
It has some unique features not found on other drives: a write-protect button, a unit ID button (which tells you the drive's position in the daisy chain if you have several), an error button (which returns an error code), and a button which lets you know which track the head is reading or writing. What's more, the drive runs very quietly and is only about a third the size of a standard Atari drive.
• Network systems for Atari. These systems look like tliey'd be ideal for classrooms, computer camps, and even users groups. With the Quick Share, you can hook up to four Atari computers to a single disk drive, 850 Interface Module, and printer. The Quick Share continuously scans the four computers for input/output commands and lets them access the devices on a first-come, first- served basis. Four blinking LEDs let users know when the devices are busy. It costs $595 and is available from Wolsten's Computer Devices, Inc., of East Orange, New Jersey. The company also introduced a similar, but larger system primarily for classroom use. Called the Network 216 and Monitor 16, it allows up to 16 Ataris to connect to a single drive and printer. In addition, the master station hooks up to a TV so the operator can see what's happening on any one of the 16 computer monitors. A headset with a microphone plugs into the station so the operator can converse pri- vately with any of the 16 students (the operator's voice comes through the TV speaker). This looks like a great way for teachers to make sure their
50 COMPUTE! July 1983
students aren't playing Centipedes on the sly. It will sell for $1995, cables extra.
• Supermother for VIC-20. What's a Super- mother? It appears to be the largest expansion board available for the VIC, This huge board has eight switch-selectable slots for memory and pro- gram cartridges, a system reset button, a pause button that freezes games or other programs, and a switch that lets you back up cartridges on tape or disk. It retails for $149.95, from Compuscope, Inc., of Tillamook, Oregon.
Educational Software
Now that more schools are acquiring computers for their students, and more parents are buying home computers for their children, the demand for good educational software is becoming almost unquenchable. Fortunately, some companies with background in other educational fields are starting to get involved in software.
Among these is Scholastic, Inc., of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Remember the Weeklif Reader? Scholastic is now introducing Wizware, a line of programs for Apple, VIC-20, Atari, and Texas Instruments computers. The first samples are entertaining and colorful and make good use of each computer's special features. Among the in- teresting programs at the show were Turtle Tracks, which uses turtle graphics to teach programming by creating drawings and songs; The Square Pairs, a memory game; and Your Computer, a how-to introduction to computers with a robot narrator.
Another line of educational software was displayed by Edu-Ware Services, Inc., of Agoura Hills, California. Most were for the Apple, with a few for the Atari. Ranging from preschool to col- lege level, the programs cover basic math, algebra, spelling, reading, perception, and SA T/PSAT preparation. One of the most interesting packages was Hands On BASIC Programming, an introduction to Applesoft BASIC with additional instruction on more advanced BASICs. It includes a 185-page manual and two disks of sample programs.
Microfloppy Update
More shots were fired during the show in the continuing microfloppy wars (see ''Mass Memory Now And In The Future," COMPUTE!, March 1983). Since nobody has agreed yet whether to adopt the 3-inch, 3V4-inch, or 3^2- inch standard, everyone seems to be going their own way.
Thus Verbatim Corp. of Sunnyvale, Califor- nia, widely known for its larger diskettes, unveiled a prototype of a 3^/^-inch microfloppy disk. The 3V2-inch size is backed by Sony, and Verbatim's microfloppy will be manufactured under license from Sony. However, Verbatim is varying a bit even from Sony's standard in order to conform with recommendations of the Microfloppy In-
Doift let pried get in the ^v^ I (downing a quality printei:
Adding a printer to your computer makes sense. But deciding which printer to add can be tricl<y. Do you settle for a printer with limited functions and an inexpensive price tag or buy a more versatile printer that costs more than your computer? Neither choice makes sense.
Here's a refreshing option -the new, compact STX-80 printer from Star Micronics. It's the under $200 printer that's whisper-quiet, prints 60 cps and is ready to run with most popular personal computers.
The STX-80 has deluxe features you would '
'^^^H^' ^^^^y--
m
•f.^^pf>^-i
expect in higher priced models. It prints a full 80 columns of crisp, attractive characters with true descenders, foreign language characters and special symbols. It offers both finely detailed dot- addressable graphics and block graphics. ^
And, of course, the STX-80 comes with Star^ Micronics' 180 day warranty (90 days on thej| print element). WSSSSS^: Jlii^^
The STX-80 thermal printer from Star
Micronics. It combines high performance with I. a very low price. So now, there is nothing in
' the way of owning a quality printer. ™^^
'Manufacturers suggested retail price,
micronics* inc
THE POWER BEHIND THE PfllKTED WORD.
Computer Pertpherafs Division. 1120 Empire Central Ptace. Suite 2ia Dallas. TX 75247 (214J 531-8560
^!^,%2r'-
,i^^£r£.;
t "■• 'r" — "VH
The newSTX-SO printer L for only $1991'
dustry Committee. Verbatim's microfloppy will have 80 tracks instead of 70, an automatic shutter which covers the head window when the disk is removed from a drive, and a thinner magnetic coating.
Meanwhile, across the convention hall, another company was introducing a 3 '/4-inch microfloppy drive while distributing photocopies of news articles about a rejection of the SV^-inch size. The 3'/4-inch drive, hooked up to a Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer, was exhibited by Tabor Corp., of Westford, Massachusetts. It's based on the Dysan 3 '/4-inch microfloppy, a chal- lenger to Sony's 3y2-inch disk. Instead of selling directly to the public, Tabor plans to supply the drive to other companies for private labeling. The photocopied article was from Computer Si/5- tcnis News, reporting on the recent vote by the American National Standards Institute not to adopt a working paper submitted by Verbatim and Shugart pushing the 3 '/2-inch size.
The decision was far from final, however, and all three sizes are still very much alive. And just to make things more interesting, IBM recently unveiled a 4-inch microfloppy disk drive. It ap- pears it will be quite a while before the various factions within the microcomputer industry agree on how much to shrink disks. ©
Cassettes are slow.<
If you own a Commodore 64'' or VIC 20'' computer, you already know how long it can take to load or save a program. How much time are you wasting just waiting for READY to appear on the screen? Probably a lot, and that's why you need
THE SIGNAL^-^ from ZAXIS.
N
THE SIGNAL automatically keeps track of cassette
operations and signals you with
a pleasant "beep" when both a
prog^ram header is found and
when a Load or Save is
completed. You no longer need
to stare at the screen for what si^^S^
seems like endless minutes^ "^fii**^
instead you can go on to other ^^^,
work and when you hear THE -^^^^
SIGNAL, vou know that things /A'- '
are READY. THE SIGNAL also *^. ,,
provides a reassuring power-on ^^
beep, and can be activated
under program control. $28b^^
THE SIGNAL plugs right into the back of your VIC 20 or Commodore 64 computer, and your cassette cable plugs into THE SIGNAL. That's all it lakes to start making your computer operations more efficient. After you've used THE SIGNAL, you won't know how you got along without it!
THE SIGNAL is available from your favorite computer dealer, or order direct; S29,95 plus $3.00 for UPS shipping and handling iCA residents add 6,b'~f sales taxi. We accept VISA. MasterCard, check or money order. Do not send cash. Sorry, no CODs. /v*^:^T /nyu""'* Ht/m-iw
Commodore 64 and VIC 20 are trademarks of Commodore Business Machines, tnc
I RO. Box 666
San Carlos, CA 94070 (4151592*4334
W' . UJE mflKE fl GREAT CASE %r^ FOR VOUR COmPUTER.
^^^ One size does not fit all. Our cases are designed for specific hardware
configurations. When you put your computer in our case, it fits hand-in-glove. Once your equipment is safely inside the attache-style carrying case, it never has to be taken out again. To operate, simply remove the lid and connect the power. To store your computer, disconnect the power, enclose your disks, working papers, and manuals in the compartment provided , and attach the lid. It's as easy as that.
• AP101 Apple II with Single Drive , £1 09
• AP1 02 Apple II with Two Disk Drives 119
• API 03 Apple II 9-inch Monitor & Two Drives 129
• API 04 Apple III, Two Drives & Silentype Printer 139
• AP105 13" Black & White Monitor with Accessories 99
• AP106 Amdek Color U1 or 111 Monitor... 119
• FR152 Franklin Ace 1000 or 1200 with Two Drives 119
• FR1 53 Franklin Ace 1 000 or 1 200 with Two Drives & 9" Monitor ... 1 39 • P409
• RS201 TRS-80 Model I Computer, Expansion Unit & Drives 109 • IB501
• RS204 TRS-80 Model ill 129 • IB502
• AT301 ATARI 400 or 800 Computers with Peripherals 109 • HP601
• P401 Paper Tiger Printer (400. 445/460) 99 • CM702
• P402 Centronics 730/737 & Radio Shack Printer 89 • CM703
• P403 Epson MX70 or MX80, Microline 82A Printer or Color • CM704 Computer...., 89 • NS010
• P404 Epson MX100 Printer. 99 • CC80
• P405 IDS560orPrism 132 Printer 109 • CC90
• P406 C. Itoh Starwriter. Prlntmaster F-10 Printer. 119 • CC91
• P407 Okidata Microline 83A or 84 Printer 99 • CC92
• P408 C. Itoh Prowriter 2 Printer 99 • CC50
IB502
IB501
C. Itoh Prowriter (Apple Dot Matrix) or WEG PC8023 Printer
IBM Personal Computer with Keyboard —
IBM Monochrome Monitor. ,
HP41 with Accessories
Commodore 64 (or Vic 20) with One Drive
Commodore Model 64 with Two Drives
Commodore Model 64 with Dataset ,
North Star Advantage. .
Matching Attache Case (5")
Matching Attache Case (3")
Matching Accessories Case (SV*" Diskettes, Paper, etc.) . . . 5.25" Diskette Case (Holds 75 Diskettes) . Case Cart......
89
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99
99
119
129
109
139
85
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95
CALL TOLL FREE: (800) 848-7548 Computer Case Company, 5650 Indian Mound Court, Columbus, Ohio 43213 (614) 868-9464
52 COMPUTE! July 1983
TIMEX MAKES THE
COMPUTER,
BUT WE MAKE rr TICK.
If you own a TS-1000 or ZX-81 computer and want to bring out the power within it, you'll want Memotech. From easier input to high quality output and greater memory, Memotech makes the add-ons you demand. Ever\' Memotech peripheral _ ^
comes in a black anodized aluminum case and is designed to fit together in "pigg)^ back" fashion enabling you ^^^^^^BlmWm
to continue to add on and still keep an integrated system look. ^.^1:::::::t::^:'^^...
Mii^ fl*»o)wliDrt GupNci "^
MEMOPAK RAM All Memopak RAMs are directly addressable, user transparent, are neither switched nor paged and no additional power supply is required. You can also choose the Memopak I^M which is just right for your needs. From economy to powder. 16K RAM The Memopak 16K RAM is the most economical way to add memor}' to your TS-1000, It is fully compatible with the Timex or Memotech 16K l^Ms to provide you with up to 32K of RAM. The i6K RAM also offers additional add-on capabilities through its "piggy back" connection. 32K RAM The 322K Memopak enables you to execute sophisticated programs and store large data bases and like the l6K RAM is fully compatible with Timex's or Memotech's l6K RAMs to give you a full 48K of RAM. 64K RAM The 64K Memopak is powerful enough to turn your TS-1000 into a computer with capabilities suitable for business and educational use. It accepts such BASIC commands as 10 DIM A (9000). MEMOCALC Memocalc, our spreadsheet analj^is software, enables TS-1000 users to perform complex number crunching routines with eiise, Witli the 64k RAM a table of up to 7000 numbers with up to 250 row^ or 99 columns can be specified. Quick revisions can be achieved by entering new^ data to your formula. MEMOTECH KEYBOARD For ease of operation, the Memotech keyboard is a high qualit\^ standard t\pewriter keyboard, with TS-1000 legends. The keyboard is cable connected to a buffered interface which is housed in a standard Memopak ciise and plugs directly into the back of the
TS-1000 or other Memopaks. MEMOPAK HRG The Memopak High Resolution Graphics, with up to 192 by 248 pixel resolution, enables display of high resolution "arcade game" style graphics through its resident 2K EPROM, programmed with a full range of graphics subroutines. CENTRONICS PARAUEL AND RS232 INTERFACES Memotech's Interfaces enable your TS-1000 to use a wide range of compatible printers. The resident software in the units gives the complete ASCII set of characters. BoUi Memopak Interfaces provide lower case character capabilities and up to 80 column printing. The RS232 Interface is also compatible with modems and terminals. SEIKOSHA GP lOOA PRINTER The Seikosha GP lOOA uses a 5x7 dot matrix printing format with ASCII standard upper and lower case character set. Printing speed is 30 characters/second with a maximum width of 80 characters. The printer uses standard fanfold paper up to 9-1/2 inches wide. The GP lOOA is offered as a package including cable and
interface. Other printer packages are also available tlirough Memotech. ORDER AT NO RISK. All Memotech products carry our 10 day money back guarantee. If you're not completely satisfied, return it within ten days and we will give you a full refund. And ever}^ Memotech product comes with a six month warrant)^. Should anything be defective with your .Memotech product, return it to us and we will repair or replace it free of charge. Dealer inquiries welcome. To order any .Memotech product use the order coupon or call our toll-free number SOO/662-0949*
T5-1000 is a zc^stered uademaii of 'Hitkx Cocp.
CORPORATtON 7550 West Yale Avenue, Denver, Colorado 80227, 303/986-1516, im 910-320-2917
Mail To: Memotech Carporaiion, 7550 West Vale Ave., Denwr, 00 80227 I CoLle rO-7
I 16KR^M I 49.95
I -^^}L
99.95
I ^1!™„
149.95
Memocalc
49.95
99.95
I High E^lution Graphics
99.95
[ Caitronics Paralk! Interface
74.95
RS232 lni£Tface
99.95
Printer Cable
19.95
GP lOOAPrintgrPadagt** I Shipping -Mid Handlin|
399.00
I T^ (Coioradio rBJdente €nl>) I
4.95
1495
TOTAL
I •Ail pnc& {jLBted in US. dollarj Prices and spaifiaiiora subien to change without notice. 1 **P3ease add an additional S5 00 for printer shipping chii:ges I n Check D MasterCard Q Visa
1 Accobnt iNo. I
_£xp..
I Name
Zfp
.-I
RATS!
Mike Steed
\
This impressive game
makes \/oit feel that you
are inside a maze, nof just
seeing it from above. Three
dimensional viezvs appear
as hallways, doors, and
corners as you struggle to
find the way out. It's for Upgrade or
4,0 BASIC PETs and Commodore 6
You must find your way through a maze displayed from a rat's eye view. After you have solved the maze, the program displays the top view^ and traces your steps.
First, you are asked what maze size you want, up to 15 by 15 (you may wish to change the DIM statement in line 49 - add two to the largest dimension you want - and line 43). Line 45 checks to see if the machine code has been POKEd in, so you have to wait for that only the first time.
The space bar is used to move forward, and the '7" and 'T" keys are used to turn left and right, respectively (turning doesn't change your k^ation; it just gives you the view in another direction). The ''M" key will display the top view of the maze, mark your position, and tell you in w^hich direction you are headed.
There are four machine language routines in RATS! (they wall all work
54 COMPUTE! July 1983
as is with Upgrade or 4.0 ROMs). LINE, as its name implies, draws a line; this routine is similar to Applesoft's HPLOT TO or Atari BASIC'S DRAWTO command. PLOT sets the ''hi-res cursor" to the position from which the next line is to be drawn, and plots that point on the screen. INIT removes everything that is not a letter or number from the screen (thus the quarter-square graphics are erased, but not the "MOVE XX" at the bottom of the screen), and sets all the variables used by the other rou- tines (locations 826-837) to zero.
SCR either loads or saves some- thing to or from the screen. This routine is used to save the screen to memory after the top view of the maze has been displayed the first time, and from then on is used to display the maze almost instantly, so you have to wait only once. Readers who w^ant a copy of the program (PET version only) without having to type it in may send a blank tape or 8050 disk, an SASE mailer, and $3 to: Mike Steed
712 W, 1280 S, Provo, UT 84601
fBO^A
^ISAODOI^^
i
|
"^^^ |
|M |
|
^^H^ijii |
|
|
■K^^ |
P^y:M| |
|
^1 |
^^^^H^^H |
|
4^ |
SPRITEMASTER "* n not jus; anoth^^r sv.t.'. : inc CommtMort; 64'
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It will auronutically append your sprites to Qther programs.
It's i^asv to use and understand and comes with a full 2 1 page tn^truction manual
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h your Commodore 64* to the limit-! : --
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Program 1: rats; pet version
3 POKE 59468, 12: PRINT CHR$ (142 ): GOTO 38
4 REM DRAW 3-D VIEW
5 N=2:A-H:B=V:FF=2t {F-1):SYS IN
6 Z=M%{A,B)*FF:IF ((Z/l6) AND 1 ) =1 THEN "
RL=-1:G0SUB 25:GOTO 8
7 W=M%(A+S,B-R)*FF:IF ((W/128) AND l)=l '^
THEN RL=-1:G0SUB 21
8 IF ((z/64) AND 1)^1 THEN RL=1 ;G0SUB 25
:G0T0 10
9 W=M%(A-S,B+R)*FF:IF ((W/l28) AND 1 ) ==1 ^
THEN RL=1:G0SUB 21
10 IF ((Z/12B) AND 1)=1 THEN 14
11 N=N+1;IF N>8 THEN 15
12 A=A+R:B=B+S:IF B<2 THEN 15
13 GOTO 6
14 GOSUB 17
15 RETURN
16 REM DRAW CENTER BACK
17 POKE HX,VX+DX{N) :POKE HY,YU(N):SYS PL:
POKE HY,YD(n):SYS LI
18 POKE HX,VX-DX(N):SYS LI: POKE HY,YU(N):
SYS LI: POKE HX, VX+DX (N) : SYS LI
19 RETURN
20 REM DRAW BACK SIDE
21 POKE HX,VX+RL*DX(N-1):P0KE HY,YU(N):SY
S PL:POKE HX,VX+RL*DX(n) :SYS LI
22 POKE HY,YD(N):SYS LI:P0KE HX,VX+RL*DX(
N-1) :SYS LI 2 3 RETURN
24 REM DRAW RIGHT OR LEFT SIDE 2 5 POKE HX,VX+RL*DX(N-1) :POKE HY,YU(N-1):
SYS PL: POKE HX, VX+RL*DX (N) 26 POKE HY,YU(n):SYS LI: POKE HY,YD(N):SYS
LI: POKE HX,VX+RL*DX(N-1) 2 7 POKE HY,YD(N-1):SYS LI: POKE HY,YU(N-1)
:IF N>2 THEN SYS LI 2 8 RETURN
2 9 REM GET KEYBOARD CHARACTER
30 GET A$:IF A$="" THEN 30
31 RETURN
32 REM ERROR SOUND
33 POKE 59467, 16: POKE 59466, 51 : POKE 59464
,80
34 FOR L=l TO 50: NEXT
3 5 POKE 59467,0: POKE 59466,0: POKE 59464,0
36 RETURN
3 7 REM INITIALIZE
38 HX=828:HY=B29:LINE=12288:PLOT=12665:IN
IT=12685:SCR=12725
39 FL=12726:FH=12 730:TL=12734:TH=12 738
40 PRINT "{clear} {05 DOWN} {17 RIGHT} RATS I
41 PRINT "{02 down} {03
FROM A RAT'S EYE
42 INPUT "{03 down} {07
,V) 3,3{05 LEFT}
43 IF H<3 OR H>15 OR V
44 PRINT "{clear} {dOWI'J
45 IF PEEK(LI)=32 AND
EEK(LI+2)=48 THEN
46 CK=0:FOR L=12288 TO
L,A:CK=CK+A:NEXT
47 IF CKO45230 THEN P
N DATA STATEMENTS"
48 N=H*V-1:H=H4-1:V=V+1
49 DIM M%(17,17),WALK(
U(8),YD(B)
50 FOR J=l TO V+1:M%(1
RIGHT} SOLVE A MAZE VIEW
RIGHT}MAZE SIZE (H "?H,V
<3 OR V>15 THEN 40 } PLEASE WAIT. . . PEEK(LI+1)=33 AND P 48
12 761: READ A: POKE '^
RINT "{dOWnIeRROR I
:STOP
:D=1
100)iCUT(5),DX(8),Y
,J)=4:M%(H+1, J)-1:N
EXT
51 MX=79:r4Y=49:VX=39:VY=24:X=VX
52 FOR J = l TO 8:DX(J)=X:YU(J)==INT(VY-X*VY
/ VX ) : YD ( J ) =INT ( VY+X* ( MY- VY ) /VX )
53 X=INT{X*7/l0) :NEXT
54 FOR 1=2 TO H: M% (l , V+1 )=8 : M% (l , 1 )=2 : FOR
J=2 TO V:M%(I,J)=15:NEXT:NEXT 5 5 R=INT(h/2)+1:S=INTCv/2)+1:M%(R,S)-15 56 PRINT "{clear} {down} GENE RATING MAZE.,.
"; : GOSUB 33 5 7 REM GENERATE RANDOM MAZE (ALGORITHM FR
OM ROGERS AND STRASSBERGER)
58 FOR IWALK=1 TO N
59 I=Z
60 IF M%(R-1,S)>14 then 1=1+1 : CUT( I ) =1
61 IF M%(R,S-1)>14 THEN 1=1+1 : CUT( I ) =2
62 IF M%(R+1,S)>14 THEN 1=1+1 :CUT( I ) =3
63 IF M%(R,S+1)>14 THEN 1=1+1 : CUT ( I ) =4
64 IF 1=0 THEN 75
65 IF I<>1 THEN I=INT(RND( 1 ) *I )+l
66 ON CUT(I) GOTO 67,69,71,73
67 M%(R,S)=M% CR,S)-(M%(R,S) AND 1 ) : R=R-1
68 M%(R,S)=M%(R,S)-((M%{R,S)/4) AND 1)*4;
GOTO 86
69 M%(R,S)=M%(R,S)-( (M%{RrS)/8) AND 1)*S:
S=S-1
70 M%(R,S)=M%(R,S)-((M%(R,S)/2) and 1)*2:
GOTO 86
71 M%(R,S)=M%(R,S)-( (M%(R,S)/4) AND 1)*4:
R=R+1 7 2 M%(R,S)=M%(R,S)-(M%(R,S) and 1):G0T0 S 6
73 M%(R,S)=M%(R,S)-( (M%{R,S)/2) AND l)*2:
S=S+1
74 M%(R,S)=M%(R,S)-( (M%(R,S)/8) AND 1)*B:
GOTO 86 IF D=-l THEN 79 IF R<>H THEN 83 IF S<>V THEN 82
7 8 R=2:S=2:GOTO 84 79 IF R<>2 THEN S3
IF S<>V THEN 82 R=H:S=2:G0T0 84
8 2 S=S+1:D=-D:G0T0 84 8 3 R=R+D
84 IF M%(R,S)=15 THEN 75
85 GOTO 59
86 NEXT I WALK
8 7 MH=H:MV=V;I=INT(RND(1)*{MH-1)}+2
88 M%(I,1)=0:M%(I,2)=M%(I,2}-((M%(I,2)/8)
AND 1)*8
89 H=INT(RND(1)*{MH-1) )+2 :H1=H:V1=V
90 PRINT "{clear} {down} MAZE COMPLETED .": G
OSUB 33: GOTO 105
91 REM DISPLAY TOP VIEW OF MAZE
92 HZ=INT(79/mh) :VZ=INT(49/MV)
93 sys in:poke 216,24:print tab( 25 ) ; " {up}
{home}"?
94 poke hx,1+hz:p0ke hy,1+vz:sys pl: poke
HY,MV*VZ+1:SYS LI
95 FOR J=l TO MV:FOR 1=2 TO MH:N=M%(l,J):
X=I*HZ+1 : Y=J*VZ+1
9 6 IF ((n/2) and 1)=1 THEN POKE HX,X:POKE
HY,Y:SYS PL:POKE HX,X-HZ:SYS LI
97 IF ((n/4) and 1)=1 THEN POKE HX,X:POKE
HY,Y:SYS PL: POKE HY,Y-VZ:SYS LI
98 NEXT: NEXT
99 RETURN
100 REM MARK PLAYER'S POSITION
101 X=H*HZ-1:Y=V*VZ-1:P0KE HX,X+1:P0KE HY, Y+1:SYS PL
75 76
77
80 81
56 COMPUTE! July 1983
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BUSIWRITER allows the user to quickly and easily make any number of alterations to the text. BUSIWRITER wiil instantly reformat your text and show you exactly and continuously how the final output will appear. BUSIWRITER has more functions than any other known microcomputer word processor. With BUSIWRITER assisting in the entry of text, provid- ing a 20 page memory and performing an enormous number of editing/ composing functions, the preparation of written data is far faster and outstandingly more accurate than if it were prepared by hand.
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Europe please contact Supersoft, Winchester House, Harrow Wealdstone, England HA3 7SJ, Tel. 01 861 1166
102
103 104
105
106 107
108 109 110 111 112
113
114
115
116
117 118 119
120
121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131
132
133
134 135 136
137
138
139
140 141 142 143 144
145
146 147
148 149 150 151
152
POKE HX,X-HZ+2:P0KE HY, Y-VZ+2 : SYS LI:P 153 OKE HY,Y+2:SYS PL
POKE HX,X+2;P0KE HY, Y-VZ+2 :SYS LI 154
RETURN 155 FOR X=l TO MH:FOR Y=l TO MV:M% (X, Y)=M%
(X,Y)+M%(X,Y)*16: NEXT: NEXT 156 REM PLAY
F=INT(RND(1)*4)+1:0N F GOTO 108,109,11 157
0,111 158
R=0:S=-1:GOTO 112 159
R=+l: 8=0: GOTO 112 160
R=0:S=+1:GOTO 112 161
R=-l!S=0 162
PRINT "{clear} {DOWN JPRESS {REV}j[0FF] 163
TO TURN LEFT 164
PRINT "ID0WN}PRESS {REV}l{OFF} TO TURN 165
RIGHT 166
PRINT "t DOWN 1 PRESS { REV } SPACE I OFF} TO 167
GO FORWARD 168
PRINT "IdOWN}PRESS {REV}mIOFF} TO DISP 169
LAY TOP VIEW OF MAZE 170
PRINT "[03 DOWN} {rev} PRESS ANY KEY TO 171
CONTINUE " 172
GOSUB 30:PRINT " IcLEAR} " ? iGOSUB 5 173
REM GET KEYSTROKE 174
GOSUB 30 175
ON -(A? = "J")-2*(A5-"L'*)-3*(A$=" ")-4*{ 176
A$="M") GOTO 122,124,131,136 177
GOSUB 33:GOTO 112 178
F=F-1:IF F<1 THEN F=4 179
GOTO 12 5 180
F=F+1:IF F>4 THEN F=l 181
ON F GOTO 126,127,128,129 182
R=0:S=-1:GOTO 130 183
R=+1:S=0:GOTO 130 184
R-0:S=+1:GOTO 130 185
R=-1:S=0 186
GOTO 135 187
Z=M%(H,V):T=Z*2"(F-1);T=(T/128) AND 1: 188
IF T=l THEN GOSUB 3 3:GOTO 119 189
NM=NM+1:P0KE 216, 24: PRINT TAB{25);"{UP 190
UP}M0VE"?NM? "[home) "; 191
IF NM<100 THEN WALK(NM)=F 192
H=H+R:V=V+S:IF V<2 THEN 147 193
GOSUB 5:G0T0 119 194
IF NOT MS THEN 138 195
POKE FL, 218: POKE FH, 49: POKE TL,0:POKE 196
TH,128:SYS SC : GOTO 139 197
GOSUB 92: POKE FL,0:POKE FH, 128: POKE TL 198
,218:POKE TH,49:SYS SC:MS=-1 199
GOSUB 101: PRINT "{hOME}YOU ARE FACING 200
";: ON F GOTO 140,141,142,143 201
PRINT "NORTH"; :GOTO 144 202
PRINT "EAST"r:GOTO 144 203
PRINT "SOUTH"; :GOTO 144 204
PRINT "WEST"; 205
PRINT ". PRESS ANY KEY TO": PRINT "CON 206
TINUE":GOSUB 30 207
PRINT "{home) 2 03
": PRINT " " 209
GOSUB 5: GOTO 119 210
GOSUB 33:V=V1:H=H1:IF MS THEN POKE FL, 211
2 18: POKE FH,49:P0KE TL,0:POKE TH, 212
128 213
IF MS THEN SYS SC:GOTO 150 214
GOSUB 92 215
GOSUB 101 216
PRINT "{home) {down} CONGRATULATIONS- YOU 217
*RE OUT IN"?NM?''STEPl {left} {INST} 218
S" 219
REM DRAW PATH WALKED 2 20
POKE HX,H*HZ-HZ/2+1:P0KE HY, V*VZ-VZ/2+
1 :SYS PL
FOR N=l TO NM:IF N>100 THEN 158
F=WALK(N):V=V+(F=1)-(F=3):H=H+(F=4)-'(F
= 2)
POKE HX,H*HZ-HZ/2+1:P0KE HY, V*VZ-VZ/2+
1 ;SYS LI
NEXT
PRINT: END
DATA 32, 33, 48, 173, 58, 3, 133
DATA 0, 173, 59, 3, 133, 1, 32
DATA 0, 49, 173, 62, 3, 205, 63
DATA 3, 16, 8, 240, 6, 32, 173
DATA 48, 76, 3, 48, 96, 169, 128
DATA 24, 109, 60, 3, 56, 237, 58
DATA 3, 141, 63, 3, 169, 128, 24
DATA 109, 61, 3, 56, 237, 59, 3
DATA 141, 64, 3, 162, 128, 142
DATA 66, 3, 142, 69, 3, 232, 142
DATA 67, 3, 142, 68, 3, 173, 63
DATA 3, 201, 128, 176, 11, 169
DATA 127, 141, 68, 3, 169, 0, 56
DATA 237, 63, 3, 41, 127, 141
DATA 63, 3, 173, 64, 3, 201, 128
DATA 176, 11, 169, 127, 141, 67
DATA 3, 169, 0, 56, 237, 64, 3
DATA 41, 127, 141, 64, 3, 173
DATA 63, 3, 205, 64, 3, 176, 32
DATA 174, 63, 3, 172, 64, 3, 142
DATA 64, 3, 140, 63, 3, 173, 68
DATA 3, 141, 66, 3, 173, 67, 3
DATA 141, 69, 3, 169, 128, 141
DATA 67, 3, 141, 68, 3, 173, 63
DATA 3, 74, 141, 65, 3, 169, 0
DATA 141, 62, 3, 96, 173, 68, 3
DATA 56, 233, 128, 24, 109, 58
DATA 3, 141, 58, 3, 173, 69, 3
DATA 56, 233, 128, 24, 109, 59
DATA 3, 141, 59, 3, 173, 65, 3
DATA 24, 109, 64, 3, 141, 65, 3
DATA 238, 62, 3, 173, 65, 3, 205
DATA 63, 3, 48, 35, 240, 33, 56
DATA 237, 63, 3, 141, 65, 3, 173
DATA 66, 3, 56, 233, 128, 24, 109
DATA 58, 3, 141, 58, 3, 173, 67
DATA 3, 56, 233, 128, 24, 109
DATA 59, 3, 141, 59, 3, 96, 169
DATA 0, 133, 148, 169, 32, 133
DATA 2, 165, 0, 201, 80, 176, 56
DATA 16 5, 1, 201, 50, 176, 50
DATA 234, 234, 234, 234, 70, 0
DATA 38, 148, 106, 38, 148, 133
DATA 1, 10, 10, 101, 1, 10, 10
DATA 38, 2, 10, 38, 2, 234, 234
DATA 234, 133, 1, 166, 148, 189
DATA 99, 49, 133, 148, 164, 0
DATA 177, 1, 162, 15, 221, 103
DATA 49, 240, 4, 202, 16, 248
DATA 96, 173, 156, 3, 240, 6, 138
DATA 5, 148, 170, 208, 8, 138
DATA 73, 255, 5, 148, 73, 255
DATA 170, 189, 103, 49, 164, 0
DATA 145, 1, 96, 1, 1, 2, 4, 8
DATA 32, 126, 123, 97, 124, 226
DATA 255, 236, 108, 127, 98, 252
DATA 225, 251, 254, 160, 234, 0
DATA 173, 60, 3, 141, 58, 3, 133
DATA 0, 173, 61, 3, 141, 59, 3
DATA 133, 1, 32, 0, 49, 96, 162
DATA 128, 160, 0, 134, 34, 132
DATA 33, 177, 33, 41, 127, 201
58 COMPUTE! July 1983
Software first, computer second. ^
Workhorse solutions for tough questions,
OK. You're ready to make the leap. You need a computer and you're ready tD buy. But which one? There are so many Every ^y store youVe visited has six different lines. At least two were a# always right for you. How can you nnake an intelligent 0'
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management encumbrance account- ing, etc.
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Call or write for the name of the dealer nearest you.
Dealer Hotline: 1-800-527-4S48
tinuns
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•Commodore 64 is a registered trademark of Commodore
221 DATA 64, 48, 2, 169, 32, 145, 33
222 DATA 200, 208, 241, 232, 224, 132
223 DATA 208, 232, 169, 0, 170, 157
224 DATA 58, 3, 232, 224, 12, 208
225 DATA 248, 96, 169, 218, 133, 31
226 DATA 169, 49, 133, 32, 169, 0
227 DATA 133, 33, 169, 128, 133, 34
228 DATA 162, 4, 160, 0, 177, 31, 145
229 DATA 33, 136, 208, 249, 230, 32
230 DATA 230, 34, 202, 48, 2, 208
231 DATA 240, 96
Program 2:
RATS! 64 Version - Setup Program
Run this program before RUNiiiii^;^ RATS! on the 64.
100 POKE16384,0:POKE1 6385,0 110 POKE56578, PEEK ( 56578 )0R3 120 POKE56576, ( PEEK( 56576 )AND252 )0R1 130 POKE53272,4:POKE648,128 140 POKE53280,12:POKE532B1,12 145 POKE641,0:POKE642,64
150 POKE43 , 1 : P0KE44 , 64 : P0KE5 5 , 0 : P0KE56 , 1 28:P0KE646, 1 : PRINT" {CLR} "
Program 3:
RATS! 64 Version -Adjustments To Program 1
RcphKC these lines in Program 1 if you are using the 64.
3 rPRINT CHR$ (142) :GX = 49152:GOTO 38
46 CK=0:FdR L=12288 TO 12761:READ A:POKE
L,A:CK=CK+A:NEXT:FORK=GXTOGX+2 3:READ GX
47 POKEK,GX:NEXT:IF CKO50144 THEN PRINT
"{DOWNlERROR IN DATA STATEMENTS": STO
P 56 PRINT 'MCLR} {DOWN}GENERATING MAZE..."
; :GOSUB 2000 90 PRINT "{CLR}{D0WN}MAZE COMPLETED ." :G0
SUB 2000:GOTO 105 93 SYS IN: POKE 214, 24: PRINT TAB (25);"
{UP}{9 SPACES} {HOME}"; 117 GOSUB 30:PRINT " {CLR} " ? : SyS49152 : GOS
UB 5 121 GOSUB2000:GOT0112
131 Z=M% (H,V) :T=Z*2| (F^l) :T= (T/128) AND 1:IF T=l THEN GOSUB 2000:GOTO 119
132 NM=NM+1:P0KE 214,24:PRINT TAB(25);" {UP}M0VE";NM; "{HOME}";
147 GOSUB2000:V=V1:H=H1:IF MS THEN POKE FL, 218: POKE FH, 49: POKE TL,0:POKE TH , 128
Program 4:
Add these lines to Program 1 if ijou are usijig the 64,
20 00 30=54 272 :FORR=S0TOS0+28:POKEE,0:NEX
T 2010 POKE54296, 15 :POKE54277, 51 :P0KE5
4278, 211 2020 POKE 54276, 33 :POKE 54273, 63 :POK
E54272, 75 2030 F0PT=1T0 200 :NEXT : POKE54276 , 32:FO
RT=1T0 100 :NEXT 20 4 0 FORE=S0TOS0+2 8:POKEE,0:NEXT 2050 RETURN
Remove lines 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36 if you are using the 64,
60 COMPUTE! JLjfy1983
Gregg Peele Programming Assislont
RATS! For 64
The Commodore 64 version of "RATS!" uti- lizes the same machine language program that was used in the PET version. The pro- gram was changed significantly in only two ways. First, zero-page locations were altered because there is limited zero page space on the 64. Second, a routine to fill screen with color has been added to make the maze visible on the newer 64s. (Color RAM must be POKEd on newer 64s, or values POKEd to the screen are invisible.)
Whenever you run the 64 version, you must prepare the 64 by running Program 2 first. Program 2 sets screen memory at 32768 ($8000) and places BASIC at 16384 ($4000); this emulates the PET screen and provides a safe place for both BASIC and the machine language program. Since the screen norm- ally resides at 1024 ($0400), be carehd not to hit the RUN/STOP and RESTORE keys si- multaneously while you are within the program. If you do this, then the 64 will "forget" where your BASIC program resides, and you will lose your program.
To transform Program 1 (the PET ver- sion) into a 64 version, type in Program 1 as is except replace, add, and delete lines as instructed below. Also, all DATA statement lines are different (see Program 5).
Program 5:
Use none of the DATA statements from Program 1 . Instead, use these for the 64.
160 170 180 190 200 210 220 230 240 250 260 270 280 290 300 310 320 330 340 350 360 370 380
390 400 410
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
41
DATA
DATA
DATA
32, 33, 48 173, 59, 3 173, 62, 3 240, 6, 32 96, 169, 1 237, 58, 24, 109,
141, 64,
142, 69, 68, 3, 173 11, 169, 1 56, 237, 6 3, 173, 64 169, 127, 237, 64, 3
173, 63, 3
174, 63, 3 3, 140, 63 66, 3, 173 169, 128, 173, 63, 3 0, 141, 62 56, 233, 1
, 173, 58, 3, 133, 2 , 133, 195, 32, 0, 49 , 205, 63, 3, 16, 8 , 173, 48, 76, 3, 48 28, 24, 109, 60, 3, 56 , 141, 63, 3, 169, 128 1, 3, 56, 237, 59, 3 , 162, 128, 142, 66, 3 , 232, 142, 67, 3, 142 , 63, 3, 201, 128, 176
27, 141, 68, 3, 169, 0 3, 3, 41, 127, 141, 63 , 3, 201, 128, 176, 11 141, 67, 3, 169, 0, 56 , 41, 127, 141, 64, 3 , 205, 64, 3, 176, 32 , 172, 64, 3, 142, 64 , 3, 173, 68, 3, 141 , 67, 3, 141, 69, 3 141, 67, 3, 141, 68, 3 , 74, 141, 65, 3, 169 , 3, 96, 173, 68, 3
28, 24, 109, 58, 3, 1
58, 3, 173, 69, 3, 56, 233, 128 24, 109, 59, 3, 141, 59, 3, 173 65, 3, 24, 109, 64, 3, 141, 65
DYNAMIC PRINTER INTERFACES for the VIC 2r and the COMMODORE 6f
UNLIKE ANY OTHERS THAT HAVE COME BEFORE ^*7,_»
Ifs Jiof qttick or my to do thmss right!! After 8 long mcwKta of rosoarch and devatopmont; RAK-Wara, TYMAC COimOLS CORP. and MfCRO-mB€ Ulilli^ brougfit the world better paranel interfaces. Better because they both have the abt'Bty to provide TRUE EMULATION of the Coiamodore^ printer. Tbafs r^htff Graphic Characters, tabbing. Dot Graphics, and the other features, A formidable task that was ^natfy accompSshad.
THECONWECTION^— The Uttimate Parallef interface forth© VIC 20 or Commodore 64. This fu»y intelligent interface plugs into the disk (serial) socket just like the standard printer. H can easily be assigned any device number and it will provide virtually TOTAL EMULATION of the Commodore® printer. Using the latest technology, this interface will display the full GRAPHIC CHARACTERS or convert them to their equivalent representations in clear text It supports all of the standard commands (OPEN, PRINT#, and CLOSER Column tabbing, dot tabbing, graphic repeat, dot addressable graphics, and the other features of the Commodore® Printer. Software designed to operate with the Comiiiodore*^ Printer will operate using "THE CONNECTION®." Beside this, a 2K buffer has been provided, a full printer self test LED Status indicators, Printer Reset switch, skip over perf, margin set and programmable line length. This interface is printer specific to take advantage of the special features of your printer. In the standard mode (non-graphics), it is designed to interface virtually any parallel priif|tor with a standard Centronics configuration and connector. Specify yourprinter when ordering. Additional ROM's may ||jtir!phased for other printer applications ... All this for $t 19.00 ^^"^^0 ^^
BUFFERED PARALLEL CABLE & DRIVER - A parallel interface for the
V budget minded. This interface plugs into the USER-port and comes with an
extensive manual with ilfiver li^gs for the VIC 2ff^ and the Commodore 64^^. It can be used with viftually any printer that has a standard Centronics type configuration and connection. Fully buffered for maximum j protection of your computer ONLY $24.95 Add "CABLE BRAINS" cartridge
^^ for the VIC 20 (diskette for the 64) and get a full Graphi --*--=— -^-^ --
V^ With this package you can print all of the Graphic||
-^ V \-^ computer has plus EMULATE the Commodore^ prin^i
V \ printer specific to take full advantage of your printer, i
/ graphic matrix printers ... " "^
DfSTRIBUTING INC. 1342 B Rt. 23, Butler, NJ 07405 201-838-9027
Put Your
Commodore 64
TbWark.
PaperQip
Easy to learn, easy to use word processor, *' with so many features that most people will need only a fraction of them". -COMPUTE! April. 1983
*125
Delphi's Oracle^
Data Base system with powerful features for business.
nso
PowerFile
Organize your lists and records. Create a personal filing system. Select, sort and summarize information. Print reports and mailing labels. 2 free applications included. (Personal Tax Records & Auto Expenses)
Versions for all Commodore computers with 1 or 2 disk drives.
$130
9
FOR SAME DAY UPS SHIPPING, CALL OUR ORDER DEPT:
Collect 414-277-1230
Dealer inquiries invited.
City Soitware
PET CBM and Commodore 64 trademarks of Commodore Electronics. Ltd "Products of Batteries Included
ATTENTION PROGRAMMERS If you're new to computings please read "How To Type COMPUTE! 's Programs" and "A Beginner's Guide To Typing In Programs."
420 DATA 3, 238, 62, 3, 173, 65, 3, 205 430 DATA 63, 3, 48, 35, 240, 33, 56, 237 440 DATA 63, 3, 141, 65, 3, 173, 66, 3 450 DATA 56, 233, 128, 24, 109, 58, 3, 1
41 460 DATA 58, 3, 173, 67, 3, 56, 233, 128 470 DATA 24, 109, 59, 3, 141, 59, 3, 96 480 DATA 169, 0, 133, 168, 169, 32, 133,
196 490 DATA 165, 2, 201, 80, 176, 56, 165,
195 500 DATA 201, 50, 176, 50, 234, 234, 234
, 234 510 DATA 70, 2, 38, 168, 106, 38, 168, 1
33 520 DATA 195, 10, 10, 101, 195, 10, 10,
38 530 DATA 196, 10, 38, 196, 234, 234, 234
, 133 540 DATA 195, 166, 168, 189, 99, 49, 133
, 168 550 DATA 164, 2, 177, 195, 162, 15, 221,
103 560 DATA 49, 240, 4, 202, 16, 248, 96, 1
73 570 DATA 98, 49, 240, 6, 138, 5, 168, 17
0 580 DATA 208, 8, 138, 73, 255, 5, 168, 7
3 590 DATA 255, 170, 189, 103, 49, 164, 2,
145 600 DATA 195, 96, 1, 1, 2, 4, 8, 32 610 DATA 126, 123, 97, 124, 226, 255, 23
6, 108 620 DATA 127, 98, 252, 225, 251, 254, 16
0, 234 630 DATA 0, 173, 60, 3, 141, 58, 3, 133 640 DATA 2, 173, 61, 3, 141, 59, 3, 133 650 DATA 195, 32, 0, 49, 96, 162, 128, 1
60 660 DATA 0, 134, 254, 132, 253, 177, 253
. 41 670 DATA 127, 201, 64, 48, 2, 169, 32, 1
45 680 DATA 253, 200, 208, 241, 232, 224, 1
32, 208 690 DATA 232, 169, 0, 170, 157, 58, 3, 2
32 700 DATA 224, 12, 208, 248, 96, 169, 218
, 133 710 DATA 251, 169, 49, 133, 252, 169, 0,
133 720 DATA 253, 169, 128, 133, 254, 162, 4
, 160 730 DATA 0, 177, 251, 145, 253, 136, 208
, 249 740 DATA 230, 252, 230, 254, 202, 48, 2,
208 750 DATA 240, 96 1000 DATA 162, 0, 169, 1, 157, 0, 216, 1
57 1010 DATA 0, 217, 157, 0, 218, 157, 0, 2
19 1020 DATA 232, 208, 241, 96, 234, 234, 2 34, 0 i
T^icAif^iUVcJUc^ifuMuUcaUaK^
s^!'
ooC^^
xxa'
Ava^
00\i'
'^ RTC
10610 BAYVIEW (Bayview Plaza) RICHMOND HILL, ONTARIO, CANADA L4C 3N8 (416)884-4165
C64-LINK
The Smart 64
^,
So
^Oi
avj
V^^^56,
^0
RTC
Call or write payments by VISA, MASTERCARD or BANK TRANSFER. Mailorders also by certified check, etc.
M any more 64s
^^
I
^^
J
nrrrTTTTTTTTTTTl
I
TTT^TTTrTTTT
Wiy.'i'.^^Vi,
T
Spooling
to Printer
Cartridge
Expansion Slot
Serial Audio I/O
Switch RF Video Port
@
C64-LINK
IEEE Disl<s
(2031) (4040)
(8050) (8250)
(9090)
VL16
IEEE Printers
(4022) (8023)
(8300)
etc.
|
1541 Drive |
|
And |
|
1525 Printer |
|
or 1515 Printer |
or VL3 Cable to Parallel Printer
(future)
Cartridge
Mother Board
IEEE to Parallel Interface
Parallel Devices
IEEE to Serial Interface
True Serial Devices
or VL4 Cable
to Standard
M odem
CP/M
POWER And
®
PAL
©
Other Cartridges
Give These Expanded 5^^
Capabilities To Your 64 N^
-k The ability to transfer data from any type of device to another (IEEE, Serial, Parallel)
■A- BASIC 4.0 which allows you to run more PET BASIC programs and gives you extended disk and I/O commands.
-^ The ability to have several 64s on line together - sharing common IEEE devices such as disks or printers with Spooling Capability .
^ Built-in machine language monitor
i^ A built-in terminal or modem program which allows the system to communi- cate through a modem to many buKettn board systems and other computer mainframes.
if; Compatibility with CP/M.
Contact your local Commodore Dealer or RTC.
CopyrlghtsandTradomarks
C64 13 a copyright of Commodore Business Machines, Inc. C64-LINK is a copyright of Richvale Tele- communications- CP/M Is a registered trademark of Digital Research. POWER is a trademark of Pro- fessional Software. PAL is a copyright of Brad TempJeton.
GOBLIN
Dan Goff
In ''Gohlin" (for the unexpanded VIC, 64, Atari, Th and Apple) citstoifi characters are used to create a shnple yet entertaining game. The object is to capture tlie scozvling creatures with your goblin zvhile avoiding the many block-shaped obstacles that lie in your path.
After obstacles and sad faces have been positioned, "Goblin" begins when the main char- acter appears at the bottom of the screen. As the game progresses, the goblin moves continually upward and the player controls only its horizontal movement. The "O" and "P" keys, in conjunction with the GET command in line 260, enable the player to move the goblin left and right, respec- tively. Children especially like the cumulative effect of the GET statement; they make rapid key punches and then wait for the delayed effects.
As each sad face is captured by the goblin, the score is updated and printed at the upper left. If the goblin successfully clears the screen of all the faces, an entirely new playfield wall be pro- vided. A game lasts as long as you wish.
A single round ends when the goblin crashes into an obstacle. At this point, the remaining sad faces smile, and you are asked if you wish to play again. If you don't, it is probably best to respond by typing "N" so that full memory is restored to the VIC.
On the other hand, if you play again, your previous highest score will be posted as the new game begins. The incentive to exceed a record score makes any game more fun.
64,AtARI,TI-99/4A And Apple Version Notes
The 64, Atari, TI-99/4A, and Apple versions of Goblin are almost identical to the VIC ver- sion. Minor differences do exist, however, in the Atari and Apple versions.
The Atari version uses the " + " and "'*^" keys to control left and right movement of the goblin. The Apple uses the left and right arrow keys.
The Apple version requires that you have a disk drive with the DOS Tool Kit disk in the drive when the program is run. This version defines certain characters using the program "Animatrix'" from this disk. As Goblin is run, these custom characters are placed in memory as shapes and are later drawn on the high-resolution graphics screen. When the game begins, they are simultaneously POKEd into the areas of memory associated with the text and the high-resolution graphics screens. So, al- though you see these redefined characters on the high-resolution page, collision detec- tion is actually carried out by PEEKing text screen memory.
Chasing goblins on the VIC-20 version of Goblin.
64 COMPUTll July 1983
Goblin on the Commodore 64.
|
..:.,. \ |
||
|
/^ r^ |
||
|
i- 1 // , |
^\\ |
|
|
V\^// ^' |
||
|
^^m"^^ ^s^ |
'l^tGOT THEMOW LONG RA^4GE" |
Sirius
For more information contact your local Sirius dealer or contact Sirius directly at 10364 Rockingham Drive, Sacramento, CA 95827 (916)366-1195.
Game desfgn by Dan Thompson VIO20 version pfogfammed by Leonard Bortoni Package, program and audio visual c tgas Sirius Software, tnc-. Sacramento. Calilornia SS627. All rights reserved.
Sirius and Final Ofbit are trademarks of Sirius Software, inc Alan 400, 800 and t200 are trademarks of Atari, Inc- VIC- 30 is a uademark of Commodore Business Machines, Cofp Sjrius IS no! alhiiated with Alan or Commodore.
Atari 400, 800 & 1200 Cartridge
VIC'20 Cartridge
WESnCKOURG
THESUND
1
i
RAPMCS WHERE
TSHMEI
You'll never see Infocom s graphics on any computer screen. Because theres ne\^er been a computer built by man that could handle the images we pro- duce. And, there ne^^er will be. We draw oui' graphics from tlie limit- less imageO' of youi* imagination— a technology so poweiful, it makes any picture that's ever come out of a screen look like graffiti by compaiison. And nobody knows how to unleash your imag- ination like Infocom. Through oui' prose, your imagination ^ makes you part of i our stories, in con- ^ trolofwhatyoudo and where you go- yet unable to pre- dict or control the course of events. You're confi'onted with situations and logical puzzles the like of which you won't find elsewhere. And youre im- mersed in rich environments alive with personalities as real as any you'll meet in the flesh— yet all the more \d\ad because they're perceived directly by your mind's eye, not through your external senses. The metliod to this magic? We've found the way to plug our prose right into your psyche, and catapult you into a whole new dimension.
Take some tough critics' words about our words. SOFTALK, for example, called ZORK® Ill's prose
"far more graphic than any depiction yet achieved by an adventui'e with gi^phicsr And the NEW YORK TIMES saw fit to print that our DEADLINE'^' is "an amazing feat of programming." Even a journal as video-oriented as ELEC- TRONIC GAiMES found Infocom prose to be such an eye-opener they named one of oui' games their Best Adventure of 1983.
Better still, bring an Infocom game home with you. Discover firsdiand w^hy thousands upon thousands of discriminating game players keep turning everything we wTite into instantaneous bestsellers.
Step up to Infocom. All words. No graffiti. The secret reaches of youi' mind are beckoning. A whole new dimension is in there waiting for you.
ALOCKHDDOGftA DEAD MAN
inFocom
The next dimension.
Infocom, Inc.. 55 Wheeler St., Cambridge, MA 02138
Fur vour; Apple ][, Atari, Commodore t>), C?A\t 8.' DEC Kainbow, DEC RT'll. IBM NEC APC, NEC PC-8000, Oaborm- 1. Tl Professional, TRS-80 Model I. TRS-80 Model III.
BEGINNING PROGRAMMERS If you're new to computing, please read "How To Type COMPUTE !'s Programs" and "A Beginner's Guide To Typing In Programs/'
Program 1: GobUn - vie version
100 PRINT" [CLRl": POKE 52, 28: POKE 56,28:C LR:POKE 36869 , 255 : POKE 36879,26
ll0 IFS>HSTHENHS=S
115 RESTORE :B=230:Z=81 52 :Z 1 = 2+30720 :W==0: S=J:G=0
120 FOR X=1T03 2:READ A: POKEX+7167 , A: NEXT : F0RX=1T08 : READA : POKEX+742 3 , A : NEXT
130 print"Iclr){rvs11grn}{5 rightIg 0 B
L I N" 140 PRINT" {home] I red} {2 DOWN} "SPC ( 12 ) "
IrVS)HS="HS:PRINT"{HOME} [RVSl {BLK}
{20 D0WN}0=LEFTl9 RIGHT} P=RIGHT" 150 FOR 1=1 TO 65 160 X=INT{RND(l)*330)+7746 170 IFPEEK(X)=BTHEN 160 180 POKEX,B:POKEX+30720,0:NEXTI 190 FORI=1TO20 200 X=INT(RND(l)*330)+7746 210 IF PEEK(X)=B0RPEEK(X)=10RPEEK{X)=3TH
EN 200 220 IFPEEK(X+21)=BANDPEEK{X+22)=BANDPEEK
( X+23 ) =BTHENPOKEX , 3 : POKEX+30720 , 0 : G=
G+1:GOTO240 230 POKEX,l:POKEX+30720,0 240 NEXT I 250 P0KEZ,32:Z^Z-22:Z1=Z1-22:IF Z<7746 T
HEN z;=Z + 374:Zl = ZH-374 260 GET A? JIFA$="0"THENZ=Z-1:Z1=Z1-1 270 IFA$="P"THENZ=Z'M:Z1 = Z1 + 1 280 IFPEEK(Z)=B THEN 410 290 IFPEEK(Z)=1 THEN GOSUB 330 300 POKEZ , 0 : POKEZl , 0 : F0RT=1T02 20 : NEXT 310 IFW=20-G THEN J=S : GOSUB350 ; GOTO110 320 GOTO 250 3 30 W=W+l:S=S+25: PRINT" {HOME} I BLU }
{2 DOWNllRVS)"S:POKE36878,15 340 F0RT=2 35TO250 : POKE36876 , T :NEXT : P0KE3
687 6,0: RETURN 350 PRINT"{H0ME} {RED} {16 DOWN] { RVS ) *****
*ALL RIGHTi******" 355 FORI=1TO10:GETA$:NEXTI:REM COLLECT G
ARBAGE 360 F0RI=1T025 370 X=INT(RND(l)*15)-!-233 380 POKE36878, 15:P0KE36875,X 390 FORT=1TO30:NEXTT:NEXTI 400 POKE36878 , 0 : POKE36875 , 0 : RETURN 410 POKE36B77 , 200 : FORV=15TO0STEP-1 : P0KE3
6878 , V : NEXT : P0KE3687 7 , 0 : POKEZ , 2 420 FORX=7746TO8075:IF PEEK(X) olTHEN NE
XTX 430 IFPEEK(X)=:1THEN POKEX, 3 : NEXTX 440 J=0
445 FORI=1TO10:GET C$:NEXTI 450 PRINT" {HOME} I BLU } {18 DOWN) {RIGHT)
iRVSjpLAY AGAIN? (Y/N)" 465 GET C$:IF C$="" THEN 465 470 IFC$,= "Y"THEN 110 490 POKE 36869,240:POKE36879,27:POKE52,3
0 : POKE56 , 30 : PRINT " { CLR) SEE YA I " 500 DATA126, 219,219, 255, 165,90, 90, 16 5,60
,66,165,129,153,165,66,60
68 COMPUnS July 1983
510 DATA 170,85,170,85,126,219,255,189,6 0,66, 165,129,165,153,66,60
520 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
Program 2: Gobtin - 64 version
80 POKE 53280, 2 -POKE 53281,1
90 PRINT"{CLRJ [7 down) {4 RIGHT) PLEASE WA
IT. . .DEFINING CHARACTERS"; 100 POKE 52, 48: POKE 56 , 48 : CLR: POKE56334 ,
PEEK(56334)AND254 105 P0KE1,PEEK( 1)AND251
108 FORN=0TO2047:POKEN+122Ba,PEEK(N+5324 8) :NEXTN
109 FOR N=0 TO 7 : POKEN+12320 , PEEK (N+5406 4) :NEXT N
110 IFS>HSTHENHS=S
112 RESTORE :B=4:Z^1964:Zl=Z+542 72 :W=0:S=
J:G=0 115 VS=54296:AD=54277:SR=54278:WF=54276r
LB-54272;HB=54273 120 FOR X=0TO31:READ A: POKEX+1 2288 , A: NEX
T 123 POKE l,PEEK{i)OR4:POKE56334,PEEK(563
34)0R1 125 POKE 53272, (PEEK(53272)AND240)-M2 130 PRINT" {CLR) {GRN} {14 RIGHT) [RVSJG 0 B
L I N" 140 PRINT" {home) {RED} {2 DOWN} { RVS} "SPC ( 1
7)"HS="HS 145 PRINT" {home) {BLK} {22 DOWN) { RVS }0=LEF
T " ; SPC ( 2 7 ) r "P=RIGHT " 150 FOR 1=1 TO 118 160 X=INT(RND(1)*680)+1144 170 IFPEEK(X)=BTHEN 160 180 POKEX, B:POKEX+54272,0:NEXTI 190 F0RI=1T036 195 G1=0
200 X=INT(RND(1)*680)+1144 210 IF PEEK(X)=B0RPEEK(X)=10RPEEK(X)=3TH
EN 200 220 IFPEEK{X+39)^BANDPEEK(X+40)^BANDPEEK
(X+41)=BTHENPOKEX,3:POKEX+542 7 2,0:G1
= 1 225 IF Gl = l THEN G=G-M : GOTO 240 230 POKEX, l:POKEX+5427 2,0 240 NEXT I 250 POKEZ, 32:Z=Z-40:Z1=Z1-40:IF Z<1144 T
HEN Z=Z+760:Zl=Zl+760 260 GET A$:IFA$="0"THENZ=Z-1:Z1=Z1-1 270 IFA?="P"THENZ=Z+1:Z1=Z1+1 280 IFPEEK(Z)=B THEN 410 290 IFPEEK(Z)=1 THEN GOSUB 330 300 POKEZ , 0 : POKEZ 1,0: FORT=1TO220 : NEXT 310 IFW=36-G THEN J=S :GOSUB3 50 : GOTO110 320 GOTO 250 330 W=W+l:S=S+2 5: PRINT "{home) t BLU }
{2 down) "S: POKE VS, 15: POKE AD,30:POK
E SR,200:POKE WF,17 340 POKEHB ,71: POKELB , 1 2 : FORT= 1TO90 : NEXTT
: POKEVS , 0 : POKEHB , 0 : POKELB , 0 : RETURN 3 50 PRINT" {home} {RED} [18 DOWN) {8 RIGHT)
{RVS}******ALL RIGHTI******" 355 FORI=1TO10:GETC$: NEXT!: REM COLLECT G
ARBAGE 360 POKE VS, 15: POKE AD, 30: POKE SR,200:PO
KE WF,i7:F0R 1=1 TO 17 370 H=INT(RND(0)*10)+21:L=INT(RND(0)*45)
+210: POKE HB,H:POKE LB,L 380 FOR T=l TO B0:NEXT T:NEXTI:POKE VS , 0
:POKE HB,0:POKE LB,0
The Home Accountant: The *1 best-seller.
^%
/ ^^i^ -^^'^^-^
Any home finance packase will balance your checkbook. But to become the #1 best-selfer you've sot to be something special.
The Home Accountant"* is.
It's the only one that prints a net worth statement and a personal finance statement. So you know exactly where you stand financially every day of the year. It will even print your checks, automatically.
Not only that Jhe Home Accountant"" lets you label every transaction. Just imagine sitting down to do your taxes and having every penny you've spent and earned neatly listed by category —and available at the touch of a button. It's an incredible time-saver.
You can also create bar, line and trend analysis graphs for every category— In color. It's great for realistic budgeting.
Sound amazing? Wait, there's more.
Let's say you write a check to pay your Visa. The Home Accountant™ automatically debits your checking account and credits your Visa account.
And it does this with every one of the two hundred* budget categories: credit cards, checking accounts, money markets, cash, rent checks, insurance payments— you customize your own financial package.
Check out The Home Accountant™ soon. You'll find it does a lot more than simply manage your money.
It manages your money simply.
*The Home Accountant" is available for the Apple li/lBM Personal Computer/Atari 400/ 800 Computers/Osborne/TRS 80 Mode! Ill/ Commodore 64/Texas Instruments Profes- sional/Zenith Z-100/110.The actual budget capacities will vary with each computer.
Continental
Software
A Diviston of Arrays, inc.
Wil^
;>Ar-^
1 ^ *! '^ % % ^ ^ «i j^ ^ ^ ^ ^
rrtf^fi at Wmntt Cat munt.tttmi,'^ Ot^nnc m ■ < tjrtlf ' ( J if Klcmvl o'CH&atfit
VftfUHttar ' -■ -
It sells the most, because it does the most!
Continental Software Co.,11223 South Hindry Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90045 Telephone (21 J) 417-3003 * (213) 417-8031
"400 RETURN
410 POKEZ , 2 : POKEVS ,15: POKEAD , 30 : POKESR, 2
00:POKEWF, 129:POKE HB,2:P0KE LB, 125 415 FOR 1=1 TO 400: NEXT I : POKE VS,15:P0K
E HB,0:POKE LB,0 420 FORX=1144T01823:IF PEEK (X) <> ITHEN NE
XTX 430 IFPEEK(X)=1THEN POKEX, 3 : NEXTX 440 J=0
445 FDRI^1TO10:GET C$:NEXTI 450 PRINT" { HOME HbLU] {20 DOWN ) I RVS } PLAY
AGAIN? (Y/N)":POKE 646,14 465 GET C$:IF C$="" THEN 465 470 IFC$="Y"THEN 110 490 POKE53272,21 :POKE53280,14:POKE53281,
6 : POKE 52 , 50: POKE56 , 50 : PRINT" {CLR}SE
E YAl" 500 DATA126, 219, 219, 255, 165, 90, 90, 165,60
,66,165,129,153,165,66,60 510 DATA 170,85,170,85,126,219,255,189,6
0,66,16 5,129,165,15 3,66,60 520 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
Program 3: Goblm - Atari Version
90 SCREEN = PEEK (88) +256* PEEK (09) : DIM
A*<3):0PEN # 1 , 4 , 0 , " K : " 100 GRAPHICS 1+16: POSITION 1,10:? #6
; "- - - PLEASE WAIT- . . " 105 60SUB 2000
107 IF S>HS THEN HS=S
108 S=Jl=W=0:2=SCREEN+900: G=0
110 GRAPHICS 0:POKE 752 , 1 : SETCOLOR 4
,6, 6:SETC0LOR 2 , 1 0 , 1 : POS I T I ON 13
,0: PRINT ■'[? E E [1 £> C" 115 POKE 756, CHSET/256 120 POSITION 16,2:? *' CS :"iHS:POSITI
ON 1,22:? "fMMaj=+ KEY" : POSITION
28,22:? "l:><e1Elf=t KEY"; 150 FOR 1=1 TO 120 160 X = SCREEN+INT (RND (0) *640> +160
170 180 190 200 210
220
230 2 40 245
250
260
270 280 290 300 310
320 330 340
IF PEE POKE X FOR 1 = X=SCRE IF PEE K (X>=3 IF PEE AND P G = G+1 : POKE X NEXT I SOUND EXT I : 00: NEX POKE Z THEN 2 A=PEEK THEN Z IF A = 6 IF PEE IF PEE POKE Z IF W = 3 TO 1.07 GOTO 2 W = W+1 : SOUND OUND 2
K(X)=7 THEN 160 ,7:NEXT I
1 TO 36
EN+INT (RND(0) * 640) +160 K(X>=7 OR PEEK(X)=1 OR PEE
2 THEN 200
K(X+39)=7 AND PEEK(X+40>=7 EEK(X+41>=7 THEN POKE X,i: GOTO 240 , 32
1 , 50, 10, 12:F0R 1=1 TO 50:N
SOUND 1,0,0,0:FOR 1=1 TO 2
T I
,0: Z=2-40: IF Z<SCREEN+120
=Z+760
(764):P0KE 764, 255: IF A=7
= Z+1
THEN Z=Z~1 K(Z)^7 THEN 410 K(Z)=32 THEN GOSUB 3 ,5:F0R T=l TO 100:NE 6-G THEN J1=S:G0SUB
50
S = S + 25= POSITION 3,2:
2, 20, 14, t2:F0R 1=1 T
,0,0,0
30
XT T
350:GO
? S
O 20:S
345 RETURN
350 FOR I=SCREEN+360 TO SCREEN+480:P
OKE I,0:NEXT I:P0SITION 10,10:?
"»»»$ ALL RIGHT ***" 355 J1=S 360 FOR X=l TO 20:SOUND 1,30-X,10,i2
: FOR 1=1 TO 40:NEXT I : NEXT X : SOU
ND 1,0,0,0 400 RETURN 410 POKE Z,6 415 FDR V=12 TO 0 STEP -1:S0UND 1,40
,2,V:S0UND 2 , 70 , 1 2 , V : SETCOLOR 4,
V,6:F0R 1=1 TO 40:NEXT I:NEXT V 418 SETCOLOR 4,6,6:SOUND 1,0,0, 0:SOU
ND 2,0, 0,0 420 FOR X=SCREEN+160 TO SCREEN+800:I
F PEEK(X><>32 THEN NEXT X 430 IF PEEK(X)=32 THEN POKE X,1:NEXT
X 440 J1=0 450 POKE 764, 255: POSITION 10,21:? "P
lay Again < Kj/ [I) ? " ; : GET #1,A 460 IF A=ASC("Y"> THEN 107 470 GRAPHICS 1 + 1 6 : POS I T I ON 3,10
; " , . . £f^^ or. . - " : FOR 1 = 1 TO
EXT I:END
2000 CHSET= (PEEK ( 106) -8) *256:F0
TO 1023:POKE CHSET+I,PEEK 4+I):NEXT I
2001 RESTORE 2005
2002 READ A: IF A=-l THEN RETURN
2003 FOR J=0 TO 7: READ B:POKE CHSET+ A*8+J,B:NEXT J
2004 GOTO 2002
2005 DATA 1,60, 126, 219,255, 18 9, 195, 1 26,60
2006 DATA 5,60,126,219,255,195,153,2 55, 255
2007 DATA 6,204,204,51,51,204,126,21 9,255
2008 DATA 7, 204, 204, 51, 51, 204, 204, 51 ,51
2009 DATA 3 2, 60, 126, 21 9, 255, 231, 2 19, 126,0
2010 DATA -1
|
: ? #6 |
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800: N |
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R 1=0 |
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(5734 |
Atari version of Goblin,
70 COMPUTE! July 1983
'?MU, Ti/ekt,
We are publishers of the top-selling Scott Adams Adventure Series and other fine Entertainment and Applications Programs.
And we're publishers of some of the finest microcomputer software programs available. If you can write a top-quality program, or can convert some of our best-sellers to other computers, we want to hear from you — Now. We have the advertising, international distribution, manufacturing and marl<eting know-how to send top-quality programs to the top of the charts.
If your program is top quality — give us a call, or write for our Adventure International Author information Kit.
Copyright © 1983
dventut6
INTERNATIONAL
Box 3435
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Program 4: Goblm -TI-99/4A version
100 1 10 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 220 230 240 250 260 270 2G0 290 300