Description
Issue 60
| Item | Author | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Menu | Wayne Coles Graham Goring | |
| Editorial | 5th Birthday, 130 New Subbers, Brian | |
| Letters | New Subber, Sambus, Sam C | |
| Mnemodemo | Andrew Collier David Zambonini Paul Horridge | Probably The Best Demo In The World |
| Protype | David Laundon | Superb Word Processor Written In Sam C |
| Blast-A-Mac | Martin Fitzpatrick | Blow Up Your Fave. Sam Personalities |
| Dark Vortex | James R Curry | Games Master Shoot-Em-Up |
| Anonimity | Graham Goring | Five Program Special!!! |
| E-Tunes | Bob Brunsden | Music Written On E-Tracker |
| Modules | None here this month :-) | |
| Don't take the lightbulbs | Stefan Drissen Robert van der Veeke Martijn Groen | Happy Birthday Demo |
| Jellytext | Matt Round | 1st Issue Of Fred's Tellytext Spoof |
| Scum 2!! | Matt Round | The 2nd Issue Of The Infamous Scum |
Magazine
CA "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" - S. Wonder
Break open the champagne (lemonade for the younger readers) and
celebrate with us all, as FRED is now a very healthy five years
old.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY @#~_
Please note the graphics (ish) above! Call me a genius, but I'm
on a roll. Wow.
So, what's happened over the last year? The celebrations for
@#~_'s 4th birthday occured on the spectacular issue 50. Quite
conveniently, Colin M and Brian managed to multiply 12 by 4 and
get 50. Bit dodgy, but in everybody's interests.
However, issue 48 was released a year ago. Strictly speaking,
it was under a year ago - Brian's deadlines tended to move
forwards a couple of days each month, but that was half the fun.
Issue 49 was Brian's last. A saddening, yet memorable occasion
CA "A Year Has Passed Since I Wrote My Note" - Sting
as Brian wished a fond farewell and promised to keep in touch.
Also in this issue, we saw the announcement of the new editor -
a young joker previously known for a number of pointless letters
which some readers actually complained about! This young joker
thought that things couldn't get better when people complained
about his letters, but two months later, he would be the editor
of @#~_.
A fond farewell from Brian, and issue 50 was upon us. Colin
Macdonald was once again to take on the ever so difficult, and
under rated (honest) task of editing. His editorials took
everyone back to the days when Colin used to edit before Brian,
when paragraphs were sensible and had a point to them, when the
humour was actually quite clever and not blatant, and when the
news could be announced completely seriously. Was this to be
the beginning of a new, more serious @#~_ era?
Fat chance. Issue 51 brought me - desparate to learn Brian's
technique of talking complete rubbish, yet still keeping people
CA "The Show Must Go On" - F. Mercury
entertained. The first editorial had some good stuff, but was
arranged pretty badly. All I could do was to improve, and I
hope I have.
@#~_ readers could barely keep up with things, as issue 49 was
Brians last, 50 - Big 50th issue, 51 - Anderton's first, 52 -
Christmas issue, 53 - New Year issue. Almost half a year of
solid, fast-running FREDness. Issue 52 was amazing, by the way.
By issue 53, the release date had been pulled back to the 16th
of the month, which it should be at constantly. Gulp.
Now, on issue 60, I've been doing @#~_ for 9 months. People
still find it hard to believe that I've already been doing @#~_
for over a third of the time that Brian did. In fact, I'll
probably still be regarded as the new editor by the time issue
100 comes around. I'm planning on still being here, as long as
you support @#~_ (and I don't get sacked) (or killed).
CA "Using quotes instead of titles is lazy" - C. Anderton
And there we have it, a whole year. If you've missed it, you
really have missed a classic part of @#~_'s history. I was
going to find the best couple of back issues you could get, but
I can honestly say that they all have something useful or
amazing on. Issues 50,52 and 57 stand out as being really
really good, but I love them all.
And I seem to have run out of things to talk about. No,
actually, there is a lot more I could talk about. None of it
will interest anyone, but do I care? No. All I have to do is
fill up this section, take the money and run. Heheheheheaaahooo
hahahahohahahahhaahaglobberplu SLAP.
Sorry.
Actually, if you want to know something really funny, my brother
(21 years of age) thought he'd broken his tape player and asked
me to fix it. He'd left the pause button in! Ho ho ho.
CA Back to the present...
And now, it's this month (or so they say). Quite a lot has
happened this month as well. I've gone back to my hell of
strawberry packing, hence the little outburst on the previous
page. I've got nothing against strawberry packers, believe me.
The people I work with are a great bunch. But it's the most
boring thing there could be in the whole wide world. The only
entertaining bit is watching the supervisor throw fits on
everyone in the pack house when you send an empty punnet or
mutated strawberry down the line.
Oops, I'm doing it again, aren't I? I'm moaning. Sorry. I'll
move along to a more entertaining subject now - my holiday. Not
being as rich as Colin Macdonald, I can't afford to roam around
the country for a month. Instead, I plumped for a week in a
caravan in Newquay with 9 male friends. I'll start at the start
and miss out all the 'unsuitable for family mag' bits.
Finished.
CA Har har har
Not really. I did plenty that I can talk about.
There were three cars all leaving from different places at
different times from Evesham heading to Newquay. I was one of
the drivers and I got two people who have completely different
musical tastes in my car. After a long, long argument, we stuck
on 'The Police' (tempting fate a bit I thought, but never mind).
Anyway, after about an hour and a half, we stopped at a service
station for a bite to eat (and the usual call of nature). Just
as I parked the car, BOTH of the other cars pulled up! It just
goes to show that it isn't only Colin Macdonald who can have
freaky coincidences. Then we met someone ELSE we knew! Blimey!
Never did like him actually.
Needless to say that when we arrived, the caravan wasn't quite
the luxury that the brochure had described it as. Although
apart from the broken door, kicked in wall, broken bed, missing
television and knackered shower, it was fine. We departed to
CA Run out of ideas for titles? Me???
the nearest, er, refreshment house and promptly won £20. And
then spent it.
When you go on holiday with lots of people, there's always
somebody you don't want to come. This was true for us as well.
A person called 'Chez' was our downfall. We managed to hide the
fact that we were going on holiday from him for about six
months, but then he found out and thinking we liked him, booked
a tent site. On the first day, the people in my car (and me,
obviously) bumped into him (this was before everyone had got to
the camp site) and he drove us down to the beach. He moaned and
moaned when we laughed and joked, he moaned when we stayed too
long at the beach, he moaned if we got sand or water on our
clothes ("It's my dad's car...") and he wasn't too happy when we
took two hours to get back to his car via a rather stupid
"short-cut". He also made some of us strip down to our
underwear before we got in the car because we were a bit sandy.
Apart from him, everyone else enjoyed themselves. We went to
CA Er, um, er, "Editorial"
play golf one day on a pitch and putt, where you're given a
putter and a 7 iron. I'd never played golf before, but managed
to get a par on the first hole and 2 under on the second hole!
I was busy telling everybody how good I was and how I should've
started younger and become a professional, when I got 13 on the
next hole, which put me 7 over par. I got worse after that.
The other two I was going round with and I managed to lose 5
golf balls on one hole, much to the delight of the people we
were holding up.
I won't go into any more detail - you don't want to know how I
won our game of Quazar, or how I spent more nights in someone
else's caravan than in our own (it's the good looks, you see) or
how four of us spent 12 hours in a pub (breakfast, dinner and
tea) one day, or, er, etc.
All in all, a thoroughly excellent week, although it wasn't long
enough. Hot weather every day (except for a scary mist on
Thursday), and I'd recommend this sort of holiday to everyone.
CA Power pack-ed up
About a week before I had finished issue 59 of FRED, ANOTHER of
my power packs blew up. Either I'm very very unlucky, or the
company I get them from is a very dodgy company indeed (it's
called FRED Publishing). So, I told Colin and he couldn't
believe it, but kindly sent me one anyway. I borrowed a friends
power pack to do issue 59 and awaited the new one. TWO AND A
HALF WEEKS after Colin sent it, it arrived! It didn't work.
Luckily, when I rang Colin to tell him, I only got his answer
phone, so he couldn't swear at me.
I got back from Newquay and a new power pack still hadn't
arrived, so I gave Colin a ring - answer phone again. I left an
evil message and tried fixing one of my four broken ones,
although didn't have a clue what anything was, and broke it
further.
The day afterwards, I was about to ring Colin again when the
doorbell rang. Who was it?
CA Blimey!
Through the frosted glass, I could see the blurred image of a
person stood like Colin. I opened the door, and lo and behold
it was Big Mac himself - holding a power pack!
Unfortunately, he hadn't come down just to see me (blub). He'd
been to Swindon and stopped off on the way back to give me some
contributions and he'd decided that the only way he could get a
working power pack to me was to deliver it himself, to my door!
But it does work. I've now got five broken ones stood up
against the wall (and there's one floating around in the post
office), but I've got a fully working power pack that should
last at least one month. Maybe two.
Colin Macdonald has been a bit naughty as well because he
promised to write something for the editorial and didn't.
Obviously he doesn't care about us any more. If only some other
person with strong FRED connections could come to our aid.
Turn page (no reason) >>>>>>>>>
BM An Ex-Editor Writes
Hello again! And happy 5th birthday to FRED! It's now coming up
for a year since I stopped editing FRED, and Colin Anderton has
a point about not really being the 'new' editor any more. You
fight for your right to be simply 'the editor', Colin.
How are you all? Still enjoying your SAM to the full? Still
subscribing to FRED with a dedication which would put a
particularly fanatical Greenpeace activist to shame? Good good.
Having read every issue since I departed, I'm pleased to see
that CA is keeping everything running smoothly. It's still
slightly weird seeing FRED from a reader's point of view rather
than that of the editor, but it's definitely something I'm
enjoying.
It's also good to see that you're still all contributing so much
excellent material. It's been said before several thousand
times by now, but FRED does keep on getting better and better.
I suppose this is only to be expected; the longer you've had
your SAM, the more time you've had to get better and better at
BM An Ex-Editor Writes
programming, especially with packages like Gamesmaster,
E-Tracker and of course SAMPaint. You should all be thoroughly
proud of yourselves. I'm still playing Santa Goes Psycho from
the Christmas issue!
As I understand it the most recent Gloucester show was a great
success, and yet again I'm left regretting not being there. Once
again lack of organisation on my part is to blame. I keep
thinking that the show is ages away and by the time Colin asks
me "Are you able to come to the show next week?" I'm unable to
arrange things at work to get the day off. By next time, though,
I'll no doubt have won the lottery using either Matt or David's
lottery program from issue 55 and will be richer than even Colin
Macdonald (provided I get 4 numbers, that is). And so I won't be
at Tesco and won't have to get the day off.
My mum actually got 4 numbers this week. £106 she got from it,
which is, let me think, oooh, £96 more than I've ever got.
Speaking of the lottery, if you are stunned with disbelief and
BM An Ex-Editor Writes
disgust at the way all the proceeds are siphoned off into opera,
there's now an effective way of registering your protest. All
you do is write a really good game for FRED instead of going to
the shop for a lottery ticket. That'll teach 'em!
As you can possibly work out, I'm on holiday just now, having
done a fine bit of resit dodging. I've now finished Maths
forever and ever (hurrah!), and am about to begin the first of
my two Honours years in computer science. Should be fun.
Happily, our Computing department has just been given the
all-clear from the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council.
This is good news, because when I graduate my degree won't be
laughed at by potential employers. This too is good news,
because I may get a job and lead a semi-worthwhile life with a
house and car and stuff.
Anyway, the lecturers were so determined to get a good report
that we had regular consultations in order to establish what
BM An Ex-Editor Writes
changes the students felt would make the department better. So
far we've got a laser printer, air conditioning and a drinks
machine out of them. Wahey! We managed to get one of the more
senile lecturers pensioned off too, so there shouldn't be any
more coming out of lectures terrified that we've chosen the
worst subject in the history of education.
We had an open day recently, which is the time for schoolkids to
come in, look around a bit and then leave to go shopping after
five minutes. The lecturers set up demos of their own pet
projects, some of which were pretty darn impressive and others
which, well, weren't. The system administrator put a Star Trek
web site on one of the machines, and I expect you can guess
which machine drew the largest crowds. Part of second year
involves a team project - you write an adventure game in C++ -
and one of the teams showed off their game as an example of what
is done on the course.
I was strictly forbidden from demonstrating our team's game,
BM An Ex-Editor Writes
unfortunately. The department didn't want to get a bad name for
encouraging obscenity and depravity. Our game did get the
highest mark though, which was nice. The game involved waking up
in the loo of a notorious Dundee nightclub with a toothbrush
tucked away somewhere delicate. I don't think I'm allowed to say
much more; FRED is still, after all, a family magazine.
Even if you're not doing computer science at Dundee, you should
come along to one of our open days. They're very interesting and
informative. We managed to negotiate free doughnuts during the
day, then those of us who helped out got treated to a curry plus
a few pints afterwards. Not a bad life at all.
Changing the subject now: Wm Low has now become a fully fledged
Tesco. There is still the odd Wm Low remnant, but on the whole
we're as much a Tesco as we'll ever be. Except we don't get
Tesco pay yet. Ho hum. The ordering of products is now done by
computers, and there's nothing more amusing that taking receipt
of 1800 loaves of bread with 300 on the shelf when we usually
BM An Ex-Editor Writes
sell less than 1000 in a day. Oh, how we laugh. If I didn't know
better - computers are only as good as the people who program
them - I really would hate computers.
I'm hopefully moving out in a couple of weeks. Flying the nest
sort of thing. I've spent a fair bit of time this holiday
looking for a flat, and the search looks like it's coming close
to an end. There's a good idea for a FRED game - Flat Hunt
Simulator. Makes Waterworks look like a puzzle game for
pre-schoolers. Anyway, this will allow me to do much more work
for uni and is emphatically not so I can have wild parties. The
flat we're on the verge of getting is in an excellent place,
too. Right above a pub, and directly acrosss from a bookies,
with a Pizzaland, a chip shop, and an HMV all within 100 metres.
Not to mention the biggest shopping precint in Tayside which is
50 yards along the road. Bit of a pity that I won't have any
money to spend! Aaarrgghh!!!
So. Have you bought SAM C yet? If not, I can strongly
BM An Ex-Editor Writes
recommend that you do so as soon as possible. Apart from the
fact that it's an excellent language, both powerful and easy to
use, it's the one used by 9 out of 10 programming companies
(probably) and I know that most universities and colleges use it
now. So whether you want to write programs for your own use and
nothing else, or whether you want to write software as a career,
C is an absolutely essential buy.
On that note, I shall end my ramblings. I was going to write a
comprehensive music section, but the deadline is fast
approaching, and I know that by the time I get my head into
shape for another marathon keyboard session the deadline will be
long since passed. So, instead of indepth reviews, here is a
list of CDs that I can recommend with a very brief description
of the music style....
[I've rather rudely slapped Brian's music review at the end,
just so FRED can once again have a proper music section, for one
month at least. As Brian would say, "Hurrah!" - CA]
CA News
OK, OK, stop complaining, it's here at last. I know the news
should be near the start, but just be grateful it's here at all.
Firstly, I'm confirming the trip to Alton Towers. It will take
place on Sunday the 27th August. Alton Towers is about 6 miles
North of Uttoxeter (inbetween Derby and Stoke on Trent). The
park opens at 9am, rides start at 10am and it closes between 5
and 7pm. Journey by car is recommended, but there are many
cheap bus sevices which will take you there - just ring up
National Express coaches and find out. If they are offering
cheap entrance too, take it. Alton Towers told me they would be
able to offer me tickets at £9.50, and then after I'd arranged
it all with Colin, they told me they couldn't do it. *****!
The day is intended as an alternative to the SAM and Speccy
shows - no-one will be trying to sell you things, although some
programmers may have leaflets and tell you to buy their stuff.
It's simply a case of us all meeting up, and then having a good
old chat while we're stood in the queues for the rides. It's a
CA Where Wonders Never Cease (except in the queues)
perfect chance to grill programmers to write things and to find
out how to get hold of illegal Spectrum 128K conversions on the
SAM and what hardware projects are on the go which we can't
mention in FRED yet, etc... Tempted? Thought so.
Entrance is £16-50 for over 14s and £12-50 for under 14s. It's
a bit expensive, I know, but once you're in, you don't have to
pay for the rides.
Just inside the gates, you have to go down some ramps or steps.
There will be two meeting points at the bottom of these at
9:30-10:00 and at 11:30-12:00. Everyone else meets at the
fountains nearby, but if we meet here, we shouldn't have too
much trouble. Chances are you'll regonise someone or an Entropy
logo or something on a T-shirt, but I'll make a binnable SAM
Coupe sign, just in case. Just ask if you're not sure.
If you can make it, please come. It'll be an excellent day out,
and someone will be taking photos - so you could be in FRED!
CA Some Pretty Stunning News
If you can recall from last month's newsletter, Colin Macdonald
sent out a mailshot to those people who had bought or subscribed
to FRED but had not re-subscribed. We were hoping for about 20
to 30 re-subscribers - any over that would be a bonus.
We have so far got over 130 new subbers (yes ONE HUNDRED and
THIRTY!) - and that number is still rising! Both Colin and I
hadn't dreamt of such a high number of re-subbers! It really is
a boost to us, and the rest of the SAM community and it proves
that the SAM market is still alive. So put away any doubts you
may have had, get out your 'I Support SAM' flag, buy and learn
to program SAM C (I bet this played a big part in bringing
people back to the SAM), keep subbing to FRED and we'll see
everybody at the next SAM and Speccy show (see later for date!).
Anyway, I'd better be polite, so a very very warm welcome to the
hundred and thirty plus (I still can't believe it) re-subbers.
I look forward to hearing from you. If you have written any
programs, please send them in - as I've said a million times,
CA News
the more I have to choose from, the better I can make FRED.
After a scary patch four weeks ago, the contributions have
picked up wonderfully. However, I still want MORE!
Unfortunately, I don't have the time to get in touch with
everyone who sends a disc, so you are left guessing as to
whether it will be used. However, if I do have your disc, it
means that I want to use your program as soon as I can. Don't
write abusive letters if I haven't used your program after two
months. Thanks.
Oh, yes. I also know that other magazines write to you if you
stick your address in FRED in an attempt to poach our
programmers. Just remember, FRED's the best. Please remain
faithful to us (after all, you do get £5 and £10 software
vouchers). As they say, if you scratch our back...
Back to the news now (I went a bit off subject there), the date
for the next SAM and Speccy show has been confirmed and it is
the 14th October. Once again, it's a Saturday so public
CA News
transport shouldn't be too hard to find. I haven't got a clue
where I'll be living then, but I can guarantee I'll be there
(as long as I'm alive). And I'll be wearing my infamous jumper!
Make sure you get the date right (14th October) and when you get
there, make sure you introduce yourself (especially all you new
subbers). There's only 1 definite issue of FRED coming out
before the show, although Colin will probably pressure me into
finishing FRED 62 in time. Save up your cash as we'll have
bargains galore and people like Stefan Drissen will walk around
with things tied to them which they're trying to sell, and how
can anyone refuse Stefan's grin?
Mark Sturdy, former editor of Crashed, has announced he is
leaving the paper-based SAM and Speccy magazine due to excess
work and a little argument (say no more). The whole process of
doing Crashed is handed over to Allan Clarkson, former deputy
editor. The new address is: [redacted]
CA More News
Revelation Software have announced that they will be dropping
their 'PO Box' address from the end of August. Don't panic -
they do have a new address which you can start using immediately
and it is:
Revelation Software,
[redacted]
This move should cut costs and speed things up a bit.
According to the July edition of FORMAT, West Coast Computers
will shortly be releasing two new pieces of hardware - one for
the SAM, and one for the Spectrum. Designed to be a replacement
for the SAMBUSes clock/calendar system, the interface will plug
into SAM and has a built-in through-port to allow other
interfaces to be attached behind it. It will be fully
compatable with MasterDOS. More news next month. Hopefully.
CA N.E.W.S
You may remember last month that I reviewed Amalthea from
Jupiter Software, and gave it a Bronze Fredal, saying it was
good but over-priced. Jupiter have written to me saying that
you can now buy Amalthea directly from them for the reduced
price of £8, instead of £10 through Phoenix. They are also
selling Booty for £5. Cheques should be made payable to S.
Ekins. The address is: Jupiter Software, [redacted]
Well done, Jupiter - a good decision and I hope it pays off.
Finally, The Complete Guide To SAM BASIC has been converted to
64 column ASCII so you can edit it, print it out and make your
own notes. Just between you and I, I've lost the sheet of paper
saying who did it, but if you are interested in getting this,
give Colin a ring.
CA Disc Contents
I was hoping to secure an exclusive FRED remix of a commercial
title in time for issue 60. However, despite the efforts of Lee
Willis, Dave Ledbury, Steve Pick and I, we haven't been able to
get it finished in time for the deadline. It's a shame it
couldn't get finished for this issue, but everything should be
ready for issue 61. Sorry.
Anyway, despite this, we still have a great line-up.
In slot D we have got a SPECTACULAR three part demo from
Mnemotech (wierd name). They reckon it's the best SAM demo
there is, and they can't be far wrong. Three programmers have
done a part each, and you'll know it's a great demo when you
hear the names - David Zambonini, Andrew Collier and Paul
Horridge. Take a look, you'll love it.
In slot E, we have our first major SAM C program, and what a
corker it is too! It is a word processor with all the basic
functions including italic and bold text on screen. It's
CA Tinted Soccns
incredibly fast - it can keep up with my fastest typing (and not
many can). It's from David Laundon and at last shows the
readers a part of what C is capable of. Thanks David.
In slot F is a rather cruel (but enjoyable) version of
Planetoids - the game where you rotate yur ship and blow up the
rocks. However, instead of rocks, there are the SAM
personalities! Blow Colin Macdonald and I sky high for not
putting your program on FRED, or Simon Cooke for being far too
clever. The possibilities are endless. Thanks go to Martin
Fitzpatrick for this little beauty.
James 'I never stop writing games' Curry brings us his attempt
at a shoot-em-up. I know we always have shoot-em-ups, but that
is all I'm ever sent. However, with James' touch of Gamesmaster
class, I'm sure you should enjoy this. It gets a bit hard as
well.
Due to immense lack of disc space, we haven't been able to use
CA Dentist Conns
the Macdonald/Anderton interview. It should be on the next
issue, though (gulp).
Anonymity has stormed to the rescue, however with a massive 5
parter for all you sci-fi fans out there.
Martijn Groen, Robert van der Veeke and Stefan Drissen join this
star-studded FRED line up with Martijn's latest demo, 'Don't
Take The Lightbulbs'. Especially dedicated to FREDs birthday, I
think you'll like the music display. Thanks everyone.
And what would a star-studded issue of FRED be without Matt
Round? Quite good, no doubt. But Matt has done something all
the same. Rather than messing about with Retros and PC things,
he's kindly written Jellytext, something similar to the Speccy
thing he chatted about in his interview last month. In the same
style as Teletext, it's a barrage of pages full of wibble.
Follow the adventures in SAM Street and watch the old ladies get
beaten up (among other things). It's designed as an alternative
CA The Last Two Titles Were Anagrams
section which Matt will contribute to every month. However, he
is currently polishing off an editor for it which should appear
on the next issue so all the readers can make their own pages.
I'll slap the pages together, and we should have a great
section. The sort of thing we want are alternative texts, some
really good arguments and that sort of thing.
Kevin Smythe has kindly contributed another issue of the highly
successful SCUM! Included in this spectacular issue are the
Best Game Competition (previously known as the FRED worst game
competition), an editorial with no mistakes whatsoever and a
completely bug free menu (!). Um, thanks Kev.
The colourful menu was coded by Wayne Coles, with graphics by
Graham Goring. It doesn't actually work at the moment, but I'm
hoping it will soon. Gulp.
Thanks for all the screens and e-tunes. I've received so many
that yours may take a while to be shown, so be patient!
CA Thanks dears...
EDITOR : COLIN JAMES ANDERTON
LAZY TOAD : COLIN DEREK MACDONALD
All my deepest and most sincere gratitude goes out to the
absolutely star-studded line up, consisting of:
Brian McConnell Andrew Chandler Bob Brunsden
Andrew Collier Darren Martin Martijn Groen
David Zambonini Warren Lee Robert Van Der Veeke
Kevin Cooper Dean Micholas Stefan Drissen
Steven Frew Paul Horridge Matty Round
Martin Fitzpatrick David Laundon Dave Handley
Alan Groves James Curry Graham Goring
Wayne Coles Kevin Smythe Terry & Steven Ekins
FRED is available from : [redacted]
SAM C, MUSIC and
FILMS >>>>>>>>>>
CA SAM C Article
Hello there All you Sam owners, I am going to attempt to explain
some of the principles of C programming.
Incase you did not know, this article is by STEVEN "JUPITER
SOFTWARE" EKINS.
If you cam program in SAM BASIC then you should be able to learn
SAM C without too much difficulty. Although C is a very
different language to basic, much of the logic used in BASIC
also applies to C.
C has only a few commands, it's power comes in the ability to
use functions. Functions are a group of commands written in C
or they can be written in Assembly language. Functions are
similar to DEF PROC's, many BASIC commands are similar to
functions in C. (eg. print(in basic) and printf(in C))
To use a C function You first need to tell the compiler where
the function is. Functions are stored in libraries, You tell
the compiler where the function is by INCLUDING the name of the
library at the start of your program.
(also include the libeary source code at the end).
You can also write your own functions within your program, I
will explain how to do this some other time.
SAM C has the ability to store INTEGERS (counting numbers
1,2,3,4...) between -32767 and +32767, You can't use fractions.
There are ways of storing higher numbers but I don't have the
time to explain that now.
As with all Computer languages, the only way to learn is to
practice.
The following program will print a message to the screen.
#include "stdio .h" /* the stdio .h library holds the
print function*/
main()
{ /* every C program MUST include a function
called main. the { indicates the start
of a function. } is the end.*/
printf("JUPITER SOFTWARE");
}
If you compile and run this you will find that (surprisingly)
JUPITER SOFTWARE is printed on the screen. printf is the
function that prints things on the screen. To call a function
you use function_name(data); (most C commands and functions
require a ; after them).
The printf function is also used to print numbers. To print a
number use
printf ("%d",number);
The %d tells the function to print a number at this point. So
printf ("here is a number %d i hope you like it",100); will
display, here is a number 100 i hope you like it.
Using variables
SAM C can use two types of variables (not including arrays),
these being INTegers and CHAR's. All variables have to be
defined at the start of a function. The following program
defines two variables and uses them in printf.
#include "stdio .h"
main()
{
int a;
int b;
/* variables can't be assigned a value at the same time
as they are declared */
a=1;
b=2;
printf("%d + %d = %d",a,b,a+b);
/* the first numer printed is 1, the next is 2
and the last is 3 (1+2)*/ }
You may find it useful to experiment printing other numbers.
Now you can print numbers, it may be useful to be able to read
data from the keyboard. There are no C commands to do this, so
you have to use a function from the stdio .h library. The
Function I am going to explain here is scanf.
Firstly how do you read numbers?
This is simple use, scanf("%d",&var);
Where "%d" tells the function you are looking for a number and
the &var tells the function to store the number in var.
Try it in a simply program.
#include "stdio .h"
main()
{
int num1,num2;
printf("enter a number");
scanf("%d",&num1);
printf("enter another");
scanf("%d",&num2);
printf("%d",(num1+num2));
}
****************************************************************
This article could be the first of many, covering various
aspects of C. If you would like more articles then let JUPITER
or FRED know. If you have any problems writing something in C,
then send me a copy of the program (on disk), and an explanation
of what it should do and I will try to help.
JUPITER SOFTWARE
[redacted]
BYE.
BM Very Short Music Section
Dance
Finitribe - Sheigra. Light, poppy, ideal for summer. Highlight
is We Have Come.
Hardfloor - Respect. Not for beginners. Minimal tune factor,
largely percussion. Lots of 303 action. Best track is Mahogany
Roots.
David Holmes - The Film's Crap... Let's Slash the Seats.
(honest) Strange. Very strange. Beautiful in places, crap in
others. Check out Gone with vocals by Sarah Cracknell out of St
Etienne.
Journey by DJ vol. 1 - whatever. A whole mix of music. The
definitive DJ collection, inc Paul Oakenfold and Jon Digweed.
Highlight of the whole series is Hardfloor's Acperience on Danny
Ramplings volume 3, which isn't actually on their own CD
Respect.
BM Very Short Music Section
Leftfield - Leftism. Dance music with proper songs. I like Melt
best. Nominated for the Mercury music prize. 'Nuff said.
Various - Reactivate 10. Techno at its best. Very melodic but
still quite hard and fast. Trancey.
Indie
Sleeper - Smart. Not a lot to say, really. It's just British
90's indie. Good though. Vegas is the best song.
Green Day - Dookie. Punk from over the Atlantic. Sounds very
like Superchunk to me. Highlight is Basket Case.
Finally, do any of you actually listen to dance music, of any
persuasion? If so, please write and let me know, either directly
or through Colin A or M. I know some of you definitely rate
dance music as a particularly cruel form of psychological
torture, but there must be some technophiles out there.
BM And That's Yer Lot
Contact me at:
[redacted]
Even when I move out, I'll still be home at weekends for work at
that supermarket we all know and love.
Oh - wait a minute. I meant to do a brief film review. I saw
Pulp Fiction last week for the first time, and it's BRILLIANT!
You have got to see this film. It's a very sick little puppy in
places, and it helps if you have a very dark sense of humour,
but it really is a major cinematic event. Class.
Right. I'm off.
See ya!
DM Films With Darren...
-Ed Wood (15) [Distributed by Buena Vista] 127mins
Starring:Johnny Depp,Martin Landau,Sarah Jessica Parker,Bill
Murray,Patricia Arquette
Directed by Tim Burton(Batman,Edward Scissorhands,Nightmare
Before Christmas)
Jonny Depp stars as Edward D.Wood,Jr. the famous director of B-
movies in the fifties.Ed Wood was noted as the worst director of
his era,producing what is considered the worst film ever made:
Plan 9 from Outer Space.Tim Burton concerns us with Ed Woods
life up to the showing of this film.
Woods only directing output is of tacky little stage shows in
which he casts family and friends.Bill Murray plays a
transvestite who desperately wants to become a woman,and Sarah
Jessica Parker is his wife.No-one pays much attention to him and
his frustration is relieved by the donning of womens clothes
complete with blond wig.The angora cardigan being his favourite,
that somehow manages to find its way into all his movies.
A disasterous first movie attempt followed by a chance meeting
with an old washed out Bela Lugosi(Martin Landau),persuades him
to make his own movie from scratch.
Funding is his main problem and when partway through a shoot his
main backer and star,Patricia Arquette,fails to pay up,out comes
the angora.Wood comprimises wherever he can and finally gets
money from the Baptist church!What evolves is "Plan 9 from Outer
Space"
This entire film is shot in black and white and is over 2 hours
long.Wait! Dont run away.It is very good and extremely funny,Tim
Burton funny,that is(Dark and weird).Martin Landau is fabulous
as the morphine injecting old actor.His mood swings are
something to behold as he goes from passive and helpless to
angry and energetic.He is always thankful of Ed Wood and a
wonderful relationship develops between them.
Every time Johnny Depps masculine structure turned up in skirt,
angora,wig and hat I couldnt stop laughing.
Bill Murray as the transvestite is funny but at the same time a
little unnerving.(maybe its just me,but the sly womaniser of
Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day,shouldnt be going to Mexico for
"the Operation"!)
Sarah Jessica Parkers outburst just before she leaves Wood sums
up his entire career:"Everthing you do is s**t and your all so
weird!".Fortunately that statement doesnt fully sumerise the
true story of the film Ed Wood.
-In The Mouth of Madness (15) [Entertainment] 95 mins
Starring:Sam Neill,Julie Carmen,Jurgen Prochnow,Charlton Heston
Directed by John Carpenter(The Thing)
Suter Cane,here,is the worlds most popular horror novelist,so
powerful are some of his books that they have been known to
cause mental problems.With his popularity so high,his publishing
company are bewildered when he disappears before the release of
his new novel,"In The Mouth Of Madness".
Meanwhile we meet Sam Neill,an insurance inspector with a
passion for his work.A nasty confrontation with Canes agent,
brings Neill to the attention of the publishers director,
Charlton Heston.He employs Neill,along with Canes editor(Carmen)
to go in search of Suter Cane.
Their investigations lead to the old sleepy town of Hobb's End.
Some strange events show that they are actually living the
events of Canes horror novel:"Hobb's End".What unfolds is a
gruesome and scary ride of strange and shifting realities as
Neill finds himself at the mercy of Canes imagination.Lurking
within the story is the coming of something big and bad.
The film begins at the end,in that Neill is telling the story to
a psychiatrist,where Neill is residing,trust up in a straight
jacket.So through this you get the impression that its not going
to be a happy ending.And where horror stories are concerned this
is a welcome change.
The film is written and directed by John Carpenter,and since it
is about an horror novelist,it seems that he is swimming in his
own gloat.But since Carpenter has had the main input,the film is
strange and often very scary.The quality of the effects(which
can so often make the difference on a horror movie)vary a lot.
The optical effects are good,but some of the models are
obviously fake,where they have gone for quantity not quality.
Neills character is good as the ever sceptical wiseman,believing
that he is part of a publicity hoax(boy,is he wrong!).The dear
old hotel manager is wickedly funny.
A word of advice:dont take masses of pop-corn in with you.There
are moments when you'll shoot out of your seat in fear,and bury
the person in front.
The film is short and doesnt seem to wrap everything up.So when
you leave you get the feeling that a sequel is on its way.All
well and good you may think,but you have just paid £3.95 for
some sloppy story telling.
-Batman Forever (PG) [Warner Brothers] approx.110 mins
Starring:Val Kilmer,Jim Carrey,Tommy Lee Jones,Chris O'Donnell,
Nicole Kidman,Drew Barrymore
Directed by Joel Schumacher (The Client,Falling Down)
What can I say that you haven't heard already? You'll have seen
the interviews,read the magazines,probably even seen the movie!
And herein lies my,and no doubt many others problem with the
movie....Hype,hype and more hype.Jonathon Ross even quoted,in
one of the Sunday rags,that it was "one of the best movies ever
made."Come now,Jonathon.Don't you think your going a bit OTT?
When something is placed on so high a pedestal,there is only one
possible outcome.Into the cinema you go with a sense of awe and
anticipation,and out you come feeling a little disappointed and
betrayed.
But,this is still a fabulous movie that deserves its box-office
success(Contradiction? No.Just not a film delivered from the
hands of God).It stays in line with the themes of its
predecessors:love,honour,secrecy and revenge,but theres a new
slant to the third installment,mirth.Which is pulled off very
well.
Tommy Lee Jones plays Two-Face,who used to be Gotham Citys DA,
but was horribly disfigured in a court-room incident involving
Batman...vengeful villain no.1
The Riddler is played maniacally by Jim Carrey.Starting as
Edward Nygma,an employee of a Bruce Wayne company,he changes
during an experiment,previuosly forbidden by Bruce Wayne due to
its evil possibilities.....vengeful villain no.2
Enter into the equation,Chase Meridian,a psychologist,played by
Nicole Kidman.Bruce Wayne likes her,but she is obsessed with his
alter-ego,Batman.Joining Batman is a young acrobat,Chris
O'Donnell,who eventually works his way into the role of Robin.
Again we have Bruce Wayne wrestling with his haunting childhood,
when his parents were killed.
Batman wouldn't be Batman without an array of gadgets,weapons
and the Batmobile(which never seemed to be moving fast enough
for my liking).
The humour in the movie is wonderfully placed with Jim Carrey
supplying all the madness that only he could do(watch out for
his Englishman impression.Hilarious!).The special effects are
dazzling and the action is fast and furious.Again the darkness
of the film adds enormously to the atmosphere.The huge budget,
big stars,special effects and quirky humour help to hide a lack
of plot.Oh of course its there,but it just ambles along,in no
rush to get to the end.
In my opinion,Val Kilmer is a better Batman than Micheal Keaton,
adding a younger freshness to the role.But I belive this film
doesn't get close to the first one.Maybe if the film had been a
15 or a 12,it could have been better;even the new animated
series has more violence in it!
Go watch the damn movie,you'll be sorry if you dont.Just lower
your expectations a little(not too much,though).
-Judge Dredd (15) [Guild]
Starring:Sylvestor Stallone,Diane Lane,Rob Schneider,Armand
Assante
Directed by Danny Cannon(The Young Americans)
Another dose comic book-to-film action in the shape of Stallone
as Judge Dredd in the third millenium.A little background first:
(any 2000AD fans will have to forgive me here,as I know very
little,all the info I have is from the movie and movie mags)
We are in the third millenium,nothing much is left of the earths
ecosystems after pollution.What remains of the human
civilisation is crowded into 3 huge Megacities.Vast towering
metropolises of crime,overcrowding,poverty and filth,unless you
are rich(no change there then!).Out of the over burdened police
force has emerged a new efficient,mean breed of officer.The
Judges.Elite officers who serve as judge,jury and executioner,
often dispensing lethal punishment on the spot.Of these judges,
Dredd is the most renowned and feared.
The movie centres around the corruption that seeps through the
main council of Megacity One,and the secret project Janus.
Project Janus is the use of genetics to breed new perfect Judges
The project was once abandoned after first trials to produce
twin Judges went wrong.One became Dredd,the other became Ricco
(Assante)who degraded into a criminal mastermind.
A setup leads to Dredds exile from the city to the Cursed Earth.
With Dredd gone,Ricco and accomplices can implemnt their evil
plans for Megacity One.Soon Judges become the victims of
ruthless criminals and Dredd,along with his companions,including
Judge Hershey(Lane),they must find a way to restore order.
The film has Stallone written all over it,the role fits him like
the Judges uniforms clung to their bodies(oooh,out of my head
you nasty thoughts).The action,violence and emotion are just
right for Stallone,who isnt exactly a brilliant actor.Judge
Hershey provides his love intrest and his sh*t-wit buddy quite
frankly,did my bleedin' head in!
The film is visually fantastic,especially the flying scenes
through the towers of the city.I believe they have tried to stay
as visually true to the comic as possible,especially the
uniforms.The violence can get quite hard at times.
It begins superbly with city fly-bys,riots and shoot-outs,but it
soon becomes melodramatic and a farcical.Some of the humour
seems so out of place that it ruins the momentum of the film.
The movie was shot entirely at Britains Shepperton Studios,and
the comic book 2000AD is a British creation;and so therein lies
the reasons to go and watch the movie.
CA BYE BYE
That's it, I'm out of room. Thanks for the articles. I'll see
you all next month when the issue of FRED will be on time or
early, I promise.
If it's late, you can all give me a good kicking at the next
show.
Bye.
Colin Anderton, Monday 7th August, 5:14am. Goodnight.
Letters & Reviews
Letter From Kevin Cooper
Dear Colin,
Nice to receive the Fred mailing this morning ... I haven't been
around on the Sam for some time now, I haven't really used the
Sam for about a year, just occasionally to print the odd letter.
I've been meaning to get back into it but things really seemed
to be dead, years ago (I sound like an old man now) I spent the
majority of my spare time with the Sam tapping out a letter to
somebody or other. But at about the end of 1993 it seemed to get
really quiet as far as I could tell, I wasn't writing to many
other Sam users any more and during 1994 it got worse, there
were gaps of months between me switching the Sam on. Then it got
put to one side and I just about totally gave up.
However I called an old Sam friend today who told me some of the
things that are happening, and I realised things weren't as I
thought. This coincided with me getting the letter so I thought
I might as well subscribe, maybe Fred can get me back in touch
Letter From Kevin Cooper
with the Sam world, but it'll take a while cos I've got no idea
who's still around and I've got a bit rusty with the computer
itself!
Kev
CA Reply to Kevin Cooper
Welcome back! It was a bit naughty of you to leave the SAM for
dead, but we'll forgive you. Just don't do it again.
Well, well, you really have missed a lot in a year. Everything
has moved incredibly quickly - it'll take you a long time before
you catch up completely. But what better way to catch up than
to order some back issues of FRED!
Probably the best way to catch up with things is to come to the
next computer show (Saturday 14th October), and try to make it
to Alton Towers if you can - we'll fill you in! See you soon.
Letter From Steven Frew
Dear Mr Macdonald,
As a result of receiving a regular stream of your newsletters, I
feel I ought to write and say that I no longer have my SAM
Coupe, and therefore would not benefit much from purchasing any
of the listed goods. Rather than leave the machine sitting in
the box for another few years, I sold it to an enthusiast "cult"
computer collector, who found it most entertaining. It now
rests in a closet with such artifacts of home computing history
as BBC's, Acorns, MSX's, Orics, and very strange contraptions
made by Tandy. If you listen to them very closely, late at
night, you can sometimes hear them exchanging tales of "the good
old days". In binary, of course.
I have considered writing before, but always thought that it
would be a waste of time: you were bound to give up the SAM
ghost sooner or later, as it becomes increasingly out of date
with technology. You have proved me wrong.
Letter From Steven Frew
Please understand that I am not trying to put the machine down
in any way. I was one of the very first to purchase the machine
from what was then Miles Gordon Technology (whatever happened to
those two fellas?) If at any time, I had chosen the Atari ST or
Amiga 500 path with the majority of my friends, I doubt I would
have become so proficient at programming in so short a time: the
lack of games on the SAM gave me little option but to do rather
a LOT of programming.
Anyway, my conscience now clear, I can bid you goodbye, and go
back for another game of Spy Hunters. Y'know, even with all
these expensive processors and maths coprocessors, the SAM still
runs Spectrum games faster than the Amiga....
Froo
CA Reply to Steven Frew
Sorry to lose you, Steven. It's a shame that when people move
to another computer for programming and business, they feel that
they can't keep their old computer - even if it's just for a bit
of leisure. Most SAM owners have another machine, but we'll
stick with the SAM, n'est-ce pas?
Anyway, at least it just goes to show that even those who left
the SAM thinking it wasn't going to last have come to realise
that they were wrong. In fact, if they spent a little time
looking properly, they'd realise that it's going stronger than
ever, with half a dozen pieces of hardware still being designed,
along with the steady flow of new software.
Erm, so there!
Letter From Martin Fitzpatrick
Dear Colin,
Hello. Two problems before I go - [Bit quick! - CA]
Some of the ports on my SamBus don't work quite as they should
printing nonsense or just plain nothing until I turn the
computer off when suddenly loads of stuff is printed.
I would also like to know where to send the Sam I lent that went
wrong. How do I get it fixed please, an address would be
useful.
Thankyouverymuch,
Martin Fitzpatrick
CA Reply to Martin Fitzpatrick
I can remember from the Newsdisk days when people would write in
saying that they wanted to use three things on their Sambus, and
they didn't work. Then someone would write and say, "Aah, I had
that problem, all you have to do is stick thingy in A, wotsit in
B and gujimmiflupe in C, and Bob's your uncle."
Anyway, Colin Mac says that on his, the printer works best on
the first and the 1mb on the last. Does that help?
Due to the problems Mark Hall from Blue Alpha has been having,
repairs have not been as certain. However, if you ring FORMAT
on [redacted], they are providing a repair service and will be
able to tell you what to do.
Letter From Alan Groves
Dear Colin,
While I'm renewing my subscription, I thought I'd write
and congratulate you all on another successful year - and wish
FRED a Happy Birthday of course!
Thanks for the tip about Lemmings. I bought the game, and
enjoyed it so much that I decided it'd be worth buying a mouse
anyway! The extra levels soon followed, as well.
A question about SAM C. Is it possible to run PC C programs on
the SAM? I heard that it was possible, but haven't seen any yet.
Thanks again,
Alan
CA Reply to Alan Groves
If only you'd said that about Lemmings earlier - we could have
printed it on the box! Except it would've cost too much. Hmm.
Anyway, it is certainly possible to convert many C programs from
any machine. The only drawback is that until the disc library
and probably a more advanced graphics library is written, we can
only use the slightly more simple ones - or the complex ones
with just a few changes.
If there is anyone reading who has reasonable C knowledge and
access to the NET, or other PD C programs, get in touch with
Colin Macdonald - I'm sure he'd appreciate someone bringing a
few programs to the SAM.
Letter From Andrew Chandler
Dear Colin Macdonald and Colin "Curry" Anderton,
Again, thanks for putting some more of my things on Fred.
By the way, the BASIC and E-Tracker tips in the main magazine
were written by me from my experience of programming the SAM.
In the last issue, you said that it would be a good idea if
someone could produce a SCADS compiler. If you look back at
issue 29, you will see that Glen Cook has already coded such a
program and a demo of a compiled game appeared under 'SCADS MK
II' on the menu. Whether it was ever released is another
matter!!
Your E-Tunes scroller really stirred me emotionally (?) and
if I hadn't already just renewed my subscription, I would
definitely have done after that. (Only kidding - sorry!)
Just a little message to Marc Broster about his letter from
last issue. [Tch, we don't really like personal mentions. Make
Letter From Andrew Chandler
it quick! - CA] He said that he makes so many mistakes and this
is putting him off. You want to see the amount of misstaakees I
make! I must be the king of silly mistakes, but luckily (or
through evolution) I've got more patience than most to be able t
deal with it.
Cheers again!
Andrew "I Love You All!" Chandler *
*(What was this all about in the magazine, eh Colin?)
P.S. I had a thought the other day. Can't you get a frequent
users discount from the post office because you post so much?
P.P.S. Does the 'C' manual teach you the BASICS or would I have
to buy a "Teach yourself C" book?
P.P.P.S. Can I use my £5 voucher on one of the spectrum classic
discs?
CA Reply To Andrew Chandler
What was all that 'I Love You All!' stuff about? I was just
showing how grateful I was to the programmers, while at the same
time, increasing the SAM bond. There was no actual meaning
behind it, if that's what you mean.
That 'SCADS MK II' was mostly hand compiled - no actual
compiling program was written. I don't know if one was started,
but I have no knowledge of it.
Unfortunately, the Post Office don't do that sort of thing.
Although, they did buy Colin a pint once!
The SAM C manual does teach you the basics, but it is a good
idea to either buy a "Teach Yourself C" book or borrow one from
a library. Or, I'm offering lessons at only £50 an hour.
You can use your vouchers to get money off ANY item on the FRED
price-list. So, yes.
Letter From Darren Martin
q1.Is it possible to scan the ESCape key in a simple BASIC way
to : IF INKEY$= or GET key$:IF key$= ,etc.
q2.Can someone tell me more simply how to create my own pointer
for mouse driver v.2,as the info with the thing isnt too
clear.
Heres an idea for the magazine:a readers forum.An open
invitation to ANYONE to write about ANYTHING.Just 2-3 "pages" on
any subject you wish,it could be the UN presence in Bosnia,the
education system,the price of crisps,anything.Not just SAM
related subjects,because it is possible to get so involved with
one thing that you lose sight of the real world around you.
It is possible that certain subjects may spawn other writers,
eg.angry complaints,argumentative disagreements,etc.If your
ideas could be controversial then anonymity is easily acheived.
How about it,eh?
CA Reply to Darren Martin
There is a POKE which disables the ESCape key which I have
written somewhere. This may then allow you to read it. I'll
look it up in time for next month.
I've never designed a pointer, but anyone else's help on this
subject would be nice.
The idea of an open forum is certainly interesting, although I
expect most of the topics will be SAM related. Could be
interesting though. The ideal place to do this is in Jellytext.
As I've said in the disc contents, there should be a Jellytext
editor on the next issue, and we hope it encourages a response.
How about you start a discussion off, Darren?
Letter From Warren Lee
Dear FRED,
I would like to thank you very much for publishing my
game (INVASION), and for the ten pound voucher. I think that is
a good way of paying for contributions, rather than just some
normal money. After all, it's specifically FRED.
Although I couldn't make it to the Gloucester show, I
enjoyed reading the information from it on disk 58 and it is
good to see the SAM going from strength to strength. Although
it will probably be a while before I can get (ie. afford) many
of the add-ons becoming available now (after all, I've only just
ordered SAMPaint), I believe that these are the things that will
see the SAM comfortably into the next century.
As for games, these are obviously what initially sell
computers. Although the games for SAM at the minute are more
proliferous and better than ever, I think it needs a few more
action orientated games. Admittedly these usually involve
things that are difficult to do because of the speed problem
Letter From Warren Lee
with SAM, however I see no reason why clones of fun (Yet easy to
do) games, such as Target Renegade that don't involve too many
sprites and non-moving backgrounds could not be done, so how
about it SAM programmers?
I just have to mention (even though it has been out for a
while now) how brilliant Lemmings is, if you haven't yet got it,
get it.
If you print my letter in FRED, Thankyou. Keep up the good
work! I always await my issue with baited breath (Readers
everywhere ponder this picture, and ask, 'Why does he put a worm
on his tongue?') (Effort at sad pathetic joke) [Oh dear! - CA]
Warren Lee
P.S. Out of curiosity, I was wondering if you knew whatever
happened to Pitlane, the game by Chris White mentioned in the
last ever issue of Your Sinclair?
CA Reply To Warren Lee
It's us who should be thanking you for Invasion, not the other
way round! So, double thanks with cherries on top. Or
something similar.
Which games are written largely depend on the programmers
choices, as well as the capabilities of the SAM. Who knows what
programmers are thinking about???
For news of what happened to Pitlane, see the interview.
Basically, it probably won't see the light of day.
Thanks for the games, and I look forward to seeing more
masterpieces!
DN PD Reviews
by Dean Nicholas
'The Innocent Collection' - Wayne Coles
The author of Joystick Power (16%(!) in FRED 59) has also
released a PD collection.On the disc is a short 5 screen
slideshow, an adventure tutorial and two games: Goblins Mountain
is a converted Speccy RPG, where you control four blokes as they
wander around trying to complete various quests, and Trident
Adventure, which is a full adventure game written in BASIC.
To be honest, nothing on the disc is anything to get excited
about.Trident is probably the best, even though it is very small
and has a large fault in it. (one of the main objects cannot be
found by reading the text and examining things - I had to break
into the code to complete it!).Goblins Mountain is, put bluntly,
boring.Mind you, for 1.50, this disc could provide some
enjoyment.
Overall - 59%
'The Lyra 3' - ESI
I have never in my life seen the Lyra 2, but it is regarded as
one of the best Speccy demos ever.And here is the latest
version.It contains 6 major parts, each is quite varied but
always revolves around one thing - the scrolly.There are border
scrolls, 3D loop scrolls, bouncing scrolls and even a screen
with 24 scrollers running simultaneously at differing speeds!
All in all, this demo is rather amazing.But possibly the best
thing is the music - each part has a different tune, and they
are all brilliant!One last thing - the last part features some
exceptional artwork, featuring fantasy artwork with extremely
unlikely women wearing (basically) no clothes.Overall, this demo
is rather great, and I advise you to buy it now!
Overall - 84%
'Nature Scenes' - Jack Bailey
Just a quick note for this one - on the disc are pictures,
all on the theme of, yes, would you believe it, nature scenes
that have been cleverly drawn so that they look like they have
been drawn using watercolours.The quality is generally high, and
some of the screens are exceptional.Well worth it if you are a
fan of good art on your SAM.
Overall - 78%
'Turbo - Best of Games and stuff' - various
On the menu, there are a hell of a lot of items, which could
make you think that there was both variety and value for money
in here.Well, you'd be wrong.Most of the 'games' are absolutely
pathetic, and are the type you would look at for about 10
seconds before turning off, never to be loaded again.A few
'highlights' are: Crime Quiz (s**t youself to death after
reading such 'information' as 'there are always strangers around
- be wary of everybody' and 'whenever you are carrying money, be
with someone else in case you are robbed), Super Rally and Super
Rally 2 (crap UDG's and awful 'gameplay') and, of course, the
big one, Hotel (with about 6 million bugs in, and the WORST
piece of music ever written - buy it just to hear the quality of
this!)
Okay, I suppose I should give it some credit - there is a lot of
stuff there, and it is PD.There is one gem in there, and that is
Shanghai.Readers of Your Sinclair will know of this as it was a
rather fab cover game some years ago.It is like Triltex, except
a lot more difficult.Actually, if I were you, I would buy this
just for this game.
Overall - 66%
You can order the Innocent Collection for 1.50 ( 1.25 to ZODIAC
subscribers) from:
ZODIAC PD
[redacted]
cheques to Zodiac Magazine
All of the others are also 1.50, available from:
SAM PD
[redacted]
cheques to SAM PD
DN Review of Marbles Deluxe
reviewed by Dean Nicholas
available for £6 from Atomik Software, 20 Grove Road, Hoylake,
Wirral, Merseyside L47 2DT
Programming and graphics by Steve Pick, music by Lee Willis.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go into a
criminals brain, visiting his brain cells and restructuring them
to make him a nicer guy? Hmm, probably not.However, that is just
the object in this game.You see, you are in control of Marble
Willy, a small, er, GEBO (genetically engineered biological
organism) and you must infiltrate a phsycotic killers brain, and
fix his 50 brain cells simply by collecting all of the coins in
each and escaping through the exit.
So, that is the basic idea, what about how it plays? The first
thing you will notice is the presentation.The graphics are of
incredibly high quality (as you would expect from Steve Pick)
and the main menu features a very irritating little tune.Into
the game itself, then.Before each level, you must pick the
gravity setting you want for that particular level.This dictates
the speed of which Marble Willy falls down the screen, and also
how fast he can move up.On into the game, then.As mentioned
above, the basic idea is to collect a certain amount of coins on
each single - screen level, and escape through the door.However,
on your travels you will encounter Nasty Phsycosis (reduces your
energy if touched), Teleporters (obvious), Lasers (reduce
energy), Arrow Blocks (fire arrows which injure you), Smash
Blocks (look normal, but can be passed through) and One Way
Passages (can only be passed through one way).You can also
collect the mandatory Extra Time and Energy icons as well. While
you are dashing round collecting coins, a lovely little tune
plays in the background, which adds a lot to the atmosphere of
each level.The graphics are quite amazing, with incredibly sweet
animations from Marble Willy himself - especially when he dies,
as hi teeth chatter, then he opens his mouth so wide he kind of
swallows himself! The in game music is very good, and has a
nice, fast pace which adds a lot to the atmosphere.
So I've told you what it's like, what do I really think of it?
There is one rather major problem with it.There are 50 levels,
which may seem quite a lot, until you realise that about 40 of
these are rather easy and can usually be completed on the first
attempt.There are some more difficult ones, but these are few
and far between.I had completed the game within 10 days of
owning it, which is saying something (seeing how crap I am at
other games).Another slight fault with it is the slowness.In the
game it is not so bad, but in all the other menus etc. the
simplest thing, eg saving your own set of levels, seems to take
ages.
I've just realized - I have forgotten to talk about the
Designer.Thats right, you can design your own levels for the
game, or even alter existing ones (as long as you have the
password).This is on the whole nice and user-friendly, but there
are more problems here - like the 50 million (give or take a
dozen) bugs that were in my copy! After searching through the
code for a couple of hours (easy, seeing as the whole game was
written in BASIC) I managed to fix them all.(I also found out a
few cheat modes as well, very interesting...).
So overall - a nicely presented, addictive game with great
music, but let down slightly by the easiness of it and the bugs
in the designer.Mind you, at £6.00, it is a bargain.Get it now.
Playability : 80% *****************
Lastability : 36% * *
Graphics : 91% * Award: *
Sound : 79% * *
* Silver FREDal *
Overall: 88% * *
*****************
GG SAMDISK Issue 16a And 16b Review
Well, after the many sessions of being physically brutalised by
that whipper-snapper of a young upstart (Colin Anderton) I have
at last got round to reviewing Steve "Pickasso" Pick's latest
issue of his wonderous SAMDISK, and slap me silly with a
blacksmith if it isn't a corkstrous issue too!
Why so corkstrous? I'll tell you by golly! It's because this
issue doesn't just come on one disk, oh nonononono! Not one
disk! Not two disks! Actually yes, two disks. And they be two
disks plum-packed to the screaming, bursting seams with delights
not seen this side of the M25 motorway on a cold winter's eve.
(SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP)
Sorry. Um, right, I think I'll review the two disks as two
seperate entities, joined by a common fatherly bondage (no
sniggering Simpkins!). So, disk "A"...
Disk "A", much like our beloved FRED starts off with an
Editorial, which as we all know is for the egotistical Editor to
wibble on about nothing in (Yup, still talking about FRED here).
In SAMDISK's case it's not only a wibbling zone, but also a
useful source of info about the disk and a big reminder of what
Steve feels are the best things available on the SAM and
therefore (ergo) what is worth buying.
After that we go onto the News section, which although by it's
very nature on the SAM is always about a month out of date,
never-the-less is a rivetting read that covers topics such as
the QUASAR, the SAMDAC, SAMSPRITE, the KAPSA GAMES, SAM C,
SOPHISTRY, TNT and so many more including the debates about
Euthanasia (nope, only kidding. But I have a bee in my bonnet
about that subject at the moment. I personally think that if the
relatives of the elderly person stand to inherit a lot of cash
from the passing-on of the aforementioned OAP, then it should be
mandatory and should not require any consent from the affected
party (the legal term, not the big dancey things)).
Next follows the invaluable Contacts section. Unlike the normal
magazines I read this provides the addresses of useful SAM bods
and companies. From my own experience I was expecting the phone
number of several dodgy escort (not the car) agencies. Damn.
And now onto the review section, which looks a tad yummy to be
perfectly frank (or Francine, I'm not sexist). It opens with a
lovely picture showing miniature screenshots of the reviewed
product, and this is where you choose what to read. After
reading the review a rather YS-ish scoring screen appears with a
nice comment like "Graham Goring is SUPERB" on it.
PD House is a large collection of PD reviews. It is not the
home of noted author, P.D.James. Understand?
The MAD Bitty? Pardon? Avec vous une cucumber? Sorry, but I
seem to remember a similarly titled section upon some of those
classic (RE: A bit pooey in general) FREDS. But this section
concentrates on the previous years astrological predictions, the
Lottery (and what a big swindle it actually is) and the SAM
scene in '94. Mmm... Creamy and uncommonly good.
Wey-hey! What magazine would be complete without a Show Report?
This one details the complete antics of Steve Pick on that day
and is one of the many sections to mention ME in it. Sadly he
ommitted the words "is my hero" after my name. Curses!
Sneeky Peek has piccies from Amalthea 2 - The New Breed and
Grubbing For Gold in it, and as usual they're done by Steve
himself, and as usual they're superb. And as usual this causes
high blood pressure in my temples and I start to see red and
plot the inevitable demise of Steve Pick. One good plan I had
was to take him on holiday to a middle eastern country and then
frame him for theft. And in their humorous way the local justice
department would lop off his hands, thus seriously degrading his
chances of finishing a SAM screen off without first bleeding all
over his SAM and short-circuiting it. Hmmm... Maniacal laughter?
Ok then. Wahahahahahahahahahaha!
SAM Paint 2 is a help, advice and comment column about our
friend SAM Paint. Basically it covers everything and is rather
fabby. I won't go into details. Why? BECAUSE I SAY SO, DAMMIT!
Filer '95. This is a filing program and database (I think)
which requires MasterDOS to run. I didn't have a handy copy of
MasterDOS so I didn't actually see it. And I think that's a darn
handy way to end this paragraph early (except to say that it was
written by Lee Willis and is probably quite fabuloso.).
Progress Report is Steve's chance to tell us how his and other
people's SAM projects are going. With his own they are on a
day-by-day basis (sort of...), and for this reason are a bit
like the Diary Of Mr Bean. Oh, minus the completely ludicrous
situations etc...
Tic Tech is a techy column that on this issue talks about Games
Master. In particular the game which Steve wrote on it called
"Shrapnel 2" (on SAMDISK 16b), it's a lengthy and detailed
account of it's programming and it also discusses the collapse
of communist Russia (Damn! There I go again...).
Catalogue, oddly enough Steve saw fit to give away a free Kay's
catalogue with every issue of SAMDISK sold. Ack! Believe that
and you'll believe that I change my socks! It's really a big
section concerning the various goods and services (SIMPKINS!)
available from Atomik Software (Picky's company).
The next section is a big crossword for all of those who like
them (me included). The clues are less than cryptic (unlike
mine) but it will require the use of your noggin to solve this
puzzle. A few tiny complaints would be that sometimes it brands
your answer as wrong when you know it's right, some of the
answers overlap oddly and that the font is about as readable to
the naked eye as that bible they atomically engraved upon the
head of a pin. Otherwise, lovely.
Adverts, always a joy when they are all drawn by the talented
Steve Pick. Though I have the feeling that odd subconcious
messages have been implanted in them to fool the unwary mind
into buying shares in National Sewage Foods Inc...
And finally for the first disk (Phew!) is the Next Month bit.
It's really and truly just like the next month bits on Due South
only decidedly lacking in the Mounty division. Oh, and it
details exciting news of how SAMDISK is going to transmute into
something quite unique in December. Wooooh!
And now we move on with weary fingers to disk "B"...
Which starts with another Editorial, detailing THIS disks
contents etc...
Followed rapidly by SAM Paint, an expansion on the article on
the previous disk. This time it covers the production of the
Amalthea loading screen step-by-step (but it has to be said that
the last step would be better described as "a sodding big jump")
and it includes some fonts, screens that look funky when the
palette is cycled and replacement screens for those on SAM Paint
itself (eg, the loading picture and the option screen).
Next up is forty or so pages of Manga reviews. Prefering my
cartoons to be of the "Mouse dynamites Cat's head into oblivion"
variety I didn't read this too closely. But it does seem to be
very thorough and covers a lot of videos.
Investigation is a sort of look back at how nasty New Computer
Express was to the SAM Coupe. I somehow think this section
should have been titled "Look Back In Anger", if only because
it's the name of a film they showed on TV recently. Anyway it
explains in clear terms that the only redeeming feature of New
Computer Express was that you could blow your nose on it.
Shrapnel 2 is a capably written Games Master shoot 'em up with
nice graphics. Um, the only problem is that Steve has loaded too
much onto poor old GM's back and as a result the game can slow
down at the end of level baddy stages to a pace that a tortoise
would sneer at. Having said that, it's fun and has multiple
weapons a-plenty. Oh, and nice scrunchy explosions.
Encyclopaedia is a demo of the forth-coming SAM Coupe
encyclopaedia, which covers every SAM subject under the sun.
This version has many features crippled and only shows the
entries from A to C. Be prepared to wrestle with the program in
it's crippled state to get anywhere, once you get the hang of it
though, it's pretty brill.
Movie Demo is a beautifully cinematic graphical sequence
that'll not only blow your socks off, but wash and iron them and
then fold them into those nice little balls before arranging
them according to spectral density in your top drawer. It's a
lovely, moody demo that's quite short, but will stand up to more
repeated viewings than a lifetime guaranteed Scotch video tape.
Marbles Deluxe Editor, quite simply this is a level editor for
Steven Picks first arcade/puzzle game "Marbles Deluxe". So you
can now edit levels until your heart bursts all over the telly.
Of course, you'll need the game to be able to test them though.
A nice feature is that it contains all the original levels in
the editor, so you can peruse what awaits you in your quest
ahead...
Awards! Ah... all the thrill and special effects of the oscars
squeezed into a text editor. Now you can learn the complete
listings and percentages of the categories such as Best SAM
Game, Worst SAM Hardware and Most Destructive Example Of
Tectonic Plate Disturbance In The Last Twenty Years. Joy!
Then The End Bit, a sad farewell to the old way of SAMDISK and
a hearty thanks to all those who helped it. A warm embrace of
the new and individual style that SAMDISK will embody this
coming December.
Then we end on a 5 level demo of a PACMAN game starring Freddy
Frog. The character with more spin-offs than those cheap
Japanese cartoons they show on saturday mornings.
And that's it. Bit of a massive review, but a bit of a massive
double disk issue really.
Some people may find it too texty for them, but I say "Bah!" to
those people as there's more than a fair share of plonky bits
here as well. Definatley worth the asking price, which should be
3 pounds, a very reasonable charge.
And when you've read it all through, and played it to death,
and seen the demos time and time again, you can always go back
and enjoy the unintentional game of "Spot how many different
release dates for SAMDISK 17 you can find". I got 3. And I
wasn't even looking.
Ratings, addresses and all that bumf over the page, folks!
Graphics - Stunning, pushing the SAM to it's limits. 97%
Sound - Nice Lee Willis tunes on the menus. 85%
Presentation - Consistently slick and original. 89%
Lastability - The game and demos ensure you'll come back. 84%
Overall - Unique. An essential purchase. 91%
****************
* *
* GOLD FREDAL! *
* *
****************
SAMDISK 16a and 16b are available from:
Atomik Software,
[redacted]
CA Review of SAM Sprite
Phoenix Software Systems : £5.50 : Wayne Coles
After giving Wayne's first game, Joystick Power such a pitiful
(but truthful!) mark last month, Wayne immediately entrusted me
to review his next piece of software (strange lad).
SAM Sprite is a Sprite designer/animator, designed to make that
annoying task much easier and enjoyable. Either mouse or
keyboard can be used, and a check is done at the start, just to
make it that little bit more user friendly.
You can edit either 8 by 8 or 16 by 16 sprites or backgrounds.
These are selected from a large selection of boxes which display
the sprites. When the box is selected, you get a full screen
with zoomed in sprite, control panel, palette and actual size
sprite. The control panel inclues every feature that Wayne and
friends could think of (eg invert, mirror, scroll, fill, etc..)
It also has a fade/bright so you can slightly alter the shades
of your colour - very very handy.
There are also four preset palettes, which you can change for
your own preference. There is also a very comprehensive load
and save section which allows exporting and importing of various
types of files (including Games Master). My version insisted
there was no disc in the drive, but it is an early version and
that should be fixed by now.
The layout of SAM Sprite looks very much like the designer in
SCADS - a smooth, WIMP environment with push-button options.
Wayne insists he's never used SCADS, despite the incredibly
similar palette defining screen!
Above all it is a very user friendly sprite program, and at an
affordable price. On the negative side, it can only be aimed at
those who wish to try animating, are writing a game or can't
stand the graphics system on Gamesmaster. Also, there are only
two sizes of graphic, but Wayne says that future versions and
upgrades will feature other sizes (and will be free or at little
cost to existing users).
My only problem now is deciding what to mark it on!
MARKS
Usefulness (how often it can be used) : 56% *****************
User Friendlyness : 89% * *
Lastability (!) : 75% * AWARD: *
Comprehensiveness : 86% * BRONZE FREDAL *
* *
OVERALL : 75% *****************
Comment : Excellent for it's purpose, but limited uses.
Available from : Phoenix Orders,
[redacted]
Cheques to Dave
Ledbury