Fred 40

Issue 40

Magazine

BM                         Editorial

Merry  Christmas readers! Yet another festive season is now upon
us,  and  the  SAM is not only still going strong but is getting
even  stronger  with the release of Lemmings and SAMPaint - have
you bought your copy yet?

This  Christmas  should  prove very interesting for the world of
computers  in  general,  with the CD32 and the Mega CD vying for
top  spot  in the CD games market. The CD32 wipes the floor with
the  Mega CD and should in theory do a lot better, but hey, this
is  SEGA  we're  talking  about,  and  we all know what their ad
campaigns  are  like (pretty damn good, basically). According to
some  rumours I heard, Atari released their 64-BIT Jaguar at the
end  of November, but I haven't heard much about it... The thing
I can't understand is what is the point in having a 64-BIT games
machine? CD32 games are going to be pretty incredible and that's
only  (ha!)  32 bits. 64 BITS is by no means futile in the world
of  "real"  computers,  but  for  a  games thing? Waste o' time.
Whatever,  Christmas is going to be make-or-break for Commodore,
whose future really depends on the 1200 and CD32 selling loads.
BM                         Editorial

Back  in  the world of SAM though, remember that we may not have
32  bits  to  play with, and CD drives are not exactly imminent,
but  do  Amiga  or Megadrive owners have FRED to look forward to
each month? I think not.

We  are  going to try to get this issue to you before Christmas,
but  the  distributors  warned  us that there'd probably be some
delays  due  to  the  rush  to  get software in the shops before
Christmas. Unfortunately, an Amiga software house getting 50,000
discs  run  off  takes  priority  over a small SAM disc magazine
getting  about  12  done.  So,  apologies  if this arrives after
Chrimbo, but we tried.

Nothing  else  for  me  to say except the obvious - have a great
Christmas, and we'll see you in 1994!




CM                        Show Report

Ahem,  I  did  promise  last  month  to  do a full report of the
FORMAT's  Gloucester  Show (13/11/93). I was planning on writing
it while the events were still fresh in my memory. So when Brian
phoned   this afternoon to ask whether I'd done it I had a heart
attack,  and  on  top  of  a hangover that's not very advisable.
Thank you very much Mr Editor.

Sadly,  the  train  times  (and  prices) down to Gloucester from
Dundee  were  not workable so good ol' Colin commits to spending
10 hours each way in a bus.

Arrive  Birmingham  at  7am. Aaaggghhh! It's cold, wet, dark and
I've  only  had  two  hours  sleep. A pleasant (!) few hours are
spent sitting in the station whilst the trains are delayed and I
pay close on a pound a time for a cup of coffee.

NOW do you see why I rarely cover costs at these shows?

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I got to the show at 10am.
CM                        Show Report

For the first hour or two, the show wasn't that busy, but by the
time  lunch  came around I was rushed off my feet! People had to
queue  for  up  to  15 minutes at peak time just to buy from the
FRED stand!

By way of SAM representation, most people had stands :

Adrian and Mark from Blue Alpha
Revelation Software                FORMAT (obviously!)
Hilton Compter Services            Andy Wright from BetaSoft
Derek Morgan's PD service          SAM Supplement
SAM Prime                          Flexibase

There was also a "bring and buy" stall which did remarkably well
I'm  told  and  a few other companies that were selling Spectrum
stuff.

Two  products  made  their  debut  at  the  show  :  Driver from
Revelation and the "Two-Up" from West Coast.
CM                        Show Report

I'm  probably  going  to  regret this because there will be some
people  I've forgotten out, but I'll try to remember most of the
people whose name's you'd recognize were there :

Bruce Gordon           Neil Holmes             Simon Cooke
Simon Goodwin          Steven Pick             Marc Broster
Ian "AXE" Slavin       Dave "SCAC" Whitmore    Derek Morgan
Bob Brenchley          Adrian Parker           Mark Hall
Steve "Driver" Taylor  Jack "Hilton" Gibbons   Jupiter Software
Carol Brooksbank       Jenny "FORMAT" Bundock and family

Every  single  person  I spoke to about the show was overwhelmed
with  it's  success  and  was  looking forward to the next time.
Amazingly,  this  went for the organizers, stand holders AND the
visitors - a rare occurance!

All  I  can  say  is that FRED will undoubtedly be attending the
next  one (hopefully dragging Brian down as well!) so we'll keep
you posted on all the details.
CM                      Software Report

As  I  write,  the first pre-release copies of SAMPaint are just
about  to  go out. The response to last month's news of Lemmings
and  SAMPaint  has  been  great,  it's  wonderful to see so many
people  still  care  enough  about  the future of SAM to buy the
licensed  software.  If  sales keep up, it shouldn't be too long
before we start talking about the next big licence!!

Unfortunately, we still can't give a guaranteed release date for
Lemmings.  Any orders received before Christmas will be sent the
latest  version  in  time  for  Christmas  with  the  final copy
following soon after.

We've  included  some  SAMPaint screens on this issue to let you
see  some  of  the  hundreds  of features it has. A full list of
features   is  available  on  request  (or see FRED39). Although
neither  Lemmings  nor  SAMPaint need the mouse, it does improve
them  drastically  so they can be purchased with one for £55 and
£60   respectively   regardless   of  whether  you  are  a  FRED
subscriber or not.
              Networking Article by Malcolm Perry

Has  anyone  tried using or doing anything with the SAM network?
My experiences linking two SAMs may be of interest:

Firstly  the  connecting  lead. The handbook (p171) shows a lead
that  has pins 1&6, 3&7 joined at one end but only pins 6&7 used
at  the  other.  This single lead will give data transfer in one
direction only.

A  clue! P108 vaguely shows the SAMs connected in a closed loop,
use  a second lead and providing they're connected the right way
round  so that each SAM has an end that has the pins linked then
two way transfer is possible.

We  can  now  use  LOAD/SAVE  "n:XXXX"  to transfer Basic, Code,
Screens etc between the computers.

Incidentally,  the data leaves the SAM via pins 6&7 and receives
via pins 1&3. I have not worked out the implications of the same
SAM having data fed back into itself by the linking of pins 3&7.
              Networking Article by Malcolm Perry

Unfortunately,  a  lot  of  programs seemed to lock up when both
leads  were  connected.  I  found that many routines trigger the
Network  output  and  leave  it  high. It seems that if pin 3 is
taken  high then the keyboard is locked out, no doubt to prevent
data  corruption  during  network  use.  However,  as  pin  3 is
connected  to  pin  7  then when the programs drive an output on
network  and  leave  it  there  things  come  to  a halt and the
computer is locked up.

Investigating  Outwrite  I  found  that it is the MC menu option
routine  that  triggers the network. So selecting option "O" and
returning  to  BASIC  the  network  is  held  high and unuseable
together  with  the  keyboard locked up. Many other menu options
also do the same.

However  the  BASIC  command  MODE  resets the Network output to
zero.  The Network can now be used normally. Therefore using the
MODE  command  in  your Network programs frequently should solve
this problem.
              Networking Article by Malcolm Perry

It  was  not at first obvious to me that Network and Midi are in
fact  one  and  the  same as far as the computer is concerned in
sending  and  receiving data. Using different pins on connectors
only  gives  different  levels of signal to suit use. The actual
form of data is decided by the software/ROM/DOS routines to suit
use. However input is via the same input circuit and seems to go
to same input in ASIC. Likewise output is from the same point in
the ASIC and just goes via different coupling cicuits to Network
or Midi.

So the info in the ATM P3 as to ports is valid for networks.

The following test routines will generate a value in one SAM and
display it on the second.

SAM 1 :    10 FOR x=0 TO 255: OUT 253,x: NEXT x: GOTO 10

SAM 2 :    10 LET A=IN 253: PRINT AT 0,0;A: IF A=255 THEN CLS
           20 GOTO 10
              Networking Article by Malcolm Perry

Not very exciting, but at least it's a start!

I  am  still  trying to find out if the network as such has been
included  as stated in the handbook where it refers to Channel 0
and  1 to 15 as stations, how "device n5 uses network station 5"
and  so on relate and how to define which station it is supposed
to be.

I  have  in  fact found that it is more reliable to use a 2 core
plus  screen  cable  for  two machines where pins 1&6 connect to
screen  at each end but then each core connects to only pin 3 at
one  end  and  to  pin  7  at the other end. This means that the
machine does not lock out it's keyboard when pin 7 goes high and
most times the system can be freed.
----------

Since  writing  the last letter I think I have found the problem
in  Outwrite  when  I  said  the network output was being driven
during certain programs and menu selections.
              Networking Article by Malcolm Perry

In  Outwrite  it  is  PORT  252.  Bit  7  of  252  is  used  for
MIDI/Network.

This port as example in MODE 3 can hold 222 ie PRINT OUT 252

         IN 252,222  Drives network O/P high and leaves it there
     IN 252,222-128     "     "      "  low   "     "    "   "

However an IN with bit 7 set to zero is not permanent as if the
network output is off then it sets bit 7 back high it seems.

My conclusion is that OUT 252 to avoid triggering network should
be  bit  7 to zero even if the vale is obtained from the port in
the first place.

ie.
     IN a,(252)
     Set bit 7 to zero (whether high or low)
     OUT (252),a
CM                       Network Reply

When  at  SAMCo last Summer, Adrian, Charles and myself did some
experimenting  and  besides  having  fun we did actually produce
some interesting results!

Yes,  there does seem to be a problem with two SAM's in a closed
loop  but  we  didn't  investigate as far as Malcolm as done. We
successfully  "daisy-chained"  four  SAMs together with each one
being a different station number.

We wrote a message sending program which allowed one SAM to have
control  of the network. It could send a message to one specific
machine, to all of them at once, or it could pass the control to
another   machine.  If I remember correctly, this program worked
on the network side of things as opposed to MIDI ie the messages
were  loaded  / saved as code files between machines. Although I
don't  have  a  copy of this program, it is believed to be lying
deep in Adrian's collection of discs so I'll try and get hold of
it for a future issue.

CM                       Network Reply

When  at  SAMCo,  myself  and  Adrian  enjoyed  playing computer
Othello.  So  when  the  network was experimented with the first
thing  we did was create a networked version of Adrian's Othello
program that was published in FORMAT some years ago. Because all
that  needed  to  be  transmitted was the new position ie "C4" I
think  it  was  sent  by MIDI ie simply using IN and OUT on port
253.  Again,  I'll  try  and  get  hold  of the program sometime
because  although  it  was  nothing  exceptional, it was nice to
experiment.

Thanks  for your research Malcolm, if anyone else has experience
in SAM networking I'd love to hear about it.


Colin Macdonald




            FROM SQUINT TO SKINT!: buying a new VDU
            ------------ by Matt Round ------------

For  some  time I'd used a trusty old 14" colour portable TV for
computing, firstly with a Spectrum and then SAM. It had a fairly
clear  picture  &  good  sound,  and was fine for most things...
except  for  SAM's  mode 3! The text was readable, but I found I
was  getting eyestrain from the blurring and distortion. Indeed,
even  mode  4 wasn't much fun when doing graphics, so I felt I'd
reached the point where the discomfort had to stop!

I had two main options: a monitor, or a TV with a monitor socket
of  some  sort  (almost  certainly  a  SCART/Peritel  connection
nowadays, as this is firmly established as a standard).

Why a special monitor socket rather than just a better TV? Well,
in  order  for  the  aerial  cable  to  carry  all the different
channels  at  once,  the  signals  are  modulated and carried at
different  frequencies,  which  is  why  you  have  to  tune the
television.

This  process  (and  the reverse process which separates out one
signal)  inevitably  causes distortion and limits the clarity of
the  picture,  so no matter how good the TV is it will always be
restricted. A SCART input bypasses this system and takes a 'raw'
video  signal,  usually  either  as  'composite video' (which is
simply  the  same signal as it'd extract from an aerial lead but
of  better quality due to bypassing the modulation) or as 'RGB',
where the red, green and blue signals are carried along separate
wires.  RGB  is  a 'purer' signal, but either is better than the
standard aerial input.

So  what  are  the pros and cons for a monitor? You're virtually
guaranteed a sharp picture, and the main contenders offer stereo
sound,  but  the  colour balance may be very different from what
you're used to and if you also want to watch TV then you'll have
to have two things cluttering up your space.

And  for  a TV? Obviously, you can watch 'Neighbours' (hmm... is
that  a pro or a con?) or whatever on it, and the colour is more
likely to be the same as that which most people see on their SAM
(quite  important  if  you're designing things to be published).
But,  it's  likely to have a less sharp picture and stereo sound
would be expensive.

Having  dithered  for  months, and after looking through lots of
magazines and shop windows, I got down to a shortlist...

Monitors:
* Philips CM8833 Mk2, nice design, stereo sound, sharp picture,
around £180 mail order or £200 in shops.

* Commodore 1084S, a rebadged Philips Mk1, so it's similar but
slightly inferior, generally £10-or-so cheaper.

Apparently you can also somehow connect up a colour monitor from
an old Amstrad CPC, but I don't know for certain.

TVs:
Most  manufacturers  now  make  televisions  with  SCART/Peritel
sockets, but many restrict it to their expensive models (£300+).
Of  the  cheaper  ones (under £200).

In  my  High  St. I could only order a couple of models and wait
for  them  to  arrive  (Ferguson  and  someone else, each around
£180),  or  go for a Sony KVM1400U for £200 (minus the usual 5p,
of course).

The  Sony  is  a  14"  Black Trinitron set, with remote control,
on-screen  display,  good  sound  (but  not stereo), and a SCART
socket.  Trinitron  is  a  special kind of picture tube which is
flat  vertically  (i.e.  the  screen  is a section of a cylinder
rather  than  a  sphere)  and  has  much better contrast than an
ordinary  tube.  Also, on this set black really is dark, not the
medium-grey  you  get  on normal sets; turn off a TV and look at
the  screen  -  that's your deepest black. I've had trouble with
other  SCART  TVs  in  the past (the brightness control wouldn't
work  with  the SCART input, the colour was terrible, I couldn't
leave  the  aerial connected and switch between the two at will,
etc.)  but  was assured I'd have no such problems with the Sony.
The Dixons assistant said I could bring it back within a week if
I  didn't like it, so I handed over my £199.95 and wandered home
with a heavy cardboard box...

What  do  I  think of it? I'm a perfectionist (=fusspot!), but I
can't  really  fault  it.  The  remote  control  is  a  bit of a
monstrosity,  but that's because it's designed to also control a
video recorder & Teletext (which is an option for £40 more), and
the buttons you need most are well-positioned. The styling of it
is lovely, and the television picture is great, as is the sound.
Connected  to  the  SAM using the standard SAM-to-SCART lead the
picture  is  wonderful,  with  just  slight imperfections (where
there's   black   on   white,  for  example,  there's  sometimes
noticeable  'shadowing', but I can live with that). Even in mode
3  individual  pixels are clearly distinguishable (which takes a
bit  of  getting  used to!), and the colour is strong yet nicely
balanced.  I  haven't had eyestrain with it, and it's enabled me
to do far more programming.

Overall,  I'm  very  happy  with  what  I got for my money. If I
didn't  want  to  watch  television I'd have gone for the stereo
Philips  (everyone  I know who's got one loves it), but as it is
I'll settle for being seduced by a stylish Sony...

                                Matt Round -- Malevolent -- '93.
BM                       Disc Contents

Thanks  for  that  Matt.  I'm actually thinking of getting a new
monitor  (or telly) myself, as I myself am getting really miffed
with the quite ludicrous "shadowing" that my current telly gives
me.  Christmas  for me is either a new monitor or an accelerator
for my Amiga. Or lots of beer. I can't decide.

But  without  further  ado,  here are the contents of our lovely
Christmas issue:

PRISONER  is  a  megademo,  BUT! it ain't a Spectrum conversion!
Shock!  Horror!  This was done by the Doogle, Neil MacLean. It's
been  sitting in the FRED disc box for ages, unnoticed and hence
unused,  and  only  now  is  its full  glory unleashed upon FRED
readers. Press SPACE to move between sections.

GO  is a shareware game by Guy Inchbald. It's a strategy game in
the  way  that  chess is a stragety game, and needs two players.
Full instructions upon loading.

BM                       Disc Contents

VECTOR  by  RJV  is another of those wire-frame animations which
went  down  so  well last time. This one features a formation of
ships flying through space.

SAMPAINT.  You  know  that  excellent new art package we've been
publicising like there's no tomorrow? Well, now's your chance to
get  a  wee  look  at it. This isn't a rolling demo or anything;
unfortunately  we're limited to just a couple of screens showing
off  some of its features. We think you'll be suitably impressed
even  by  these, though. There are a lot of screens, so we'll be
putting  half on this month (if there's enough room for 'em all)
and another lot on in issue 41.

E-TUNES  is  back again, with tunes by John Hutchings and one by
Roger Hartley. Don't load it up expecting to find a huge, witty,
well  written,  punchy  scroller,  because I didn't have time to
write  one.  You  can just pretend, or something, or read a good
book  to  the  music.  Or  just sit and vegetate in front of the
screen. I don't mind which.Just make sure you LISTEN!
BM                       Disc Contents

ADVENTURER  is  one  of  those  very  "special"  items  we  only
occasionally  manage  to  get  for  FRED.  It  is,  in  fact, an
adventure  game  creator,  and  as  such  allows  you to produce
complete  adventure  games  with  which you can "stun and amaze"
your friends! This was written by Cameron Patterson, who is also
planning  to  release  an  even  more  powerful  version of this
creator. Keep your eyes peeled for more details in a later FRED,
adventure fans. Instructions are provided.

DISHCLOTH.  I  don't  know  why it's called Dishcloth, but never
mind. This is the first of Matt Round's contributions this issue
and  is for mouse owners only, I'm afraid. It allows you to plot
3D  graphs of mathematical functions, but isn't nearly as stuffy
and dull as that description might suggest. See the example pics
for  inspiration and then jump right in! Examples of some of the
more  spectacular  graphs  are  provided,  so let them guide you
initially.  Again,  help  is available on-line (that seems quite
standard  practice,  these  days  - and thank God for it! Cheers
programmers!).
BM                       Disc Contents

Matt  Round's  other  contribution  is SANTA GOES PSYCHO, a game
which certainly doesn't fail to capture the true tranquility and
spiritual  purity which Christmas is all about. Santa Claus, you
see,  is  a  bit  peeved  at  his  never-ending chore of present
delivering  and  has frankly gone off his nut. Joystick or QAOPM
control  the bearded assassin as he tries to terminate flocks of
warlik  birdies,  snowballs  lobbed up from below, and even some
nasty  visiting  martians!  This  is undoubtedly one of the best
shoot-em-ups   on  the  SAM,  and  shows  exactly  how  powerful
Gamesmaster  is when used by a true master of games. I can quite
confidently  predict  a rocket in Gamesmaster sales after people
see this game.

SESAME - Written by Cameron Patterson and D Noble, this is short
for  Nightmare  on Sesame Street, a great example of what can be
done  using  the Adventurer (Item H this issue, for those of you
who  are  information-retentionly-challenged). Explore and enjoy
it for yourselves.

BM                       Disc Contents

ADVERTS is its same old self.

BANZAI  is  a  couple  of  programs from Dan Doore, the old FRED
champion  of  the  people.  Solitaire  is another mouse program,
although it is possible to use keys on this one. The old story -
leave  the  board  with  just the one peg at the end. The second
program is yet another E-Tune player, which will appeal to those
of  you  who  like  to  get all your tunes on the one disc. Menu
driven for  your convenience.

And  that's our Christmas FRED folks. A couple of games, a demo,
a  couple  of  utilities,  some  music,  some screens (by Andrew
Hodgkinson  -  I've  remembered this month!) and of course  this
texty bit. What more could you want over the festive period?

Finally,  apologies  to  all  of  you  who  wanted  to meet this
spritely young lad at the Gloucester show. Wm Low simply refused
to  give  me  the weekend off. After hearing about it though I'm
determined to be at the next one - roll on February! Byeeee!
BM                          Credits

Editor - Brian "penniless student" McConnell

Thanks and extra helpings of Chrissy Pud to:

Neil MacLean                  Roger Hartley
Steve Pick                    John Hutchings
Guy Inchbald                  Matt Round (new rival with Stefan
RJV                                       to take over FRED??)
Andrew Collier                D Noble
Cameron Patterson             Banzai
Andrew Hodgkinson

FRED Publishing     Phone: (not at 8am, 1st Jan) [redacted]
[redacted]

                                    >>> Music as usual >>>



BM                       Music Section

I've  been  meaning to get the new Lemonheads and Pearl Jam CDs,
but  you know what student incomes are like. Not e-sodding-nuff.
And  now  we're to get 10% less. Cheers Govt., much appreciated.
At least we don't have to put any VAT on FRED.

But enough whinging, onto the music.

                      Nirvana - In Utero
              Revolting Cocks - Linger Fickin' Good


A distinctly indi-ustrial (ho ho!) flavour to this month's music
secion.  Is  it as good as Nevermind? That's the question you're
all  desperate  to  find the answer to, so turn the page to find
out...




BM                     Nirvana - In Utero

Months  before this was released the press speculation was huge.
Would  it  be  unlistenably  rough?  Or  would the band sell out
completely?  Most  people,  quite  correctly,  predicted that it
would be much less commercial.

First  track  is  "Serve  The Servants" and like the rest of the
tracks  on the CD, your guess is as good as mine as to what it's
about.  Quite  good,  with  a  simple  tune to it. The next one,
"Scentless  Apprentice"  is a bit crap. It is a bit too tuneless
and rough to enjoy.

"Heart  Shaped  Box",  the  single,  is the best on the CD. It's
great. Following that is "Rape Me" which could be construed as a
bit  controversial.  This is Nirvana though, and I doubt they're
too   bothered   about   causing   public  moral  outrage.  This
manipulates  the  opening  guitar  bit  on "...Teen Spirit" from
Nevermind.  Lesser  bands would be accused of lack of ideas, but
since this is, after all, Nirvana, it's an artistic look back at
the naivety and relative innocence of Nevermind, etc etc. Yawn.
BM                     Nirvana - In Utero

Poor  excuse.  I could go on detailing every track, but I won't.
I'll  just  say  that  this  album  is  a  disappointment. After
Nevermind,  it  was  a  very hard act to follow, and they've not
managed  to  pull  it off. This does have some good music on it,
but  it's  few  and far between. Nirvana are trying a little too
hard  to become respectably hard core again, but while it may be
infinitely cool to do so, it's not so nice to listen to.

To  be honest, I think Nirvana have had their finest moments and
this could be the start of the downward slide.

6 out of 10.







BM            Revolting Cocks - Linger Ficken Good

The  Revolting  Cocks  (get  your titters and giggles out of the
way  now, please) are Al Jourgensen's "other" band, the main one
being Ministry.

The  Cocks'  style is, I suppose, "industrial" in that it sounds
very  modern,  intense,  somehow mechanical, and pretty heavy in
places. The sort of music you can get completely lost in after a
few beers, and happily dance away to. That's how it comes across
to me, anyway.

Combining  the  strong, repetitive baselines of dance music with
Faith No More-like punchy guitars, this is good music. Add in Mr
Jourgenson's  intense,  angry,  screaming  vocals  (Cobain is no
match for this man) and what you get is an excellent album.

Joining  the  ranks of GNR's "Live and Let Die" and "My Girl" by
the  Mary  Chain  is "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" - yes, Rod Stewart's
one.  And  suprisingly,  it's  excellent!  They played it at the
local indie place last weekend and oh, 'twas brill!
BM            Revolting Cocks - Linger Ficken Good

The  other   tracks  worth  special attention are Creep, because
it's   superb,  and the title track because it is WEIRD. For the
most  part  it consists of a jazz riff (quite a cool little chap
as  well) with the most anarchic spoken accompaniment I've heard
in  a  long  time.  It ends with a couple of young girls singing
"It's a RevCo world..." for about a minute. Strange!

I can recommend this album. 8 out of 10.




No  wrestling  or comix this month. Bummer huh? Come on Bunj and
Daz H - get writing! Your public needs ya!




Me go bye-bye.

Letters & Reviews

                Letter from Robert van der Veeke

For those at FRED,

Hello again! Thanks for placing my pictures in FRED #38, but one
thing  -  WHERE WAS MY NAME IN FRED 38? Alright I'll be calm now
(I  don't need that nice white jacket with those  funny sleeves
on it!).

The real reason I am writing this letter is because I am now the
proud  owner  of  an Amiga 2000  which  I bought second hand for
the amazingly low price of £75. It has a hard disc, 1 meg memory
and a second 3.5" disc drive. See what I mean by amazingly low?

A few issues ago one of you mentioned a program to convert Amiga
screens  to  SAM format, so my question is how can I get hold of
that nice program?

Why? It's quite simple: Flash! is a nice program, but it's a bit
hard  to  use. On the Amiga there are lots of art packages which
are much better than Flash. See my point...?
BM               Reply to Robert van der Veeke

I  really  must  apologise,  not only to Robert but to everybody
whose  screens  have been used in FRED but to whom no credit has
been  given.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  I write the main
magazine  before  compiling  the  screens  so  that  I  know I'm
actually  going  to have enough room for the magazine. Only once
this  has  been  written  and compressed do I know how much disc
space  is  going to be available to put the screens on, and so I
can't  give  credits  in  the  main magazine. Okay, yes, maybe I
could  go back and re-edit and re-compile the main magazine once
I've  done this, but it's usually such a relief to have finished
another issue that this task takes on the appeal of a 12000 word
essay on Russian politics.

From  now  on, I think it might be best if I gave credits in the
actual  screen  section.  Once  again, sorry to all our artists!
There  is  a  secondary  reason  for  not  giving credits: often
screens  are  either digitised or sent in by somebody other than
the  original artist (I know that Robert's stuff was all his own
original work, but this is not the case with all screens).
BM               Reply to Robert van der Veeke

The Amiga Screen convertor is going nowhere fast, unfortunately.
I know how useful this would prove to many people.

All is not lost though - you can of course buy SAMPaint! This is
not  only  comparable  with  DPaint  in  terms  of  features and
options,  it's  also only about a quarter of the price. It makes
Flash!  look  as  appealing  as  the  PLOT  command in BASIC for
producing screens and graphics, and is basically just an amazing
art package.

By  the  Robert, if you could send us that report of the show in
Holland, we'd really appreciate it.

                                                         - BRIAN





                    Letter from Wayne Coles

Dear Colin or Brian,

I  was  extremely  pleased  to  find  a  review of my first game
(Trident  Adventure)  on  issue  39 of FRED magazine, written by
Bunj Wobl. Some nice things were said about it but in the end it
received  only  4/10.  The  reviewer  said  it  would  have been
reviewed more favourably if it was only half the price.

So,  never  let  it  be  said that I don't listen to critics. If
anyone orders it and mentions FRED  in their letter they can buy
it  for  only  £2.00  including  p+p  -  that's  half price! I'd
appreciate  it  if  you  could mention this in an issue of FRED.
Cheques/P.O.s payable to Wayne Coles, letters addressed to:

[redacted]
                  Letter from Douglas Murdoch

Dear Brian and Colin,

Do  not  fear,  your  Guardian Angel is here! (Well at that's an
original opening line I s'pose).

After  reading  your  plea  for more contributions, I've come up
with  the  perfect  solution.  This solution takes the form of a
small  plastic  diskette  I've enclosed with the words "The Crap
Demo" written on it.

By  simply  sticking  "The  Crap  Demo"  onto  FRED,  you should
suddenly   find  thousands  of  contributions  arriving  by  the
bucketload   with   letters   promising   to   send  in  regular
contributions  as  long  as  you don't put any more of my "work"
onto FRED.

If  that  doesn't  work, you could threaten to publish the "Crap
Games  Trilogy"  featuring  such delights as Advanced Modern Art
Simulator,  Advanced Football Manager Simulator, or perhaps even
                  Letter from Douglas Murdoch

Advanced Sound Making Simulator, with over 3 different drum beat
variations (E-Tracker look out!).

If  it  STILL  looks  like FRED could be forced to go bi-monthly
(sob)  then  why  not threaten to put me in charge of converting
the next big licence - Advanced Flashback Simulator?

If  this  cunningly  conceived plan doesn't work, then Bert  the
flying  purple  guinea  pig doesn't exist (and he does you know,
despite  Dr  Fitzpatrick,  my psychiatrist, saying that it's all
just   a   figment   of  my  imagination.  Poor  guy,  all  this
psychiatring must have sent him quite mad...).

PS  Are  you  still  happy  to  hear  ideas for games (even from
completely  hatstand lunatics who believe that they're chipmunks
from the planet Quibble?)

PPS  Don't worry, I don't really believe I'm from Quibble (but I
do have a cousin who used to live there).
BM                  Reply to Douglas Murdoch

Well.  Erm,  thanks  Doug.  Great  plan! There is just one small
problem.  Thing  is,  if  we publish the Crap Demo, and then the
Crap   Games   Trilogy,   it  may  indeed  get  us  hundreds  of
contributions,  but  it  would more probably just stop everybody
from  re-subscribing  and  so  only  you would ever read it, and
hence  only  you  would  ever  be  in  a  position  to  send  in
contributions,  and  the mag would become slightly less good, if
you get my meaning.

I  don't  know  though. Maybe that's where Colin and I have been
going  wrong  -  maybe you readers all secretly WANT crap demos,
and also belong to some strange S & M club?

We   are  always  on  the  lookout  for  game  ideas,  graphics,
musicians,  etc.,  yes,  so  even if you are two bits short of a
byte,  get  in  touch  (and  we can discuss the relative fashion
merits  of wearing socks as gloves and saying "Half past cider?
Not much rain then today, I'll wager!" at regular intervals.
                                                         - BRIAN
                    Letter from Phil Glover

Dear Colin and fellow FRED helpers,

Thanks  for issue 39, which is well up to the standard I've come
to expect. A good mixture of material, demos and games, and with
plenty  of  encouraging  news of SAM software. Even if SAM sales
don't improve, at least we'll have loads of software to enjoy.

I  really  hope  that other SAM owners decide to buy Lemmings if
it's  as  good  as reported. After using a PC at work and having
seen  the  prices  of  PC  software, SAM Lemmings is very fairly
priced,  considering  the royalties involved. Good luck with the
game and your other titles.

As  you  may know, the SAM Adventure Club disc magazine, which I
edit,  will  cease  publication  in December, with issue 13. The
club  will  continue,  though,  and I'd be happy to try and give
advice  to any FRED readers who may be stuck in a SAM adventure,
as  long as they send me an SAE for reply. I'll soon be starting
work  on  my  own  attempts  at adventure-writing (YOU HAVE BEEN
                    Letter from Phil Glover

WARNED!).

I  know that arcade-gamers think that adventure games are played
by  rather odd people, but it has its own fascination, and helps
widen  the  range  of  SAM  software. I'd like to see the widest
possible  range  of  software  on  SAM,  so there's something to
appeal to all tastes.

We'll  still  be  selling  all  of our discs as back issues, and
there's  a good chance that  we'll publish more club discs on an
irregular  basis,  when the fancy takes us. I'll also do my best
to  to let all  SAM magazines know what happens on the adventure
scene  as and when news happens. I'd be only too pleased to hear
from  any  of  your  readers who are interested in adventures if
they think I may be of help in any way.

              All the best, and merry Christmas!


BM                    Reply to Phil Glover

Sorry to hear you've closed the magazine, Phil. I was never much
of an adventure gamer, but I know that a lot of people get a lot
out  of  them.  I  myself  found that I spent too long trying to
discover  the  right  word  rather  than solving problems so the
whole thing revolved around sitting down with a good thesaurus.

Lemmings  is  of  course extremely good value for money, and the
SAM  version  is  (of course) by far the best version of all, no
other  game  comes  close,  it's great, buy it, etc etc. We need
your money!!!!!!!

Readers who are interested in adventuring can find Phil at:

[redacted]

                  Letter from Carol Brooksbank

I  discovered  recently that there is a bug in the multiple copy
printing  routine  of  STYLE  WRITER.  If  you  ask for, say, 10
copies,  you  get  1  copy  and 9 blank sheets of paper. This is
because  the  variables  set up at the printing menu are not all
preserved  as  they should be by the printing routine, and after
the  first copy all you get are form feeds. It can be put right,
though. Load the program (it doesn't matter whether you load the
colour  or  monochrome  version).  Use CNTRL-B to exit to BASIC.
Edit line 1700 to read:

1700 IF q=201 THEN delfunc:message"PLEASE WAIT":lastline: INPUT
      :prmenu: LET xprin=PRIN, xlast=LAST, xpic$=PICTURE$,
      xnl$=NLQ$: FOR cop=1 to copies: LET PRIN =xprin,
      LAST=xlast,  PICTURE$=xpic$, NLQ$=xnl$: prfile: NEXT cop:
      insfunc

While  you're  in  BASIC  you  can,  if  you like, customise the
printer  codes  found  in the DATA statements between lines 3200
and  3360  so that the default codes on loading the program will
                  Letter from Carol Brooksbank

be  the ones you require. You have four codes in a sequence, and
if  your sequence requires less than four numbers, you must fill
the  sequence  up  with -1 for each unused one. (The codes for a
true A4 page length for instance are 27,67,70,-1).

Now  put your working disc of Style Writer in drive 1 and, still
in BASIC, type RS and the customised copy will be saved.


BM                 Reply to Carol Brooksbank

Thanks  Carol. I'm sure other readers will agree that Carol must
surely take the award "Most Thorough Beta Tester Ever" This lady
find  the  bugs  and produce code to fix them before most people
get their discs out the jiffy bags!

I  can  think  of  a  certain  SAM  game with a definite Persian
influence that should have been shipped down to Carol...
                                                         - BRIAN
                    Letter from Brian Lycett

As  the  sun  gives its final burst of light before setting over
the  horizon,  and  the  evening  wind  whips  up  into a frenzy
stimulating  howls  from  the  canine  predators out in the vast
prairies, the animals outside are sleeping restlessly.

 It's time to cuddle up in a nice comfortable chair by the
firplace in my log cabin, and to type out this letter, protected
from the harsh elements by the strong wooden walls of my home.

All  I  want to say is that time isn't static. It may seem to go
slowly,  for  certain  phases of time to seem to be eternal, but
time progresses as does society and technology.

We've  all lived through a decade wherein the eight bit computer
was  the  most  popular games machine, but now it's past us. The
fashion of the new phase in time is, unfortunately, the console.

It's  no  good  wanting the eight bits to become dominant again:
they won't.
                    Letter from Brian Lycett

It's  just  asking  for  us to take a step backwards technology-
wise.  This is no good, you should want us to progress faster in
this respect.

It may seem unfair to the SAM, a computer that could, with a bit
of  support  from software houses, easily match the capabilities
of  other  home  computers.  But, as I've said: time and society
advance.

But  the  problem  is  the  future.  If so many people are being
raised  on  the  home console, who's going to design and program
the  computers  of  the  future? Our generation is the first and
last  to be given the opportunity to develop programming habits.
Computers like the Amiga have no "attractive", easily accessable
languages.

The PC however, has many true languages (Pascal, C) but it is my
experience  that only the people who were born to program, as it
were, can actually get the machines to do what they want.
                    Letter from Brian Lycett

For  example,  in my A level computer science group, there are a
dozen students, only three of which (including my good self) can
actually  do  interesting things on Turbo Pascal. And of course,
all  three of us learnt to program on the good old Spectrum (and
the group contains perhaps the only two people in Northampton to
own a SAM). The rest are console people.

If  this  is  what it's like now, what's going to happen when we
need software written for missions to colonise/explore the Solar
System?

I am looking towards a career in Artificial Intelligence, but if
it  wasn't  for  the good old SAM here, I wouldn't be able to do
it.  That  doesn't  mean  that  I  want the University to have a
network of SAM's instead of PC's. I can't wait to use the latest
in computing technology.

Finally, I'm going to keep my SAM: it's great fun to program on.

                    Letter from Brian Lycett

So  I'd  like  to  see some games for it. A good idea would be a
version  of  the game Eric and the Floaters/ Dynablaster/ Bomber
Man: the multiplayer game where you try and kill aliens / player
2 with bombs in a maze type thing. It could be easily written on
GamesMaster and released on budget for around three pounds.

   Well, I must get up to close the rattling shutters and tend
to the horses.

    Goodnight.


                         Brian Lycett.






BM                   Reply to Brian Lycett

Yup.  Got  it  in  one.  The sad truth is that kids of today are
becoming used to computers in a completely "closed" environment.
By  that  I  mean  a  Megadrive  with a game in it is limited to
playing  that  game. On a SAM, PC, Amiga, whatever, you can play
games,  draw  pictures, write music, and of course, program. The
option to program a console simply isn't there even if the child
did want to do so.

The  future  isn't  completely  bleak  though.  Computer Science
courses  at universities and colleges all specify that no former
knowledge  is  needed  (though  it  undoubtedly does help - some
people   on   my   course  are  struggling  already)  and  teach
programming  from the very basics upwards. There is an advantage
in  that "properly" taught programmers don't have all the little
habits  that  self-taught  people  sometimes  develop. As people
become more used to computers, but less able to actually program
them,  academic  courses  are  going  to  adapt to reflect this.
Remember GSCE or Standard Grade computing? A complete doddle for
computer-literate people, excluding console owners.
BM                   Reply to Brian Lycett

Something  else  -  computers  are, in theory, becoming more and
more user friendly. Having spent the past three months wrestling
with  Unix  I'd  say  that that's extremely debatable, but never
mind.  It's not inconceivable that someday computers will become
able  to  actually  generate  programs themselves, given all the
necessary program specifications. Who knows?

I  have to take issue with the way you claim that Amigas have no
accessable programming languages but PCs have both C and Pascal.
Sorry  to  be  pedantic and nit-picky, but Lattice C and HiSpeed
Pascal for the Amiga are both highly thought of packages amongst
Amiga owners. The Amiga OS was WRITTEN in C! (I think...)

This is a SAM magazine so I won't go on about that. I could, but
that  would  simply  descend  into the old "my computer's better
than  yours"  situation.  So I won't. Really, the matter's over.
Finished. Never to be brought up again. Ever.

                                                         - BRIAN

THE ADVENTURER

  THE ADVENTURER- A Text Adventure Creator for the SAM Coupe.

Designed, Programmed and Tested by:           Cameron Patterson,
                                                      [redacted]

The system involves  2  BASIC  programs.  The  player,  and  the
creator/editor which includes a play routine.
________________________________________________________PLAYER__

All adventures have a suffix on their filename (.adv) from which
they can be recognised. You are given a  directory  of  all  the
adventures on the disk, and you should type the name without the
suffix. eg to load Sesame.adv you would enter  SESAME  (This  is
the convention throughout the system). You will then be welcomed
to the adventure.




The commands you can use can be listed by HELP, but briefly:

NORTH, EAST, SOUTH, WEST - Move in direction if possible.
DROP/TAKE/GET - Drop/Take an item in the location.
LOOK - Redescribe the location.  QUIT - Quit the adventure.
INVENTORY - Display what you are carrying. HELP - List Commands.
USE - To solve problems: eg Dragon blocks Path..... USE SWORD!

Throughout the adventures  only  the  1st  letter  of  your  1st
command is scanned, so I, inv, INVENT  would  all  translate  as
(I)NVENTORY.  Also  for  all  commands   involving   an   object
(TAKE/DROP/USE) the object is selected from a list of possibles,
using the CURSORS.








________________________________________________CREATOR/EDITOR__

When you load this program you get the ----MAIN MENU----

1) Play Adventure - See PLAYER instructions above.
2) Edit/Create Adventure - Brings up the EDIT menu.
3) Help Pages - Brings up a brief help section, similar to this.
X) Exit Program - Drop out of the Program.

----EDIT MENU----
1) Create New Adventure - Asks if you're sure because  it  wipes
          the memory. (You may need to re-BOOT first)
2) Load Old Adventure - Shows adventures and asks for filename.
3) Test Current Adventure - Same as player  except  after  DEATH
          you can return to the adventure before your death.
4) Save Adventure - Asks for filename  and  then  if  protection
          wanted. Protection stops people loading up  your  game
          (Option 2) and viewing or cheating in  the  game.  The
          game is still able to be played.
5) Alter Current Adventure - Brings up the ALTER menu.
0) Exit - Returns to the MAIN menu.
----ALTER MENU----

1) Add  a  Room  -  Adds  a  room  to  adventure  and  asks  for
          information about the  room  (see  later),  and  local
          INSTANT DEATH items (also see later).
2) Edit a Room - Edit any of the information about the room.
3) Edit Item Descs. - The Adventure's items are entered here.
4) Edit Death Messages - You can die in many  ways.  The  reason
          for your death will be printed. These are the messages
          that will be printed. You can alter them here.
5) Details & Adv. Naming Menu - Brings up DETAILS & NAMES menu.
6) Printer Options - You can elect to print out a specified room
          and all its' details, or all other adventure details.
          Also helpful for translating into a new version?
0) Exit - Returns to EDIT menu.






----DETAILS & NAMING MENU----

1) Name  Adventure  and  Programmer  -  Here  the  name  of  the
          adventure and of its' author are entered.
2) Start & Completion Messages - The messages sent to the player
          before the adventure begins, and on completing it.
3) Global Death Items - global INSTANT DEATH items (see later).
4) Select Endroom - This is the  last  room  of  the  Adventure.
          When entered,the end message & congratulations appear.
5) Number of Inventory Items - Allocates how many items a player
          can hold in their inventory during the game.
6) Items in Inventory at Start of the Game - Chooses  the  items
          the player holds at the beginning of the game.
0) Exit - Returns to the ALTER menu.


!!! SEE LATERS !!!




GLOBAL/LOCAL INSTANT DEATH ITEMS - These are items that if  USEd
cause instant death. LOCAL is confined  to  a  particular  room,
where GLOBAL is effective over the entire adventure.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE ROOM - This is the data for each room:

DESCRIPTION - Description of the Location.
ROOMS(NESW) - What room number is in  the  specified  direction.
              If all set to 0, player is trapped  or  has  died.
              (You are prompted for which.)
ITEMS HERE  - You can have 10 items in room. Select from list.
HAVE A LOCK?- Whether a lock in this location  or  not.  If  not
              then the following can be disregarded.......
UNLOCK ITEMS- Items that when used UNLOCK room. You can  have  1
              or 2. If 2, then asked if either or both needed.
DIREC.LOCKED- Directions chosen which are invisible  and  unable
              to be taken until unlock occurs.
UNAVAIL.OBJS- These items (from ITEMS HERE) can be seen but  not
              taken until unlock occurs.
DISAPP.ITEMS- These items (from ITEMS HERE) can be seen &  taken
              until unlock occurs,when they disappear from room.
HIDDEN ITEMS- These items cannot be seen or taken until unlock.
LOCKED MESS.- Extra Description printed when room is locked.
UNLOCK MESS.- Extra Description printed after unlock occurs.  It
              can be printed just once after unlock or  whenever
              the room is consequently entered.
















__________________________________________________DESIGN_HINTS__

This is the method I recommend, designing on paper first:

-Design a map of the rooms and their numbers
-Make an item list and mark where they are to be found
-Mark on where locks are and what to use to remove them
-Decide which items cause Instant Death, and where
-Start to enter the adventure,  beginning  with  the  items  and
 reasons for death, then all Adventure Details, then the rooms.

If you wish to conceal that there is a lock in a room then:
DO NOT have Unavailable objects & DO NOT print a locked message.


I have enjoyed writing this program, and continuing  to  develop
it. Any comments, suggestions or ideas to the address at the top
please.

        GO ON, WRITE YOUR OWN ADVENTURES.     -Cameron.