Format's Demo Disc #1

An early demo disc, showing what’s possible in SAM BASIC.

Here are the programs from the README file on the disc:

Welcome to FORMAT's SAM Demo Disc #1.

We at FORMAT are proud to have been involved so closely with the design and development of the SAM Coupé.  The Coupé is the most advanced 8 bit micro available on the market today. In many ways its capabilities match, or even exceed, many 16 bit micros (just try reproducing some of the things you find on this disc,  on an ST or Amiga - using BASIC).

This disc contains a  mixture of  Demos,  Utilities and  Graphic Screens. They have been selected to show you some of the Coupé's fantastic features.  As software develops, they will soon become overshadowed - just remember how much Spectrum software advanced over the years.

This is the first of what we hope will become a regular  series of discs. If you have any good demo routines of screens we could use then send them to:- FORMAT (SAM DISCS) 34, Bourton Road, Gloucester. GL4 0LE.

DISC CONTENTS

WATER FALL.
This program not only  demonstrates how  good SAM's graphics are but also shows the animation effects that  you  can produce from Basic by rotating the colour palette.  This is  one to show that friend who is always running down 8 bit computers.

BALLS.
No, I'm not swearing at you.  Balls is  just an  apt name for this little demo of the GRAB and PUT commands in SAM Basic.

THE EYE.
You can use several screens on the Coupé to create verygood animation by displaying each screen in turn.  This demo maynot have the best graphics but it does show what can be achievedwith a few lines of Basic.

COLOURS.
This is both a demo and a utility. It shows you all the 128 colours available on the SAM Coupé and gives their names.

SAM Diary.
We think you will find this is a very useful program.It allows you to record notes against any date ,in any year (new YEAR files are created on disc as required). The program is easy to use and gives quick access to any information you store.

UNERASE.
This is a simple utility to rescue erased files on  SAM discs. It prints all entries in the directory  (root dir only on MasterDOS) including any erased files. Type in the number of the file you want to recover and the file-type (from the list given)and, as long as nothing has been  written  to the disc since the file was erased, you should then be able to load it.

ALLOCATION.
SAM's memory is divided into 16k pages,  each has an entry in the PAGE ALLOCATION TABLE. This utility gives an easy to read listing of what each page of memory is allocated to.

BLESS THIS.
A simple demo of the SOUND command.  Yes, it can  be done, SAM can produce excellent music from Basic.  OK,  this may not be the most  earth-shattering  tune,  but what do you expect for free?
 
SCREENS.
Your SAM Coupé has fantastic graphic capabilities. This program will display a selection of SCREEN$ files stored on this disc. You can load them from Basic or load them into FLASH! Each filename starts with ""S_"" so they are easy to find on disc.

METRICS.
Most people over 30 in the UK still work  in  FEET  and POUNDS.  Most under 30 can't tell a FOOT from a POLE.  Well  SAM can now help you with all those conversions,  from  IMPERIAL  to METRIC or the other way round.
 
BATTLE SHIPS.
Play against your computer.  Then, after you knock his navy for six, you can try to add new features to this  Basic program.

SHAPES.
SAM's Basic is very fast and the new DRAW TO command allows shapes to be drawn at lightning speed.  Add to this palette rotation and you can produce hypnotic effects.

BUBBLES.
Dissecting  this  program  will  help  you   understand several of SAM's advanced graphic commands.

MENU.
This program will be loaded when you finish reading  these instructions.  It will load any program you want from this disc.You can use it on you own discs (it's easy use) where it is best saved as AUTOLOAD.

READ_ME.
This is the file that you are reading now.  You can get to it either by taking option 1 from the Start-Up screen  or  by selecting 'A' from the main menu program.

THAT'S ALL FOR NOW. SEE YOU AGAIN SOON.

The contents of this disc are, unless  otherwise  indicated, the copyright property of FORMAT Publications.   INDUG  members  are hereby licensed to make copies of programs  ONLY  for their  own personal use. They must not pass this original disc, nor copies,to other people.

We hope you enjoy our demo disc, keep reading FORMAT for news of lots of new SAM software coming soon.

(C)1990/1991 FORMAT Publications. All Rights Reserved.