Fred 82

Issue 82

Final issue.

Magazine

GB                           INTRO

FIRSTLY I MUST APOLOGISE FOR THE LONG WAIT FOR THIS ISSUE.

There are many reasons as to why it has taken so long.
Let me BEGIN ........

----------------------------------------------------------------
                             INTRO
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It's your new FREDdisk Distributor George Boyle here. Treasurer
of Fred Publishing* & Director of FREDsoft & FREDdisk.

For all previous FRED(s) & all previous titles from Fred
Publishing, please contact myself.

* Any products owed from Fred Publishing before take over of
treasury of Fred Publishing to myself. Please discuss with
myself. As far as I am aware, all products paid for under Fred
Publishing have been issued. N.B: I am not prepared to pay for
GB                           INTRO

products from my own pocket, when I have not recieved any monies
due for these products (apart from mag subs, of which I will try
& honour)
A little confusing, but that was the only way in which I could
take over the magazine & be happy about all the contracts &
proposals etc.

The delay of taking over Fred Publishing & re-launching as
FREDsoft has taken some time, and by this, is why you are
reading all this drivel! (Sorry Everyone.)

Even now as I type the contracts for Fred Publishing are still
not fully sorted out. I still don't have all of Fred Publishings
software, and also I'm unable to get hold of copies of Saturn
Software's products, which are now rightfully mine.

                   ANYONE HELP ON THE ABOVE ?

As of now I have taken a step in my own good will to keep all
GB                         SUB's etc

FRED readers going with FREDdisk from issue 82 onwards. I will
try to honour all subs as I recieve the finances to do so. Most
of these have been met out of my own pocket to date.

I will try & honour everybody that I have PROOF of that is still
owed FRED, in the best possible way that I can but don't forget
this is costing me money. When I state honour, this includes all
the people that I have on the FRED database stating that they
are owed issues*

*Except exceptional circumstances.

Anyone that re-subs, which I hope you all will, will be honoured
in full, as they pay myself as FREDsoft supplying FREDdisk. This
will obviously benefit all FRED readers in the long term, as
well as meaning that I don't have to keep dipping into my own
pockets to keep the magazine going!


GB                         SUPPORT ?

To keep FREDdisk going I need all the support & contributions
that I can get from everybody that owns a SAM Coupe/Elite/PC
etc.

I'm not a money grabber. The only interest that I have is in
keeping the SAM community up & running, thus I have taken FRED
on off my own back.

But obviously, I can't keep dipping into my own pocket for
funds, and likewise - I need input for the magazine. If there is
nothing to go in, then the disk wont appear until there is.
It's as simple as that.

I understand that some people may have sent contributions in to
Darren. If so, I'd appreciate if you could re-send them. I have
not recieved any material for future issues and that as you can
appreciate is a pain in the neck.


GB                       FUTURE FRED ?

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                          FUTURE FRED
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Let me begin. That's all the rubbish of my chest, let me tell
you what I plan to do in the future.

George Boyles *** 5 *** FREDsoft Pledges, but I'll stick to
them, unlike RAMSAY BLAIR. (And that's coming from a true Labour
person)

    1    :    REDUCE THE COST OF ALL FRED PUBLISHING TITLES
    2    :    GIVE CONTRIBUTORS GOOD REWARDS
    3    :    PAY ALL PROGRAMMERS A GOOD ROYALTY PERCENTAGE
              UNDER FREDSOFT*
    4    :    PROMOTE NEW PRODUCTS, IRRESPECTIVE OF PUBLISHER
    5    :    MAKE FRED BI-MONTHLY (To make sure it arrives on
              time) [Contributions depending!!!]

GB                     PROMISES, PROMISES

* Any contributors owed any dues should contact D Wileman
(previous FRED Publishing Manager), as anything up to take over
apart from magazines subscriptions to the best of my knowledge
is not my responsibility.

************************* FRED'S PROMISE ***********************

           TO KEEP THE SAM GOING & PRICES AFFORDABLE

****************************************************************

The SAM is about getting everyone together & working together.

With combined ideas & hard work this machine will stay until I
reach 82, as FRED has (if I reach that old?), but too much
alcohol, cigarettes & a combination of working alternate days &
nights and other pleasures in life might just prevent that.

Anyway less of the drivel.
GB/BR                  FREDSOFTS PROMISE

WELCOME BACK ... to

           FRED as FREDdisk, running under FREDsoft.

                       & enjoy the mag ?

Ok enough waffling crap enough is enough.

Be back soon, it's FRIDAY NIGHT. I've just finished work, I
should be in the PUB, that's where I'm going, and I'll be
speaking to you all soon. On that note I'll pass you over to my
co-writer Bill Rutherford (BR) to tell you about scenes beyond
the outside world of FRED.


YAAAAAAAWWWWWWWNNNNN!!!!

Sorry Boss, that was getting a little too long for me!

BR                        SAM News etc

So then, what's been going on around and about the SAM scene?

There seems to be some pretty neat software on the cards with a
new title from Colin Piggot... the clever chappy behind that
whizzy 16 bit sound card - the Quazar Surround sound card...

The game all the fuss is about is Stratosphere... and what can
you say about it?

It's big (4 disks). It's 3d (proper mode 4 wireframe 3d). It's
£17.99 and it's a great game!

It's recommended here to anyone.... until the next FREDsoft
release anyway!

See the demo elsewhere on the issue for more info.....
(GB: This refers to previous management)
Speaking about FREDpublishing releases,an ex-Fred title "Colony"
now seems to have a new home ....
BR                      Re-Colonisation?

Yup, our former release, Colony, is now available from Persona.

Malcolm Mackenzie says: (contracted down from a 90 minute phone
call... Does he know how to talk or what????)
(GB:This refers too previous management)
"After discussions with the author of the game, I learned that
the terms of his agreement - such as it was - where not being
honoured to his satisfaction. He was quite willing for Persona
to release it, and as the law was on his side, I was quite
willing to see what I could do with it.

"After some talks with Colin Piggot, we decided that the game
could also benefit from the addition of Quazar Surround Sound
enhancements, so in addition to other minor improvements, this
was added."

Colony is now £7.50 and is available from Persona. See the ad in
the SAM Scene section.

BR                        More News...

There's some interesting new software and hardware turning up
since we've been away, including:

The Atom: A new internal Hard Disc interface which has been
designed by Edwin Blink. This allows up to 8 Gig (yep, the same
as about 8,000 odd floppies) to be accessed dead quick from
inside the SAM itself!

The interface uses Bdos as it's operating system, which is a
SAMDos compatible operating system. It has a fair few bells and
whistles, but more improtantly the dos is free!

The Atom is available from Persona (again!) and there's an ad
for it in SAM Scene.

[GB: FREDsoft will be supporting the Atom with some conversions
of some titles to run on the Hard Drive. More information soon!]


BR/GS             More News... SAM Community!

And here's some more news that I'm sure you'll all find very
interesting: this time of a new project that seeks to unite all
SAM users. Take it away Gavin Smith!

                         SAM Community
Introduction
------------  (GB: Gavin, you have my full support, see letters)

How many SAM owners do you think are left? Not many of course,
but perhaps more than you might think. Only problem is, they're
spread out all over the world. For some time now, we have needed
some way to unite everyone, bring everyone together for the good
of the SAM. If we don't do it now, by next year the whole thing
could be a distant memory, with everyone's SAM tucked away in
the loft somewhere. Something needs to be done and quickly, and
the SAM Community could be the answer.

What is the SAM Community?
--------------------------
GS                       SAM Community!

The SAM Community is an attempt at bringing EVERYONE who owns a
SAM, together, into one community, regardless of where they live
and regardless of whether they are best machine coder or simply
the best gamer.

The SAM Community has 5 main aims.

1) To ensure SAM survives and thrives.
2) To support ALL companies involved with SAM.
3) To support ALL users who own a SAM.
4) To unite an often divided community.
5) The SAM Community will be entirely non-profit making.
6) To do all these without favour or bias towards or against any
person or any company. If it's good for SAM, we will support it.

The SAM Community is centered around the SAM Community
newsletter, but has some other sections. Each section is
listed below:

GS                       SAM Community!

1) SAM Owner's database - This is the most basic section of the
SAM Community and is the foundation block. It is an attempt to
get a pretty accurate idea of exactly how many SAMs are being
actively used, and details about the owners of those machines.
Details such as hardware/software owned, any computing talents,
what they enjoy using their SAMs for most, what products they
would be interested in buying in the future etc etc.

It is an indepth questionnaire but your privacy is promised and
you do not have to answer any questions you do not wish to
answer. We will also withold information from any individual or
company that you wish us to.

Indeed, the only information that you HAVE to supply is name and
address. This, in itself is useful, as it adds 1 to the total of
interested SAM owners out there - something that companies will
take note of and be encouraged by.


GS                        SAM Community!

2) SAM Community Newsletter - This 4 page A4 newsletter will
be published bi-monthly and costs only £2 per year (6 issues).
Inside this newsletter you will be able to read news and
information on EVERY SINGLE news item that is related to the
SAM. NO company will be left out for any reason.

We will go to great lengths to ensure that you will miss NOTHING
relevent to the SAM world if you read the SAM Community
Newsletter. It is entirely non-profit making, and its only goals
are to provide you with information on what is happening in the
rest of the SAM scene, and therefore to support any companies
involved. No opinion or review will be expressed in this
newsletter, only news and information.

The newsletter is designed in such a way as to not compete with
any SAM magazine, disk or paper and will do everything it can to
support them. It is not necessary to buy the Newsletter to be a
member of the SAM Community, but at 2 for a whole year, it is
very highly recommended that you do. Issue 1 (Oct/Nov issue)
GS                        SAM Community!
will be published in the first week of October.

3) SAM Community on the Internet - The SAM scene is surprisingly
active on the Internet, and we believe the Internet is a very
good thing for the SAM. For this reason, the SAM is supported on
the Internet with - a Website, a mailing list, and a chat
channel. Full information on each of these will be given to you
when you join the Community and we hope you find them enjoyable
and useful.

4) SAM Community File Service - Whilst the Internet section will
obviously only be of use to those with Internet access, this
section will be of use to those WITHOUT Internet access! SAM
owners who are on the Internet will probably know that many SAM
files are available on the Web, mostly from the NVG Ftp site,
but also from other places.

We feel that it people who don't have access to the Internet,
should not be denied access to these many programs, screens and
other SAM files. Therefore, the SAM Community File Service will
GS                        SAM Community!
provide a full listing of all SAM items on the Internet that we
have not been denied permission to distribute. If you request
any of these items, all you need to do is send us an SAE and
blank disk and we will download and send you the requested items
for free. Plans are to include other PD and shareware into the
File Service to form a full PD library but this is under
discussion at the moment.

The SAM Community is basically a user group, and is perhaps the
last chance we have of getting together as one community. No-one
will gain financially from SAM Community (likewise, no company
will be damaged by it, as the SAM Community is deliberately
structured so as not to compete with anyone, but simply aid
them).

It is easy and totally free to join the SAM Community. Simply
send us an SSAE, and we will send you back, the same day, a
questionnaire. When this is filled in and returned, you will
have access to all the sections of the Community, and you will
receive your SAM Community member number.
GS                        SAM Community!
The first SAM Community Newsletter will be published in the
first week of October - the Newsletter costs only £2 for a year
(6 issues) and I hope you will agree that it is worthwhile.

Send SSAE and £2 to:

    SAM Community, c/o Gavin Smith, 34 Craig Owen Road,
                       Carrick Fergus, Co Antrim, Northern
                       Ireland

(Overseas SAM owners - don't worry about the SSAE, just send me
your address, we'll sort out the postage etc later)

I hope you will join the SAM Community and become a member,
whether active or not. Please write with any questions etc and
I'll do my best to help.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

                           # # # # #
CP/BR                   Quazar Information

Quazar, Colin Piggot, 204 Lamond Dr., St.Andrews, Fife, KY16 8RR

This news article contains the all the news from Quazar from
over the last 6 months or so. But firstly I will mention that if
you want a 14 page booklet with all the information on Hardware
(such as the Quazar Surround soundcard) and Software (like
Stratosphere - which is being quoted as the best game ever on
Sam!) from Quazar as well as up to the minute news then just
send a SAE!

STRATOSPHERE

If you haven't heard of Stratosphere you must be blind! I
released Stratosphere last October and it's been going down a
storm!

STRATOSPHERE : The cyberspace battle has begun!


CP                     Quazar Information
Zoom around the 3D cyberspace world in your customised
cybercraft and try to destroy or avoid (if you think you can!)
the numerous types of enemy craft while you are attempting to
collect all the flags to advance through the 40 levels and
ultimately confront the dreadnought cybercraft at the centre of
cyberspace.

Stratosphere is the first true 3d wireframe game specifically
written for the Sam. It features stunning lightning fast 3D wire
frame line vector graphics - all in mode 4!

Screenshots may look impressive but you really have to see it
moving to believe it! And if you have a Quazar Surround
soundcard then there is over two megabytes of extra spectacular
music and sound effects for it. And of course Stratosphere will
run without one so you have no excuse whatsoever for missing out
on this exciting game!

Stratosphere comes on four disks and with a detailed manual and
costs only £17.99.
CP                     Quazar Information

If that doesn't wet your appetite - here's whats being said
about Stratosphere:

In a review in 'Blitz' diskzine, Gavin Smith said: "It's the
best game ever on SAM. The. Best. Game. Ever. On. SAM.... SAM's
first ever 3D wire frame game is a masterpiece, after about four
plays, you do become seriously addicted. Levels of addiction
such as this really should be reported to the authorities. You
will not tire of this game nor get bored of it. ... This game
(and I make no apology for saying it again) is The Best Game
Ever on SAM."

In a review in 'Crashed' Magazine, Justin Skists said: "It's
sexy. Get it now! ... It's too darn addictive! ... There are a
very few games that really impress me; Stratosphere certainly
does! I can certainly give it ten out of ten."

Bob Brenchly: "I think the highlight of the show had to be...
Stratosphere. I must admit that I spent quite some time sitting
CP                      Quazar Information
looking across the hall at the game... Order it right away."

Stephen McGreal: "The most technically impressive game on Sam!"

For more info and some screenshots - check out the advert in the
SAM Scene section!

ADPCM AUDIO COMPRESSION: I have written a sample compression
method for the Quazar Surround soundcard. (Quick recap for you -
16 bit sound (that's 4096 times the quality of the soundchip, up
to six channels and full surround sound! All the info is in the
information booklet! With all the software available for the
Quazar Surround it's the most widely supported piece of Sam
hardware!)

The compression technique only works with 16 bit samples and it
gives 8 to 1 compression. This is based on a modified ADPCM
(Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation) compression
technique for 16 bit samples which is mainly used on PCs.
Basically this allows 3 minutes of 16 bit sound, with a sampling
CP                     Quazar Information
rate of 11kHz to be played. (Decompression is done in realtime
upon playback).

Over the last few months this compression has been improved to
provide oversampling to get even better quality for the
compressed audio, as well as compression for stereo soundtracks.

Programs and music using this compression have appeared on
Soundbyte (see later!)

SOUNDBYTE: is a monthly support disk for the Quazar Surround
soundcard which is packed with programs and music only for the
Quazar Surround. At time of writing Soundbyte is currently on
issue 38 [May] (Yes, THIRTY EIGHT!!!!). The June issue will be
out on the 25th. Soundbyte costs £2 per issue, £5 for three
issues or £18 for 12 issues (for subscriptions and back issues)

Here's whats been on the recent issues:

Issue 33: Feature Program: 'Music Quiz'
CP                     Quazar Information
This issue features a stunning music quiz with over 3 and a half
minutes of music clips and over 120 questions, as well as other
incidental music. From the feedback i've had this is regarded as
one of the best issues ever!

Issue 34: Feature Program: 'Tri Tiles'98'
This is the sequel to the game from issue 23. Now with 8
backgrounds, 20 boards, more tiles, with new soundtracks as well
as surround sound effects all playing continuously throughout
the game. Also there is: Music Quiz Help, and 'Something Good' -
music created with 'Quazar Sequencer'. (Quazar Sequencer was a
music package for the Quazar Surround soundcard that was on
issue 22 of Soundbyte.)

Issue 35: Feature Program: '3D Positional Audio'
Spectacular FULL surround sound - position and move the sound
anywhere manually or use the default patterns to make it whirl
all around and even through you! Breathtaking! Also on this
issue: 'Beats' (Quazar Sequencer Music)

CP                     Quazar Information
Issue 36: Feature Program: 'Thriller' - Stereo compressed sample
A very impressive demo - the first to feature stereo compressed
16 bit music. This issue also has some samples for use with 3D
Positional Audio on issue 35.

Issue 37: Feature Program: 'Mono to Stereo Combiner'
A simple utility to combine mono samples to produce stereo
samples. Also on this issue is 'Twilight Zone' - a great piece
of music produced with Quazar Sequencer, and a game zone for
Super Byke Championship. (Super Byke Championship is another
game from Quazar)

Issue 38: Feature Program: 'Enhanced S.B.C. Game Zone'
This issue has the debut of enhanced game zones (levels) for
Super Byke Championship. As well has having a new 16 bit
soundtrack, this level also updates the samples used for
surround sound effects which run continuously throughout the
game. On this issue of Soundbyte there is also some more samples
for the 3d Positional Audio program as well as a program to play
back Quazar Sequences differently.
GB                         I'm BACK !

Well I'm back !

I'm hoping that my co-writer has just filled the previous pages
full of stuff, as I've just started on Page 11 and hopefully
left him enough space. If he's got any sense though I'm sure
he'll have written more than I hoped, & you'll actually be
reading this on another Page rather than stated. About Page 15
will do me.

You know, I can really waffle when I want to. [BR: I noticed!]

Anyway after a fresh nights kip, a few pints down the pub,
watching the footy, etc. I'm feeling a little better. Oh and
..... I'm not telling you that one, it's not my life story here!


Oh no, what's that noise??


GB                    Bloody Mark Sturdy !

Oh, the phones ringing I'm never going to get anything written.

That was Mark Sturdy on the phone, He asked what was happening
with Fred, usual stuff, I'm trying to recover it from the depths
of oblivion, I need contributions. (I was being serious there by
the way!)

You all know Mark, of Crashed, a couple of miles up the road
from me? Yes, hello Mark, I bet you didn't think you'd get a
mention in here, and this isn't a deliberate plug, I just
thought that if I slipped a few words in I might get a Free Fred
Plug in Crashed!

Hopefully a copy of Fred might go your way if I recieve a
few freebies??? Hint, Hint, Hint.

Oh, I forgot, that means that you'll have to recieve a copy
of FREDdisk first.

GB                       Mad Fingers ?

Slap, Slap, Oh come on, wake  up.  Now  I've  hopefully  stopped
waffling in text, I'm not as bad as this when I talk, it's just
that my fingers have brains of there own, and carry on typing
even when my brain has stopped functioning, it's like a second
sense to them, STOP, Somebody help me, Ow, thud, thump, thud
...........................................................
.....................'SILENCE'..................................
.....................'SILENCE'..................................

Ah that's better. I'll let my brain take over now, Oh what was
I going to talk about?

Ah that's it. I suppose now that I've finished typing a load of
twaddle I should actually tell you what's on the mag? Or should
I? I'll make it short & sweet, or I'll try to!

I'm sorry there's not a lot, what there is I hope is good, &
once you've read this I hope that you'll send lot's of
contributions, so that FREDdisk can be even better next issue.
GB                       Disc Contents

A : Me waffling a load of complete twaddle!
    Plus some assorted SAM News etc.

B : Letter's, yes, there are a few! Perhaps we may have even
    more next time? ;)

C : SAM Scene. I thought screens was getting a bit boring
    so I thought I'd change the format...

D : MR PAC. The early demo of Bulgulator's before its name
    was changed to Bulgulator's, and other changes. Taken
    from Enceladus.

E : Fred Machine Code Tutorial. The classic tutorial from Steve
    Taylor. Also available as a stand alone item (on 2 disks).

F : BUMPY, an all time Speccy favourite.(a taster from Speccy
    FRED's speccy classics). Forget about the graphics, just
    simply enjoy the gameplay!
GB         Disk Contents Continue..../More Waffle...

G : ZX81 bit. More classic ZX81 games to play about with.

H : Help!

I : More zany E-tunes!

J : Odds & Sods, Another rename, as I though Bit's & Bobs was
    getting boring. Also it wouldn't fit on the title screen in
    the font I was using.


----------------------------------------------------------------
                 More waffle !, Price list etc.
----------------------------------------------------------------

It's 2.30 am ! I'm still up writing all this waffle. Are you
still reading ?

Another thing is that it's Saturday morning & I'm sober ?
GB                 More waffle! Special Offers!

It's now 5 in the morning. I'm on what must be at least my 15th
coffee & 20th cigarette. My eyes must look like roadmaps, & what
the hell am I doing, writing all this?

It's time for MADNESS !!!!!
I'm in a mad mood, so I'm going to make some special offers.

                Parallax, Dyzonium, Waterworks,
                  Waterworks II, Bulgulators.
   All the above, £6 each, or 3 (yes, THREE) for just £15!!!

     ALL back issues of FRED up to 70 £ 1.50 each, 70 + £2
  All other FRED mags: Enceladus (1-12), SCPDU (1-5) & Outlet
                    £1 each - or 11 for £10

FREDdisk subs (bi-monthly until further notice!) £2 each, or 6
issues for £10

MAKE ALL CHEQUES PAYABLE TO..........F R E D S O F T......
GB                    Address & Greetz

For all correspondance, write to:

          FREDsoft, [redacted]

And there's more !

                             GREETZ
Go out to

First & foremost Alison, because she has to put up with my
insane madness & ackward hours, & typing this.

Bill "Zebedee" Rutherford    Text, Mods, and more!
Allan Clarkson               Prev CRASHED & FRED.
Mark Sturdy                  CRASHED
Mark Bennett                 How are you Mark.
Brian Watson                 8 - Bit (Coming up 50! Congrats!)
Colin Urwine                 NSSS Shows, next one 28th Nov.
GB                      More Greetz!

Joanne Fowler                Colin's Bird, Still dating ?
James Waddington             Classix
Doc & Orson + John Garner    Spec chums.
Ronald + Johan               Spec chums, Holland.
Colin Macdonald              Founder of Fred Publishing
Bob Brenchley                Format
"Uncle" Malcolm Mackenzie    Persona
David Ledbury                Blitz (NB I'm not biased)

Anyone else who I've missed.

                         The last word
Any comments made are not particularly those of FREDdisk or
FREDsoft, so please don't feel offended or take us to court or
We'll all cry!
My apologies to anyone who thinks that I've used the word "crap"
to often in this issue & have offended anyone!

See you all next issue! Due out in under 6 months! (2 in fact!)

Letters & Reviews

                  FREDdisk LETTERS!!!  With GB

Not a lot of post, but that's to be expected ... after all, how
many people knew where to write to?

I hope to see some more letters for next issue tho, please let
me know what you want to see in the magazine!

GB

================================================================
                     Gavin Smith, Belfast.
================================================================
Dear New Freditor!

I'm very pleased to hear good old Fred is back! I've missed it
over the last number of months and it will be nice to see it
popping through my letterbox again. I haven't had much of a
chance to use my SAM lately anyway, but I'll hopefully be
dusting it off and looking through the current issue of Blitz
and playing Derf (still my favourite SAM game!)
               FREDdisk Letters: Gavin Smith ...

I know you are probably getting sick of hearing questions like
this, but will you gain the rights to unreleased Fred stuff?
I'm thinking particularly of Retros here, a Matt Round
Gamesmaster game (if I remember correctly), which was on an
issue of Fred ages ago. I thought it was a great looking little
game and would love to see it released.

Maybe some day I'll also get round to finishing a couple of the
games that I have started (nice little footy manager game nearly
finished, but needs graphics artist...)

I've also sent you a little article about the SAM Community, a
new SAM user group that is free to join. I want lots of plugs
now, do you hear Mr New Freditor?

One more question - will any Fred games be patched for the Atom
(say, with a nice little installation file or something) so they
will run from the hard drive? I still haven't got round to
buying my Atom (girlfriends cost a lot of money - only joking
               FREDdisk Letters: Gavin Smith ...

Nuala! Damn, that's me in trouble now...Er not that she would
know what Fred disk mag is anyway, so I'm safe. I mean, she's
female. Erk, well I hope she is anyway. *starts to panic and
goes off to phone "her"*)

Gavin

----------------------------------------------------------------
GB: Yes, FREDdisk is back... Although obviously the response I
get from FRED readers for contributions will see how things go
in quality and frequency of the issues... So anything you'd like
to contribute to issues (and that goes to all readers, as I know
Gavin already has his hands full with Blitz and SAM Community!)

Unreleased Fred Stuff? I'll have to see what's available. It's
taken quite some time for me to get the FRED material from
Darren - and details such as work in progress has been almost
impossible to get sorted. I'd like to get Kaboom and other
titles which readers have been waiting for ages sorted, as you
         FREDdisk Letters: Gavin Smith ... (GB replies)

could imagine. I thought Retro's looked brilliant too! I will
release if if a copy is sent too me.
Footy Manager Game? Of course I'd love to see it! I'm sure a
graphic artist for your work wouldn't be a problem (and anyone
wishes to volunteer their services for this and other projects
are welcome!).

SAM Community looks like just the sort of thing that SAM needs
to give it a boot up the bum! There's just been too much
bitching and trouble making. Why can't people just concentrate
on the matter in hand? FREDdisk would love to be involved in
your project Gavin, and urge others to look into it, and wish
you the best of luck. So, yes, you'll get lots of plugs!
When your trying too organise a show to get everyone together I
quite understand the troubles involved. Hope you'll be there.
Atom Patches for FREDSoft titles? Well why not!
I've already recieved patches for Outwrite 2, SAM Paint, and
several other utilities - and when I get my own Atom (very
soon!) it'll certainly prove very useful. Something should be
            FREDdisk Letters: Keith Ainsworth .....

sorted regarding the patched versions for next issue.

Quick! Go and ring Nula up! Got to keep them happy, I'm always
getting earache in that departement.
================================================================
           "keith Ainsworth" 
                     Subject:show info /CVG
================================================================

Hi organiser bloke (I didn't see your name),

Greetings from Keith Ainsworth. I'm the editor of the fanzine,
RETROGAMER,in Liverpool and also write the Retro Ranch page in
C & VG.

I just dug up your post about the Fifth Northern Sam & Spectrum
Show in Horwich near Bolton on 28th November. I'd be very
interested in attending and meeting some fellow fans of the
Spectrum. I've been intrigued by past shows but seeing that this
            FREDdisk Letters: Keith Ainsworth .....

one is so close to me I'm determined to get to this one.

I'd like to have my own stall and be able to sell a few Spectrum
games and issues of my fanzine (it normally contains some speccy
stuff). Is this the sort of thing the show is for?

How much would it cost to be a stall holder? I'm assuming there
will be tables supplied and an electricity source. I'd plan to
bring my own Speccy and TV. Where *exactly* is the location?

It may also be possible to give the show a mention on my page in
C & VG. That should help attract a few more Spectrum
Enthusiasts.

Hope to hear from you soon,

Keith Ainsworth

----------------------------------------------------------------
      FREDdisk Letters: Keith Ainsworth ..... (GB replies)

GB: Greetings Keith. It's George by the way ;)

Glad you saw the show posting in comp.sys.sinclair, it's been
moved to the new venue of Horwich, Bolton as a trial for a new
area. The past shows have been fairly successful, but some
people have said that Wetherby can be tricky to get to. So, this
is really a chance to see what another venue will do.

The show's a great chance to meet fellow SAM & Spectrum
enthusiasts across the world. There's been some interesting
projects shown off from across the world, and there's hopes that
there may even be at least one Scorpion turn up this time! *

Yes, stalls are available from £12 (£20 for 2). Full details
available from the FREDSoft address. Electric is provided, as is
the table. Bringing a 2-4 way adapter is recommended however.

The location is the Horwich RMI Club. The biggest club in the
area, directly on the main 575 bus route from Bolton (which
      FREDdisk Letters: Keith Ainsworth ..... (GB replies)

stops almost directly in front of the Bolton Railway Station).
Full travel details can be obtained from FREDSoft.

Thanks for the mention in C & VG, it's certainly appreciated.

================================================================

* This of course reffers to the 256K Spectrum compatible and not
to the fairly dangerous pet. Remember a spectrum can not give
you a fatal sting...**    the other sort can!

** Unless you count a faulty mains connection, which isn't
really a sting, that is what is called in the trade an "Electric
Shock" ;)





           Fifth NSSS (Northern SAM & Spectrum Show)

Yes, it's time once again for all SAM & Spectrum fanatics to
gather "Up North" to the NSSS!

This time, we've located the show at a new site, this time in
Horwich, Bolton - at the popular RMI Club.

The new venue offers even more parking than ever before, easier
access for wheel-chairs or prams, and is a doddle to get to by
Public Transport!

The show is held on Saturday 28th November. For full details
drop us a line at the FREDsoft address:


                FREDsoft, [redacted]

    Or email us on:    [redacted]
                       for details of the show web site.
GB                  PERSONAL SAY FROM GEORGE BOYLE

I just thought I'd like too put a mention here about the show. I
have the same ideas as Gavin Smith has about trying too get the
SAM / 8 bit community together. Anyone who writes any bad
comments about organisation etc.. etc, which some have been by
certain writers / trainee journalists etc. Let me put this
forward to these people. Why don't you try & organise events
like this. Without people like me trying too organise these
events, How would people get too meet new contributors, New
writers, New programmers etc. It's no good slagging people off
when you haven't tried it yourself.

I'm glad too see people like Gavin making an effort, I try to
make an effort, and I don't really have too. Without me there
may not be a Northern Show. And certainly without me FRED itself
would be DEAD. Because it is only the dedicated individuals like
Malcolm Mackenzie, who is constantly trying too develop new
things for the SAM, Gavin Smith who is working on the SAM
community, and other people like my co-writer Bill. I'm sure
that there are also many others out there who are doing allot of
GB

work for the SAM, and it's community that I haven't praised
personally, but without everyone working together as a big
FAMILY, the computer will die, let bygones be bygones and let
everybody work together too keep the sam successfull, and lets
stop all this stupidity that is going on around the SAM scene.

Too all the readers concerned, this is quite a personal issue
which I had too put in here, and I thought that it might give
everybody a good behind the scenes view of what is happening in
the SAM scene. This is why I must stress that without
contributions & working together the computer will die, and I
mean that.

George Boyle. EDITOR & TREASURER

N.B: If anyone else has any further comments to write then
please send them too me on the above, and I will be happy too
reply personally, or in the letters section.

GB                         PRICE LIST

MUST GET ON AND TRY & GIVE YOU A REVISED PRICE LIST THEN !

Name / Product                               Price (£)

Complete Machine Code Guie Disk 1            2.50
                           Disk 2            2.50
Dyzonium                                     SEE
Bulgulators, Parallax                        SPECIALS
The Witching Hour                            IN THE
Waterworks 1 & 2                             EDITORIAL
E-Tracker (Available share ware)
Please send 2 Blank diskettes & SAE, or      £5 for manual
Football League Manager                      10.00
Oh no more Lemmings                          5.00





GB                  FREDSOFT PRICE LIST!!!

Name / Product                                Price

Outwrite with manual                          8.00
         without manual                       3.00
Sam C                                         9.00
Sam Paint                                     10.00
Sam Sprite                                    9.00
Sam Vision                                    9.00
Sam Print                                     6.00
Sam Print Data                                4.00
Spec Classics (1-4) Full set                  7.50
Spec Classics Individually                    2.00
Spell Master                                  4.00
Style Writer with Manual                      8.00
Style Writer Image Disk                       4.00

For all FRED back issues etc, & Enceladus, Outlet etc see
specials on EDITORIAL.
              ********* READ NEXT PAGE **********
GB                  FREDSOFT PRICE LIST!!!


****** Regarding all prices, as I do not have a previous price
       list, prices may have varied since previous FRED issues
       I would appreciate if anyone notices if they are any
       higher than previously stated.

       If this is the case I will reduce these items by a
       minimum of £ 0.50

       I also apologise too any other publisher if I have on
       this price list, any off there products, as I do not know
       exactly my contracts, and I would like too know therefore
       , so that I can take these items off the price list.*

     * I would appreciate if a mutual agreement can be made & no
       legal action taken thereof.

Custardy of the Daleks

                 Custardy Of The Daleks.....!!

Stock disclaimer: Teletubbies are all copyrighted by Ragdoll,
the Doctor is the BBC's property and Terry Nation's estate has
the rights for the Daleks. This story is for entertainment
purposes only, please do not try any of the techniques described
during a real Dalek attack.

(Note to those unfamiliar with the Teletubbies: Give it another
six months and you'll know 'em! =-)

The sun rose high into the sky above Tellytubbyland, shone
brightly, smiled and giggled. It was going be a nice day, which
wasn't really that unusual. The Teletubbies themselves were soon
awake, Po having taken her cue from the sun rising to wake the
others up by riding her scooter around the Tubby dome and
beeping the horn. Noo-Noo was already online, since he'd not
really required much of a recharge from the previous day, and
busied himself with cleaning the floor, hoping that breakfast
would be a little messy. As usual.

                 Custardy Of The Daleks.....!!

"One day in Tellytubbyland," Narrator started, "all of the
Teletubbies were very excited because one of their best friends
was coming to visit".

Narrator was the Teletubbies guardian, of sorts, a sentient
lifeform with no actual physical form barring a subtle link to
the windmill on the hill behind the dome which gave it access
and control over the dome subsystems, surveillance and
communications rigs. Narrator was a sort of mentor to the
Tubbies, they all took it's advice, most of the time at least,
and it looked after them, in return for which they let it watch
"Eastenders" on their tummies when it wanted to.

The Tubbies started getting a little over excited so Narrator
announced that it was time for Tubby toast to distract them,
which it did. Laa-Laa, Dipsy and Tinky Winky all dived for their
seats while Po presssed the button on the Tubby toast machine
and then ran to join them. As they finished their toast the
windmill outside began to accellerate, normally a sign that
                 Custardy Of The Daleks.....!!

something was going to happen. "Uh-oh!", the Teletubbies
chorused before running out of the house to see what was up,
leaving Noo-Noo slurping around the floor making sure that he
got all of the crumbs.

"Something arrived from very far away", said Narrator, it's
early warning system had detected the craft entering their
sector about three hours before, but it's course appeared to
miss all of the bodies in the system so it had just observed.
But the craft had suddenly swung off it's heading and was
entering the atmosphere of the planet and beginning an approach
that would place it within half a mile of the Tubby dome,
something that Narrator was a little concerned about. Most
approaching craft would transmit their ident codes, or at least
a carrier for their non-local communications to indicate their
origin and status but the intruder didn't seem to be using or
accepting any callsigns.

"Whas that?  Whas that?!", asked Laa-Laa, looking at the
                 Custardy Of The Daleks.....!!

incoming craft.

"The Teletubbies went to see what it was", Narrator said and all
four made their way over. The ship set down in a small dale,
neatly pressing some of the bright flowers and scaring the wits
out of the rabbits and the Tubbies peered at the ship from their
position at the top of the overlooking ridge, huddling together
in a group and waiting for something to disembark. The front
ramp lowered and locked into place and a squat metal shape
slowly rolled down the ramp, stopping to get it's bearings and
examine the surrounding terrain.

"Whas that?!", the Teletubbies chorused, feeling a little
apprehensive.

"It was an evil Dalek scout", said Narrator, "and the
Teletubbies didn't like it at all." "Run away!", shouted Tinky
Winky and all 4 of the Tubbies scattered into Tellytubbieland,
heading for the Tubby dome. The Dalek noted the commotion,
                 Custardy Of The Daleks.....!!

finished its scans and went back inside to report it's findings
and the four creatures it had detected. It's threat warning
indicators didn't even flicker as it considered what it had
seen.

Noo-Noo was cleaning a small spillage by the Tubby custard
machine when all four Tellytubbies piled through the door in an
extreme state of near panic. Narrator put the dome defence
systems onto alert. The high-pitch whine of the plasma
disseminator shields cranking up was offset by the more
substantial whirr and clang of the armouring that was lowered
over the windows and doors. Noo-Noo, meanwhile, began to slurp
at the nozzle on the Tubby custard machine, taking on a large
amount of the brightly coloured sludge.

By now the Daleks were disembarking en masse, some fifty of them
streamed out of the ship and began to spread out, all the time
keeping an eyestalk out for the four strange beings the scout
had reported. A group of six made their way towards the Tubby
                 Custardy Of The Daleks.....!!

dome, all the time not realising that their movements were being
tracked to the millimetre by Narrator. And something that had
come to meet them. It's debatable as to if it's possible to
actually startle a Dalek but this particular platoon stopped
dead in their tracks as they encountered a squat cylindrical
automaton with a flashing light at one end and a nozzle and two
large, cartoon eyes on the other which seemed to actually be
glaring at them. In fact, despite the vast amount of enhancement
to the various organisms inside the Daleks and the augmentation
of their casings only two had managed to train their gunsticks
on Noo-Noo before the whole group was splattered by an extremely
high pressure jet of Tubby custard which, they discovered, has
an incredibly corrosive effect if you're not a Teletubby stomach
or made of the same material as the average semi sentient vaccum
cleaner.

Another small group of Daleks were encountering similar
problems. Dipsy and Po were double-teaming them one by one as
they came through a small pass between two hillocks. First Dipsy
                 Custardy Of The Daleks.....!!

would run across and throw his hat over the eyestalk of a Dalek,
then Po would clear the hillock on her scooter and knock it's
dome off. By the time another Dalek had got through the remains
of it's brethren they had retrieved the hat and were ready for
another assualt, shouting "Again! Again again!!" as they did so.
So far twelve Daleks had been scootered but, due to the
bloody-mindedness of the average Dalek, they didn't seem to be
giving up yet. What didn't help them was the fact that every
time they tried going around the obsruction that Po was using as
a ramp, a Tubby phone would extend out of the ground, under
Narrators control, and either knock them over or start shouting
nursery rhymes at them in German.

The Daleks, being a very logical race, were being driven slowly
bonkers by this.

Laa-Laa was similarly having fun with a squad of four Daleks
with the aid of a group of flowers who kept whispering when the
Daleks were looking the other way and going quiet when being
                 Custardy Of The Daleks.....!!

looked at. When they were good and confused she threw her ball
into the group and it began to chase them. Laa-Laa's ball has,
on occasion, been compared to the Rover balls used for crowd
control in the Village, something that the Daleks were not aware
of but soon felt the effects of as they were adsorbed and their
bonded polycarbide armour was eaten away.

Dipsy and Po, having tired of knocking Dalek tops off had split
up to see if they could do any more damage. Po was still using
her scooter to batter Daleks but now had Noo-Noo's help as he
rammed into the bases at the same time causing the hapless
creature to suddenly find itself either on it's side, upside
down with it's dome wedged in the soft earth or stuck face down
with it's gunstick down a rabbit hole with a group of bunnies
trying to wedge a carrot up it. Dipsy, meanwhile, had made his
way back to the Tubby dome and was now perched on the roof with
the Tubby toast machine. "Tubby toast!", he yelled as three
slices embedded themselves deeply into the lifeform container,
the drive system and the power plant of a lone Dalek, causing it
                 Custardy Of The Daleks.....!!

to erupt in a bright ball of flame. "Time for Tubby bye-bye!" he
grinned.

Tinky Winky was taking the direct approach, waiting for a Dalek
to pass his hiding place, jumping up, shouting "Boo!" and
smashing his handbag against it's casing. Since Tinky Winky's
bag wasn't quite the artefact it appeared the impact of what
seemed to be a cheap, red P.V.C. bag normally caused it's victim
to either fly into one of Teletubbyland's vast lakes or explode
in a spectacular flash of green light. Tinky Winky was keeping
score but had to give up after the first four, since he wasn't
able to count any higher, but he had, in fact, destroyed or
waterlogged around nine Daleks so far.

Then, as Laa-Laa recovered her ball after another attack raid a
burst of Dalek energy hit her square in the back. She flew
forwards, thrown by the momentum and lay still on the ground.
Noo-Noo, who saw what happened, went beserk and covered the
offending Dalek in so much custard that only it's sucker arm
                 Custardy Of The Daleks.....!!

survived but, before he could make it over to check her
condition, Laa-Laa sat up with a puzzled look, shook her head as
though to clear it and then waved "E-o!" to him with a huge
grin. And the three Daleks who were watching realised that they
were in some serious $h!t now.

In the bowels of the Dalek ship the communications system nearly
went into overload as just about every Dalek heard about the
lifeforms surviving a fatal burst of energy and seemingly
walking away. The Dalek battle computer ordered them to reform
and concentrate their attack on the Tubby dome, where there
appeared to be a vast energy source of some kind, obviously
something to do with the seeming indestructability of the
aliens. The fifteen remaining ground troops rallied and began
their slow move towards the Dome in strict formation, not
leaving any place for a Tubby to pick one of them off.

The Tubbies, on Narrator's suggestion, had pulled back and
regrouped on the roof of the dome. "Then Tinky Winky looked into
                 Custardy Of The Daleks.....!!

his bag", said Narrator and Tinky Winky obliged. He looked up
and grinned at the others, before bending down and grasping
whatever Narrator had just created. Impossibly, even for the
spatial annomoly that was inside the bag, he pulled out the six
foot long barrel of a particle laser and it's four foot tripod,
the latter of which unfolded in a ballet of mechanical precision
that military hardware seems to be able to do so well and locked
into place.

Tinky Winky powered up the laser, aimed at the left Dalek and
thumbed the firing stud. A solid yellow beam some four inches in
diameter shot from the end of the barrel, screamed across the
space between the dome and it's attackers and, as he moved the
barrel from left to right, cut the Dalek neatly in two before
moving on to the next. By the time Tinky Winky had destroyed
eight of the Daleks, Po and Dipsy had destroyed four more with
the Tubby toast machine at the other end of the line and
Laa-Laa, holding Noo-Noo up had demolished the remaining three
with fatal blasts of custard.
                 Custardy Of The Daleks.....!!

"All of the nasty Daleks were broken and the Teletubbies were
very happy", arrator said. The remaining flight crew of the
ship, however, were far from pleased and decided to get some
reinforcements. The craft lifted off and began a power ascent
out of the atmosphere, but was a little too slow for Narrator.
The windmill began to glow, started spinning at a vast rate and
discharged a couple of thousand gigawatts of power straight
through the cruiser, shattering it into pieces so small that
even Noo-Noo would have problems finding them.

As they finished their little celebratory dance there was a
tortured grinding sound and the square blue shape of a police
box slowly faded into existance by the dome, the light flashing
on it's roof. When it was solid and the noise had risen to a
peak, followed by a dull thump, the door opened and a small,
seemingly unimposing man stepped out, an umbrella in one hand
and a bag of giftwrapped parcels in the other. The Doctor
stepped over the remains of a Dalek eyestalk. "Hello," he said,
slightly cautiously since he'd already noticed the vast mess
                 Custardy Of The Daleks.....!!

around him and worked out it's origin, "did I miss anything?"
The Tubbies all shook their heads, looked at each other and
grinned. "I took your advice about the console room, by the
way", he added. Then they ran over and shouted "big hug!" as
Narrator, somewhat belatedly, said "the Teletubbies love the
Doctor very much".

The end...