QUIZ MICRO EXPERTS ON TV PHONE-IN to telits readers: You could take part if you write in His show, a follow-up to the highly successful Making the Most of the Micro seties, will Questions from home micro users will be answered by experts in @ phone-in during a live two-hour TV show ‘And director Patrick Titley, who came up with the idea, has | have Ian McNaught-Davis as asked Home Computing Weekly | link-man. He was a natural choice, singe he presented the two ser and Mr Titly pointed out: “ is very high in mountain climbing and presented the first live climb = 50 he’s got experience of live a John Coll, writer of the BBC micro manual, wil lead a team of three or four problen solvers in a demonstration area ‘equipped with the popular home ‘micros. They will tackle some of the phonedsn queries on-air. Freelance software writer Jan Trackman, a consultant in the series, will be giving his ad- ‘Among the other expens will be David Ellis, whose area is ‘musicon computers; John Vince, of Middlesex Polytechnic, on graphics; Malcom Pelt, a freelance journalist and commen. tator on the impact of computers computer journalist Henry Budget; Chris Webb, manager of the Notting Dale Information Technology Centre; Richard Hooper from Prestel; Richard Fothergill, from the Government-funded Microelec- tronics Project; and a represen- tative from BBC's Ceefax service The programme will 20 out fon BBC-1 from the Television Centre in White City, before an invited audience of 25, starting at Ham on Sunday October 2. Pages of tt Letters Programs to} bBo BBC, VIC-20, eis Ba] 7CT Continued on page 3 An Argus Specialist Pul 35p Buy 'n Try officially opened 24 days ago offering to buy back any ape returned within six mon- ths for 80 per cent of its value off another cassette. ‘The scheme was being of fered also by phone and mail and ‘managing director Bill Cannings, 42, was planning to offer desler ships Hé emphasised that ‘customers’ names and addresses and detais of their purchases Were logged and that they ver ‘warned that copying tapes was i legal ‘Advertisements named 36 well-known software houses as Talks to end software row Confidential talks were being hheld in a bid to settle a legal ac tion over software copyright Quicksilva, the big-elling software company, served a writ back scheme run by Soft- n London's Wigmore Stree. ‘The action was taken against ‘Computer Aided Systems (UK), a siser of Software Centre. Quickslva was seeking an injunction, alleging infringement ‘of copyright, oF aiding or con: spiring to help infringement. Continued on pa For details please ring 051-236 6849Why pay more when you can use your Sinclair*to tie into a mainframe and/or networks with the COBRA RS 232 COMMUNICATION INTERFACE. SOFTWARE AVAILABLE & 4 50 AT . COMPLETE KIT 0 INCLUDING MANUAL . ‘uitable for use with Sinclair 2X81 or Spectrum (Specify when ordering) 3 22a COBRA Technology Ltd., 378 Caledonian Rd., Islington, LondonN11DR Manufacturers of Quality Micro Technology Peripherals Page 2 HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY 5 April 1983,CONTENTS New software to sell? ee cei ea ome ad eet as! Poe a ee REE ‘A new company, Zone Distribu- tion, has been formed to distribute add-ons to home com: puter dealers. Its first deal is with Kayde Electronic Systems, which pro- duces a range of products for the 2X81 and the Spectrum, Zone Disiribution, 13 Old Court, Long Melford, Suffolk Now...slim with a 48K Spec- trum, says CustomData, which hhas Brought out a £4.95 cassette called Dieton. Enter facts about yourself and it will work out what you need to stay healthy or lose weight, giving the choice of more than 150 types of food. CustomData, 20 Friars Quay, Colegate, Norwich, Norfolk NR3 1S Chalksoft, which specialises in educational programs for the VIC-20, BBC miero and the Spec trum, has signed deals to sel its software in Australia and South Attica, ‘A spokesman said other deals ‘were pending for European coun. tries and said it proved the ‘worldwide popularity of British ‘computer and software. ‘Chalksoft,, Lowmoor Cot tage, Tonedale, Wellingion, Somerset DA21 OAL Let us know Ifyou are in the home computer business, please keep us in touch with what your company is doing. News items and review samples of your products software and hardware — should be sent to: Paul Liptrot, Home Computing Weekly, 145 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H OEE, Phone 01-437 1002. U.S.Scene......... Aim straight, the paras are coming Prize crossword. .... Win a tenner One Man's View . “Games are kiling the micro market’ VIC-20 Program .............13 ‘One man went to mow — with difficulty Softwarereviews ...........15 Useful programs for Spectrum and Video Genie Software reviews . fee ee Get away from it all with the Spectrum, Dragon, ZX81 ‘An arcade favourite 2X software reviews . Siar ratings for ZX81 and Spectrum programs Software reviews Games for the Spectrum and Dragon TI-99/4A program. making it easy for youngsters Spectrum programs . ‘The zombies are on your trail Profile . Tor TRaverincment Manager Ron Harris ‘Coleen Pir News Editor Assistant Advertisement Manager: Paul Lipte Barry Bingham ‘vista Chased Advertsing Candice Goodwin Brigette Sherer Managing Director Sirs Connell “Argus Specialist Publications Ld, 14S Charing Cross Road, London WC2H OEE. 01-437 1002 Foe Comparing Weekly s published on Tusday. Dinrbaon by Argus Pres Sais and Disribaon Lt, 2-14 Pas! Sree, London EC2A 48. Printed by ‘Alabaster Panore& Sons Lid, of London and Maidstone, Ken. Design and ‘rignationby MM Deis a Print \45 Charing CrossR0-ndon WC2H OEE IS SPACE Ted Rog essed Ring Coleen or Barry on Eke De (Continued from front page suppliers. of hundreds of pro- ‘rams. Several said they feared the new operation would hit the business, leading to less choice for customers. ‘The High Court pro- ceedings, attended by Mr Cann- ings and Quicksiiva managing director Nick Lambert, were ad- Journed for four days. In the meantime, both sides ‘undertook not to discuss the case ‘with anyone not involved in the proceedings. Alistair Kelman, counsel for Quickslva, told Mr Justice Mer- vyn Davies that it would not be a breach of the undertaking to “‘say tat negotiations are to take place, or are taking place, or have taken place and that there is no further comment.” Quickslva also undertook in the meantime not t0 “counsel, ‘encourage or induce” any person to refuse or cancel any advetise- ‘ment placed by Computer Aided ‘Systems or Software Centre or 10 refuse to accept or fulfil any order for the supply of software to Computer Aided Systems or Software Centre. Mr Kelman said it was possi- ‘le that the partes might come to fan agreement before the end of the four-day adjournment | LATE NEWS | ‘Agreement in sight’ Talks to settle diso look like producing agreement, High Court Judge told Mr Justice Mervyn Davies adjourned pro: ceedings to April 13 Earlier undertaking not to discuss the case with anyone not re newed, John Lloyd's five-minute inter- view on Radio Guernsey led to s0 much response that a lub for ZX ‘computer users has been formed. Details from John at flat 3, ‘Weighbridge House, Lapollat, St Peter Port. Phone G48] 22769. HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY § April 1983 Page 3THE MEN UHO INVENTED ME UERE CLEVER ENOUGH TO MAKE ME THINK IN ‘FORTH’ CIT’S 1@ TIMES FRSTER a aie Ee iota lee oS ato Sa ae YET THEY’RE DUMB ENOUGH TO SELL Cat) ae Richard Alwasser and Steven Vickers are the men wo invented the Jupiter Ace ‘iter years of designing micro= computers that use BASIC (both men played a major role in casting the Bx'Spectrum), they abandoned i favouro! FORTH: FORTH is just as easy to learn as BASIC. Yet i's faster, more Compact and more ructured Tanguage that edueatonalsts professional programmers prefer the lpiter Aces the only micro: ‘ghed around Technical information Cossette Hardware Programs and dat in compact aictionay format y___ZBOABK ROM; 3K RAM. may be Bed, veried aged and merged. All sing’ roatamshawaytrowahardhaves Keyboard tape fes are named. Running at 1500 baud {Gatartallrer apan (a conmen au ith aston ck ee ees BASIC), The Jupiter Ace's com jveeror 40 moving ke repeat; Cap Expersion Port checking sees that Screen Gorter owen The lupter Ace asa ful sae kybo Kamory mapped 32 pd contol signal splay Upper 2d over memory pepe ator Graphics lowe complete eit High esalution 256x 192 pve serdefined Allows complete extn characters, nd fu 780 Ades, 2A ine fcker-free arithmetic fas, relsbie case SK of RAM anda full 12 month waranty "You get all that for £69.95. Psa mains adaptor, ate leads nce cassette recorders and TVs, Sound Pease send cheque/postal cede to Gataloque 35; fe Interna loudspeaker maybe programmed for Jupiter Canta, 22 Foshohons Baril en spect Cambridge C83 88? ducion to peonalconpstiy ss Jupiter ACE to fallow courve nFORTH, rom fist rnc: cont der programm Win 1 eC: See ee wom | 5, ae pierre 8 AS(-B ER aR) | = sol eh eniay Somes ieee you equre vat receipt The rimeracemiible | Nam | Iiateyourotmestattonaachow | Ades clever Richord and steven were toaesgn te ors ores unter orTameeeniestme'> | PICO EES I sto charger Avalblefor treat every ow 14 dap for p&p UK pic on expo pce on eg Page 4 HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY 5 Apsil 1983Continued from Front Cover Mr Titley, 28, said: “I don’t know how many Viewers we will ‘get — no-one’s ever. done it before — but I would expect about three million.” He explained how he thought up the idea: “Our department, Continuing Educa- tion, has slots set aside on Sunday mornings and we felt we ought to do more with them. T wanted to do something entertaining on a Sunday mom. ing. Uhad afew ideas and when 1 started working on Make the Most of the Micro I had the idea of a phone.in. This was after Tuesday Call, on Radio Four, hhad a phone-in about microcom: puters and got an awful lot of response “There's such an interest in ‘microcomputers and we have the ‘expertise in out team. afterall, we are the only people doing ‘anything in this area on TV. “David Allen, the producer, ‘and I sar down and thrashed out. I believe quite strongly ‘though, that ideas are nothing — it's putting the show together that, “We wanted to do it at the end of the series, but the idea was 100 late, So now it's going out at the beginning of the repeats. “T would like readers of Home Computing Weekly to write in and tell me what they would like to see in the show. If they include a daytime phone number and questions for our panel they may be able to put them to the team by phone dur- ing the show. Tan MeNaught-Davis Among the features of the show will be “outtakes” from the series — including a scene showing Mr McNaught-Davis, demonstrating an older com: to. feed tray. Suddenly the cards leap out and shower over the floor. ‘There will be a general discussion, a demonstration by John Coll, flm of stars with their ‘computers, an item on jargon and film showing the work of the Notting Dale Centre. There will aio be a live in- terview with information technology minister Kenneth Baker. “Mr Tiley said the series hac ‘a_ regular audience of three million — totalling the viewers for the three screenings each week — and more than 150,000 wrote to the BBC's referral service for ‘more information. David Allen Each episode of Making the ‘Mos of the Micro took 12 hours in the studio and half a day to edit into 25 minutes. Mr Titley said everything looked as it was running smoothly and explana- tions were as clear as the team could make them. He sid: “The reality of working with computer hardware and software is, of course, that things do go wrong — but a great deal can be learned when they do. “So we are hoping 10 eap- ture some of that reality by at- tempting to do things live.” i's exciting because it’s never been done before.” re computer series from the BC. Six 25-minute programmes are being prepared called the Eleetronie OF fice; another is called Computers in Control and features bbugay; and the third, with the working tile Computer Club, vill be a magazine for young peo: ple. Write 10: Micro Special, P.O. puter, inserting punched cards in- Box 7, London W3 6XI Aim straight the paras are coming Ufyou'rea games fan witha VIC-20youwillenjoy Paratrooper, from ‘an Arizona company. Youneed quick refleves to fre a gun, mounted | ‘at the bottor af the screen, at parciroopers dropping. from ‘elicopters. as many as three poratroopers land successfully they sneak ‘away and return ina tank 10 destroy you. You ge points for desiroy- ‘ng helicopiers and paratroopers. You lose fa paratrooper, if three land near you andatlow a tank assault rif you missatarget. This last means hat fring atrandom is = unlike mast other similar games — heavily penalised. Tt has excellent graphies and sound effects and takes only’ ‘minutes 1o learn, using either a joystick or the keyboard. 1s available in cartridge form with expanded features. For| details write 0 The Electric Company, Lake Havasu City, Arizona. ‘Here's a shopping list of books for the ZX81 (we cal it the Timex 1000) from acompany accustomed to receiving overseas orders. Send ‘indolars only — am international money order is best — adding jour! dollars for eirmail shipping. The company is ARCsoft Publishers, Post Oifice Box: 132A, Woodsboro, Maryland 21798, 101 Timex 1000/2X81 Programming Tips and Tricks, 128pp, includes 101 ready-tomenter prograrns as wel as learn-by-dotng hints ‘and techniques. $7.95. 37 Timex 1000/Sinclar 2X81 Computer Programs for Home ‘Sehooland Office, 96pp, is listed asasource of practicalready-to-ran programs. $8.95. Practical Timex/Sinclair Computer Programs for Beginners, ‘pp, includes 36 programs to iype in. $7.95. ‘Timex/Sinclair Computer Games Programs, 9§9p, has 24 all- new games. $7.95 Timex/Sinclair Computer Program Writing Workbook, S6pp, includes program writing worksheets, graphics grids and instruction in BASIC, $4.95 ‘ARGoofI aso offers books on the Tandy, Sharp, Casio, Atari, Texas Instruments and Apple computers. Write to them for a lst. ‘Inwhat is hought 10 be the fst iransmission of ts trpe here, KMPS, an AM/FM radio staion in Seattle, Washington, recerly Broadeast compurer data and software. "KEMPS hoped hat about 251030 people took advantage ofthe event, Thestotion seni a27-second English text message on both AM) and FM bands. Listeners had 10 seconds to set up and then the Imessage, 1300 bad, assent three versions — seven bit even, od and no-bit parity. ‘The message was aso broadeast verbally and users were asked 10 verte in if they mace it work. To certify reponse a keyward was transitied only as daa. ‘Several local usergroups help to setup the project and the mer htt may esame thing wh ther stato “Although sening computer information by radio i not apar- Lieuorty new idea, doing so va conventional ransmision is new here. : ‘One telecommunications company is asking for permission 10 use rhe areas between assigned FM stations to send out special sub- ‘carriers. The approval has not yet been obtained. Meanwhile, the concept of doing the same thing over 0 regular channel, requiring no special equipment other than an acoustic modem, presents many | es. ‘And this isthe end of my transmission. .. see you next week Bud Tren Fairfield, California HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY 5 April 1983 Page SCOMPUTER PROGRAMS WANTED DRAGON, BBC, SPECTRUM, 2X 81, ORIC, ete ‘minimum £250 cash advance on royalties or higher outright cash pay National mail/order advesiting campaign and international sales network estes the highest retlls for your Hess. Telephone Enguires Welcome Lasersound Software Ltd Unit O04, Stratford Workshops, Burford Road, London. E.18, Tel: 01 519 0791 or O1 $19 7809, be SOON SCO geo WHIZZ KIDS! ‘Are you interested in working the hours tha suit you — daytime/ attemoons/evenings/ weekends, In our workshops. Fulltime or par time with all the computer equipment and facilities You could dream of including 2 complete cassette duplicating studio ‘Then contact us for friendly chat on 01 $19 0791 or 01 $19 7809 London. E oe BeMic 16k Cassette RECRUITING? SELLING A PRODUCT? OR A SERVICE? GET MAXIMUM BENEFIT FOR YOUR MONEY FIND OUT ABOUT OUR WHOLE RANGE OF PUBLICATIONS IN: COMPUTING VIDEO RADIO ELECTRONICS Simply telephone ASP CLASSIFIED 01-437 1002 (We take Access and Barclaycard) ASTROLOGY truly AVAILABLE AT YOUR FINGERTIPS USER PROMPTING PROGRAMS: merely Key in birth information ‘8 requestod by the computer — READ OUT andlor PRINT OUT) ‘hate normally te recut of many Hours of pamstakinaly togious ‘and complex mathematical calculations using tables, ephemera, THE SIDEREAL TIME OF BIRTH. ‘THE ASCENDANT ANO MIDHEAVEN in Sign, Dogroos, Minutes, ‘nd Seconds for EQUAL HOUSE SYSTEM. ‘THE SIGNS AND POSITIONS OF THE HOUSE CUSPS in Sign, Degrees, and Minutes for the PLACIDEAN SYSTEM. THE SUN AND MOON POSITIONS in Sign, Degrees, Minutes ‘and Seconds. ALL THE PLANETS POSITIONS in Sign, Dogrocs ang Minutes. ‘THE LUNAR NODE — THE PART OF FURTUNE ~ THE VERTEX, NO A HOST OF OTHER BIRTHCHART INFORMATION AT THE "TOUCH OF A KEY 2X81 16K zopiAc | OnLy £10.00 zo01ac OnLy £8.00 GIVES YOU THE ASPECTS AND MIDPOINTS FOR 48K SPECTRUM AND DRAGON 32 ZODIAC F Full combined program on one cassette FOR ONLY £15.00 (ther programs in course of preparation include: PROGRESSING THE HOROSCOPE: RECTIFICATION OF THE BIRTH TIME, otc Sond orders with cheque payable 10 STELLAR SERVICES 8 FIR TREE VALE, LEEDS LS17 7EY Tel: (0532) 692770 news Page 6 HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY 5 April 1983Store more on tape The Hobbitis a book, acomputer game — and, now, a tape storage device for the BBC micro. Makers Ikon Computer Pro- ducts describe it as a cheap alter- native 10a floppy dise drive Each cassette, says the com- pany, has a capacity of @®K each side anda read/write speed which, at 750 bytes per second, is nearly seven times faster than a standard cassette recorder. Reliability is said to be more than 100 times greater than most cassette recorders and 10 times better than some floppy dise drives ‘Two drives may be connected directtotheinput-output port and. ‘upto five files may be opened for reading or writing at one time. All BBC file commands are supported, says Ikon, with these additions: *FORMAT “TITLE”, *DELETE “TITLE”, "RE: COUP “TITLE”, KILL. Ikon, which made a similar product for the Nascom, says The Hobbit is compatible’ with all ‘operating systems, has all plugs ‘and connectors and comes with ‘operating sofware on an EPROM to plug into a spare socket and a full manual, “The Hobbit costs £155.25, a second drive is £138 and a box of six cassettes is priced at £20.13. Postage and packing is £3 per order. Tkon Computer Products, Kiln Lake, Laugharne, Carmarthen, Dufed SA33 40E Look it up .-- quickly ‘A quick reference car for 2X81 "users is being imported by Elkan Electronics It has 20 pages in accordion style and contains basic informa- tion for programming both the ZX81_and its predecessor, the 2X80. Written in America by Paul Nanos, of Nanos Systems, the cards cost £3.50 each, They are also available for other popular computers, including Apple and “Tandy. Eikan Electronics, 11 Bury New Road, Prestwich, Manchester MDS 6LZ Next stop, Manchester (Our computer show arrives in ‘Manchester in just 16 days — and there's a chance to win two com- puters, one for you and one for the school of your choice. ‘The first Manchester Home Computer Show will lso feature a computer advice centre where Visitors can try micros and ex amine programs covering games, small businesses and education. Entry forms for the free-o- center computer competition will be sent with advance tickets and with the show guide during the three-day event. ‘On display will be a wide selection of computers and soft- ware for the home user, par ticualrly in the £50 to £400 range. More then 150 exhibitors will be showing their products atthe 4th Invernational Commodore Com- puter Show. It will be held at the Cunard International Hotel, Ham- rmersmith, on June 10 and 11 with atradeonly day on June 9, Entrance is £1, or £2.50 for families — with discounts for ear- ly applications. — and Com- modore says prizes worth more than £3,000 are on offer for Visitors. Commodore Business Machines (UK), 675 Ajax Avenue, Slough, Berks SLI -4BG Small letters, small people Youre, sen nave deat recognising capital letters because ‘they are first taught the alphabet inte ae 3 tdeoacd GIN Sot vere ie Bae iy oo reece ‘glare-free matt finish. They are se rth ae, Sl ch comes th ipentese kone Tha ie aah BC gus don Gn set “phonic” word game to en- Gree abel oat a Seek Merde? ath oe is ies wee a fas eer fo tie ens a Tigh eer agane tc casks honoptats = wets wih malice nian to ta 0 sence The Ths vo bebadat in| HT MESES ho LL Midland Hotel, near Old Central | occupies’ 24K of RAM, is £9.95. in ade on of Ba | DD ME of RAM, 5 Street and Lower Mosley Street, ‘on April 21 (12 noon-7pm), April | ————————_—— 22 (J0am-6pm) and April 23 Add a pair (loam-6pm), OF zeroes Ie is one of a series of country-wide shows being aged | Have you got a ZX8100? One by ASP Exhibitions, par of | company says you can add the Home Computing "Weekly's | two zeroes — if you buy its publishers Argus Specialist | upgrade. Publications. For £42.50, Telford Elee- Advance tickets are £1 from | tronics and Computing wil fit a ASP Exhibitions with free en- | ZXB1 into a new casing which trance for children under eight | adds 42 moving keys — including and pensioners. There is a25 per | an extra shift key for easy cent discount for groups of 200r | RUBOUT — a reset button, more, switch for inverse video and a The series of shows began in | power on light. A RAM pack and London in January and from | power supply could also be put Manchester visits Brighton in | inside the case, says TEC. May, Birmingham (June), Not- | The price includes the fitting tingham (September), Newcastle | charge and a six-month (October), Cardiff (December) | guarantee. It cosis £40 for those and London again in January | who want to fit it themselves, us- next year ing a soldering iron. TEC also offers a range of John Graham, Manchester | optional extras including a pair of ‘Home Computer Show, ASP Ex- | joystick sockets and an ouput hibitions, 145 Charing Cross | socket to drive @ standard com- Road, London WC2H OEE. | puter monitor. 01-437 1002 Telford Electronics and Com- ‘Our show is being held at Man- | Puling, 264 Bradford Street, chesters Midland Hotel ‘Saifral, Shropshire TEI BAU Four years ago som, a chess program in 280 assembly language, cost £9.75 for the ‘book. the Independent NASCOM Users" Club sald: "We are growing, at 8 fantastic rate.” Annual subscription was £S...An advertisement for the Exidy Sorcerer offered a 32K RAM micro for £880, plus eght per cent VAT HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY $ April 1983. Page 7THE BEST AT £795 Guaranteed able to. consistently beat Sargon II = and all other Spectrum chess Sinclair 48K SPECT programs !! For Schlan (@@ ORIGINAL SUPERCHESS @@ The Cheapest (SPECTRUM SPEECH @ 2X DRAUGHTS @. \olmcl iy 28 Bruin ihe des co txt Das SPECTRUM FORTH @@ NEW! eerie rs Capa" Ont en Yor CP SOFTWARE, Dept. Hew.17 Orchard Lane, Prestwood, Bucks. HP16 ONN PROGRAMMERS - TOP RATES PAID FOR QUALITY SPECTRUM PROGRAMS, SEND YOUR MATERIAL FOR EVALUATION AND PROMPT REPLY tow FORTH FOR THE DRAGON 32 ‘DRAGONFORTH' is an implementation of Fig-FORTH for the ‘DRAGON 32" microcomputer but with a difference. As well as the enormous power of the FORTH language, ‘DRAGONFORTH' can also execute BASIC statements. This combines the superb DRAGON sound, graphics and Floating Point commands with the tremendous speed of FORTH to produce an unparalleled hybrid. Youcan write a whole program in BASIC or ‘a whole program in FORTH or any mixture of both. If not already convinced send £2.50 for the 60-page manual (redeemable against first order) ‘DRAGONFORTH is professionally packaged, sensibly priced guaranteed for life and will be despatched by return complete with free demonstration graphics program. AUTHORS: Oasis Software will market high quality programs you write in‘DRAGONFORTH' We pay a lump sum on acceptance £18-95 and a generous royalty. Lets hear from you! INC. P&P AND VAT. OASIS SOFTWARE, LOWER NORTH STREET, CHEDDAR, SOMERSET. Telephone: 0934 515265 access onpens DEALER ENQUIRIES WELCOME Page 8 HOME COMPUT (G WEEKLY $ April 1983o There's a crisp £10 cheque for the first correct entry out of the hat on Friday April 15. That gives you 10 days to complete Geoff Turners’s puzzle and get it to us Name Address Please write clea Home Computing Week OEE. Closing date s fist post in capitals, and send your entry Entry coupon post code 145 Charing Cross Road, London CW2H 9m Friday April 15 Across 1 Name associated with an carly computer, also has connections with a current TV quiz game 2. A short electronic ‘component?’ 7. Valley in the USA 10 Golden adventure for someone? 11 This could come between your computer and its| printer 15 Clear screen and send the ccursor here? 17 Constant companion to 4 down? 18 Happiness from a computer accessory? 22 This BASIC message could hhelp you find your mistake 23 see 28 across 24 A new computer may be fast in opera, but slow in this report 25 and 23 across. Go here for your TRS 80? 28 First computer from ‘another planet? 20 He has recently shown us how to make the most of 31 Files are usually full of i 33 Inside a Colour Geni package you should find its manufacturer 34 See 16 down 36 Turtle talk? 37 Often seen around the computer? The small print The first correct entry drawn at ‘noon on Friday April 1 will Bethe Incorrectly addressed entries will not be considered Eniries wil not be accepted trom employees and their families, of Down Elementary language? 2. Request your computer to tell you the value of a character? 4 Components from the Chinese take-away? 5 Important feature of many computer games 6 Found at the back of a large computer? 8 This man will tel you how Tong a string is 9 Definitely not a p.n.p. transistor 12 Could allow the teacher 1o communicate with his pupils 13 Make comments about your programs? 14 Don't wait for an input? 16 and 34 across, You may need this to find your way around your computer 19 Make plans to put graphics in your program? 20 His first computer was the M.K.I4 21 Who will look after this computer when you are away on holiday? 26 Did St George own one of these computers? 27 Take a look inside a computer 30. .and take a byte from this one? 32 Computer not visible to the naked eye? 35 This chip is often responsible for delays in computer production Argus Specialist Publications and Alabaster Passmore & Sons, The winner's name. and the solution will be published in the Home Computing Weel The editor's decision is final and no correspondence will be entered HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY 5 April 1983 Page 9we're sides oy senthen — watching | °"s; says Currys | 5.0 (Currys, with $14 high suet stores, js keeping an eye on the micro | clock ‘The first cassette priced at contains Telling the Time ‘and Money. The fist sets the hands of a atandom and asks the child market witha view toincreasingits | to type the time in words, Money ‘computer busines, names a small amount and shows ‘Already there are 34 shops | pictures of coins. The child is ask- called Micro C, run by a separate | ed to ‘make up the value using farm of the company, and there | thesecoins, with sound effeetsand have been suggestions that com- | colout puters willbe soldin Curry'smain | result red screen scores, Correct 'sona long series are reward stores. ‘ed with a gold-coloured screen, Marketing director Richard |" Geoffrey Sampson, 38, i Ford said: “\At the moment the | reader in linguistics at Lancaster ‘mater is in the hands of Micro C | University, “The couple met at which sells machines like the | London University VIC-20, Dragon and Atari He was the author ofthe frst, “We are very naturally con- | cass sidering our position, There’sonly | Second, an introduction o maths, te and is now working on a one sntver ~ its ust anatierof | “yp sasmroaueign oma timing soing to try and stick to infants, Currys, 4650 Uxbridge Rood, aan pee berate ii Hee ire in the market. We try to ind ou * what kids need, write the pro- Keep ‘em | pte wil nor rela pen and paper but kan help rolling Thechildren, now aged seven Join the Orepon trail wth your | 2nd five even helped with the 48K Oric, says Ozark Software. i] fi et Hp Os 59 Or =| said: “just sat them down and text week the company is B= | ssid: +1 want some drawings.” And inging out acassette called Pioneer 1847, costing £6.98 and complete with wagon, riders, vandits, oxen ‘and mountains. Tony Reid, who wrote the program, said: “'ve got quite a otof general knowledge about ihe ‘ld West and I've seen quite afew Ozark Software, 96 Seal Road, Bramhall, Stockport, Cheshire SK7 2LB Keeping it in the family Two litle girls called Poppy and T used the best one on the Sophie helped their mother and | poppy’s drawing on the cawette father start a small software firm. | gard 1 began when Vera and Geoffrey Sampson bought a 16K | Poppy Programs is based at Spectrum in autumn last year, | the Sampson's Lancas planning to use it asa teaching aid | — hal home If the house built for @ Vie = only to find few programs for | torian mill owner, Mrs Sampson children of their daughters’ age | said: aroup, with Mrs Sampson, Ametican witha dearee in Eastern | in archeology, said: anoth then four and read systen they would not accept her, so we | News I gets noigy in the spring the lambs bleating.” 4oyear-old | Mr Sampson is ako involved other project. He is writing et book, this time on writing ms, And he is using a rain with a word processor bought the Spectrum. he wrote for himself “We could not find any pro gramssowewroteourown. I went | Popp! to the schools and asked the | Hous teachers for advice. Then people | Lancs Page 10 HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY y Programs, Richmond e, Ingleton, Carnforth, LAGSAN 5 Apzil 1983 ONE MAN'S VIEW Games are killing the micro market ‘A third of all microcomputers sold in the past decade have been ‘bought in the last three years. This incredible upswing has been brought about by the misconceived notion thar the micro is nothing but a glorified xames console, capable of putring arcade ‘quality video games on 10 home television screens. ‘Nor oniy:is this misconception on the part of the purchaser, ‘but also an unrealistic proposition Jor the manufacturer — for to make a truly arcade-qualcy micro would add at least an extra ‘nought on to the purchase price. ‘Many people have taken for granted the computer's ability to create dazzling reproductions of its arcade counterparts, Ofien the advertisements, especially for software, are alone’ aan adequate incentive for immediave purchase. Exciting artwork ‘and careful packaging disguises the fact that, in the case of | /zumes software, the game you have purchased 15 not up to arcade standards. For those whose illusions have been toraily destoyed, a small ad in the local paper, a clasified in @ computer magazine ‘or a return to the shop announces their defeat. People should realise that a micro is a means to an end, mot ‘an end in itself. You have to take the time and effort 0 learn how (0 program in order 10 experience the benefits (and frustrations) of your own creativity — to develop « unique video ‘game or design a program that saiisfes vou and satisfies a need. And in doing $0 it will become obvious that there is no way @ rogram writen in Basic or Forth can give the level of quality taken for granted on an arcade machine. Uf guimes are al! that interest you, it makes more sense 10 ‘buy a games machine dedicured 10 nothing but displaying a colourful array of games modules. But too often the prospective ‘micro buyer gets caught up in the mania of Buving @ inachines Because of this, che marker will eventually suffer. People| will Sell off their machines as their imerest wanes in what has| turned out 10 be a poor investment. As an analogs, the secondhand car market has taken a lot af business away from showroom sales of new snodels, simply hecause the numbers, ‘choice and, most importantly, price of secondhand cars make buying @ brand mew car pointless. ‘So it will be with microcomputers, with an obvious decline in demand and a parallel rise in the numbers af machines being offered for sale through magazines and newspapers. In fact, 1 predict that the near future will see the publication of| ‘supplementary magazines devoted to the sale, purchase and | exchange of microcomputers in their hundreds, if not thousands. Economies of scale wil rule within the mass market for these machines, culminating in a bouoming-oui of sales 1a ‘the general public. ‘This could all come about simply because of the present ‘emphasis on micros for use as games terminals. Could it one day ‘be said that gaming sofiware killed an expanding market for ‘microcomputers? Aldo G Rabaiott Freelance programmer, Port Talbot {© What makes you pkased or annoyed about he micro scene, hardware or Software? We welcome contributions for this column. Ser them 10: Paul Lipwot, Opinion, Home Computiog, Weck, 148 Charing Cross Road, [London WC2H OEE. Plewe inctude your cecupation and your inert in compat.At the Home Computer Shows will be a complete cross section of the hardware and software available to the home user. The emphasis is on the lower end of the price bracket with computers from £50-£400. If you are interested in computers and what they can do for you then come: along to our COMPUTER ADVICE CENTRE: experts will be on hand to give you impartial advice on equipment available. Try out the machines in our own demonstration area and see programs running covering educational, games and small business applications. There is a COMPETITION at every show to: WIN TWO COMPUTERS. Win a computer for yourself as well as one for the school of your choice: free entry form with advance tickets. Also available at the show with the show catalogue. ADMISSION £2.00 (CHILDREN UNDER 8 & 0.A.P’s FREE) AND IF YOU’RE A PARTY OF 20 OR MORE, THERE’S A 25% DISCOUNT Thursday 21 April ’83 (12am-7pm) Friday 22 April ’83 (10am-6pm) & Saturday 23 April ’83 (10am-6pm) <4 ss : a The Manchester Home Computer Show s& Midland Hotel. (Opposite Town Hall). S oer For advance tickets send cheque/postal order to: rs ASP Exhibitions Argus Specialist Publications we 145 Charing Cross Rd, Rr London WC2H OEE See Tel: 01-437-1002 € = & HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY 5 April 1983 Page 11Amicroin rm not your trolley fooling Supermarket giant Carefour has | Software boss Clement ‘pened theft of a chain of n- Store computer shops. ihe bemg ren in Telford Sropsireby Jentesh Services | sling. Tentech Home Computers and | His company, Computer Socks the ZXS),Specsum, | Rentals, sae ts high reoltion Vie29, Commadore 6, Atom, | fool box cases = 595, forthe BBC micro, Dragon and the NEC | 16K ZX8I can create a display of CSOD with artnaeor softmare, | 192 by 256 peripherals and add-ons “10s true," said Mr amber. “im ‘not making i up but three people rang up to ask if it was a joke. There's bothing ike ton the marke” protection "he propa was writen by Band R Elta hasintodoced | a 14-year-old, East Anglian neath leakage crt breaker | schoolboy called Rihard Testor, hich says, deiened for use | who gt 20 per cent royals. trouni the home, parila for |" Richard has writen anther computers program, this time. forthe Calla the 08 isaboutthe | Spectrum mods "and costing sae ofa sandatd double sock | £895, which ads 36 new sree power pint and stable for wall | colous, says Mr Chambers: Iounting or portale se. costs | And tere thi coming, £29.50 and the apliance to be | a €330-ZX81_ adventure called protected plugged im te stan | Eseape from Manhattan. dard three pin sock Chambers was being accused of playing an April Fool prank last ‘week — because of @ program he Band R Elecirical Producis, | Computer Rentals, 140 Temple Fields, Harlow, Essex, | Whitechapel Road, London El CM20286 IES You could be on our pages We welcome programs and articles #rom our readers. PROGRAMS should, if possible, be computer printed (use a new ribbon) ‘and/or sent on cassette, check carefully that they are bug-free. Include detalls of what your program does, how it works, variables you have ‘used and hints'on conversion. ARTICLES on using home computers ‘should be no longer than 2,000 words. Don't worry about your writing abiiey ardtf,tryee keep to the style in ncw. Artleles most likely to be published will help our readers make better use of thelr micros by giving useful ideas and tips. Please include example programs. We will convert any sketched Iustrations into finished artwork. Keep a copy of your submissions and include an SAE If you want them returned. Label everything clearly and ‘lve a daytime and nome phone number if you ean. Paul Liptrot, Home Computing Week! “5 charing Cross Read, London We2 Page 12 HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY $ April 1983 Zon X alongside special Spectrum adaptor — sound for Sinclair helicopters lasers and explosions —to add to programs. Zon X has a sound chip with three channels plus noise and pitch ‘and volume can be controlled by simple BASIC statement on the attack-decay envelope ‘There is a further plug-in adaptor, for use with the Spec- trum, which contains acrystaland other devices to ive, says BI-Pak, unlimited sound facilities, Zon X costs £25.95, special adaptor is £32.75 and he Spec- trum special adaptor only is priced at £6.80. Prices include postage. ‘Add sound to your silent Sinclair ‘computer. Bi-Pak Semiconductors has brought out a modified version of itssound generator, called the Zon X, for the ZX81 and the Spee: trum, Insidea black plasticcasein a loudspeaker with manual volume control. It plugs into the back of the computer and does not need power supply or batteries. i-Pak says it offers a wide range of sound effects — in- Bi-Pack Semiconductors, The Maltings, 62 High Street, Ware, cluding pianos, bells, organs, | Herts SG1294G Fireworks for Send them show now Organisers of a computer show are laying on a bonfire and fireworks display at Birmingham's National Exit tion Centre, Called Brainwave-83, the exhibition is being held on November 4, Sand 6. ‘Clapp and Poliak, 232 Acton Lane, London W4 SDL Don’t forget — have only unt first post on April 8 to enter our great Speetrum/Quicksilva com- petition with £6,200 in prizes. On- ly comectly addressed envelopes containing coupons (not copies) from issues 1, 2 and 3 of Home Computing Weekly will be ac- cepted. Good luck! BBC micro ad complaint ‘Acom has been rapped on the Knuckles again over its advertis- ing This time the Advertsing Standards Authority upheld a complaint about an advenise- ment for the BBC microcom- puter It showed how the computer could be expanded along. with peripherals. and. software imply- ing, says the ASA in its lates. report that all these items were An order form gave details of many of them. The ASA says that not only were some not available “but in certain instances they were not yet in production.”” ‘The authority upheld the complaint and said it was con- ‘cerned that the material had been prepared without due regard 10 its code of practice ‘Acorn had said it did not claim all the items were available ‘and that the advertisement was purely informative. It agreed 10 ‘amend future advertising to make this clear, available.One man went to mow — but can you? There are three customers ‘on your lists, each with a dif- Let your computer take you | ‘ ~ extra RAM, makes a change __ | oftie tems on the lavn. from shoot ‘em up games ‘collision will result. in damage to both your mower and the object you hit, This costs you ‘money to repair everything, Once How does your | Here isa game in which no aliens | you complete the lawn you are _ arden lawn grow? | or monsters appear, no. space- | paid. The faster you eut the grass, ‘This Qualeast | ships are used and in which you | the more money you will get \ mower is more | con't have a laser cannon. In| A collision with a tree, o if \ ‘efficent than | fact, all you have t0 do is cut | you fall in a pond, will mean an arass. Overnight slop to repair the imagine that you are trying | mower or to dry out. The erass to make a living by cutting other | grows again overnight so you will people's lawns. You have a petrol | have to start again. mower which works well but has | You must be careful 10 a sticky throttle and won't stop | move economically or you will once it's moving. run out of petrol, The mower is HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY $ April 1983 Page 13,reilled if you do, but it costs you money. The program needs at least 8K expansion to run. Before loading or typing in the program, {you must raise the stat of BASIC with the following direct mmand: POKE612,32: SYS 64824 ‘When you run the program, you will be asked for the level of Gifficulty. 0 is the slowest speed tnd 9 is the fastest, The program will then draw one of the gardens and position your mower on it. You must then press any key (0 start. You move the mower with the following keys: A — move up Z— move down ‘Cursor right — move right Gursor down — move left If you hit anything, you will be given a message at the top of the sereen. press any key to get going again afer a collision. The program uses a ‘number of features which may be of interest, Lines 470-480 set Lup a sereen of 32 rows of 24 characters. This sereen is cleared by the SYS 6000 call ‘The user defined characters are stored in RAM starting at $120 and are pointed to by a POKE 36869,208, In order 0 speed things up, the lawn is scanned in line 1130 by the SYS6036. If all the ‘grass has been cutr, then loca tion 1 will contain 0, else it contains 1. Sound effects have been in- cluded to give the program that added undefinable quality. How it works Line 90 sets up sound reyisters and clear keyboard butfer Line 100 movernent increments Line 110 loads machine code Line 430-440 load characters Line 450-460 save screen status Line 470-480 set up and clear Line 490-990 draw lawn Line 960-1000 get key press and change direction and mower character Line 1020-1030 cheek petrol Line 1040-1110 check for collision Line 1120-1200 cut grass and sean lawn Line 1210 message routine Line 1220-1330 grass growing routine Line 1340-1460 lawn finished, calculate cash, new lawn? Line 1470-1520 cut grass around tee Line 1530-1670 instructions Line 1680-1690 mower noise Line 1700-1840 colision effests Page 1 HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY 5 April 1983,SOFTWARE REVIEWS Have a drawing, squeaking, playing, speaking micro You'd be surprised what your micro can do — with a little software help. Our reviewers tell you how they rate the new utility programs speed”? from The quality of the sound is surprisingly good, though it takes a bit of getting used to. But there is a great deal of background fuzz, and ampli fying the output sometimes seems to amplify the fuzz at the expense of the speech, Te takes two lines of pro- roduee a word, but oreaars Sen tase The Program| that speaks for itself... terances can easily be programmed. However very few long sentences are possible with the vocabulary provided. Most applications will be simple single word warnings or hints in games programs Si calc Certainly not as good as SPAcCegaMeEN’s |. sccch chips, but quite a 43k remarkable manipulation of the spectrum _|Sevuss mute soe £6.95 —— Ripe erpr This set includes all whole | AUTO Graphics Son re tees | nee Grapnle derived from Star Trek, in cluding words like “‘phasor"” £6.95 and ‘'starbase”” as well as some colours and directions. Buttereraft Software, 14 ‘Also included is the ‘‘s"”| Western Avenue, Riddlesd sound to pluralise many words. | Keighley, Yorks. Clever programmers might also be able to split words by alter- | Another program developm nt ing the addresses of the stored | aid from Buttercraft, this time data, for example to get | an aid to designing graphics to bbe incorporated in your own. programs. Written in Basie, Auto Graphics allows graphics characters to be designed on the soreen by individual pixels. As the design is built up, larger sereen areas can be defined as single graphics “*blocks"". Once the design is 10 your liking, it is saved as a Basic program line. As the Auto Graphics line numbers start at 9000, you have the option of inchiding the generated strings either as lines atthe siatt of asa subroutine at the end of your own program. Instructions are also aiven on saving the graphics lines on tape and then merging with another program. But remember that the pro gram uses AS 10 store its generated strings — don't use the same variable in your pro- An_cight-page instruction book accompanies this. tape, ‘and I would strongly advise ‘anyone buying the program 10 study the instruetions carefully cease of use raph value for money 90% bide ae aed Auto Sonics Video Genie £4.99 Buitercraft Software, 14 Western Avenue, Riddlesden, Keighley, Yorks, I didn’t know quite what 10 ex pect when this tape arrived for review, but it turned out to be a really excellent utility for those who write games in BASIC and want to include sound effects After adjusting your sound equipment with the aid of a signal output by the program, you are faced with a menu of 26 possible effects, including animal noises, sirens and space sounds, Select the sound you want, and a list of parameters appears ‘on the screen. Using these, you ccan adjust the quality and dura- tion of the sound in sixteen dif ferent ways, and keep testing the result until you find exactly the effect you are after. Press ing the / Key will then produce ie BASIC program line which ives the effect, and this can then be copied’ for use as a subroutine in a program., This tape will no doubt go down well with games specialists, I look forward to the appearance of programs rivalling the performances. of Percy Edwards or the BBC Radiophonie Workshop, RMD. 900% ease of use 809%, graphics 0% value for money 300%, Spectsound Spectrum £5.95 PDQ Software, Parsley R Hilders Lane, Edenbridge, Kent TNS 6IU Spectsound lets you use the Spectrum’s keyboard rather like the keys on an electric organ, 10 play notes and compose simple tunes. Though by no stretch of the imagination could the Spee: trum be described as a musical instrument, the booklet sug- gests that it could be used as an elementary music teaching aid. A. keyboard overlay is pro: vided 10 show you which keys produce which notes, and the instruction book is very com: prehensive and easy to follow The program loaded first time, and launched straight into a pleasant jingle and a display ‘of the musical stave, with notes, ‘appearing in the appropriate places. On entering GOTO 45 tas directed, 1 was serenaded with the demonstration tune Hava-Nasila The main program however, is rather less am: bitious, Pressing a key produces ‘note, plus the name of the note displayed on the screen. You do not, unfortunately, see the note’s position on the stave By adding this to the pro- gam, Spectsound’s usefulness asa teaching aid would be much treater. Maybe the programmer would like to take that idea up? BB, instructions 100% playability 90% eraphics 50% value for money 70% HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY 5 April 1983. Page 15FEELING ADVENTUROUS? ASP Software Adventure Series 1 THE WHITE BARROWS Program approximately 8K Somewhere amid this maze of burial chambers lurks an Evil Sorcerer whom you need to trap. Trouble is, he's protected by Trolls, Dwarves, Serpents and the occasional Dragon or two! Your magic staff will block the tunnel to prevent him escaping unless, that is, he outwits you. A teal brain twister, White Barrows requires both brains and brawn from its players. It's no good just hacking your way through the Barrows and hoping to fall over the Sorcerer. Eventually you'll meet a Dragon, and they don't hack easily! You'll need all your strength and cunning to survive this one for long. THE WHITE BARROWS, Only £6.50 all inclusive! CONQUERING EVEREST Program approximately 11K You are in charge of an expedition comprising 18 climbers, 34 Sherpas and 40 Porters. There is food, tents and equipment for all, even the oxygen you'll need as you near the summit. One slight problem, it’s all at the BOTTOM of the mountain and you have to get it all up to the TOP! ‘The monsters of this game are avalanches, starvation, storms and, adventure, Everest will test your skills of forward planning to the limit. ‘CONQUERING EVEREST ‘Only £6.50 all inclusive! jorst of all, bad planning! A real, thinking man’s ** SPECIAL DEAL ** Both programs on one tape for only £11.45 all inclusive! ASP Software Adventure Series 2 CELLS AND SERPENTS Program approximately 11K. ‘More monsters than you ever thought could live behind your keyboard. Wander the hills in search of gold and glory but be very, very careful where you tread! There are things here that will make your wildest nightmares look like Julie Andrews. Fancy meeting a Mind Flyer, for example? Or how about shaking hands with an Asmodeus? (You'll only do that once!) Treasure is here to be found though...he hard way. nest how good you relly ar at adventuring with his practically unsuvvable fantey, Not forthe faint of hear or the slow of sword. CELLS AND SERPENTS, Only £6.50 all inclusive! STOCKMARKET Program approximately 11K. ‘There are other ways of making money than bashing Trolls on the head. Try this one for a change. Contend with a fluctuating economy, tax investigations, bullish opponents, impatient bank managers and consortium takeovers as you struggle to make ‘your first milion. It is decidedly difficult and definitely compulsive. A must for all those aspiring financial wizards, both young and old, the game has real family appeal as up to six people can play. It’s easy to learn but very, very hard to STOCKMARKET Only £6.50 all inclusive! ** SPECIAL DEAL ** Both programs on one tape for only £11.45 all inclusive! ‘Our Adventure Series programs are available on tape for the following systems: Commodore VIC20 (not available for White Barrows Everes), Sharp MZ-B0A and MZ-80K, Tandy TRS80 Model 1, BBC Model B or 32K Model A, Atari 400 and 800, Sinclair 48K ZX Spectrum. Please indicate your selection in the coupon and give the relevant system. Please note that we CANNOT supply mixed orders ‘on the combined tapes; A BBC Cells and Serpents with an Atari Stockmarket, for example. Fill in the coupon, cut it out and send it to: ASP Software, ASP Ltd, 145 Charing Cross Rood, London WC2It OLE Please send me .... tape(s) of the following programs: | am enclosing my Cheque/Postal Order/Money Order (delete as necessary) for £. .. (payable to ASP Led) ASP Software Adventure Series 1 oR The White Barrows Conquering Everest Combined tape . £6.50 each Debit my Access/Barclaycard (delete as necessary) © £6.50 each ' Oras I ASP Software Adventure Series 2 Cells and Serpents ces .@ £6.50 each Stockmarket... @ £6:50 each Combined tape - @ eas Please use BLOCK CAPITALS and include your postcode NAME (Mr/Mrs/Miss) . : ADDRESS. POSTCODE Date My system isa computer Signature Page 16 HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY 5 A;ight program didn’t take oFF After reading of Mr Hasting’s problems with C-Tech Software, [thought I'd let readers know ‘about the difficukies I've had with the same company. Jn November last year, I sent off for a Flight Simulator pro- _gram for the Dragon. About two ‘weeks later (Go much for the advertised despatch within 48 hours) I received a tape in a box and nothing else — no documen- tation at all. ‘The program tumed out to bbe writen in Basie, and, contrary to what was staed in the adver- tisement, dials and runway could not be shown on the sereen together. 1 sent this tape back, and another in the samme state as the First arrived about three weeks later. This one would not load — the only time I've ever had any problems with loading. This tape was retuned on January 7 by registered post, along with a request for my money to be refunded. On February 21 Isent a further letter, but have sill heard nothing from them. Davies, Colwyn Bay, Winter's tale Of woe ‘My experiences with Orie Products have been similar to your corresponents’. Mytaleof woeisas follows: ‘Order 48K Oric in the first week of November, on a promise of delivery in the fist week of December End of November — despatch now second: week in December. Early December — despatch now by Christmas. Mid-December — letter confirming despatch Christmas or early New Year December 22 — machine posted! ‘Chrisimas/New Year holiday — numerous calls to GPO, but no ric. First week in January — apologies for a mixup between factory and sales — despatch now by end of January. February 5 — Oric arrives, posted on February 3. ‘Secood week in February —I ‘writeto complain and ask forForth, Send your letters to Letters, Home Computing Weekly, 145 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H OEE. There's at least £5-worth of software for the best each week, so don't forget to name your computer. Queries cannot be answered on this page language, Orie User magazine, | con going on in the computer ‘cassette leads and explantation of | market on the subject of language. ‘various bugs. No reply todate. | When I bought my computer, I Mid-February — machine | was told that is used BASIC in- ‘breaks down and is retuned to | structions. Seeing a number of ric. Delivery confirmed, but no | magazines all advertising BASIC date for despatch given. Then } programs, I thought Iwas well delivery denied. away. End of February — delivery] Then 1 found that BASIC ‘confirmed. Despatch by 25th. | doesnot mean what my dictionary March 3 — sill no Ori. | saysitmeans — in fact there areas ‘Wrote to demand refund. ‘many different BASICS as there March 5 — Orie detivered | are computers. (Gespatched March 3). Has anyone thought of The above represents just | writing a BASIC comparison dic- some of the phone cals Ihave had | tionary? Pethaps you could use to. make to Oric — has the] the dea for a series, As you are a company got shares in British | weekly, we wouldn't have long to ‘Telecom? ‘wait before being able to add to G.D. Evans, Luton, Beds. our understanding.” hope you will be carrying (SRNR | oto Cent proses in fue issues. Culling a! Peter Holme, Kendal, Cumbria. Prego) Owns | Te Seti Dragon Cas nv a caret nenbetip# sta Ser ie ane Ac val | One GSES publishing a regular club newslet- Pe: Grechaconncimenbon ‘counts from seven different soft-} Up tilltwomonths ago I thought a Stettadearmmufecacs | BBel ves someting ite a oh rei an xt an ath ‘We charge an £8 membership | marks on an apple, tevin incnisnenbeipen | Seth toe seulcdan free games tape. ‘Atari j400, and have learned what DJ. Anderson, President, The | @ pixel and byte really are, But I Scottish Dragon Club, Top Fat, 1 | havenot find many useful hints on ‘Walker Street, Edinburgh EHS | using my machine without paying ey Ssorouant prices for 8 metas SR | 7S fo ie, wine ans’ oa gap as My computer heavens: Pescherp up —1 tse a you te lr language bar |e ade ae Sew Game, RAF C10, Hsing ty erie ye | Bicol La ‘omer ova do nd inte [or mac? | oni lb out cae Sora Mr Wha of be Computers, can get his new ideas | MUItiplicity OF Sayre fom opm Was | MICFOS pas your money and Jo aes Jaa Flac cn yu ge oof sco fut ldo fesmeeabtot | eos mann? eho i ‘meeting on March 9 and were very pleased with the response — 70 people present. Among the micros represented were ZX81, Spectrum, TRS-80, Nascom II, Dragon, Pet and BBC, though not everyone who came was a micro owner. We are the Thurnseoe and District Micro Club, and we will ‘be meeting every Wednesday ‘evening. AS the secretary, I will sive further details to any readers Who are inverested. Peter James Davis, 62 Tudor Street, Thurmscve “East, Near Rotherham, ‘South Yorks S63, ops. Want readers to hear abou your micro club? Send us the details. 17m not a computer person but I have got a Spectrum. It’s on my living room floor and I only use it for paving games T don't know how t0_pro- gram and I don't want to know. Ieisas much as ean do to actal- Iy load the games ito the Spec trum, ‘Most of my frends and family are in. professional. pro- gramming and they all play ames 100. So why should I feel aul? Mrs Patricia Smith, Co London- derry, Northern Ireland Tellmethe sameold story too am having problems with ric Products, asisa friend ofmy son’s. Only today I rang the com- pany, to be told the same story 1 hhave been hearing forthe past six woeks, ‘My order was first placed in (October last year. What annoys ‘memostisthat, not only have Orie not delivered otr goods, butitalso cashed our cheque on January 13. ‘This money could have kept our ‘account in balance rather than theirs! P.Fustow, Hall, Humberside, We have received a number of let- ters complaining about Orie's delivery delays. HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY § April 1983 Page 17bring you For the. 16or48K ZXspectrum se gng sete hen. SEVEN ds of lay ncn Icing iar ay wo ao. “Tm ULTIMATE ca Flight Simulator luni arepeed racer, ground vente fight path indicators, ‘tricia orion and alireer wits ontinsous fight monitor on anne avon, sal peed ote, ul Colour Hires arannes 3D ana Sound £8.00me nt Puge 18 HOME COMPUTING WEE! NEW! ORIC 1 Control ven, x10 06. DRAGON 32....... ‘Tango Foxtrot 01 Using your si, ocat the airstip ‘nth trader scarier fy your {tera through hazardous ‘rosswinds and ar pocket and Ar combat and ground eirko, “oystck" conweled sights canon tre ara'bom® release. Full colour, ‘Heres praphies 30 and sound Comeutve, ace, rt ‘machine. Using your ski with tho ‘Educatona/ picture recognition. H- ‘es graphs, ox and colour Age Stoves 84.98 ne ps Pontoon Super tives graphics, tal colour detintion and cara acl. 2a 2UARK DATA PO, BOKG1, Swindon, Wits Tel (0793) 40861. 0 Please supply. [ Cheave for total amount enclosed Name [Address LY $ April 1983NC a Business and leisure software for home Cele oe roo rere: Scenes Bretire...ifyousurvivethe f mone aera ee eee Pesaro pesteeiriee ion with Profesional Auditors eet cracet) ee SPT ye ed Perce ‘The Advertising Standards Authority | Ht an advertisment is wrong. we're here to put it right. ASA deck Hse regio Pace London WCIE THN M&J SOFTWARE DRAGON COMPANION BOOK ... £4.95 Discover 7extra graphics modes Study the workings of BASIC with the disassembler Take complete control of video memory mapping Increase the processor speed (not a hardware mod) Append programs from ape Incorporate useful routines from BASIC in your m/e progs ‘Add commandsto BASIC DRAGON IMPLEMENTATION OF FORTH , ....£15 This is a cassette based implementation and is fully documented FORTH LISTINGS ........ £7 6502, 080/280, 6809, 6800, 1802, 8086/5088, 68000, PDP-11 INSTALLATION MANUAL £5 Necessary for implementing FORTH and itseditor Alll prices inclusive of postage and packing. Cheques and POsmadepayable please to: M & J SOFTWARE, Dept 1, 34 Grays Close, Scholar Green, Stoke-on-Trent, ST73L.U Tel (0782) 517876 DEALER ENQUIRIES WELCOME —_cws Professionally writtem and tested software for 16K and 48K Spectrum HOME ACCOUNTS PROGRAMME £6.50 1800 current transactions, 160 standing orders 48K) ‘Automatie month dere ‘Aulomatis inverts of orders on specified dates Review of balance to any day ofthe current month Simple bank statement check of Double save and verify onto tape with archive number ‘Simple menu operation with formatted display ae to AM Blectronics, $5 Welford Rd, Blaby Lelcester LES 3FT rnd SAE for Tull operaing lealet, DONTMISSTHIS INCREDIBLE OFFER! ‘oneassette forall the follwing YES, 50 GAMES: Since SPECTRUM 2X81 LYNX AcoRWATOM OGG. "SasseTie 60 FOR Tencose cheque/PO. Name Adress _ HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY $ April 1983 Page 19Want to get away from it all, on ee a space adventure or a Z mountaineering expedition? Our il 4 reviewers already have. They ea report back on the latest adventure games but the scenarios are slightly dif- SAR | isc. Sse roe a tepik up "Deum Crystals” in order to refuel your spaceship, RSAC | ich tas mace a toca landing on Sau, ‘Return to Earth sth sequel, in which you have to find your way round a deserted earth Sta tion to ty and alert Earth of your predicament. Twas entertained by the display of my spacecraft and Satur while the program was loading. Sadly, once the game proper had begun, that was the fast Tsaw of them, The program wouldn't ac cept a lot of my proposed solu- tions, but’ got Tull marks for politeness, responding with “pat don?” to suggestions it didnot understand, e D Though I found no bugs as through the entrance or walking straight past the ext! ‘After loading, youcan opt to look at the simple instructions or plunge straight into the maze. ‘There you can go forwards or backwards, move left or right, or, itthings get really ough, choose to “give up” or call on the “help” facility, The latter briefly displays ‘a plan of the maze showing your postion; otherwise you can only Se the walls facing you You choose the size of the ‘maze yourself, froma 4x 4 grid © 10x15 grid, and the computer then creates a'random maze and shows you the plan once before you enter. ‘On leaving the maze you can choose to see an action replay of your progress through the labyrinth, Time taken to find your ‘way ut, anda score ased on time and nurhber of moves are shown, I h such, there was some evidence of and the highest score is recorded , bad design. For example, at one = The tape loaded perfectly 2BS , point I was offered, and accepted, | Axis Software, 71, Brookfield | everytime, and the game proved ‘a boat, only to find that the only | Avenue, Loughborough, Leics | both enjoyable. . and exiremely way t0 proceed. was upwards! | LEI 3LN frustrating! Mikro-Cen, 24 Agar Cresent, | Well it i say a liht boat. Bracknell, Berks B.B | Labyrinth challenges you to find PR instructions 70% | your way in three dimensions | instructions 80% ‘Two simple adventure-type pro-| playability 50% | through a randomly-generated | playability 90% srams on one cassette, The format | graphics n/a | maze. Easyto play, the game tests | graphics 70% Of both isthe same — a series of | value for money 70% | your memory and perception of | value fr money 80% situations followed by the ques patterns othe full...alltoooften | p tion “what will you do now?"" you find yourself trying to exit | Mal - Page 20. HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY § April 1983,Everest Ascent 48K Spectrum £6.50 Richard Shepherd Software, Freepost, Maidenhead, Berks SL6 sBxX Combining aspects of adventure and resource management, this program requires the player 10 control ten Sherpas with varying ‘osi/performance merit, ten tems (of equipment, and cash flowing in at an unpredictable rate ‘The concept is good, but ‘more attention might have’ been paid to the player’s convenience. It was initating to be offered a ‘menu of options, ony co find that the option T chose was invalid in the current circumstances. For ex- ample, if there are stars in the sky, indicating night time, the only valid option is o camp. Limited availabilty of keyin- SOFTWARE REVIEWS SLACK CRYSTAL formation, such as the remaining cash in hand, may deliberate poliey, but it results in the need to ‘make copious notes. You can get atthe information by asking for a ‘Position’ report (which means ‘status’, but it is not available ‘while consequent changes are be- ing made. No serious bugs were found, bar the appearance of equipment in the list of Sherpas, which may have been due 10 user error, but the program is not uncrashable. A “quit” option would have been, welcome where disaster was i evitable, Nevertheless, an interesting, if frustrating game. With practice the disadvantages can be minimis- ‘ed and reasonable progresscan be made. br. instructions 80% playability 0% ‘araphies 70% Value for money wr Pimania Dragon £10 Automata, 65a Osbome Road, Portsmouth, POS 3LR Your questin this adventure game {sto hunt through time and space for the Golden Sundial of Pi. But watch out for the Pi Man — he may not be all he seems! ‘Avnew (nist to this game is that the object of your quest ac tually exists. If you can work out the overall meaning of the game, you could win the real Sundial, made of gold and diamonds and valued at £6,000. ‘And as well as the program, the Pimania cassette also contains the Pimania theme tune, sung by the strangely familiar Clair Sinclive and the Pi-Men, ‘These fils aside rch use of ‘colour graphics and music is the first thing you notice about Pimania. The text is also neatly presented, within the constraints (of the Dragon's display But though the animation ‘and “Full musical score” are quite fun fora while, they soon begin 0 pall because ofthe inadequacies of the game itself. ‘Compared with other adven- ture games, Pimania has very few (about 20) different places to ex- plore. I found the Pi-Man's re- quests invariably accompanied by an iritating bit of music) absurd. ‘And the programean only unders- tand the simplest of instructions. However, the program load- ce first time, and adequate run- ning instructions are supplied. In- structions on how to play are ‘another matter — here youareleft in the dark, Nice gimmicks — shame about the game LP. instructions 40% playability ov araphics 80% value formoney % Black Crystal 16K ZX81 £7.50 Carnell Software, 4 Staunton Road, Slough, Berks SL2 INT Black Crystal is the most am- bitious adventure game I've seen for ZX8I, with elements of Lord Of the Rings grafted on to the adventure format. You take on the role of war- rior, elf or wizard, with correspon: ding values for physical and spiritual strength, before setting ‘off into the valley of Beroth. Your ‘im is to retrieve all seven rings of light and eventually, by placing them in exact locations around the black ysl tordthe valley ‘The program is large and is clvided into sx segments preceded bya shor loadtest. Unless youare starting a new game, you enter ‘each segment by specifying a map reference determined in the sez- ‘ment previously played; the order ‘is mot fixed in advance. Myself, 'm-not far into the quest yet: it takes some time to ‘master the use of keys controling ‘movement and weapons, and to discover the right tactics. for various monsters. Still, Black Crystal has impressed me by its sheer quantity and generally ‘quality of presentation. mafraid T’ve become an addict. instructions 80% playability 80% graphics 80% value formoney 50% I THEE PARTS PIXEL The Trader Trilogy GK ZX81 £9.95 Quicksilva, 92 Northam Rd, Southampton SO20PB In this space-adventure game, you arean entrepreneur visiting the six planets of the Meridien system, Theaim isto retum safely to your starting point while maximising your profits. ‘The main program is preced- ed by a short memory test, which also sets up a block of control data. Thereafier prompts are given 10 load each part of the trilogy. ‘The loading procedures are ‘described in an amusing accompa- nying booklet. Ths also contains, besides trading certificate, an ac- count of the planetary system, its several curious types of inhabi- tant, thecommodities they dealin, recommended support equip- ment, and dangers to guard against. The program itself offers an enjoyable mixture of text and ‘graphics, and contains several dif- ferent sort of games that could be marketed separately. Arguably, Trader is just a shade overpriced. But it’s cleverly devised, nicely presented, and if you're feeling indulgent, well ‘worth considering, Ce: instructions 90% playability 85% sgraphios 90%, ‘value for money 75m, HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY $ April 1983 Page 21PETER STREET VISIT THE COMPLETE SHOW FOR THE HOME USER AND SEE: A COMPLETE cross section of all hardware and software available to the home user. ‘A FULL RANGE of home computers priced from £50 upwards. A COMPUTER ADVICE CENTRE run by independent experts for the answers to all your questions. WIN WIN WIN TWO COMPUTERS —one for you,one for a school CO eee oe OR Reo seen Ace) BW THURSDAY 21 (12.5 fon A ri FRIDAY 22 (106mm) 7 SATURDAY 23(10%60m) ADULTS: £2.00 UNDER 8s & OAPs: FREE 25% DISCOUNT for parties of 20 or more. COMING SOON MAY ~— BRIGHTON JUNE BIRMINGHAM SPONSORED JOINTLY BY: BBC Computing z Computing Today Personal sartware LS Personal Computing Today /” 6 Home Computing Weekly ZX Computing / " Page 22, HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY § April 1983,Watch out... the Pucmen Tapeh feemt een Donnieaacen BASIC. you are given a bonus life. TO The game demonstrates | ems | ior you of this alteration in what can be achieved in BBC the game a number of special BASIC, just using inter! Areade action from Jeremy Ae a com variables, and a compact algorithm’ What makes he pro- | RUSCON In a well-structured PFO- | ious high tone which lass wn cen mor maetir | "gram which shows the ver- | ato! he rovers that it has been written with a influence structured approach. That is, it] Satility OF BBC BASIC. . .and OF- | pucmen change colour to a is modular, leaible and doesn't Dulsing_ black/white combina- include a single dreaded GOTO fers hours of fun fon. Thirdly, your speed or GOSUB. a | id the maiz relive 10 11's only disadvantage is that | ing around the maze, homing in | ed “‘power pills”. Eating one of | that of the puemen, increases. it requires 2 model B computer, | on you. A display is kept up on] these pills instead of a dot en-| Your monster is controlled for a model A with 32K of | the right hand side of the] dows you with enough power to | by using these key RAM, to run (it uses mode 2). | display of the number of lives} alter the course of the game for | Up — : (colon) You start with three lives. A.|-you have lef a limited period, so that roles | Down — / (slash) life is lost if you are eaten by | There are four special dots} are reversed, and youmuststart | Left —Z ‘one of the three Pucmen roam | jn the corners of the maze, call- | to eat the pucmen. Right — X. v0 xTy 255 540 READ AS 100 LOHZ=150 350 YOU EVALC "a" 4As> 110 OZ=0 560 NEXT GX,T% 120 REPEAT 570 DATA “00000000000000000" 130 MODE 2 SBD DATA "OXs esc reDen eve RO" 140 PROCscreen 590 DATA "0.0.000.0,000,0,0" 1S0) REM 2 s0GGG 0G0GD000G0s00000000% 600 DATA "0.0,000.0,000.0.0" 160 REPEAT 610 DATA "Or ensersesavowe 0" 170 PROGRave_man 20 DATA "0.0,0.00000,0,0,0" 180 PROCnove_puck 630 DATA "Ose. 0sreDersOee.0" 190 COLOUR 4 640 DATA "000,000,0.000,000" 200 PRINT TAB(&,1)3N% * 450 DATA" O,Osevve0-0e0 240 UNTIL L%=0 OR HX=0 660 DATA "000,0.00000,0,000: 220 TINE<0 AZOUDATA rare 8 a Oiagint 230 REPEAT UNTIL TIME>100 680 DATA "000.0.00000-0,000: 240 HODE 7 690 DATA 00s er enes0e0 250 IF Lxe0 THEN PROClose 700 DATA "000.0.00000.0,000: 280 IF NZ=0 THEN PROCWIN 710 DATA "OsecereeOe an 270 TF NX13 740 DATA "000.0,00000.0.000 300 xFX 12 750 DATA "Ors Ose +Oree0y +00 10 XEX 4 740 DATA "0,00000,0,00000,0" 0 END 770 DATA "OKeeeess ese es XO” 220. REK soencEpEnGECENEEGNEDERLOOE 780 DATA "00000000000000000" DEF PROCseree 790 FOR TZ=1 TO 22 LOCAL AZ. TX.6%,A8,88 800 READ As YOU 23782027030505 810 FOR Gz=1 TO 17 cis 820 BY=MTDS(As, 62,1) RESTORE 830 IF THEN VOU 32 COLOUR 4 840 IF ES="," THEN VOU 17,1,225 ex=0 850 TF B$="0" THEN UDU 17,2,224 PRINT “Low score!"LOHZ/"Scoret"’ 860 IF BS="—"" THEN YDU 17,3,292 DATA FF,FF»FF,FF,FF/FF.FF »FF 870 NEXT Gx DATA 00,00,08,1C,08,00,00,00 890 PRINT DATA 3C,7E,FF.FF,FF.FF,7E, 30 890 NEXT TX DATA 3C,7C,F8,F0,F0,F8,7C, aC 900 *FX 12,1 DATA 3C,3E,1F,0F,0F,1F,3E,3C 910 KFX 11,1 DATA 00,00,C3,E7,FF,FF,7E,3C 920 XFX 4;1 DATA 3C,7E,FF/FF,E7,C3,00,00 930 xFX 9,5 DATA 18,3C,7E,5A,7E, 66, 7E,5A 940 xEX 10,) DATA 00,00,00,18,18,00,00,00 950 KKEY 0° "RFX LZIMKFX 41K" 510 FOR 1Z=224 10 2 960 COLOUR 3 520 YOU 23,1% 970 XKe72YE=11 530 FOR Cx=0 TO 7 980 Le HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY 5 April 1983990 zx=227 1000 NZ=150 i010 az=0 1020 RZ=FALSE 1030 UDU 31, X%)Y%,2%)31,18,7,231,31,18, 9,231,31,18,11,231 1040 DIM UZ2,UZ2,Kx2 1050 FOR TH=0 TO 2 1060 UZ?TH87-+1% 1070 UZ9TH=15 1080 KZ>TH=225 1090 NEXT 1% 1100 ENDPROC 11U10 REM 30 0eG0NOERAIOOOIIOGRO0E RK 1120 DEF PROCnave_nan 1130 LOCAL Az,T% 1140 4150 1140 1170 TF 42<136 OR AZ>199 THEN Aaz=O% 4180 REPEAT UNTIL TIME>Ox 1190 ¥FX 15,1 1200 xFX 15,6 4240 IF A%=139 THEN PROCUP 1220 IF Ax=138 THEN PROCdoun 4230 IF Ax=137 THEN PROCRight IF A%=136 THEN PROCIeft, Ou=A%, YOU 31,X%4Y%,2% 41270 ENDPROG 1280) REM 90603 900000000 DRI RIHOOO 1290 DEF PROCUP 1300 CX+FNread (xz, ¥%-1) 1310 TF C%=224 THEN AZ=Q%tENDPROC 1320 YDU 31) X%.¥%)32 1330 YZ=VA—1 1340 IF C%=225 OR C%=232 THEN NZ=NX—1t OUND 1,-15,10,2 ELSE SOUND 1,-15,200,2 1350 IF C%=232 THEN PROCchanee 1360 2%=229 1370 ENDPROG 21980 REM 98Q900pONOHGOGOHOIGAIOOUGOE 1890 DEF PROCdown ADO CZ=FNread (XZ VX) 3410 IF CZ=224 THEN AZ@QZ1ENDPROC 1420 YOU 31,X%,Y%,32 1490 YzeyZe1 1440 IF G2=225 OR CX=292 THEN NZ=Nx-11S OUND 1)-15,10,2 ELSE SOUND 1,-15,200,2 1450 IF C%=232 THEN PROCchange 1440 2%=230 4470 ENDFROC 14RD REH 080800DOBEDOROEIIOONIGGE 1490 DEF PROCright 1500 CZ=FNread (Xz YE) 0 IF Cx=224 THEN AZ-Q%tENDPROC 1520 YOU 31,%%,¥%,92 1580 X%=Xz41 1540 IF CX=225 DR C%=292 THEN NZ=NZ-115, OUND 1,-45,10,2 ELSE SOUND 1,-15,200,2 XZ NR 550 IF C%=292 THEN PROCchanae 1560. 2%~227 1570 IF X%>46 THEN xz=0 1580 ENDPROC 590 REM oR IOGE OOOO UDOOK OOOO 1400 DEF PROCIeft 1610 CZ=FWread (X%-1,¥: 1620 IF CX=224 THEN’ AZ=0%!ENDPROC 1630 YOU 31, x%,¥%,92 1690° XK=XK-1 Page 24 HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY § April 1983, 1650 IF Cx=225 OR Cx=232 THEN N&=NZ-138 OUND 1,-15,10,2 ELSE SOUND 1,-15,200,2 1660 IF Cx=232 THEN PROCChange 1670 2%-228 1480 IF Xx<0 THEN xx-16 1690 ENDPROC 1700, REM s00nOBKEDEERHOGRONEGODOI 1710 DEF FNread(x%,Y%) 1720 LOCAL Ax 1730 Aax=135 4740 YOU 31,224 THEN D’ + 1810 IF FNread(Xx,Y%-1)<>224 THEN DZ=D% +2 1820 IF FNread(X%Z,Y%+1)<>224 THEN Dx=D% +4 1830 IF FNread(Xxx+1,7%)<2224 THEN 0% +8 1940=D% 4850) REM 2oGGN GGG ICOOEDOIRIDOOO IK 1860 DEF PROCRove_puck 1870 LOCAL 1%,Jz,1%)HY em LtIF S%=0 THEN RX % 1920 YDU 31) T%,J%,KXPTX 1930 PROCKeU_direction D1 THEN 1: 1950 IF 120 THEN 1% 1960 UZ2TAATL 1970 YZPTH=Ie 1980 TF R% THEN COLOUR 8 ELSE COLOUR 4+ Th 1990 KZPTZ=FNread(UZITZ YxITH) 2000 OX=FALSE 2010 TF (KX7TX<>225 AND KX?TZ<231 AND K XATKE>32) OR CIXSXZ AND IKEYZ) THEN PROC what next 2020 IF KX?TZ=231 THEN Kx2Tx=225 2030 YoU 31,UZ?T%,Ux2T%,2a1 2040 IF 0% THEN Tz=5 2050 NEXT 1% 2060 ENDPROC 2070 REM 2900000000000200000000000K 2080 DEF PROCnew direction 2090 LOCAL D% 1%) M% HX PX 2100 DA=FNGan (1%, JZ) 2110 SGNCYE: wo 2120 2130, 2140 2150 HieHae2 2160 HiSHZe4 2170 2180 2190 2200 TF PZ=4 THEN JZed%+1 TENDPROC 2240 IF PZ=8 THEN IZ=1%+1 :ENDPROC 2220 TF Dx=1 THEN TZ=1%-1!ENOPROCREPEAT PX=D% AND (2ACRND(AD=1)) UNTIL Pz IF Pu=1 THEN I%=T%-1 tENDPROC IF P%=2 THEN J%=J%—1 tENDPROC IF P%=4 THEN J%=J%+1 fENDPROC IF P%=8 THEN I%=T%+1 {ENDPROC ‘STOP REM 0000000000000 02010, DEF PROClose PRINT “CHR#(131) ;CHR¢ (141); TAB(10) ME OVER PRINT CHR$ (130) $CHR# (141) $TAB(10> ME OVER" 380 PRINT /CHR$(132);"You have lost wi th a score of "3N% 2990 PRINT ‘’"CHRS(129);"Press ‘return’ to restartes. 2400 ENDPROC 24.00 REM 20000000000000000000000000 2420 DEF PROCWin 2430 PRINT /CHR¢(191);CHR¢ (141); TAB (10) AME OVER" 2440 PRINT CHR$(130) ;CHRE (141) 7TAB(10 CANE OVER" 2450 PRINT ‘CHRS(132);"You won!!!" 2460 PRINT “/’CHRS(129);"Press ‘return’ to restarte..” 2A70 ENDPROC 2480 REM s20GGG00 RIG UEGORCOGORODOOR ago 2500 2510 EH 2009000000000001000X 71000000 UND 05-15, 2420 O%=TRUE ENDPROC. REH 290000000000000000000000006 DEF PROCchange SOUND 2)-15, 255,10 R%=TRUE. 8%=3 ENDPROC REB 2200080000 000000000 77000005 DEF FROCoain, L=LZ41 IF LZ<10 THEN YDU 17,3,31,18,Lzx2+ ae 0 i Yu=13 SOUND 2,15) 100,70 O%= TRUE ENDPROC. FREK 2280000000000000100000000000¢ DEF PROCwhat_né IF R% THEN PROCQain ELSE PROChit ENDPROC: REM 23000000 0000000000 ERSOFT PERIPHERALS AND SOFTWARE FRENZY The object of this game is to eatroy at many obstacles 3s posible, You aren contro ofa Find speeder in an alien city ‘Running over” various objects sch ae dogs, fire Hydrant and frople, Your speeder hes no lakes and you must dodge ant matter lacks Fast reactions and Sil are required a5 your vehicle fete fster and faster. For Model “A” oe" era PRICE: £5.75 HOME ACCOUNTS, Am accounts program specifically ‘sigied forthe ome oer. contains many features which take ithe ben account package Correnily avalable for the BBC Microcompater Home Actounis is a compre. hensive program allowing tral ‘control ofall data Fall dactimen- tation is supplied making it esy to lear and simple to we ‘Rvalabe forthe Model" Micro only. PRICE: 612.50 POTENTIOMETER JOYSTICKS Single or twin joystick unit fr direct connection to Model B. Allows true analogue movement via one or two high quahty dual axis potentiometer driven joys The unit is encased im an cleyant Injection moulded case with two push buttons for use with Adval (0) comes complete with fl nstrutios and demonstration programs ONE STICK UNIT 279 TWO STICK UNIT £36.20 SEND CHEQUE OR POSTAL. ORDER PAYABLE TO: PERSOFT, FREEPOST, SHIPLE ‘WEST YORKSHIRE ADI? SBR a Trade Tel, VIC20 DIGITAL CASSETTE DECK Enquires Welcome FULLY COMPATIBLE DESIGNED BY OUR OWN ENGINEERS REQUIRES NO ADDITIONAL HARDWARE SIMPLY PLUGINTO YOUR VIC! 28is| STOKE-ON-TRENT Send to: DATEL ELECTRONICS 27HOPESTREET HANLEY HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY $ April 1983 Page 25THE DRAGON DUNGEON DRAGON GOODIES Chamber, wo've beon able to ‘double our storage spac now stock the from a single U.K. source. “The Oungeon Master have ‘been pureuaded to expand his rmingel ttle price ist ana we Ean how send you a descrip: tive catalogue, ‘latest Books instock; Load. and “Go with’ yout Dragon’” £6.96 (Lots of ex. plained, programs and james). “Enter the Dragon” DRAGON OWNERS CLUB ‘Tne Dragon Dungeon Club monthly noweloter, Dragon's TTeath, is packod with nows ‘eviews and information fr tne edicated Dragon basher. The March issue of Dragon's Teeth, now out, includes bath hardware and sofware offers ‘and Club Members registering before March 31 willbe eligible te purchase Dragon badges land sweatshirts at very special rces, Annual membership, includ ing Dragon's Teeth, £6 (six ‘month Wal subscription £3.25) 5155. (programs include Dragon “invaders, 3:0 Tressure "Hunt, Flight Simulotr, ete f3 atest’ Games: “Space face’ £7.88 (mie, rcage game) “Lion Heert” £5.98 fereade game/adventure) "Champions" £8.45 Hoot THE DRAGON DUNGEON PO BOX 4, ASHBOURNE, DERBYSHIRE DES 1AQ ‘Tel: ASHBOURNE 44626 news ‘The Advertising Standards Authority’ Wan advertisement is wrong.we're here to put it right. AAU ike onrton Pst ons, wee 26 HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY 5 April 1983 MICROSPHERE COMPUTER SERVICES LTD 72 ROSEBERY ROAD ‘LONDON NiO 2LA TELEPHONE 01-883 9411 EVOLUTION (48K Spectrum) (Can you: Trace the course of evolution? Start wiin prmaoval soup 8 end vp with man? Suvive the odd major dossier? ‘Should be easy. alter all its been done before! only e695, OMNICALC (48k Spectrum) The best spreadsheet analysis program you can buy forthe Spectrum. Uses include nancial planning, home budgets 8c Features’ 99 columns or 250 rows Fuly prompted input Extoncive ropoat facies onaltional expressions ang NO Totaling and sutstotaling, Comprehensive manual rae ZX-SIDEPRINT (For Spectrum or 2X81) Brat sideways on tho ZAP to Ge propa 8/132 {Eagy 1 ad to existing proorams Routines to take print ince direct rom sereen omer ease letters even on 9 2X8 (State version req’) £4.95 CREVASSE & HOTFOOT (15k Szecttum) 2 orginal games from Microspnore Can you make across the ice-cap whilst chasms open and ‘lose ail round? It ge! Yo Held ful of carrots - but remember: the rabbit the greater the danger Excelent value £495, Make the most of your BBC Microcomputer with three publications written by the experts LET YOUR BBC MICRO TEACH YOU TO PROGRAM, by Tim Hartnell, £6.45, with 40 complete programs including Othello. THE BBC MICRO REVEALED, by Jeremy Ruston. If you've mastered your computer and you want to progress, thisis the book for you, £7.95. INSTANT BBC MICRO MACHINE CODE by Jeremy Ruston. This compiler allows you to enter programs in BASIC and then have them changed automatically into machine code, gaininga speed increase of up to 10 times, £34 95 including cassette. ee Inteface Pains, AW 44-46 Bars Cour Rd, LONDON W8 62. Please send me the books indicated above. lenclose S.MAKE MUSIC WITH SPECTSOUND Specisound i a highly versatile package which enables tunes o be ‘Composed and played directly from your Spectrum Keyboard. 9 ‘Octaves available. TV display showing Beep No's and chosen ‘uration. Program automatically stores Your tune for instant recall. Format allows simple transfer of composed music into your programs. Comes complete with Keyboard Overlays showing new ‘ey functions, Beep Chart and fll instructions £5.95 ‘ZX SPECTRUM DUSTCOVERS NOW AVAILABLE Made from tough durable PVC. Unique design allows leads to remain connested, ONLY S cree rooster ks. FLEE q Hilders Lane, Edenbridge, Kent, TN8 OU Al prices include P&P and VAT. COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAME SOFTWARE. ‘AND HARDWARE NOW BY MAIL ORDER MAIL ORDER PROTECTION SCHEME Hf you order goods from Mail Order Advertisers in this magazine and pay by post in advance of delivery, t publication will consider you for compensation if the ‘advertiser should become insolvent or bankrupt, provided: 1. You have not received the goods or had your money returned; and 2. You write to the publisher of this publication explain- ing the position not earlier than 28 days fromthe day you sent your order and not ater than'2 months trom that day. Please do not wait until the last moment to inform us. ‘When you write, we will tell you now to make your claim. ‘and what evidence of payment is required. We guarantee to mest claims from readers made in ‘accordance with the above procedure as soon as [possible after the advertiser has been declared bankrupt ‘rf insolvent to a limit of £1,800 per annum for any one ‘advertiser, so affected, and up to£5,400p.8. in respect of all insolvent advertisers, Claims may be paid for higher ‘amounts, or when the above procedures have not been ‘complied with, at the discretion of this publication, but we do not guarantee to do so in view of the need to set some limit to this commitment and to learn quickly of reader's difficulties. ‘This guarantee covers only advance payment sent in direct response to an advertisement in this magazi (not, for example, payments made in response to cat logues, etc, received as a result of answering such advertisements): CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS ARE EXCLUDED. PHDHDELAZIS SOFTWARE { 4 ‘QUALITY SPECTRUM & ZxBI GAMES 4 Spectrum LABYRINTH for 16k ‘The 3. moze challenge game for al ages. Thovsonds of rancom mazes to ove hours of fun. You selec: maze se. Wals and passages oppeay in ful 3D effec. Super colour ‘ond sound effects, Lost? --- don't pont, help is evaloble ‘Best cove kept — con you beat 1600! Doa't miss the ful waa a XEfen ka Rinedew toma ATARI Pacman, Defender, ET, Phoeais, Vanguard 27 55each | [ACTIVISION Pita, Megamanie, River Raid Exrssexch COLECO Gort, Donkey Kors 2 5each IMAGICAanis,DragoaFise Bissech PARKER rogue Amir, Reason 7 9seaeh ‘ton reply — ree every ep, Somme maze open Fost m/c code moves. “a only £5.95, Spectrum SUPERBALL for ick Bewore of lesser versions ... this game gives you 3 versions of the populor breakout type chllange fo test ‘both beginner and expert players. Con you unock the side ‘ols ond contol up fo 3 Boks fn play ot oncel Very Fost, | mic code oxtion uth super colour disploy. 1 or 2 players Various bal speeds. only 2495 SUUMIIOS SIXU i t ano ron tHe ZXBT isk & 1K 4D lokamammrt— pe srg pace re ‘ek mereDt KORO Ronen —"Eoxodesccrgonee ttaasie 9 Neng 59 werd), cos tenn Pa ge "w nowren' — W goncs pace? OnE Ee Kot NEY. DH ‘cheques/PO to: AXIS (UK, LTD., Dept. HCN, 71 Brookfield verve, Loushborouch, Loks, LET 3LN Rae erate or leodracorete sre. ews H EE ams sorrwane OOOH HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY § April 1983. Page 27ER Rad ‘Digital Integration, 22 Ash Church Road, Ach, Aldershot, Hants GUIZLx “You arethe rear gunner in thetur- ret of a bomber aircraft under at~ tack by enemy fighters. Survival depends on your skill to defend your plane as the enemy weaves about the night sky. ..”” ‘So begins the blurb accompa Where the action is for your 2X micro Our panel has tested out the new games for the 2X81 and Spectrum, and reports back with star ratings ‘nyingthis ame, and very excitingic istoo. The blurb, thats. Thegame itself is something of a disippoint- ‘ment, although its repeated failure toload did lead me to feel atleast a ‘modicum of aggression. ‘Around the cross hairs of a ‘gunsight, enemy planes cunningly disguised as. punctuation marks jump and jerk. You aim your gun ‘withthe cursor keys, and fire with lewer Q. A score is kept, calculated on. how long you take to shoot the baddies down, and ifthey get you, HIT is flashed across the screen, Thatis more orlessallthereistothe sane. wasnota good idea o lect the cursor keys as controls: they ‘cannot be used without concentra- tion and discomfort. A program is designed for a computer, but a ‘game sathing forahuman to piay. ‘Themorethat software reflects this the better for us humans. Devilbirds/ Digger Man Spectrum £4.95 Macronics, 26 Spiers Close, Knowle, Solinul, West Midlands B93 9ES, ‘A very pleasing two-game package. Jn Digger Man your task iso dg tunnel whilst being pursued by Devil Dan. You can takea break by dashing back to the surface, where Dan is powerless to follow. ‘You choose your own control ‘keys, which I throught was a very ‘good idea, ‘The game, which loads in two sections, fa good easy-paced in- ‘weduetion to electronic gaming ‘and particularly appealed to my TD. insructons so playabiy 10% saphics 25% ‘ake for money 15% cigh-yearold son Devilbirds is ideal for the “blasters among you, From the floor of adark cavem you fireaway at a winged creature who glides slowiy about above you occasional- Iy unleashing his own deadly laser in your direction. ‘Another target for your own weaponry is the bat-lke creatures hhanging from the cavern roof, whieh turn out 10 be embryonic Devilbirds. ‘You score progressively more points for hits as you advance ‘automatically through the skill level, Da. instructions 70% playability 10% araphics 13% value for money 700% Page 28 HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY $ April 1983 Space Intruders Spectrum £4.95 Quicksilva, Palmerston Park House, 13 Palmerston Rd, ‘Southampton Superbly packaged, Quickslva’s version of the standard Space In- vvaders format comes with ahelpfal Keyboard overlay, a hold facility (seful for stiff fingers) and a high score table. Thesolid machine code ‘program never failed oload while | ‘was testing it ‘A good display, with finely- detailed invader graphics, though I didn’ like the pink forts. The laser base responds quiekly and moves smoothly, with the intruders ‘teaching an impressive speed in the endgame. High quality sound ef- fects add excitement, Occasionally @ silent bive ship fits across the sereen This is billed in the attract mode as carrying ‘mystery points, but on destruction none are displayed — a real ‘mystery. And invaders sometimes dic, awarding points, before a shot 's fired. But there are no other serious bugs. Funto play, and great dexteri- tyisrequired to clear more than ten sereens. A good implementation of the arcade game, all it lacks is originality c insructions 80% playability 15% sraphics 65% value for money 80% Triad 48K Spectrum £9.80 Amba Software, Freepost, Cam: bridge CBI 78R “Triad sa collection of thre games =a variant of Pacman, a'game called Sub Attack and amaze game called Treasure Hunt — in one machine code program. The first of these is a reasonable copy ofthe orginal a- cade game. I offers 14 cifeent ‘mazes and nine different speeds of ley, thelast being the only one fast ‘ough 10 make the game wor- thule. The dhoss come straight at you with none of the daweling ‘often associated with spits ofthis sort Sub Antackisa fily mindless game in which you drop depth charges on to submarines, which ae firing back at you. Even inthe het eel of py rogeste ee be ie hhand, is fairy original gameof the ‘maze variety, in which you go round collecting treasure instead of chasing ghosts. There are many fia levels of play involving combina- tions of diferent attributes, such as ‘moving walls and limits’on the length of time for which each ob- jest appears. Not a bad litle package, through a shade overpriced. Reasonable graphics and sound, and adequate documentation Lo. instructions 700% playability 0% araphics St value for money 55%Crevasse/ Hotfoot Spectrum £4.95 Microsphere, 72 Roseberry Road, London N10 ‘A two-game package, but one ‘game is better than the othe. InCrevasse, youare exploring the Polar ice cap, and areinneed of supplies kept aboard your expedi- tion's ship. ‘Togetthem, youhavetocross and re-cross a terrain made treacherous by crevasses opening ‘across your path — and then clos- ing as quickly as they appeared. You travel in an ice bugay, represented by a cross whieh you guide across the sereen using the eursor control keys. Points are awarded for suc- ‘cessful journeys, with a bonus for Auick crossings. You have ten ice ‘buggies to lose, and there is a high score recording facility. ‘A fairy lightweight game —1 doubt its ability to sustain long- term interest. Uninspiring ‘raphics, though I quite liked the sway the cravasses form their jagged ‘way across the sereen, Hotfoot isa different matter both in quality and scenario, You take the role of a ‘hungry rabbit siting in its burrow. Your task isto get to a supply of, carrots (represented by numbers)in the surrounding fields, then scutle back to safey But the open fields are dangerous to would-be Bugs Bun- nies. Ifyou stay out too long, foxes represented by a moving graphics scale and arising pulsating tone wll eat you To further complicate mat- ters, the fields keep changing col- ‘our. Youcan only raveltothenext field ic itis the same colour as the ‘one you are already in. And you hhave to move faster and faster as the game goes on It may sound complicated, Dbuti’s worth persevering with, and gave my family alot of fun. Attractive graphics, with a particularly handsome rabbit in the ssarrole. foundthe moving colour combinations of the fields rather hhard on the eyes after atime, but the game works ust as wellin black. and white Ds. insructions 70% playability 6% graphics 65% value for money 708% Meteoroids £4.95 Soltek, 324 Croxted Road, London SE24 ‘When gameis advertised asoffer- ing Arcade Action, comparisons ‘are bound to be made with the ar- ‘eade version, and the home com- puter version inevitably comes off “Having sai that, theaction of this machine-code game is very ‘smooth, With a total of eight com- ‘mands at your disposal, the game itself is very playable, once you ‘have pot the hang ofthe controls. Tenjoyed the graphics display while-the program was loading, though in contrast with it, the pro- gram itself seemed a bit flat. The spaceeratt looked remarkably lke a fly, and using my favourite com- mand — hyperspace — hopped about like one. No high score op- tion is included. BB. instructions st, playability 85% sraphics 90% value for money Arcade Action 2x81 £4.95 Micromega, Quantec, 230-236 Lavender Hill, London SW1] ILE, ‘Contrary to the label on the tape, these gamesall loaded and ran in an ‘unexpanded ZX81— you don't need the 16K RAM. All examples (of good, fast, machine code pro- ‘ramming: they allloaded firstime fand the instructions are com prehensive. In Overtaker, you are driving ‘car, You have to increase speed ‘and weave in and out of the trafic, ‘andthe faster you go, the more you score — unless you crash! An ad ictive game, Mise Man is the best im plementation I have seen of In- vadersona IK machine, Four rows of aliens plus one swooping bom- bard your battery, and the explo- sions when you hit an alien are im- pressive. The game plays wellandis, ‘reat fun. ‘Lam surprised that Starfighter Pilot fits ito 1K. You can flip in and out of hyperspace, with stars rushing towards you, and in nor- ‘mal space a landscape serolls towards you with missles rising from ts surface. You destroy them by positioning your gunsight over them, whereupon they explode. I's ifficult togetagood score, but fun ying. ‘Guess what Greedy Gobbler resembles? You have four ghosts chasing you as you eat the food capsules, and the power pills turn the ghosts greylong enough for you tocaich them, A clever implernen- tation. ‘Don't be misled — the last ‘game, Exira Terrestrial, bears no resemblance tothe flm. You arein ‘an alien spacecraft orbiting the ‘world which you attempt to exter rina, I's only a matter of time. pe, inaructions 209% playability 85% rapes 908% Valle for money 0%, Challenge 2X81 £4.95 Micromega, Quantecy 230-236 Lavender Hil, London SW11 ILE, Five programs on one tape, all on the theme of challenging the player’ skill. The games al loaded first time, and the tape is accom- panied by a booklet of comprehen- sive playing instructions, Two of the games, Brands Hatch and Road Race, involve negotiating a course, using ony left and right instructions. These | found vitally im- possible to master, and con- tinuallybounced off the sides ofthe course. Road Race is marginally casier as you are at least shown @ steering. wheel indicating. which direction to goin. ‘Cartoon Man is rather point- Jess it merely consists of moving a figure, cleverly animated, Iwill ad- mit, across the screen at different speeds, Jugaler uses the same figure, this time trying to catch four mov- ing objects. onehitsthe floor you Jose a life. Ison got bored, (Meteor Strike displays a map cof the world which cleverly rotates leftorright. Theobjectistoavoida ‘iteor storm descending from the top of the screen by moving the ‘world so that the meteors land in the sea. The display is so near the top of the screen that you cannot see the meteors in time, But was by far the best game. Dc. insructions| 80% playability 10% waphics 73%, value for money 13% Superball Spectrum £4.95 Axis, 71 Brookfield Avenue, Loughborough, Leics Ifyou are abreakout addict, this is the game for you. If you aren't familiar with the game, the idea is ‘to knock bricks out ofa wall by hit- ting a ball with a bat. In this version, you choose from three games: practice, pro- aressive and acceleration, One or {two people can play, and there is a choice of ball speeds. "You can even have three balls {nthe cour atthe same time—too ‘much for meto cope with, but ex- [perienced players will no doubt be in their element. ‘Superball loaded first time, ‘and the instructions were easy 10 follow. I didn’t encounter any ‘bugs, and found the game easy 10 play —at very slow speeds! I would Tike to see Superball included on a compilation tape, along with other ssmilar games, BB. insructions 100% playability 80% aphics om ‘value for money HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY $ April 1983 Page 29opportunity to miss! * & KSAVE £3 & & Book your subscription to Home Computing Weekly on or before 29th April 1983 and send £3 less than the full subscription rate as listed below. Don’t delay, a saving of £3 and all the latest news on the home computing scene delivered weekly to your door is too good an SUBSCRIPTION ORDER FORM Cut out and SEND TO: Home Computing Weekly 513, LONDON ROAD, : & i i 1am enclosing my (delet necessary) ‘Cheque Postal Order international Maney aN er for ane made posable ro ASP Led) oR Debit my Accens/Barclaycard* (Clelte ce necessary) Pleaseuse BLOCK CAPITALS and include postcodes. Name(he/Mra/Mis).. Address. Stenature Date ose. e es ; Su BB BEE RE ee J ZX Spectrum / 2X81 FOR ONE JOYSTICK AND INTERFACE MODULE BUILT, TESTED & READY FOR USE NO SOLDERING, interface module pugs into rear connector between 2X and Ram Pack, Priater cha, IAL PROGRAMMING, Joystick 1 simulates ovement keys Sto 8 through interface module, + IMMEDIATELY COMPATIBLE WITH ALL SOFTWARE ‘using the arrow keys for movement ‘4% TWO JOYSTICKS connect va one interface module + FIGHT DIRECTION, SELF CENTRALISING ACTION with integral “FIRE® button FREE "VIDEO GRAFFITT program & full instructions. * SEND G.w.o. To: AGF: HARDWARE, Deol, 5, 26 Van Gogh Place, Bognor Regis, West Sutiex POR2 9BY Hows Pary [rrew. TEM PRICE [TOTAL [—3885—$t INAL TOTAL] Paye 30. HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY 5 April 1983, BAUST COMPUTI CONSULTANTS RI PROGRAMS FOR TRS-80 (lease state model (rll) and memory size. Level 2 only) aaa anes meng I I I I I I I I I q