computist scan 82

Iam: O $35 Subscribe to COMPUTIST We ej Subscription rates: COMPUTIST Canada & Mexico $7 U.S. $3.75 ‘Contents Editorial Note..........sssssseseeeeed The Bard’s Tale III: RiSK V1.4 oo scseesseesssessseenseecsneesneensneeesee RDEX Contributors ..... 23 Thief of Fate/PC.......... 7 Space Station Freedom............. Most Wanted Softkeys . The Maps of Kings Quest V 6 To Preserve, Protect, and Defend unClassifieds .. WENdOTS ove crcrorcevcersisssceuncas) “Wood Car Rally scisscsatensecnsn 19 The Product Monitor Features, Notes & such: APTs: Reviews GS/DSP: Update on Captain Goodnight Chip’s Challenge .. IIgs Enhancement Board Elite Plus .. ie Continuum... Two-World Transfers: The Maps of Kings Quest V ...........+. 6 Freakin’ Funky Fuzzballs Apple to IBM and Back ............... 7 Playing Tips: King’s Quest V: Absence Makes the Softkeys: Elite PLUS ......scssssssssssssssscsessesssessseeeeee 8 Heart Go Yonder .ccscissccccsccssccsined: coo Tones IBM Softkeys: Talking Tools ....... ‘ ABC Monday Night Football World Class Soccer. Fast Frames, Updates, Etc. Abrams Battle Tank Battlehawks 1942 Assorted Corrections ...... panacea, Comentary: II to Two... op ny restle Centurion . Two-World Transfers ... Champions of Krynn . California Games II. Command HQ .... Dark Designs .... Indianapolis 500 .....s.cccssssccsseensesees Death Knights of Krynn . Jack Nicklaus’ Greatest 18 Holes Elite Matters .........0-+ of Major Championsip Golf Elite Plus ... (This Land is your Land) Life & Death II: The Brain... Elite Plus PLU: -8 Gorgon... Lowblow Boxing Jack Nicklaus Hi Res Tool Kit .. MI Tank Platoon Course Designers Clip Art........... 8 High Rise... Might and Magic Jack Nicklaus Presents the Major Invisible Bugs Might And Magic I Championship Courses .. Jawbreaker... Nuclear War Links Championship Courses: King’s Bounty ... Bay Hill...... ies Might and Magic II Links Championship Cours: Miner’s Cave... Pinehurst ... Mission Control .. Mickey’s 123’ Mystery Matte: The Big Surprise Party Mystery Objects Modem MGB .............. NRFPT Releases .. SHR Convert/IIgs . Te lem ate scicssesissssssecsseserconeeneereossennse O Anew subscriber. © Changing my address (Please include last label) © Renewing my current subscription © $54 All other Foreign (Air mail) Cl $68 COMBO (Ist Class plus Disk) Charge It More! © $95 Foreign COMBO (Air mail plus Disk) e give you Only $25 for 8 1st Class (U.S. / Canada / Mexico) Kit and 1st issue by 1st Class mail. O $25 U.S. regular renewal (3rd Class mail) for postage and handling. We will send your Starter © $27 For new subscribers (and late renewals that missed 1 issue. U.S. regular/3rd Class Mail) Includes an extra $2 issues JS a & Bi postage and we will send your 1st issue by 1st Class mail. + Send check/money order to: eee Phon f_ °Send US funds drawn on US bank. + For regular subscriptions, please allow 4-8 weeks for Istissue or add $Z10r See eee eee 9 2 > Vi Bf Sieme fisa/MC Advanced Applesoft Basic .. Apple Assembly Language Bad Dudes .. Bubble Bobble Captain Goodnight 3 Chemistry - Balancing Equations... Chemistry - Periodic Table Comics.... CommuniKeys County Fair... Electric Crayon COMPUTIST PO Box 242 (82) ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED Kapowsin WA 98344-0242 State COMPUTIST 33821 E Orville Rd Eatonville WA 98328-9590 Populous Railroad Tycoon... (206) 832-3055 bh & 0 00 PAID U.S Postage BULK RATE Kapowsin WA Permit No. 6 oo “2 y 5 5 ad |COMPUTIST | Charles R. Haight Editor Jeff Hurlburt Reviews Dave Goforth BBS COMPUTIST is published by SoftKey Publishing. Address all inquiries to: COMPUTIST 33821 East Orville Road Eatonville, WA 98328-9590 (206) 832-3055 + COMPUTIST does NOT purchase editorial material. The entire editorial content consists of information submitted to COMPUTIST for publication in the shared interests of all COMPUTISTs. + Unsolicited material (manuscripts, letters to the editor, softkeys, A.P.T.s, playing tips, questions, etc.) are assumed to be submitted as letters-to-the-R DEX-editor for publication with all and exclusive rights belonging to COMPUTIST. + Entire contents copyright 1990 by SoftKey Publishing. Allrights reserved. Copying done for other than personal or internal reference (without express written permission from the publisher) is prohibited. * The SoftKey Publishing assumes no liability or responsibility for the products advertised in this newsletter. Although we are usually pretty much in agreement, any opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of COMPUTIST magazine or SoftKey Publishing. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Rates (for 8 issues): US... $24 Canada/Mexico ..$34 U.S. 1st Class ..$34 Other Foreign.....$54 + Subscriptions are sold by number of issues and not by month or year. An 8 issue subscription means that you will recieve 8 issues before you need to renew. It's when you will receive each issue that we're a little erratic about. + Domestic Dealer rates: Call (206) 832-3055 for more information. + Change Of Address: Let the U.S. Postal Service know that you are moving. Tell them that you want your mail forwarded. If your issue does not come to you in an envelope then you have a regular subscription and you must tell the USPS to forward your third class mail. Notify us as soon as you know yournew address. When we receive your notice of change of address, we will send you an acknowledgement card. If you do not receive the acknowledgement card after 2 weeks, send another notice or call us direct. Issues missed due to non-receipt of change of address may be acquired at the regular back issue rate. We are not responsible for missing issues 90 days after mailing date. If you do not receive an issue at the usual time each month, please call or write. ‘Apple® is « trademark of Apple Computers. IBM@ is the IBM ke NX SJ Readers Data EXchange New COMPUTIST readers using Apple IIs are advised to read this page carefully to avoid frustration when at- tempting to follow a softkey or entering the programs printed in this issue. What is a softkey, anyway? Softkey is a term which we coined to describe aprocedure thatremoves, or at leastcircumvents, any copy-protection on a particular disk. Once a softkey procedure has been performed, the re- sulting backup copy can usually be copied by the normal copy programs (for example: COPYA, on the DOS 3.3 System Master disk). Commands and control keys Commands which a reader is required to perform are set apart by being in boldface and on a separate line. The return key must be pressed at the end of every such command unless other- wise specified. Control characters are preceeded by “ctrl”, An example of both is: 6ctriP Type 6. Next, place one finger on the ctrl key and then press P. Don't forget to press the return key. Other special combination keypresses include ctrl reset and open-apple ctrl reset. In the former, press and hold down the ctrl key then press the reset key. In the latter, press and hold down both ctrl and open-apple then press reset. Software recommendations The Starter Kit contains most of the programs that you need to “Get started”. In addition, we recommend that you acquire the following: + Applesoft program editor such as “Global Program Line Editor (GPLE)”. Assembler such as “Merlin/Big Mac”. *Bit-copy program such as “Copy II Plus”, “Locksmith” or “Essential Data Duplicator”. +Word-processor (such as AppleWorks). *“COPYA”, “FID” and “MUFFIN” from the DOS 3.3 System Master disk. Super IOB and Controllers This powerful deprotection utility (in the COMPUTIST Starter Kit) and its various Con- rollers are used in many softkeys. (It is also on each Super IOB Collection disk.) Reset into the Monitor Softkeys occasionally require the user to stop the execution of a copy-protected program and directly enter the Apple's system monitor. Check the following list to see what hardware you will need to obtain this ability. Laser 128: Your ROM includes a forced jump to the monitor. Press ctrl return reset. Apple II+, //e, compatibles: 1) Place an Inte- ger BASIC ROM card in one of the Apple slots. 2) Use anon-maskable interrupt (NMI) card such as Replay or Wildcard. Apple II+, compatibles: 1) Install an F8 ROM with a modified reset-vector on the com- puter’s motherboard as detailed in the “Modified ROM’s” article CCOMPUTIST #6 or Book Of Softkeys IIT) or the “Dual ROM’s” article(COM- PUTIST #19). Apple //e, //c: Install a modified CD ROM on the computer’s motherboard that changes the open-apple ctrl reset vector to point to the moni- tor. (This will void an Apple lic warranty since you must open the case to install it.) Apple //gs: If you have the 2.x ROM, there is a hidden Classic Desk Accessory (CDA) that allows you to enter the monitor. In order to install the new CDA, you should enter the monitor (CALL -151) before running any protected pro- grams and press # return . This will tum on two hidden CDAs, Memory Peeker and Visit Moni- tor. Thereafter press openapple ctrl esc to go to the Desk Accessories menu. Select Visit Monitor and there you are. Use ctrl ¥ to exit. Recommended literature Apple II Reference Manual (or Ie, IIc, etc.) DOS 3.3 & ProDOS manual Beneath Apple DOS & Beneath Apple Pro- DOS, by Don Worth and Pieter Lechner, from Quality Software Typing Applesoft programs BASIC programs are printed in a format that is designed to minimize errors for readers who key in these programs. If you type: 10HOME:REMCLEAR SCREEN The LIST will look like: 10 HOME : REM CLEAR SCREEN Applesoft inserts spaces into a program list- ing before and after every command word or mathematical operator. These spaces don’t pose a problem except when they are inside of quotes or after a DATA command. There are two types of spaces: those that have to be keyed and those that don’t. Spaces that must be typed appear in COMPUTIST as special characters (0). All other spaces are there for easier reading. NOTE: Ifyou want your checksums to match, only type spaces within quotes or after DATA statements if they are shown as (0) charactors. SAVE the program at periodic intervals using the name given in the article. All characters after a REM are not checked by the checksum program so typing them is optional. Typing Hexdumps Machine language programs are printed in COMPUTIST as hexdumps, sometimes also as source code. Hexdumps are the shortest and easiest format to type in. You must first enter the monitor: CALL -151 Key in the hexdump exactly as it appears in the magazine, ignoring the four-digit checksum (S and four digits) at the end of each line. When finished, retum to BASIC with: 3D0G BSAVE the program with the filename, ad- dress and length parameters given in the article. Typing Source Code ‘The source code is printed to help explain a program’s operation. To enter it, you need an “Assembler”. Most of the source code in older issues is in S-C Assembler format. If you use a different assembler, you will have to translate portions of the source code into something your assembler will understand. Computing checksums Checksums are 4-digit hexadecimal numbers which tell if you typed a program correctly and help you locate any errors. There are two types of checksums: one created by the CHECKBIN pro- gram (for machine language programs) and the other created by the CHECKSOFT program (for BASIC programs). Both are on the “Starter Kit”. If your checksums do not match the published checksums then the line where the first checksum differs is incorrect. CHECKSOFT instructions: Install Check- soft (BRUN CHECKSOFT) then LOAD your program. Press & to get the checksums. Correct the program line where the checksums first dif- fer. CHECKBIN instructions: Enter the monitor (CALL -151), install Checkbin at some out of the way place (BRUN CHECKBIN, A$6000), and then LOAD your program. Get the checksums by typing the Starting address, a period and the Ending address of the file followed by actrl Y . SSSS.EEEE ctrl Y Correct the lines where the checksums differ. Writing to the RDEX editor RDEX (are-decks) stands for: Reader's Data EXchange. We print what you write. When you send in articles, softkeys, APTs, etc., you are submitting them forfree publication in thismaga- zine, RDEX does not purchase submissions nor do we verify data submitted by readers. If you discover any errors, please let us know so that we may inform our other readers, Remember that your letters or parts of them may be usedin RDEX even ifnot addressed to the RDEX editor. Correspondence that gets pub- lished may be edited for clarity, grammar and space requirements. Because of the great number of letters we receive and the ephemeral and unpredictable appearance of our volunteer staff, any response to your queries will appear only in RDEX, so it would be more appropriate for you to present technical questions to the readers and ask for their responses which will then be placed in the Apple-RDEX. How to get a free library disk Whenever possible, send everything on Ap- ple format (5.25" - DOS/ProDOS or 3.5" - Pro- DOS) or IBM format (3.5") disks. Other formats are acceptable but there may be some delay as we look for someone to translate it for us. (If you use a 5.25" disk, when we print your letter,we will return your disk with the current library disk copied onto it.) Use whatever text editor you like, but tell us which one. Puta label on the disk with your name (or pseudonym) and address (if you want to receive mail). Don't reformat any pro- grams or include them in the text of your letter. Send Applesoft programs as normal Applesoft files and machine language programs as normal binary files. We have programs to convert them to the proper format for printing. If you are sending source code files, and you are not using the S-C Assembler, send them as normal text files. When to include a printed letter Don’t include hardcopy (printout) unless: a. You are writing about a bug or other printing error. b. You are writing to ask for help. c. You are answering another readers help re- quest. d. You are writing about your subscription or sending an order for back issues or software. Bugs, requests for help and answers to re- quests for help are bumped to the head of the line and go in the very next issue. All other letters are printed in the order that we receive them. Writing to get help When writing to request help, be sure to include ALL relevent information. The more information you include, the easier it is to find a solution. There’s an old saying that goes “A properly framed question includes 90% of the answer”. How to get mail If you are interested in receiving mail from other readers, be sure that we have a current address. If you use a pen name and want to receive mail, we need to have your address. Our readers privacy is important, so we will not print your address unless you specifically say too. How to write to RDEX authors When writing to one of the RDEX authors. Write your letter and seal it in an envelope. Put your return address, the authors name (as it appears in RDEX) and the correct postage on the envelope. Put this envelope into another and send it to RDEX. We will put the correct address on your letter and mail it for you. Check to the right of the authors name to see if the author is writing from a foreign country and include the proper postage. Help Line These readers have volunteered their time to help you. Please call only within the given time frames (corrected for your time zone), No collect calls. (You can write anytime!) Jack Nissel (Disk Protection, 7-10PM EST) (215) 365-8160 MarcBatchelor, 6025 Coker St., Cocoa, FL32927 Rich Etarip, 824 William Charles Ct. #2, Green Bay, WI 54304-4018 The BBS (Bulletin Board System) Dave Goforth is the sysop for the Computist BBS. The number is: (206) 581-9292. If you already have a User ID# and password, sign-on using the User ID#. If you are a new user, it may take a day or so to validate your new ID# and password. la DEPROTECTED backup copy: rightful. You have a LEGAL RIGHT to an unlocked backup copy of your commercial software. Our editorial policy is that we do NOT condone software piracy, but we do believe that users are entitled to backup commercial disks they have purchased. In addition to the security of a backup disk, the removal of copy-protection gives the user the option of modifying programs to meet his or her needs. Furthermore, the copyright laws guarantee your right to such a «It is not an infringement for the owner of a copy of a computer program to make or authorize the making of another copy or adaptation of that computer program provided: 1) that such anew copy or adaptationis created as an essential step in the utilization of the computer program in conjunction with a machine and that it is used in no other manner, or 2) that such new copy or adaptation is for archival purposes only and that all archival copies are destroyed in the event that continued possession of the computer program should cease to be Any exact copies prepared in accordance with the provisions of this section may be leased, sold, or otherwise transferred, along with the copy from which such copies were prepared, only as part of the lease, sale, or other transfer of all rights in the program. Adaptations so prepared may be transferred only with the authorization of the copyright owner.” United States Code title 17, §117 y, Readers Data Exchange COMPUTIST #82 Editor's Notes Fancy Hardware or Vaporware? Check out the pre-product announcement on page 17 and make up your own mind. U.S. $3.75 Hardware Believers? I’m looking for 20 hardware believers who still use their Ie and think they can spare about $250. [have ahardware project that boosts the computing power of a Ile. It’s a 4"x13" board that sits under the key- board in your Ile. It has a 65C816 processor using a 4Mhz clock and IMbyte of RAM minimum (expandable to 8Mbytes). The ROM is actually a 128K battery backed SRAM chip so thatthe system “ROM” can be easily changed at any time. It connects to the Ile at the 65CO2 chip. You unplug the 65C02 on the mother- board and plug in a jumper to the board. I call it the “Option Card” but some others here call it the “2GTS”. That’s stands for “too good to stop”. T’ve sent for quotes on the board. Only one has come back so far. If I can find 20 people interested in constructing the card, it will cost us about $60 each for the bare board. If you are interested, write to me at COMPUTIST. Instant On? I’ve been playing around with this one for quite a while. It’s a card with 12-32K SRAM chips with battery backup. It looks like a disk drive. I store my system (DOS/ProDOS) soft- ware and favorite programs on it. I’m thinking of redoing the board to use 8-128K SRAM chips. That would mean that the board would have 1Mbyte of SRAM. A good size for a RAM disk. If you are interested in sharing the cost of having the new board made, let me know. Canada & Mexico $7 |82 |COMPUTIST Table of Contents Editorial Note ...........ccssssccsscscccssssssssessessesesseeeee RDEX Contributors .............cccccscsscsscssssscsseeeee 2D Most Wanted Softkeys .........cccsssssscsessssssseeee 2D UNCIASSIFIEMS .........scescesssecssseccsecceccsccsscsccsceseeses LO The Product Monitor Reviews Chip’s Challenge .. Continuum............ Freakin’ Funky Fuzzballs King’s Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder .. Talking Tools ............ World Class Soccer .. Fast Frames, Updates, Etc. Assorted Corrections ... Comentary: II to Two .. Two-World Transfers California Games II...... Dark Designs Death Knights of Krynn .. Elite Matters .. Elite Plus ... Elite Plus PLUS! Jack Nicklaus Course Designers Clip Art Jack Nicklaus Presents the Major Championship Courses ... Links Championship Courses: Bay Hill... Links Championship Courses: Pinehurst Mickey’s 123’s: The Big Surprise Party Modem MGR NRFPT Releases .. 6 4 4 5 5 4 9 4 7 8 7 7 36 a 8 8 8 8 8 7 Al 8 COMPUTIST #82 SHR Convert/IIgs.. Telemate ............ The Bard’s Tale III: Thief of Fate/PC The Maps of Kings Quest V Vendors © Q XI 00 Features, Notes & such: GS/DSP: Update on IIgs Enhancement Board Two-World Transfers: Apple to IBM and Back . Softkeys: Advanced Applesoft Basic ... Apple Assembly Language . Bad Dudes Bubble Bobble Captain Goodnight Chemistry - Balancing Equations CommuniKeys County Fair..... Electric Crayon (This Land is your Land) Gorgon Hi Res Tool Kit High Rise.... Invisible Bugs. Might and Magic II 20 Miner’s Cave... 19 Mission Control . 20 Mystery Matter .. Mystery Objects . Note Card Maker Risk v1.4. Space Station Freedom. To Preserve, Protect, and Defend Wood Car Rally APTs: Captain Goodnight Elite Plus The Maps-of Kings Quest V’ sscssssscsccsessessenrsetessesasscccccenarecscssesiesseuees 6 Playing Tips: Elite: PLUS :sississsccssssssssssvesnssssvoscavesossscsssetercassascssseasavvcssvsusvssenesiesessesceee 8 IBM Softkeys: ABC Monday Night Football . Abrams Battle Tank................ Battlehawks 1942... Champions of Krynn Command HQ... Indianapolis 500 Jack Nicklaus’ Greatest 18 Holes of Major Champion. 22 Life & Death II: The Brain... 21 Lowblow Boxing... 22 M1 Tank Platoon ... 22 Might and Magic ....... 22 Might And Magic II.. Nuclear War... Pipe Dream. Populous..... Railroad Tycoon Red Storm Rising! . Silpheed v2.2... Street Rod... Test Drive II ... VOC vcscccossesivcssereiey Wing Commander . Readers Data Exchange 3 Jeff Hurlburt TX The PRODUCT MONITOR RATINGS Superb kKkkKK* Excellent *#*%%k Very Good **kK* Good ** Fair * Poor @ Bad @©@ Defective © II to Two By now it should be clear that, for the active computer user, access to aPC/AT machine is a ‘given’. Along with your radio, TV, and telephone, it has become ‘standard equipment’. Interestingly, it has not attracted much experimenter interest nor anything like a fanatic user group following. Today’s generic PC/ ATIS a good, solid machine and, by far, the best price/performance personal computing value— besides which, it continues to absorb an overwhelming portion of major software vendor atten- tion. It has not, however, replaced the Apple II. Why? Many reasons; but, to keep it short: you can’t and/or won’t do “Apple II” stuff on your PC. This especially applies to experimentation and one’s willingness to try out enhancement prod- ucts from a growing list of new ‘garage shop’ suppliers. Ironically, when a II user moves from II-only to “two”— i.e. adds a PC— there is more enthusiasm for enhancements and, after a brief dip, time spent using the older machine actu- ally increases! For whatever reason, the “endless Apple II” does seem to be on the rebound. Two computers really are better than one. Freakin’ Funky Fuzzballs kkk $44.95, for CGA-VGA 640K PC Sir-Tech (AdLiB or Sound Blaster sound recommended) Most fuzzballs don’t do much about being kicked around; but YOU are dif- ferent! You are “freakin’”, “funky”, AND determined to polish-off the Ene- my!! Your quest begins at Level 1 and will not be completed until you blow up the Enemy’s HQ on Level 15. Sir-Tech’s ‘Fuzzballs is a fast-paced arcade-adventure featuring colorful top- down-view grid displays, simple KB controls, and Adlib/SB/Roland effects and music. Mainly, on each Level you want to collect the keys needed to open a gateway to the next Level— NOT so easy, because each tile is good for just one or two transits before it simply dis- appears; you must find the gateway and, of course, the Enemy is usually in hot pursuit. HIS objective is to pound your Strength points to zero— whereupon you become a POOP ball, just amemory in FFF’s Hall of Fame top scores list. Fortunately, each Level is sprinkled with food items (to restore strength), wands that create tiles, plus other goodies, like shields, rings (to increase max Strength), and scrolls. Much of fun is in finding ways to isolate the Enemy (by eliminat- ing tiles) so that you can loot a Level’s treasures, Lest you become complacent after a few early successes, the fifteen Levels span five “worlds” (Ancient Times, Funky Gardens, Modern Times, Future Space, and Darkness) offering a nice mix of patterns, grid size, and trickery (e.g. wrap-around tiles). For aces, there’s an Expert Mode; and really competative types can go one-on-one with one player taking the Enemy role. Supplied on both 3.5" and 5.25" me- dia with manual and commands card, ‘Fuzzball delivers lively, addictive ac- tion; and, via an Alternate Turns option, the lure of fierce high-scores competi- tions for up to ten players. Possibly, the game should offer joystick input; but its chief weakness is the absence of a Save Game option. After a few tries, it is not difficult to get 10-20 minutes of contin- uous play; it IS difficult to get much more without enduring many increas- ingly tedious replays of early Levels. Being a freakin’ funky fuzzball is fun; but it could easily have been funner. World Class Soccer kik $44.95 for CGA-EGA 512K PC U.S. Gold Joystick recommended If a sports simulation ‘works’, it’s a good bet that someone who doesn’t es- pecially like the sport will not like the simulation. Fortunately, Toby, one of the Computer Room regulars is a sports fan who enjoys soccer. While I watched, he tested (and tested) U.S. Gold’s new World Class Soccer until it became clear that the “testing” was over and he was simply ‘hooked’ on the game! A colorful 66-page manual is your first tip-off that ‘Soccer is for real. In it you'll find an outline of game rules, terms, pictures and bios for World Cup star players, trivia, and highlights of the 1990 matches. For individual matches or to enter the World Cup competition, you have a choice of the twenty-four 1990 Cup teams. Each has a page show- ing national flag, an interest-hyping ‘col- or’ commentary, overall SSAS ratings (Skill, Speed, Aggression, and Strength), and the 22-player roster. To assist in picking the eleven players for each match, each player is also SSAS rated. The latteris not merely more hype, since the program uses player ratings to deter- mine in-play outcomes. “Soccer’s setup menus and displays get you into action with minimal hassle. Once you select a team and formation, the roster (with ratings) appears on- screen along with formation diagram. Guided by highlighted formation posi- tion, you pick each player until all slots are filled. Easy! The game supports per- son vs. computer and person vs. person Individual matches using KB or joy- stick controls. With two human players, two-joystick play is available using a game port adapter (such as the one listed in Sound Blaster’s catalog for $11.95). Multi-match Tournament play is single- person only— the program simulates outcomes forothermatchesineach round and allows saving Tournament status to disk between matches. In fact, everything looked so easy that, having observed Toby’s rather ex- tensive “testing” sessions, even I, a total soccer novice, found myself playing. U.S. Gold’s new release is to soccer what Activision’s ‘Two-on-Two/Ilgs is to basketball— which is to say Very Good and very playable. ‘Two-on-Two’s sound is better; ‘Soccer offers AdLib/ SB or Roland music, but just PC effects. (‘Soccer, however does offer true two- person play.) Mainly, the new soccer delivers smooth, realistic action and natural-feeling control of movement, kicking, heading, and tackling. The ‘trick’ is that the program automatically puts you in control of whichever team member is closest to the ball. (A small arrow points to the person-controlled player.) Other players continue to fol- low the flow of play, which can range freely over the smooth-scrolling multi- Readers Data Exchange screen field. Rounding out the package, a lighted scoreboard display comes up to present penalty and other game mes- sages; and— still more hype— a TV sportscaster introduces each match by predictng the winner. Boasting crisp, colorful EGA graph- ics, ‘Soccer comes with fold-out poster/ controls guide and manual on both 5.25" and 3.5" media. Expect a quality, easy- playing simulation; but don’t count on easy victories— especially against ‘top guns’ like Italy, Germany, Argentina OR a skilled second player. Great fun, even if you don’t consider yourself a fan of the sport; an absolute feast, if you do! Continuum Kkakk $49.95 for CGA-VGA 512K PC Data East (joystick, AdLiB or Sound Blaster, and 10Mhz minimum speed recommended) Flying dreams seem to be fairly com- mon; so, perhaps, you’ve happened upon this particular variant: You’ re in anenor- mous room where, to your delight, you discover that can leap/glide from wall to wall. Great fun; and, now, thanks to Data East, a remarkably similar experi- enceis available in Continuum. Accord- ing to the manual, you “pilot” a mini- craft called a “mobile”; in fact, though, you ARE the mobile. Move the stick back, and your view sweeps upward toward the ceiling. You see level upon level of platform squares. Move it for- ward, and you can see your base resting upon a platform, platforms below you, and the floor. Bouncing and tuming positions you for a ‘jump’. Pressing ‘fire’ sends you forward, sliding into space where tums can steer you to an- other platform ready for another leap. Connected by doorways placed at various altitudes, there are 256 of these enormous rooms organized into twelve “emotional regions” (Dream, Stimulate, Develop, ...). Mood is set via color scheme, AdLib/SB music/effects, plat- form arrangement, hazards (e.g. force prisms, mobiles which try to knock you down, etc.), and opportunities. The game can be played in Emotion or Action mode. In the former— you choose any region and are free to explore rooms without competative pressures. In ‘the real thing’, Action Mode, you startin the “Welcome” room and must collect the sixteen crystals and sixteen cubes scat- tered throughout the Continuum uni- verse. All hazards are active and the time you can spend in each room is limited. To balance such risks, there is a COMPUTIST #82 multi-position Game Save and a quick- save/restore “Memory” feature for try- ing out daring new maneuvers. Only Action Mode players can score points (fortime in flight and objects retrieved); and only the best of these can win aplace in the High Scores roster. As might be anticipated, Continuum rates just ‘okay’ on the ‘artwork beauti- fulness’ scale; the design effort here has gone into super-realistic perspective and physics effects, smooth, responsive con- trols, effective musical composition, and imaginative room setups. The effort was not wasted. You DO feel like you are flying; AND there are all sorts of neat places to fly around in! A ‘dream come true’? Pretty close. Continuum is a unique gaming experience. King’s Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder kk $69.95 for VGA PC Sierra (Cluebook required: $9.95; Adlib, Sound Blaster, or Roland sound recommended) Castles are supposed to very safe places. They’re so big and stony and heavy. Certainly, the last thing King Graham expected after a pleasant day in the woods was to return to his estate and find an empty plot! Yet, incredibly, ev- erything—castle, family, retainers, hors- es, (PC, IIgs, Sierra games, collection of Computists!)— EVERYTHING is gone!! It’s a good thing a friendly owl, Cedric, happened to be on the scene. He informs you that a wizard spelled your home into a dark whirlwind and then vanished. Now, your only hope is to let Cedric sprinkle you with flying dust and follow him to a friendly wizard who may be able to help. It’s along, long way from Daventry; but, you already miss your family and, as they say “absence makes the heart go yonder”! To whatever extent superb, award- class 256-color VGA animated graph- ics can be said to ‘make a game’, King’s Quest V’’s do it. Starting with the ex- tended movie-like introductory se- quence— you do get to see the evil wizard poof your castle— and ending with a no-holds-barred magic duel, the player is treated to one computer-arts masterpiece after another. Your travels take you to a bustling town, deserts dry enough to send you out for a Coke (complete with temples, tents, bandits, and dancing girls), enchanted forests, bone-chilling snowscapes, mountains, seas, islands, and, finally, the maze and chambers of the evil wizard’s castle. One of the big reasons you are certain to pause and admire the artwork is the AdLib/Sound Blaster/Roland sound- track. I must have spent five minutes just enjoying the music and ‘atmosphere’ of the desert camp dancing girl scene. Much the same happened with the weep- ing willow (who plays a magic harp), the enchanted forest, and the icy moun- tains frames (you hear the winds and falling snow). “Wow! I bet all that great stuff uses 4 or 5 megabytes on hard disk.” Nope. Ituses 9.7 megabytes! (You can cut this way down by accepting a ‘compressed files’ option; but, the re- sulting delays spoil the presentation.) In COMPUTIST #82 short, Sierra’s most lavish adventure begins as a beautifully crafted ‘picture book’; there’s no better showpiece for your computer’s sound and graphics capabilities. If you liked “Clash of the Titans”, “The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad”, and “The Wizard of Oz”, you will appreciate King’s Quest V’. (i.e. It’s a good story, too.) Besides all the places to go, there are many interesting characters to deal with. You'll meet wizards, shopkeep- ers, gypsies, thugs, pricesses, gnomes, a witch, elves, an ice goddess, harpies, a yeti,... and many more. Practically ev- ery one of these has something you will need to complete your quest and/or can supply help at acritical moment— which gives you some idea of the number of ‘use this to get that’ puzzlettes. For instance: you’1I need the skeleton’s shoe to throw at the cat to save the rat who will gnaw your ropes when you are imprisoned in the cellar by thugs. (By the way, keep the rope.) Naturally, to break the lock you will have the hammer you got from the cobbler in retum forthe boots you got from the elf, who was grateful for the jewels you found in the pouch you took from desk in the witch’s house! Long-time Computist readers may recall that, some years ago, I experi- mented with omitting ratings. (This did not last long— readers like ratings; and, they want the reviewer to ‘commit’, in clear-cut terms, to some kind of overall evaluation.) The experiment was prompted by products like King’s Quest V’. Yes, the game CAN be a very enter- taining adventuring experience; but, ONLY if played in a certain way using materials notincluded in the game pack- age. Your problems begin with the new point-and-click no-text-input interface. The one in KQS works well; and, given a four-quadrant ‘walk-around-and-get/ do-things’ format, eliminating text in- put may be a good idea. Game action and displays do seem more realistic. A designer must, however, supply substi- tutes for the hints normally obtained via text exchanges. Too often, this game is ‘long’ on puzzles and ‘short’ on critical clues. A second problem area is the imple- mentation of real-time obstacles. These almost always fall flat in puzzle-orient- ed adventures. For good reason. It doesn’t make sense to allow the player to stand around and think about/try solu- tions for a problem ‘forever’ in one frame; and, then, require speedy, pre- cise movements in the next. Bad enough; but, when KQS incorporates numerous learn-by-dying experiences AND un- countable opportunities to continue play (for hours and hours) with no chance of winning— well, Ihaveto ask: “WHERE were the play testers?!” There is NO WAY anyone is going to get through this game without outside help and/or exotic trickery (e.g. scanning program files for text hints). Consider the problems a ‘play it straight’ (no outside help) adventurer faces in the desert. For starters, the only way to find the oases is to explore; and that means poor King Graham is certain to die of thirst several times. When you discover the pool just south of the tem- ple, you hear approaching hoofbeats. Since Cedric has warmed you of outlaw nomads, you can figure that meeting the tiders isn’t a good idea; also, this is a real-time threat; so, delay is fatal. The easiest escape try is to click for a north- ward move. You do it; and, not only do you escape; you discover the temple! Unfortunately, the correct response is to maneuver Graham behind some boul- ders near the pool— tricky, given time pressure, especially since there’s no obvious indication that you can hide. (If you hide, you see the riders approach and open the temple using amagic staff— this also sets a flag which allows the staff to be present and stealable at the bandit camp far to the south.) Runnorth, and the riders (for no good reason) do not approach the temple! You should be caught and killed; but, you’re safe, with no hint whatsoever that you cannot ever get into the temple. Okay, you have the staff. You open the temple (the staff breaks) and come upon another real-time trap. Spend even a second admiring the treasures and Graham is entombed. After a Restore, you zip in, grab a large bottle near the entrance and scurry out just before the entrance seals. Success?! Uh, uh. You left the gold coin! (It does sparkle, but is easy to miss under pressure.) Now, there is no way to pay the gypsy! Unless you guess that a treasure remains, you’re doomed to pointless wandering. As for the skeleton, with luck you'll happen upon it and get the shoe. Without luck, ... Readers Data Exchange Happily, several factors rescue King’s Quest V from the ‘Init Me Please’ bin. First, being killed-off is not nearly so bothersome as in most adventures. The game offers twenty user-named Game Save positions; and both Save and Re- store are very speedy. This also makes it easier to minimize losses should you suspect (or discover) that you’re on a losing path. Sierra offers hints via tele- phone (not a free call) and the latest catalog lists a Cluebook. It is reassuring to believe ‘the official answers’ are avail- able in print; but I have not seen a Cluebook copy yet. Instead, I relied upon a walkthrough posted ona popular BBS by (according to the doc’s head- ing) “Daniel, AKA XERXES- Master of Games from the present and future”. While the walkthrough includes no maps, it does supply more than enough information to assure that players need not become permanently mired. King’s Quest is one of the classic computer game series; and, you must admit, it has been too long since your last visit to Daventry. (Absence makes the heart grow fonder, too.) Thanks, largely, to the ready availability of ex- ternal help, you can enjoy the beauty, atmosphere, and (to a fair extent) the challenges offered in the latest install- ment. Get the Xerxes docs or the Clue- book, check out the maps presented in this issue, and then get King’s Quest V’. You won’t be disappointed. Talking Tools tk $60.00, for IMB Apple IIgs ByteWorks (1.25MB and second 3.5" drive recommended) Thanks to the Ensoniq sound IC right there on your IIgs motherboard, it tums out your computer has all the hardware needed for easy, memory-efficient speech programming. All the software you need is an Orca language and Talk- ing Tools. The new ByteWorks release comes with SPEAK.IT, a program you can start immediately to try out all of the package’s features. Just type-in a mes- sage (like “Good moming Dave”) or load a text file, click “Speak” and your IIgs talks! Default voicing produces “War- games”’-style speech; but, you can quick- ly change this by adjusting global pa- rameters for Voice (male/female), Range (bass/treble), Pitch (0-9), speed (0-9), and volume. For most realistic, tailored output, SPEAK.IT’s editor allows in- text, local-effect changes in the param- eters plus entry of delays and phonetic eee itm codes. You can also encode and save words in one or more Exceptions Dic- tionaries— this way the program can say the words correctly without the need for in-text changes. Other handy editing features include cut-and-paste, an op- tion to speak only selected (highlighted) text, and optional display of text as pho- netic code. Employing over 1200 grammarrules, Talking Tools recognizes suchcommon abbreviations as Dr., Mr., and St.— it says “doctor”, “mister”, “street”— as well as monetary and math symbols. For example: $1 + $1.02 = $2.02 is “one dollar and one dollar and two cents equals two dollars and two cents”. It adjusts sentence voicing for ending ques- tion marks; but, unfortunately, ‘recog- nizes’ parentheses and quotes by name. A “(“, for instance, becomes “open paren”. The documentation describes No easy way to tum this feature off; so, if you want existing word processor- produced stuff to sound right, it’s up to you to remove offending punctuation and/or substitute delays where desired. Along with the ready-to-go talking editor, ByteWorks has collected the Tools and produced a talker program in three Orca languages (Assembly, C, Pascal) including source and .exe code plus libraries; and ‘everything’— SPEAK.IT use, phonetic coding, TOOL.050-TOOL.053 descriptions, and source code listings— is covered in a well-organized 103-page manual. Sup- plied on expanded GSOS System and Program diskettes, Talking Tools IS the easy, fun way to tool-up for computer speech! Chip’s Challenge tkk $39.95 for CGA-VGA 640K PC Epyx Joystick recommended Melinda the Mental Marvel is smart, cute, and president of Bit Busters, your school’s ultra exclusive computer club. When she offers you (Chip the Nerd) an opportunity to prove you have the right stuff for ‘Busters membership, only one answer is possible: “Wow!” and then “Let me at them/it/..whatever.” “Tt” is a series of 144 multi-screen push, slide, toggle, unlock, navigate, dodge, detonate puzzles. Ineach smooth- scrolling top-down view gamescape your objective is to guide the Chip action figure to an exit square before time expires. The “Chip” in “Chip’s Chal- lenge” has a double meaning, since, usually, you must collect a specified number of computer Chips in order to 6 get past a chip Socket square. Success Starts you at the next puzzle and produc- es a four-letter code. (There is no Game Save; instead, if you wish to take a break, coding permits restarting at any level for which the code is known.) There are also Level and cumulative scores; but, no record is maintained on- disk. Play begins with eight introductory/ practice Levels designed to highlight and demonstrate the operation of ga- mescape features and items. This is where you learn how to avoid many of the nine (crawling, bouncing, sliding) Monster types, and that Magnets let you walk against the flow of Force Floors (moving walkways), Shields protect you from Fire and Waterhazards, and Cleats keep you from sliding on Ice. You’ll also discover that Blocks can be used to detonate Bombs or pushed into place to create walkways, that color-coded keys and buttons can remove or deactivate barriers, that “2” icons supply helpful hints, and that all Walls are not visible. Add Teleport squares, Bear Traps, Re- flectors, Clone Machines, ... and you have more than forty game elements, each represented by its own easy-to- recognize, often animated icon. With AdLib/SB/Roland support, you can look forward to a variety of ‘colorful’ sound effects as well. Each Level boasts its own ‘look’ and mood, further enhanced by one of sever- al musical pieces. Part of the payoff and fun in making it through one Level is getting to see what the next has in store. You may encounter anything from a somber, monster-infested plain, through a frantic pinball game style maze. Evi- dently, there is always some theme which, once discovered, may be a valu- able hint. For example, in the Level titled “South Pole” you navigate an ice- floored maze of reflector walls by con- sistently moving ‘down’ the screen (i.e. “south”). Often, the trick is to recognize the value of some general procedure which canbe repeated. So, in the “Castle Moat” puzzle, you discover a quick way to move blocks out of a maze and anoth- er procedure for getting them to the moat to build a walkway. Emphasizing the puzzle nature of the challenge, even moderate arcade expertise is seldom re- quired. Similarly, time pressure is min- imal. (A few Levels are not timed at all.) If you run out (or get zapped, trapped, etc.), no problem— the game permits endless attempts. Once you catch on to the right approach, there is ample time to explore and enjoy each challenge. Even as you were pushing around crates in “Sokoban”, rolling rocks in “Boulderdash”, toggling barriers in “Saracen”, fitting together blocks in “Tetris”, ... you just knew that some- where an ultimate, do-it-all puzzle quest remained. Basically, you’ve been look- ing for the ‘Neverending Fun’ of the ‘Neverending Puzzle’. Well, through 22 super-addictive Levels, winning Bit Busters membership looks doable; yet, over 120 Levels remain! The Ultimate Puzzle Quest? So far, Chip’s Challenge is IT! (Supplied with manual on both 5.25" and 3.5" media.) Fast Frames, Updates, etc. The Maps of Kings Quest V Talk about luck! Just when it looked like you would have to tackle the dread- ed Western Desert unaided, along comes an old gnome who suggests: “Hey, whynottrytheComputistmaplibrary?!” Sure enough, all you had to do was look. On the very top shelf in the southwest comer, between stacks of yellowing scrolls labeled “Ultima” and “Questron”, you spy “KQ” and reach for the parch- ment rolls. The ancient ladder creaks, shifts slightly in its tracks and you start to imagine headlines like “Adventurer Perishes in Freak Mishap”, “Quester Plummets to Doom”, ... then you’ve got them!... (“Still clutching the prized doc- uments, the broken remains of...) and scurry downto safety. Whew! But it was and entering the planet’s name.) Ac- cording to my notes, the chase leads to Reesdice and Arexe in Galaxy 1 and, then, moves to Errius in Galaxy 2. It’s okay to dock at any nearby planet after the G-jump in order to do a planet Find for Errius. A chain of messages starting at Errius directs you to Inbibe, Ausar, and Usleri. Finally, the showdown is at Orarra. Elite Plus > Ittook a while, but, FINALLY some- one has released a full-sound, full-color EGA/VGA version of “Elite” for PC/ AT ($44.95). Wisely, MicroPlay’s de- signers have hewed closely to the orig- inal look and feel of the most popular space combat and trading adventure ever. Once again, you begin as a “Harmless” rated trader/combateer at the helm of a bare-bones Cobra space craft. Your mis- sion: build your wealth, arm your ship ‘to the teeth’, gain Elite rank, and do something about an inter-galactic con- spiracy involving trading combines, the Knights Templar, and (of course!) the ruthless insectoid Thargoids— all of which is explained in the new scene- setter novella included as part of the manual. In Elite Plus you can look forward to more color, better-detailed, filled ship King's Quest P: the Hoe foe Noroc' Fol Door ta Castle] | t NNN SN NSS ee worth the risk. One sheet IS the desert map, crisply drawn and beautifully illu- minated. Even better, the other is not merely a copy of the first. It’s a diagram of some kind of maze. (““Hmmm, looks like I get in through this grating. Won- der why ‘beast’ is marked... to avoid, or maybe one has something I'll need...””) No doubt, both maps will come in very handy indeed! Elite Matters In issue #80, Zorro had a few ques- tions about the first Elite mission. Your initial Space Navy message comes at Xeer, in the eastern central part of Gal- axy 1. (Note: While docked, you can locate any planetin a galaxy by pressing “5”, to call up the galaxy map, then “F” Readers Data Exchange ht. and station shapes, an attractive cockpit view including status icons, and much improved AdLib/SB/Roland sound. (By the way, AdLib/SB sound is better here. The game’s Roland effects do not dif- ferentiate between laser bursts whichhit the target and those which miss; the Adlib/SB effects do.) Except for substi- tuting function keys for number keys, both KB and joystick controls behave very much like the Apple II original. One notable exception is that you can- not slow to a full stop; so, docking without a computer is much more diffi- cult. Gaining rank is easier— I reached Elite after about 1000 kills. On the other hand, smaller system-to-system price differences for low cost items makes getting a start in building your fortune (Starting point in Galaxy 2 for first mission) Years COMPUTIST #82 somewhat rougher. (Incidentally, no, I have not won the game yet. As in the original, when you take on the new Elite’, you’re in for a long, LONG ad- venture.) “Elite” veterans will notice other dif- ferences, as well. Most, like increased close-in combat and beautiful planet/ inhabitant displays when you call-up System Info are for the better. (Incredi- bly, the designers had the good sense to retain the decidely odd, yet ‘tradional’ sys info text descriptions.) The quest is new; but the stars are the same, and Elite Plus is still Elite! The Bard’s Tale III: Thief of Fate/PC ©* “Tt can’t be!!!” Alas, it can. After several hours of fine BT-style explora- tion and monster-mashing I was ready toconsideraclass change fora couple of Level 9 magicusers. (Eachhad achieved spell level 5.) A magician had no trouble moving to conjurer, but when a conjurer chose “magician” his class designator changed from a letter to mush and he was no longer viewable/accessible as a standard character. Instead, the program seemed to believe he was some sort of non-player character. (NPC’s can join your party but, aside from being less than reliable, they cannot develop like the ones you create.) I experimented a bit; and the same kind of thing happens if, given two choices (numbered 1 and 2), you enter “3”, In the latter case, your NPC’d character mysteriously acquires the full set of geomancer spells! Quite a mess. ‘Bard’s Tale III’/PC is definitely defective. Ihave notified EA and will let you know when a fixed release is avail- able. Dark Designs ©* As you may recall, I had promised a review of Softdisk GS’s Dark Designs trilogy. Regrettably, a game-killer bug in DD III has put the project on hold pending arrival of a fix. Mickey’s 123’s: The Big Surprise Party took Everyone knows that the best way to learn about something is to use it. That’s just what young computists (ages 2-5) doin Disney’s new learning about num- bers activity. Once you decide which of Mickey’s eight friends is having a birth- day, the game launches Mickey into the business of preparation. At Goofey’s Food Market he shops for drinks, food, balloons, etc.— you press 0-9 at each location to indicate how many to get and a teacher voice says the number and counts off the items. At the Post Office, Mickey uses numbers to select those to receive invitations; and you see the post- man’s truck make each delivery. At the SO EEE SE LEMONADE 5S¢ COMPUTIST #82 Toy Factory, the number you punch determines which toy is to be stamped- out and wrapped (on a Rube Goldberg assembly line) as a gift. Numbers are everywhere! Of course, because one of the program’s aims is to help the young player see that numbers have many uses besides just “counting 1, 2, 3’s”. Punch a “2” while Mickey is walking between locations and POOF! he’s riding a bicycle; a “5”, and he’s zipping along ina convertible with spare; a “9” and ... — cute, especially since a numberdoesn’talways produce the same vehicle. Finally, at the party, number entries decide how much of each food/ drinkitem to serve each guest. Through- out, you can expect quality Disney art- work and animation plus crisp Sound Source music, effects, and voices. Mick- ey’s 123’s’ is a valuable arithmetic ‘readiness’ activity, good for uncount- able hours of learning fun. ($49.95, or $69.95 with Sound Source, for CGA- VGA512K PC on3.5" and 5.25" media) Death Knights of Krynn *& It figures; just when you’re ready to relax at the celebration of last year’s victory over the Draconians, down swoops a mob of undead raiders led by your old pal, the recently slain Sir Karl! Obviously, once again, ‘the game is afoot’ on Krynn; only, this time, you [DO MoU £3 2 face the unearthed legions of The Death Knight, Lord Soth!! Death Knights of Krynn ($49.95, for CGA-EGA 640K PC) is second in SSI’s series based upon TSR’s “Dragonlance” stories and characters. Youcancounton the same fine artwork, AdLib/SB sound, and excellent gaming system— includ- ing scrolled multi-screen tactical com- bats— as found in “Champions of Krynn” and other SSI favorites. You can not count on the same level of ad- venture. DKK is a sequel which shows its sequelness. Your six characters, whether transfers ornewly created, come in around Level 6, far past the most challenging (most fun!) stages of devel- opment. Magic users start with monster- wiper spells like Fireball; and fighters come with weapons and armor better than anything they can buy or discover until late in the game. Yet, despite your enhanced powers, DKK floods the ga- mescape with inept undead pissants. A succession of dreary settings and a tor- tured, wandering scenario complete the picture: with or without the $12.95 Clue Book, this quest is more work than play. Two-World Transfers For the new two-computer user, two different machines can seem to mean learning to work and play in two sepa- rate ‘worlds’. No wonder! The Apple II owner who adds a PC will find many differences, not the least of which is the difference in disk operating systems. Your PC can’t make sense of DOS 3.3, ProDOS, or GSOS; your Apple doesn’t understand MS-DOS. Too bad; because, once you’ve got the second machine up and running, you begin to notice all sorts of text documents, programs, graphics files, etc. you would very much like to move from one machine to the other. Hardware Fortunately, there is one thing your Apple II (Mac, C-64, Amiga, ...) and PC do agree upon: a modem is a modem. A few years ago, my dad wanted to move some plant design programs developed on the II+ to an IBM PC at his lab. The solution: convert the Applesoft files to TEXT, modem the files to the lab PC, and adjust for differences in the the BASICs. The same approach worked when I needed to move a RUN review from IIgs Appleworks to C-64 Qwik- Write. Amodem is amodem; AND RS-232 is RS-232. (RS-232c is the name of the interface standard commonly used for modem I/O.) If your PC is sitting a few feet from your II, you can transfer stuff viamodem (if you’ve gottwo modems); OR you can connect one ‘232 port to the other via a NULL-modem. A null-mo- dem is ‘no modem’, just a pair of stan- dard 25-pin female connectors connect- ed back to back so that outputs coming from one computer go to the inputs of the other. To link the computers you plug the modem cable (i.e. RS-232 I/O cable) from each machine into the null- modem. Note: The reason that a null-modem must swap I/O lines is that you are joining two RS-232 “terminal sets”. The normal modem cable does no swapping because your modem is a “data set” with a plug wired so that modem outputs go tocomputerinputs and vice-versa. When you connect two computers via null- modem, each computer, in effect, ‘be- Readers Data Exchange lieves’ it is the terminal and the other is amodem. Many electronic suppliers, including your local Radio Shack, offer standard 25-pinnull-modem cables. (By conven- tion, they are called “cables” even when. the connectors are housed in a single compact case.) If you would rather ‘roll yourown’ , use the wiring scheme shown below: ConnectorA Connector B pinl to pinl pin2 to pin3 pin3 to pin2 pins4&5 to pin8 pins6&22 to pin20 pin7 to pin7 pin8 to pins4&5 pin20 to pins6&22 On a 25-pin female connector the pins (as viewed from the back, long row on top) are numbered 1-13 and 14-25 left-to-right. Often, pin numbers are stamped into the connector. (If you’ve counted the wires in your IIgs modem cable and are concerned about missing lines, no problem. Most modem inter- faces do not use all of the RS-232 sig- nals.) Null-modem connects are easy to set up and take apart. I have found no diffi- culty with plugging in connectors wheth- er one or both machines is on or off. (Actually, your RS-232 input is sup- posed to be fairly tolerant of this kind of treatment.) As for machines separated by more than a few feet, RS-232 has enough noise immunity to allow adding an extender cable for joining computers across the room from one another. Best of all, null-modem transfer speeds are not limited by modem response. Instead of the 2400 baud most users depend upon for phone line communications, null-modem moves can easily run at 9600 baud, 19.2K, and even faster. Software Computist can, Chuck assures me, handle submissions in a variety of for- mats. However, since the magazine is set up on a Mac II, a Mac-readable format makes for the quickest tum- around, especially when it comes to pictures. Since most of my screen cap- tures, especially for entertainment prod- uct reviews, have been coming from PC releases, Ineed some quick, easy way to move large files from the PC to the IIgs on a regular basis. (The Mac CAN read GIF picture files written by the IIgs.) Null-modem transfers get the job done. Once the ports are connected, the only requirement is that each machine be running as a telecommunications ter- minal at the same baud rate using a compatible protocol. On the IIgs end I’ve been trying out MGR’s Modem MGR &**& Priced at just $49.50 (for 64K Apple IL...Iigs), MM offers a utilitarian 40/80 column text-only display and employs KB ESC-key commands. For instance, ESC-? displays the current commands menu, ESC-G lets you load-in a phone list for single-key dialing, etc.. Natural- ly, for many Ilgs users, the program’s look and controls are a genuine tum- off— this is NOT a piece of software you would be likely to purchase after a brief showing at your local computer stuffemporium. Despite a compact loose leaf binder (with slide-over case) packed with comprehensive, easy-reading doc- umentation, on-diskette tutorial, fast ProDOS /8 startup on the IIgs, and being able to move all files to a single 3.5" diskette— well, I, too, was put-off by MM’s low-pizazz mouselessness. On the otherhand, Ikept running into situations where the program did just what I wanted! MM supports just about every popular smart, dumb, and semi- smartmodem, handles XMODEM (sev- eral variations), YMODEM, and ZMO- DEM, emulates popular terminals, of- fers a split-screen (commands and I/O) option, includes a text editor and cap- ture buffer with scrollback and auto- save, and supports user macros. My one real complaint is that the MGR product does not permit setting a default path for the Phone List, the way it does for mac- ros and function keys. Still, I doubt that there’s a faster way to go from ‘off’ to ‘ready to receive’. On the PC/AT (‘286) side, my choice has been a piece of shareware called Telemate AKA Tsung Hu, the author, sells Telemate forjust $40 ($48 to Canada)— a bargain when you consider that it has become the preferred telecom package for many modem users. Incorporating an attrac- tive windowed display with pull-down menus and mouse interface, Telemate does everything for the PC that MM does for the IIgs and adds ‘frills’ like a BBS mode, “last called” date stamping on the phone list and a 115.2K maxi- mum baud rate. The program package, including full documentation, is avail- able viamodem on many BB’s. Sending in the ‘registration fee’— shareware, remember, is not freeware— entitles you to any future updates. After setting the source path at the sender (e.g. C\Upload\*.*) and the des- tination path at the receiver(e.g./SAVE/ , the name of a diskette in drive two), you're ready to begin the transfer. For one-at-a-time transfers, this system can run at 19.2K baud with Modem MGR set for “XMODEM-Snd CKL” and Telemate set for “XMODEM”. It’s eas- ier to send batches of several pictures with both programs set for‘““ZMODEM”; but, max baud rate drops to 9600. It doesn’t seem to matter which program you ‘start’ first. If you start the sender first, it waits for the receiver and vice versa. The main consideration here is that both are started before one or the other times out (typically, about 30 sec- onds). Depending upon the method select- ed, files may be saved more or less close to the file type desired. Usually, I am dealing with Apple Preferred format picture files (converted from .LBM files at the PC end via Electronic Arts’ De- luxe Paint II Enhanced “Convert” utili- ty). OnaZMODEM transfer, the pics do notcome inas type $CO, auxtype 2 files; but this is easily fixed using a nifty $15 shareware utility from Jason Harper named SHR Convert/IIgs k*K Featuring a 640-mode windowed dis- play and mouse interface, the program’s chief function is to convert picture files to/from various formats, including GIF, RLE, and several from Apple II, IIgs, Mac, C-64/128, and Atari ST. It also lets you make file type and auxtype chang- es, whether or not you’re dealing with pic files! If you are, of course, the results can be displayed immediately. Since pictures are close to a ‘worst case’ transfer situation, you can see that the ‘two worlds’, Apple II and PC, are notnearly so distant as they may appear. A null-modem cable and good telecom software is all you need to create the bridge. NRFPT Releases © ForCGA-VGA 640K PC, Accolade’s Harmony ($44.95) and U.S. Gold’s Vaxine ($39.95) offer attractive displays, optional joystick control, and AdLib/ SB sound. (Harmony also offers Roland sound; Vaxine claims to, but it did not work.) Both games have low-pressure Practice modes; and both maintain a High Scores roster on-disk. Harmony’s fifty configurations challenge one or two players to achieve synergy by un- tangling same-colored spheres and push- ing them together. Vaxine offers an in- exhaustible supply of Levels where you speed along glass-smooth planes to find and destroy bounding, sliding spheroids. Though one game is a kind of puzzle challenge and the other purports to send you into the President’s bloodstream to shoot-the-evil-virus, theirmotifs are very similar—nota surprise, once you notice that both releases come from the same design team. In each case you encounter fairly simple, abstract displays featur- ing moving, pulsing blobs often con- nected by rubber band-like strands. Unfortunately, you also encounter the same fundamental design flaw: both games build the challenge into your controls, not into the ‘targets’, where it belongs. You’ve spent years leaming to push the ‘stick in the direction you want to move; but Harmony insists that you rotate a pointer to direct your “seeker” (pusher sphere). Vaxine doesn’t make this error; instead, it encumbers move- ment and aim with exaggerated momen- tum effects. In case Assembly Line (the designer) plans future game releases, here’s the rule: Sloppy controls are un- fun controls. Pending a fix, Harmony and Vaxine are “not ready for prime time” play. California Games I *« Having re-tooled for PC/AT, Epyx is back; and, so is California Games. The newinstallment ($39.95, for CGA-VGA PC) offers fine AdLib/Sound Blaster music and effects, joystick/KB controls, and on-disk saves of Most Excellent Dude record holders for each event. Regretably, of the five new events, only two can be said to evidence the quality animation and control-ability long-time multi-sport gamers have come to expect from Epyx. The sailing, swooping, fun of Hang Gliding (with bonus points for hitting buoys with water balloons) and the ag- gro action of along-play Skateboard run through the aqueducts DO come close to ‘making’ the package. Any fun in the other events will have to come from scores competition—like, who dweebs- out the least. Bodyboarding combines wave stunt-riding and obstacle-avoid- ance. Along with helicopter drop Snow- boarding, it suffers from unnatural feel- ing control-to-action choreography and weak movement fill-in. (The latter re- fers to how well the program smooths- out control inputs and makes your ac- tion figure’s movements realistic.) Jet Surfing, a race through one of five cours- es (including one with ramps) is the easiest event; but animation is so gappy that any illusion of riding a jetboard vanishes with your first sharp turn. So, like, what is a dude or dudette to do? Two out of five is not, for sure, exactly a radically far out value; but, for today’s C-gamer, that’s the choice. Four More If the continued activity in golf sim- ulation releases is any indication, the sport must be attracting more computer players than ever. I don’t doubt it. Com- puter golf is one of the very few enter- tainment products which can accommo- date both a single player and groups AND whichpractically everyone—even rank beginners— can enjoy. With holi- day get togethers just around the bend, you’ll want to have the latest ‘ice break- er’ ammunition ready: Jack Nicklaus Presents the Major Championship Courses of 1991 kA For use with “‘Championship Golf” or (the newer) “Unlimited Golf”, this Course Disk (vol.5, $21.95, for PC) delivers the three Grand Slam courses of 1991. I gave each a try and, believe it or not, the back-of-the-box blurbs are right on target. You’ll get Hazeltine (Chaska, MN), a rambling “survival test”, Royal Birkdale (Southport, England), windy, with dunes and willows to test your “target golf’, and Crooked Stick (Car- mel, IN), bunkers, water, and “7075 yards of undulating... challenge”. If you’re new to computer golf and won- dered if courses really do have different ‘personalities’, a few hours with Acco- lade’s latest should settle the matter. Jack Nicklaus Course Designers Clip Art hk Since the introduction of “‘Unlimit- ed Golf” (game plus designer), devotees of Accolade’s Jack Nicklaus Golf series have had access to the most comprehen- sive course creation and editing utility available. The new “clip art” package ($24.95, for PC) expands your creative horizons with three new land plots (Ar- izona Desert, Meadow Lakes, Caribbe- an Shore) plus 73 objects and 9 back- grounds you can import from six model courses. The result is more options for setting the overall ‘look’ and more choic- es (of trees, bushes, fountains, carts, etc.) when it comes to customizing each hole. You cannot play the “model cours- es”— they are intended only as clip art holders— but you CAN play the new Desert Highlands course which is also included. Links Championship Courses: Pinehurst KAO Speaking of “survival tests” and “tar- get golf”, this beautiful new addition to Access’s “Links” series ($24.95, forPC) is ‘what it’s all about’. One miscue, and Iwas very nearly lost in the piney jungle that wraps itself around every fairway. If you want a guaranteed leg up on computer golfing regulars, put in some practice on this one. Then, the next time you start up “Links” for your group, casually suggest: “Hey, why don’t we try Pinehurst?”(!) Links Championship Courses: Bay Hill K** Withits latest “Links” course ($24.95, for PC), Access ups the pizazz factor by including a course facilities tour featur- ing Amold Palmer, Bay Hill’s designer. Good idea! One of “Links’’s few weak- nesses is its excessively peaceful atmo- Readers Data Exchange sphere. The TV-like pre-match hype— actually, a pretty good commercial for Bay Hill— sets a mood more appropri- ate to championship competition. The course itself is among my favorites. I enjoy water hazards; and Bay Hill offers some of the most challenging ‘water holes’ to be found. Elite Plus PLUS! Don’t Leave Lave without It Okay, maybe you like the prospect of countless trips trading for peanuts among a few relatively safe worlds; and, it could be that you prefer the thrills of manual docking to combat. If so, then collect the standard 100 Cr, hop into your bare-bones Cobra and go for it. If not, the Lave branch of Turdnil Comba- teers Commercial Intergalactic (TCCI) is prepared to make you a handsome cash advance! Activating your TCCI account is a snap: Step 1: After startup, immediately Save the default (new) Jamison charac- ter under the name CMPUTIST. Exit to DOS. Step 2: Using “‘Xtree’” or similar utility, Editthe CMPUTIST.CDR file in the ELITE directory. $00008C change E8 03to 2A 4E (funds). $0000E0: change 2B A8toA3 9E (checksum). Step 3: Save CMPUTIST.CDR file. That’s all there is to it! After restart- ing play and loading in CMPUTIST, you will be shown as having only 100 Cr. Not to worry. Once you buy or sell something the display will agree with your actual holdings. From now on you can do Saves and play under any name you choose. Granted, 2001 Cr isn’t exactly a for- tune. It IS a decent stake, enough to finance a docking computer and have plenty of credits to begin profitable trad- ing. Notes: When I mentioned the mod to the usual Computer Room crew, Gor- bash observed that “Sure, 2001 Credits is fine, for now.” Baywoof, of course, immediately wanted MORE. Well, I want more too; but, earning itis muchof the challenge and fun. A moderate funds boost compensates for game design weaknesses which make getting started in Elite Plus far more laborious than in Elite. IF docking were not so unrealisti- cally difficult, if trade in cheap items between low-threat systems paid better, if ... then, there would be no excuse for any mods. As things stand, getting a docking computer and a few hundred Credits is a fair adjustment. As to mod ‘nuts and bolts’, the first trick is to track down the funds number. At$8C, $3E8 equals 1000 decimal (aha! 100.0 Credits?); so, $4E2A (20010 dec- imal) should turn out to be 2001.0 Cred- its (it does). The big problem is that, for each Save, Elite’ calculates and writes a checksum in the saved file’s last two bytes. It re-calculates the value when loading a file. Ifthese values don’tmatch, the file is “corrupted” and will not be accepted. This explains why your orig- inal CMPUTIST Save must be ‘just so’— i.e. before your new character goes anywhere, buys or sells anything, etc.. The change at $E0 adjusts the check- sum specifically for a new character named CMPUTIST who has 2100.0 the edited COMPUTIST #82 Credits. After restarting, your charac- ter’s new funds are not shown at first because the display comes from text saved in the file. The text gets updated the moment you buy or sell an item. Trade and Combat 301 Old Professor Freen is a retired Elite and he DOES give some colorful lec- tures; but he’s awfully wordy (and, his class starts at 8:00 AM— nobody is awake at 8:00 AM!). Fortunately, an Academy upperclassman has a set of notes you obtain at the bargain price of 10 Credits... “Equipment: Buy Docking Comput- er 1st. Costs too much (50 Cr!) for station docking service. On manual, it’s easy to mess up docking and lose credit for lots of kills on way to station. After DC get cargo hold expansion— cheap, and quickest way to boost trading prof- its. Next buy should be ECM or Beam Laser. Need ECM for travel in heavy- pirate systems— missiles thick as flies ona woozey. Beam Laseris much better than pulser— best defense is good of- fense— get Beamer before ECM if you put offtrading in bad systems (like multi- govt/ feudal/ anarchy). Whatever, don’t spend away your capital. The bigger your bankroll, the faster it grows. A poor trader is an idle trader! “Entering a system/ what to do after hyperspace: Prime a missile— good for getting I.D.’s of unknown ships and spotting likely attackers on the way in. (Remember to re-prime after each lock- on to get I.D.’s for other ships.) Plan ahead! Fordangerous systems, it’s smart toh-space in from close-by. If things get too hot, you will have the fuel to h-space out! Beam Laser in tail is handy— pi- rates like to attack from behind when you're heading in. “Locating astation- Usually, youenter system with planet between you and sun. Stations are between planet and sun; so aim jumps above or below plan- et. Many new pilots don’t know how to use the compass. When close enough to a Station, it stops homing-in on planet and points to a station instead! (Watch forindicator dotnot centered when view shows planet dead ahead— or dot IS centered when view shows mainly emp- ty space.) Keep dot at center of compass cross-hairs until “S” indicator lights. “Strategy and tactics- 1st, about mis- siles: Missiles are for emergencies (cost too much to waste). When you use one, fire atclose range to defeatenemy ECM, if present. When you are target, evasion good only for delay— must be ready to absorb hit, h-space out of system, or destroy missile. Without ECM, best anti- missile tactic is to head directly toward enemy— try to destroy ship and mis- siles. With ECM, be sure to re-pulse ECMaslong as enemy missiles present. 2nd, ramming: The Mk III Cobra’s shields can be used as a weapon! On way into asystem you can take out many potential enemies with a glancing blow on your forward shield. The hit dis- charges the shield; so use ramming in light-action systems where there is time to recharge between encounters. 3rd, dogfights: keep enemy at dis- tance for best chance of scoring hits (optimal is with image a bit smaller than laser cross-hair). Close-in, watch out for point-blank missile shots. In heavy-ac- tion anarchy systems, best bet is to meet multiple enemies head-on. Depending upon run-and-shoot tactic (using rear- mounted laser) weakens anti-missile COMPUTIST #82 protection from ECM (which is front mounted). Use speed shifts to gain posi- tional advantage; but, fight mostly at max speed for fastest shield recharging. Finally, beware of attempts to distract you from chasing down a weakened enemy. It’s the ones you don’t finish that end up finishing you!” Assorted Corrections In issue #75 Beagle’s Program Writ- er (a 4-Star performer!) is listed as sup- porting Apple II+. It does include Pro- DOS and DOS 3.3 versions and will run on all II’s from the Ile through IIgs; BUT, it will NOT mun ona II+. (Beagle, in fact, clearly lists compatible II’s on page 2 of the manual.) For whatever comfort it may be to II+ readers who went to the trouble of checking out the product, I recently spent an hour or so reconfiguring the PW Editor’s keys to run on our II+. After all, why limit ease of PW programming to our IIgs?! Well, after checking for usable CTRL keys to sub for the OPEN-APPLE commands and running the Config program, the editor bombed. (You enter && and get a screen full of garbage.) I re-checked the PW manual only to discover that the “+” in the compatible II’s list is a IIc+. Inissue #80 the phone number shown for Glynne Tolar’s Club Apple BB is incorrect. The Club Apple number is 713-476-9998. Next Ah, yes. Next time expect something on music products. For certain, too, is some IIgs stuff, SSI’s Eye of the Be- holder, New World’s Tunnels and Trolls, Spectrum’s Stunt Driver, Martian Mem- orandum from Access, ... PLUS, natu- tally, more! Vendors Access Software 4910 W. Amelia Earhart Drive Salt Lake City Utah 84116 Attn: Susan Dunn/ Steve Witzel (800- 800-4880/ 801-359-2900) Accolade 550 S. Winchester Blvd. Suite 200 San Jose CA 95128 Attn: Melinda Mongelluzzo (408-985- 1700) Ad Lib 220 Grand-Allee East Suite 960 Quebec QC Canada G1R 2J1 Attn: Jill Carette (800-463-2686) Beagle Bros 6215 Ferris Square Suite 100 San Diego CA 92121 Atm: Bevey Minarovich (800-345-1750) Byte Works 4700 Irving Blvd. NW Suite 207 Albuquerque NM 87114 Attn: Patty Westerfield (505-898-8183) Center for Gifted and Talented University of Houston/University Park Farrish Hall #123 Houston TX 77004 Attn: Theresa Monaco Club Apple P.O. Box 5338 Pasadena TX 77508-5338 Attn: Glynne Tolar (713-476-9998) Data East 470 Needles Drive San Jose CA 95112 Attn: PR/Mktg. (408-286-7074) Electronic Arts 1820 Gateway Drive San Mateo CA 94404 Attn: Lisa Higgins (415-571-7171/ or- ders 800-245-4525) Epyx 600 Allerton St. PO Box 8020 Redwood City CA 94063 Attn: Ralf Silver (415-368-3200) Janklow Bender 257 Park Avenue South New York NY 10010 Attn: Kim Adamo (212-475-8030) Jason Harper 1480 Michelle Ct. #A Colorado Springs CO 80916 Tsung Hu PO Box 938 Unit 105 St. Catherines Ontario ON Canada L2R 6Z4 Attn: Tsung Hu (via User to User BBS Dallas 214-492-6565) Mgr Software 305 S State College Blvd. Suite 101 Anaheim CA 92806 Attn: Jim Okubo (714-993-0294) Micro Play/Micro Prose 180 Lakefront Drive Hunt Valley MD 21030 Attn: Kathy Gilmore (orders 800-879- PLAY/ 301-771-1151) Neal-May & Partners 4920 El Camino Real Los Altos CA 94022 Attn: Garth Chouteau (415-967-4444) Sierra On-Line Coarsegold CA 93614 Attn: Anita Green (209-683-4468) Sir-Tech PO Box 245 Charlestown Mall Ogdensburg NY 13669 Attn: Sheri Mitchell (800-447-1230/ 315-393-6633) Softdisk GS PO Box 30008 Shreveport LA 71130-0008 Attn: Editor (800-831-2694) Strategic Simulations Inc 675 Almandor Ave Sunnyvale CA 94086 Attn: Linda Blanchard (408-737-6800) dist Electronic Arts U.S. Gold 550 S. Winchester Blvd. San Jose CA 95128 Attn: Caryn Mical (408-246-6607) Walt Disney Computer Software 500 South Buena Vista Burbank CA 91521 Attn: Kirk Green (818-567-5340) Scott Jelsma IA First of all I would like to thank a couple of people for there help! David L. Goforth for his hard work on Micro- Typewriter 3.5" ProDOS version and for the 5.25" DOS 3.3 version by S.E. Wamner Inc. Jack Moravetz for his work on the Teacher’s Toolkit v3.1 by Hi- Tech of Santa Cruz on a two 3.5" Disks. @Do you have any softkeys for the 5.25" version of the Teacher’s Toolkit v3.1? @Does anyone know if there is a way in ProDOS 16 & GS/OS to have it automatically run a program file. Music Studio and Instant Music are ProDOS 16 and you do not see the finder, they automatically run the program File. Readers Data Exchange Stanley Miller CA @I typed the listing of Enhanced COPYA from issue #67 and it crashes as it goes back to the main program. The menu appears on the screen, the selec- tion of menu keys works and retums to line 90 of COPYA. Then the drop into the monitor and these lines appear: APPLE DUPLICATION PROGRAM 02CC- A=02 X=9D Y=9D P=36 S=F2 If I ctrl C to BASIC and RUN 90 the same thing happens. I also attempted the same idea from #66 using the SUPER COPYA 1.1 with the same results. What’s happening, what am I doing wrong? Sounds like your not BLOADing COPY.OBJ which is the machine language portion of COPYA. RDEXed Michael S. Pollock CA @ Ihave some questions I hope you or your readers can answer. Recently I purchased a used Ile system with an early Duodisk drive with a serial num- ber of 676-102. This drive has trashed the O sector of disks under certain condi- tions. The fix is to cut off two capacitors, Tam told. The question is which two? It also seems to be unable to read disks after repeated disk access. It would seem to be a thermal problem but where? @Recently I came across an Apple Rom Card without instructions. Am I correct in assuming it was used to switch between integer and Apple BASIC? ee ere] George Sabeh PA Softkey for... Risk v1.4 Leasure Genius Requirements: Copy program that can be modified (such as CopyA or Super IOB) Sector editor (I used Copy II Plus for ProDOS and sector editing) Nomal PRODOS file from any unpro- tected ProDOS disk Version 1.3 was unprotected by Jim S. Hart (Computist 74 page 11). Appar- ently the protection has been changed since, but the detailed article by Mr. Hart gave sufficient information to en- able me to unprotect my version. Procedure I will describe two ways of achieving this. The protection includes a format modification which consists of abnor- mal Data Epilogues and a modified Pro- DOS to accept this change. Also it in- cludes a Nibble count that forces a re- boot if the nibble count is not satisfied. The data prologue is changed from DE AAEB to AA DEEB. Iused COPYA to make the normalized copy. Method I 1. Copy the Risk diskette. RUN COPYA When it asks for Slot and Drive: ctrl C to stop program 70 to stop COPY.OBJ from reloading CALL -151 to enter monitor B934:29 00 ignore Ist epilog byte B93E:29 00 ignore 2nd epilog byte 3D0G to return to BASIC RUN to restart COPYA 9 2. Copy a normal PRODOS from any unprotected ProDOS disk. lused Copy II Plus. The ProDOS on the Risk disk is modified to accept the abnormal epilogue. 3. Sector edit the disk to bypass the nibble count. Tis Sd Byte From Io 22 00 FDFF 4C00C6 EAEAEA Method IT 1. Repeat step 1 from Method I to pro- duce a normalized copy. 2. Boot your ProDOS utility disk and enter BASIC. PREFIX /RISK BLOAD RISK.SYSTEM, A$2000, TSYS CALL -151 List starting at 2000 and you will see the code is similar to the disassembly provided by Mr. Hart at the beginning but then it changes. The reboot code is branched to at 20FD. Disassembly start- ing at 20F9 looks like this 20F9- A5 D6 LDA $06 20FB- D003 BNE $2100 20FD- 4c00C8 UMP $Cé600 If your copy shows a different listing, then try and find the location of the above code. 3. To disable the reboot we need to change the 4C 00 C6 to EA EA EA and this should bypass the call to re- boot. 20FD:EA EA EA 4, Save the changed file back to disk. BSAVE RISK.SYSTEM, A$2000, TSYS Now you have an unprotected copy. Rich Etarip WI Softkey for... Gorgon Sirius Requirements: Apple or compatible 64K. A blank disk (no Hello program) Sector editor Thad retired from software deprotec- tion several years ago when I got the urge to doit again. The problem was that Icouldn’teasily acquire any old original disks to unlock. I placed an unClassified ad in Computist #78 offering to (or at least try to) deprotect any disks sent to me. Although I received few replies, one reader from California had a good sized library of old originals and was generous enough to lend them to me in exchange for a softkey. Thanks Chuck. One of the disks he sent was Gorgon by Sirius. Although it’s an oldie, itis on the Most Wanted List so let’s crack it! Gorgon only requires 48K to run but in order to eliminate the disk access and still keep the title page, I decided to use the RAM card to store the title program and itseems almost everyone has at least 64K. The program is too large to save in one pass so the disk must be boot code traced twice. Start by entering the monitor: CALL-151 Move the DOS boot program (boot 0) down to RAM to be modified. 9600<C600.C6FFM Alterboot Oto enterthe monitor upon exit. 96FA:98 N 9801:4C 59 FF Now, boot the disk to load in boot stage 1 at $800. 9600G 10 Boot 1 must be moved to another part of memory to be modified because boot 0 will load over $800 again. 9800<800.8FFM Boot 1 loads the next stage into $400 (the text page buffer) and it will scroll off the screen before we can move it, so alter boot 1 to load into $6400-67FF instead of $0400-07FF. 9810:64 N 984C:68 Boot 1 contains a memory clear rou- tine which would erase all our hard work. $985C specifies the # of pages to erase so change it to $1 and it will do us no harm. 985C:01 Boot 1 is not necessarily relocatable in $9800 so sometimes changes have to be made to run in $9800 9870:98 At $987D is a $JMP $0400 which is the next boot stage. We caused it to load into $6400 and we want it to jump to the monitor entry point instead of $400. 987E:59 FF Everything is ready to load in boot 2 and retum to the monitor. 9600G Now that we have the code we want in $6400, change boot 1 so it does not load over it, but rather, load into $0400 where it belongs. Well move our modi- fied code into $400 later. 9810:04 N 984C:08 At $645D is a tricky checksum rou- tine. It EORs the 4 pages of boot 2 together and uses the result to determine some lower page values, stack values and the stack pointer which are all vital tothe running of the game. Hence, ifany one byte is changed within this boot code, the program will bomb. The way I eluded this little protection was by moving an image of the boot 2 code to $8400 in its immaculate unaltered state and modifying boot 2 to look at $8400 instead of $400. This way, the result value will be correct. Move an unaltered boot 2 to $8400 and then change boot 2 to look at pages $84-$87. 8400<6400.67FFM 6469:86 646C:87 At $65EF is an RTS which is the exit to the start of the game. Instead of jump- ing to the start of the game, we want to find out where the RTS is going to by pulling two values off the stack. We'll also save the vital stack pointer and the fragile lower pages of memory before jumping to the monitor. Hi-res page 1 is available for safe storage. Even though the exit is at $65EF, before the exit is a small memory check routine (at $65C6) and we don’t need this routine so begin writing the routine at $65C6. 65C6:BA 8E 02 23 68 8D 00 23 268 8D 01 23 A200 BD 00 :00 9D 00 20 BD 00 01 9D :00 21 BD 00 02 9D 00 22 :E8 DO EB 4C 59 FF Finally, boot 1 has to move the mod- ified memory to the correct address be- fore jumping to it. Normally boot 1 jumps to $400 but at $400 is Sirius’ typical memory check routine so it can be bypassed. Nothing important hap- pens until $446. Write the move routine and finally, call the boot program to load everything in. 987D:A2 00 BD 00 64 9D 00 04 :BD 00 65 9D 00 05 E8 DO :F1 A6 2B 4C 46 04 9600G The game is now loaded in memory and we’re almost ready to save the first section, but first, check locations $2300- 2302 where we stored the start address and stack pointer. The values should be $1F, $A7 and $1E respectively. Next, we want to save the title page but it hasn’t been loaded in yet because the program goes back to the disk. The title nomnally loads in from $4000 to $4BFF and wecan’toverwrite the memory there right now, but it will fit nicely at $2400- $2FFF. The routine to load and run the title page is at $1E00 so we'll modify it to read it into $2400 instead of $4000. 1E2D:24 N 1E65:30 1E00:A2 60 Also, it must be altered so it does not run the program upon loading. Then, call $1E00 to load it in. Afterwards, tum off the disk drive. 1E15:4C 59 FF 1E00G COE8 Now, we still have available memory from $3000-$3FFF so we can save some of the memory occupying the DOS area. Also move page $8 to safety while re- booting DOS. 3000<A800.B7FFM 8000<800.8FFM Insert your blank disk (make sure there is no HELLO program) and call $C600 to re-boot, then enter the monitor and restore page $8. C600G CALL-151 800<8000.80FFM One more alteration must be made before this section is saved. The routine at $A820 (moved to $3020) calls a rou- tine at $A8AD which tampers with the RAM card. I found out that the program will not run correctly if this routine is called because we are using the RAM card for storage. If we change the JSR $A8AD to JSR $A8CB the RAM card routine will be bypassed. 3021:CB For the first part, we’ll save memory from $800 to $8000. BSAVE GORGON, A$800, L$7800 Now forthe part we all love...it’stime to go back to the Gorgon disk and boot code trace again to capture the second part of the program. Listed below is a quick cookbook method for the trace because not all of the previous steps are necessary this time. Back to the monitor. CALL -151 9600<C600.C6FFM 96FA:98 N 9801:4C 59 FF 9600G 9800<800.8FFM 985C:01 N 9870:98 987D:A959 8D E7 05 A9 FF 8D E805 4C 46 04 9600G When the game is in memory, move pages $80-$A7 down to a safe part of memory ($2000 will work fine), re-boot the slave disk and enter the monitor again. 2000<8000.A7FFM C600G CALL-151 This part is going to be saved to disk but not as a BLOADable file. Let me explain; the program is too large to load into memory by the use of normal DOS Readers Data Exchange SO we’re going to save section 2 to disk and the file named Gorgon will call the RWTS to read it in using the track/ sector list from file #2. I’ll explain more as we go along. First, look at locations $2000-$2003 and write the values down. They should be $C9 $04 $FO $01 re- spectively. When DOS writes a Binary file to disk, the first 4 bytes on the first sector represent the start address and length of the file. So in this case, if we saved it now, the first sector would start like this: 00 20 00 28 C9 04 FO 01... The start address would be $2000 (00 20) and length $2800 (00 28). Because of this, to use the RWTS we would have to read the sectors in memory and then offset them by 4 bytes. This is too much trouble to go through but fortunately, there is a simple solution. BSAVE the entire chunk of memory minus the first 4 bytes so everything will fall into place onthe sector. Of course, the first 4 bytes will be lost but that’s why we wrote them down. Then we can take a sector editor and write the original first 4 bytes over the address and length. The file will not be BLOADable but that shouldn’t be a problem. BSAVE the data skipping the first 4 bytes (0-3). BSAVE GORGON.CODE, A$2004, L$27FB Run yoursector editor and read Track 11 Sector F. Then position the pointer at the first letter of the file name GORGON.CODE. Now go back 3 bytes and note the next two values. This is the track and sector where you’ll find the Track/Sector list for GORGON.CODE. Read that track and sector and look at byte $0C. This the track and sector of the first page of the program (usually it’s just the next sector back on the same track). Read that sectorand setthe pointer for byte $00. If you have the right sector, you'll see $00 $20 $FB $27. Change these 4 bytes to the 4 values you wrote down earlier and write the sector. Now comes the really fun part. Load the first file called GORGON and enter the monitor with CALL-151. At $2300, enter the hexdump in listing 1 and type carefully. This is the program to read in GORGON.CODE and do all the neces- sary memory moves. Listing 1 2300:A9 60 8D 8B A3 A2 00 2308:C1 23 FO 06 20 ED FD 2310:D0 F5 20 89 FE 20 93 2318:AD C9 BS 85 DO AD 2320:85 D1 AO 00 B1 DO 99 00 2328:03 C8 DO F8 A9 80 8D Fl 2330:B7 AO 00 8C FO B7 8C EB 2338:B7 B9 OC 03 FO 1B 8D EC 2340:B7 B9 OD 03 8D ED B7 84 2348:D2 A9 B7 AO E8 20 BS B7 2350:EE Fl B7 A4 D2 C8 2358:E0 A9 30 85 Dl A9 AB 85 2360:D3 A2 10 20 AC 23 AD 81 2368:CO AD 81 CO A9 F8 85 D1 2370:85 D3 A2 08 20 AC 23 2378:83 CO AD 83 CO A9 24 85 2380:D1 A9 DO 85 D3 A2 OC 20 2388:AC 23 B9 00 20 99 00 00 2390:B9 00 21 99 00 01 B9 00 2398:22 99 00 02 C8 DO 23A0:50 CO AD 57 CO AD 52 CO 23A8:A2 1E 9A 60 AO 00 84 DO 23B0:84 D2 Bl DO 91 D2 C8 DO 23B8:F9 E6 Dl E6 D3 CA DO F2 23C0:60 8D 84 C2 CC CF Cl C4 23C8:AO C7 CF D2 C7 CF 23D0:C3 CF C4 C5 8D 00 BD $9724 $01BC $87EC $60B4 $8DSB $3DD2 $3A41 S74~AF S8F58 $1D23 $2FEC $1361 $1c2B SFATE SFAF9 $72DC $318D $0p2D $1556 $cD58 $5A40 $ccs9 $48F5 SFF68 $2BB7 $E22D $934C aa 8 cs DO COMPUTIST #82 All 3 of the Book of Softkeys for only $6.55* *US price, foreign orders require additional postage Book of Softkeys I (Compiled from issues 1-5) Yougetall of these softkeys: «Akalabeth «Amper-Magic «Apple Galaxian *Aztec «Bag of Tricks *Bill Budge’s Trilogy of Games *Buzzard Bait *Cannonball Blitz *Casino *Data Reporter Deadline *Disk Organizer II -Egbert Il +Hard Hat Mack -Home Accountant *Homeword Lancaster *Magic Window II «Multi-Disk Catalog *Multiplan Pest Patrol «Prisoner II Sammy Lightfoot *Screenwriter II ¢Sneakers *Spy’s Demise *Starcross *Suspended +Ultima II +Visifile «Visiplot ¢Visitrend *Wimess *Wizardry *Zork I Zork II *Zork DI Plus: How to crack Applesoft program disks Introduction to Boot Code Tracing How to create DeMuffin (A disk cracking tool) Diskedit (Make changes directly on your disks) Diskview (Examine protected disks) Getting on the Right Track (Fix your Apple drive so it tells you what track it is on.) Hidden Locations on your Apple Revealed Fix your Rana drive so you can Boot Code Trace Plus: How to create DeMuffin Plus (A disk cracking tool) Super IOB v1.5 Using ProDOS on a Franklin Ace Crunchlist I The Controller Saver Making Liberated Backups That Retain Their Copy Protection Examining Protected Applesoft BASIC Programs Game Cheats for: Castle Wolfenstein, Miner 2049er, Serpentine, Star Maze, Ultima II, Wizard and the Princess, Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, Zaxxon Book of Softkeys III (Compiled from issues 11-15) You get all of these softkeys:Alien Addition «Alien Munchies *Aligator Mix «Computer Preparation SAT +Cut and Paste «Demolition Division *DLM Software «Einstein Compiler v5.3 +Electronic Arts Software «Escape from Rungistan *Financial Cookbook «Flip Out *Hi-Res Computer Golf I “Knoware +Laf Pak +Last Gladiator *Learning With Leeper +Lion’s Share Neat tricks and bombs that you can put in your programs Book of Softkeys II (Compiled from issues 6-10) You get all of these softkeys: «Apple Cider Spider *Apple LOGO +Arcade Machine «The Artist Bank Street Writer *Cannonball Blitz Canyon Climber *Caverns of Freitag *Crush, Crumble & Chomp «Data Factory v5.0 DB Master «Essential Data Duplicator I -Essential Data Duplicator III Gold Rush *Krell LOGO +Legacy of Llylgamyn *Mask of the Sun *Minit Man *Mouskattack Music Construction Set *Oil’s Well -Pandora’s Box *Robotron *Sammy Lightfoot Screenwriter II v2.2 *Sensible Speller IV *Sensible Speller 4.0c/4.1c *Spy Strikes Back «Time Zone «Visible Plus: Modified ROMs The Armonitor Computer 6502 *Visidex «Visiterm «Zaxxon +Hayden Software +Sierra OnLine Software +Mastertype +MatheMagic *Minus Mission *Millionaire «Music Construction Set *One on One «PFS Software «Penguin Software «The Quest «Rocky's Boots «Sabotage +Seadragon «Sensible Speller «Snooper Troops (Case 2) *SoftPorn Adventure «Stickybear BOP *Suicide «TellStar «Tic Tac Show «Time is Money «Transylvania «Type Attack +Ultima III-Exodus *Zoom Graphix Putting Locksmith 5.0 Fast Copy Into a Normal Binary File CSaver: The Advanced Way to Store Super IOB Controllers The CORE Disk Searcher The Hacker’s Ultimate Copy & Deprotection Utility: The Super IOB Collection! ALL 4 volumes of Super IOB controllers (through issue #65) in “ONE’ package! COMPUTIST developed the ultimate copy program to remove copy protection from soft- ware: The Super IOB program. Since the introduction of Super IOB, COM- PUTIST has used this flexible program to depro- tect (or partially deprotect) dozens of commer- cial programs with farranging protection schemes. Super IOB deprotects disks by using a modi- fied RWTS (the subroutine in DOS which is responsible for the reading and writing of disk sectors) for reading from the protected disk and then using a normal RWTS for writing to the deprotected disk. This package contains: *Fourdisks (supplied in DOS 3.3). Each disk contains at least 60 Super IOB Controllers in- cluding the standard, swap, newswap and fast controllers. Also included is version 1.5 of Super IOB, the Csaver program from COMPUTIST No. 13, and a Menu Hello Program that lists the available controllers and, when you select one, automatically installs it in Super IOB and RUNs the resulting program.* Several of the controllers deprotect the soft- ware completely withno further steps. This means that some programs are only minutes away from deprotection (with virtually no typing). The issue of COMPUTIST in which each controller appeared is indicated in case further steps are required to deprotect a particular pro- gram.** “Requires at least 64K of memory. “*Although some controllers will completely depro- tect the program they were designed for, some will not, and therefore require their corresponding issue of COMPUTIST to complete the deprotection procedure. The Super IOB Collection Volume 1 of the Super IOB collection covers all the controllers from COMPUTIST No. 9 through No. 26. Also included are the newswap and fast controllers from COM- PUTIST No. 32. The following controllers are on volume 1: Advanced Blackjack *Alphabet Zoo «Arcade Machine Archon II «Archon «Artsci Software *Bank Street Writer *Barrons SAT *Beyond Castle Wolfenstein ~BSW //c Loader Castle Wolfenstein “Computer Preparation: SAT «Dazzle Draw »DB Master 4 Plus «Death in the Carribean *Dino Eggs ~DLM Software +Electronic Arts *F-15 Strike Eagle *Fast Controller *Fathoms 40 +Financial Cookbook *Gessler Software Grandma's House «The Heist «In Search of the Most Amazing Thing «Instant Recall +Kidwriter sLions Share Lode Runner »Mastertype -Match Maker *Miner 2049er *Minit Man *Mufplot ‘Newsroom *Newswap controller ~Penguin Software «Print Shop Graphic Library «Print Shop *Rendezvous with Rama +Rockys' Boots *Sargon Ill Sea Dragon *Shiela *Skyfox Snooper Troops «Standard controller *Stoneware Software «Summer Games -Super Controller ‘Super Zaxxon «Swap Controllers TAC. Ultima | & Il “Word Challenge +Xyphus +Zaxxon Volume 2 of the Super IOB collection covers all the controllers from COMPUTIST No. 27 through No. 38. The following controllers are on volume 2: Alica in Wonderland Alphabetic Keyboarding -Alterate Reality Autoduel «Checkers +Chipwits *Color Me *Conan.data *Conan.prog Crisis Mountain «Disk Director -Dragonworld Early Games «Easy as ABC +F-15 Strike Eagle -Fantavision Fast controller *Fishies -Flight Simulator -Halley Project *Hartley Software (a) Hartley Software (b) Jenny of the Prarie Jingle Disk +Kidwriter *Kracking Vol I! Lode Runner *LOGO II (a) -LOGO II (b) *Masquerade -Mastering the SAT +Microtype: The Wonderful World of Paws *Microzines 1 *Microzines 2-5 «Miner 2049er *Mist & View to a Kill *Murder on the Zinderneut «Music Construction Set +Newswap controller Olympic Decathlon -Other Side Phi Beta Filer *Pitstop II Print Shop Companion *RDOS +Robot War “Spy vs Spy *Standard controller Sundog V2 «Swap controller Sword of Kadash *Synergistic Software «Tawala’s Last Redoubt -Terripin Logo «Threshold +Time is Money «Time Zone Tink! Tonk! sTroll's Tale +Uttima IV «Wilderness -Word Attack & Classmate +World's Greatest Baseball «World's Greatest Football Volume 3 of the Super IOB collection covers all the controllers from COMPUTIST No. 39 through No. 53. The following controllers are on volume 3: 2400 A.D. «Altemate Reality: The Dungeon *Address Book «American Challenge *Apple Gradebook V2.6 «Arcade Album #1 «Arcade Boot Camp «Aztec «Bard's Tale Il -Beachhead -Beyond Castle Wolfenstein «Black Magic *Blue Powder/Grey Smoke «Borrowed Time -Castle Wolfenstein *Cat-N-Mouse Catalyst 2.0 & 3.0 “Centipede «Championship Golf Championship Wrestling «Charlie Brown 123'S Colonial Comprehension Skills ‘Computer Preparation for the SAT V3 Coveted Mirror «Coveted Mirror RWTS Capture ~CPU68000NV.4Q2 *Cranston Manor *Crime Stopper Dam Busters Decimals -Destroyer «Dino Dig *Earth Orbit Station Encyclopedia Britannica «Escape Fish Scales «Foundation Course in Spanish ¢Frog ~GFL Football «Goonies »Great American Cross-Country Road Race -Handlers *H.E.R.O «Inferno «Information Master +J-Bird Jenny's Journeys Joe Theisman Football *Kindercomp *Kung Fu Light Simulator «Manuscript Manager «Master Diagnostics lle «Mastering Math -MECC -MECC Software MECC Swap *MECC Without RWTS «Missing Links *No Error Check & No DOS Ogre “One On One +Oregon Trail -Penguin Software ~PFS ProDOS -Pitfall II +Puzzles&Posters *Racter *Randamn «Reading Style Inventory *Ring Quest “Science Toolkit “Science Toolkit Rev1 *Skyfox *Snooper Troops *Speed Reader II -Spy's Adventure +Starcross «Super Bunny *Temple Apshai Trilogy *The American Challenge +Translyvania «Troll Courseware +Ultima | «Ultima lV «Wizard's Crown +Word Attack «Word Maze «World Karate Championship «Rings of Zilfin «Zorro Volume 4 of the Super IOB collection covers all the controllers from COMPUTIST No. 54 through No. 65. The following controllers are on volume 4: Abracadata/Design Home «Algebra 3 & 4 “American Challenge *Animate side (A) Animate side (B) -Applewriter Preboot -Aztec -Castle Wolfenstein Championship Wrestling Crossword Magic 4.0 «Crypt of Medea -Dam Busters -Dazzle Dr