Text content (OCR)
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43 6NNy
: Making Music On The Apple IGS
é Art For Non-Artists
Four All-American Games Compared
RAM Aerobics
First Look At The ImageWriter LQ
Nearly 300 Apple IGS Product Descriptions
2
= —S
Now le speaks IBM.
Three ve faster than IBM.
Introducing
PC Transporter.“
The Apple® II expansion
board that lets you
run MS®-DOS programs.
Now your Apple I can run
over 10,000 programs you could
never use before. Like Lotus®
-2-3 MultiMate® dBASE IIL
PLUS® Even Flight Simulate
With PC Transporter, MS-DOS
programs run on your Apple IL
like they do on IBM® PC's or
compatibles. With one important
difference. PC Transporter runs
most of those programs three
times faster than an IBM PC/XT®
Plus, to speed through number-
crunching tasks, you can use
our optional 8087-2 math co-
processor chip. It plugs into a
socket on the PC Transporter.
Less expensive than an
IBM clone.
Sure, a stripped-down IBM
clone costs about the same as
the PC Transporter. But the pe-
ripherals it takes to get the clone
up and running make the clone
cost about three times what our
American-made card costs.
You don’t have to buy new
hardware to use PC Transporter.
Works with the hardware you
already own.
With PC Transporter, MS-DOS
programs see your Apple hard-
ware as IBM hardware. You
can use the same hardware you
have now.
With IBM software, your Apple
hardware works just like IBM
hardware. Including your drives,
monitors, printers, printer cards,
clock cards and serial clocks.
1
You can use your He® or IIGs
keyboard with IBM software. Or
use our optional IBM-style key-
board (required for the II Plus).
You can use your Apple mouse.
Or an IBM compatible serial
mouse,
Plenty of power.
PC Transporter gives you as
much as 640K of user RAM
and 128K of system RAM in the
IBM mode.
PC Transporter also is an Apple
expansion card, adding up to
768K of extra RAM in the Apple
mode. The Apple expansion alone
is a $300 value.
Easy to install.
You can install PC Transporter
in about 15 minutes, even if
you've never added an expansion
board. You don’t need special
tools. Simply plug it into an Apple
expansion slot (1 through 7 ex-
cept 3), connect a few cables and
a disk drive, and go!
ae wre
PC Transporter taps into the world’s largest
software library, Now your Apple can
run most of the IBM software you use
at work. And it opens a new world of
communications programs, games and
bulletin boards.
A universal disk drive
controller.
PC Transporter supports 3.5”
and 5.25” MS-DOS and ProDOS
formatted diskettes. You'll shift in-
stantly between Apple ProDOS
and IBM MS-DOS.
You'll need our versatile 5.25”
360K drive system to run IBM
applications from 5.25” floppy
disks, Use your Apple 5.25" drive
for Apple 5.25" disks.
An Apple Disk 3.5 Drive will
support the new 3.5"disks
whether they’re IBM MS-DOS
formatted or Apple ProDOS for-
matted. The PC Transporter acts
like an Apple Disk 3.5 Drive disk
controller for lcs, lle, and II
Plus users.
PC Transporter supports
up to 5 drives in a number of
combinations.
For example, you can connect
a 5.25 Applied Engineering 360K
dual-drive system directly to the
card. Then plug two daisy-chained
Apple 3.5 Drives (not the Apple
UniDisk 3.5) to the dual-drive
system. For a fifth drive, use a
ProDOS file as an IBM hard disk.
PC Transporter controls Apple and IBM
compatible disk drives. It supports 3.5" and
5.25" MS-DOS and ProDOS formatted
disketies.
a
Versatile data storage.
PC Transporter reads MS-DOS
and translates it into Apple native
ProDOS. You can store IBM pro-
grams and data on any ProDOS
storage device including the
Apple 3.5 Drive, Apple UniDisk™
3.5, Apple 5.25” drive, SCSI or
ProDOS compatible hard drives.
(You can use the Apple UniDisk
3.5 with its own controller card
for storing programs and data,but
not for directly booting an IBM
formatted disk.)
You can even use our 360K PC
compatible drive for ProDOS
Make your Apple speak IBM.
PC Transporter memory choices.
RAM in RAM in
Apple mode: IBM mode: Price:
384K 256K $489.00
512K 384K 539.00
640K 512K 589.00
768K 640K 639.00
Note: The IBM mode is 128K less because
¢ PC Transporter uses 128K for system
memory.
Ics Installation Kit 49.00
Heil Plus
Installation Kit 39.00
PC Transporter Accessories
5.25” IBM Format 360K
Drive Systems
Single-Drive System 269.00
Dual-Drive System 399.00
Half-Height Drive 135.00
(add to Single-Drive system to make
Dual-Drive)
IBM-Style Keyboard 139.00
(required for Apple II Plus.)
IBM Keyboard Cable 34.00
Sony RGB Monitor 499.00
Analog RGB Cable 39.00
(ieee use with Sony monitor)
Digital RGB Cable 39.00
(for use with Sony monitor)
Digital RGB Adapter 24.00
ColorSwitch 44.00
(included with lcs Installation Kit)
128K ZIP
PC Transporter
Memory Expansion
Chip Set
8087-2 Math
Co-processor
per set
229.00
Heavy Duty 69.00
Power Supply
(Ile and II Plus only)
Sce your dealer or call or send
check or money order to Applied
Engineering. MasterCard, VISA and
COD welcome. Texas residents
add 7% sales tax.
Apo IPs must be FCC Ceriied. IBM and cred
TPademurks of Aso te Inc MS and Fag Smultor are reps
POXT ae rei
rama of ntrmatonal usin Machines Let 12 erie
cred aera
"ar Macrontt AppC H
dem of Decent oer, Mutt a as
fe and ProbUN ae ropsered wavenans an Hs and Unis a tap
PC Transporter produces better IBM graphics
than IBM. Analog is sharper than digital.
So with an analog RGB monitor PC
Transporters CGA graphics and text are
superior to IBM’ digital display — even
while running IBM software!
And, you can also use an Apple composite
‘monitor in IBM text or graphics mode.
storage and a 143K Apple 5.25”
drive for MS-DOS storage.
Created by Apple’s original
designers.
The brains behind PC Trans-
porter were also behind your
Apple II.
The PC Transporter design
team includes the former project
managers for the creation of the
Apple Ie and IIc. The co-designer
of the Apple II disk controller.
And the first full-time Apple
programmer and author of the
ProDOS operating system.
So you know the PC Trans-
porter and your Apple were made
for each other.
Support and service from the
leader in Apple add-ons.
Applied Engineering sells more
Apple peripheral boards than any-
one else — including Apple
Computer. So you know we'll be
around after the sale.
PC Transporter comes with a
15-day money back guarantee. If
you're not fully satisfied after
using it, return it for a full refund.
PC Transporter also comes with a
1-year warranty.
How to get your PC
Transporter today.
See your dealer. Or call Applied
Engineering any day between
9 am. and 11 p.m. CST at
214-241-6060.
-~ Applied Engineering
The Apple enbancement experts.
PO. Box 798, Carrollton, TX 75006
214-241-6060
[A Division of AE Research
Reader Circle Number 4
HL are registered
CONTENTS
Editor's Window ..
GS Address...
‘The editors of The Apple IGS Buyer's Guide
and Contributing Editor Philip Chien
answer letters and questions from readers.
Features
Making Music On The Apple IIGS... 10
‘The potential for creating music is locked
inside your Apple IGS. Here's what it takes
to get it out.
Art For Non-Artists.... z
An Apple IGS can help transform anyone
into a budding El Greco.
Play Ballt.....
Here's a look at four all-American ball
games for the Apple lIGS.
RAM Aerobics.......
Not getting the most out of memory? Try
these exercises to keep your RAM board
healthy and strong.
Product Reviews
ImageWriter LQ
Diversi-Key.....
The Graphics Studio And Draw Plu:
List Plus...
Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing ‘2
Postcards... 4B
The TimeOut Series , 44
pple ISS
The Buyer's Guide
Apple IGS Hardware And
Software Directory
Accessories ..
Switch boxes, cleaning kits, dust covers,
mouse containers and more
AppleWorks......
Compatible programs for AppleWorks
Books And Publications... i
Literature of interest to Apple IIGS users
Business And Productivity
Integrated software, accounting packages,
vertical-market software, personal finance
packages and more
Creative... 52
Paint, draw, animation software and more
Desk Accessories. 54
Pop-up accessory sofware for home
and business
Desktop Communications ..
Telecommunications programs for file
transfers and more
Desktop Publishing......
Combined grapbics and text software. for
personal publishing projects
Education,
Reading, writing, arithmetic and more
Entertainment .
Basketball, simulations, adventures
and more
Hardware And Peripherals.........
Extended memory boards, bard disk drives,
graphics products, synthetic speech acces-
sories, modems and more
Music. =
Training, writing and MIDI software for
music
Networking..... a
Software and utilities for connecting to
AppleTalk networks
On-Line Databases
Information utilities available on-line
Programming And Utiliti
File recovery software, prog
guages and programmer utilities
Word Processing.
Graphics and text-
programs
Indexes
Advertiser's Index.........
Product Index...
Company Index...
Entire contents copyright 1988 by Redgate Communications Corporation. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form ‘means, electron-
{Cor mocharleal cing photcoapyion, rocordny or by any nferraton stor or rethoval syle, wineu persion iwring rm the publsner The apole NGS Byers ido an
independent journal; not affliated in any way with Apple Computer. Inc., but Apple Computer, Inc. has granted Redgate Communications Corporation the right to use the title, The Apple
Trademark o Apple Gompute, ne. Appl le, Apis llc and Appa IGS are registered trademarks of Apple Compute, Inc. usod by permission,
Droduct stings and descriptions, Some ofthe views expressed by contributors may not be representative of
fs held by Redgate Communicaons Corperatio. Unsolisted manuscipis and other materia wil be returned only if aocompanied by a selt-aderessed, stamped envelope. The
publisher isnot responsible fr unsocted malarial, Prrted in the U.S. The Apple IGS $'Buyers Guide is publishea quarterly by Redgate Communications Gorporaton at 660 Beachland
ular Vero Beach, 32063, 407-231 6904. Suber aes: $8.95 po yer; Canaia $14.95; feel $28.85. Moers re payabie ony. funds, edgele Conntunicatons
Corparaton also publshes The Maciniash Buyers Guide, PAQ Review - The Independent Magazine For Compag® Computer Users, FY!— The Hats Magazine Fo nformation Man-
agement, a series of computer books and other properties, The company also provides marketing communications services to a wide range of high-technology clients. For more informa
tion contact Ted Leorsis, Redgate Communicationg Corporation.
a
2 Summer 1988
For Those Who Want the Most.
From Those Who Make the Best. Gs-RAM*
Now expand the IGS’ RAM and ROM with up to 8 MEG of “Instant On”
GS-RAM has an all new design. A design that
delivers higher performance including in-
creased speed, greater expandability, and
improved software.
More Sophisticated, Yet
Easier to Use
GS-RAM works with all IIcs software. In fact
any program that runs on Apple's smaller
memory card runs on the Gs-RAM. But with
GS-RAM you can have more memory, im-
proved performance, and almost unlimited
expansion capabilities We've designed the
new Gs-RAM to be easier to use tod—you
don't have to adjust the size of your RAM
disk every time you use a DMA device. No
other RAM card with more than 4 banks of
memory installed can make the same claim.
More than Just Hardware
Each Gs-RAM and GsRAM Plus includes the
most powerful set of Ics software enhance-
ments available anywhere. In fact, our nearest
competitor offers only a fraction of the
invaluable programs that we include with
each Gs-RAM card. This software includes the
most powerful disk-caching program available,
the Gs-RAM Cache. The Cache will make most
of your applications run up to 7 times faster.
Also induded is a diagnostic utility that lets
you test your GRAM by graphically showing
the location of any bad or improperly
installed RAM chips. And for AppleWorks
users, we give you our exclusive Expander
program that dramatically enhances both the
capabilities and speed of AppleWorks.
Making AppleWorks Even Better
Applied Engineering's Expander program
eliminates AppleWorks intemal memory limits
allowing it to recognize up to 8 megabytes of
desktop workspace. You can increase the
limits from only 7,250 lines to 22,600 lines in
the word processor and from 6,350 records
to 22,600 records in the database. The
Expander allows all of AppleWorks, induding
print functions, to automatically load into
RAM. The clipboard size will increase from
255 to 2,042 lines maximum. Gs-RAM will
automatically segment larger files so you can.
save them onto multiple floppies. And
Gs-RAM provides a built-in print buffer that
allows you to continue working in Apple-
Works while your printer is still processing
text You can even load Pinpoint or Macro-
Works and your favorite spelling checker into
RAM for instant response.
Grow by Kilobytes or Megabytes
We offer Gs-RAM in two configurations so
you can increase your memory 256K at a
time (Gs-RAM) or a megabyte at a time
(GS-RAM Plus). Both are IIcs compatible and
both come with our powerful enhancement
software. GS-RAM can hold up to 1.5 MEG of
256K chips and Gs-RAM Plus can hold up to
6 MEG using 1 MEG chips. And since both
use standard RAM chips (not high-priced
SIMM’s), you'll find expanding your Gs-RAM
or Gs-RAM Plus easy, convenient, and very
economical. For further expansion, you can
plug a 2 MEG “piggyback” card into the Gs-
RAMs expansion port for up to 3.5 MEG of
total capacity. Or up to a whopping 8 MEG
on Gs-RAM Plus. If a Gs-RAM owner outgrows
3.5 MEG, he can easily upgrade to Gs-RAM
Plus for a nominal charge.
Permanent Storage for an
“Instant On” Apple
‘With our RamKeeper™ back-up option,
your Gs-RAM or GSRAM Plus will retain both
programs and data while your Ics is tumed
off Now when you tum your IIcs back on,
your favorite software is on your screen in
under 4 seconds! With RamKeeper you can
divide your Ics memory into part “electronic
hard disk,” and part extended RAM. Even
change the memory boundaries at any
time—and in any way—you want. Because
“In quality,
performance,
compatibility,
expandability and
support, Applied
Engineering's GsRAM
and GSRAM Plus are
number one.”
*
Steve Wozniak, the creator
of Apple Computer
memory with the allnew Gs-RAM!
Applied Engineering has the most experience
in the industry with battery-backed memory
for the Apple, you are assured of the most
reliable memory back-up system available.
And in the world of battery-backed memory,
Reliability is everything That's why Applied
Engineering uses state-ofthe-art “GEL-CELL’s”
instead of Ni-Cad batteries (if Ni-Cads aren't
discharged periodically, they lose much of
their capacity). RamKeeper has about 6
hours of “total power failure” backup time.
‘That's 6 times the amount of other systems.
But with power from your wall outlet,
RamKeeper will back-up Gs-RAM, Gs-RAM
Plus, or most other Ics memory cards
indefinitely. Should you ever have a “total
power failure,” RamKeeper switches to its
G-hour battery. When power retums, Ram-
Keeper will automatically recharge the battery
to full power. RamKeeper incorporates a
dual-rate charger, status LE.D.’s, and ad-
vanced power reducing circuitry. RamKeeper
comes complete with battery, software, and
documentation.
GS-RAM’s Got it ALL!
© S-year warranty — parts & labor
© 6 RAM banks (most cards have 4)
« Memory expansion port
ROM expansion port
Ulwafast disk caching on ProDOS 8 AND
ProDOS 16.
Expands AppleWorks intemal limits
¢ Includes hi-res self test
* No soldered-in RAM chips
« Expandable to 8 MEG
* No configuration blocks to set
» RamKeeper back-up option allows
permanent storage of programs & data
15-day money-back guarantee
* Proudly made in the USA.
GS-RAM with 256K $219
GS-RAM with 512K $339
Gs-RAM with 1 MEG $579
Gs-RAM with 1.5 MEG $819
Gs-RAM with 2.5 to3.5 MEG CALL
Gs-RAM Plus with 1-8 MEG =CALL
RamKeeper Option $179
Order
See your dealer or call Applied Engineering
today, 9 am. to 11 pm. 7 days Or send
check or money order to Applied Engineering,
MasterCard, VISA and C.O.D. welcome.
Texas residents add 7% sales tax. Add $10.00
outside USA.
AE APPLIED ENGINEERING”
The Apple enbancement experts.
(214) 241-6060
P.O. Box 5100, Carrollton, TX 75011
Prices subject to change without notice.
Reader Circle Number 2
GSRAM, GSRAM Plus and RamKeeper are trademarks of Applied Engineering, Other brands and product names are registered trademarks of their respective holders
The Apple IGS
Buyer's Guide
Publisher: Len Scaffidi
Vice President/Editor-In-Chief: Paul Pinella
Directory Editor: Paulette Siclari
Production Manager: Carolyn D. Sizemore
Assistant Directory Editor:
Catherine L. Spencer
Quality Control Manager: Ron Errett
Proofreader: Linda W. Hill
Staff Writer: Linda Topoleski
Contributing Editors: Philip Chien; Carol s.
Ph.D.; Ken Landis
Other Editorial Management: Jordan Gold
Assistant To The Publisher: Mary J. Spoto
Vice President/Creative Director:
Mark S. Ballard
Senior Art Director: Patricia N. Walker
Art Director: Bill Stahl
‘Typesetting/ Traffic Manager:
Kathaleen S. Ross
‘Typesetting Operations: Debra R. Siraco,
Circulation Manager: Sandra J. Byrd
Single-Copy Sales Consultant:
JosephJ. Sparano
Single-Copy Sales Administrator:
Maura Sheehan
Subscription Processing Coordinator:
Karen Lindsey .
‘Customer Service Representative:
‘Yvette Lighty
Sharon L. Thomas; Vicki Rae Vadnais
‘Western Advertising Sales Director:
ertising
Redgate Communications Corporation,
185 Berry St., Ste. 5401, San Francisco, CA
94107, 415-777-3911
Eastern Advertising Sales Director:
Laughead
Redgate Communications Corporation
24 New England Executive Park, Burlington,
‘MA 01803, 617-229-6500
Advertising Sales: Sandy Van ae
Redgate Communications Corporation, 660
Beachland Boulevard, Vero Beach, FL 32963,
407-231-6904
Response Services: Tammy Smith
Redgate Communications
ition
President: Ted Leonsis
Executive Vice President: Alfred J. Mandel
Senior Vice President/Chief Financial Officer:
Jeff Parsons
Director Of Finance: Nancy A. Birt
MIS/Facilities Manager: Tim Duncklee
Accounts Payable Administrator:
Brenda Simmons
Finance Assistant: Cindy Schuster
Assistant To The President: Donna M. Philo
Assistant To The CFO: Ursula Wallag
Receptionist: Julie A. Van Gaasbeck
Cover Illustration: Linda Nelson
BPA Membership Applied For: November 1987
4 Summer 1988
EDITOR'S WINDOW
Package Imperfect
lot of good software has been
developed for the Apple IIGS,
but you'd never know it from
the packaging. Only a few
vendors — perhaps the ones
far removed from Madison
Avenue —take the effort to
clearly label packages with
essential information needed by users. Sim-
ple clues, such as operating system informa-
tion, are often left off the boxes, as are
details about copy protection, memory
requirements, system requirements and
so forth.
Another telltale bit of information often
omitted is whether a package is truly "IIGS
specific." More than a few packages crossing
my desk have left me puzzled. Is it or isn't
iv
A program doesn't have to be IGS specif-
ic to be great, AppleWorks is a good exam-
ple. Sure, AppleWorks can take advantage of
certain IIGS features, such as increased
speed and memory capacity, but it also runs
fine on earlier Apples. New packages, such
as Springboard Publisher, show there's still
room to be innovative in the Apple II world
without being IGS specific.
Nevertheless, nobody buys an Apple JIGS
unless they intend to use all those nifty fea-
tures that dazzle the computer store crowds,
including clever use of color, speed and (if
the budget allows) stereo sound. In my
book, the only kind of program that can do
these things is written under ProDOS 16,
understands memory management, nurtures
the Finder and fully supports the Apple
interface.
Not all programs that cling to this recipe
will be superstars, of course. Under certain
circumstances, such as telecommunications,
following the IIGS formula can be more a
hindrance than help. Even so, many poten-
tial buyers want features that best support
their IIGS investment. How can they know
unless the package says so?
My biggest gripe, which seems to be
shared by our readers, is with products that
come to market with fuzzy credentials. For
example, products that boast in big bold let-
ters that they "Run On The Apple IIGS," but
never say whether they come with a 3.5-inch
disk or take advantage of any IIGS features.
Another class of fuzzy product made even
fuzzier by packaging involves a few games,
educational packages and similar programs.
Yes, they are IIGS specific. That is, they
demand up to a megabyte of memory,
access the sound chip and run only ona
IGS. But they may not necessarily follow
Apple's guidelines. In fact, they may not
even be written under a standard
operating system.
If your only intent is to boot these pro-
grams and run, fear not. But don't try load-
ing them onto a hard disk or using desk
accessories at the same time.
Vendors have a right not to follow Apple's
standards for whatever reason. Potential
buyers of their products have an equal right
to know exactly what they are getting. At
the moment, the buyers are not getting the
information they need from packaging.
Perhaps the marketing moguls on Madi-
son Avenue should set aside three square
inches of space on every software package.
Let the programmers describe here, in their
own words, what makes up their creations.
The copy may not win any awards, but it
certainly will be read. Ill
— Paul Pinella,
Editor-In-Chief
2400
Cie
2400
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(pie
2400
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EPIC 2400CLASSIC*
2400
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The World’s only 2400 Baud Internal Modem
for the Apple’ II Family
EPIC 2400CLASSIC
With Talk Back™ Communications Package
© 2400, 1200, 300 Baud rates
(CCITT V.22 (bis), V.22, Bell 212A, 103)
Auto dial/answer
* Auto Baud capability
© Complete “AT” Cot
case “at”’)
(Recognize lower
mmand set
© DTMF/pulse or mixed dialing
i
© Call progress detection
© Audio monitor
Redialing on busy
© Data to voice switching
© Self test modes
¢ Full 5 year warran'
¢ Made in USA
ty
Aople Tig
4
1-800-634-9992 ¢ 415-683-0932
eos mark of Apy Bee
Epic the Bp ca ind E| aC
tea
Talk B jack™
Reader Circle Number 3
ech hogy,
He red tre heh a of RUSS S)
ystems.
Address all inquiries to
"IGS Address," c/o The
Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide,
Redgate Communications
Corp., 660 Beachland Blvd.,
Yero Beach, FL 32963.
Questions may also be
sent via electronic mail
on The Source (CPA211) or
Compuserve (71625,567).
Individual responses can-
not be guaranteed.
1) I'm moving to Europe
in a couple of months and
Tid like to take my Apple
with me. The power I'm
ing to be using is 220
volts (v)/50 hertz (hz) AC,
as op) to the
120v/60hz AC in the Unit-
ed States. What problems
can I expect?
IIGS ADDRESS
Ihave no need for multi-
color printing. Will my
present ImageWriter I
printer work properly
with an Apple IGS?
If I get an Apple IGS,
will its built-in serial
printer interface let me
use my present Super Seri-
al card for communication
with a 1,200-baud external
modem?
Finally, do you know of
any IGS telecommunica-
tions program that works
with the Kermit file trans-
fer protocol and emulates
a VT100 terminal?
Mark Harris
San Diego
First, let's get our terms
straight. ROM stands for read-
only memory. The ESP board
Gerard Mollet
Fort Rucker, Alabama
The editors of The Apple IGS Buyer's Guide and Contributing Editor Philip
Chien answer letters and questions from readers.
Most, although not all, Apple peripherals
will work fine with a step-down transformer.
Make sure you are using a fully isolated,
grounded, three-prong step-down trans-
former, not a little $9.95 model designed for
use with an electric shaver.
Frequency is another problem. U.S cur-
rent works at 60hz, but most European
nations use 50hz. Do not try to use a Laser-
Writer, ImageWriter II, ImageWriter LQ,
Scribe or Apple Color Plotter at 50hz;
you will probably damage the printer.
The ImageWriter I works fine at 50hz,
although there may be spacing problems
between characters.
Also, remember that U.S. Apple comput-
ers produce NTSC video. If you try to hook
up your computer to a PAL or SECAM moni-
tor (two video standards used in Europe),
you won't get correct results. Make sure you
use an NTSC monitor on your Apple, even
while in Europe. Apple's Monitor II, Monitor
IIc and Monitor III should work fine at
50hz, although there may be a slight
on-screen flicker.
Given the above limitations and a good
step-down transformer, the following Apple
brand-name accessories will work fine at
120v/50hz: Apple I, Ile, IIc, IGS,
ImageWriter I printer, Monitor II, IIc and III.
Many third-party products will also work,
but make sure the U.L. listing says 50/60hz.
6 Summer 1988
Don't forget that your warranty is only
valid in the country where you purchased
your Apple, and international dealers might
not have the parts or capabilities to service
your machine. If they do offer to service
your Apple, expect to pay’extra for
the privilege. me
By the way, you can easily reset the char-
acter set and keyboard map on an Apple
IGS for a variety of different languages.
Just go into the Control Panel and
choose Options.
Apple ImageWriter and Image Writer II
printers both include built-in foreign charac-
ter sets that can easily be accessed through
software. Plus, many software publishers
now produce foreign language versions of
their programs with the manuals and on-
screen displays re-written in a variety
of languages.
2) AGS function that would be ideal for
me would be if somehow the combina-
tion of OctoRAM ESP and SoftSwitch
would allow me to load my database
program, a word processor and some-
thing similar to Printrix into ROM, then
let me select which one would start run-
ning at power up. Is that possible?
Also, do you know of anything that
will scan text into a word processor file?
Such a tool would be great for inputting
programs from magazines or books.
acts like both a RAM and
ROM board. Like a ROM
board, it holds its memory
when a IIGS' power is turned
off. Like a RAM board, the memory can be
modified as needed. The technical term is
battery-backed static RAM, and a small bat-
tery is used to keep the memory powered
while a IIGS is turned off.
‘The OctoRAM ESP board has the advan-
tages of both RAM and ROM. The ESP board
"looks" like a disk drive to a TIGS and holds
up to 512K of RAM. In fact, you can set up a
IGS to automatically run a program on the
ESP board when you turn on the computer.
All you have to do is initialize the ESP board
and put your programs into its memory.
‘The major limiting factor is that an ESP
board can only hold about 75 percent of the
capacity of a 3.5-inch disk. You should be
able to fit a small database program, a word
processor and Printrix without any prob-
lems. You may not have enough space to
also fit SoftSwitch within the 512K
confines, however.
If you require more than 512K of pro-
grams, Checkmate Technology's Memo-
rySaver or Applied Engineering's RamKeeper
can convert the memory on your present
IGS RAM expansion board into a ROM disk.
A variety of different ProDOS program selec-
tor programs can be used for a menu selec-
tor to choose which program you want
when you turn on your computer.
Incidentally, if you already have an Apple
Ie and don't need the music or sound capa-
AT LAST...
Data, Pictures & Sound,
All In One Database
Didn’t you buy your Apple IGS for its incredible inte- Of course, SoftWood GS File doesn’t just store the in-
gration of data, pictures and sound? SoftWood GS File is formation. It lets you manage it. Calculations, multilevel
the only database manager on the Apple IGS which can sorting, searching by example or range, simple lists,
manage all that information fogether! detailed reports, mailing labels, and conversion from
Think about the possibilities—membership rosters with Stents AES, It's ohh. . .so simple. View : Hele
pictures, real estate listings with house plans, record spreadsheet with rows and eoinni oh MEUIee yout
collections with digitized music own format. You can even present information in a
and sounds, recipes with color- slideshow, showing pictures and playing sounds
ful photos, pictorial vocabulary simultaneously!
lessons, foreign language pro- You treated yourself to an Apple IIGS. Now treat
nunciation, and much more. yourself to SoftWood GS File.
SOFTWOOD Incredibly priced at:
GS FILE
VERSION 2.0 9 9 5
512K Required;
2 Daves Hecommendet! Educational Discounts
Available
Reader Circle Number 4
bilities of an Apple IIGS, using SoftSwitch
with the ROM disk applications is still an
excellent Feason to upgrade to an Apple IIGS.
Scanning graphics into a computer is tela-
enn easy. Scanning text requires an intelli-
gent program that can recognize characters.
In addition, different character fonts are dif-
ficult to tell apart. It's quite easy for a human
to ize thousands of different fonts,
not so for a computer. Handwritten charac-
ters are even more difficult to tell apart.
Even with all the limitations, there have
been a couple of optical character readers
released. One product is Omni-Reader. It
looks like a copy stand and includes a read-
er that you move across a page with your
hand. Data is transmitted as text to your
computer's RS-232 interface. That's the
good news.
The bad news is that Omni-Reader is only
about 95 percent accurate, and that's only
with relatively standard text fonts. The other
bad news is, the company that made it went
out of business,
Mail order firms are now selling Omni-
Reader for under $200. You might want to
check with California Digital (800-421-5041)
to see if they have any left in stock.
Apple has informed us that most IIGS
programs that use the standard Apple printer
routines will work with the ImageWriter I as
well as the ImageWriter II. For the most part,
programmers design programs to be com-
patible with as many users as possible, and
programs designed for the ImageWriter I
work just as well on the Image Writer II.
Consequently, most graphics programs
are designed to work with the ImageWriter I.
These programs occasionally have extra fea-
tures (e.g., color) available as options in
case you have an ImageWriter II.
‘You will need a new cable to attach an
ImageWriter I to a IIGS, because the IGS
uses the new sub-8 connector and your cur-
rent Super Serial card uses the older DB-25
connector. The cable is available from your
Apple dealer or through a variety of mail
order firms.
Even if you don't need color printing,
you may still want to consider purchasing
an ImageWriter II. It is twice as fast as an
ImageWriter I and includes an excellent
high-quality text mode. Best of all, your cur-
rent Image Writer I ribbons and software will
work with an ImageWriter II.
An Apple IIGS includes two built-in serial
ports, traditionally referred to as the printer
and modem ports, although you can use any
two serial devices you want. When you pur-
chase a IGS, you won't need your Super
8 Summer 1988
Serial card, unless you want a third serial
port or your software specifically requires
a Super Serial card.
‘You can easily hook up your present
ImageWriter I to a IIGS' printer port via a
new cable. You can also use either your
Micromodem II or an internal or external
1,200-baud modem with the IIGS' second
serial port (the modem port).
This will only work if your programs are
compatible with a IIGS' serial ports. Many
older programs require either the Super Seri-
al card or the Micromodem II card. They
won't work with the IIGS serial interface.
According to Checkmate Technology, Pro-
term version 2.0 is supposed to handle
VT100 emulation, Kermit and Xmodem
transfer protocols, and a lot more. Yes, it will
work with your Micromodem II, Super Serial
card or IGS serial port. You can even attach
your Apple directly to your DEC mainframe
for ultrahigh-speed communications.
3) I recently purchased the game Hacker
II for my IIGS. I was unable to boot the
program on my computer and I couldn't
Hane ous What was wrang called
Activision's support department, and
they said they were aware of the prob-
Jem. The support person explained the
difficulty was because of the upgraded
ROM in my JIGS and that the company
was working on a revised version of
the game. i
I believe Activision should recall all
existing copies of this software from its
distributors so these copies don't pose
any inconvenience or frustration to
potential consumers.
Jane Santo
Scarsdale, New York
‘We agree with you in principle. Compa-
nies should not sell software that doesn't
work with current computers. However, the
situation is more complicated than you
might expect.
‘When Activision first released Hacker I,
it worked fine with the Apple JIGS. That's
because all users had the same original sys-
tem ROM. After a computer has been in the
field for some time, documented bugs begin
to appear. Customers, especially software
companies, ask the manufacturer to fix the
problems and to add newer features.
Apple responded to these requests with
the updated system ROM in your computer.
Naturally, software developers, who also
receive these updated ROMs for their
machines, check all of their programs for
IIGS ADDRESS
compatibility. The trouble is, by the time
most software devel receive their new
ROMs, the newest Apple IIGS's off the
assembly line also have the new ROMs, and
current users are starting to get the updated
ROMs through their dealers.
It is in Activision's highest interest to get
its products updated as fast as possible and
to upgrade customers who have
copies of Hacker II. The trouble is, what do
you do about the hundreds or even thou-
sands — in the case of a large company
such as Activision — of copies that have
been sent through distributors, mail order
firms and retail dealers?
Most companies will offer free or low-
cost (typically $5 to $10) upgrades for their
customers when a product doesn't work
properly because of a program revision.
Occasionally, a company will let you
upgrade through a local dealer, but most
upgrades are performed directly by
the manufacturer.
Upgrades are a hassle everybody has to
deal with. The alternative — not to ever
upgrade or improve the Apple IIGS world —
is a hundred times worse.
What should you do? Ask your software
dealer what his policy is concerning refunds
or credit for software that doesn't operate on
your computer,
Unfortunately, dealers have to be wary.
‘There are people who will purchase soft-
ware, copy it illegally and then return the
original copies to the dealers claiming
they're defective or they don't operate on
their machines. Most knowledgeable dealers,
however, should be able to confirm whether
a specific program works on your machine.
Always check this out.
4) Do you have any information on
future AppleFest shows? Unfortunately,
I wasn't able to make the show in San
Francisco last September. From your
description in the Winter 1988 issue,
it sounded fascinating.
Wendell Harness
Riverside, California
The next AppleFest will be held in
Boston on May 20 to 22. After that, the next
show is scheduled for fall in San Francisco.
Call 1-800-262-FEST or 617-860-7100 in
Massachusetts for details.
Pyware’
Music Writer
Designed Exclusively For The APPLE Ics
From Beginner To Professional Composer
The Pyware™ Music Writer is the perfect music
notation and composition tool for any composer at
any level. With the Music Writer you can play in
your music with a synthesizer, see it displayed on
the screen, play it back through your synthesizer or
Apple IIGS sound chip and print the music on your
ImageWriterII ready to be published.
The Pyware™ Music Writer supports the beginning
music hobbyist or student with a step by step guide
to basic music theory and composition. If you know
how to write music and are searching for a music
program that will utilize all the features of the
Apple IIGs and allow you to quickly input and edit
your music, you have found that tool.
Input and editing which are the most time con-
suming parts of music writing are a breeze. The
Music Writer offers automated error checking,
lyrics, extensive use of the Apple IIGS sound chip,
MIDI input and output, and that is just the
beginning. The program provides easy editing
through copy, cut, paste, invert and transpose. A
quality print out of parts, range of parts, or score
formats are just as easy to produce.
With all this power, the Music Writer is still very
simple to use because of the Apple IIGS user
interface, pull down menus and icons.
For More information or ordering call
Pygraphics at 1-800-222-7536
(in Texas 817-481-7536) or write:
P.O. Box 639, Grapevine, TX 76051.
Distributor inquiries are welcome.
Reader Circle Number 5
As mentioned, the Music Writer is the perfect
music tool for any composer at any level. Three
levels of the Music Writer are available for the
Apple IIGS. Two are available for the Apple Ile.
LEVEL 1 - (LIMITED EDITION) - Designed
for the beginning music student or music hobbyist.
It is limited to 3 staves and is great for single part
writing. It contains a music theory guide along with
the manual so that you may learn basic music
theory, notation and composition.
Available only on the Apple IIGS ........ $119.00
LEVEL 2- (SPECIAL EDITION) - Designed for
the serious music hobbyist or music teacher who is
primarily interested in part writing or producing
medium sized scores. Up to 6 staves are available
and can be printed in score format.
Available on the Apple IIGs or Ile....... $295.00
LEVEL 3 - (PROFESSIONAL EDITION) - De-
signed for the professional arranger or composer
who is interested in full scores. It allows up to 32
staves and contains many automatic features for
easy input and editing. The most powerful notation
and composing program on the market.
Available on the Apple IIGS, Ie......... $595.00
MUSIC
5
Maki
On The
The potential for
creating music is
locked inside
your Apple IIGS.
Here's what it takes
to get it out.
A year ago,
we took an
early look at
music appli-
cations on the IGS.
Since then there have
been a'variety of improve-
ments in the Apple music
field. Both hardware and
software products have
gotten better, and in many
ways the IIGS is becoming
the computer of choice for
musicians everywhere.
In previous issues, we've
reviewed the Music Construction
Set and Instant Music from Electronic Arts,
the FutureSound stereo output/digitizer
board from Applied Visions and other music
products. Since those reviews were printed,
a popular music generator program has
been enhanced and other hardware and
software products have been released by
a variety of companies.
10 Summer 1988
Music
Appi IGS
In The Studio
Activision's Music Studio, a case in point,
has evolved into a choice product for ama-
teur and professional musicians. It supports
up to 16 instruments, prints out music scores
on an ImageWriter printer and lets you con-
nect your IIGS to other electronic musical
instruments.
‘The original Music Studio version had sev-
eral limitations. The tones it produced, while
adequate, always sounded computer generat-
ed, All note stems faced the same direction,
producing confusing printouts, and the
mouse input did not allow for easy input of
complicated chords.
Perhaps the most glaring oversight, how-,
ever, was the user interface. Music Studio
looked like an Atari or Amiga program —
not a Macintosh/IIGS program! The program
menus operated identically to their prede-
cessors on other machines, but differently
than the menus IIGS users had grown
accustomed to.
MUSIC
We reviewed a beta copy of the new
Music Studio that corrects all these problems
and adds some excellent enhancements.
Most importantly, Music Studio 2.0 now uses
the Apple standard interface. Your mouse
and screen controls will act the way you
expect them to, which is similar to other
Macintosh/IIGS programs.
While this is a vast improvement over the
older Amiga-style interface, Activision still
needs to correct some minor inconsistencies.
For example, the printout screen should have
a Chooser command added for LaserWriter
support, and only sound files should be
displayed when you want to load a sound
file. Also, the trash can should be replaced
with a standard close box for song files.
These are minor quibbles, but if you're
going to use a standard, you should use that
standard correctly.
Other program bugs have also been
addressed. Stems can now be reversed sim-
ply by pressing the space bar before drop-
ping notes, You can attach a keyboard for
music input, if you like, and the audio quality
has been greatly improved. Other new fea-
tures include the capability to insert measure
bars; change key signature, tempo or volume
in the middle of a song; merge songs; change
all of the notes of a specific duration to a
different duration; and automatic
measure bar numbering.
The new version of the pro-
gram is copyable and can be
transferred to a hard drive
or backed up with standard
copy utilities.
Better Sounds
One of the surprising features
of the original Music Studio was that
it didn't use a IIGS' special sound capa-
bilities. Each instrument that came with the
program was based on a computerized algo-
rithm, including Attack, Decay, Sustain and
Release (ADSR). These four parameters
create synthesized music.
While adequate for computerized music
and sufficient to fool many people, generated
waveforms do not produce the complicated
waveforms created by true musical
instruments.
‘The new version of Music Studio changes
that. Besides its standard set of computer-
generated instruments, the program includes
a separate disk filled with digitized sounds.
The instruments represented were created
using the IIGS' Ensoniq sound chip, the
same chip used in the Mirage professional
music keyboard.
A musical instrument's voice is digitized by
the Ensoniq chip in much the same fashion a
compact disc (CD) recording is made.
Because the actual recording has already
been done, all you have to do to
get concert-hall sound is
select a digitized
instrument and
play it back.
Fortunately,
Music Studio
now supports
piano keyboard
notes through its}
which stands for}
Interface — is a
standard for
musical instru-
MIDI-equipped
instruments cat
each other and
inputting of
IDI interface. MIDI —
Music Instrument Digital
universal communications
computerized
ments. All
musical
"talk" to
transfer
(sounds)
back and
now available
from Apple and
other companies, Music
Studio can communicate with
music synthesizers and receive
data from them,
If you attach a MIDI-equipped
keyboard — via the MIDI output —
to the MIDI input on a IIGS-compatible inter-
face, you can play music on the keyboard,
which Music Studio will convert to music
notation on your computer screen. Naturally,
any mistakes you make will also be converted.
The music read routine isn't perfect. For
example, it doesn't get the timing or tempo
down properly. But those are fairly easy
things to adjust from within Music Studio.
The most important factor is that you can use
a keyboard to input notes and chords in a
conventional manner, instead of using a
mouse or typing in the notes by hand.
Current Music Studio owners can upgrade
to the new version for $13.50. Send page one
of your manual and a check for $13.50
(California residents add 6.5 percent sales
tax; international customers contact
Activision for details) to:
Music Update;
Activision, Inc.;
PO Box; Gilroy, CA
95021-2249.
Although the original
version of Music Studio had
problems with the upgraded
System ROM, version 2.0
guaranteed to work with
original and upgraded
IGS
has been
both the
ROMs.
A Better J Digitizer
In the Fall '87 issue of The Apple
IGS Buyer's Guide, we reviewed
Supersonic stereo
board and its Digitizer board.
The Supersonic board converts
a IIGS' audio output into stereo,
and the Digitizer converts
audio sounds into computer-
readable form. It's basically a
digital tape recorder.
The major disadvantage of the
Digitizer is that it can only record
mono sounds. If you want to record a
stereo sound track, you have to record it
twice — once for each channel — and hope
you get the synchronization correct. You can
also tweak it through the software, which is
inconvenient at best.
MDIdeas, which promised an upgrade
for the Digitizer, showed a prototype at last
year's AppleFest show in San Francisco.
Well, the new Digitizer Professional now
exists, although what we tested is a proto-
type board. By the time this article is printed,
though, off-the-shelf units should be
available.
‘The Apple IGS Buyer's Guide 11
Andevery other subject.
In short, the lcs runs programs that cover every area of human endeavor, from writing
a school paper to planning a company budget. Kids can study anything from ABCs to SATS.
And anyone can learn to paint like Monet or compose like Mozart’
All this on one of the easiest subjects in the world to master—the Apple Ilcs.
Interested?
Then why not pursue this subject with your nearest authorized Apple dealer.
You'll find that once your family sees and hears what the Apple IIcs can do, the idea of
owning any other kind of personal computer will be, well, history. @ The power tobe yourbest”
of Apple Computer Inc. Apple IIGS and “The power to be your best” are trademarks of Apple Computer Inc. For an authorized Apple dealer near you, call 800-538-9696, ext. 600.
The most powerful Apple Il in history
dit Pict Mode Brush Color Font
Doric Order
ICTINUS & CALLICRATES
448-432 BC. Acropolis, Athens
Ifthe idea of getting a computer for the family intrigues you, then there one subject
youd do well to study The Apple Ics’
There are more Apple’ IIs in more schools than any other personal computer. And
the IIcs is at the head of the class. Which is not surprising. After all, it has enough power to run
virtually all 10000 Apple II programs. Up to three times faster than they've ever run before.
What's more, Apple IIcs graphics programs let you use over 74000 colors with near
photographic realism. And its music programs let you simulate anything from a human
voice to a symphony orchestra.
“Anyone that is, who’ an artistic genius. But lake heart, all the colors and all the notes are there, ©1987 Apple Computer Ine. Apple and the Apple logo are registered trademarks
MUSIC
dd Note
sharp
Complicated waveforms belp generate quality musical sound in this update of Music Studio.
The latest version supports 16 instruments, prints out music scores and provides a link to
electronic musical instruments.
Digitizer Professional occupies its own slot
in a IIGS. The software is configured for slot
6, the same slot as a 5.25-inch disk drive. If
you do plug Digitizer Professional into slot 6,
you won't be able to use your 5.25-inch drive
when you want to use Digitizer Professional
and vice versa.
The best thing to do is find an unused slot
on your IIGS that's set aside for a function
you don't need (e.g., slot 7 if you aren't using
AppleTalk, slot 2 if you don't have a modem
or MIDI port, slot 1 if you're using an
AppleTalk printer and don't need the stan-
dard printer port, etc.). Plug the Digitizer
Professional into that slot and activate the
Digitizer's slot through the software menu.
Once plugged in, Digitizer Professional is
fairly easy to operate.
MDiIdeas added a bonus for Digitizer
Professional owners: a Digital Noise
Reduction (DNR) circuit. (Actually, the term
"Digital" here is redundant, because all
sounds created by computers are digital,
However, DNR is a standard audio term.)
The DNR circuit attaches between a
Supersonic board and your speakers or
amplifier. While the DNR circuit has nothing
to do with the Digitizer Professional's record-
ing capabilities, it produces a noticeable
improvement for all stereo output from your
IIGS — not just digitized sounds.
Besides cables for the DNR circuit,
Digitizer Professional has an on-board mini
stereo jack (Walkman-style) that is used for
audio input. Our board came with an adapter
cable that we connected to two phono jacks
attached to our stereo's audio output. You
can use any stereo adapter cable you wish to
plug into the Digitizer Professional’ mini
stereo plug, however.
Using the Digitizer Professional to record
sounds is simple. Just boot up the supplied
software disk, specify the slot where
the Digitizer Professional is located, adjust
the sound level, start your audio source
and begin recording. Once recorded,
sounds can be edited for waveform, played
back or saved to disk for use with another
application.
Because the Digitizer Professional saves
files in standard Apple format, a properly
‘written program can use these sounds for
special enhancements. Many games pro-
duced by PBI Software, MDIdeas' sister
company for software products, have been
enhanced with digitized sounds. To be can-
did, it sounds realistic when a computerized
commander "barks" orders at you while
you're in the middle of a game!
Currently, only one practical application
is available for using sounds created with
Digitizer Professional. That's SoundKeys,
which comes on the Digitizer Professional's
utility disk. SoundKeys lets you load a variety
of sounds you've recorded and assign keys
on your IGS keyboard to these sounds. You
can specify left or right speaker, or even
different sounds for each speaker for the
same key.
Once you've defined your keys, your IGS
keyboard becomes a sound-effects machine.
One key can produce a telephone ring, a
busy signal, a doorbell, a synthesized voice
that says "come in," etc. Recorded sounds can
be loaded into SoundKeys up to the memory
limitations of your IIGS.
Unfortunately, you cannot use your newly
created sounds from within other commercial
programs. These details are being worked on
by several companies. Soon you should be
able to record a sound (a musical instrument,
your voice, a rocket taking off, etc.) and con-
vert it into a musical instrument for use with-
ina music program.
That's where IIGS music stands today,
which isn't to say it's standing still. New
music writing programs are being produced
by several small companies, including those
listed in the back of this publication.
Electronic Arts is supposed to release Deluxe
Music Construction Set later this year, and
new hardware and software utilities are being
developed by a variety of sources.
With all of these new products though,
why would anybody be interested in older
products or new products that use yesterday's
technology? Read on.
The Sounds Of Yesterday
With all the advanced features of an Apple
IIGS and Ensonig chip, why would anybody
want to pay extra for five-year-old sound and
music generating capabilities? The answer is
software compatibility. While a IIGS can per-
form many tasks with software that used to
require hardware, there are thousands of pro-
grams available that work on a IGS only if
it's equipped with a sound board designed
for earlier Apples.
14 Summer 1988
MUSIC
Note that, if you're interested in software
originally intended for use on earlier Apples,
the driver utilities for most boards are sup-
plied on 5.25-inch disks. Generally, these
boards support DOS 3.3 (an older Apple
operating system before ProDOS), and most
of the available applications are distributed
on 5.25-inch disks.
In the Spring '87 issue we looked at the
Phasor board from Applied Engineering,
which combined speech, music and sound-
effects capabilities. Here are two more
sound generators.
Echo Ib
The Echo IIb, by Street Electronics, is an
electronic voice synthesizer based on the
Texas Instruments speech chip used in the
"Speak and Spell" toy. (The toy was promi-
nently featured in the film "E.T."). The Echo
Ib board requires plenty of software to make
it operational. All this software takes up
about 9K of program space. Drivers are
supplied for the ProDOS 8 and DOS 3.3
operating systems.
Don't expect a ProDOS 16 (a IIGS' main
operating system) driver to be released soon.
Remember, it's easier to produce sounds
through software on a IGS than it is to add
an extra hardware board.
The Echo IIb is generally designed for
users who want access to programs that
already exist, not new programs. The patched
copies of ProDOS8 and DOS 3.3 supplied
with the Echo IIb are relatively easy to use
and required if you want to use the board.
Most copy protected or stand-alone programs
are not compatible with the Echo IIb. It's fair-
ly easy to modify simple BASIC programs to
use the Echo's speech capabilities, however.
What applications are suitable for the Echo
IIb? Educational programs, especially for
preschoolers, for demonstration purposes
and applications for the handicapped, are the
primary places where speech can be an asset.
Several years ago, we designed a custom
Apple Ile system for a blind friend with a
similar speech board. The computer would
speak to her and respond to her voice.
It could dial phone numbers, answer the
phone, turn on and off a tape recorder, tell
her the time and even unlock the front door.
Play it again, ma'm. Using a proprietary speech chip, the Echo IIb board can enbance
computer usage for preschoolers as well as the handicapped.
Commercially available applications for
the Echo Ib and handicapped users include
modem programs for communicating with
other computer users over phone lines, word
processors, a text reader for Apple magazines
available on disk, standard business pro-
grams and a variety of games.
RAMTalker Plus
RAMTalker Plus by Electronic Learning
Systems is a board that combines several dif-
ferent functions. It includes 256K of battery-
backed RAM, a real-time clock and a digital-
to-analog converter. Depending on how it's
addressed, the board can look like a disk
drive, a clock or a printer interface.
The digital-to-analog converter is used by
RAMTalker Plus as a speech synthesis circuit.
Unlike Echo IIb, RAMTalker Plus doesn't use a
chip designed specifically for speech genera-
tion. Rather, it uses a sophisticated software
routine to generate sounds.
Software-generated speech isn't a new
idea. The first speech program for the Apple
was a digitized voice recorder written by
Bob Bishop in 1978. Since then, software
generators have come a long way from using
an Apple's cassette input port as an audio
input source.
‘The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide 15
Today's software generators produce
speech nearly as good as, or in some cases
better than, that produced by synthesized
speech generators. TML Pascal (reviewed in
the Winter '88 issue) has a Speech Toolkit
available as an option that is actually a
software speech generator.
Software-generated speech doesn't sound
as realistic as digitized speech, but it is much
more flexible. With digitized speech you can
only play back what was previously spoken
in and saved. Software generators, on the
other hand, can pronounce any word in com-
puter-generated text.
Software generators are not without draw-
backs. Pronunciation continues to be a prob-
lem. English-to-text converters can not tell
the difference between "polish" and "Polish"
or "read" and "reed."
When you first configure RAMTalker
Plus, you load the software driver routines
into part of the device's memory. Once
done, RAMTalker Plus "looks" like a printer
interface to a IGS. As a result, your "printout"
will be produced as English speech through
the speaker instead of printed text on paper.
This flexibility makes RAMTalker Plus
compatible with thousands of programs
never intended for speech. If your adventure
game has a printer function that lets you print
ut your progress, tell the game to print to
MUSIC
the RAMTalker Plus slot. You'll have your
computer saying commands to you instead
of printing them,
Besides speaking, RAMTalker Plus has
other functions. If you're using RAMTalker
Plus on an Apple Il+ or Ile, you can use the
real-time clock from ProDOS. (Remember,
the Apple IIGS already has a built-in clock.)
‘When you run the patch program on your
ProDOS boot disks, ProDOS automatically
reads in the correct time and date from the
board. If you don't have a clock board, this
extra function can save you the additional
cost of a clock.
The extra RAMTalker Plus memory not
used by the speech routines can be used as a
pseudo disk drive. As with other RAM disks,
RAMTalker Plus is lightning fast. Its RAM is
also backed up by a battery, so it won't lose
its memory when turned off.
Again, RAMTalker Plus falls into the same
"last generation hardware" category as Echo
IIb. You can produce better quality speech on
an Apple IIGS by using the same techniques
and a program such as TML Pascal
But TML Pascal will let you produce
speech only if you know how to program in
Pascal, and only from within a Pascal pro-
gram. RAMTalker Plus lets you use existing
programs and it works from any language.
Is it worth it to purchase yesterday's tech-
nology? In time, many of the progfams that
require additional hardware with earlier
Apple Ils will be replaced by software
that uses the Ensoniq sound chip, which is
built into an Apple IIGS. The only questions
are how long will it take and how much
will it cost?
Purchasing a board originally designed
for use with older programs may seem like
a step backward, But when the software
is available and working, that may be the
right way to go.
— Philip Chien,
contributing editor
More On MIDI
What is MIDI and what does it do?
MIDI (Music Instrument Digital Interface)
defines a standardized connector and
communications protocol that allows
different computerized sound generators
to talk to each other.
Because everyone in the music world
uses the same standard, MIDI allows for
linking different brands of equipment
together. It can also be used to connect a
music synthesizer or keyboard to a com-
puter equipped with a MIDI port and
tunning the correct software.
Passport Designs has offered a MIDI
board for the Apple II for quite some time.
The unit, which sells quite well, plugs into
an empty slot and includes the standard
MIDI jacks.
For a long time. many considered MIDI
and computerized music as a vertical mar-
ket application confined to the education-
al and professional music fields. Last fall,
however, Apple Computer, Inc. decided
the market had grown enough to support
a MIDI box for both the Macintosh and
Apple IGS. This Apple product plugs into
the IIGS modem connector and includes
standard MIDI input and output jacks.
The device's entire user manual is six
pages long, including the Macintosh and
Apple IGS instructions and illustrations.
At $99.95, expect Apple to sell many of
these MIDI boxes.
There's an important feature to note
before you purchase a MIDI port: By itself,
a MIDI port is useless. Unless you have the
proper software and a MIDI instrument, a
MIDI box won't do anything.
16 Summer 1988
Mon. thru Fri. 7am -
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6pm
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SOFTWARE
ENTERTAINMENT
‘ACCOLADE Hardball, Mean 18 2 25.00
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Black Jack Academy 26.40
Championship Basketball 2970
WUDVILLE Dream Zone 33.00
BRODERBUND Arhoar, Lode Runner ea. 33.00
Utima I, 2400 40. 22. 28.90
Utima Ww, V 22.40.15,
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Marble Madness 24.60
Werld Tour Gal! 25.40
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Legacy of Ancient, Deatlords 00, 26.40
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each forthe Stas 25.40
EPYX Sub Battle 28.40
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HAYDEN SOFTWARE Sargon Il 21.00
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Beyond Zork 3.00
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MICROPROSE
Silent Service 26.40
MINDSCAPE
Gaunt 2970
Paperboy 23.70
Delender of the Crown 3200
S01 3300
PBL 26.40
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Thesder 24.00
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3.0 Helicopter Simulator 38.00
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Rot of Werda 3060
STRATEGIC SIMULATION
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270
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DDESIGNWARE Seton, Math Maree, 25 40
smear Examina, Sates & Trait 25.40
‘he Boe Terepro Evopaan Raion a. 2540
[EDULWARE Algeba III, 1V 8 26.40
Algebra V & VI 38.00
ELECTRONICA ARTS
Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing
DESIGNWARE Designasaurus
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Mathalk, Fist Shapes, Kidtak
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HAROCOURT, BRACE, JOVANOVICH
Computer Prep forthe GRE
Computer Prep forthe ACT,
Computer Prep forthe SAT
Garfield Double Dares, Fix
SIMON & SCHUSTER Typing Tutor V
‘SPINNAKER
Homework Helper: Writing
Homework Helper: Math
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Early Games, Piece of Cake
‘THE LEARNING COMPANY
Reader Rabbi
Wri Rabbit, Think Quick, Robot
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Secrets, Magic Spells
UNICORN
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Logic Master, Word Master Vocabulary
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of Sinbad
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WEEKLY READER Sticky Boars - ABC's,
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Basics, Typing, Drawing, Music,
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BUSINESS
ACTIVISION
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BPI
General Accounting, AP, AR, Payal,
Inventory Control
BRODERBUND Bank Stret Writer Plus
On Balance
Show Of
DAC SOFTWARE DAC-Easy Accounting
DATAPAK Graphics Writer
Notes and Files
ELECTRONIC ARTS
Dex Write
Pal
Visualizer
MILLIKEN Mediey
PEACHTREE Back to Basics Acct. Sys
PINPOINT
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Protler 30
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Graphics Department
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SOFTWOOD Sofwood GS File 8100
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STYLEWARE Mutiscribe 60.40
Font trary 2840
Daskwores 36.00
TIMEWORKS Pubish it 8.00
WORDPERFECT
Wordpertect 2360
HOME/PERSONAL
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Pamwors Plas 62
Paitworks God (1 25MB Reg) 600
Draw Pls, Music Studie 2 5940
Paint Wite, raw Bunce 115.00,
Uist Pus 50.50
Pe 20.00
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BAUDVILLE 816?Paint 010
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Tho Print Shop, Fantavision 9.3700
“The Print Shop Library
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ELECTRONICS ART
Delux Paint i 7300
Aas Par |. Seasons & Holds a, 2200
Delux Pt i 3800
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Instant Music 36.00
Oniy Rock & Ral 2200
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INTUIT Quicken 3200
MECC Calendar Crater 3860
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on Appa 3980
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Prices change frequent.
Please call for Current Pricing
Ram Factor 256K 191.00
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CREATIVITY
For Non-Artists
hen we try to define
An Apple IGS can artistic talent, most of us
think of.someone with the
skills and eye/hand
hi elp transform coordination of a painter,
sculptor or illustrator.
7 The designer is, unfor-
anyone into a tunately, relegated to a sub-
servient role. Yet both kinds of artists are
budding EH Greco. im irerewen an artist and non-artist
is almost as thin. The difference has more to
do with a lack of self-confidence or initiative
than a lack of talent.
Ihave been teaching computer graphics
to college-level advertising design students
for more than five years. They currently use
Apple IIGS computers to create business
presentations, camera cards, forms, illustra-
tions and color separations. The courses that
I teach include desktop publishing, TV
graphics, computer illustration and
computer animation.
It is extremely rare to have a student who
excels as both an illustrator and a designer.
The computer acts as an equalizer. Those
students who had been overshadowed by
illustrators are now on an equal footing.
18 Summer 1988
Call On Creativity
What usually stands in the way of creativi-
ty (artist and non-artist alike) is making that
first mark on a piece of paper or canvas. A
computer helps to remove that fear, because
all images are soft images. We don't have to
worry about failure or wasted materials.
Changes made to an image that has been
saved don't affect-the original. This opens
the way for experimentation and variety,
two cornerstones of creativity.
Many people state that they can't even
draw a straight line. With all the automatic
tools available, we don't have to worry
about drawing lines or other objects, includ-
ing rectangles, circles or ovals, anymore.
The truly innovative programs even offer
automatic gradient fill and perspective.
With the kinds of tools that are featured
within most graphics programs, the necessity
of eye/hand coordination has been
removed, as have most of the excuses that
can keep many individuals from experienc-
ing the enjoyment of creating art.
Software Choices
Choosing the correct software can make
the difference between success or failure. If
you feel hesitant, then select one of the spe-
cialty programs that can produce posters,
banners, greeting cards or awards. This kind
of program makes most compositional
choices for you and produces more
predictable results.
If you feel more daring, the greatest free-
dom of expression is offered by drawing
and painting programs. They do not restrict
your creative choices.
Programs such as The Print Shop IGS,
Certificate Maker and Newsroom operate
within carefully controlled and closed
environments. They help organize the
creative process. The artistic part of using
such a program is one of selection rather
than manipulation,
CREATIVITY
Closed environments depend heavily on
collections of images called clip art. The
subject matter of these images can cover a
broad range — from business, holidays,
birthdays, sports and awards to phrases,
vehicles, borders and people. These images
can be chosen and used directly
or modified.
Constantly working in a closed environ-
ment can lead to frustration, especially as
you begin to feel more confident and desire
greater flexibility and creative freedom. The
most creative license is provided by an
open-ended environment. The results are
less predictable but — when successful —
infinitely more satisfying.
“Of the open-ended environments avail-
able, paint programs will probably feel the
most natural because most of them try to
emulate traditional artists' tools. Even some-
one who can't use a real brush can under-
stand the concept of a brush. The only
eye/hand coordination needed is the same
as that used to pull down and select
menu items.
If you can use a mouse, you can paint
electronic pictures with an Apple IIGS.
‘When selecting a paint program, you should
determine the kinds of features you will
need. If you are new to graphics, it might be
best to stick with programs that are not
overly complex to reduce your
frustration level.
Three different file types are used
today for super-high-resolution pictures
onan Apple IIGS, and not all paint pro-
grams will recognize all three. One rea-
son for the differences among the three
file types is the method used to com-
press files on disk.
The easiest file type to understand is a
binary file. This kind of file is an exact
memory dump of the super-high-resolu-
tion page. Binary picture files are always
the same length, because the image is
recorded pixel by pixel and the number
of pixels never varies.
The other two file types try to save
space on disk by compressing the pic-
ture. Basically, the program examines
each scan line of a picture to discover
how many pixels appearing next to one
another are of the same color. Both kinds
of compressed formats record files that
are of varying lengths. We will refer to
the compressed file types as either paint
or Apple preferred (the format Apple
Computer, Inc. recommends).
Paintworks Plus 1.2 and Paintworks
Gold offer the most versatility, because
both can load and save all three file
types. 816/Paint can load all three file
types, but it only saves Apple-preferred
and binary files, DeluxePaint TI will load
Apple-preferred and binary file types, but
it can only save Apple-preferred files.
As powerful as it is, DeluxePaint II cannot
load files created for Paintworks Plus or
Paintworks Gold.
You should make sure that the clip art you
purchase will be recognized by your
particular paint program.
Paintworks Plus 1.2, Paintworks Gold and
816/Paint can all load files from the Art Parts
disks created for DeluxePaint Il, but Deluxe-
Paint II cannot load any files created for
Paintworks Plus or Paintworks Gold. Actual-
ly, there is a way to get these images into
DeluxePaint II, but the method requires that
you own both DeluxePaint II and either
816/Paint, Paintworks Plus 1.2 or
Paintworks Gold.
First, load a file into any of these pro-
grams; then save the file in Apple-preferred
format under a different name. DeluxePaint
II will be able to load the file.
File Compatibility And Clip Art
To use the Art Parts disks, a paint pro-
gram should have a spare page that can
be used to assemble a picture. A spare
page is like a separate window. It is pos-
sible to work on two different pictures at
the same time — one picture on a regu-
lar page — the other picture on the
spare page. You just toggle between
them; you don't constantly load and
teload files.
Both DeluxePaint II and Paintworks
Gold have spare pages, but Paintworks
Plus and 816/Paint don't support this fea-
ture. Without a spare page, the proce-
dure for using the Art Parts disks
becomes time consuming and frustrating.
Another problem between file types
has to do with the number of vertical
pixels saved. Fortunately, the size of a
screen is the same no matter the
paint program.
The size of a program's page is anoth-
er matter. A page is usually two screens,
one on top of the other. This would
make the page 320 by 400 pixels. But
not all programs produce pages that are
this size. Don't be surprised if the last
few scan lines of a page are missing
when you load a file that was created by
a different program. If there is any
crucial information in this area it would
not be visible.
20 Summer 1988
In The Paint Bucket
816/Paint from Baudville, Inc. is an excel-
lent program that offers a great deal of
power without being overwhelming. Not
only does it offer most standard tools, such
as straight lines, boxes, ovals, color fill,
spray paint, text and zoom; it also has
curved lines, French curves and color
cycling. The program's spread feature for
editing palettes is one of the best. You can
spread between two colors on a single
palette or spread between two colors on up
to eight palettes.
The original Paintworks Plus from Activi-
sion, Inc. offers standard painting tools as
well as cell animation that is more like the
traditional way animation is produced. A
separate picture is created for each frame of
a sequence. The pictures are then rapidly
flashed one right after the other to produce
the illusion of motion. Cell animation
requires more work than color cycling, but it
offers greater variety and control.
If you want to really stretch the graphics
capabilities of your IGS, then try out a full-
featured drawing program such as Electronic
Arts’ DeluxePaint II. Not only does it have
all the standard tools, DeluxePaint II has an
array of powerful new tools consisting of
gradient fill, automatic perspective, locked
background, locked foreground and stencil.
You can create a brush out of anything on
screen. The brush mode is dynamic and
includes smooth, blend, smear and cycle.
The advanced features in DeluxePaint II
allow graphic novices to create images they
might never have been able to create other-
wise. For instance, users don't have to
understand the rules of scientific perspective
to use the program's automatic perspective
feature. Nor must they have experience mix-
ing paint to soften edges or blend colors.
Activision recently released Paintworks
Gold, which compares favorably with
DeluxePaint II. In fact, Paintworks Gold has
many new advanced features, and it should
be considered a completely different pro-
gram from Paintworks Plus. This newest
incarnation of Paintworks adds cycle anima-
tion, automatic perspective, user-selectable
brushes, resize, bend, distort and gradient
fill to all the tools and features of
its predecessor.
Unfortunately, we didn't have any docu-
mentation to go along with the version we
tested, so we couldn't quite figure out how
to use a few of the new features, such as
Slippy and Transparent colors. Even though
we had problems with a few features, the
CREATIVITY
New Paintworks Gold features include cycle animation, automatic perspective and a bend
facility. This latest version compares favorably with DeluxePaint II.
interface used by Paintworks Gold follows
Apple IGS standards and is friendly and
intuitive. You should expect to refer to a
manual when using a program this powerful.
Clip Art
Once you have chosen a paint program,
you will find there are shortcuts you can
take to create images. For instance, clip art
disks and video digitizers can help you
achieve your creative visions.
Clip Art Gallery, produced for Paintworks
Plus and Paintworks Gold, falls admirably
into the category of traditional clip art. This
disk contains more than 600 pieces of clip
art organized into 24 categories. These
images are intended to be printed in either
color or black and white. The image styles
vary from realistic to cartoonish.
Even though this collection is useful, it is
related to the kinds of clip art used within a
closed environment. The images are com-
plete and decorative. There is little need to
change them. At most, you might want to
change the direction a figure is pointing or
combine different pieces of clip art to create
a new image.
Again, the creative process becomes one
of selection rather than manipulation. Of
course, the images can be combined in a
wider variety of ways than specialty pro-
grams allow. It is possible to change the
direction in which a clip art figure is
pointing or to combine images to create
new images.
Electronic Arts has produced non-tradi-
tional clip art that opens up creative vistas.
The Art Parts disks within the Deluxe Library
series make it possible to create realistic
scenes that do more than decorate a page
with border designs or individual images.
The pictures on disk are deliberately unfin-
ished. Users must add the creative spark that
makes them complete.
Among the Arts Parts I images are back-
ground pictures. You can place a variety of
animals or trees on these backgrounds to
create your own complete pictures. This
same disk includes a section that is best
described as an "electronic Mr. Potato Head."
Realistically rendered eyes, nose, mouth and
ears can be placed on a blank face.
Assembling these images into composite
art is fun. We applaud Electronic Arts for
extending the boundaries of clip art.
Digitizers
Another kind of shortcut is to use a video
digitizer or scanner. The ThunderScan by
Thunderware is a scanning device that
requires the help of an ImageWriter printer
to capture an image.
The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide 21
CREATIVITY
VisionPlus and a camera captured this video image of the
author's computer. Once in digital form, any image can be stored or
used in a paint program.
‘There are also two different video digitiz-
ers on the market that require a video signal
from either a camera or VCR. One of them is
ComputerEyes GS by Digital Vision and the
other is VisionPlus, a digitizing board from
AST Research, Inc. Although the latter is no
longer marketed, it is still available from AST
in Irvine, California.
We use VisionPlus with an inexpensive
color video camera. With this system, it's
possible to capture any video image in color
or black and white. The source for the video
image can be a video camera, camcorder or
VCR that generates an NTSC video signal,
the video standard for most video equip-
ment sold in the United States.
VisionPlus accepts an RCA plug. If your
equipment uses a BNC or F-Type coaxial
plug, you will need an adaptor.
The images themselves, which are saved
as binary files, can be used in any of the
paint programs mentioned in this article. It is
possible to create your own collections of
images, similar to those found on the Art
Parts disks, Merely digitize your favorite pic-
tures of landscapes, seascapes, people or
animals; load them into a paint program;
clean up the edges; and save them to disk.
You can then retrieve them and create new
combinations and compositions.
What is needed here is not so much artis-
tic talent but a familiarity with how comput-
ers manipulate images and manage files.
Most paint programs feature some forth of
magnification and it is extremely easy for
anyone to blow up an image and retouch it.
Itis also possible to digitize designs and
clip art originally intended for print. Even
live subjects and three-dimensional objects
can be captured with a video camera.
The AST VisionEffects software that
accompanies the VisionPlus board is easy to
use. Merely focus on the object you want to
capture, pull down the Mode menu and
select Digitize. The mouse is used to adjust
brightness and contrast, then click the
mouse to freeze the image.
Although digitizing in color requires a few
more steps, it only needs to be done once
per session — unless lighting conditions are
changed, After freezing an image, it is possi-
ble to tint the entire screen, change individu-
al colors, change the palette, zoom in, Zoom
out and stretch the i image. a
Changing colors is a little tricky because
the process involves moving and dragging
the mouse in various combinations. Every-
thing considered, the VisionPlus board
produces excellent results.
Unfortunately, dot matrix printers are not
capable of reproducing the vividness nor
variety of color that is seen on screen. If you
want to save your creations for posterity, we
recommend taking photographs of the
screen. The simple process requires the use
ofa tripod, because the exposure should be
taken at a quarter of a second for
optimum results.
Also, make sure your computer monitor is
the only light source in the room to avoid
reflections on the screen. Turn off all lights,
focus on the screen, set the speed to one-
quarter (1/4) second, set the aperture
according to the corresponding light reading
and shoot the picture.
Familiarity with bow computers manipulate images is the sole
requirement for being a digital designer. The image above was out-
put on a LaserWriter printer.
LaserWriter Output
Connecting a LaserWriter to an Apple [IGS
is easy. You merely connect the AppleTalk
connectors to one another then plug them
into each device. Make sure you get the
appropriate connectors for a LaserWriter and
an Apple IIGS, however.
Unfortunately, all of the features of the
LaserWriter and LaserWriter Plus are not
available to a IIGS. Many of the typefaces
that are built into the LaserWriter will
not print.
ALaserWriter is capable of producing
printouts with a resolution of 300 dots per
inch. The resolution of a super-high-resolu-
tion picture is either 320 by 200 dots or 640
by 200 dots for an entire screen. If you print
a picture created with a paint program on a
LaserWriter, you will get a black and white
version of exactly what you see on the mon-
itor. The laser printer reproduces the image
pixel by pixel and does not improve on the
screen resolution.
But all is not lost. StyleWare's Top Draw
program can be used to electronically trace
any super-high-resolution picture and to cre-
ate a line drawing at the Laser Writer's maxi-
mum resolution, which is higher than the
resolution of the screen.
‘Top Draw will accept clip art from disks
created by Electronic Arts or Activision. Even.
digitized images are acceptable. The only
problem we encountered with loading files
had to do with full pages. The bottom half
of a page from Activision's Clip Art Gallery is
ignored by Top Draw.
To trace an image with Top Draw, you
must first load the picture. Top Draw will
treat the picture as if it were an object.
‘Therefore, you can enlarge or reduce the
picture from within the program.
22. Summer 1988
‘We recommend you lock a picture to the
page before you begin tracing. If you don't,
it's easy to accidentally pick up the picture
and move it out from underneath the trac-
ing. Putting the picture back in place can be
tedious. Locking the picture prevents it from
being moved until you unlock it.
The next step is to choose the line widths
and drawing tools that will best reproduce
the original. A simple line drawing is the
easiest to create, and it is also possible to
reproduce values and textures.
Never Give Up
If you don't succeed the first few times
you try to use your IIGS to create pictures,
don't give up. Practice does help. Make sure
you have a clear goal in mind before you
start trying to create anything. Try making a
few sketches on paper first. These sketches
can be little more than doodles or scribbles.
Their only purpose is to help you organize
your thoughts before you begin to create.
Many manuals for paint programs contain
exercises designed to improve your skill
level. Don't bypass these exercises. Many of
us pride ourselves on being able to use a
program without even picking up the manu-
al. If you are feeling frustrated, these exer-
cises can help. They are designed to make
you aware of features you might
otherwise overlook.
The students in my classroom learn the
most when they are forced to follow rigor-
ous exercises that outline in detail what they
are supposed to do,
If you need more help, community col-
leges in your area might offer courses in
computer graphics. Be careful — many com-
puter graphics courses teach programming,
not the use of programs. Look toward the art
department rather than the computer
science department.
You don't have to be an artist to create
pictures on a IIGS. The automatic features of
paint programs and the shortcuts afforded
by clip art and digitizers make it possible for
anyone to create art, regardless of their skill
level with traditional media. Pursue your
interests. Take a chance. i
— Gary J. Ramey
The author teaches art and design at
the National Education Center in
Phoenix, Arizona.
Advertisers’ Index
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‘The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide 23
ooking at this season's crop of new
software, you might think that "GS"
stands for games and sports. The four
titles we review here use the color
graphics and digitized sound
capabilities of the Apple ITGS
to good advantage. All are
conversions or adaptations
of games originally developed for
other computers.
Mean 18 is a simulation of golf, a sport
Calvin Coolidge once defined as "a game in
which one endeavors to control a ball with
implements ill adapted for the purpose." For
a programmer, golf is a matter of precision
ballistics — calculating flight paths and figur-
ing ci error probabilities. For the play-
er, golf is a leisurely game that emphasizes
judgment and fine motor coordination,
rather than feats of strength and endurance.
These aspects can be simulated neatly with
the mouse.
The heart of Mean 18 is its Power Gauge,
a bar graph that models the force and timing
of a golf swing. You click once to start your
backswing, and an indicator rises on the
gauge. A second click starts the downswing
and sets a tick mark for your reference. The
third and final mouse click "snaps your
wrists" at the bottom of the swing. An early
snap hooks the ball to the left, a late snap
slices the ball to the right.
‘The game provides a rich array of
options. Up to four players can take part
and you can select stroke, match or team
scoring. There are also beginner and experi-
enced difficulty levels — beginners get
perfect aim and their caddies make club-
selection recommendations for each stroke.
Ball
A look at four All-American
ball games for the Apple IGS.
Icons along the bottom of the screen
allow you to select a golf club, view a map.
of each hole, look at the current scorecard
and shift you aiming point left or right.
When your ball finally reaches the putting
green, the screen s oa magnified view
and includes an indicator that lets you aim
your putts more pre
The program disk includes three famous
: St. Andrews (Scotland), Pebble
lifornia) and Augusta National
ta). A Course Architect option lets:
ign and save your own golf course.
‘Additional golf course volumes are
sold separately
Sound effects enhance the enjoyment of
the game. The solid thwack of club against
ball, the hushed murmur of the crowd when
you miss a putt and the ch
when the ball drops into the cup are
excellent features.
But Mean 18's graphics are quite bloc!
—a tree, for example, appears as a pattern
of green and brown squares. In compen
tion, the screens are drawn and redrawn
very fast, including a dramatic effect of
opening curtains. The flight of the ball
and its shadow on the fairw:
ilistically modeled.
An illustrated 10-page leaflet explains the
game's many options and offers pI
and pointe! pla il be able to.
get started with only the briefest g glance at
the documentation. If you have an
ImageWriter printer, you can print out you
scorecard at the end of a game, along wit
such statistics as longest drive and nun
of drives that landed in the fairways.
Any IGS owner with the slightes
in golf should enjoy Mean 18,
World Tour Golf
Electronic Arts likes to describe its games
as "fast, hot and deep." Fast,
because a beginner can learn a
game quickly. Hot, because
the games intensely involve
a player's eyes, ears and
hands. Deep, because the
games offer challenging puz-
zles and unfolding layers of
complexity.
On all three counts, World Tour Golf
scores points. The game is significantly more
challenging than Mean 18. On equivalent
courses, we averaged three or four strokes
more on every hole.
Graphically, World Tour Golf is a more
ambitious production. The screen is split
between an overhead view of the current
hole and a player's view down the fairway.
Strokes are controlled by mouse clicks on a
small, pop-up circular gauge. This method
was not as easy to use as the bar graph in
Mean 18, by the way.
World Tour Golf draws a landscape as a
series of colored polygons. Trees and other
features are pulled in from a library of
shapes. The overall effect is handsome, but
GAMES
each screen takes a few seconds to draw.
Because the screen is redrawn for every shot
and whenever you change your point of
aim, the delays mount up.
Unlike Mean 18, World Tour Golf requires
players to consider wind effects. An indica-
tor shows the wind speed and direction for
every shot, which fluctuates during a round.
When you reach the green, World Tour
Golf handles the aiming of your putts less
precisely (and less conveniently) than Mean
18. Because of the split-screen effect, the
graphic representation of the green is too
small and too crowded. You aim your putts
by moving an aim point via the mouse. This
method is less intuitive than the linear
pointer in Mean 18.
The program's documentation includes a
detailed 12-page manual and a quick refer-
ence card, You'll need the manual right
away, because the program displays a small
overhead view of a golf course after the
opening screen and insists you identify it.
Unless you type in the name of the course
(by referring to illustrations in the manual),
you cannot play.
Publishers using this irritating method to
discourage piracy should consider dropping
copy protection by way of compensation.
Ina remarkable feat of data compression,
Electronic Arts has packed 24 different golf
courses on the program disk. Six of these
are fictional, but the real ones include
Augusta National (Georgia); Champions
(Houston); Cypress Point (California);
Hirono (Japan); Incline (Nevada); Indian Val-
ley (California); Kiahuna (Hawaii); Montreal
(Canada); National (New York); Oakmont
(Pennsylvania); Olympic (San Francisco);
Pebble Beach (California); Princeville
(Hawaii); Seminole (Florida); Shinnecock
(New York); St. Andrews (Scotland); St.
Georges (England); and Winged Foot
(New York).
A complete graphic tool kit for construct-
ing your own golf course is also provided.
As with many Electronic Arts titles, World
Tour Golf reflects a sense of humor. Mes-
sages such as "Blast!," "Aargh!" and "Why
ME?" appear frequently in balloons above
the animated player figure. While serious
golfers are likely to prefer Mean 18, World
Tour Golf is a good entertainment value.
Where else can you bash your way through
18 holes in less than an hour?
How They Score
Title Mean 18 World Tour Golf Hardball! GBA Basketball
Publisher Accolade Electronic Arts Accolade Gamestar
List price $44.95 $39.95 $44.95 $44.95
Memory 512K 512K 512K 512K
Interface mouse mouse, keyboard mouse, keyboard keyboard
joystick joystick
Player options 1to 4 players 1 to 4 players lor2 lor2
Save game? yes no no no
Operating system P16 (v.1.2) P16 DOS 3.3 P8 (v.1.1.1)
Copy protected? yes yes yes yes
Toggle sound? no no no yes
Practice? yes yes no yes
Ratings
Graphics good excellent very good very good
Sound & music excellent excellent excellent excellent
Ease of learning easy easy hard easy
Difficulty moderate challenging challenging challenging
Staying power good very good good good
Documentation good very good poor good
Overall excellent excellent fair good
26 Summer 1988
Hardball!
It's difficult to grow up in America with-
out learning at least the rudiments of base-
ball, but that doesn't mean we have to like
the game. Baseball simulations tend to be
even more boring than the game itself. And,
if you play at home on a computer, you can
usually get better-quality hot dogs.
Hardball!, designed by Bob Whitehead
and adapted for the IIGS by Dan Thompson,
is a difficult arcade/action game with
realistic strategy elements.
The designer of a baseball simulation has
an almost impossible task. He has to model
several radically different variables simulta-
neously: the athletic performances of throw-
ing, running, batting and catching; the
immediate tactical decisions of pitchers, hit-
ters and base runners; and the strategic plan-
ning by coaches and managers.
Because baseball is a sport obsessed with
the collection and worship of statistics, a
designer can simply program historical
teams and let them slug it out probabilisti-
cally. But this doesn't leave much for a user
to do, except press a joystick button
occasionally.
Hardball! takes a different approach. The
teams in the game are fictional, but the play
options are authentic. One such option is
using a designated hitter (someone who bats
in place of the pitcher). The computer can
play either side, or two players can compete
by using various combinations of the key-
board, joystick and mouse.
A game begins with a manager's decision
screen, which displays the lineup for each
team. A manager can substitute players,
exchange positions, shift the outfield and
issue other orders. Play begins with the
pitcher's screen, an impressive animation of
the pitcher, batter, umpire and catch-
er, viewed from a point
behind and to the right of
‘\. the pitcher. The simula-
WY tion is very much a
. pitcher's game, with
eight types of pitches
altogether.
An individual pitcher
can throw only four differ-
ent pitches. The batter's
options include deciding when and where
to swing at a pitch, bunting and stealing
bases. When the ball is hit, the display
changes to an animated view of the outfield
(left or right).
As the runner goes tearing around the
bases, you must use the mouse or joystick to
move a receiving fielder (whose symbol is
GAMES
blinking) to catch or pick up the ball. Once
the fielder has the ball, you must tell him
where to throw it. Be careful, things
happen fast.
The umpire's digitized voice announces
every strike. The other sound effects are
equally sharp, and you can adjust the vol-
ume by repeatedly pressing the "+"
and "-" keys on the numeric
keypad.
A nine-page leaflet
describes all options and
functions, but doesn't pro-
vide many hints or tips on
how to play the game. It
assumes a player already
knows a good deal about
baseball.
We found it extraordinarily
difficult to hit the ball and quite
difficult to catch it. The computer,
when controlling the opposing team, finds it
quite easy: Therefore, playing against the
computer is rathér frustrating. You can
expect to be slaughtered.
Overall, Hardball! earns high marks for its
sound and graphics, but low marks for fun.
We feel the game was programmed for the
more powerful 68000 microprocessor and
for computers, such as the Amiga and Atari
ST, that have hardware support for sprites
(animated graphics).
The IIGS conversion doesn't make
enough allowances for the limitations of the
system. A truly dedicated baseball fan might
feel differently, though.
GBA Championship
Basketball
To simulate the full kinetic frenzy of a
basketball game you would need the power
of a Cray super-computer, a legion of pro-
grammers and a budget of Pentagon propor-
tions. But by confining the scope of the
game to GBA Championship Basketball:
Two-on-Two, everything fits neatly into an
Apple IGS. GBA, by the way, stands for the
"Gamestar Basketball Association."
The program is carefully designed and
well organized, so you are never over-
whelmed with too many options. An initial
Chalkboard screen lets you select Demo,
Game or Practice modes.
In Demo mode, the computer controls all
four players. In Practice mode, you can have
two human-controlled players or one player
on the court by himself. There is a wide
range of player options in the Game mode.
You and a computer-controlled teammate
can take on a computer team, or two users
can team up and play against the computer.
The animated figures on the court are
drawn from a roster of 10 players, loosely
based on real-life basketball stars. Although
the figures are quite small, the quality of the
animation is superb. All players are numeri-
cally rated for shooting accuracy (inside and
outside the key), dribbling, stealing, quick-
ness and jumping ability. Within limits,
you can change these values to
emphasize certain styles of play.
You can even change the skin
color of your players (black
or white).
You use the joystick or
keyboard to control moving,
passing and shooting. A
quick tap on the joystick but-
ton (or Option key) initiates a
pass or requests one from your
teammate. To attempt a shot, you
press and hold the mouse button. Your
player/figure begins the shot by jumping
and releases the ball when you release the
button. Under the right conditions, hook
shoots, slam dunks, tip-ins and rebounds are
all possible.
Only half the court is actually shown on
screen at a time. The display flip-flops when
the ball handler crosses the center line. This
causes some confusion and disorientation
until you get used to it
The game keeps track of the rather intri-
cate rules of basketball — for example, it
manages the clock and calls fouls. The clock
runs in real time, and a complete game takes
four six-minute quarters.
When there is a change of possession (of
the ball), you have the option to call a play
by choosing an offensive and defensive
alignment. This tells your computer team-
mate what to do. The play-calling screen
replaces the scoreboard for a few seconds
while the players run down the court.
Two-On-Two requires a IIGS with the
"revised" ROM chip (version 01). This
requirement is clearly marked on the outside
of the package. You need a color monitor
and at leas
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