Volume 3
Number 2
July 1990
£2.95
An Interactive Publication
COMPUTING
• NComm: Full verson 1.9 of this Norwegian
comms package Features Zmodem transfers
and a Hosi mode.
t PPshow: Now you can view IFF files
crunched with PowerPacker
• Musicbox: Another mysterious tune.
• Klide: Stunning examples of just what you
• The Code Clinic: Write your own boot-block
with this month’s source-code.
• ProtectOMagic: Set ^our protect Cags from the
comfort of this user-friendly front end..
• Miniblast: Another Anders Bjerin dassc This
time a Workbench-friendly Scramble done -
with editable levels'
can do wth a decent ine drawnq routine • HotSummerNights: Muse from Howe Danes
Full instructions are in the July 1990 issue of Amiga Computing
A MEGABYTE OF SUPERB SOFTWARE
< IMAGE BANK, Anne MARTENS
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£/tJT2£'
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RIO DE JANEIRO 2019
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What you
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Managing Editor
Derek Meakin
AMIGA SCENE
Renews Editor
Nic Veitch
Technical Editor
John Kennedy
Production Editor
Peter Glover
Art Editor
Tym Lecky
Advertisement Manager
John Snowden
Advertising Sales
Wendy Colburn
Published bv:
Interactive Publishing Ltd,
Europa House, Adlington Park,
Adlington, Macclesfield SKlO 4NP.
7 NEWS
ROUND-UP
Amiga voted computer of the year,
APL updated, a new 24-bit
framestore, Amiga game sales top
arch-rival's... and much more.
LETTERS
EZRA SURFS
POSTBOX
If you’ve got a gripe with mice,
Or your printing device,
There’s no time to waste,
He’s the ace on the case.
The shape of things to come? It's taken its time, but the neiv Amiga is here, now.
IVe have a hands-on review of the machine everyone is talking about
Editorial: 0625 878888
Advertising: 0625 878888
Subscriptions: 051-357 2961
Fax: 0625 879966
MicroLink: MAG001
interactive
publishing
Chairman
Derek Meakin
Managing Director
Hugh Gollner
Commercial Director
David Hirst
lication. Material should be typed or com-
puter-printed, and preferably double-spaced.
Program listings should be accompanied by
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addressed envelope, otherwise the return of
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can only be accepted for publication by
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basis.
© 1990 Interactive Publishing Ltd. No mate-
rial may be reproduced in whole or in part
without written permission. While every
care is taken, the publishers cannot be held
legally responsible for any errors in articles,
listings or advertisements.
Amiga Computing is an independent publi-
cation and Commodore Business Machines
(UJC) Ltd is not responsible for any of the
articles in this issue or for any of the opin-
ions expressed.
News trade distribution: Comag Magazine
Marketing. Tavistock Road. West Drayton,
Middlesex UB7 7QE. Tel: West Drayton
(0895)444055.
PROGRAMMING
THE CODE
CLINIC
Revealed at last: The secrets of the
bootblock explained by coding
genius Jolyon. Plus a look at the
official programming manuals.
COVER STORY
A DREAM
VF vf COME TRUE
It’s here! The new A3000 has finally
been unveiled. The team were at the
launch and managed to get their
hands on one for a detailed review.
PORTFOLIO
/ fi ARTISTS’
/ VF SHOWCASE
Weird. Very weird. These and other
comments will spring to mind as
you visit the gallery of Pierre
Jolivet’s imagination.
SHORTIES
COMPETITION
QQbook
I J \J REVIEWS
A three letter abbreviation special
with books on DTV and DTP. Two
more contenders for the Amiga
version of the Booker Prize.
WIN AN
A1500
Probably the most exciting
expansion system in the world.
Assuming you win, you can upgrade
vour A500 for the price of a stamp.
REVIEW
I I GAME
V-F FREEZERS
Suddenly Amiga “freezer” cartridges
are all the rage. We passed our
collection on to the cool Jolyon
Ralph for an expert opinion.
GAMES
AMIGA
ARCADE
The headlines: Anco get promoted to
the first division with Player
Manager but Mastertronic’s Protector
faces relegation.
Ray tracing needn't
be expensive, as
Stewart C Russell
discovers
4 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
■ CONTENTS ■
REVIEW
}"C ARENA
Vf ACCOUNTS
It's a man’s life in accountancy.
Expert rabbit tamer Alex Aird takes
a break to give this Amiga package a
thorough workout.
PUBLIC DOMAIN
BUDGET
RAY TRACING
If you thought you only got what
you paid for, then Stewart C. Russell
has a surprise in store. Cheap three-
dimensional modelling is here.
DTP
NEW
SERIES
In the first of a three part guide to
desktop publishing, Nic Veitch
covers layout and design concepts.
Phew! What a scorcher.
SHORTIES
I A500PSU
JL U LIGHTGUN
Reviewed - a replacement power
supply with added Oomph, and the
heavy artillery moves in with an
Amiga compatible lightgun.
CLOSE GADGET
m UST
BUT
A typical day in the life of a busy
Amiga Computing reviews editor.
Bet you thought a career in
journalism was a cushy number.
’apas
cw Now you can view IFF a*.
4§SSS
’'tysferictsiine.
COVER DISC
NCOMM
The latest version of the excellent
comms package from Norway which
threatens to overtake old favourites
like JRComm and Access!
KLIDE
Amazingly fast line-drawn graphic
experience. You’ll find it excellent
accompaniment to your favourite
Floyd tracks.
PPSHOW
If you save disk space by
PowerPacking your IFF files, you
can now view and print them
without de-crunching first.
MINIBLAST
Miniblast
Excellent multi-tasking scramble-
type game which plays in a
workbench window. Anders Bjerin
delivers the goods again.
PROTECT-O-MACIC
At last you can alter all those file
flags easily from the comfort of a
user-friendly front end.
MUSICBOX
Another “Name That Tune”
competition in this month’s music
slot. Convince us you know what
you’re talking about and win the
complete collection.
HOT SUMMER NIGHTS
A good excuse to hook up your Amy
to the Hi-Fi and annoy the
neighbours - an original Howie
Davis composition.
NComm
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 5
'European (Peripheral Distribution
ALL PRICES INCLUDE V.A.T.
Add £3.95 For Post & Packaging
Next Day Courier £9.95
Please make cheques payable to E.P,D.
CORPORATE EDUCATION & TRADE
ENQUIRIES WELCOME
Peripheral House
DEPT AF, Unit 36 Cranford Gardens
Compton Acres
West Bridgford
Nottingham
NG2 7SE
Telephone (0602) 841640
BANX DISK BOX
AMIGA PERIPHERALS
The most economical 3.5"
disk storage system, with all
these features on the market
Pull out drawer.
Lockable with two keys.
Stackable both up &
sideways.
Holds 90 3.5” Disks
ONLY £11.95
3.5" DISKS FROM 39p
Double sided 3.5" Discs. Individually Wrapped, 880K 135tpi, ideal for Amiga.
ST, Etc. Made in Japan. 100% Error Free. 2 for 1 Warranty or Money
back.
Minimum Quantity 50 Disks £0.39 each.
Genuine ’Sony' 3.5' discs. Double sided. Made in Japan, sold in Sony outers,
probably the best disks in the world !
Minimum Quantity 50 Disks £0.42 each.
3.5" Diskette box holds either 100 or 50 3.5" disks
box to hold 100 3.5" Discs £4.95.
box to hold 50 3.5" Discs £3.95.
Prices for disk boxes are if disks bought at same time.
STOP PRESS STOP PRESS STOP PRESS
CHINNON 3.5" EXTERNAL DRIVE NEW IN,
LATEST SLIMLINE DESIGN
ONLY
£62.95
A590 RAM UPGRADE CHIPS RING FOR DETAILS
VI
Sourced From Europe's Leading Electronic
Manufacturers
Sound Sampler for A500/1000 inc. Software £29.99
Midi Interface. High Quality for A500/ 1000/2000 midi in. £29.99
midi through. 2 midi outs.
Boot Selector for A500/ 1000/2000 allows you to boot from an £14.95
external drive DF1.
Kick.sturt Card for Amiga A500/2000 allows you to switch £49.95
between Kickstart 1.2 or 1.3 (Includes original rom 1.2 or 1.3
please state) easy to fit, no soldering.
END YOUR VIRUS PROBLEMS!
Hardware device that simply
plugs in to disk drive port and
prevents any boot block virus
writing itself to your expensive
disks. Protects internal drive as
well as any other floppy drive
connected. Through port. On/Off
switch. L.E.D. to indicate
protection on.
Will work with all known Virii
£19.95
512K RAM UPGRADE
Amiga A500 ram expansion, one
of the smallest expansions on the
market. Top marks when
reviewed in Amiga Format. Inc
FREE 1Mb demo.
Replaces A501 expansion.
Built in Clock version £58.95.
£48.95
NORDIC POWER CARTRIDGE
Get the most from your computer. Get inside where the action is.
Freeze it to ice for tomorrows use. Easy to fit, easy to use. It is a must
for expert programmers and beginners. Impress your friends with the
ultimate computer tool. Once you have used it you will never work
without it!
* Super Programme Freeze
(SAVES LEVEL TO REPLAY AT ANY
time) * Backup for 2 Drives *
Full Machine Language
Monitor (Disassembler any file
AND SEE HOW IT WORKS, ASSEMBLE
your own Code, Hex Dumps,
etc.) * Graphic Utility (gets
ANY SCREEN OUT OF A GAME,
NUMEROUS ADJUSTMENTS FOR
Graphics, save as iff files, etc.)
PICTURE REPRODUCED BY KIND PERMISSION
FROM DATA & ELECTRONICS
NORDIC POWER & ACTION CARTRIDGE
ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS
£69.95
Sound Scanner (find samples
within a game, save sounds as
iff files, Sound Editor to
ALTER SOUNDS FOR YOUR OWN
use) * Training mode (slow
DOWN A GAME TO GET PASSED
THAT DIFFICULT LEVEL) *
Integrated Slide Show
(COMPILE A DISK OF YOUR
FAVOURITE GRAPHICS AND VIEW
THEM FROM THE SLIDE SHOW) *
MANY MORE FEATURES TOO
NUMEROUS TO MENTION * RING
FOR DETAILS.
AMIGA SCENE
Teachers expand the
keyboard concept
A GROUP of Birmingham
teachers have designed a
product which gives even
more scope to the already
versatile Concept Keyboard,
now in full production for
the Amiga.
Under the name of Think
Ltd, they have produced the
Overlay Designer and
Manager which works on
the Concept Keyboard
Company’s serial version
designed for the Amiga.
The package can be used
to create overlays for almost
all Amiga software, so
allowing many more people
to enjoy using an Amiga -
particularly young children
and disabled people. It
includes software designed
by Think, but teachers can
also design their own soft-
ware.
Using the overlay pack-
age, keys on the Concept
Keboard can be tailored to
represent words or phrases.
A new development will
incorporate synthesised
speech, so pupils will hear
the word they have put in
and even more software is
on the drawing board,
Pool the
other one
TAM MARKETING is fol-
lowing up its well known
Tipster horse racing pro-
gram with Punter for those
who fancy a quick eight
from ten every now and
again.
The system is heavily
based on the algorithms
from Tipster but obviously
the database will be altered
to accept pools information
from any national newspa-
per.
Provision is made for all
combination plans and so
the program should work
with any football pool
coupons.
The Punter is available
now from TAM (0392
215485) price £29.95 inclu-
sive of VAT and P&P.
which will represent a
whole page at the press of
one key.
Commodore dealer
Mr.Disk (021-616 1168) is to
package and sell Overlay
Designer and Manager
which costs £19.99, includ-
ing a comprehensive manu-
al.
“There is going to be a
tremendous amount of
interest when it gets up and
running”, said Alan Caddy
of Mr.Disk. “Programmers at
Think are coming up with
lots of ideas. Being teachers
themselves, they know just
what teachers need and are
designing their software in
>
COMMODORE and
Warner Home Video have
teamed up for a competi-
tion which gives people
who rent the new Batman
video a chance to win one
of 10 Amiga 500 Batman
Packs. It is claimed to be
the first interactive com-
petition in the UK to
involve a major movie
title.
After watching the
video, viewers must
answer two riddles posed
at the beginning and must
then complete a tie-break-
er question. The 10 correct
entries judged to have the
most interesting tie-break-
er will each win a pack,
which includes an Amiga
REVIEWS in Amiga
Computing are on the ball.
Nic Veitch introduced read-
ers to the wonders of the
APL mathematical language
in May, pointing out some
of its drawbacks. Quite
independently, developer
MicroAPL (071-922 8866)
has produced an upgrade
which covers many of these
points. Full marks Nic.
Version 7.30 of APL68000
improves its Amiga inter-
face and includes new
Events handling software
which permits much more
effective control of the
Amiga environment from
within the APL68000
workspace.
Other new features
include an improved
requester interface, an
improved editor for func-
tions and text matrices,
500 and Batman game
plus a selection of soft-
ware titles including The
New Zealand Story,
Deluxe Paint II graphics
package and F-18 flight
simulator. The packs are
worth £400.
“This competition is the
first of its kind and we are
excited to be presenting
such a fabulous offer with
Warner Home Video”, said
Commodore’s managing
director Steve Franklin.
“Batman and the
Commodore Amiga 500
Batman Packs are two
great success stories and
by combining the two I’m
sure that we will score a
huge hit with viewers”.
Modest
smiles dept
quicker mixed functions
such as reshape and cate-
nate, support for a unified
keyboard, a multi-workface
which allows tasks to share
variables, new bitmap
graphics and multi-font
support plus many new
functions in the support
workspaces.
MicroAPL issues free run-
time versions of APL68000
to developers who complete
a simple licence form. This
policy has had considerable
success in encouraging the
release of packages written
in APL68000, particularly
in the USA.
Full price, £99.95.
Upgrade price for owners of
versions 6 and 7, £30.
Disc transfer
package
COMMODORE has shown
interest in promoting a new
package from Track
Computer Systems (0332
41817) which allows users
of the Commodore BBC
Emulator to copy disks over
from BBC format to Amiga.
Called Transfer, it will
copy programs, machine
code and data files from the
BBC to the Amiga and
allows users to use their
Emulator to the full.
Chris Harvey of Track
said: “Anyone who owns
the Commodore BBC
Emulator will have found
out by now that it will not
allow them to copy disks
over from BBC format to
Amiga.
“Since we announced
Transfer, Commodore have
become very interested in it.
”We sent them a copy and
received a telephone call to
say they may be willing to
promote it”.
Transfer costs £19.95
including BBC to Amiga
cable. It comes packaged
with four small utilities - a
database, a teletext and
screen editor, a disassem-
bler and memory mover,
Mem Move.
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 7
■AMIGA SCENE ■
Winner Ken Holland and his children
High flying winner
>
line wUh that.
“There is a lot of interest
now in Concept Keyboards
for serial machines like the
Amiga particularly in the
UK and education fields in
America, Australia and New
Zealand”.
Underlining the impor-
tance of their Amiga prod-
uct for people with sight
problems. Think Ltd was
recently invited to the
International Conference on
Education for the Visually
Handicapped at Warwick
University.
The company demonstrat-
ed the software using
Talker, the talking word pro-
cessor, Pro-Write v2.5
colour word processor,
Excellence and Kindwords.
The teachers showed how
one overlay card for
Notepad could be used with
each of these and many
other word processors avail-
able for the Amiga.
The showing by the
Think team, Mr. Disk and
Andrew Harland from
Commodore’s demonstra-
tion team, created great
interest among the interna-
tional delegates at the con-
ference.
Formerly known as Star
Microterminals, the Con-
cept Keyboard Com-pany
(0962 843322) is now in full
production with its serial
product for the Amiga.
Peter Beech of Concept
reports that they are now
making 4,000 serial and par-
allel keyboards a month.
While versions for Acorn
machines are sold by A & B
Marketing, the new Amiga
versions are being dealt
with directly by sales staff
at Concept.
They are available for
both the Amiga 500 and
2000. Since the 2000 has a
detachable keyboard, the
product can be used
through the keyboard socket
or with a separate supply
unit.
Available at present are
the A4, 128 key version at
£177, the A3, 128 key ver-
sion at £199 and the A3,
256 key version at £227.
Specialised boards can be
produced to customers
specifications and Concept
has produced a number of
Braille boards.
WE know that readers of
Amiga Computing are high
flyers and now one of them
has proved it. Ken Holland
of Dorset sent in the win-
ning entry in our January
competition run in conjunc-
tion with Digital Inte-
gration.
He correctly answered the
questions on Digital’s F16
flight simulator and won a
flight of his own as the
prize.
With his children, Cheryl.
9, and six-year-old Carl, he
took to the sky from Hurn
Airport in a Cessna aircraft
owned by Bournemouth
Flying Club. The flight took
them over much of the
Dorset countryside includ-
ing their home in Wareham.
“We were lucky because
we could not have chosen
better weather”, said Ken.
“There was not a cloud in
the sky and you could see
for miles. Cheryl and Carl
loved it”.
Taking on
another class
FOLLOWING the success of
Commodore’s Class of the
‘90s Amiga-based educa-
tional bundle, the company
is likely to launch a similar
product aimed at children
of primary school age.
National sales manager
for education, Peter Talbot
told Amiga Computing that
the follow-up to Class of the
‘90s will be announced later
this year. It will offer an
Amiga bundled with educa-
tional software and will
probably target the under
elevens.
“The Class of the ’90s
bundle which we launched
last October has been a great
success”, he said. “We have
now sold 10,000 units and
have had requests for some-
thing in the region of 2,000
education resource files. We
are just about to mail out an
update to the resource files
and we are in the process of
launching a newsletter on
education.
"Because of this success, I
would not be surprised if
we repeated something like
it later this year but for a
different sector of the mar-
ket. We are always keen to
support younger users and
the Amiga lends itself to
such markets. A lot of
respected software develop-
ers are now writing home
education software for the
Amiga and it is a market-
place we are presently look-
ing at”.
The decision is said to
result from parents’
requests. It is expected that
the new bundle will cost
around £499 - the price of
the present bundle.
Pro Midi music
G A JITS Music Software
(061-434 2768) has released
a new range of programs
designed to help Amiga
owners get the most from
Midi instruments.
Following its success
with music software pack-
ages on the Atari ST, Gajits
has now launched its
Professional Sound
Development Programs for
the Amiga.
They allow users to edit
the internal sounds and
instrumental arrangements
with ease from full screen
graphical displays. The
software can also multitask
with a sequencer program
so the results can he heard
immediately. Extensive
librarian facilities are
included to allow whole
hanks of sounds to he creat-
ed and manipulated.
Programs are available
for the Roland D5, DIO,
D20, DUO, MT32, CM32L,
CM32P and CM64 and the
Gajits software is endorsed
by Roland UK for use with
its computer music mod-
ules.
Professional Sound
Development Programs cost
£99.99 including 64 profes-
sionally created sounds.
8 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
■ AM IGA SCENE ■
Video
upgrades
Smart little scroller
UPGRADES to two popular
video packages have been
announced by the Phoenix-
based Zuma Group.
TV Text Professional is a
video titling program which
can also be used for desktop
presentations.
Features include title
effects such as metallic
look, colour animated
glows, glints, sheens and
the creation of styles with a
built-in editor. Price
£129.95.
TV Show II can be used to
create animated graphics
presentations and allows
the inclusion of sound
effects and computer gener-
ated speech.
More than 40 variable
speed transition effects are
featured and the program
also includes a script edi-
tor.Price £69.95.
Both packages are avail-
able from HB Marketing
(0753 686000).
EASY and automatic cre-
ation of smooth scrolling
text screens is the boast of
Credit Text Scroller, the lat-
est Amiga offering from
Mindware International
(0279 412441).
It allows users to select
fonts, sizes and scroll rates
via a simple point and click
interface. Information to be
displayed is generated from
a text editor or word proces-
sor then automatically put
into the desired credit
screen or information dis-
play.
The final result is in the
common Anim format and
can be genlocked over a
video source or overlaid on
another Anim. Colours and
drop shadows can be added
to standard Workbench
fonts and there is a subti-
tling option. Price, £29.95.
Editor lends a helping hand
THE Spastics Society will
benefit from an Amiga
“charityware” drive
launched by Designer
Mouseware (0642 482831).
It is selling its public
domain snooze pointer edi-
tor, Sleepy, for £2.50 and all
proceeds will go to the soci-
ety.
Version 3 of Sleepy
allows Amiga users to
redesign Workbench’s
Snooze bubble. The new
pointer is almost three
times the height of the origi-
nal, has its own set of
colours and can be animat-
ed with up to 20 images. It
is compatible with Amiga
Workbench, Devpac 2,
Scribble 2, Analyse 2,
Organiser 2 and Deluxe
Paint.
Mark Smiddy, the com-
puter journalist who
designed Sleepy, said:
“Some time ago 1 inter-
viewed a young cerebral
palsied man who was pro-
ducing a magazine for a
local computer club with all
proceeds going to the local
Spastics Society.
”1 was so moved by his
courage that I found myself
wanting to help. During the
development of Sleepy, a
colleague suggested selling
it as shareware and the idea
grew from there. Hopefully,
other programmers will fol-
low our lead”.
Fundraising manager for
The Spastics Society Hilary
Finch said: “We are delight-
TAKING on the mouse
scene with a vengeance is
Contriver (Europe) Ltd
(0280 822803) which has
announced two new mouse
ranges, claiming they will
give the company more
mouse products than any
other firm in the UK.
Known as the 820 and
830, the new mice are tech-
nically almost identical hut
quite different in appear-
ance. They are supplied
with mouse mat and pocket
for a standalone price of
£29.09.
The Buckingham-hascd
ed to receive donations
from this initiative. Many
people with cerebral palsy
use computers, so it is very
appropriate for us to have
this association”.
Sleepy is available from
good public domain
sources. The official suppli-
er is Ray Burt-Frost of
Amiganuts United (0703
785680).
company which was
formed in the middle of last
year is also offering the
mice bundled with
Fantavision, the art pack-
age which allows users to
animate graphics. Price,
#54.99.
The mice feature a reso-
lution of 200dpi with a
tracking speed of 500mm.
“Our new mice are com-
petitively priced and cater
for a wide diversity of
needs”, said managing
director Adolpho Giannini.
“Selecting icons has never
been easier”.
Heavily into mouse business
Waiting for
the CD rom
AMIGA owners will have to
wait a little longer for the
cheap CD rom alternative
under development by
Codemasters (0926 814132).
Manpower problems have
forced the games developer
to put the project on hold.
As an alternative to
expensive CD roms,
Codemasters has produced
an analogue to digital con-
verter which connects the
headphone socket of a CD
player with the computer’s
joystick port. An accompa-
nying loader program sets
up the machine to receive
data through the joystick
port.
Backed up by games com-
pilations on compact disc,
the system is so far only
available for the Spectrum
and Commodore C64 but an
Amiga version is still on the
cards.
”We have had so much on
with the American side of
our business that we have
not been able to do any fur-
ther work on the Amiga ver-
sion”, said a spokesman.
“While this system would
not be in the same league as
CD roms costing hundreds
of pounds, it will provide
games players with some of
the benefits of CD but at a
fraction of the cost.
“We would see the price
at around £30. A system for
the Amiga certainly has not
been discounted. It’s a mat-
ter of finding the time to
work on it”.
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 9
CD- Amiga
is due at big
Chicago
show
RUMOURS of a midsummer
UK launch for Commodore’s
new CD-Amiga have been
accompanied by
speculation that it will be
pitched higher than just as a
games machine.
Trade sources say it will
target the growing market in
low cost solutions which
combine audio, video and
computers. Tipped for
launch as a complete home
entertainment system, it is
claimed that the CD-Amiga
will cost between £750 and
£800.
The machine was due for
its first American appear-
ance on June 2 at the giant
Consumer Electronics Show
in Chicago.
A UK launch is rumoured
for soon after CES and top
software houses are said to
be already working on pack-
ages to support it.
At Mirrorsoft, John
Norlidge told Amiga
Computing : “It is well
known that we are working
on CD-rom projects. We are
very involved in CD-rom
games and multimedia as
part of our core business.
“Because of non-disclo-
sure, I cannot go on record
regarding any involvement
with Commodore’’.
Another software house
said to be preparing sup-
porting software for the CD-
Amiga is Mindscape, where
software manager Phil
Harrison was also unwilling
to comment.
“We have signed a non-
disclosure agreement with
Commodore and it would
be improper of me to com-
ment at the present time”,
he said. The same story
came from a spokesperson
at Activision.
Following its usual policy
which prevailed right up
the the recent launch of the
A3000, Commodore would
not discuss the project.
Also a case of “no com-
ment” from Commodore is
the new Amiga portable
rumoured to be under
development in America.
*
Smiles on line
NOTHING and no one
are safe from the atten-
tions of the latest ven-
ture by computer
industry characters
Bruce Everiss and Mel
Croucher
They have set up The
Mel Croucher Computer
Fun Line which features
“an exciting and enter-
taining new Fun Line
event” every week. With
the accent on humour,
the line takes software,
hardware, the industry
and the people in it with
a Private Eye approach.
“No one will be speak-
ing to us after this”, com-
mented Bruce. The Fun
Line number is 0898
299399 which is charged
at 25p a minute cheap
rate and 38p a minute
full rate.
Amiga
winning in
High Street
AMIGA software is winning
the High Street battle with
its principal rival the Atari
ST, according to W.H. Smith.
For the first time, sales of
Amiga packages equalled
those for the ST in March
and are expected to overhaul
them in coming months.
Reflecting this success,
W.H. Smith is to increase the
number of its stores stocking
Amiga software.
“Historically, we have
always done better on Atari
ST software because we
used to stock the machines
before our policy on hard-
ware changed”, said the
group’s computer buyer
Sean Willis. “We also
stocked Atari products
>
LATER this year Martin
Lowe of Amiga Centre
Scotland (031-557 4242)
hopes to launch the ACS
Framebuffer I, a display
device which gives users
the option of more colours
and greater resolution than
are inherent in the Amiga.
A prototype of the device
More problems
for Mac owners as
the Amiga looks
set to become the
cheapest 24bit-
colour micro ever
Multi-million colour show
is in existence but an exact
release date or price have
yet to be decided.
Framebuffer I features full
16 million colour display,
PAL and NTSC, RGB ana-
logue output, full overscan,
24 bits per pixel palette,
output to a standard RGB
monitor and 32 bits per
pixel design.
It has option expansion of
an additional four or eight
bits per pixel, additional
display ram for double
buffering, Genlock and 601
digital video output.
Resolutions supported are
896 x 578 (PAL), 896 x 490
(NTSC) in Mode 1; 720 x
578 (PAL) and 720 x 490
(NTSC) in Mode 2, 601 digi-
tal video. Am r ong bit
mapped graphics file for-
mats supported are IFF
ILBM 2-24 bit plains, Sculpt
4D 24 bit files, Scanlab 24
bit files, Digi View 21 bit
files and Targa files.
10 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
■ AM IGA SCENE ■
>
before we went into the
Amiga but over the last two
years the Amiga has shown
the largest growth.
“Finally, in March, it
caught up with ST sales as
far as value is concerned. As
part of our new stocking pol-
icy for 1990, I have decided
to increase the number of
stores selling Amiga soft-
ware by more than 80.
“This means that 202 of
our 260 stores throughout
the country will have Amiga
product on the shelves. As
far as W.H. Smith is con-
cerned, Amiga Software is
very good news”.
Looking to the future,
Sean is likely to take
W.H. Smith into the field of
CD-rom as the industry
awaits further news of
Commodore’s CD Amiga.
“This is a very exciting
area and I will certainly be
looking at supporting it”, he
added.
New Amiga
guides
ADAMSOFT (0706
524304) has added to its
stocks of Amiga books
with three new titles.
Mapping the Amiga
from Compute Publi-
cations is an in-depth
reference work includ-
ing complete listings of
library functions with
syntax given in C,
machine language and
Modula-2.
Written by Randy
Thompson and Rhett
Anderson, it is claimed
to be the only source
which includes full
descriptions of every
Amiga hardware regis-
ter and an element-hy-
element breakdown of
each Amiga system
structure. Price, £19.95.
Compute's AmigaDos
Reference Guide has
been completely revised
and updated to cover
all current versions
including 1.3. Written
by noted Amiga author-
ity Sheldon Leeman
and magazine colum-
nist Arlan Levitan, this
edition costs £18.95.
Divide and conquer
TWO former competitors in
the Amiga field have joined
forces to make the
North/South divide work in
their favour and give their
customers cheaper prod-
ucts.
Kelvin Searle of
Weybridge-based Speed
Computers (09323 52277)
and Steve Cobham from D S
& K of Liverpool have
teamed up to buy cheaper
components in bulk for
their Amiga expansion
boards allowing them to
bring down average prices
from £79 to around £49.50.
They also offer a more
localised service which pro-
motes confidence in their
products.
“We started out as com-
petitors in the Amiga
expansion board market”,
said Kelvin. “We were try-
ing to beat each other on
price. When there were
shortages of bits and pieces
such as Dram connectors,
we tried to rip each other
off to get them.
“On the telephone, Steve
and I became very friendly
and built up a good rela-
tionship over a period of
months. We realised that we
could join forces to take out
joint advertisements and so
keep the costs down. We
also source our components
from America and the Far
East and can now buy in
bulk.
“I deal with the southern
region and Steve deals with
the North. Customers like
dealing with someone who
is closer to them”.
Amiga owners interested
in expansion boards can
expect further develop-
ments on this partnership in
the near future.
MEMBERS of the UK and
foreign computer press
voted the Amiga “Computer
of the Year” in the Home
Productivity section of the
recent European Computer
Leisure Awards. Best prod-
uct for the Amiga was
Deluxe Paint III from
Electronic Arts.
Presented in conjunction
with The European
Computer Trade Show, the
awards were voted on by
journalists from the UK,
Italy, France, Germany,
Spain and Sweden with
special awards from
America and Japan. Game of
the Year was Populous, and
Software Publisher of the
Year was Electronic Arts.
Amiga voted top computer
Mark Lewis
of Electronic
Arts receives
his award
from Pierre
Dell’ Oreo of
Bit magazine,
Milan
Pictured
below with
the Amiga's
award for
Computer of
the Year is
Commodore's
marketing
manager
David
Pleasance
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 11
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Access
TRADE ENQUIRIES WELCOME
Send cheques to: Dept AC
Memory Expansion Systems Ltd.
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■ Selectable 68000 fall
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full floppy based gar
compatibility
■ 68030 design allows high clock rates
and Genlock compatibility
GREAT VALLEY PRODUCTS INC.
HARD DISK CARD
8 MB EXPANSION BOARD &
SCSI HARD DISK CONTROLLER
■ Available in a range of sizes
■ 2 MB of fast ram expansion using easy
to install, state-of-the-art SIMMS
■ External SCSI connector for attaching
additional external SCSI devices
■ Easy to install
■ 12 month warranty
Other GVP
products include
SCSI CARD
HARD CARD
■ Up to 8 MB ram using 1 MB x 8 SIMMS
modules
■ Supports 6 MB fast ram expansion for
PC Bridgeboard users
■ Includes flat 50-pin ribbon cable for
connecting internal SCSI Hard Drive
■ Easy to install
■ 12 month warranty
TAPESTORE - 150 MB Tape Streamer
SYQUEST 44 MB - Removable Hard Disk
PHONE
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ONLY
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INC. VAT
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NOW ANTI CLICK!
A500 Internal Drive Kit
BATTERY BACKED CLOCK
£5900
ONLY
£6995
A500
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EXPANSION
INC. VAT
Power Drive PC880
ONLY
£15995
Now with anti-click that stops that annoying drive click when no disk are present !
Fully compatible with A500, 880K formatted
INC. VAT
INCLUDING
BATTERY BACKED CLOCK
Isolating on-off switch
Through port for daisy chaining
Colour matched and styled to Amiga
Free utility diskette
12 month warranty
A500 Expansion ram PC501/PC502
I A500 Expansion Ram using low power 1 Mb chips
I Two Models available 512K/1.5MB
I Complete with clock and lithium battery
I Fits in A500 expansion underneath computer
I Comes complete with extra ram switch off software
1 1 .5MB model only requires simple cable to be fitted inside Amiga
1 12 month warranty
40 Disks* and lockable
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£ 29-95
INC. VAT
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Storage Box
£995
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GVP IMPACT
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AND GET A GREAT DEAL MORE!
Now using SIMMS for a massive 4MB extra ram!
-t « SCSI 3.5- Hart Oisk
H? DMA direct to onboard 16KB buffer
r controller
'•'*» fe Snap onjtt connector for relit
•• FFS
UjP^mB of fast ram can be added
Internally
■ External SCSI connector
■ Dedicated power supply unit
■ 12 month warranty
45MB
80MB
100MB
OK
£599.00
£849.00
£999.00
2MB
£749.00
£999.00
£1149.00
4MB
£899.00
£1149.00
£1299.00
BASIC PACK
SUPER PACK
ULTRA PACK
MEGA PACK
HYPER PACK
as above
with PC880 drive
with PC880 + 512K
with PC880 + 1.5MB
£399
£459
£499
£599
as Mega with A590 Hard Dr. £949
Class of the 90's and other packs available
Commodore A590 20MB Hard Disk £379
IMPUTING
lable from Power House DIRECT!
GO COLOUR AMIGO!
Includes
■ LC10 Colour UK Model
■ Parallel Cable
■ 200 sheets microperf paper
■ 200 address labels
■ LC10 colour WB driver
■ Delivery and vat
Star LC10 Colour £219
Star XB1 0-24 Colour £499
HP Paintjet Colour £799
HP Paintjet XL A3 Colour £2500
LC10 Colour Fabric
printing kit
<r>
Star LC10 Colour
Complete Kit
£21900
INC. VAT
£2495
Amiga Music System (mmsooo + Pro Sound Gold)
—
£99
Video Magic + P.A.S.E. £ JO VIDTECH SCANLOCK £899
Animation Program ^ J
■ Multi media presentation system
■ Supports all IFF picture files
■ Supports P.A.S.E. Animations
■ Auto scripting
■ Sound effects by using
Prosound Designer
■ Controllable from joystick Port 2
■ Many more features
Full details available All trade marks acknowledged
■
Po*r*r Computing «r» tho productivity software
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RED HOT PRICES
ART & GRAPHICS
Typically 30-40% off rrp
Animagic
Amiga Clipart
Comic Setter
Deluxe Paint 3
Deluxe Photolab
Deluxe Video 3
Digipaint 3
Digiview Gold 4
The One Stop Software Shop!
Callers Welcome!
Fantavision
Interchange
Interfont
Intro Cad
Kara Screen Fonts 1
Kara Screen Fonts 2
Movie Setter
Photon Paint 2
Pixmate
£29.95
£49
£79
£39
£49
£49
£48
£79.95
£35
WORD PROCESSING,
DTP & BUSINESS
Excellence
Home Accounts
Kind Words
Maxiplan +
Maxiplan 500
Pagestream
Pro Draw
Pro Page 1.3
£159.95
£24.95
£39
£99
£79
£120
£100
£179
BAD
BBC Emulator
CLImate
Dos 2 Dos
Cross Dos
Fine Print
Quarterback
Transformer
WB 1.3
£35
£39
£20
£29
£29
£39
£34
£29
£15
Pro Page Templates £39
Pro Text £74.99
Pen Pal £99
Superbase 2 £62
Superbase Pro £160
Superplan £62
The Works Platinum £149
WordPerfect £164
LANGUAGES ETC
Devpac Amiga
£45
MUSIC
Midi Interface
£25
Pro Video Plus PAL
£169
Hisoft Basic
£55
Interface
£49
Sculpt 3D XL
£99
Lattice C v5
£160
MM 5000 Keyboard
£55
Sculpt 4D Junior
£149
Lattice C+ +
£299
Dr T's Drums
£25
Sculpt 4D
£329
Manx C Dev
£163
DrT's Midi Studio
£49
Turbo Silver
£99
Manx Debugger
£49
KCS level 2
£229
Video Magic + P.A.S.E. £49
Power Windows 2.5
£48
Music X
£199
Video Page
£99
UTILITIES
Pro Sound Gold
£39
XCAD Designer
£87.95
Amiga Music System
£99
XCAD Pro
£325
Arexx
£39
Sonix
£45
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Power House, the direct sales arm of Power
Computing Ltd — Leaders in peripherals &
software — is the natural choice for the
Amiga enthusiast. Highly competitive
prices, a wide choice, fast computerised
service and the backing of a £2M + 5 year old
company are just some of the reasons for
tele-shopping at Power. Large stocks,
friendly reception and "if it don't work we
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DIAMOND PACK 1
ALL OUR AMIGA A500 PACKS CONTAIN MACHINES
WITH THE FOLLOWING STANDARD FEATURES
• 51 2K RAM • Two Operation Manuals
• 1 Meg Disk Drive • Operating System
• 4096 Colours Disks
• Multi Tasking • All Appropriate
• Mouse Connecting Cables
• Built-in Speech
Synthesis
AMIGA 500. Batman the Movie, New
Zealand Story, FI 8 Interceptor,
Netherworld, Star Wars, Boambuzal,
Saint and Greavsie, Table Tennis,
Clownomania, Paperboy, Mike Reid’s
Pub Quiz, BAAL, Menace, Bloodmoney,
Deluxe Paint II, Microswitch
Joystick, 1 0 Blank 3.5 H Disks, Disk AAAA
Library Case. Mouse Mat, Amiga t W w w ■ w w
Dust Cover, Tutorial Disk, TV \K\n \/AT
Modulator and 23 PD Programs I NO VA I
DIAMOND PACK 2
ALL OUR AMIGA A500 PACKS CONTAIN MACHINES
WITH THE FOLLOWING STANDARD FEATURES
CLASS OF
90's PACK
£499.00
• 512K RAM
• 1 Meg Disk Drive
• 4096 Colours
• Multi Tasking
• Mouse
• Built-in Speech Synthesis
• Two Operation Manuals
• Operating System Disks
• All Appropriate Connecting
Cables
f AMIGA 500, F-29 Retailer, Rainbow Islands,
t Escape from the Planet of Robot Monsters,
Netherworld, Star Wars. Boambuzal, Saint and
Greavsie, Table Tennis, Clownomania. Paperboy,
Mike Reid’s Pub Quiz, BAAL, Menace, Bloodmoney,
Deluxe Paint II, Microswitch Joystick, 10 Blank
3-5" Disks. Disk Library Case,
V y fjfj Mouse Mat, Amiga Dust Cover,
INC VAT
Tutorial Disk, TV Modulator
and 23 PD Programs
TREAT YOURSELF TO AN EXTRA 5 GAMES FOR £25.00
OR 10 GAMES FOR £35.00
DIAMOND D501
TWO YEAR WARRANTY
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CLOCK/CALENDAR
FREE UTILITIES DISK
WORTH £49.95
ON-OFF SWITCH
£49.95
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- The Creator is like nothing you've ever seen before on the Amiga. Developed by the
author of the best-selling STOS, the number one game creation tool for the Atari ST, AMOS stretches the
Amiga to its limits. Now for the very first time you can access the awesome power of your computer with
bewildering ease.
AMOS Basic is a sophisticated development language with more than 500 different commands to
produce the results you want with the minimum of effort.
Whether you want to create arcade games, adventure games, demos, educational programs - or
even serious applications like graphical databases or video titling sequences
- AMOS will turn your dreams into reality.
It's no wonder that Amiga Format has described AMOS as 'the most t
k eagerly awaited Amiga utility ever', and Amiga Computing said in its May
1990 four-page preview: 'Whoosh! By far the fastest Basic interpreter
on the Amiga. Runs like the wind... Nobody will ever top it... Cheap
at twice the price... Overall 94%.'
Don't delay, send for your copy of AMOS today - and
you'll also receive, absolutely free of charge, AMOS Sprites
600 - a fabulous collection of more than 600 animated
sprites for use in your games (not available separately).
We're so convinced about AMOS that we're even
offering a money-back guarantee if you're not satisfied.
WHAT YOU GET:
AMOS Basic, sprite editor, Magic Forest and Amoster-
oids arcade games, Castle Amos graphical adventure,
Number Leap educational game, 300-page manual
with more than 80 example programs on disc, sample
tunes, sprite files, AMOS Club Newsletter and registra-
tion card.
SOFTWARE
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
» Define and animate hardware and software sprites
with lightning speed
* Display up to eight screens on your TV at once - each
with its own colour palette and resolution (including
HAM, half-brite and dual playfield modes)
► Scroll a screen with ease. Create multi-level parallax
scrolling by overlapping different screens - perfect
for scrolling shoot-'em-ups
* Use the unique AMOS Animation Language to create
complex animation sequences for sprites, bobs or
screens which work on interrupt
► Play Soundtracker, Sonix or GMC (Games Music
Creator) tunes or IFF samples on interrupt to bring
your programs vividly to life
» Use commands like RAINBOW and COPPER MOVE to
create fabulous colour bars like the very best demos
» Transfer STOS programs to your Amiga and quickly
get them working like the original
* Use AMOS on any Amiga from an A500 with a single
drive to the very latest model with hard disc
ONLY £49.99!
release send me AMOS - The Creator
and my free copy of AMOS Sprites 600
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Software for £49.99
Add £2 per program for Europe & Eire (£5
Overseas)
□ Please debit my Access/Visa/Connect
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Address
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Send to: Database Direct, FREEPOST,
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AMIGA 500
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■ LETTERS ■
Dotty on DTP
I DEVOURED your report on
PageSetter II as only a starving man
would. Information about the so
called serious software for the
Amiga is so difficult to come by.
Although your report was wel-
come, it left me still hungry.
All the magazines that I have
ever read have said what a serious
computer the Amiga could be, that
what is needed is for those not
quite so besotted by it to give it a
chance in a business environment
where it would proceed to knock
the socks off those Macs and IBMs.
But if your magazine and others
like it won’t take it seriously
enough, what chance is there of
this happening?
I want to buy a DTP program.
Like most people, I have very lim-
ited funds, so I want to be sure
before I buy. I have seen the output
of a friend’s PageSetter and
although I was impressed at first, I
now realise that the output from a
9 pin printer is not good enough.
If this software is in part aimed
at a semi-professional market, that
same market would want to see the
quality of the output, in compari-
son with the competition, and on a
variety of printers - 9 and 24 pin,
inkjet and laser.
Magnified photos of the outputs
and a selection of available fonts is
minimum information for software
of this nature. So down to the local
Stingy British?
I HAVE spent nearly £900 on mv
system and I feel that what I’ve
got is a professional computer
which I can use for a multitude of
different things. And I do. But
what I fail to understand is why
people will spend £400 on a
machine just to play games.
Why not buy a dedicated
games console that can produce
as good, if not better, audio and
visual effects than the Amiga for
half the price?
I think that the answer to this
is that people are not willing to
printout from a top rate laser
printer.
I put this point to the gentleman
who supplies PSII. He regretted the
situation. Does he know of anyone
who might provide a printout ser-
vice mail order? No.
Is it any wonder, therefore, that
people with a serious intent for
their computer save there money
for however long it takes and buy a
Mac?
Now I know all this is not your
fault and you are only coming in
for this flak because you did print
something of use, but couldn’t you
raise the debate at least and help to
change the situation?
Ron Cavedaschi,
Brighton.
What a load of codswallop. Listen,
Ron, DTP output from any 9 pin
printer is going to be awful. You Ve
discovered that. The output from
24 pins is going to be less awful,
but you'll still get the jaggies
because resolution is limited to the
size of the pins themselves.
Deskjets and Laserjets are the
only viable answer for semi-
professional output. Both print at
300 dots per inch. Some expensive
ones go higher than this.
The example output (three
pages of it!) in the PageSetter II
article was printed out by a Star
LaserPrinter 811 at 300 dots per
inch. There was an actual size
example of output on the front
cover!
DTP output at 300 dpi isn't
going to differ that much from
package to package. The limitation
is the resolution of the fonts. The
CompuGraphic fonts that come
with PSII and Pro Page are limited
>
Hi, I’m the new mail man. Man. It’s my job to sort your scribblin’s and spill the
beans on the problems we all have when DFO: starts to whirr. So if you’ve got some-
thing to say, say it to me.
Tne best letters will be sent prizes of up to
£100, so get a copy of Protext into your drive
pronto. Drop me a line at Ezra Surf’s Postbox
(ESP), Amiga Computing, Europa House,
Adlington Park, Adlington, Macclesfield
SK10 4NP.
spend £25-£40 on a games car-
tridge when they can get the lat-
est Amiga blockbuster from “the
guy round the corner” for the
price of only a blank disk.
This probably sums up the
whole British market - why pay
for something when you can get it
for free? Which is why, in my
opinion, games cartridge-based
machines will continue to flop in
this country.
P Mattocks,
Huntington, Yorkshire.
People see the Amiga 500 as a
games machine because it's being
marketed as such by Commodore
UK. It is a different story in
Germany and North America
where everyone owns at least 2
meg of ram and hard drive.
I think you've hit the nail right
on the head. The British don’t
like spending their money. Then
again, the cost of living in this
country is very high.
If you haven't got it, you can't
spend it, he says, putting on his
ill-fitting homespun philosopher
hat .
shops to get a demonstration. I live
in Brighton you understand, not a
small country village, but did any-
one have a copy of PSII? Of course
not. The only DTP package I found
was a copy of Professional Page.
And it did not work.
So I telephoned the importers.
Could they send me a printout so I
could check the quality? No, but
they gave me the phone number of
a shop which would provide me
with what I wanted.
So telephone the shop. Yes, they
could do that for just one program.
Do I stand any chance of seeing the
output from the rest? No I do not.
Finally, and maybe an even
more important point, when (if) I
do make a decision and buy,
inevitably the quality from my 9
pin printer can never serve in any
professional capacity.
Now if I had a Mac - and here’s
the reason I believe why they are
the only choice for serious DTP use
- 1 could take my disk down to the
High Street and get a first class
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 21
■ LETTERS ■
►
only by your printer’s resolution.
Output them to a Linotron type-
setting machine and they’ll come
out as good as the text you see in
this magazine.
PageSetter II (not to be confused
with the original PageSetter ; which
it seems your friend has) is pro-
duced by Gold Disk, the same com-
pany that produces Professional
Page.
Professional Page can write
pages out as PostScript files (PSII
can’t). Any printing shop providing
laser or typesetting sendees will be
able to print such a file.
If the shop doesn’t have an
Amiga to hook up to its printer ,
then you can transfer the
PostScript file on to the disk for-
mat the shop uses. You’ll need a
program called CrossDos to pro-
duce MSDOS disks, a format both
the Mac and PC can read.
Get knitting!
FIRST they created the 48k
Spectrum. Then they improved it
to the 128k Spectrum. I bought
both of these machines over a
period of time to use as a home
computer and to facilitate one of
my interests shared with my loving
wife nearly 40 years. Then I bought
an Amiga.
I have studied over the years
many, many lists of games with
widely varying interest group
applications, and even more
widely varying age group applica-
tions, but so far as I am able to
determine the Amiga fails to fulfil
mv basic need, which the humble
Spectrum filled to perfection.
It was not just one program
which filled this need, but several;
and all with colour display, good
graphics and printer facilities.
Please will someone out there
produce an Amiga program for
machine knitting. The market
exists, the demand exists, the
research has all been done, and at
least six major knitting machine
companies would probably wel-
come the increased interest the
chance to design ones own patterns
and garments would create.
S K H Artingstall.
Cheadle. Cheshire.
And while you 're about it, whoever
you are, let’s have a landscape gar-
dening program as well.
Six of the worst
THE response of some of vour
advertisers to inquiries from over-
seas is very variable. I wrote to
seven advertisers on September 10
last year and have received a reply
from only one company, Byteback.
Byteback replied by airmail
within a couple of weeks and my
subsequent order of £115.29 was
very promptly processed. Thanks,
Byteback - the company deserves
recognition.
Mark von Dadelszen,
East Hastings,
New Zealand.
HOW glad I am to see the cover
disk back. It’s nice to see that you
listen to your readers. However, I
have a couple of points about the
May disk.
Documentation and source files:
I suppose that with no doc files
you can fit more on the disk, but
trying to find the right issue for the
Getting
organised
I HAVE just splashed out on a
Psion Organiser and want to
link up to my A500. Please
could you tell me if there is
any way of doing this without
buying a comms link, and if
so what kind of software will I
need?
Andrew C Wilson,
Cheshunt, Hertfordshire.
What you need is K-Comm 2
from Kuma (0734-844335).
The lead that comes with the
Psion plugs straight into the
Amiga.
necessary instructions is a bit of a
nuisance. If the doc files are on the
disk, they are instantly to hand. As
for source files, there were really
useful and I hope you will put
more of them on the disk in future.
The support programs for Roll
On seem to have some problems.
Not being a fan of Basic I am not
sure how complete these are, but
here are my bug fixes.
Firstly, both LoadlLBM-
SaveACBM and Cut-A-Puzzle can-
not find their bmap files. The
solution is to put the following line
at the start of each program:
CHDIR "cd007 : reader -
contributions/rollon*
Secondly, Cut-A-Puzzle does not
seem to save the puzzle file out
correctly. To put it right, find the
following code:
OPEN w FOR OUTPUT AS *1
FOR d=0 TO e
WRITE #l,brush(d)
NEXT d
As a guide, if the List window is
full PAL size, then the code is at
the very bottom of the second
screenfull. Now replace FOR d=0
TOe with:
FOR d=0 TO 5123
It seems to work. Well, for me anv-
I way.
Lastly, there is a neat little pro-
gram called TBar hidden in the C:
directory' of the cover disk. Is there
any chance of you putting it on the
disk as a featured program with
instructions?
David Illegible,
Garswood.
Lancashire.
Thanks for the debugging. The
.bmap files were originally in the
Libs: directory / (where they should
be) but at the last minute Jeff
decided to move them into the Roll
On drawer. He must’ve forgotten to
re-check the programs.
Funny though, we think the Cut-
A-Puzzle program works OK as it
is, although vour bugfix works too.
I’ve passed your comments
about the disk on to Jeff. He nod-
ded sagely about the source files
but did a passing imitation of a
pair of scales when he read the bit
about the doc files. He pointed to
the Amiga Computing binder lying
open on my desk. I think he was
hinting that I send you my binder.
Or something like that.
Guarantee please
I AGREE with what most of the
letters in the June issue say about
the high price of games, but I do
not agree that this is a good enough
excuse for breaking the law.
On the other hand will the
games producers be willing to give
►
Roll On bug fixes
Printer Tip 1
REGARDING the letter from Edward Christian
in your June edition of Amiga Computing and
his problems with his Olivetti DM 100-S
printer.
I own the same printer and at first had simi-
lar problems. I must admit that these problems
were brought about by me not reading the user
manual adequately.
This printer emulates the Epson FX-80 and
therefore is put onto Workbench by choosing
“Install Printer” when the Extras Disk is
requested using Epson X(CBM-MPS-1250). This
worked for myself and as I am no computer
huff it must be easy!
I did, however, set up the printer wrongly,
again by rushing rather than reading the
instructions one by one.
I assume that Mr. Christian has the user
manual, so if he refers to Section 5,
“Programming the Printer” and follows the
instructions he should have no problems (pro-
vided he can understand the technical details,
much of which I couldn’t).
Mike Wilson,
Boumville, Birmingham.
Printer tip 2
IN the June issue of Amiga Computing , S
Malian of Devon wrote to you about printer
codes not working when using Basic, and you
said to use OPEN “PRT:” instead. I had the same
problem when using printer codes, but they still
didn’t work with “PRT:”.
After some messing around I found that the
printer device was changing the codes I sent into
other codes. To get around the printer device I
sent the codes to the parallel port by using the
statement:
OPEN "PAR:" FOR OUTPUT AS 5
The printer now receives the codes you send
without being altered.
Robert Boardman,
Bolton ,
Lancashire
22 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1 990
COME TO THE
PROFESSIONALS!!!!
NOW TAKEN visa
2 William Clowes Street
Burslem
Stoke on Trent
ST6 3AP
Tel: 0782 575043
AMIGA SPECIALS AMIGA SPECIALS AMIGA SPECIALS AMIGA SPECIALS
VIRUS
£6.99
POWERDRIFT
£6.99
F29 RETALIATOR
COLORADO
CONQUEROR
16.95
16.50
18.95
DESTROYER
£7.99
FIGHTING
SOCCER
£6.99
SHERMAN M4
16.50
SUPER
WONDERBOY
£7.99
XYBOTS
£6.99
BLOOD
MONEY
£9.95
SHADOW OF THE
BEAST
£16.95
BLACK TIGER 16.50
TV SPORTS FOOTBALL 10.99
TV SPORTS BASKETBALL 16.99
KRYSTAL 11.99
LOST DUTCHMAN MINES 15.99
DEFLECTOR 3.99
FLYING SHARK 6.99
KID GLOVES 15.99
GAULDREGONS DOMAIN 7.99
ICE HOCKEY 3.99
ITALIA 1990 4.99
REAL GH0STBUSTERS 6.99
THUNDERBIRDS
£6.99
ZORK ZERO
£7.99
1. K. +
£6.99
GHOSTBUSTERS 2
LORDS OF THE RISING SUN
DARIUS
16.99
11.99
9.99
PACLAND
£6.99
PACMANIA
£6.99
LASER SQUAD
12.99
TERRORPODS
£4.99
BATTLETECH
£7.99
TOOBIN
£8.99
LEATHERNECKS 6.99
FIREZONE 6.99
DAILY DOUBLE HORSERACING 12.99
EYE 0FH0RUS 5.99
CHR0N0QUEST 9.99
CUSTODIAN 4.99
W. CHAMP BOWING MANAGER 12.99
ALIEN LEGION 5.99
ROLLER COASTER
RUMBLER
£7.99
RODEO
GAMES
£6.99
BATTLE
VALLEY
£6.99
MAGNUM 4 COMPILATION
4.99
INTERPHASE
CHASE HQ
16.99
BLOODWYCH
£8.99
TURBO OUTRUN
16.99
£9.99
GHOULS & GHOSTS
16.99
MENACE
£5.99
BAAL
£5.99
HOUND OF SHADOW 16.99
OIL IMPERIUM 16.99
FUTURE WARS 17.99
DRAKKHEN 19.99
BLASTEROIDS
£4.99
DRAGONS BREATHE
19.99
HOT ROD
* TURRICAN
16.99
CORRUPTION
£9.99
RUNNING MAN
6.99
£7.99
XENOMARPH
14.99
NEBULUS
£4.99
RAMPAGE
£6.99
X OUT 13.99
VINDICATORS 4.99
VICTORY ROAD 6.99
R0B0C0P 16.99
FISH
£7.99
EMPIRE
STRIKES BACK
£4.99
1 1
ROAD BASTERS
UNI MILITARY SIM
6.99
7.99
FOOTBALL
MANAGER 2
£4.99
ROCKET RANGER
RICK DANGEROUS
7.99
15.99
£7.99
5th GEAR
£5.99
ALTERED
BEAST
£7.99
RETURN OF JEDI
£4.99
VULCAN
£7.99
DELUXE
PAINT 2
£9.99
PLATOON 7.99
PHANTOM FIGHTER 6.99
PHOBIA 4.99
POLICE QUEST 9.99
MANHUNTER 9.99
MURDER IN VENICE 7.99
NINJA SPIRIT 16.99
PRISONER OF WAR 9.99
PIONEER PLAGUE 4.99
PHANTASM 4.99
LIGHTF0RCE COMPILATION 9.99
GRIDSTART
£3.99
BATMAN
MOVIE
£9.99
MICROPROSE
£9.99
L.E.D.
STORM
£5.99
F18
INTERCEPTOR
£4.99
D0MINAT0R 4.99
DRAGONS OF FLAME 14.99
GRAND PRIX MASTE5R 6.99
BMX SIMULATOR 4.99
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BATTLEHAWKS 1942 17.95
FUN SCHOOL 2 6*8 12.99
FUN SCHOOL 2 under 6 12.99
FUN SCHOOL 2 over 8 12.99
POSTMAN PAT 7.99
TREASURE ISLAND DIZZY 4.99
TERRY'S BIG ADVENTURE 6.99
NIGEL MANSELS GRAND PRIX 4.99
LEGEND 6.99
CONFLICT EUROPE 6.99
SAINT & GREAVSIE 4.99
DUGGER 5.99
STAR GOOSE 4.99
SAS COMBAT 4.99
LITTLE COMPUTER PEOPLE 4.99
SORCEROR LORD 6.99
ROCK STAR ATE HAMPSTER 4.99
SILENT SERVICE 17.99
RETURN TO ATLANTIS 7.99
STARGFLIGHT 16.99
RAINBOW ISLANDS 16.99
‘IVANHOE ...16.99
•ELVIRA 19.99
•LOST PATROL 16.99
GALAXY FORCE 4.99
DYNAMITE DUX 7.99
CHAMBERS OF SHAOLIN 6.99
WARHEAD 16.95
CRACKDOWN 16.99
E-MOTION 16.99
GRAVITY 16.99
PIPEMANIA 16.99
* LIFE & DEATH 19.99
MANCHESTER UNITED 16.99
PLAYER MANAGER 13.99
* KICK OFF 2 13.99
PERATION THUNDERBOLT 16.99
DRUM STUDIO 4.99
CABAL 16.99
SUPERCARS 13.99
* THEIR FINEST HOUR 16.99
•COMBO RACER 15.99
ULTIMATE GOLF 15.99
•ZOMBI 14.99
* MIDWINTER 18.99
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‘ SLY SPY 13.99
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SHADOW WARRIORS 13.99
•GAMES MAY NOT BE RELEASED
PLEASE PHONE IF IN DOUBT!
TITLE/ITEM
PRICE
TOTAL COST £:
FOR ALL ORDERS UNDER £7 PLEASE ADD 75 PENCE P P
I
Name ...
Address
Tel No:
AMC July
Proprietors S.A and R.A Beach
j
■I LETTERS ■
>
a lifetime guarantee with their
games? The ordinary bloke on the
street can no longer make a backup
copy because of the said law.
R S McCrea,
Greenisland,
Co. Antrim.
Quite a few software houses will
replace a disk if it fails to function .
Others will sell you another copy
cheap , just in case.
Personally I think it’s safest not to
touch the disk at all and stick to read-
ing the instruction manuals instead.
Bald bard
I HAVE an ambition and, well, to
be frank, I need your help to
achieve it. What I want to do is sit
in my front room and create music.
Music to rival great songs like
Primal Scream’s Loaded and 808
State’s Cobra Bora.
To do this I will need a sampler
of some description along with a
piece of software which will hold
my short 10 second bass guitar riffs
and repeat them over and over
while I proceed to mix in guitar,
vocals and a few drums.
I think you get the picture; a
sequencer that will take lots of very
short bursts of music and help me
create a thing of beauty.
So what do you recommend? My
only wish is to sit at my Amiga,
shave all my hair off and pretend
I’m Norman Cook.
Andrew Cowper,
Amersham,
Buckinghamshire.
On the commercial side of things, I
can’t recommend Music-X highly
enough. But it might be worth get-
ting hold of the latest version
(v2.0i) of a shareware sequencer
called MED first.
Although it’s basically a
SoundTracker clone, it multi-tasks,
it supports Midi and it’s very easy
to use. Comes with a bunch of
instruments too.
Write to the author: Teijo
Kinnunen, Oksantie 19. SF-86300
Oulainen, Finland.
Cheap video
I HAVE just bought the Vidi frame
grabber and Vidi Chrome, which is
brilliant for the price. I have been
using it with my video player, but
now I would like to use it with a
camera.
Could you tell which is the
C-ing red
As a very new Amigan I was scan-
ning the magazine shelves for
some in-depth background. Most
titles look too highly coloured and
games orientated for my taste, but
Amiga Computing has the clearest
contents page.
What really decided me to
choose your April issue, however,
was the article on Chaos. A team
with the nerve to present their
readers with a recent mathemati-
cal theory, and in a three part
series no less, just has to be
encouraged.
Yet you could show still more
initiative. Pete Aikin writes ask-
ing for a series on C programming
and you fob him off with some
unlikely story about the high costs
of the hardware expansion, heavy-
weight American compiler and
documentation.
1 stand aghast, coming as I do
from the austere world of the 64k
BBC Micro where we had two pass-
able C compilers and a very good
Pascal at reasonable prices. To me
an Amiga 500 is already lavishly
equipped.
You should be encouraging
modular, structured programming.
Basic is fine for small programs,
but for larger projects C offers a
better modular structure and the
power to create complex data
objects that better represent their
real world counterparts.
The result is - and this should
appeal to your editorial instincts -
that well written C programs look
better on the printed page and
communicate ideas more clearly to
your readers.
So why not apply your
immense power and influence in
the Amiga world to encourage
someone to develop a good, com-
pact, starter C compiler at a starter
price?
It would offer a limited function
library but assure repeat sales with
further specialist libraries for
graphics, engineering, finance and
so on.
As for documentation, you need
look no further than Mark Burgess
whose book AmigaDos is already
one of your Reader Offers.
His C - A Dabhand Guide is the
same price and has all that a begin-
ner needs. His section on the
Amiga begins: “C is the natural lan-
guage to use for programming the
Commodore Amiga”.
Some entrepreneur’s C compiler
and Mark Burgess’ book on C -
what a natural for a possible future
Reader Offer!
Brian Eggleston,
Avonside,
Warwickshire
... and C-ing the light
I’VE acquired a book on C. I have
read most of it, and it looks man-
ageable. I’ve seen some results of
fab programming in C and I
reckon (so does my book) that C
is what I want to learn.
But I need a compiler and
Lattice C is just a wee bit above
my budget. Can you suggest a
cheap or PD compiler?
Ralph Bolton,
Guildford,
Surrey.
There is no doubt that C stands
for “cool”. It’s the best language
to use with the Amiga. But there
is a drawback - a package such
as the superb Lattice C is a pro-
fessionally heavy product and so
cheapest camera I can use and
where I can get it from.
Robert Boardman,
Bolton.
Lancashire
Thanks for the printer tip, by the
way. Now to cameras, and the sur-
prisingly common problem of
choosing one.
How much you want to spend
on a video camera really depends
on you. If you want a camera
which will also film the family on
the beach, then any camcorder
with a standard video out signal
costs money. Lots of money.
It can be used on a bare A500,
but it only starts to become fun
with extra ram and extra floppies.
With a hard drive it is verging on
the positively enjoyable!
Unfortunately, this means that
before you can even dip your toes,
you have open the wallet several
times.
But the times they are a -
changin’. At the moment both Mr
PD himself Stewart C. Russell, and
Tech Ed Aj are currently making
“Ummm” and “Ahhhh” noises
over a certain public domain pack-
age called North C.
It is a polished version of
Sozobon C, and comes complete
with linker and assembler. In other
will suffice. (This means don’t get
the cheap Amstrad/Fidelity one,
w r hich has no video output.)
Prices are high , and digitising
quality is relatively low ; especially
with colour. The dumb beast will
try to compensate for the colour
filters placed in front of it. Sigh.
The cheapest solution is to shop
around for a second-hand black
and w r hite security camera. Make
sure it comes with a lens! Ask your
local security equipment supplier
what they do with the old cameras
they replace.
Results from these cameras are,
words it is an essential disk if you
are interested in C. For details
write to the dude who wrote it:
Steve Hawiin, 54 Gloucester Drive,
Basingstoke, Hampshire. RG22
4PH. Stewart will be covering
NorthC in detail in next month’s
PD column.
Just recently we have been start-
ing to get some really exceptional
disk submissions written in C. It
seems that after a slow start the
language we were meant to use is
finally taking off.
On the programming side, The
Code Clinic will be continuing to
make regular visits to the twilight
zone of K&R. The more requests we
get for C, the more we’ll do about
it.
umm, OK-ish. It depends a lot on
how the camera has been looked
after.
Dry it before you pay for it and
look out for ’‘burnt” spots which
will show as black dots in the
image. Don’t pay more than 100
notes.
The best solution is to buy a
specially designed black and white
camera.
These give stunning results with
digitisers, and cost about 175 earth
pounds each. Rombo (0506
414631) try to keep an Hitachi
model in stock.
24 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
ALL OUR PRICES INCLUDE CARRIAGE & VAT
HSV COMPUTER SERVICES LIMITED (AMC)
23, Hampstead House, Town Centre, Basingstoke, RG21 1LG.
3 1/2" DS/DD Disks Bulk - Fully Guaranteed
25 50 100 250 500
*69p
*63p
‘61 p
*59p *57p
*per disk
1
Lockable Disk Boxes
50x3 1.2" £5.95
100 x 3 1/2" £7.95
Labels
1,000
2,000
4,000
3.5" x 1 .5" (1 across)
£5.25
£9.50
£17.95
3.5" x 1 .5" (2 across)
£5.75
£10.50
£19.95
4.0" x 1.5" (1 across)
£5.75
£10.50
£19.95
4.0" x 1 .5" (2 across)
£5.75
£11.95
£22.95
2.75" x 1 .5" (3 across)
£4.75
£8.50
£15.95
Stationery...
Stationery...
Stationery...
Micro-perf all edges
500
1,000
2,000
9.5” x 1 1" 60gsm
£9.50
£15.95
True A4 70gsm
£8.50
£12.95
£23.95
True A4 80gsm
£8.95
£13.95
£25.95
True A4 90gsm
£9.75
£14.95
£27.95
Special Box and
Disk Offer
100 capacity disk box only £4.95
when purchasing 50 or more disks
Accessories
3 1/2” Cleaning Kit £4.95
Amiga 500 Dust Cover £4.95
Amiga 1000 Dust Cover £9.50
Mouse Mat (Foam) £5.95
Ribbons
Canon PW1080 £2.95
Citizen 120D £3.95
Epson FX/MX/RX80 £2.95
Epson LX 80/06 £2.50
NEC P2200 £4.95
Panasonic KXP 1080 ...£3.95
Panasonic KXP 1124 ... £4.95
Star LC 10 (Mono) £3.95
Star LC10 (Colour) £7.95
Star LC24-10 £4.95
TWi AMI Id A
Amiga 500
upgrade board
.5 to 1 Meg . . .
In seconds!
★ No technical expertise
required
★ Realtime Clock
★ Low power consumption
★ On/off switch
3.5" External Drive
★ Integral power supply
★ Ultra slim metal case
★ Enable/disable switch
★ 12 months warranty
★
★
★
Suitable for Amiga 500/
1000/2000
NEC drive mechanism
Can be daisy chained
ONLY £69.95
ONLY £69.95
inc VAT + Delivery
inc VAT + Delivery
STOP PRESS -BUY BOTH ITEMS £134.95
E3
Order Hotline (0256) 463507
Orders under £8 in value carry a small order charge of £2
Evesham Micros
- RETAIL SHOWROOMS ■
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Evesham
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TP 0386 -765 100
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\^Open Mon -Sat, 9.00 - 5 30^
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7T 0223-323898
fax : 0223-322863
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Specialist Education Centre ^
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fax:021 -433 3825
y^Open Mon - Sat, 9.00 - 5.30^
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Same day despatch whenever possible. Express Courier delivery £5.00 extra.
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til 6XJ
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Order or ACCESS/VISA card details
Government. Education «5c PLC orders welcome
All products covered by 12 Months Warranty
All goods subject to availability. E. & O.E.
Buy with confidence from one of the longest established companies in their field, with a reputation for good service and prices. We have invested heavily
in a computer system to enable our Telesales staff to provide up-to-the-minute stock information, coupled with highly efficient order processing. Our fully
equipped Workshop enables us to carry out almost any repair on our premises. We feel sure that you won t be disappointed if you choose Evesham Micros.
AMIGA
A500
512K
MEMORY
UPGRADE
inc.VAT &
delivery
51 2K RAM/CLOCK EXPANSION FEATURES :
Direct replacement for the A501 expansion
Convenient On / Off Memory Switch
☆ Auto-recharging battery backed Real-time Clock
■& Compact unit size : Ultra-neat design
Uses only 4 D-RAMs for High Reliability
☆ Low power consumption
RAM expansion without clock, only ... £43.00
All A500 Packages also 5
include the following . Battle Squadron High Steel
ONLY £49.
3.5" EXTERNAL DRIVES
using Teac / Citizen drive mechanisms
• Suits Amiga 500 or Amiga 1000
• Teac / Citizen drive mechanism
• On / Off switch on rear of drive
• Throughport connector
• 880K Formatted capacity
• Slimline design
• Very quiet
• Long cable for location either
side of computer
• Full 12 months guarantee
Superb low price!
£64.95
Including VAT
and delivery *
sss ts£S& r
Amiga 500 51 2K Flight of Fantasy pack includes 4 software titles and TV modulator .
Amiga 500 51 2K Batpack includes 4 software titles and TV modulator
Amiga 500 1Mb Batpack {OR F.O.F. Pack) features our 1Mb RAM Upgrade fitted
Amiga 500 Batpack (OR F.O.F. Pack) with Drive includes our 3.5" External Drive
Amiga 500 1Mb Batpack (OR F.O.F. Pack) with Drive
features our 1Mb Memory Upgrade plus 2nd 3.5" External Drive
Wordwright (w processor) Super Huey
Nigel Mansell s Grand Prix Goldrunner
Better Dead than Alien Nighl Walk
. £379.00
. £379.00
.£419.00
. £439.00
. £479.00
AMIGA
SPECIAL
DEALS
External 5.25* 40/80 track switchable drive £ 1 14.95
Omega Projects MIDI interlace E 29.95
Vortex System 2000 40Mb Hard Disk E 499.00
Vidi-Amiga including Vldi-Chrome El 10.00
MiniGEN Genlock Adapter £95.00
Contriver Hi-Res replacement Mouse package ... E 22.95
A-Max Mac Emulator without Mac ROMS £129 00
A-Max Mac Emulator with 2x 128K ROMS £249.00
Music-X incredibly powerful music package £129.00
Home Accounts (Digtta) £18.95
Philips CM8833 colour monitor inc.cable £259.00
Amiga 500 dust cover £4.95
CBM A590 HARD DRIVE
Good quality Commodore 20Mb Hard Disk,
including its own PSU and built-in cooling
fan. Features sockets for up to 2Mb of RAM
expansion (see below). 80ms Access time,
with up to 2.4Mb/sec transfer rate.
Autoboots when used with Kickstart 1.3.
only £379.00
A590 512K RAM Upgrade kit £36.00
A590 1Mb RAM Upgrade kit £70.00
A590 2Mb RAM Upgrade kit £135.00
RAM upgrades fitted tree when bought with A590^y
NEW! Genuine replacement
Commodore Amiga P.S.U £39.95
PRINTERS
All prices include VAT/delivery & cable
We use .ind recommend Star printers
because they olfer an unbeatable com-
bination of features, print quality, reliabil-
ity and value. When buying, please note
we arc now offering 12-month on-site
maintenance contracts for £7.95 extra.
Hugely successful 9 pin printer, the Star
LC10 provides 4 NLQ fonts (96 print
combinations) at 36cps and 144cps draft.
Includes 4K buffer and IBM/parallel inter-
face. front panel operation, plus paper
parking, allowing single sheets to be used
without removing tractor paper.
Only £159.00
Colour version also available,
Only £209.00
Prices Include 2 extra
black ribbons free of charge.
Star LC24-10 multifont 24pin printer, super low price
Star LC24-15 wide carriage version of LC24-10. 200/67cps
Star LC15 wide carriage version of LC10. 180/45cps
Star LC-10 Mk.ll faster version of LC10, 180/45cps
Olivetti DM1 00S 9-pin 10’ printer 200/30cps inc. 1 year on-site warranty I ..
Panasonic KXP1081 reliable + sturdy 9pin 10’ printer 120/24 cps
Panasonic KXP1 180 super new feature- packed multifont 9 pin 1 1’
Panasonic KXP1124 new good specification multifont 24 pin 11"
Panasonic KXP1624 wide carriage version of KXP1124
Epson LX400 (was LX800) 10’ 180/25 cps
Epson LQ550 good 24pin 150/50 cps
Epson LQ400 new 24 pin 180/ 60 cps with 8k buffer
.. £239.00
.. £409.00
.. £329.00
.. £199.00
.. £129.95
.. £159.00
.. £179.00
.. £259.00
.. £399.00
.. £179.00
.. £349.00
.. £229.00
A-MAX
MACINTOSH EMULATOR
Enables Apple Mac and Mac Plus emulation on
the Amiga. Cartridge includes socket for connec-
tion of Mac Floppy Drive so that Mac disks can
be read In directly. Compatible with all current
versions of System. Versions available with or
without Macintosh 128K ROMS (required).
Without 2 x Mac 128K ROMS £129.00
WITH 2 x Mac 128K ROMS £249.00
5.25" External Drive
Our high quality 5.25’ drive is capable of
a number of configurations including 40
or 80 tracks (360/720K format). Colour
matched to the Amiga, quiet in operation,
and includes a throughport connector.
£1 1 4.95 l " clud,nfl VAT
& delivery
PYE 15" FST
TV/Monitor
(MODEL 2325)
With Its dedicated monitor
Input, this model combines
the advantages of a high
quality medium resolution
monitor with the convenience
of remote control Teletext TV -
at an excellent low price 1
£249.00
Includes VAT, delivery
and computer
connection lead
Jolyon Ralph puts the boot in while
A] gets his head into the official
Amiga reference books
E veryone who uses
the Amiga knows that
there are disks that boot and
disks that don’t. Take the
Workbench disk, for example.
When this is thrown in the
drive it autoboots
Workbench. However, when
you put the Extras disk in
on power-up, it does nothing
except ask you to put in
another disk.
More experienced users
will know that a non-
booting disk can be turned
into a booting one simply by
issuing the INSTALL
command from CLI.
What is not so readily known
is how this works.
When a disk is inserted
in DFO: after a power-up
or reset, the Amiga loads
in the first two sectors of
the disk and examines
them. If everything is correct
it will carry on booting the
disk. If, however, the
bootblock is empty or
contains an invalid
bootblock, it will ask for another disk.
The bootblock contains a machine
code routine to check if the DOS
library is available and, if it is, returns
control to booting the disk. There is
enough space on the bootblock to tag
on your own routines after this check
and before the return to the booting
process.
The listing shows a standard
INSTALL type bootblock after disas-
sembly. The first thing to notice is that
before the code starts there are three
longwords of data. These are very
important. If they are not correct the
disk will not boot.
The longwords begin with the
string, “ DOS”,0 . which signifies an
AmigaDos disk and tells the Amiga
which file system is used. The zero
value indicates the
StandardFileSystem, a 1 would
indicate the FastFileSystem, which is
not yet properly supported on flop-
pies.
The second word is a checksum to
make sure the bootblock has not been
corrupted or tampered with. It is
calculated by adding together all the
bytes in the bootblock - except the
checksum itself of course - and
inverting the total.
The third word is a pointer to the
root block of the disk and should be
left equal to 880 (S370). A
disk is divided into 80
cylinders, each of which
is two tracks, upper and
lower. Each track is
further divided into 11
sectors of 512 bytes each.
Hence the total storage
of an Amiga disk is: 512 x
11 x 2 x 80 = 901,120
bytes or 880k (lk = 1,024
bytes).
The rootblock - not to
be confused with
bootblock - is at the
beginning of cylinder 40,
hence it is 11 x 40 x 2 =
880 sectors into the disk.
However, this longword
does not seem to be used
and can be changed to
anything without
harming the bootblock.
I would strongly advise
against changing it
unless you really need
the extra two bytes - it
may be needed in future
versions of the Amiga’s
operating system.
After these 12 data bytes, there are
1,012 bytes left to store the machine
code program to be run on boot-up.
The official boot code, which must be
included in the program if you want
the disk to boot, takes only 37 bytes,
leaving 975 bytes free for vour own
code.
What sort of things can you do on a
bootblock? Well, firstly there is the
dark side of things. Viruses like the
SCA and Byte Bandit viruses are code
programs stored on the bootblock that
execute at the boot stage, writing out
new bootblocks to other disks inserted
>
1
1
• ;
i
r
i
i
i
i
•
i
dc.b ’DOSM)
; Signifies a DOS disk
rxveq ?0,dC
; Clear dO
i
i
• :
dc.l xxxxx
; Bootblock checksum
i
•
i
dc.l $370
; Pointer to root block
return:
i
i
rts
; Carry on with boot process
i
• ;
boot:
; The start of the machine code
\
1
•
i
lea D0Sna.T.e(PC) ,ai
; point to 'DOS Library* string
error :
i
i
i
jsr Fir.dResident(a6)
; Execute EXEC Library routine
noveq #-l,aO ;
; Put -1 in dO (error return code)
i
• i
tst.l dO
; Check if library is open
bra.s return
i
•
i
beq.s error
; If not, error
i
i
nove.l dO,aO
DOSnane:
i
i
• ;
i
nove.l 22(a0),a0
; Get library revision number
dc.b ■dos.library’.Q
i
i
i
•
1
• :
1
1
1
i
•
■ PROGRAMMING ■
On the Cover Disk
>
into the machine.
There is no shortage of PD boot-
blocks to fool your Amiga into
thinking it only has the one disk drive
or only has 512k of memory so you
can run some badly-written German
demo or game that freaks out on an
expanded system.
On this month’s cover disk I have
included two bootblocks for you to
mess around with. The first will allow
you to switch the low-pass sound
filter on or off. Note that this can be
done on most A500 or A2000s but not
on the A1000 or very early A500s.
The second is a bootblock to switch
between 50Hz and 60Hz modes. This
dc.v $9989 # $fffe,$182 l Sre9,$i»8,-4l
dc.v $M9,$M',$182 > mi,$ll8,l
dc.v
dc.v Sffff.Sfffe
; End copper
; twice to rule sure
grafu inckin 'sources: Icpiss.btup* ; graphics for options
grif ix2 mcbin "sources: lop jss2.b>up’ ; graphics for title
dosnine dc.h 'dos. library 1 , 8
gfxnane dc.b 'graphics. library', 8
1) bootvriter filter .boot
Bcotvri ter VI. 8. Written by Jolyoa Ralph of Hetral Network.
§ Amga Conputing 1998.
Operation successful. Bootblock installed on Ml: Renove disk and reboot.
Writing your bootblock is made simple
with just one command from the CLI line
1) clieckapis
Checking your Machine....
You have the standard PAL Agnus chip fitted.
You have the standard DENISE chip.
1)1
Sigh. Perhaps our next new'
Amiga will have the new chips
needs the new Fatter Agnus chip so
will only work on a very new Amiga.
You can test which Agnus chip you
have with my CheckAgnus program,
also provided on the cover disk in the
Code Clinic drawer.
There’s also a program in there
called Bootwriter, which will transfer
a program you have written on to the
bootblock of a disk.
Once you have tried out the two
example bootblocks, look at the source
code for either, as they are almost
identical. You will find that the
beginning is the same as the standard
AmigaDos bootblock described earlier,
but with the addition of the following:
moven.l d0-d7/a0-a6,-(sp)
bsr.s start
movem.l (sp)+,d0-d7/a0-a6
This bit of code allows the boot-
block to call your own program - the
instructions following the start: label -
before returning to the boot process.
All the registers are saved before
calling, and they are restored on
return. This is very important.
There are a number of other points
you must consider when writing code
for a bootblock. To start with, all code
is loaded into chip memory. Do not
use a SEGMENT command, because it
would be meaningless in a bootblock.
In the Devpac 2 assembler, set
program type to executable, debug
info to none and output to a disk file.
This will create an executable file
which will have 32 bytes of AmigaDos
information at the beginning of the
file. The Bootwriter program ignores
this data, which is not needed for the
I N THE Code Clinic drawer you
will find the Bootwriter program.
To install one of the bootblocks
included on the cover disk, put the
disk you want to install the boot on
into DFO: and type from the CLI :
bootwriter xxxx.boot
where xxxx.boot is either the
60hz.boot or the filter.boot code. You
will have to copy these two files,
plus Bootwriter, to RAM: if you only
have one drive.
The program will give an error if
the file is not a bootblock or if it
cannot find the file. Expect an error if
the disk is write protected or corrupt.
Bootwriter will calculate the
bootblock checksum and write it out
to the disk. Reboot your Amiga and
your bootblock should be working.
Also in this drawer is a program
called CheckAgnus. Run this from
CLI and it will tell you which
versions of the Agnus and Denise
chips you have in your machine. If
you have the new ECS (Enhanced
Chip Set) Agnus, you can use the
60Hz bootblock.
However, just because you have
the ECS Agnus doesn’t automatically
mean you have 1 meg of chip
memory. Amiga 500s need an
alteration to the motherboard first to
allow this.
bootblock. Assuming the bootblock is
correct and the options have been set
as stated, you should have no prob-
lems installing a custom bootblock.
Another point to remember is that
the bootblock will not load into the
same address each time, so you must
use PC-relative code, for example: lea
dosname,al must be replaced with lea
dosname(pc),al.
Any non-PC relative code will cause
the bootblock to crash or produce
unpredicted results.
Your code must be shorter than
1,024 bytes or it will not fit on to the
bootblock. You don’t have to worry
about calculating the bootblock
checksum, leave it set to zero because
Bootwriter calculates it for you.
Bootwriter will not recognise a file as
a bootblock unless the first longword
is set to “DOS",0.
You can use any library commands
in the bootblock except those from the
DOS library.
A lot can be done in lk - many
>
28 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
MAIL
ORDER
SOFTSELLERS
6 BOND STREET, IPSWICH, SUFFOLK IP4 1JE
MAIL
ORDER
5A DOG'S HEAD STREET, IPSWICH, SUFFOLK (RETAIL)
36A OSBORNE STREET, COLCHESTER, ESSEX (RETAIL)
MAIL ORDER PURCHASE LINE (0473) 257158/210605 FAX NO. 0473 213457
JOYSTICKS
Cheetah 125 £7 99
Cheetah Starprobe £11 99
Pro 5000 Extra Glo Green £13.99
Pro 5000 Extra Glo Red £13.99
Pro 5000 Black £ 11.99
QS Turbo III £999
Euromax Racemaker £24.99
Konix Navigator £11.99
DISC BOXES WITH DISCS
3.5" 40 Holder Lockable with 10 3.5’ dsdd discs £ 12.99
3.5' 40 Holder Lockable with 20 3.5" dsdd discs £19.99
3.5' 40 Holder Lockable with 40 3.5“ dsdd discs £ 33.99
3.5" 80 Holder Lockable with 10 3.5" dsdd discs £15.99
3.5" 80 Holder Lockable with 40 3.5“ dsdd discs £ 35.99
3.5" 80 Holder Lockable with 80 3.5" dsdd discs £55.99
PERIPHERALS
Replacement mouse + mouse holder + mouse
mat £29.95
Four Player Adaptor £5.95
Mouse Mat £4.95
Joystick Extender £5.95
Dust Cover £4.95
DISCS
QtylO Qty 20 Qty50 Qty 100
3.5' dsdd
Unbranded £7.99 £14.99 £34.99 £59.99
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DISC BOXES
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CHEQUES AND POSTAL ORDERS PAYABLE TO SOFTSELLERS. POST AND PACKING FREE IN UK. OVERSEAS £1.50 per item. Subject to availability and price change without
notice. Not all titles released at time of going to press. Shop prices may vary, but personal callers can claim advertised discounts on production of cut-off slip.
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All prices include VAT and delivery.
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Telephone: (0530) 411485
■ PROGRAMMING ■
moons ago it was the standard
memory provided with computers like
the ZX-80 and ZX-81. I have even seen
a game on a bootblock. The examples I
have shown are fairly simple, but the
principle behind all bootblocks is the
same.
Finally, a warning: Before installing
any bootblock make sure you are not
installing it on an original piece of
software. Always use a backup. Games
with custom bootblocks, most of them
at least, will be destroyed by installing
a new bootblock.
Do not install a new bootblock on a
disk which already has a custom
bootblock. Check the disk with VirusX
first. If it reports that the disk in DFx:
has a non-standard bootblock, then do
not use Bootwriter on it.
A blank formatted disk is a safe one
on which to test out Bootblock
routines.
Proper programmers need
the proper books
W E GET one type of
programming query more
than any other here at the Amiga
Computing offices, and it is always
along the lines of:
'7 want to start programming the
Amiga. Do I need all those books?”
This is a very valid question
because “those books” are the official
Amiga reference books. A complete set
of three could cost you more than £80
and several inches of valuable shelf
space. Do you really need them all?
What are they actually about?
Well, yes, you do need them if you
Hardware Reference Manual
THIS is the book all hackers swear
by and all serious programmers
swear at. If you are at all interested
in programming the Amiga as
though it were nothing more than a
C64 with extra bells and whistles,
then this book is all you need.
It deals with the various aspects of
the Amiga by examining everything
at the very lowest level. The custom
chips, the interface hardware.... you
name it, it’s here.
The various chapters concentrate
on the copper, the playfield
hardware, the sprites, the audio
department and the blitter. The
sprite section alone is a wonderful
example of a well-written book.
The Hardware Reference Manual
will teach you about the chips that
actually make multi-tasking and
Intuition possible. If you would rather
stick to programming in C or Basic,
then you will not find anything here
that will make vour life easier.
want to program the Amiga. There are
various other publications around,
most notable being the excellent
Abacus books, but for the last word I
would go for the offical guides.
However it is not very likely that
you will need all three books, not all
at once, anyway. What follows is a
brief description of the information to
be found in each book.
By the way, before signing any
cheques make sure you are buying the
latest version of these tomes of
knowledge. The ones you want are a
palish blue colour.
Rom Kernal Manual -
Libraries and Devices
THIS is the book that will send
Wimp fanatics everywhere into
shivers of ecstasy. Well, perhaps
that’s a slight exaggeration, but you
get the general idea.
If you want to know anything about
Intuition, you’re in luck, for there is a
complete tutorial on using the
Amiga’s wonderful operating system.
But there is so much more, with
introductions to animation and
graphics, disk operations and speech.
Be warned though, this is no book
for Basic programmers. You may
find some of the examples useful,
but to try everything out properly
you’ll need to be programming in C.
There are hundreds of example
listings, demonstrating everything
you need to know.
For programmers new to the
Amiga, here is the definitive guide
to writing software. It should
probably be the first Amiga book
you buy.
I AM always on the lookout for
clever solutions or techniques.
Your Basic program to calculate
pi to 30 decimal places might be
just what someone is looking for.
Or have you found a neat way in
assembler or C to create
software sprites with the blitter?
Want to be famous? Send it in.
The Code Clinic
Amiga Computing
Europa House
Adlington Park
Macclesfield
SK10 4NP
MicroLink: Mag048
CIX: amigacomputing
Rom Kernal Manual -
Includes and Autodocs
AFTER all the excitement of the first
two books, this one may come as a
slight disappointment. The majority
is made up of a list of all the
functions available from within the
libraries. If you want to know the
exact format of the command to plot
a pixel, then it’s here somewhere.
The function lists are called
autodocs because they have been
automatically extracted from the
original source code. Can’t say fairer
than that.
The other important section of the
book details the IFF format in
excruciating detail. Starting with
graphics examples, then moving on
to sound and text, this is where you
look if you want an explanation on
how to make your programs IFF
compatible.
Unless you want the IFF info, this
volume is best thought of as a
companion to the Libraries and
Devices.
30 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
HAMPSHIRE MICRO COMPUTERS LTD
Unit 11, Kingdom Park, Brunei Way,
Segensworth East, Titchfield, Hants P015 5TJ
Tel: 0489 885911 or Fax: 0489 885651
Visitors welcome at our showroom. Mon-Fri 9-5.30
12 months guarantee. Many more items in stock.
Phone for full price list/catalogue.
Securicor delivery £7.00 + VAT, Post £1.00 + VAT,
Large items £3.00 + VAT
Printer prices include
Paper & Cable
All prices are
exclusive of VAT
Other
Accessories
Citizen 120D
£104
Citizen Swift 24
£265
Hewlett Packard
Deskjet Plus
£585
Philips 8833
Colour Monitor
£204
Panasonic 1124
£229
Panasonic 1180
£139
Integrex Colour
Jet Printer
£540
Amiga A500
'Flights of Fantasy'
£312
Star LC10 Colour
£169
LC10& LC2410
Cut Sheet Feeder
£51.30
Cumana Disc Drive
£72
Star LC10 Mono
£129
Star LC10 Mono
£129
Universal Printer
Stand YU S25A
£22.61
Amiga 501 Upgrade
£103.48
Amiga Batpack
£312
Star LC2410
£195
Amstrad L03500
£191
Amiga Class of 90's
£460
Epson LX400
£139
Epson LQ400
£215
Epson LQ550
£283
RIBBONS
1200D Original £4.00
LC10 Colour £6.00
LC10 Mono £4.00
LC2410 £5.00
Panasonic 1124 £8.65
Deskjet Cartridge £14.05
x 10 3.5“ discs D/S D/D £7.39
3.5" 100 Disc Box £6.91
3.5" 50 Disc Box £5.17
Copy Stand £8.65
FULL RANGE OF AMIGA
SOFTWARE ON REQUEST
Access & Visa welcome.
Prices subject to change
NEW-WIZARD’S GUIDE TO BASIC-NEW
Months of research and programming have gone Into developing this highly effective and
enjoyable way to learn BASIC. The whole concept is designed to help you learn more quick-
ly and achieve impressive results in no time. Your confidence and skills will rise rapidly as
you make your way through this course. The Wizard's BASIC Guide comes on two disks
with a sophisticated electronic book - You can get help in the form of text, moving demon-
strations. graphics, sound for speech with just the touch of a button. This is far better than
any paper book and you can access it while you are working on any of the programs. The
course starts at beginner level, and carefully rises to expert level. You will learn to master
graphics, colour, sound, movement, speech, windows, menus, dataprocessing etc.
Hundreds of example programs are included. We have also included a good number of
exciting and useful demo programs - e.g. speaking mastermind with animated head, an
electronic address book, a fast moving racing car game, a synthesiser and many more. This
is a value packed package which will leave you with a wealth of knowledge and expertise.
Excellent value - £12.95
BEGINNERS GUIDE TO AMIGADOS
This is a new and effective way to take you from a beginner to and expert on AmigaDOS.
This highly popular package has now been updated to cover BOTH 1.2 and 1.3 versions. The
package consists of a guidebook, a tutorial DISK, a crib card and FREE additional software
which could cost you over £20 to buy elsewhere. This is clear and well thought out guide to
AmigaDOS commands. The emphasis is on learning through experience and doing - not
just reading like most other books. It shows you how to set up your own boot disk with your
own customised messages that will boot in seconds (unlike workbench!). It will show you
how to make your Amiga independent of the workbench disk - no more "Please Insert work-
bench disk". We include the new and incredibly fast Lazer-Load picture loader so you can
include your own pictures (e.g. from DPaint) on your boot up sequence. The disc also
Includes a gallery of high quality pictures. We supply a password system which will prevent
unwanted users from using your Amiga. Also, included are several other high quality pro-
grams. Guide Book. disk, cribcard etc. Only £12.95.
MASTERPIECE
'THE BEST PICTURES I HAVE EVER SEEN ON THE AMIGA" reported a recent reviewer. This
package takes you on a spectacular trip through the world of art. We have selected many
masterpieces from the world’s art treasures and take you on a historical guided tour. Every
picture is of true quality and is displayed using thousands of colours. To help you enjoy the
world's heritage of art to the full we have included comprehensive notes on each artist and
painting. All the famous names are there - Leonardo Da Vinci, Monet, Renoir, Constable,
Picasso and many, many more. Whether you are and art expert or know nothing at all about
art, this is a wonderful way to appreciate the great paintings of the world (and appreciate the
graphic capabilities of your Amiga as well). The package comes with two disks packed full
of pictures and information.
Excellent value - £12.95
SALE PRICE - This month only - MASTERPIECE ONLY £7.95
UK P&P - FREE and by FIRST CLASS post
Overseas orders welcome - Europeans please add 50p
Outside Europe please add £1.50 for Airmail
All payments in pounds sterling please.
Cheques P.O.'s to:
Wizard Software (Dept A.C.1) 20, Hadrian Drive,
Redhills, Exeter, Devon, EX4 1SR
commodore
FROM £349!
I Amiga A500 package
£379
Prices Include VAT, delivery & warranty.
Please add £15 for overnight delivery.
All systems are tested before despatch.
On-site maintenance options available.
I Amiga B2000 with 40MB auto- £ ”| 099
boot hard disk, special trade-in offer
I Amiga B2000 latest UK modd, £949
with 1.3 Roms and 1MB chip-RAM
I Amiga B2000 As above, plus £ *| 495
A2286 PC-AT bridge board & sj" disk
I Amiga B2000 With A2286, plus £ 1 795
A20S0A/2092 20MB autoboot hard disk
B2000 ♦ AT Bridge Board ♦ 40MB autoboot hard disk £1995!
PERIPHERALS
mWGA
■ A2620 68020 Card ♦ 2MB 32-bit £1095
■ A2630 25MHz ♦ 2MB 32-bit £1295
■ A2630 25MHz ♦ 4MB 32-bit £ 1 495
■ A2286 PC-AT board & &\ n drive £ 595
■ A2090A72094 40MB autoboot h/d £595
■ A2090A/2092 20MB autoboot h/d £345
■ C2058 8MB Board, 2MB installed £315
■ RAM for above, per 2MB ... £175
■ Flicker Fixer Muftiscan Adaptor £349
■ 14" Multisync high-res monitor £445
■ DS/DD disk ottos, por 10 £ 1 0
■ C1010 NEC 3$" slimline drive £79
■ A501 plug-in RAM/clock 512K £99
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■ A590 20MB autoboot hard disk £375
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■ Amdrlve 50MB autoboot hd disk
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■ Star LC10C colour, 120 cps, NLQ £229
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B Superplc Genlock /pigitisor £595
£99
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£889
£179
£59
^■■^^/^ten^^^FR^^cop^of^UPERP^^wM|^ver^^2000j
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PRODUCTIVITY
SuperBase Personal 2
” Professional v3
SuperPlan
Maxiplan SOO
Ruby Comm
Arena Accounts
Personal Tax Planner
CanDo
Top Form
Excellence!
Professional Page vl.3
CG Outline Fonts
Pagesetter 2
Publisher's Choice
ProText v4
Pen Pal
VlzaWrlte Desktop v2
I Lattice C v5.04 £169 os
I Dos-2-Doa 34. os
I PC Emulator vl.2 24 os
I C64 Emulator v2 39 os
I SuperBack 2 49 os
I Workbench vl.3 Enhancer 14. os
Relational database power, without programming' 59. os
The Rolls-Royce of Amiga databases" (NCE) 154.es
Pro Sproadshoot with business graphics, time planner 49 ss
Fast Amiga spreadsheet with loxt/graphics/spooch 59 es
Comma software, inckrdos Ruby-View and Ruby-Torm 69 es
Salos, Purchase and Nominal Lodgors plus invoicing 159 es
UK Income Tax computation program, from Digita 39.es
Can YOU do it without CanDo? 139.es
Forms generator with over 100 ready-made lorms 69.es
WP with graphics, thesaurus, dictionary etc. 129.es
Includes WP. Desktop, colour separations. CAD 189.es
35 fonts for ProPage. ProDraw, PageSetier 2 139.es
£79 es ■ A/C Basic vl.3 149 es
79 es ■ Hlsoft Basic V1.05 79.es
79 es ■ Amiga C for Beginners 18. 4S
99 es ■ Amiga C Advanced Programmers 24.es
69 es ■ System Programmer's Guide 32.es
j3olourPj^reaMlm<^AL^olo^
CREATIVITY
■ X-Cad Designer
■ Graphics Starter Kit
■ Sculpt-Anlmate 4D
■ Sculpt-Anlmate 40 Jr.
■ Sculpt 30 XL
■ Aegis Sonlx v2.0
■ Pro-Video PAL Plus
■ Pro Video font sets
■ TV-Text Professional
■ SummaSketch Plus
■ PAL Rendale Pro
■ Rendale 8802 Genlock
■ MlnIGen
■ De Luxe Paint 3 £62 es
■ Design 3D 69.es
■ De Luxe Video 3 89 es
■ PageFlipper ♦ F/X 69.es
■ Anlmaglc 69.es
■ Fantavlslon 29.es
Entry-level professional CAD system (needs iMB) 89.es
Aegis Images/Aegis Animator/Aegis Draw/Aegis Artpak 69.es
3D graphics and animation for the professional user 369.es
As Sculpt 4D above, without HAM ray-tracing 109.es
Much faster than Sculpt 3D, with 24-bit plane option 129.es
Score, edit, synthesise, improvise. Midi compatible 49.es
Professional video titter with fonts, extra fonts available 189.es
Choice of 5 sets of 4 anti-aliased fonts, each .. 69.es
Latest full-feature video titter, includes Zuma fonts 139.ts
12x12 Graphics Tablet with fast driver software 42S.oo
£645.oo ■ Dlglvlew Gold V4.0 139.es
199 es ■ Dlglpalnt 3 59.es
109.es ■ Professional Draw 114.es
■ ■■ IF YOU WANT IT TOMORROW... CALL US TODAY! ON 001-546-7256 ■■■
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AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 31
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■ SHORTIES ■
H ISOFT is entering the
vicious world of
publishing with a new
range of books, hoping to
retain and expand its
reputation as a value-for-
money and user-friendly
sort of organisation.
DTP at a Glance is one of
the first of many volumes
off the production line and
is aimed, cunningly
enough, at those of us who
are just starting out in DTP.
The book does not
attempt, in only 90 pages, to
tell you all you ever wanted
to know, but does tackle the
terrible problem of jargon.
DTP is where the two
jargon-ridden industries of
computers and publishing
mix.
The results are under-
standably horrendous.
Unless you’re on a degree
course in semantics, it’s not
much fun.
As well as explaining
terms used, attempts are
made to discuss the
concepts behind the various
processes under considera-
tion. Topics cover such
matters as balance and
layout design as well as the
more mechanical aspects of
binding, folding and other
production concerns.
Fonts are covered in
exacting detail. After
reading this book you will
be able to describe a font in
such overboggling detail
that absolutely nobody will
have a clue what you’re
going on about except
another DTP freak. Or a
typesetter.
The text is accompanied
by frequent and relevant
diagrams which are
explanatory and useful, a
bit of a rarity in this sort of
publication. The examples
are consistently well
chosen, unambiguous and
well presented.
Although only a rela-
tively short book, many
different topics are covered
- and quite well at that.
Some subjects conspicuous
by their absence are the use
of colour, drop shadows,
bleeds and captions.
DTP is one of those
newish fields that attract
lots of authors and publish-
ers who reckon they can
write any old waffle, bung a
nice price tag on it and
flood the shelves of Foyles
and Waterstones with so
many copies that unsus-
pecting newcomers open
their wallets first and ask
questions later. This is not
one of those books.
Although I do find it highly
ironic that the book was
actually typeset by a
company in Luton.
It is by no means meant to
Roll
DTV!
Y ET another light blue
Abacus book plops on
to the desk, this one
promising to reveal the
deepest secrets of desktop
video.
DTV is the latest hobbyist
buzzword, and in its
simplest form is the combi-
nation of computer gener-
ated output with live or
pre-recorded video signals.
The archetypal example is
putting credits such as Best
Boy and Key Grip over your
summer holidays, but this is
only a tiny part of what is
possible.
There are two main
problems facing those trying
to get started in desktop
video: The high cost of the
equipment and a general
lack of information. This
book does a good job of
redressing the second point.
Early chapters do the
right thing and get all the
Publish and
be damned
be a definitive reference
book on DTP, rather a
primer for those just starting
out or as a jargon manual
for the desktop poser. Its
convenient size and
realistic price help it to
achieve just that.
Nic Veitch
tedious mucking around
with video signals and the
various bits and bobs of
jargon out of the way.
Everything you ever wanted
to know about different
video standards is
explained in a way which
actually makes a bit of
sense.
By far the largest portion
of the book deals with all
the delicious technical
equipment and software
you’ll need. This section is
well written and explains
the pros and cons of as
many different types of
genlocks, sound and video
digitisers as the author
could get his hands on.
Essential reading to ensure
you don’t waste your money
on inferior products, or on
something which is not
exactly what you had in
mind.
Finally, some general
hints on production and
scripting, all rounded off
with ideas for making use of
your new-found skills and a
few example shopping lists.
I have several slight
reservations about this
book. To start with there are
no photographs. None at all.
With a media as completely
BOOK REVIEW
Title: DTP at a glance...
Author: Rob Pickering
Publisher: Bookmark
Publishing
ISBN: 1-85550-002-7
Price: £9.95 (90 pp,
paperback)
visual as video, it seems
crazy to use only one or two
simple mono drawings to
illustrate points. Instead of
describing the process of
calibrating cameras with
colour bars and so forth,
Abacus could have printed
some useful charts. A
missed opportunity to be
really clever.
The other faults are only
consequences of the book’s
stateside origin. As a result,
not all of the products
detailed in the text are
available in this country.
Even if they were, the
nature of the PAL and NTSC
colour standards casts a
shadow over their compati-
bility.
If this book had been
written in Europe it would
be the best reference book to
date. As it stands, it’s about
the nearest you’ll get.
John Kennedy
BOOK REVIEW
Title: Amiga Desktop
Video Guide
Author: Guy Wright
Publisher: Abacus
ISBN: 1-55755-057-3
Price: £18.45 (257 pp,
paperback)
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 33
AMIGA
4 Mb
68020
CARD
£349*
* Price includes 68020 + 1Mb of ram.
• Enjoy the performance of 5 5 Amigas under
the lid of your computer
• Run graphics packages at lightning speed
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• Loads Kickstart into 32-bit SUPER-FAST
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• Our RAM price is more cost effective than
any A501 compatible (runs faster too!)
• THE 20-CARD is compatible with the A500
and the A2000
• Runs programs 5-6 times faster than a
standard Amiga
• THE 20-CARD comes with 1 Mb installed
(remaining 3 Mb socketed)
• THE 20-CARD operates at a FULL 16 MHz
(asynchronous design)
• THE 20-CARD has a socket for the 68881/
68882 maths coprocessor (16 MHz)
• THE 20-CARD uses low price 256x4-1 00ns
DRAMS (has no wait states)
• THE 20-CARD has a superior DRAM design
enabling it to out perform some 20 MHz
cards
• THE 20-CARD is the ONLY card to auto-
sychronise with the Amiga perfectly
• THE 20-CARD fits internally into the 68000
socket and is compact in design (7.75 x 5.3
inches overall dimensions)
• AFTER A WEEKS USE YOU’LL WONDER
HOW ON EARTH YOU MANAGED WITHOUT
IT!
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5 25* DS/DD
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All prices correct at time of going to press
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"I'm totally awed by what you have done!... it's beautiful ,
especially when the lights are oft... congratulations..."
Arthur C. Clarke
author of 2001: A Space Odvssev
Distant Suns (Commodore Amiga™ only), the award-winning
planetarium blockbuster, is now available in the UK in PAL!
Endless entertainment and education tor all. Ask tor it!
Virtu af tKeaCity Laboratories, Inc.
2341 Ganador Court
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 USA
34 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
A ATARI ST and C*
Sixteen Bit Superdeals from the Sixteen Bit Specialists!
CUSTOMERS PLEASE NOTE! When comparing prices remember ours include fast delivery by courier
Amiga A500 BAT Games Pack
featuring BAT PACK or the new
FLIGHT OF FANTASY PACK
£399.00
BAT Games Pack includes:
★ Amiga A500 51 2K Keyboard with Built-in 1 Megabyte disk drive
★ Free TV modulator worth £24.99 allowing you to use the Amiga with a normal
TV
★ DELUXE PAINT II GRAPHIC PACKAGES
★ PHOTON PAINT II graphics with animation worth £70
★ FREE, only-just-released BATMAN-THE MOVIE games software.
★ NEW ZEALAND STORY arcade games software.
★ FI 6-INTERCEPTOR - amazing 3D flight simulator software.
★ A further £230 worth of Games Software, including BUGGY BOY,
MERCENARY, BARBARIAN, WIZBALL & six more games.
★ FREE MOUSE MAT JOYSTICKS and 10 BLANK DISKS.
★ Amiga BASIC, Amiga EXTRAS 1 .3, Workbench 1 .3 PLUS the Amiga Step by
Step Tutorial
★ All leads, manuals PLUS MOUSE and mains plug!
FLIGHT OF FANTASY Pack Includes:
★ F29 RETALIATOR - fantastic NEW flight simulator - replaces Batman
★ RAINBOW ISLANDS - smashing new arcade game - replacess New
Zealand Story
★ ESCAPE FORM THE PLANET OF THE ROBOT MONSTERS - replaces FI 8
★ Everything else listed for BAT Games Pack.
AMIGA A500
CLASS OF THE 1990's
BUSINESS + EDUCATION PACK
£549.00
Features:
★ Amiga A500 + TV Modulator
★ Midi Interface + Software
★ Kind Words II word processor
★ Page Setter DTP
★ Super Base Personal Database
★ Maxiplan 500 spreadsheet
★ Amiga Logo, BBC Emulator
Deluxe Paint II
★ Mouse Mat, 10 Blank disks,
and disk wallet
AMIGA 1 MEG
BAT GAME PACK
£499.00
1 Meg Bat Games Pack includes:
★ Fitted 1 Megabyte Memory Expansion + Real Time Clock
Card
★ Everything listed for the A500 Bat Game Pack
★ DRAGON’S LAIR 1 MEG MEGAGAME!
EXTERNAL DISK DRIVES
Atari SF314 1 Megabyte £139.00
Amiga A1 010 1 Megabyte £109.00
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Atari Megafile 30 Hard Disk £439.00
New! Commodore A590 20 meg hard disk £369.00
A590 Hard Disk & Memory Upgrade installed Phone
Seikosha 24 pin LQ including interface lead for ST/Amiga £239.00
MONITORS
Commodore Amiga A1084 Stereo colour Monitor inc. lead £269.00
Atari SCI 224 Colour Monitor inc. lead £259.00
Atari SMI 24 Mono Monitor including lead £119.00
Philips CM 8833 stereo colour monitor inc. lead for ST or Amiga £259.00
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Amiga Arcade
Take care of the sense and the sounds will take care of themselves
Curiouser and curiouser
AFTER a swift spot of contract
signing Magnetic Scrolls is
licensed to Virgin Mastertronic.
Magnetic Scrolls was formed in
1984 by Ken Gordon and the near
legendary Anita Sinclair.
Their first release was The
Pawn, a multi-award-winning
blockbuster which set the standard
for excellence in computer adven-
tures.
The First title to come under the
wing of Mastertronic is
Wonderland, an extravaganza
based on the works of the bizarre
genius Lewis Carroll. This will
include a re-think on the gaming
environment with new features
such as interactive illustrations,
auto-mapping and other goodies.
More than 100 locations -
including the sherbet fountain -
and some of the weirdest puzzles
you are ever likely to come across
make up the game that everybody
will soon be talking about. Make a
date with Wonderland on the
shelves in early June.
All fired up
TO CELEBRATE the imminent
release of Projectyle, the new
mega- groovy hyper-brilliant game
from Electronic Arts, a press play-
off was organised.
Unfortunately what with the
handsomest, most brilliant mem-
IF YOU haven’t had enough
of football games already
Empire is releasing a World
Cup 90 compilation.
The pack will include Kick
Off, Tracksuit manager and
the widely acclaimed
International Soccer. The
World Cup Year 90
Compilation will retail for the
almost on the ball price of
£24.99.
bers of staff being all tied up writ-
ing a magazine and that sort of
thing we could only spare Jeff.
Well, I’m sure he was never
odds-on but he didn’t do too badly
and came a close-runner up to
Clare somebody from some other
less worthy mag. Bah!
The game itself is a sort of three
teams of four players and a puck
affair. There are five(?) quarters to
the pitch, each with a goal - one
for each team and a “frantic” zone
where anyone can score.
With up to three human players
at once the game can become fairly
fast and furious - even downright
violent, but in-game options can
bias play towards the strategic and
statistical.
The completed game should be
out by the time you read this, at a
big and bouncy price - £24.99.
U.S. GOLD is in a spin about soon
to be released Rotox which fea-
tures a new (it says here) technique
called Rotoscape. This will appar-
ently rotate the whole world
through 360 degrees.
Rotox - the man, the cyborg, the
game - was an elite marine injured
during combat and transformed
into a metal mishap by 22nd
Century science. Now the powers
that be have constructed a proving
ground to test their latest invest-
ment.
Shoot nasty things, dodge tricky
things and make your way through
10 levels of rotating real estate
before you get out. Bah, would’ve
been better off with a wooden leg.
The wonderful Rotox should be
around your local store circa.
June.
36 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
All the latest news on
the games software scene
It's not quite a Jaguar
REVIEWED
IF YOU’RE the sort of person who
drools at the thought of getting
behind a turbocharged, inter-
cooled, four cylinder in-line, 16
valve dual overhead cam engine
then Thalmus has a surprise for
you.
The company’s new title, Q8
Team Ford Rally , will put your
mitts on the steering wheel of a
Sierra Cosworth 4x4. Three stages
of rally action will test your razor-
sharp reflexes.
If you get bored with the route
you can take off on vour own
across country or on the public
highway. Watch out for the boys in
blue though - remember, they
drive RS Cosworths too!
THIS MONTH
90% Player Manager
86% Tennis Cup
84% Their Finest Hour
83% Treasure trap
81% Wipe Out
79% The Third Courier
78% Cloud Kingdoms
77% Tower of Babel
70% Spidertronic
64% Ultimate Golf
60% Sim City Editor
58% Gravity
37% Impossamole
34% Protector
A MORTAL being propelled
through time, wandering the
paths of infinity in search of his
homeland. Sounds like an aver-
age Friday night on the way
home from the pub, but actually
it is the plot to Scavenger, a
soon-to-be-released game from
Hewson.
Brilliant horizontally
scrolling graphics at 25 frames a
second and eight channel sound
are promised.
Scavenger is due for release in
late July.
Early graphics from
Scavenger by John Phillips
CORE DESIGN, the name behind
such titles as Rick Dangerous,
Action Fighter, Dynamite Dux
and the urn, interesting
Impossamole (reviewed in this
issue) is now going it alone.
First solo effort will be
Corporation, a game of indus-
trial espionage in the near
future. A nasty Megacorp is
planning and building the ulti-
mate killing machine. Your aim
in this 3D role-plaving adven-
ture is to nip inside the well
defended research labs and nip
out again with some incriminat-
ing evidence.
Corporation will be sneaking
into all well-defended computer
stores in July.
THE SALES CURVE team are
the latest entrants in the “let’s
change our name” competi-
tion. Their forthcoming titles
Rodland (a cutesy thing), Big
Run (a rally thing) and Saint
Dragon (a blast}' thing), not for-
getting SWIV (the new name
for the Silkworm sequel) will
now be published under the
name The Cu... sorry, what was
that Dan? You’ve changed it
again? Sigh... will now be pub-
lished under the name
“Storm”.
Is that OK now Dan? Or is
your name still Dan?
Freakout
weirdo stuff
ALPHA WAVES is not just a new
game but a new concept. At least
that’s what the press release from
Infogrames says.
Apparently the game will also
“stimulate the brain and bring it
to a deep relaxation which can
provoke a state of dreaming” -
probably French for “it sends you
to sleep”.
Actually that’s probably a bit
cruel. It looks very interesting and
there are a few mellow dudes
around this office who wouldn’t
mind getting hold of a copy.
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 37
Bandits at tea-time!
Gravesend is in for a battering
The belly gunner of a Heinkel is always on the job
W ELL I mean, the Hun
should’ve known better
shouldn’t they? For a start they
hopelessly outnumbered the brave
Few, a situation which has not
failed to give a result for the Brits
in a good few centuries.
Secondly, the venue chosen was
the corner of some foreign field,
which was very convenient for the
RAF lads. They could be very
British having a spot of high tea or
a game of bowls, pop off for an
afternoon’s war and then back
home for bridge and cocktails in
the evening.
Lastly, and most unfortunate of
all for the Bosche, was the time
pencilled in for the big bash to take
place - their finest hour. I mean
anyone else would’ve seen it was a
complete non-starter, but there you
go-
The first thing to do when you
get hold of a copy of TFH is install
the bally thing on your hard drive.
Saves all the nasty messing about
changing disks, don’t you know.
Clamber into the cockpit of your
Spitfire or Hurricane and give the
foe a jolly good battering. Or, alter-
natively, you can go and work for
Jerry, flying Stukas, Heinkels,
Dorniers and the like. God knows
they need you, no backbone don’t
you see - can’t even play cricket
would you believe.
You’ll find the cockpit layouts
are fairly accurate, everything in its
familiar place. Controls are all on
the keyboard but you can use the
stick or this new fangled mouse
thingy for flight control. No foot
pedals for rudder controls.
Probably had old Dougie Bader on
the design team.
Keep a record of a few of the few
on the roster. Sorry, no chalk
option. Names and planes is all,
but it keeps a running total of mis-
sions flown and confirmed kills.
Fly a few training flight to get
the hang of things, then move on to
proper combat or a full war sce-
nario. Your overall battle strategy
will have to be pretty damn cun-
ning what with the Luftwaffe out-
numbering you and everything.
Plan your campaign on the big
map, deciding where and how to
scramble.
Eyesight’s not what it was old
boy, can’t quite make out the call
sign on a passing Hurricane but I
can still distinguish them from a
Mel09 at about two miles.
Something to do with filled poly-
gons and stuff so the technical
CHMERfl
Conbot Filn Review
ALTITUDE
ALTITUDE
CLIME:
CLIMB
HEADING
HEADING
PITCH
AMMO
CURRENT CLIP
S
par
pan
w
j||g
ri
Remake a few Da\id Niven films with the in-flight camera
38 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
■ G A M E S ■
cockpit
bomb
bay
, gunnery
tall order.
bit
down
the
go
over
you
green
pleasant
and
the
land
old
Dads
pitchfork
Army
will
have
soon
back
more saurkraut
No
for
your
you
johnnies tell me.
The wonderful noises of lead
ripping through enemy canopy
seem different. Rather unimpres-
sive. They tell me you need to
have at least one Meg to hear them
as well, whatever that means. Pish!
Activating the in-flight camera
will give you a permanent record
of your best kills. When you come
to replay the film due to some dev-
ilishly fiendish technical whatnot
you can position the camera any-
where you like. Chasing behind
vour plane, following bombs, from
the ground and all that sort of rot,
don’t you know.
If you decide to go and work for
the foe you’ll be on double time.
They must be short of decent crew,
because in the bombers you have
to fly the whole thing yourself -
past is a foreign country and
all that, so I think we should leave
petty jingoism aside. However
morally bankrupt the idea is, there
is nothing like a good dogfight, and
the golden age of dogfighting was
1940.
Mr Churchill also once said:
“Jaw-jaw is better than war-war”.
He obviously never played this
game.
Green
Tunc uour rodio. Press M for the Infliqht Mop/Rodio.
Tally ho! The old spitfire Mkl doesn't like inverted flight
Their Finest Hour
£29.99
US Gold
Realism
Strategy
Gameplay
Value
Overall - 84%
Your plor»ft has bean hiT.
Always look in your rear-view mirror before pulling away
JL
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i? _ i?
CoriboT Flight: 4
H* ill H-3
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* ISRF
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Status:
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RMMD
DRMRGE
FUEL
ENEMV
5TRNDRRD
ETRNDRRD
5TRNDRRD
TOP REE
RESET
A map can help but it all looks different at 20,000 feet
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 39
TIT A T 7TTI 1 f A HT A nTTfl
Come on ye greens
R ECENTLY I sent a messenger
pigeon to good old Green, the
pipe-smoking wheelchair bound
Reviews Editor, with the following
message: “Listen spongehead, I’ve
got hold a copy of Anco’s Player
Manager, it’s wonderful, do you
want a review' ?”
Back came his carrier sparrow
(anything to save money) with the
reply, “Um, ahh, well, that be the
question laddie. Now then, don’t
be getting all hasty like. I'll have to
consult me Old Fogeys Almanac
first”.
Many days later I visited his
feather and dropping-festooned
office and shook him aw'ake. “Well
you dozy old retard, what’s it to be.
A brilliant and witty review of the
best management-with-action-bits
game ever or a poke in the eye with
a blunt stick ?”
“Eh, what did you say your
name was sonny ?” he muttered
w r hile brushing away the cobwebs
covering his pipe.
Lacking the requisite patience
for dealing with the old and infirm
I grabbed him by the tw r eed lapels
and screamed, “Do you want a
review or not you dozy half-wit?”
“Eeh, ar suppose so then lad.
Weil have 400 w r ords by tomor-
row’s pigeon post then”.
With a growing sense of horror I
suddenly realised that I’d written
over 200 words already, and that
there was scant room left to wax
lyrical about this most magnificent
of management games. Enough
scene setting then, on with a par-
ticularly terse review'.
You are the player manager of a
Third Division club, with a decent
size squad, money enough to raid a
very large transfer market (there
are more thanl.OOO individually
detailed players in the league), a
cup competition, coaching tactics,
and the chance to play in the Kick
Off style games (w'hich only last
six minutes in total).
A board of directors monitors
managerial performance, giving
you the boot if you cock it all up,
vetoing transfer deals if they
involve running up a large over-
draft and actually suggesting you
spend some money when you have
a huge cash mountain.
Players are rated on physique
and skills out of 200. these
include pace, stamina, endurance
and violent tendencies. Be aware
that players with poor stamina vir-
tually give up moving towards the
end of a game.
Passing, shooting, tackling and
goalkeeping are the skills, and are
relevant according to position
played. Some skilled players may
be better off being retrained to be a
striker instead of say a midfield
player.
the transfer market is excel-
lently done, involving limited time
per week and price haggling.
Selling players requires them to be
placed on the transfer list, and you
having to wait for offers from inter-
ested parties. It is invariably
jJ Ejj*j _
Pi I Ilf WJ'J-J'Ei LiJj
■engrail
Posi t ion
Resilience
Aggression
S
This yr-j L;j5 f . yr
iJl-TELiMJ
mm mm mm mi
PRICE HI
l/UIib
S'J V PLfiVSK
Say 60 k and I'll throw in my back issues of Amiga Computing
40 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
■ G A M E S ■
impossible to shift a player for
what the board seems to think he
is worth.
Tactics are everything. There are
the standard 4-2-4, 4-3-3, 4-4-2 and
5-3-2 formations, but any of these
can be replaced with your own
custom formations and tactics. The
pitch is split into 12 sections, and
the players can be re-arranged
regarding what positions to try and
take when the ball enters each one.
Comers and kickoffs are set piece
plays that can also be designed.
When playing the actual games
you can sit on the sidelines (even-
tually you have no choice because
of retirement) or play in the games
in Kick Off fashion. There are sub-
stitutions and injuries, disciplinary
points for yellow and red cards,
the ability to change tactics at cer-
tain points, and the ability to just
control the player- manager and
stay in position.
The gameplay is much harder
than normal Kick Off, and it fea-
tures pitches and goalkicks from
Extra Time. Watching the game is
tense and nervy stuff (you can
always skip this part and have the
computer generate the result only),
and knocks the so called match
highlights of other games into
touch.
Needless to say its totally fab,
and makes Football Manager I and
II look like total plop. Why delay,
buy today, football heaven... and
other slogans Anco will use in its
adverts with us, etc, etc.
Duncan Evans
nn rvrpTrirrrvn
Cheap and cheerless
V ALUE for money. Dontcha
just love it? The concept of
budget software is a good one. Sell
games cheaper than everyone else.
Sell lots of them. Get rich.
Everyone is happy. Aren’t they?
The only drawback is that
because the game is to be sold at
what is seen as a cheap price, no
one worries too much if it’s not
totally state of the art.
The software companies reason:
“Ah, but you knew it was cheap.
You only get what you pay for after
all”.
This time I get annoyed. Selling
a game for a fiver is not a licence to
release rubbish.
Protector looked as though it
might be quite good: Simultaneous
two player action, a couple of heli-
copters, nice copper-list sky. Then
you start to play it.
Here is the plot. You collect all
the parts to a bomb. Your opponent
(who is a friend and/or the Amiga)
does likewise. Once you have all
the parts you drop the bomb on
your opponent’s base. Game over.
The alleged “gameplay” comes
about because both players are hy-
ing to collect the same parts. It’s
like two people trying to fill buck-
ets by stealing water from the other
with a yoghurt cartoon. But less
fun.
My total time spent playing
Re-arrange the following words into a well known phrase -game, rubbish, is, this
before chucking in bin - half an
hour.
Now if someone were to release
a good game at this budget price I
would be a lot happier. And you
never know, they might sell even
more too.
But if I’m expected to enjoy
something so primitive that the
authors were too embarrassed to
put their real names on it, then 16
Blitz has another think coming.
John Kennedy
Overall - 34%
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 41
Get some pre-match practice against the machine to smarten up your game
I
\\J IMBLEDON is almost upon
V V us, so what could be more
likely among this month’s crop of
software than a tennis game.
Admittedly most software
houses this year don’t seem to be
interested in sports sims unless the
constituents include two teams of
11 men, a leather ball, several
thousand trouble-dogged fans and
a spot of politics. So I suppose it is
a bit of a blessing.
Although the instructions for
Tennis Cup are a little on the spar-
tan side, there is quite a lot to do
before you start strutting it on the
court, so to speak.
There are six modes of gladito-
rial racket combat to chose from:
Exhibition matches, tournaments,
doubles, Davis Cup. ..virtually
every avenue of permutation is
ruthlessly explored.
You must also design your
player. This takes the form of
adjusting up and down his statis-
tics for forehand, backhand,
smashes, lobs and service.
Points can be subtracted from
one statistic and added to another
until you like the look of them. The
programmers must have picked up
a few tips from the Minister for
42 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
Employment here. Among other
things you can decide is their
nationality, which determines
which terribly rendered national
anthem is played before the match.
I was very upset to find there
was no Irish option. There wasn’t
an English option either but that’s
understandable since England
doesn’t have any tennis players.
(And I suppose Ireland does? Ed)
Different venues can be selected
from clay courts, indoors, grass and
hard courts. Personally I didn’t
notice any behavioural difference
in the ball, but maybe I’m just not
in tune with these things.
The graphics are, as you would
expect from a French game, excel-
lent. Animation is well done, as is
the scrolling in the split views. The
automatic service machine is a nice
touch.
The most impressive thing about
the Tennis Cup though is the
sound. Excellent ball effects, the
temptation is to think that they
may have been sampled at some
exclusive world final or something.
Likewise the grunts that accom-
■ G A M E S ■
pany some of the more adventur-
ous plays could almost certainly
come from Connors on one of his
good days. Even the score is read
out in traditionally officious
speech-synthesis.
Depending on your position on
the court and the style of shot your
opponent plays, you have a limited
vocabulary of returns. Spins, lobs,
smashes, volleys and the like are
all catered for.
The game will automatically
assume you wish to play backhand
if the ball is behind you - very
clever of it because half the time I
accidentally ran too far.
It can be a little difficult to get
into, but there is a training option
and you can slow 7 down the ball
speed. Training forms an important
part of the game in tournament
mode. Training before the match
can improve your statistics in the
areas selected, as does experience
throughout the match.
A whole series of vicious oppo-
nents will give lasting challenge,
especially in the championship
and Davis Cup scenarios. If you
think you’re so much better, you
can always get a friend to play.
That should makes things a bit
harder, particularly if you play a
doubles match with both of you on
the same side. Players won’t actu-
ally collide, but the confusion is as
profound as in the real thing.
One of the only decent tennis
sims around, so there’s not much
competition, especially as every-
one and his uncle is concentrating
on Linekar simulators at the mo.
Full of nice touches, like the line
judges heads following the play
and the ball boys running out. The
only thing missing is the rain.
Green
Tennis Cup
£24.99
US Gold
Overall - 86%
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 43
GAMES ■
rrn T7 4 nnnr Tin 4 n
Do you believe in Cod?
decreasing air supply. Mapping is
essential, as is noting where the
canisters of oxygen are.
While a good gulp of the invisi-
ble stuff is to be recommended,
don’t waste it by grabbing a canis-
ter while you still have a nearly
full tank. The result is that your
diver’s suit bulges at the seams and
the little man takes on the aspect of
a very fat person indeed.
After a rip gurgling tune on the
intro and title page (listen and
watch it all the way through) the
rest of the sound effects in the
game live up to the high standard
set, perfectly complimenting the
underwater thievery.
If there’s any gold in a room an
indicator flashes. This is just as
well because half the time you
can’t see it. Moving boxes and
crates, patrolling jellyfish, starfish
and killer crabs are all there to help
or to remove one of your five lives.
This being an arcade adventure,
there are locked doors requiring
various types of key, which thank-
fully do not disappear once used.
The catch is that you can only
carry four of them.
The gold disappears into some
sort of aquatic Barclays Bank auto-
matically, so you don’t have to
carry it around.
There are puzzles aplenty, some
of them bordering on the Fu Man
Chu for fiendishness.
You can’t get behind these crates
where the gold is? What do you do?
You use a loose crate to make a
patrolling fish detour round the
back and involuntarily push the
gold out.
When the fish-like menace
grows to great, or you find yourself
trapped by a clutch of crabs, let
loose the killer piranha! This is the
fishy equivalent of a smart bomb -
it goes into a beserk feeding frenzy,
consuming every living thing in the
room, except yourself, thankfully.
The 100+ rooms are going to
keep you busy for quite a while,
but none requires Mensa eligibility
to solve or table tennis player reac-
tions to execute.
With balanced garaeplay, good
graphics, snappy sonics and a
sense of humour which nothing
else has these days, TYeasure Trap
represents a return to traditional
gaming values. A decent challenge,
and a damn fine game.
Duncan Evans
Once in a lifetime, water flowing
underground. Into the blue again,
into the silent water, under the
rocks and stones there is water
underground. Letting the days go
by, into the silent water. Once in a
lifetime, water flowing under-
ground. Same as it ever was, same
as it ever was....
There’s more to it, but I sense a
writ from EMI if I continue.
Treasure Trap is all about money
and being under water. It’s about
searching the 100+ rooms for every
single bar of Esmeralda’s gold.
Swipe all the gold and win the
game? Easy, huh?
Hardly. Treasure Trap marks a
return of the isometric 3D arcade
adventure made famous by
Ultimate so many years ago and
given a brief reprise last year by
Microdeal with Airball.
Considering how good these games
were, it’s a surprise it’s taken so
long for another stab at the genre.
Anyway, being underwater,
TYeasure TYap deals with all things
aquatic and, naturally, an ever
W E aren’t saaiillliinngg, we
aren’t saaaiilliinggg, under
the waatttteerrr, under the
seeaaaaeeaaa. No, that’s not quite
right, is it..? Ahem. Like a bridge
under troubbllleeed waattterrr...
Nope, definitely off course there.
Aha, I have it - the definitive
musical accompaniment to
Treasure Trap. Altogether now:
One of the hazards of being overinflated
A return to traditional, wholesome isometric graphics. Where did I put my ZX?
Treasure Trap
£24.95
Electronic Zoo
Sound
Graphics
Gameplay
Value
Overall - 84%
IBM PC VGA SCREEN SHOTS
IN JUST 200 years the Earth is controlled by the TV networks and defence
industries. The ultimate TV phenomenon is coverage of the military Olympics...
and the ultimate event is 'Ground Defence'. Gladiators man deadly craft, their
mission to protect the communication tracks and ground installations.
Their goal - and yours - is to be knighted ' Defender of the Ground'.
ThunderStrike is 3D arcade action, using solid polyhedrons and solid relief
techniques to create a breathtaking contoured landscape. With super-smooth
3D scrolling the gladiator's craft hunts and attacks the enemy vessels in deadly
low-flying combat. The action is tracked by a camera following close on the tail
of the player's craft, whether flying along a trench or hugging the undulating
contours of the ground.
Spectacular graphics - fully light-source shaded solid 3D vectors
(in 256 colours on VGA)
Choose to pilot a variety of sleek Defender class fighters
Heads-up display featuring radar
displays and weapon indicators
Various weapon pick-ups, shield
drones and turbo- thrusters
Watch the TV ratings go up as the
action gets hotter!
Available from the end of June 1 990 for
the Atari ST, Commodore Amiga (£24.99)
and the IBM PC (EGA/VGA) (£29.99)
Millennium, Chancery House
107 St Pauls Road, London N1 2NA
MILLENNIUM
Two down, one to go...
A border guar d is directly in your path
armed with an AKH7.
Friedrichstr.
Unarmed
So much forglosnost, the border guards are distinctly unfriendly
L AST November history was
made when the East Germans
destroyed part of the Berlin Wall
which had separated the city since
1961. I only mention this because
the wall (as in Berlin, not Pink
Floyd) plays quite a part in this
new game from Accolade. In their
version it’s still there.
The briefing is this: Three couri-
ers were on route to a secret meet-
ing in Brussels. Each had a vital
component relating to NATO’s non-
nuclear defence plans. Two have
been assassinated, one remains. He
was last seen in West Berlin.
As a CIA agent you make selec-
tions as to your cover and past his-
tory. These directly effect the
playing characteristics of your
agent as he moves through the
rather violent backstreets of the
erstwhile German capital.
You are not completely on your
own. A computer in your apart-
ment building will keep you up to
date on the latest developments.
An answering machine will play
silly messages to anyone who rings
while you were out and a fax
machine is always handy for relay-
ing photos of suspects back to HQ
for an identity check.
There is also a mission support
centre in the middle of the city to
provide you with weapons, money
and useful items of equipment
such as bomb-sniffers, bugs and
lockpicks.
The streets tend to get a bit
monotonous what with all the
trudging up and down and what
have you. Not every shop front has
a shop behind it, though there are
plenty of locations. Most of them
are one of four things, an office
block - which are very hard to get
into - a hotel - ditto , a bar - diffi-
cult to get out of - or a shop which
never seems to have anything you
might want to buy.
The game is very realistic in that
there is an awful lot of boring,
humdrum legwork to be done
before you uncover anything. The
streets are slightly more dangerous
than you might believe, with well
armed muggers and drunks every-
where. Good job there’s a doctor at
mission support.
Money isn’t much of a problem.
You get a daily allowance of 1000
DM plus whatever you can get out
of your cashpoint account. Some
things are expensive, like a false
set of East German papers, but the
commodity you are most short of is
time. You have only a few days
Christopher Reeves did it better
some lost scrolls (sacred) from the
Five Guardians. He is given special
powers, and sent back to the Five
Lands where the Five Grauniads
live.
Incidentally, none of this actu-
ally happens. You never see the
spaceship, or the beings; all you
see is a cartoon (static) of a flying
mole in tights and sneakers. The
one concession to progress (after
all, any machine could do the pic-
ture) is a technically competent
House track. And yes, it does have
the irritating piano break that all
House tracks have.
To give the game even more nos-
talgia (or better, deja vu, or better
still, unoriginality) Monty must
defeat each Guardian at the end of
each level to gain a scroll, but the
last Guardian can only be beaten
D EAR oh dear oh dear ... those
Gremlin people must be
going for the nostalgia market with
Impossamole. Either that, or
they’ve got themselves badly
caught in a time warp, because
Impossamole is one Old Time
game.
Labouring under the misappre-
hension that people ever liked
Monty Mole to start with, Gremlin
dug the little creature up again.
Happily basking on a sun-
drenched shore, The Mole with the
Least is suddenly beamed aboard a
passing spaceship, to be con-
fronted by two alien beings.
Instead of using the correct
greeting for the situation (viz. “Eat
Plutonium Death, you disgusting
Alien Weirdos !”) he is coerced
into helping the beings recover
46 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
■ GAMES ■
away from you
INTELLIGENCE
STRENGTH
KNOWLEDGE
INTUITION
Hohfinzollernstr,
Unarmed
The reassuring sight of a heavily armed NATO officer -at least you won’t get mugged
before the info will inevitably fall
into the hands of the Russians.
Another completely menu-
driven adventure, the front end
feels a bit constricting at times but
plays OK. The sense of paranoia in
the old city is wonderful. Good
luck. Oh, and watch your back...
Lucinda Orr
The Third Courier
£24.99
Accolade
Aura
Graphics
Gameplav
Value
Overall - 74%
HEALTH
LEVEL
H
EXPERIENCE
Chat
Threaten
once all the other scrolls have
been recovered. And the thing is,
Impossamole, like all the Monty
Mole games before it, is a twee lit-
tle platform game.
A well written platform game
can be a thing of beauty and a joy
forever. It should have pixel-per-
fect positioning, keyboard controls
(for the ultimate accuracy), high
contrast between the player and
the background, three (or five)
lives, and the bits that are nasty to
stand on should be immediately
recognisable as such.
That’s the trouble with these
new machines. The sprites have so
many frames that you can’t tell the
difference between a super mega
hyper Big Leggy jump, and an ade-
quate mega hyper Big Leggy jump
(something to do with Hayzee
Fantayzee?).
There are so many colours that
graphics people put nice smooth
edges around sprites so you can’t
tell when there’s a collision. Bah -
bring back monochrome sprites
and dot- crawl, I say.
Each of the worlds has a theme;
one is a mine, another is the Orient
(keep those Origami ducks off of
me !), yet another is the jungle
(would you credit it, a ‘nana-lob-
bing Gorilla ?) and the last one is
Arctic-ish.
There is a fifth, but it is
reserved for people who have com-
pleted the other four. As you only
have energy, rather than good old
fashioned ‘lives’, you have to be
some mean ubermensch to manage
it. Either that, or very desperate.
Remember the cute little
“Please Wait... “ that you used to
get with all games ? Well, Gremlin
have given you the wait while lev-
els load in, but haven’t given you
the message.
What they have done is given
Impossamole
£19.99
Gremlin
Overall - 37%
you a loader which punishes the
drive into eldritch gritchings, and
does funny things with the serial
port, and gives you nothing but
blackness to look at in between
levels. C’mon, people, what ever
happened to the art of the loading
screen ?
What I find particularly amus-
ing in this game is that one of
Monty Mole’s “power-ups” is a can
of worms. Sums up the game quite
nicely, I think.
Stewart C. Russell
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 47
■ G A M E S ■
verse of individual aliens is taking
part, I suspect it’s something pretty
special. At least as good as a
Blankety-Blank chequebook and
pen.
When it comes down to the
technicalities of the game, the
graphics might be a bit naive. The
sounds might even be a bit simplis-
tic. Does this worry me? Naw, not a
lot. And the reason for is that the
game is fun. F,U,N, fun. The two
player version is terrific. Look
upon the single player version as a
way of practising until your mate
agrees to play again.
Of course, no gameplay is per-
fect. Wipe Out has several flaws,
the most major of which is a com-
pletely incomprehensible front-
end. Lots of little meaningless
icons lead to numerous incompre-
hensible screens. You end up fran-
tically clicking here and there on
the little metallic grey shapes until
the game gets around to starting.
By making the program a touch
more user friendly, the consider-
able manual could have been
halved in size.
But when I’m heading at break-
neck speed towards an energy wall
with an alien on a Scorched Earth
special board intent on sliming me,
the only thought in my head is
whether or not I can pull off a high
speed banked turn and still sur-
vive...
John Kennedy
Cleans right through to the shine
A typical race - player one (me) gets creamed by player two (the birdman of Epsilon minor
bottlenecks, forcing loops and
packing as much wall into as small
a space as possible. If your timing
is good you can attempt to jump a
wall, but don’t get too cocky, for
it’s not easy. One tiny error of
judgement and you’re history.
There is plenty to do in the
background while waiting for the
next competition. You can upgrade
your hoverboard by adding brakes
(you big pansy) and better engines
with turbo boosters and go-faster
stripes. Or you can bet on and
watch the outcome of other races,
thereby earning yourself more
cash.
Then when you’re really getting
the hang of things, you can move to
a new planet and challenge the rac-
ers there. If you do well, you can
skip to a new solar system. And if
you do really well, you may be
called upon to take part in the All
Time Greats Inter-galactic tourna-
ment. Your prize? I dunno, I didn’t
get that far. But if the entire uni-
The aftermath of a game - Aj hits a wall at 60 clicks a second
O LD computer games never
die. They just fade away into
obscurity for a few years and then
come back bigger, better and faster
when you least expect them. If
there are only six plots for
"Whodunit?” novels, then there are
even less for computer games.
Take this offering from the man
with the big nose, Mr Gonzo. The
object is to fly your hoverboard
around a track, leaving a trail for
your opponent to crash into.
Sounds familiar? You remember
Tron don’t you?
Of course you do - it was that
Walt Disney film about a bloke
trapped inside a computer who
spent his time playing with bad-
dies on light cycles. It has been cal-
culated that the film generated
more computer games based on the
"surround your enemy” principle
than the number of people who
saw it at the cinema.
A smash hit written in Basic for
The user-friendly front end. Apparently
every micro ever made, it’s been a
while, but now it’s back. And this
time it’s in code with simultaneous
split-screen, two player, three
dimensional graphics.
Racing your hoverboard requires
all the old tactical skills - designing
Wipe Out
£19.99
Gonzo Games
Sound
Graphics
Gameplay
Value
Overall - 81 %
WIPE OUT
48 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1 990
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A miga Software
688 ATTACK SUB 16.99
ADIDAS CHAMP FOOTBALL 15 99
AMOS (GAMES CREATOR) 27 49
AMOS SPRITES 1000 9 99
AMOS VIDI DIGITISER . 5149
ANARCHY .. 15 99
ARKANOID 12 99
BACKGAMMON PROF 12 99
BALANCE OF POWER 1990 .15 49
BARDS TALE 1 7.99
BARDS TALE 2 16 49
BATMAN THE MOVIE 15 99
BATTLE OF BRITAIN 15 99
BATTLECHESS 16 49
BATTLEHAWKS 1942 16 49
BEACH VOLLEY 15 99
BEYOND ZORK (INFOCOM) . 24 99
BLADE WARRIOR 15.99
BLOODWYCH DATA DISK 9 99
BOMBER 18 49
BOMBER MISSION DISK 13.49
BRIDGE PLAYER 2150 16 49
BUDOKAN 16 49
C-LIGHT (3-D ANIMATION
• DRAWING) 31.49
CABAL 15.49
CARTOON CAPERS 12 49
CASTLE MASTER ....... 15 99
CHAMBERS OF SHAOLIN 14 99
CHASE H Q 15.99
CHESS CHAMPION 2175 18 49
CHRONOQUEST 2 18 49
CLOUD KINGDOMS 15.99
COLLOSUS CHESS X 15.49
COLONY (1 MEG) 17 49
COLORADO 15.99
CONQUEROR 15 99
CONTINENTAL CIRCUS 1199
CRACKDOWN 16 99
CUTTHROATS ( INFOCOM) . . 1 6 49
CYBERBALL 12 99
CYCLES 15 99
DAMOCLES 15 49
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DEJAVU2 15 49
DELUXE MUSIC CONST SET 46 47
DELUXE PAINT III 51.49
DEMONS TOMB 15 99
DOUBLE DRAGON 2 13 49
DRAGON NINJA 15 99
DRAGON S LAIR (1 MEG) . 23 49
DRAGONS BREATH 13 99
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DYNAMIC DEBUGGER 16 49
DYTER-07 12 99
E-MOTION 16 99
ELVIRA MISTRESS OF THE DARK 19 49
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F29 RETALIATOR 15 99
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FS 2 WEST EUROPE SCENERY 13 99
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GRIDIRON (U.S FOOTBALL) . .1 5.49
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HITCH HIKERS GUIDE 39 99
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INDIANA JONES ADVENTURE 1 6 99
INFESTATION 15 49
INFIDEL (INFOCOM) 17 49
IRON LORD 16 49
IT CAME FROM THE
DESERT (1 MEG) 18 49
I.C.F.T.D DATA DISK (1 MEG) 10 49
ITALY 1990 16 49
IVANHOE 15.99
JACK NICKLAUS GOLF 16 49
JACK NICKLAUS GOLF DATA1 8 99
JUMPING JACKSON 12 49
KEEP THE THIEF 17 49
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KICK OFF 2 12 49
KICK OFF EXPANSION DISK 7 49
KID GLOVES 16 49
KIND WORDS 2 0 (W^P) 29 99
KINGS QUEST 1.2&3 .2149
KINGS QUEST 4 (SIERRA) 21.49
KLAX 12 99
KNIGHTS OF CRYSTALUON . 19.99
LEADERBOARD BIRDIE 16.49
LEISURE SUIT LARRY 1 18 99
LEISURE SUIT LARRY 2 21 49
LEISURE SUIT LARRY 3 21.99
LIFE AND DEATH 15 49
LIGHT FORCE (R-TYPE.
VOYAGER. BIO-CHALLENGE, IK*) 15.99
LIVERPOOL 11.99
LURKING HORROR (INFOCOM) 24.99
MAGNUM 4 (COMPILATION) 18.99
MANCHESTER UNITED 15.99
MANIAC MANSION 16.99
MAVIS BEACON TEACH TYPING 17.99
MIDWINTER 18 49
MIND FOREVER VOYAGING 19 99
MOONMIST (INFOCOM) 19 99
MUSIC X 124 99
NINJA SPIRIT 15 99
NINJA WARRIORS 16 49
OMNI PLAY BASKETBALL .15.49
OMNI PLAY HORSE RACING .15.49
OPERATION THUNDERBOLT .15.99
PAPERBOY 12.99
PERSONAL NIGHTMARE 18.99
PHOTON PAINT 2.0(1 MEG) 54.99
PIPEMANIA 15 49
PIRATES 15 99
PLANE TFALL (INFOCOM) 24 99
PLAYER MANAGER 12.49
POLICE OUEST 1 (SIERRA) .15.99
POPULOUS 16.49
POPULOUS PROMISED LANDS .7.99
POWERDROME 16.49
PRO TENNIS TOUR 16.49
PROTEXT WORD PROCESSOR 64 99
PUBLISHERS CHOICE DTP
(KIND WORDS 2. PAGESETTER 1.2.
ARTISTS CHOICE. (1 MEG) 59.99
RAINBOW ISLAND 15.99
RAMROD 16 99
RED STORM RISING 16 49
RISK 1249
ROBOCOP 15.49
SARGON 3 CHESS 13.97
SCAPEGHOST (LEVEL 9) 12.49
SCRABBLE DE LUXE 12.99
SEASTALKER (INFOCOM) 19.99
SHADOW OF THE BEAST
(NO T-SHIRT) 15.49
SHADOW WARRIORS 15 99
SHADOWGATE 15.99
SHERLOCK (INFOCOM) 24 99
SHERMAN M4 16 9
SHOOT EM-UP CONSTR KIT 18 49 I
SIM CITY . 1399
SIM CITY TERRAIN EDITOR .9 99
SPACE ACE 27 49
SPACE HARRIER 2 10 99
SPACE QUEST 1 (SIERRA) 16 49
SPACE QUEST 2 (SIERRA) 16 49
SPACE OUEST 3 (SIERRA) 21 49
SPACE ROGUE 17 49
SPELLBREAKER (INFOCOM) ...24 99
STARCROSS (INFOCOM) 24.99
STARFLIGHT 16 99
STARTER KIT (KIND WORDS 2.0.
FUSION PAINT. SUPER SKI
CRAZY CARS. MINI GOLF) 43 49
STEVE DAVIS SNOOKER 12 49
STRYX 12 99
STUNT CAR RACER 1 5 99
SUPER CARS 13 49
TEAM YANKEE 17 49
THE LOST PATROL .15 99
THEME PARK MYSTERY 15 99
THIRD COURIER 15.99
TOWER OF BABEL 16 49
TREASURE TRAP 15 99
TRIAD VOL 3 1949
TURRICAN 12.9
TV SPORTS BASKETBALL 18 49
ULTIMA 5 17 99
UMS CIVIL WAR DISK 9 49
UMS VIETNAM DISK 9 49
UNINVITED 1549
UNTOUCHABLES 15.99
VENUS 13.49
VETTE (CORVETTE) 18 49
WAR IN MIDDLE EARTH 15.49
WARHEAD 15.99
WAYNE GRETZKY HOCKEY 15 99
WILD STREETS 15 99
WIND WALKER 17 49
WISHBRINGER (INFOCOM) 19.99
WITNESS (INFOCOM) 19 49
WORKBENCH 1.3 13.49
WORLD BOXING MANAGER . ..12.99
WORLD CUP SOCCER • ITALIA 90 12.99
X OUT .13 49
XENOMORPH 15 49
ZOMBI 16 49
ZORK 1 (INFOCOM) 16 49
ZORK TRILOGY (INFOCOMi . . 29.99
SONY 3.5" ds/dd disks 69p each
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Amiga Mega-Savers
o
TEENAGE QUEEN 8.49
: RaRRIIR
C*
CARRIER COMMAND 7.99
SWORD OF SODAN 7.99
ADVENTURE CONSTRUCTION KIT... 11.
ALTERED BEAST 6.
ARCHIPELAGOS 6.
AUSTERLITZ (BATTLE OF) 11.
BAAL 6.
BALLISTIX 6.
BALLYHOO (INFOCOM) 9.
BATTLE SQUADRON 12.
BLACK CAULDRON 7.
BLACK LAMP 7.
BLOOD MONEY 7.
BLOODWYCH 8.
BUGGY BOY 9.
CAPTAIN BLOOD 5.
CARRIER COMMAND 7.
CHAMP (USA) FOOTBALL 4.
CHESSMASTER 2000
CHRONOQUEST 9.
CONFLICT EUROPE 6.
CORRUPTION <M SCROLLS) 9.
DRAKKHEN 13.
DYNAMITE DUX 7.
EDDIE EDWARDS SUPER SKI 4.
ELIMINATOR (1.2 AMIGAS ONLY) 4.
ELITE 9.
EYE OF HORUS 6.
F16 FALCON MISSION DISK 7.
FAST BREAK (VOLLEYBALL) 6.
FISH! (M SCROLLS) 9.
FOOTBALL MANAGER 2 •* EXP 10.
GNOME RANGER (LEVEL 9) 6.
GUILD OF THIEVES (M/SCROLLS) ...9.
HARD DRIVIN' 9.
HIT DISKS VOLUME 2
(LEATHERNECKS. MAJOR MOTION.
TIME BANDIT, TANGLEWOOD) 8.
HOSTAGES 7.
HYBRIS • • 7
INGRID'S BACK (LEVEL 9) 7.
INTERNATIONAL KARATE * 7.
JINXTER (M SCROLLS) 9.
KING OF CHICAGO 9.
KRISTAL 8.
KULT 7.
LANCELOT (LEVEL 9) 9.
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NEW ZEALAND STORY 9.99
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PACLAND 6.49
.99 PACMANIA 6.99
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99 PAWN (M SCROLLS) 9.99
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49 POWER DRIFT 4.99
49 PURPLE SATURN DAY 7.49
.99 ROCKET RANGER 8.99
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.49 SHOGUN (INFOCOM) 15.49
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.99 SKYFOX 5.99
.99 SPEEDBALL 6.49
STARGLIDER 6.49
STARGLIDER 2 9.99
SUPER WONDERBOY 7.49
SWORD OF SODAN 7.99
TEENAGE QUEEN (STRIP POKER) ...8.49
THE PRESIDENT IS MISSING 5.99
THREE STOOGES (CINEMAWARE) ...6.99
THUNDERBIRDS 5.99
TIME & MAGIK (LEVEL 9) 6.49
TRIAD VOL2 (MENACE. BAAL TETRIS) 7.99
TRIVIAL PURSUIT 8.49
TURBO CUP 6.49
TV SPORTS FOOTBALL (USA) 11.99
UMS - UNIVERSAL MILITARY SIM 7.49
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Myth. Written by Magnetic Scrolls, authors of The Pawn,
exclusively for
members of Official
Secrets. Myth is a
small adventure set
in Ancient Greece.
In it you'll meet The
Ferryman, cheat
Death and face the
nine-headed Hydra.
Myth includes the
famous Magnetic
Scrolls parser and
graphics and is
included in the price of membership.
Amiga Format said: "An excellent adventure... witty, cunning
and just plain good fun! If you liked Fish 1 you’ll probably like
this, because they're very similar in style: you may even prefer
Myth, it's that good!"
Myth Ratings: Crash 91%, CU 90%, Amiga Format 87%, TGM 85%
• Sim City or Drakkhen (rrp 29.99)
Of Drakkhen. ST Action said: "Drakkhen
really impressed me For me. the game
was a subtle cross between my all-time
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■ GAMES ■
»
The land of confusion
switching between spiders.
Up to eight orders can be pro-
grammed in advance and then exe-
cuted, even if a different spider is
in use at the time. In fact all three
spiders can run programs simulta-
neously, eliminating all that hassle
of switching between them.
The graphics are nothing stun-
ning, being just you’re average 3D
surreal cubist landscape stuff,
although some of the lighting
effects were very nice. It’s not a fast
action arcade style thing so there
isn’t much scope for wonderful
effects.
Puzzlewise it is quite excep-
tional. Perhaps akin to the kind of
constructional nightmare presented
by building a ship-in-a-bottle in
space by remote control.
A complete tower construction
set is included so when you get
bored torturing your hamsters or
whatever you can turn your talents
to creating a replica of Dante’s
Inferno for your mates to battle
their way through.
Definitely one for those who
consider themselves cunning.
Green
Believe it or
not, he's on
your side
O NCE upon an eon the
descendants of Noah
decided to build a tower. This was
to be a tower to reach so high that
they could communicate with their
creator.
Well they didn’t quite manage
that but they did attract the atten-
tion of some passing aliens who
took pity on the poor humans and
gave them three robots to help fin-
ish the job.
Now the time has come for the
robots to phone home, but they can
only do this from the top of the
tower. The jealous humans have
laid traps to prevent the robotic
“spiders” reaching their objective.
The spiders each have different
abilities. The first is the Zapper
which can, naturally enough, zap
things. This is useful for clearing
the way of weapons systems and
the occasional zapable obstruction.
Next in the team is the Pusher.
His powers of repulsion (sounds
like Jeff) can push most obstacles
out of the way, including the other
robots.
Lastly comes the grabber, whose
sole aim is to pick up things, mostly
Klondikes - the energy pods that
the robots need to survive.
The three spiders must work as a
team to overcome all the problems
and puzzles the treacherous
humans have set before them. Other
robots in the service of the humans
inhabit and inhibit the tower.
Laser cannons and repulsion
Programming the front end to avoid the Zapper
I wonder if he’ll be friends with me
rays, proximity mines, reflectors,
wipers and exchangers are just some
of the hostile hardware to be over-
come on the quest for the summit.
Control of the spiders is
straightforward. Click on the rele-
vant icon to move forwards, left or
right. The fire icon will activate the
current spider’s weapon. Gadgets
down the right hand side allow
Ton er of Babel
£ 24.95
Rainbird
Sound
Graphics
Gameplay
Value
Overall - 77%
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 51
/it ATm t/'t\ fP
On a trip to Cirrus Minor
I T ISN’T easy being green. We’re
not talking about buying “No
Phosphate’’ washing powders
which have never actually con-
tained phosphates anyway. No,
we’re talking physically green -
you know, sort of easy to lose on a
football pitch kind of a colour.
It wasn’t the problem of gallop-
ing verdancy that was uppermost
in Terry the Green’s mind. The evil
Baron von Bonsai (Boo Hiss ad
nauseum) had stolen Terry’s magic
crystals and was using them to cor-
rupt the Happy Cloud Fairies.
Quite how the Baron was planning
to use them was anybody’s guess,
but it probably involved hanging
around street comers with a radio-
pager and an Uzi.
’’Drat ! Those Magic Crystals
were for my own personal use !”
thought Terry to himself. Without
further ado (whatever that may be)
he shot off to the Cloud Kingdoms.
On arrival, a sorry sight met his
eyes. The Happy Cloud Fairies had
mutated into Bad Insect Monsters
and Giant Rolling Blackballs.
“Those crystals must have been a
bad batch. Just as well I didn’t use
them “, thought Terry.
At this point it may be a good
idea to explain that, although Terry
is a small green bouncy ball, he
does a nice line in looking
unshaven and disreputable. For a
good example of looking unshaven
and disreputable, see the Amiga
Computing editorial team. I won’t
spoil it by telling you which is
which, though.
There are four maze-like king-
doms which Terry can clean up for
starters. Two of them seem to be
somewhat difficult. The Unseen
Kingdom has an invisible maze, so
you don’t know where you are
going, or even where you should be
going. The Arrow Kingdom is cov-
ered with arrow tiles, which accel-
erate you off the edge of the
Kingdom.
The best one to start on is the
Cloud Kingdom. You have a time
limit to collect all your Magic
Crystals, and there are a whole
load of patrolling enemies to get
past. You will have to paint in
some of the floor using the Magic
Paint Pots to get all the crystals.
You’ll also make some interest-
ing discoveries about the floor -
some bits disappear as soon as you
roll over it. Do I need to tell you
that you instantly plummet
through the holes that you make ? I
think not.
The Quartet Kingdom is much
more difficult. Not merely do you
SPIDERTRONIC
Affordable arachnoid antics
SSlias nils Ll'/~i
□1 Sl -^1 a| s| a| £3| □! =31 c zic 5RE
A spider is approached by two large orange balls ...
R ECENTLY I discovered a
huge, and here I mean really
big in a large sort of way, spider
living in my garage. Behind the
cardboard box if you’re interested.
Ordinarily this wouldn’t particu-
larly bother me but the very next
day I received a copy of
Spidertronic from Interceptor.
Coincidence? You get a bit para-
noid in this business.
Anyway, The game more or less
follows the plot of Clown’O’Mania
which we reviewed a while back.
Run around an Englebert style
landscape picking up coloured
squares and laying a path to the
Value
transporter. The transporter will
take you to the next level, of which
there are ten.
When you complete the tenth
level you have one of two choices -
either give up and go and do some-
52 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
■ GAMES ■
Terry the Green gets blackballed from the Cloud Kingdom steering committee
have contend with disappearing
floors and patrolling enemies, but
you also have a floor littered with
magnets. These stick you down
and prevent you from jumping over
the nasties. A similar effect can be
had in real life by eating an entire
suet pud.
Cloud Kingdoms reminds me of
both Skweek and Incredible
Shrinking Sphere, but isn't exactly
like either. The graphics are pretty
terrible - not so much YASTP,
more YAC64P - which is exactly
what it is. On first seeing this
gamed really loathed it, but after
playing around with it for a while
I’ve discovered it’s fun.
It’s still inexcusable that two out
of the four starter Kingdoms are
virtually impossible. Likewise
instant death bv falling through the
floor. Well, not death - you don’t
lose any time, but you get put back
to the start of the Kingdom.
Cloud Kingdoms is a real C64
game; solid and difficult gameplay,
average graphics and passable
sound. But what I do find strange
is that in attempt to stop hacking,
the game hangs on reset. Only a
powerdown will restore the
machine - why not just disable the
reset ?
Cloud Kingdoms is quite neat,
actually. Uncomplicated frustration
and lots of levels will keep you
occupied.
Stewart C. Russell
Cloud Kingdoms
£24.99
Millennium
Overall - 78%
thing else or make up your own i
levels with the editor.
Graphics are nothing too spe-
cial. The spider is only just dis-
cernible as such, hut the giant
balls that hamper progress are
quite nicely done. Sound is ade-
quate.
Spidertronic is out on the
Smash lti budget label which
means it retails at £4.99. Up until i
now I have not been a great sup-
porter of budget games because
they seemed to be an excuse for
software houses to peddle off
dross for a profit without fear of
complaint.
Spidertronic hardly shines, but
it could certainly take on some of
the full-priced games that have
been through these offices.
Green
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 53
■ GAMES ■
GRAVITY
He ain’t heavy...
54 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
G RAVITY has a lot to answer
for you know. Every time I
get on the bathroom scales they
scream for mercy, but if there was,
say, half Earth gravity my weight
would be quite acceptable.
You can’t go too far and wish for
no gravity though. For one thing
the Earth’s atmosphere would take
a hike, and for another your cereals
wouldn’t stay in the bowl at break-
fast time.
So gravity, in some form or
another, is a good thing. Now then,
what do you know about Newton’s
Law of Gravitation and Einstein’s
General Theory of Relativity?
If you’re the smarmy pseudo
intellectual type who bought
Stephen Hawking’s book because
you thought you were doing your
bit for the disabled and anyway it
was all rather cosmic, you probably
know nothing at all.
However, if you did read the
book - and it was heavy going in
places - then you undoubtedly
know what I’m talking about. If so,
skip the next few paragraphs.
So what the hell are you on
about Duncan? I hear you asking.
Well obviously I don’t actually
hear you asking, unless you hap-
pen to be reading this review aloud
one day in WH Smiths and I’m
stood next to you. However, it
serves as a lead into a short lecture
on the subject in hand.
The Space Time Continuum is
what it’s all about. This is a four
dimensional (your usual three,
plus time) model of, well, the uni-
verse and everything. Planets and
suns are like heavy balls on the
rubber sheet of spacetime.
Naturally, they sink into the rubber
a bit, causing gravity wells.
Anything reaching the edge of
the well is bound to be attracted
because of gravity. And it’s down-
hill as well. Heavy suns, your
white dwarfs and red giants have
large gravity wells, but heaviest of
all are black holes.
These are collapsed suns,
infinitely heavy in the centre. They
naturally have great big gravity
wells. In fact, they are so heavy
that scientists postulate that your
metaphorical ball on the rubber
sheet distorts space so that it actu-
ally reaches somewhere else in the
spacetime continuum.
This hole leading elsewhere is
known as a singularity, and per-
eral, thanks to a manual which
describes all the systems - defence,
weapons, orders, the dreadful 3D
map in the Holotank, tools for ter-
raforming and colonising planets -
but nothing about how you actually
do these things.
And when something doesn’t
appear on a menu when the man-
ual says it is on that menu, you
start to wonder what the hell is
going on.
Hours of frustration mark the
beginning of the game. A quick tip
if you’re looking for a singularity to
go down is to follow the dark blue
line on the long range scanner; the
brown ones lead to suns and plan-
ets.
Once you get into the game,
though, you’ll admire the rolling
spacetime graphics, tense every
time an alien starts blasting away,
and stare in horror when you lose
the game and look upon a picture
of someone’s head melting.
But you’ll also be irritated by the
fiddly control, unimpressed by the
way the control panels jerkily
scroll on to the screen, and eventu-
ally, eventually, play the game long
enough to realise that Gravity is a
tactical wargame with flash graph-
ics and all action combat scenes.
But to be honest, it is not that
interesting. Gravity ain’t heavy at
all.
Duncan Evans
Looks like a fish, moves like a fish...
haps, just perhaps, one day we
might have the technology to ride
down the singularity and come out
at the other end. Alive and not ter-
minally squashed.
Which leads me to the game
Gravity, which uses a very attrac-
tive display of the spacetime con-
tinuum, complete with suns and
planets and black holes and gravity
wells.
If you want to jump from one
end of space to another, down the
gravity well of the black hole you
go. This is the future. A future
where man is colonising the stars
and terraforming the planets.
This is also where the Outies
come in. Horrible alien life forms
that they are, they have decided to
eradicate us before our own team
of xenophobes eliminates them.
We do this to each other by
blasting apart our ships with a vari-
ety of weapons, and by turning the
opposing team’s sun into a black
hole or a black hole into a sun.
The Outies get their Ready Brek
from heavy radiation from black
holes, so if they turn the sun where
your home base is into a black
hole, you’re scuppered. Equally, if
you manage to turn their black hole
back into a sun they are kebabbed.
To aid in this quest of galactic
genocide, you have a fleet of 15
ships, which can be ordered
around to investigate, explore, fight
aliens and colonise worlds.
If the ship you are on is blasted
to bits, you automatically transfer
to another one.
Thus this is a very tactical game
rather than a romp around the
galaxy killing things.
Think first, then go and nuke
’em.
To aid in the process you have
drone ships, which can be pro-
grammed by an icon-driven lan-
guage. It isn’t too hard to get the
hang of but when you start off it
can be confusing.
This applies to the game in gen-
Gravity
£24.99
Mirrorsoft
Sound
Graphics
(iami'plav
Valin*
Overall - 61 %
3 Superb Award Winning Games
’ Unique Full Colour Wall Chart
With the History of the World Cup
including Amazing Facts & Figures
Comprehensive User Guide
* Strategy , Management and Red Hot
l Action makes this the Ultimate Soccer
KICKOFF
The award winning, chart topping and
international best selling soccer simulation
of all time!
- Best Arcade game 16 bit ‘89
- Europes best soccer simulation '90
• Elspa game of the year
• 16 bit game of the year!
Emap golden joystick awards
Featuring:- Pixel Perfect passing
Blistering Pace
Superb tacticle play
"Has to be the best football simulation yet"
ST USER
“Most playable soccer simulation in binary
history" C & VG 88%
"Boots the other football simulations over
the cross-bar” Zzap 96%
"Simply the best football sim" New
Computer Express
INTERNATIONAL SOCCER
- Superb Hi-Res graphics, plus team
colours, wind, weather and night play
options.
• Highly competitive play
- One or two players
• Up to 4 players can play using a 4 player
adaptor
- Animated supporters, electronic
scoreboard and on-screen refereeing keep
gamepiay fast and furious.
Without doubt the best of the soccer action
games" Amiga User International 88%
TRACKSUIT MANAGER
A management game the way it should be
played. Live the match thrills, as you
compete to qualify for the Nations and World
Cups.
You decide the play and enjoy the victories
and suffer the defeats...
Play defense, attacking or man to man
marking
Offside trap, sweeper system or
possession football
- Genuine goal-kicks, corners and throw-ins
- Crunching tackles, fouls, penalties,
bookings and sendings off
- 54 computer managed squads from
around the world all with individual tactics
"The best ever football managerial game
ever, in the history of the World" C & VG 9/1 0
The ultimate management game" Ace Rated
929
"Easily the best of its type" Zzap 64 89%
"The best ever managerial game" Sinclair
User Classic 93%
■3010
Gary Lineker's Hot Shot replaces
International Soccer on Commodore 64.
Spectrum and Amstrad
AVAILABLE FOR
ATARI ST AMIGA C64 (CASSETTE + DISK)
AMSTRAD CPC (CASSETTE + DISK)
SPECTRUM (CASSETTE + DISK)
4 The Stannetts, Laindon North Trade Centre,
Basildon, Essex, SS15 6DJ Tel. No. (0268) 541126
Sivcncr
4
o wpk stziwty
rote no. pm m
I $
STROKES
J
■ H;.
What a lovely day - pity you ’re stuck in the golfers version of Gridrunner
Decide how
to address
the ball -1st
class or
airmail
So you whack the ball using
power and hook/slice on a very
Leaderboard style meter - which is
why it is the feature of the game
which works most satisfactorily -
and the ball sails into the distance,
not growing perceptible smaller
until it vanishes.
If you hear a sound effect you
can guess that it’s in a bunker, hit a
tree or in the water. If not you have
no way of telling where the ball
has gone until you get up there.
Wind is a feature to monitor
constantly, but rather irritatingly
the anemometer is on yet another
screen, as is the type of lie the ball
has. When approaching nasty look-
ing holes (behind a tree and over
water), the poor computer players
don’t half dither. I mean I am one
of the worst golfers in the country,
but at least I know where I’d like
the ball to go.
Which reminds me, the score
cards have the provision for soli-
tary players to try and reduce their
handicap. When the computer
asked for my handicap I typed in
“My arms”.
Where was I ? Oh yes, assuming
you get to the green, which is by no
means certain given the vagaries of
computer arbitration, and the dis-
mal putting section comes up.
The green is virtually always
flat, except for the one occasion
when you need to sink a put to
win. Then you find yourself on the
side of a hill.
The only thing you have to
worry about is strength of shot, and
what the weather conditions are.
Even so, it is possible to com-
W HEN I first saw this pro-
gram, I thought thank god
for that, it’s not another of those
dreary lack Nicklaus games. Then
again, after Jack anything would be
a relief. Harold Mickelthwaites
Guide to Getting on the Green
Before Twilight even begins to
sound interesting.
When you actually get Greg
Norman’s Ultimate Golf (my
doesn’t that sound much more
exciting) you even find the energy
to take the disc out of the box. And
speaking of the box, Gremlin has
even pasted the words, Shark
Attack on the side. For a minute I
thought that this was another ver-
sion of Jaws. Very confusing I must
say.
Anyway, on with the game and
the first problem, the copy protec-
tion. Identify the hole from those
shown in the manual it says. Easy,
except the pictures in the manual
have been taken in black and white
and the shades of green are indis-
tinguishable. Whichever idiot at
Gremlin thought this one up
should be shot.
To the clubhouse then, and a
decision to make over the number
of partners. I could make a smutty
remark here, but they’d only cut it
out so I won’t bother Right on,
Good Taste Dept).
One to four players, human or
computer controlled. Before you
progress further remember to
switch the caddy function off. The
caddy can take up to three minutes
to pick a club that you’ll be offered
if you disable the feature anyway.
And you don’t get a caddy look-
ing like Nick Faldo’s anyway, so
you’re not missing anything.
Out to the first hole and the
scenery undulates into the dis-
tance. This is better than the flat
plains of Leaderboard, but then the
graphics are quite crude and look
like they were developed with the
PC and Spectrum in mind.
You are automatically lined up
to hit at a hole, which is a shame if
the hole is a dog leg with trees.
Altering position involves going to
a drop down menu and calling up
a map display. That works, but is
not how I’d like to alter my stance
and position.
On the map screen you can also
zoom into the course, though as it
will do you no good whatsoever,
you’d simply be experiencing
another of Ultimate Golfs useless
features.
56 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
■ GAMES ■
nrvT r<
im
m
wmAi
Wo
Ultimate Golf
£24.99
Gremlin
Overall - 64%
pletely misjudge a shot because the
computer is feeling mean.
When you give a three foot put
10 per cent power (a 55 feet putter
x 10 per cent = 5.5 feet suppos-
edly) don’t be surprised when you
don’t even make contact with the
ball. The putting is a total joke,
and someone at Gremlin has com-
pletely screwed it up.
Before you know it, if you’re
playing with three computer play-
ers, you’ll have finished a round
and be ready for the 19th hole,
only to find that it’s now 3 a.m.
Ultimate Golf isn’t bad, but it
Greg ironing out problems with his swing
has serious flaws and certainly
isn’t worth buying if you’re going
to play on your own. Get a few
friends round though, get them
sufficiently inebriated, and you’ll
find it a reasonable change from
Leaderboard.
Oh, and Ed (whoever it is this
week), if anyone writes in to
explain shark attack please send
them a copy of the Beano from me.
Duncan Evans
Their life on your land
NE of the most notable
games these last few months
was the excellent Sim City,
acclaimed as the concentrating
jolly hard man’s Populous, where
mere mortals got to be mayor of a
megacity.
However, the game had one
slight complaint levelled against it.
It was impossible to create the
actual starting terrain, all the land-
scape was terraformed randomly.
Now even this little niggle has
been rectified with this wonderful
editing package. Fill and draw
options allow you to place land,
sea, trees and even plot the route
of passing ships. A smoothing
function will get rid of all those
nasty rough edges.
Even if you do want just a ran-
dom landscape various sliders can
be set to bias towards leafy, wet or
barren lands - even down to the
curviness of the rivers. A few sam-
ple cities are included to help
guide you on your way.
An excellent companion to an
excellent game, but not really
worth it for the money.
Green
Sim City Terrain Editor
£14.99
Infogrames
Features
Ease of use
Usefulness
Value
Overall - 60%
Greenvi lie
1939
Easy nn
I DIRT f [ RIVER
TREES BTTT J5 F re?
♦ FILL UNDO
Terraforwing Paraneters
Id
36 Y.
■ d
Number of Tree Groups: 92'/
ammm
Number of Lakes : 24 x
□ Id
River Curvyness: 100X
Terrain Type
Moods >;River Q Island
OK CANCEL
iNNE!
_Id<
Design impressive looking island chains with the powerful editor
Nature tamed by the terraforming control panel
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 57
'*%SSL9
lil^
Mm’
gsi>
&S^ aw
SS$* 5 -
“‘^5^
~T— *49.9 S
&c W "5»i»>'»C.' , »«*.
^^»2%2Sb55^
Distinctly Digita
Cleverly written and always favourably reviewed in the press,
Digita produces a range of powerful, low cost software for the home
and business user.
DGCALC
The fastest and most powerful spreadsheet available in this
price bracket, with 512 rows by 52 columns, giving you up to
26624 cells As with all Digita products, the operation of the
program is clearly thought out. Being either menu, mouse or
command driven you'll be able to start using it within minutes
- even if you've never used a spreadsheet before Some of
the features which make it such good value are the exporting
of ASCII files for integration with other programs, adjustable
column width and text overflow, programmable function keys
(macros), and a unique windowing facility, so that you can
look at different parts of a sheet at the same tifne £^g gg
E-TYPE
PERSONAL TAX PLANNER
DAY-BY-DAY
MAILSHOT
FINAL ACCOUNTS
If you ever need to send out mailings or print labels, you
know how fiddly and time-consuming it can be making sure
all the labels are printed correctly. Well now all that's a thing
of the past Because Mailshot actually shows you the labels
on screen, you can type names and addresses in exactly the
correct place But more than that the labels are animated on
screen as a continuous sheet allowing you to scroll
backwards and forwards, to search for particular keywords or
to edit entries with the minimum of fuss. Facilities include
searching, detection of duplicate labels, sorting (even
surname!) 9 labels across, 999 copies ot any label. This has
to be the simplest and most effective method of creating a
mailshot available £24 95
Do you ever have to pnnt names and addresses at awkward
places on envelopes, or do you ever need to fill in tricky
forms or invoices where the text has to be in exactly the right
place? Usually you have to do it by hand, or get your trusty
old typewriter out ot the cupboard and dust it oft Well not
anymore. The Emulated TYPEwriter transforms your
computer and printer into a lufly fledged typewriter .
supporting bold, underline, italic and other type-styles.
Because it can display and print text INSTANTLY you can line
up your form, press Return and Space a few times to move to
the correct place, and then start typing. Alternatively you can
switch to line-by-lme mode, which otters word-wrap,
justification and proportional spacing, so that you can edit
each line before it's printed. £^g
MAILSHOT PLUS
Advanced version of Mailshot for the business user with the
following extra facilities
* integration with other software (us.ng ASCII files)
• column/tabulated summary (ideal for telephone lists, etc)
* 4 extra memo lines per label (with defaults) * system for
coding, dating and adding messages to each label
• different layouts available for horizontal and vertical
justification
yp
The program will take information prepared by Cashbook
Controller and produce a complete set ot accounts including.
* Trial Balance * Trading and Profit and Loss Account
* Balance Sheet * Notes to the Accounts
* Full Accounting ratios
All reports may be produced at any time, with
comparative/budget figures if required. The facility to
produce these documents quickly, accurately, and regularly
is of enormous help in running any business, large or small,
since one shows the true profitability achieved, and the other
the exact strength of the business in terms of assets and
liabilities. £2995
CLASSIC INVADERS
Escape from executive stress with the classic space invader
same £14.95
£49.95
CASHBOOK COMBO
Money saving combination pack featuring both Cashbook
Controller and Final Accounts -Save £10.00.
Lo?.9o
flcCO unt
Are you absolutely sure your taxman is doing his job
correctly? Plan your own tax with ease, this menu-driven
program will calculate your income tax liability (4 tax years
included) and provide pertinent facts about your tax position
You can perform what-if ?' calculation to discover ways to
minimise your tax liability. In fact the program will advise
you on things such as. if you are a married man. whether it
would be advantageous to have your wile s income taxed
separately or not. At this price who knows, you will probably
find that PTP will pay for itself in tax savings the first time you
use it!
- STOP PRESS -
July '89 - PTP user receives tax refund of over £2.000*!
£39.95
An excellent way to get organised. With it you'll be reminded
of birthdays and other anniversaries, meetings and
appointments, phone calls to make and so on. As with all
Digita products, inputting information is simplicity itself and.
once entered, you can search for keywords or for particular
events such as birthdays to see when one is coming up
Indudes month/week/day planner, automatic reminders for
overdue appointments, month and week summary at a
glance. For less than £30 this is the ideal way to make sure
you never miss that important occasion again! ^ gg
Available to the trade from:
Digita, GEM, Greyhound,
HB Marketing, Lazer,
Leisuresoft, R & R, SDL.
DIGITA
INTERNATIONAL
" Serious software at a sensible price"
All software written in the UK. Prices include VAT & P & P (add £2.00 for export)
• HOW TO ORDER •
CREDIT CARD HOTLINE
Post: Digita International Ltd
Black Horse House
Exmouth Devon
EX8 1JL England
Fax: 0395 268893
CD009
Jeff Walker presents...
M USIC while you work.
Love it. If my memory
serves me correctly, this is the
fifth tune I've passed to you. So
we’re half way to an album.
Time for another quick compe-
tition, methinks. Name that tune.
Same rules as last time. Drop me
a line and if you can convince me
you know what you’re talking
about I’ll send you my full
MusicBox collection, which is
currently standing at three disks.
Send your letters, grovels and
bribes to: HI Name That Tune,
Amiga Computing, Europa
House, Adlington Park,
Macclesfield, SK10 4NP.
MUSICBOX is freeware
but remains copyright
©1989-90 Peter L. Dunlap.
This program is dis-
tributed courtesy of CMOS
BBS (0101-303-322-4078).
ISoundFX Player, Copyright 1998 by Peter L. Dunlap
Basic
Assembler
HI mus 3 coox nmumjjgjinjijj
mm
MUSICBOX EtfWfl ~
I0HH J— J MusicBox.DOC
PPSHOH l' : W MusicBox
KLIDE THE-CODI NaneThatTune
Filter .,j
GET RlCfhroiu I INaneThatTune
PROTECTOMAGIC READER-CONTRIBUTIONS
MusicBox VI .8 ■!!»*• 1 uf
So
ng00
toigashg n
The tune has been crunched with PowerPacker so be prepared for a few seconds of inactivity before it starts playing
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 59
Title/Error ^ P r °^ ec ^° r
Enter subdirectory y\ m ^ e
H Pro tec t-0 -Magic
rotectUhagic
RUED ii
rued mmi i
RUED :
ARUED
ARUED Jiili
udD i rectory
PPMore
ore. nto
DFB: DFl : DF2:
DHBijTI
String gadget for
hard to reach paths
Read parent
directory
Protect-O-Magic gadget descriptions
P ROTECT-O-MAGIC is a utility
program for setting the protec-
tion bits of files from Workbench.
The best way to learn to use
Protect-O-Magic is to examine the
image file ShowMe. However, this
is not necessary. You could just
run Protect-O-Magic and see
nearly the same picture. To see the
ShowMe file, double click its icon.
Looking at the picture, you will
see on the left side of the window
five lines of HSPARWED. These
gadgets represent the protection
flags - Hidden, Script, Pure,
Archived, Readable, Writable,
Executable, Deletable. If they are
orange, the flag is set. Click on the
letter to change the flag.
To the right of the flags are the
filenames. Directories will appear
orange here. Click on the name to
enter the subdirectory.
On the right of that are what the
PPShow
P PSHOW was written to com-
plement one of Nico Frangois’
other utilities, PowerPacker, a
command and data cruncher
(October 1989 cover disk). It is
used to show normal IFF ILBM
files or ILBM files crunched with
PowerPacker. The decrunching is
done automatically so you don't
have to know if a file is crunched
or not.
PPShow can be used in three
different ways. First of all via the
CLI: If you enter PPShow without
arguments you will get a usage
template. You use PPShow like
this:
PPShow []
The program will then load the
ILBM file and display it. If the file
was crunched using PowerPacker
2.0 or higher, PPShow will first
decrunch it for you. If the file was
encrypted you will be prompted
for the password.
There is only one option in this
version of PPShow, -h, which is
used to force HAM mode when no
CAMG chunk is found. If you
don’t specify this option, PPShow
will assume a 6 bitplane screen is
Extra HalfBrite.
Note that it is wrong for an
Amiga IFF ILBM file not to have a
CAMG chunk, especially when
there can be doubt about what dis-
play mode to choose.
There are three different ways of
using PPShow via the Workbench:
You can set the default tool of the
crunched or non-crunched ILBM
file to PPShow; you can single
click the PPShow icon, hold down
Shift and then double click the pic-
ture icon; or you can double click
the PPShow icon and enter the file-
name in the string gadget you will
be presented with.
You set the default tool by single
clicking the icon of the picture and
selecting Info from the Workbench
menu (this will only work if
info.library is present in the Libs:
directory).
You will get a window with sev-
eral gadgets in it. Click in the string
gadget where it says Default Tool
and enter -.ppshow . The program
should be in the root directory of
your disk for this to work. If it’s in
the System directory, for example,
you should enter -.system/ ppshow.
Last of all select the Save gadget.
Note that PPShow will add the
extension .pp to the filename when
the file is not found. This is very
useful in the Workbench environ-
ment. You can make an icon for
house.pic, for instance, but name
the file house.pic.pp so you know
that it has been crunched by
PowerPacker.
Now the Workbench will show
an icon with house.pic as name,
but if you double click it,
house.pic.pp will be displayed, so
long as there is no house.pic file in
the directory.
Abort PPShow by pressing any
key (except the Tab or P keys) or
the right mouse button. The screen
Get more
crunch
MANY IFF ILBM files are
already crunched with the stan-
dard ByteRunl compression.
PowerPacker will crunch these
files even further most of the
time but will not crunch them as
well as uncrunched ILBM files.
So save IFF files uncrunched
(with Pixmate, for example)
before crunching them. This will
lead to the best crunching
results.
60 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
Clock this!
H EY guys, I’m getting
snowed under with
dorks. Why do you keep send-
ing me clocks? I know the one
on the Extras disk lacks a few
features, but who uses it any-
way?
look, I’ll tell you what - if
you can write me a clock which
is as pretty as the Extras one,
hut with a better alarm system,
command line parameters to set
the features, plus a user-inter-
face whereby you can change
the time displayed on the analog
clock face by dragging the hands
with the mouse pointer, then I’ll
take a hit more interest. OK?
author, Nick Fiorello, calls the do-
it buttons. When these are hit the
protection flags of the file to the
left of it are changed, if necessary,
to match those on the HSPARWED
display.
On the right of the do-it buttons
are gadgets for scrolling through
the list of file names.
Along the bottom are the gad-
gets which change the current path
that Protect-O-Magic is examining.
Most are self-explanatory. An
exception is the * gadget, which
will re-read the current path.
Protect-O-Magic remembers any
changes made to the protection
flags, even of those files scrolled
off the screen. The / gadget will go
to the parent directory, if one
exists.
To the right of the path gadgets
are the last two gadgets. Write All
changes the protection flags on all
files in the directory, if necessary,
to match those of the buffer.
Iconify will iconify the program to
the upper left corner of the
Workbench screen.
Protect-O-Magic will remember
where the icon is if you move it,
and it will remember where the
Protect-O-Magic window was
when you inconified it, and put
the window back there when you
re-open it.
Iconifying Protect-O-Magic frees
memory allocated to the directory
listings and generally reduces
memory use by about 10k. To get
back into the program, double
click the icon.
PROTECT-O-MAGIC is
freeware. If you find
any bugs in the pro-
gram the author, Nick
Fiorello, would like to
know. Contact him at:
2142 Trieste Drive ,
Mims, FL 32754 , USA.
Telephone 010-1-407-
268-1666.
can be dragged by an invisible drag
bar at the top. The pesky little
mouse pointer will be removed
while displaying.
PPShow offers full overscan sup-
port, PAL or NTSC. All Amiga dis-
play modes, such as HAM and
EHB, are also supported, along with
Deluxe Paint cycling. Press the Tab
key to start it and to stop it. Up to
eight cycles are supported, DPaint
ID currently only supports six.
PPShow has the ability to print
the screen it is displaying. Press P
and wait. The mouse pointer will be
visible while printing. Please
remember that printer.device and a
correct system-configuration for your
printer must be in the Devs: direc-
tory for PPShow to be able to print.
PPSHOW vl.O is Copyright
©1989 Nico Frangois /
PowerPeak. If you have sugges-
tions or remarks, or if vou find
any bugs, please let Nico know.
Write to the following address:
Nico Francois, Corbielaan 13,
3060 Bertem, Belgium.
ShowMe
COMMENT
DEFAULT TOOL | cd009 : ppshow/ppshowj
STATUS
TYPE Project
SIZE
in bytes
5880
in blocks
13
STACK
ARCHIVED
READABLE
WRITEABLE
DELETEABLE
TOOL TYPES
Setting a picture's default tool. Make sure you enter the correct path to PPShow
ADD DEL
[tlllli
nri
AMIGA COMPUTING ]uly 1990 61
J UDGING by the number of new
Amiga bulletin boards spring-
ing up, and the activity on
them, telecommunications is the
fastest growing Amiga fad in the
UK. As the speed of modems
increases and their prices drop,
more and more UK Amiga owners
are waking up to the benefits the
world of comms can bring them.
Public domain software on-tap
24 hours a day and technical help
from other comms users who know
what they are talking about are just
two of the advantages of plugging a
modem between your phone and
your Amiga.
And it doesn’t cost a fortune.
Stick to a local bulletin board, call
after 6pm or at weekends and
you’ll be spending just 50p an
hour. Most times you can logon, do
what it is you want to do and logoff
in under 10 minutes. It’s peak time,
long distance and international
calls that run up the phone bill.
Many UK and European Amiga
boards are now networked together
so that any message you put on the
board gets “echoed” around all the
other boards in the network. This
means you can correspond over
long distances, even internation-
ally, all for the price of a local call.
In the past, comms has been
held back by the complexity of the
subject. Jargon words like upload,
download, baud rate, duplex and
handshake are difficult to explain
without bringing in yet more jar-
gon.
The real limiting factor, how-
ever, has always been the software.
Traditionally, comms terminals -
the general term for a communica-
tions program - are bare bones
Pressing Help
brings up a
status
window. The
scrollback
buffer
captures
everything
that scrolls
past up to
the memory'
limit you set
pieces of software that leave the
new user high and dry.
I remember one popular CP/M
public domain comms terminal
called Mex which involved having
to learn a whole new command set.
You ran the program and it pre-
sented you with a MEX> prompt.
What now? Sigh. Out with the
manual...
The Wimp environment of the
Amiga means we can do away with
all this nonsense. To get online (jar-
gon for logging on to a bulletin
board) all you need to know is the
speed of your modem (its baud
NComm
NCohh v1.J Copyright § 1988, 1989, 1991 Daniel Bloch i co
Setting up the modem is the trickiest
part for users new to comms. The
defaults will suit Hayes compatibles,
which is what most modems are these
days
rate), the speed the bulletin board
runs at and the phone number of
the bulletin board.
In practice, after an initial very
short and simple setting-up ses-
sion, all you have to do is instruct
the terminal to dial your chosen
bulletin board. One mouse click
and away you go.
Over the past year or so there
have been only two contenders for
the Best Shareware Comms
Terminal title, Access! and JR-
Comm.
Both are excellent, but while
Access!, whose chief feature is its
ease of use, appears to have ceased
development at vl.42, JR-Comm is
still very much being worked on.
The last shareware release was
v0.94a.
The author, Jack Radigan, is now
putting the finishing touches to the
first full release, vl.O, and it looks
like being a most versatile and bug-
free program. This full version,
however, will only be released to
registered JR-Comm users. In other
words, it’ll cost you S40.
But now there’s another chal-
lenger, NComm, which will cost
you, at the most, a box of biscuits -
giftware, the Norwegian authors
call it.
NComm has leapfrogged from
nowhere to pole position. It’s as
easy to use as Access!, but if you
want advanced features it’s got
those too. Top of the advanced fea-
tures list is the script language.
A script is a program written in
a Basic-like language that the ter-
minal understands and interprets
line by line. Scripts can be written
to do anything and everything.
My favourite one logs on to
MicroLink in the early hours of
each morning, captures all my
unread mail, saves it to my hard
drive and logs off again. Me? I’m in
bed upstairs fast asleep.
When I get up I go through my
mail, type my replies into QED (a
shareware text editor), save them
each as a separate file, write a
script program, which usually
involves only some quick changes
to the one I used the day before,
and run it. Then I take the dog for a
walk.
It takes a little practice to get
62 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
NCOMM vl.9 was written by
Daniel Bloch and is based on
Comm vl.34 by Dj James. The
program is freely distributable
and is intended for personal
use only. Sale of this program,
except for reasonable media
costs, is prohibited.
Comments and bug reports to:
Daniel Bloch, Fjrstikkbakken
9, N-0667 Oslo 6, Norway.
Make sure your favourite transfer protocol
is set correctly before dialling the BBS
Macro keys are an alternative to scripts and help
you to get around bulletin boards quickly
this confident with comms. The
fancy technology usually frightens
the hell out of new users, who
worry unnecessarily about viruses
being transmitted to them and their
systems being got at by hackers
while they sleep. These scare sto-
ries are absolute claptrap spread by
people who don’t know their RTS
from their macro.
The quickest and best way to
learn about comms is to log on to a
local bulletin board - BBS in
commspeak - and ask some ques-
tions. You’ll be surprised how
helpful and friendly everyone is.
Get to know your local sysop -
jargon for system operator - the
person who runs the board, usually
at his own expense. He’ll help you
around the system and show you
where all the help files are.
NComm vl.9 comes with very
good manuals which print out to
about 50 A4 pages. But it won’t
teach you about comms; only expe-
rience and an inquisitive mind can
do that.
• The authors of NComm have
made every effort possible to
ensure that the program will func-
tion as described, but no warranty
of any kind, expressed or implied,
is made by them or Interactive
Publications Ltd.
The authors of NComm and
Interactive Publishing Ltd will not
be liable for any direct or indirect
damages to either machinal equip-
ment or mental health arising from
a failure of the program to operate
in the manner desired by the user.
In no event will the authors of
NComm or Interactive Publishing
Ltd be liable for any loss of profits
or savings.
Buvina a modem
AFTER a ram expansion and sec-
ond floppy drive, the next periph-
eral on an average UK Amiga
owner’s wish list is a printer, usu-
ally a colour one.
But stop and think. A printer is
only useful if you need to prepare
and print a lot of text files. Writing
letters to your friends can still be
done by hand while you save up
for the printer.
A modem, on the other hand, is
about the same price or cheaper
and can actually save you time and
money. Letters take a day to arrive
by snail mail, if you’re lucky,
whereas electronic mail - email -
is delivered in seconds. You can
logon to a board, post your mail
and log off again in well under five
minutes. That’ll set you back lOp
local cheap rate, half the price of a
first class stamp.
Public domain software at a cou-
ple of quid a disk can get very
expensive, particularly if the disk
contains many programs and
you’re only after one of them.
Downloading it from a bulletin
board is cheaper.
At 2400/2400 you can download
a 300k file in less than half- an-
hour - that’s 25p at local cheap
rate. And bulletin boards get the
files first. It can take up to six
months for the same program to
appear on a PD disk.
If you’re thinking of buying a
modem I strongly urge you to con-
sider nothing less than 2400/2400
(v22bis in comms jargon). You can
pick them up new for between
£200 and £300 now.
Also, go for one that has MNP
error correction, a protocol that
will filter out all the spurious line
noise characters when you get a
bad connection.
A second-hand modem may
look a good bargain at less than
£50, but it’ll almost certainly be an
old, slow model - 300/300 (v21)
probably. If you’re unsure whether
comms is for you or not, this may
seem like the best way to start.
However, remember that comms at
high speed (2400 baud and over) is
a different kettle of fish disks than
comms at 300 baud. If you must
buy second-hand, try to get a
1200/1200 (v22) speed modem.
Where's mv local BBS?
HERE’S a short list of some free UK
bulletin boards for you to try. They
all run at 300/300, 1200/1200 and
2400/2400. There are literally thou-
sands more, far too many to pub-
lish, but most boards will keep
their own list of recommended
boards to ring.
Have fun, and remember - if
you want to keep the phone bill to
a minimum, keep it cheap rate and
keep it local.
01 for Amiga: 071-377 1358
AIX 386: 0905 52536
Alien BBS: 0472 250690
Alma: 0787 277745
AmLink: 021-778 5868
Arkham: 081-952 5128
Bedrocks UK: 0423 324540
Bitmap Bros: 0245 413728
Blitter: 0292 671638
Breakthrough: 051-734 5817
Cheam Amiga Board: 081-644
8714
Darkstar: 081-656 3944
End Zone: 0524 752245
Equaliser: 0923 662127
Hal: 0489 691069
Jersie Amiga: 010 45 531 4537
KnightOwl: 0375 375190
Liquorice Allsorts: 0633 244345
London Guest House: 081-748
0974
Mabbs: 021-444 8972
Mancunian: 061-227 9095
Murky Caverns: 081-426 9386
Nite Life: 071-976-6807
Oddball: 081-679 2583
Open Access: 081-427 3974
P SQ: 0293 511554
Parallel Dimensions: 0992 465366
Plus & Minus: 0559 322766
Public House: 0222 221168
Runway A500: 0293 884117
Scorpions Nest: 0022 826478
Sheer Logic: 0285 713688
Skyfall: 0792 772745
Welsh Wizards: 0443 815642
N OT a lot to be said about
Klide. It’s a kind of silent
demo, best viewed in a darkened
room with some freaky music on
the hi-fi. The author, Jerry Kallaus,
calls it a line art collage, the
fastest draw in the west, no less.
Klide
Double click its icon and see
what you think. Some of the 3D
effects are very nice indeed.
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 63
Hot Summer Nights
M ORE original music from
the keyboard of the jobless
Scot, Howie Davies. This one’s
great in stereo through the head-
phones.
Since last month, when we fea-
tured his music for the first time,
Howie has teamed up with some
programmers and graphics artists
from the AcidForce group. But he’s
still looking for a proper job. In
music. Anywhere.
Incidentally, Hot Summer
Nights will work with MusicBox
vl.8. Simply copy it into your
MusicBox directory or disk and
add a Tool Types entry to the
MusicBox icon. Something like
Song01=HotSummerNights should
do the trick.
• Are you a budding musician
looking for fame and fortune? If so.
perhaps the Amiga Computing
cover disk can give you a little
push up the ladder. Original stuff
only, please, preferably in self-con-
tained modules.
T HIS drawer contains the
programs and listings dis-
cussed in this month’s
programming feature on boot-
blocks. Double click the icons
to view the listings. Note that
there are a number of files in
this drawer without icons.
See The Code Clinic article
on Page 27 for further instruc-
tions.
® V^orr
UofteHne or
agdSSs .ag=r~
'assert
Disc
problems?
SUBSCRIBERS
If you subscribe to Amiga
Computing and your disc has got
damaged in the post, please
return it to:
Amiga Cover Disc, Database
Direct, FREEPOST, Ellesmere
Port, South Wirral, L65 3EB.
You will be sent a replacement
with our compliments. Please
allow 28 days for delivery.
A nders bjerin, author of
such cover disk favourites as
Track Record (aka Car) and Sys,
has created in MiniBlast the ulti-
mate workbench toy - a colourful,
five level, sideways scrolling
shoot-’em-up with sound.
It sits neatly on the workbench
in its own 5in x 3 in window and
will happily multi-task with any-
thing else you care to run.
Designed in the good old
Scramble tradition, you control a
helicopter on a journey across a
barren rocky landscape. Barren,
that is, except for the missile silos
which fire nasty sharp-ended
things at you. Shoot the silos and
the projectiles to notch up points -
2 for a silo, 1 for a missile. Oh yes,
and you get one point for every
missile you dodge.
To begin with you can choose to
start on either level one or level
two. After you’ve reached the later
levels you’ll be able to start on any
of those if you wish.
To give you something to aim at,
my highest score is 257 on level
two.
But the bestest thing about
MiniBlast is that you can create
64 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
NON-
SUBSCRIBERS
If you bought your magazine in a
shop and when you got home
you found your disc was dam-
aged, please return it, within two
months of the on-sale date of the
magazine, to:
Amiga Cover Disc , Stanley
Precision , Unit F, Cavendish
Courtyard , Sallow Hoad ,
Welldon North Industrial Estate,
Corby , Northants, NN17 1JX.
You will he sent a new disc
with our compliments. Please
allow 2H days for delivery.
WE are always looking for original con-
tributions for the Amiga Computing
cover disc. If you think something you
have written is good enough to share
with everybody else who reads the maga-
zine, send it along and we'll have a look.
If we like what we see, it could earn
you up to £1,000.
Please let us know which files, if any,
your submission needs from the
Workbench disc. If it is clickable, feel
free to design an original icon. But don’t
make it too large. And please use the
standard Workbench colours.
Bear in mind that a program which
does not run on a 512k machine would
have to be exceptionally good to make it
on to the disc.
Amiga Computing will buy your work
on an all rights basis. We are not prepared
to pay for programs which are already in
the public domain or have been spread by
other means. However we are quite pre-
pared to launch your program into the
public domain as either freeware or share-
ware if that is what you wish.
Please enclose this coupon, or a pho-
tocopy of it, with your submission.
Include a file on the disc with full docu-
mentation, your name, address, phone
number and a few details about you and
your kit. A photograph of yourself would
be nice, but isn't essential.
Don't forget to duplicate on the disc
label the program name, your name,
address and phone number. If you want
your disc back, enclose a self-addressed,
stamped envelope.
your own levels. Simply click on
the Edit gadget and away you go.
Click on the Walls gadget to create
the landscape; hold the left mouse
button down in the playing area
and move the mouse about a bit.
You’ll soon get the idea. To place a
silo click on Bases and then in the
playing area where you want to put
it. The arrow gadgets scroll the
playing area left and right.
Only level one can be edited to
bein with. As you complete later
levels you’ll be able to edit those,
too.
i 1
Name Age years
Address
..am
pm
Daytime phone After ..
Evening phone After...
Submission name
Submission size bytes in total
We will accept submissions up to 500k in total length, including docu-
mentation. But the shorter your submission, the better chance it stands of
getting on to the disc. If it is a compiled or assembled program include all
the source code, but do not count this in the size of the submission. Write
a brief description of your submission below. If it consists of more than
one file, describe what each file is for. Attach an extra sheet of paper to
this form if necessary:
MINIBLAST is Copyright
©1989 Anders Bjerin. If you
find any bugs or you have
suggestions, please write to
Anders at: Tulevdagen 22,
181 4 1 Lidingo, S weden .
You may copy this pro-
gram freely, but may not
exchange it for money with-
out written permission from
the author. Nor may any part
of this program be altered or
used within another program.
Sign this declaration:
The stuff on this disc is mine. I didn’t nick it off someone else. It hasn't
been published before and I haven t submitted it elsewhere because I want
Amiga Computing to publish it.
Signed Date
Post your submission to: Amiga Computing, Cover Disc Submissions,
Europa House, Adlington Park, Adlington, Macclesfield SK10 4NP
J
The word is PROTEXT...
Britain’s favourite home-grown word processor
has now been joined by Prodata, the Arnor database
"Protext - the real joy
comes only from using it.
I can say without any
fear of contradiction it is
the best word processor
available at the price, in
my view , at any price in
fact." Am 3/89
"Protext really is the best
text processor on the
Amiga"
ST/AMIGA FORMAT 2/89
"Wins hands down as the
all round package "
ST USER 8/88
7 couldn't be more
impressed " ...
"So a big thanks to Amor
for writing a brilliant
piece of software"
COMPUTER SHOPPER
PROTEXT is now Britain’s fastest selling Word
Processor on Atari ST and Amiga computers, and is
used by many of the leading computer publications
and journalists, as well as thousands of businesses.
Protext’s powerful features include:-
• fast spell checker with 70000 word English dictionary.
• background printing. You can print and type at the same time.
• box manipuation. Columns can be moved around on the screen.
• macro recording. Any key sequence can be assigned to a single key.
• use of foreign languages • headers, footers and footnotes
• flexible configuration program • comprehensive set of printer drivers
• Wysiwyg (’what you see is what you get’) display shows bold,
underlining and italics on the screen.
• two file editing. You can edit two documents at the same time.
• find and replace. Powerful search facility.
• mail merging. The most comprehensive mail merging facilities
available in any program.
• 300 page manual with full index.
• Swedish version also available. French and German coming soon.
Protext was awarded the "Best Buy 1 " accolade in PC
Buyers Guide , and was given a bottom line verdict of
5 stars in What Personal Computer?
" Protext is probably the
most powerful word
processor on the Atari
ST ST USER 4/88
"the best value for money
in word processing on the
Amiga" AUI 9/89
"Protext deserves to be
the system by which all
other word processors are
judged ... Amor has given
the market a superb
product"
YOUR COMPUTER
"Amor's Protext 4 is just
about unbeatable ... this
really is an excellent
program " PC AMSTRAD
Protext ... truly the professional’s choice
Just some of the features of Prodata: -
• Multiple indexes for accessing data
• Full editing facilities for data
• Comprehensive printing options
• Importing and exporting
• Undo changes facility
• Powerful filtering feature
• Easy to use layout design
• Password protection (5 levels)
And of course, Prodata is fully
compatible with Protext.
Amiga owners please note that you
need 1MB to run Prodata - see below
for special price for Prodata plus A501
(51 2K memory + clock expansion)
PRODATA
"Designing layouts is incredibly easy " YOUR AMIGA
Invoice Address
DATE
?7 irrmrrmrmrn
Field
Field
Field
Field
Field
Field
Field
Field
Field
Field
Field
tel
Select field nane
4 : Address 3
5 : Address 4
( : Address 5
7 : Del Addr 1
8 : Del Addr 2
7 : Del Addr 3
18 : Del Addr 4
11 : Del Addr 5
12 : Telephone
13 : Fai
14 : Contact
15 : Invoice Hunber
leld 17*: Ouantlty 1
Field II : description 1
Field 17»: Unit Cost 1
Top left = (0,0) . Pos
Variable nawc: DATE
(3,17). Length=28.
Use o»tt to wove, ** and to resize
"Totally menu driven , Prodata
must rank among the top database
systems... " ST USER 12/89
"Prodata is a very sophisticated
database package, and at £79.95, it
is most certainly worth the money"
YOUR AMIGA 12/89
"Amor have a quality product at a
very reasonable price"
POP COMP WEEKLY 19/10/89
ORDER FORM - Send to: Arnor (STU), 611 Lincoln Road, Peterborough
Please send me (indicate where applicable): Name
PROTEXT v4.2 @ £99.95 Address
PRODATA @ £79.95
PRODATA + A501 (Amiga) @ £179.95
Further information Protext demo disc Postcode
Computer: PC 514" / PC 3W / Atari ST / Amiga
I enclose Cheque / Postal order for £ , or debit my
Access/Visa card no. Exp* _
Re/easfng your micro’s potentiai . . .
Arnor (STU), 611 Lincoln Hoad, Peterborough PEI 3HA. Tel: 0733 63909 (24 hr) Fax: 0733 67299
All prices include VAT\ postage and pacldng. Credit card orders will be despatched by return of post. II paying by cheque please allow 10-14 days lor delivery.
PUBLIC APOLOGY
M.D. Office Supplies would like to take this opportunity to apologise to all its
competitors. As always we will supply the highest standard Discs,
Storage Boxes, etc. at the lowest possible prices. IN FACT WE GUARANTEE IT.
AMAZING PRICES UNBEATABLE VALUE
3 1/ 2 3.5" DISCS & BOXES 3 1/ 2
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135 TPI WITH
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150 3.5" DS-DD 135 TPI WITH 2, 100 CAPACITY LOCKABLE STORAGE BOXES £84.95
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For all you large users we have some unbeatable bulk rates on our superb DS-DD 3.5 discs
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As always Lifetime Guaranteed, unquestionable reliability, each disc is supplied with label
NEW EXCITING PRODUCTS
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External Disc Drives, slimline, very quiet, very
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Education Orders Welcome
a dream come true
Now is the time to lay rumours to
rest. The Amiga 3000 has been
revealed. Simon Rockman got his
hands on one and discovered it
has been well worth the wait
C OMMODORE bills the A3000 as an evolution rather
than a revolution, and a good thing too. The problem
with revolutions is that people get hurt and the last thing a
new computer needs is for existing software to curl up and
die. This evolution will spread across the species. A lot of
the features which debut on the A3000 will migrate to
lesser Amigas.
The styling is crisp yet reserved. Commodore want to sell
Amiga 3000s to the workstation market, to the kind of
people who need high power computing and who have the
high power accountants to pay for it all.
Significantly narrower than an A2000 it hides some real
Tyson punch in a small frame. The power switch has been
moved to the front and the keyboard re-styled. The latter
A frame from the huge ray-traced animation
played at the recent A3000 launch
change is an unnecessary embellishment in my opinion, I
am something of a fan of the old 2000 keyboard. Still, at
least it feels the same. The crude old mouse has been
retained.
Around the back things are very different and provide a
better clue as to what is going on inside. The blanking
plates for the Amiga and PC expansion cards lie sideways.
There are only four of them, but
since the hard disk
controller has been
moved to the main
PCB you need one
fewer. No one is going to
run an A3000 off floppies.
The connectors along the
back include phono sockets, an
RS232, centronics and the, erm,
standard 23 pin Amiga video
connector. Just think, you’ll have no
problem using a modulator and
connecting the Amiga to the family telly.
Great.
New connectors include a 15 pin joystick-
shaped video connector and a switch to isolate
the display enhancer. A new gizmo, and one
which makes the A3000 a bit special.
The mouse and joystick ports are still there on
the right-hand side, blatant favouritism towards the
right-handed majority. The overall appearance is fine -
the best looking Amiga yet.
This is the machine the Amiga was never supposed to be
Conceived as a games machine, the original Amiga was to
have been keyboardless. But when Commodore gave the
computer life, the emphasis shifted. The world is a richer
place for that.
There are three flavours of the Amiga 3000. A 16Mhz
model with a 40 meg hard disk and two 25 Mhz machines -
wo internal jd.iiw firms srapmcs new oiner rien
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Ran Disk
one with a 40 meg drive, the other with a 100 meg drive.
All hard disks are fast SCSI units. Thankfully the 3000 has
no support for the slow drives with which the A590 and
2091 are supplied. The sound of the drive can be heard
above the quiet fan.
The machine boots up into the new 2.0 Workbench by
default. It is possible to regress to 1.3 by holding down both
mouse buttons while booting. A similar trick is used by the
A2620 and A2630 add-in processor cards for the Amiga
2000. With those a menu offered the choice of using the
standard 68000 instead of the go-faster 68020 or 68030
processors.
The Amiga 3000 only has a 68030, so an option to turn it
off would be a trifle pointless. As a result any program
which is foolish enough to break the hardware rules will
fail.
One of these rules is a ban on self-modifying code -
programs which change themselves. Unfortunately a lot of
disk protection systems rely on this, and so won’t work on
the A3000. A shame because the programs would probably
run. Still, only games are affected.
T HE new processor has a lot of advantages. It is faster,
the overall performance is around 10 times that of a
standard Amiga. Maths is very much faster, particularly on
the 25Mhz machines which sport a 68882 co-processor, the
newer faster version of the 68881 chip on the 16Mhz
machine.
All memory is 32 bit. This helps throughput, particularly
disk access. The Amiga 2000 add-in cards cannot DMA into
32 bit ram, while the GVP card reviewed last month has a
slower disk interface. There are no bottlenecks. This is a
fast beast.
The only thing which doesn’t match is the Amiga chip
set. Designed in 1984, it still runs at 7.16Mhz. There have
been improvements in the design, some of which are seen
for the first time on the 3000, but the kind of re-working
that will allow them to be clocked faster requires a back-to-
the-drawing board approach.
Advances in Amiga chip technology have been filtering
through since the first AlOOOs appeared. The first to affect
Serial Port
Floppy Port
SCSI Port
Parallel Port
Video RGB Port
VDE Out
VDE mode select
Stereo jacks
Rear view of the A3000. Note the new video outputs
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This is what Workbench 2.0 will look
like, rendered in tasteful grey and blue
The new expanded preferences section
A500 and A2000 owners was last year when the 1 meg
Agnus was released. This gives those machines a full meg
of chip ram, the memory the blitter can access, and so the
limiting factor on the quantity of graphics which can be
manipulated. When you are running DPaint and it closes
Workbench for you, it is freeing up chip ram.
One megabyte is the most A500 and 2000s can cope with
due to the PCB design. The A3000 can have 2 meg chip and
16 meg fast ram. It is supplied with 1 meg of each, the idea
being that you move the small 1 megabit chips over to chip
ram and install 4 megabit chips into fast ram when you
want to upgrade. Six meg will not be an unusual size for an
A3000, the rich and power hungry will opt for a full 18
meg.
This is a lot but the buzz among serious workstation
users - at whom the
A3000 is aimed - is
that any top limit is
restrictive and what
is needed is virtual
memory, where
space on the hard
disk can be used as
though it was ram.
All Motorola 68000
family chips above
the 68010 can
handle this, and virtual memory was planned for 1.5.
Maybe it will appear one day.
The other chips which are new to the A3000 are versions
of Denise, Gary and Buster.
Denise is the most exciting, handling the graphics and
introducing new modes. These are additional to the existing
modes, so all old software will still work as before unless
the program is doing something incredibly naughty.
Software has to be specially written to utilise the new
modes. Since Workbench has undergone suitable treatment,
all programs which run on the standard Workbench should
automatically cope. Anything which assumes Workbench
cannot be bigger than 640 x 256 pixels is in for a shock.
Programmers, you were warned.
T HE new modes are a 1280 x 256 in four colours from
a palette of 256, and a 640 x 480 in four colours from
only 64. But, and this is the clever bit, it is non-interlaced.
The result is the same as IBM’s mode 3 on the 8514/A
monitor, if that means anything to you. To do this you need
a VGA-type 3lKhz monitor. Because the old video modes
require a 15Khz monitor, you’ll either need a multi-sync -
oops, NEC trademark, I mean multi-scan - or two monitors.
A suitable screen - and you might well want one since
the chips are retrofittable to A500s - will set you back
£350ish, if you shop wisely. There is the added advantage
that the chip can
be switched between
NTSC and PAL modes.
This means naff YASTPs
can be made slightly less
naff by being expanded to fill
the screen.
Video buffs will enjoy the new
genlock facilities. The old genlock
would only work with one colour
- 2.0 and the Enhanced Chip Set
(ECS) conspire to allow any colour or
combination of colours to be genlocked.
The border can be switched to opaque
regardless of its logical colour.
If you are a programmer and are getting really
excited about all these sexy new features, the sort
of person who jumps up and down when they hear
that the hardware collision detect for sprites now
works, brace yourself: There is a downside. Anyone
who has broken rules about tagging on to copper lists
- the rule is: don’t - will get a mess on the screen.
Since the A3000 can have twice as much chip ram as the
machines us mortals use, the chip numbers vary. If you
want to be flash and upgrade your machine you’ll need to
order an Agnus 8372-R3 and a Denise 8373-R2a. But don’t
expect your dealer to get them for a very long while.
Buster is a chip you will find in a few existing Amigas.
His job is to look after the data bus, managing signals. This
is much more important on the A3000 where datum is
whizzing around very much faster.
The new and fatter Agnus is freely available, albeit at a
price - around £50. This gives A500 and A2000s more chip
ram. New Gary is very little different, fixing a minor bug
which caused some fast memory to be treated as slow, but
not chip, ram.
W ORKBENCH has changed a lot. The original blue,
white, orange and black defaults were adopted as
a result of a NASA study. Astronauts clearly have different
eyes to programmers and so a more sedate black, white,
grey and “it’s not going to rain today” sky blue has
emerged.
These look good, but present two problems. First, most of
your existing icons will look dreadful. Second, the grey on
blue, and vice versa, are unreadable on each other. If you
use a mono monitor, forget it. As ever, the colours can be
changed and the number of colours is selectable in binary
powers from two to 16.
Instead of the device icons appearing on a workbench
screen they now live in a window. I can’t really grasp why,
and this is the only change I don’t like. All windows can
have a texture applied to them, the Workbench one can be
independent of the proper windows so that windows show
up very clearly. This has to be a repeating pattern and stops
short of a whole picture like the PD utility Dropcloth.
A constant problem for new users has been
understanding the CLI. You either had a nice simple
graphical interface or were dropped into the deep end with
#? syntax. Workbench 2.0 offers a half-way house, the
ability to type in one line of CLI-type stuff directly.
Workbench
errors are easier
to understand.
Instead of having
to look up mystic
numbers to find that
103 means there is not
enough ram or 205 means
there is no program for the
icon, there is now some text
telling you what you have
done wrong.
Even with a meg of chip ram
- 2 meg if you have upgraded the
A3000 - you might end up with the
dreaded 103. Assuming you have a CLI
open, you can shut Workbench and free
up some ram. After all, LoadWB is just a
program and there is no reason why you
shouldn’t quit it, unless of course a program
you are running needs Workbench.
Many of the new features relieve frustration in
using the Amiga. One of these is the handling of
new drawers. In the past you had to keep a drawer
empty, duplicate and rename it to create a new one.
Instant drawers are now possible with the new drawer
option. It is very much faster and neater.
Another enhancement is the ability to open a parent
drawer from the bottom up. You don’t have to shuffle
windows, find the device and open the main drawer. But
Choosing the screen size from Preferences
the feature I most like is Select All.
You know how it is. You have just finished a major
session with DPaint and have loads of hiddledy-piggledy
icons. You select clean-up and start shift-clicking on them
so that you can do a snapshot and keep the system neat.
But in a fit of over-clicking you end up running DPaint and
have to start again.
No worries. Select All will save the trouble of shift
clicking. A neat workbench is now no hassle. A touch of
Mac magic - I didn’t say that, honest Mr Scully - gives the
option to draw a box around icons and select all those
inside.
Atari lovers will appreciate the View By Text option.
This replaces your lovely, hand crafted icons with a list of
files. OK they are in nice Amiga fonts, but what is the
point? Needless to say, I hate it. If you want to view files
without icons there is a special mode which attaches magic
icons to all the files and directories. You can then move
them around and switch off.
I NCREASED font control means that you are quite likely
to have a different font below the icons. This may look
good, and Workbench clean-up now takes the text into
account, but the font won’t change until you re-open the
window. For this reason there is a ResetWB option which
closes and re-opens all windows. This is needed if you
change modes.
One of the magic spells all Amiga owners curse at is the
S:startup- sequence. You know how it is never quite right
but you can’t be bothered to load Ed and fix it? Well, worry
no more because there is a special drawer which replaces
startup-sequence. Called the Startup drawer, all the
programs inside are run on booting. These can either be set
to run one after another or simultaneously. Easier and less
hassle, I’m sure you will agree.
O NE of the contributing factors to the new look is a
reworking of Preferences. This program has always
suffered from growing bit by bit. Having to select two
printer sub-menus for each new printer always struck me
as being a bit cack-handed.
Preferences has been expanded into a number of
programs to control command key definitions, the
keyboard option, no more fiddling with CLI to get a £ sign.
One program controls the palette, but this segmentation
means that any application can update the preferences file,
so if a PD palette requester you prefer pops up on a cover
disk, you can replace just that bit of Preferences.
The same holds for all the selections. Parallel and serial
port configuration programs will need updating if you buy
a board to add extra ports.
As before you can edit the pointer. Mine has a drop
shadow. And as I hinted before you can change the font.
There are three types - text which appears in CLI, icon
names and window names. For some applications there are
limits on size, and they have to be proportional. Others can
be totally wild. How about a hi-res Gothic?
Such flexibility is bound to cause problems. Lots of
programs assume size 9 fonts, and some even rely on
Topaz. With more users customising the screen, developers
are going to have to be even more cautious.
Not everyone will like the new look. It takes a bit of
getting used to but with a good monitor - no, put the family
telly back in the front room, it would look silly on an
A3000 - Workbench 2.0 is much more restful. And it is
easier to use, with stacks of keyboard equivalents.
Whenever two or three overweight, sandal-shod,
developers gather, the talk turns to ARexx. There is a
theory that programmers promote the image of Unix as
being difficult just to elevate their status. Such
U OMMODORE will have Unix, the operating system
which will dominate 1991 as the corporate world
discovers it really does need networking and multi-
tasking. Amiga will be ready with Unix System V version
4.
The software isn’t finished yet because AT&T, which
supplies Unix, hasn’t finished its bits. It will be expensive
but offer a lot of power and, hopefully, open up great new
markets to the Amiga.
Further off is the next generation of Amigas. They may
not even be called Amigas, and they certainly won’t
appear for two or three years.
I’d speculate that they will be based on the Motorola
88000. the RISC successor to the 88000. and the machines
will have better versions of the Amiga chip set, perhaps
offering a level of compatibility. Most of the Amiga system
is written in C. but I wouldn’t like to have to port it to
another processor.
Still, the men from America have worked wonders this
far. The Amiga 3000 is enough to he getting on with.
programmers,
when confronted
with something like an
Amiga, seek refuge in
ARexx.
We reviewed it yonks ago.
Basically Arexx is a
programming language for CLI,
but it goes beyond a standard
batch file by interacting with the
programs.
An ARexx program can be written to
take whatever your word processor spits
out, convert it to Ascii, archive it, log on to
Cix, upload the file, send a message to
someone, download any unread mail and log
off, while you keep using the word processor.
Of course, the comms program needs to know
about ARexx to give it control, and it helps if the
word processor does too, but these things will come.
ARexx forms the foundation for interconnectivity. In
five years’ time the rest of the world will catch on - they
still think digital watches and multi-tasking are a pretty
neat idea. ARexx
used to cost £50,
now it is free.
If you haven’t
bought a hard
disk perhaps the
single greatest
improvement in
Workbench 2.0 is
Fast File System
Some of the many new features (FFS) for
provided by Workbench 2.0 floppies. With
the application of
caution and cunning, this has been possible under 1.3, but
with suspect reliability.
Workbench 2.0 does it properly. This is no great shakes
for Amiga 3000 owners, but some other improvements
help. While retaining disk compatibility the wizards at
Commodore have sped up FFS. They have also added some
bits that won’t get used unless you have a network, locking
records so that they cannot be corrupted when several
people are using a file.
Inside, the A3000 is as neat as it is on the screen. The
expansion slots have been turned sideways. Beware of
cards which run hot, there is a lot less cooling from a
horizontal card. All slots are Zorro III. Like previous
Zorros, this is 100 pin, but is compatible with Zorro II.
Most cards which have been tested worked straight off.
Of the four, one is on its own, the other two line up with
non-Zorro slots, so a card can be designed which plugs into
both. Predictably two of these allow you to join Amiga and
PC slots.
The fourth is more interesting. It is a video slot, like that
found the wrong side of the PSU in an A2000. This
opens up plenty of scope for special effects video boards
which take instructions from the computer and manipulate
the image.
The CPU slot won’t take A2620 or 2630s. There is no
point - it is a new format with 200 pins. Commodore talks
of adding a 68040 or RISC
processor. My guess is that an 88000 card is being
developed as a stepping stone to the next generation of
Amigas.
One thing
which won’t
get added to the
A3000 is a Flicker
Fixer. The
Microway product
has been beaten to the
job by the Commodore
Display Enhancer.
Functionally the same as a
Flicker Fixer, this de-interlaces
the interlace modes and so, erm,
fixes flicker. For those who like
itchy eyeballs or who want to use X-
Specs type glasses, there is an off
switch on the back. Did you play with
Meccano when you were a small boy?
Good. You’ll love the drive bay chassis. This
slides in and out making it a breeze to fit a
more interesting drive.
All these features will no doubt have your
credit card running for cover. Well, it is justified.
Put your bank manager on danger money, this is a
workstation not a geegaw. The cheap (hah) 16Mhz
machine with a 68881 maths co-processor and 40 meg
drive - the one that no one will buy - is £2,499. Plus Vat,
plus monitor. The middle one, 25Mhz, 68882 and 40 meg
costs £2,999 and the only one really worth having - a
similar spec as the second but with a 100 meg drive - will
see no change from £3,299, plus, plus.
Still, one can but dream.
P REVIEWED in our May issue,
Checkmate's A 1500 expansion
system looks like one of the most
exciting add-ons ever produced for
the A500.
Almost a complete Do-It-Yourself
A2000 kit, it re-houses the A500 in
two separate metal boxes to hold
both the keyboard and main circuit
hoard. The floppy drive is
repositioned to face the front, a hard
drive can he fitted internally and the
whole system can he mounted in a
lOin rack.
a Checkmate
74 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
■ COMPETITION ■
I Rules | | A golden chance for
The added flexibility of the
At 500 will allow the A500 owner to
upgrade his system piece by piece,
eventually taking it beyond an
A2000.
Checkmate Systems has agreed to
give an A 1500 system to a lucky
Amiga Computing reader. Of
course, by lucky we mean those
readers clever enough to enter our
special competition, get the answers
right and then have their entry
picked from the magic hinhag by
Tytn the terrific art person.
1. The first correct entry drawn
from the magic binliner on July 18
will win the prize.
2. Photocopied entry forms will be
permitted, but multiple entries
will be treated with the disrespect
they deserve.
3. Employees of Interactive
Publishing and people who don’t
like Pink Floyd stand a good
chance of being disqualified.
4. The editor’s decision, however
strange, is final.
you to turn your
A500 setup into a
brand new computer
HOW TO ENTER
BELOW is a list of some of the features
boasted by an A1500 system. All you
have to do is sort them into what you
think is their order of importance and
write the relevant letters in the
relevant boxes.
For example, if you thought A was
the most important feature, you would
write A in box number one.
The correct entry will exactly match
the order previously selected by the
crack Amiga Computing team. No
tedious little tie-break sentence is
required because me know how tricky
they are. Of course, if you want to
complete the sentence “I am sending
AJ lots of money because...” please
feel free to do so.
\
ENTRY FORM
A 1500 features
A - Houses keyboard in a separate box.
B - Supports a full A2000 video slot.
C - Repositions the floppy drive.
D - Designed in the UK.
E - Can be rack mounted.
F - Full upgrade path.
I think the A1500 features should be
placed in the following order:
1 2 3 4 5 6
Name....,
Address,
Postcode
Phone number
I have read and understood the rules
and agree to abide by them.
Signed
Date
Send your completed form to:
Checkmate A1500 Competition, Amiga
Computing, Europa House, Adlington
Park, Macclesfield, SK10 4NP. The
closing date for entries is July 18.
n
j
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 75
THE COMPUTER STORE
DISKS LOW LOW PRICES and HIGH HIGH QUALITY
3.5" DSDD ONLY 59p EACH DSDD 3.5"
Our Disks are Packed in Boxes of 1 0 and come Complete with Labels. They are of the highest Quality and
come with a no quibble lifetime warranty. Order any quantity you want
(we don't mind opening a box) for only 59p each.
1 3.5" DSDD with label..
10 3.5" DSDD with labels
15 3.5" DSDD with labels
20 3.5" DSDD with labels
50 3.5" DSDD with labels
100 3.5" DSDD with labels
40 capacity lockable disk box (3.5" disks)
80 capacity lockable disk box (3.5" disks)
100 capacity lockable disk box (3.5" disks)
NEW 20 capacity non lockable disk box
SPECIAL OFFER
or; *5 R" n<tnn j. An C.anaritv Rnx
£5.99
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£7.99
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PR a R" DSHD + 80 Caoacitv Box
£19.95
25 3.5" DSDD + 100 Capacity Box
£20.95
59p
..£5.90
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.£11.80
.£29.50
.£59.00
Amiga A500 Packages
Containing
The Flight of Fantasy Pack,
A500 Computer, Mouse
Modulator, Workbench 1 .3,
Extras 1 .3 The Very First
Tutorial, F29 Retaliator,
Rainbow Islands, Escape
from the Planet of the
Robot Monsters, Deluxe
Paint II.
PLUS
The Computer Store Pack
Comprising
Quality 8mm Mouse Pad,
Ten Black 3.5" Disks,
Mouse Bracket, Disk box
to hold 40 Disks
PLUS
The Addons Pack
Consisting of Exolon,
Zynaps, Slayer, Battle
Tank, Xybernoid II,
Megablaster Joystick
FREE COURIER DELIVERY
This package is available
ONLY from
THE COMPUTER STORE
ONLY £399
Commodore MPS1230 Printer £149
Star LC24-10 Printer £249
Star LC10 Mono Printer £169
Star LC10 Colour Printer £229
All printers come with a free lead
Cumana 1 Meg 2nd 3.5" Drive £84.95
Commodore A1 010 3.5" 2nd Drive £84.95
Ashcom Half Meg + Clock £69.95
Ashcom Half Meg no Clock £59.95
Quality Mouse Pad (10" x 8" x .25") £3.99
Commodore A590 20 Meg Hard Drive £379.00
A590 + 1 Meg extras Ram fitted £499.00
A590 + 2 Meg Ram fitted £599.00
Amiga A500 Packages
Containing
The Batman Pack,
A500 Computer, Mouse
Modulator, Workbench 1 .3,
Extras 1 .3 The Very First
Tutorial, Batman the Movie,
The New Zealand Story,
F/A-18 Interceptor,
Deluxe Paint II.
PLUS
The Computer Store Pack
Comprising
Quality 8mm Mouse Pad,
Ten Black 3.5" with labels,
Mouse Bracket, Disk box
to hold 40 Disks
Call in and visit The Computer Store,
produce this advert and we will give you a
3.5" disk. Absolutely FREE!
THE COMPUTER STORE
Unit 82 In shops,
2-8 Greenwood Way,
Chelmsley Wood,
Birmingham, B37 5TL
Tel: 021 770 0468
PLUS
The Addons Pack
Consisting of Exolon,
Zynaps, Slayer, Battle Tank,
Xybernoid II, Megablaster
Joystick
FREE COURIER DELIVERY
This package is available
ONLY from
THE COMPUTER STORE
Please make Cheques/PO's Payable to :
THE COMPUTER STORE
ONLY £399
i
Ml
TRADEMASTERS
LIMITED
COMPUTERISED REPROGRAPHICS
GRAPHIC HOUSE, 33 NUTBROOK STREET, LONDON SE154JU TEL: 071-639 4394 FAX: 071-6393831
Trademasters Ltd. are market lead-
ers in computerised reproduction
techniques for the print industry
and offer an extensive range of
services to our clients who include
record and video companies. We
have vacancies for enthusiastic
young people to train in all aspects
of our work. If you are interested
in a career in high resolution
computer reprographics please
contact Mr. Matthew Dillon at the
above address.
Its
COMPANIES or individuals
wishing to commission any of
our Portfolio artists should in
the first instance contact the
Amiga Computing editorial
offices. Tel 0625 878»«8,
Fax 0625 879966.
P IERRE JOLIVET is an enigma, a
man of many talents. Some
might call him weird, others insane.
We prefer deep.
As you’ve guessed from his name,
Pierre is French, although at the
moment he is living in Dublin where
Espace
he’s working as an adviser in
computer graphics alongside
computer technology companies.
Before that he created the music for a
French cartoon, L’Intouchable, which
was presented at the Cannes festival
this year.
Pierre’s second love is music. The
music for the cartoon was composed
using his Amiga 1000, which he’s had
since 1987, and Music-X. Indeed
Pierre and his Amiga have played a
number of live concerts around the
world and have made four albums,
including one called A Porky Prime
Cut released in this country on BN1A
Records in 1988. You might have
heard of him. He works under the
name of Pacific 231?
Now that we’ve got your attention
and shown you what a talented guy
this is, we’re sure the images on these
pages have taken on another
dimension. This is modern art. It’s not
everyone’s cup of turpentine, an
acquired taste you might say, but it’s
certainly highly original.
Pierre, who owns and experiments
with all the top Amiga graphics
packages, has now progressed to
DeLuxe Video m, putting digitised
images created with Vidi-Amiga and
Pixmate to music in short animations.
More power to your palette, Pierre.
Keep the discs coming.
Scarlet Women
Contributions . on disc
please , to: Portfolio ,
Amiga Computing ,
Europa House , Adlington
Park, Macclesfield ,
SKtO 4NP.
78 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
A NYONE who has owned an 8
bit machine can’t have failed
to have noticed the varied selection of
freezer cartridges for them, ones like
the Freeze Frame, Multiface and
Expert Cartridge.
As well as allowing you to transfer
8 bit tape games to disk, # the better
ones also contain a host of useful
utilities for programmers and those
interested in having a look inside
programs and ripping out the
graphics.
Now the first two of these cartridges
are available for the Amiga - the
Amiga Action Replay from Datel
Electronics and the Nordic Power
from Data & Electronics Venlo B.V.
(Holland).
After signing and returning a form
to state you will not use the Action
Replay for illegal activity, you receive
a box containing a small manual, a
disk of utilities and the Action Replay
cartridge.
It is about the same shape and size
as the old Vic 20 game cartridges. The
box plugs into the A500 expansion
port on the left of the machine. It has
no through port, so forget it if you’ve
got an A590 or another peripheral
with no through port itself.
On the top of the cartridge you will
find a small green power LED, the
magical freeze button that starts the
cartridge going and a slo-mo device —
a little knob you can use to slow down
the Amiga, a sort of processor
decelerator.
I generally prefer things to go faster
rather than slower, but if you’re
having problems with a game you can
slow it down with this knob to just the
Recognise the pointer?
FREQUENCY tCH-RC RANGE START M3F0iF
RANGE END
Mm
It might not look like it, but this is Green snoring
speed you require.
Once the cartridge is plugged in and
you turn on your Amiga, you are
greeted with an Amiga Action Replay
screen which flashes up before the
Workbench disk hand pops up.
So you boot up your Amiga with a
game and press the button. You are
immediately confronted with a blue
screen with the Datel copyright
message at the top. The screen is lo-res
40 column, probably due to memory
restrictions rather than a desire to
deeply annoy Amiga owners with
monitors.
At this point you can start fiddling.
While doing so you will soon find out
that pressing Z gives a Y, and pressing
Y gives a Z. This is because the
cartridge uses a German keymap. You
can switch it to a USA keymap by
pressing F9.
There is no UK keymap, so if you
have a UK keyboard you will find
some of the symbols above the number
keys messed up.
Not that they work properly with a
US keyboard either. Pressing Shift-2
gives a funny squiggle character. If you
use said funny squiggle character in a
filename and then try and look at the
file later with the utility disk, you find
that it is a y with an umlaut (two dots)
above it.
The strange thing is that no
language in the world uses a y with an
Jolyon Ralph casts
an expert’s eye on
two magic boxes that
Amiga hackers have
been crying out for
80 AMIGA COMPUTING fuly 1990
■ HARDWARE
umlaut. Legend has it that this
character was invented by IBM and
every computer manufacturer since
then has blindly copied it, never
thinking to check up if the character is
actually used or not.
You can format a disk to the special
FDOS format, which is basically no
format at all. It takes about two or
three seconds. Once you have done
this you can make an entire memorv
dump of your Amiga to a disk file.
This not only saves an entire image
of memory to disk, but also the current
state of all the Amiga’s hardware,
including the hardware registers and
the 68000 registers. It even remembers
the position of the disk head in the
drive and moves it back to the correct
place when loading in memory
dumps.
Such dumps are compressed before
saving, which can take a couple of
minutes, but results in three or four
memory dumps fitting to a disk on
average.
The disks the Action Replay creates
can be made into bootable Amiga ones
with a program on the utility disk.
Booting such a disk gives you a menu
to choose which memory dump to
load and run.
T HIS little cartridge does a lot
more besides saving out
memory. Hardware-hitting
programmers will love it for it contains
a monitor and disassembler for looking
at the programs in memory. You can
view normally write-only hardware
registers, you can set breakpoints and
execute code until the processor
reaches the point you set.
You can block move memory
around your machine; it even has a
copperlist assembler and disassembler
to examine and fiddle with the
workings of the current copperlist.
You can rip graphics out of almost
any game or demo at any time - you
can even rip out the screen the Amiga
puts up asking for a Workbench disk
to be loaded.
However, a lot of game screens are
built up of various layers stacked
vertically, and each has to be saved
individually because each can be a
different resolution or use different
colours. Once saved to disk using the
cartridge, these files can be converted
into standard Amiga IFF files with the
supplied conversion utility.
Action Replay has a trainer mode to
find pokes automatically for infinite
lives on your favourite games. It works
: by looking for the initial number of
lives in the game, then you play, lose a
life, press the button, and the Action
Replay looks for any memory location
that has decreased to the right value
from the last check.
It often takes several passes to track
down the life counter, and some
games cannot be trained this way.
Once you find the life counter for
your game, you can either alter it and
give yourself 255 lives or use the
built-in option to find the SUB or
SUBQ instruction that decrements
the counter and replace it with a
harmless TST instruction. This will
I prevent the counter from ever
reaching zero.
Pressing Help gives a list of the
commands. This revealed some not in
the manual, so I looked at the disk for
If you should go skating on the thin ice of piracy.
-AMIGA
ACTION
REPLAY.
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 81
■ HARDWARE ■
N EITHER of these cartridges wins
any points for OS friendliness.
They are designed to do things the Amiga
hardware tries not to allow. Problems
arise with certain hard drives. The A2000
version of the Nordic Power cartridge
plugs in the MMU slot, where faster
processor boards usually go, and will not
work if a Bridgeboard is in the system.
If you have extra memory, both
cartridges assume it will be at ScOOOOO,
although Nordic Power also detects
memory at S80000 in new 1 meg chip ram
machines.
This is fine if you have a Commodore
A501 or a compatible 512k board, but
anyone with other memory boards
installed in their A500 will find that the
cartridge will not detect the extra
memory.
Nordic Power refuses to let you even
look at memory in other areas, such as
the Spirit 1.5 meg memory board in my
A500.
Despite the German documentation, I
managed to work out that Action Replay
has 16k of ram mapped to $9fc000 and
64k of rom mapped to SfOOOOO. If
Commodore decides to put something
more interesting in these areas of
memory later on the cartridge will have
to go.
Action Replay takes over the 68000's
level 7 interrupt and the unauthorised
interrupt. What appears to be either a
programming bug or a deliberate attempt
to confuse those investigating the
workings of this cartridge means these
vectors are set to Sc5f0000x instead of
SOOfOOOOx. On a 68000 the top byte of a
long-word address is ignored, but it is not
ignored on a 68020 or above, which will
cause a 68020 to jump to the wrong part
of memory.
Programmers have been warned many
times never to use a non-zero value in
this top byte. Because it is hard-coded
into the rom of this cartridge it will
presumably not work with a 68020/030
board installed, although I have not been
able to test it with one.
The Nordic Power cartridge contains
64k of rom and 16k of ram. It has defied
all attempts by me to track down where it
is or how it works, because it does not
seem to use any of the 68000 interrupt
lines. This may make it more difficult for
games companies to protect against.
further information. I found a file
called Read. me, so I did.
Unfortunately it was all in German
and wasn’t much help. And it didn’t
contain any y’s with umlauts either.
On reset the Action Replay checks
for anything resembling a virus and, if
found, wipes the memory totally
clean. This approach is a bit heavy
handed, but certainly effective. It can
be disabled if you use a recoverable
ram disk. The cartridge can also
optionally disable fast memory for
badly written games or demos.
The hardware assumes you have a
standard A500 with or without extra
drive and, if you have a ram
expansion, it assumes it’s an A501.
Anything else you may have inside
your Amiga could cause problems
with the cartridge. It might be worth
checking with Datel whether the
Action Replay will work with your
specific configuration before parting
with cash.
Other than that, the hardware is
good. A few minor points like the 40
column screen and there being no
lower case characters, but it allows
you to do things impossible on an
Amiga without it. Machine code
programmers will love it, being a very
powerful debugging tool. But if you
only want it to save games, it’s an
expensive way to improve your high
scores.
T HE Nordic Power cartridge is
slightly smaller than the Action
Replay one. The buttons are placed at
the rear, making it slightly less easy to
use, and the case falls apart quite
easily to allow upgrade roms to be
fitted at a later date.
This cartridge has a through port
allowing further peripherals to be
added. Whether they work or not is
another matter. My A590 works with
the cartridge plugged in, but refuses to
autoboot.
Once the cartridge is fitted and the
Amiga is powered up, you have to
press the freeze button once. This
initialises the cartridge and re-boots
your Amiga.
Now you can use your Amiga
happily until you reach the point that
you wish to employ the cartridge’s
services. Now you press the button
again, which gives you a menu. At the
bottom of the menu are the names of
the programmers, M. Rom and Z.
Nine. Demo fans may recognize these
names as Major Rom and Zeronine
from Quadlite.
The display is lo-res and uses less
than half of the screen, but at least it
uses a small 6 point font allowing
about 50 characters per line. It looks
nicer than the Action Replay screen,
but the restricted width makes it no
easier to work with. Nordic Power has
no lower case character set, either.
Most of the menu functions can be
chosen with the function keys, making
the cartridge very easy to use. My one
complaint about the menus is putting
the Exit Back To Program option on F7
>
ocoooeco
00FE9718
ooocsics
COCOCrVO
ccooceoo
oocoosvv
00300000
O0C0V730
cooooooo
weetsss
oooooooo
00F Cl 338
FFFFFFFF
COC 00278
0S00FFFF
OOC7FFD2
eocoivsa
zm
00FC13V2
CPU registers according to the Nordic unit...
ACTION REPLAY - AMIGA SYSTEM
<C> 1989 BY OLAF BOEHM & JOERG ZANGER
<P> BY DATEL ELECTRONICS LTD
D0 - 00000800 Di = 000C61C2
D2 = 00000000 D3 = 00000000
D4 - 00000000 D5 = 0CE50088
D6 = FFFFFFFF D7 = 00802C6E
A0 = 00FE9716 A1 = 00C014E2
A2 = 00000001 A3 = 00FE86EE
A4 = 80801558 A5 = 08C014B6
A6 = 00C00276 A 7 = 00C7FFFA
PC = 88FC0720 USP = 00C014AE SR = 0000
T = 0 S— 0 1=008 X=8 N=0 Z=0 V=8 C=8
D0
TC0728 MOVE . L A6,-<A7>
'FC8722 MOVEA.L 14<A1>,A6
'FC0726 JSR —IE < A6 >
'FC072A MOVEA.L <A7>+,A6
...and according
to the Datel box
of tricks
82 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
2
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35' NEC Drive (stundi 49 90
AmigaDos Toolbox (NEW) 29.90
BBS PC Bulletin Board 79.81
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Celuxe Paint 2 (of Bundle) 19.78
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Modula 2 Compiler (NEW) 99.82
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Panmead Accounts (NEW) 29.90
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Starter Kit (NEW) 49.91
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ACCOUNTS
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System 3 Integrated 44.85
BOOKS
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COMMUNICATIONS
A Talk 3 62.92
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Design 30 1MB 57 96
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Movie Setter 51.98
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Sculpt Animate 4D Junior 84.87
Turbo Silver 99.82
ZoetropelMB 79.81
HARDWARE
1 .3 A5000 Kickstart ROM 29.90
IMBMmiMax A500RAM 199.87
3.5’ NEC Drive SwitchTThu 68.77
512k A500 RAM Clock 69.92
A Max Mac Emulator No Roms .109.94
A4 Flat Bed Scanner .459.77
A590 20VB Hard Disk Drive 379.96
A M A S Sound Sampler 77.74
Dig! View Gold 4 1 19.33
MasterSound Sampler 34.96
Midi Master Interlace 34.96
Vidi Amiga PAL Digitiser 99.32
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Graphics Starter Kit 54.97
Home Office Kit 99.32
Publishers Choice 68.77
Starter Kit 59.80
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Aztec C Professional 109.94
Modula 2 119.33
Devpac 2 42.78
GFA Basic Compiler 28.98
GFA Basic Interpreter 39.79
Hisoft Basic Compiler 57.96
Hisoft Extend
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Lattice C 5 Complete
16997
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52.90
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39 79
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49 91
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Advantage
. . 79 81
DGCalc
31 97
Superplan 1MB
67 85
UTILITIES
Amikit For Beginners .29 90
ARexx Macro Interpreter 34 96
Award Maker Plus 34.96
B.A D. Disk Optimiser 31.97
BBC Emulator 34.96
Cross File Transfer 29.90
D U D.E. Housekeeper 34 96
Disk Master Housekeeper 39 79
DOS 2 DOS File Transfer 29 90
Enhancer 1.3 SWUpgrade 14 72
Face 2 Disk Cache 23.92
MAC 2 DOC File Transfer 69.92
Masterpiece Fonts(IIOI) 129.95
Mavis Beacon Typing 27 83
Project D Backup'Edilor 31.97
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Virus Infect. Protection 34 96
X Copy 2 Backup/Editor 17 94
Your Family Tree Gen 34 96
WORDPROCESSORS
Kindwords2 35.88
Penpal 99.82
Protext 64.86
Scribble (Platinum) 41 86
Transcript 32.89
WordPerfect 164 91
Richard Howe & Angela Hammett
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AMIGA HARDWARE
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0.5Mb Ram Exp/Clock £69.99
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Cumana 1Mb 3.5" Drive £71.99
Vortex 40Mb Hard Drive. .£499.99
Hitachi Camera & Lens. ...£219.99
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Vidi Amiga £97.99
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Omega Midi Interface £29.99
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Dungeon Master (1 meg). £22.99
Battle Chess £16.99
Conqueror £17.99
Warhead £17.99
Hound of Shadow £17.99
North & South £16.99
Blood wych, £17.99
Space Rogue £17.99
Test Driven £17.99
Full Metal Planet £16.99
Stryx £17.99
Knights of the Christalion .£22.99
Gunship £16.99
Untouchables £17.99
Pinball Magic £16.99
Budokan £16.99
Grand National £13.99
Hot Rod £16.99
Iron Lord .. £16.99
Tower of Babel £23.99
Footballer of the Year £13.99
Lost Dutchmans Mine £16.99
Castle Master £16.99
Beyond Dark Castle £23.99
Bloodwych Data Disc £11.99
Precious Metal £16.99
Premier Collection £12.99
Premier Collection II £16.99
Baal £8.99
Menace £8.99
Ballistix £8.99
Speedball £9.99
AMIGA
Player Manager
..£16.99
Xenon II
..£16.99
Batman - Movie
....£9.99
Powerdnft
..£13.99
Ghostbusters II
..£16.99
Last Ninja II
..£16.99
New Zealand Story
..£13.99
Pro Tennis Tour
..£16.99
F18 interceptor
..£13.99
Blood Money
..£16.99
Space Quest III
..£29.99
Fl 6 Combat Pilot
..£16.99
Supreme Challenge
..£23.99
Extra Time
....£7.99
Pirates
..£16.99
Chaos Strikes Back
..£16.99
Giants
..£23.99
Xenomorph
..£16.99
Winners
..£23.99
Ninja Spirits
..£16.99
Hammerfist
..£16.99
Chronoquest II
..£22.99
Gravity
..£16.99
Sherman Tank M4
..£16.99
Ivanhoe
..£17.99
Risk
£17.99
Carthage ... -
..£16.99
Cloud Kingdoms
..£16.99
Barbarian II
,.£17.99
Elite
,.£16.99
Zombie
,.£17.99
Populus Promised Land.
£8.99
Bad Blood
..£24.99
Treasure Trap
,.£17.99
Escape From Hell
,.£17.99
Liverpool
,.£17.99
Gunboat
,.£17.99
Ultima V
,.£26.99
Astro Marine Corps
,.£17.99
Colorado
,.£17.99
Ghosts n Goblins
,£16.99
AMIGA
Dragons Flight £24.99
Operation Stealth £18.99
World Cup Soccer £14.99
LHX Attack Chopper £34.99
Klax £14.99
Planet of Robot Monsters £14.99
Passing Shot £14.99
Table Tenns £14.99
Combo Racer... ... £16.99
Midi Interface £22.99
Italia 90 £4.99
Hunter Killer £4.99
Battle Ships £9.99
Treasure Island Dizzy £4.99
Jump Jet £4.99
Music X £149.99
Photon Paint II £22.99
Deluxe Paint II £59.99
Triad III £19.99
F19 Stealth Fighter £24.99
Cheetah 125 * Joystick £8.99
Navigator + Auto £8.99
Fast Fax £599.00
Action Service £4.99
Audio Master 2 £49.99
Warhead £16.99
AMIGA
Superbase 2 £24.99
Impossamole £16.99
Gravity £16.99
Blue Angels £16.99
Protector £4.99
Triad 2
Sonic Boom
£9.99
£16.99
3rd Courier
£16.99
Magnum 4
£22.99
Persian Golf
£13.99
Shadow of the Beast £16.99
Cyber World £13.99
Premier Collection III £22.99
K.ndwords 2 £42.99
Dragons Lair (1 meg) £28.99
Somx Amizon £59.99
Bomber Amiga £22.99
World Cup Soccer £16.99
Italy *90 £16.99
World Cup Compilation ....£16.99
Football Manager World
Cup Edition £13.99
International Championship
Wrestling £16.99
Debut £16.99
AMIGA
Crackdown £16.99
Baal
£8.99
Menace
£8.99
Tetris
£8.99
Manic Miner
£9 99
Renaissance
.,£13.99
Nuclear War
.,£16.99
Ultimate Golf
.,£16.99
Theme Park Mystery
.,£22.99
Dyter 7
.,£13.99
Bad Blood
.,£22.99
Day of the Viper
.,£16.99
Nevermind
,.£13.99
All-Time Favourites
.,£22.99
Edition 1
.,£16.99
Rings of Medusa
,.£22.99
Soccer Manager Plus,,
.,£16.99
The Golden Fleece
.,£16.99
Dungeon Quest
.,£16.99
Time Soldier
.,£16.99
Power Boat
.,£16.99
Emlyn Hughes Soccer ,
.,£15.99
Gazza's Super Soccer ,
.,£15.99
Microprose Soccer
.,£16.99
Football Manager II
.,£15.99
If the product you're looking for is not here give us a call. 1000's more titles in stock. Orders under £10.00.
please add 50p per item p&p. Products in stock usually sent same day
PRODUCT COST FORMAT PO Cheques payable to:
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releases sent on day ol release
TOTAL L_
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ADDRESS
Send to: PROTON SOFTWARE (AMF), ENTERPRISE HOUSE. BLACKHORSE ROAD.
LETCHWORTH. HERTS SG6 1HD. Tel: (0462) 686977. Fax: (0462) 673227
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AMIGA (UK MODELS ONLY)
B2000 U with 40Mb Fast Drive A500
trade-in offer (ends 6 90) .. 1099.00
B2000 with 1Mb Chip RAM 949.00
B2000 ♦ Stereo Colour Monitor 1195.00
B2000 XTHD 20Mb inc XT Bndgeboard &
Stereo Mon 1449.00
B2000 ♦ 30 48Mb Autoboot +
Stereo Mon 1635/1665
Amiga 500 FLIGHT OF FANTASY
PACK (NEW) 359.00
Amiga 500 CLASS OF THE 90’s
Education Pack 529.00
PRINTERS
Citizen 120D+ (NEW) Parallel 129.95
Star LC-10 Parallel 159.00
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Star LC24-10 24 pin Multi-font
170/57 cps 239.00
All Oki 20 consumables normally
in stock PHONE
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Philips 8833 Stereo Colour Mon tor....249.00
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C64/1 28/Amiga/PC 239.00
DISK DRIVES
A2000 Autoboot 30Mb Drive 439.00
A2000 Autoboot 48Mb Drive 469.00
A2000 Autoboot 80Mb Drive 619.00
Amiga A5S0 Autoboot 20Mb Drive (RAM
expandable 369.00
20Mb 3.5* Disk Drive for PC/A2000 Inc
Controller 150.00
Internal 3.5" Disk Drive for A2000 79.95
External 3.5’ Drive for Amiga - Disable Sw
& Thro’ Port 69.95
MISCELLANEOUS
Commodore A501 RAM. Clock 51 2Kb. .99.95
A500 RAM; Clock 512Kb with
Disable Sw 65.95
A500 RAM/Clock 1 .8Mb Populated
512Kb 84.95
A500 RAM/Clock 1.8Mb Fully
Populated 209.00
Kickstart VI. 3 ROM for A500/200 28.00
New Fat Agnus 59.00
CIA Chip 14.38
A2000 RAM 8Mb Populated with 2Mb..319.00
minGen low cost Genlock 99.95
Vidi-Amiga PAL Frame Grabber inc
Colour filters 129.00
Surge Protector 4-Way Distrib Unit 15.95
Surge Protector 13A Plug/3-Way
Adaptor 12.95/19.95
SOFTWARE
Arena Business Accounts
Sales'Purchase/NonVInvoice 1 49.00
TV’TEXT Professional 129.00
ProVideo Plus 189.00
Digiview Gold 4 119.95
Home Office Kit: Kmdwords 2. PageSetter
1 .2. Maxiplan 1 .9. InfoFile. CaleFonts &
Artists Choice 129.95
Professional Page 179.95
X-CAD Designer 79.95
Music-X 175.00
Midi Interface for above
( 1 -irV3-out/1 -thru) 34.95
ALL PRICES INCLUDE 15% VAT
CARRIAGE £5 (EXPRESS £10) SOFTWARE £2
Price subject to change without notice. E. & O. E.
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8 Ruswarp Lane, WHITBY, N. Yorks Y021 1ND
TEL/FAX: 0947 600065 (9am-7pm)
AnAnAnAnAiTAnAnAnAnAnAnA
TELETEtiT
A world of information
at your fingertips
Now you can keep it informed with the latest weather, financial news, sports results,
current affairs and much more from Ceefax or Oracle. But unlike a Teletext TV all this
valuable information isn’t trapped behind glass. Now you can . . .
Save to disc. Pages may be saved in Compact (over 800 pages per disc) or IFF format.
Print. You can print as just text (for a fast result) or as a screen dump.
Review. Instant access to the last 16 pages which have been received.
Speak. Thanks to the Amiga’s speech capability, it will even read the news to you.
Multiple display. It can display and update two pages on screen simultaneously.
FastText. True FastTcxt gets pages in advance and reduces the waiting time.
Tuning, just connect an aerial - it tunes itself in! Although the prime function is to receive
Teletext, it also will convert a 1081 or 1084 monitor to a colour TV.
Programmable. The system can be programmed to get a scries of pages and then' save or
print them. Your own programs can access the data on Teletext.
Only a Microtext adaptor can provide all these facilities, it’s easy to use and connects to the
parallel port, a printer can be reconnected to the adaptor. Everything is supplied, all you
need is your Amiga and a normal TV aerial.
At just £124.80 + VAT inc p/p for an advanced Teletext TV its excellent value for money.
Make sure you're always up to date, and get yours now from:-
EI 3 MICROTEXT [a]
Dept AG, 7 Birdlip Close, Horndean, Hants P08 9PW
Tel: (0705) 595694 Fax: (0705) 593988
■ HARDWARE ■
Action
Replay
Nordic
Power
Works on A500
★
★
Works on A1000
★
★
Works on B2000
soon
Through port
★
Slow motion device
★
★
Upradeable roms
★
Cartridge needed
to re-load files
★
AmigaDos format disks
★
Full size screen
★
Disk copy
★
Memory virus killer
★
Cheat finder
★
★
Graphics ripper
★
★
Print screens
9 pin epson
bfr it* only
Sound sample ripper
★
Assembler
★
★
Breakpoints
★
Copper assembler
and disassembler
★
Disassembler
★
★
Jump to address
★
Block copy memory
★
Load block to address
★
★
Save memory block
★
★
Sprite editor
★
Edit memory
★
★
Show memory as Ascii
★
★
Block fill
★
Show/Edit CPU registers
★
★
Hardware register edit
★
CIA (8520) edit
★
★
Calculation evaluator
★
The Pros and Cons of hacking
Bad news for pirates
ALTHOUGH it would seem that these
cartridges provide a very easy way to
pirate games, it doesn’t quite work like
that. Firstly, most games load levels
from disk and you will still need the
original disk to play the game from a
cartridge-saved copy.
Secondly, although the files that the
Action Replay creates do not need the
cartridge plugged in to run - because it
saves all of memory out and restores
all of memory in, including areas used
by the system - loading it on a
>
rather than a more logical key, like
Escape or FlO.
Saving memory is simple. You have
the option of crunching the file or
saving the whole of ram as one 512k
long disk file, or two 512k files on two
disks for 1 meg machines. The
problem with saving crunched
memory is that it will save all of
memory, so if you only want to save
512k, you have to physically remove
your extra ram.
The manual suggests cutting a track
on your A501 and soldering a switch
across it to disable the expansion, but
this is hardly an acceptable solution
for the average Amiga owner.
The Nordic Power graphics ripper is
much more complex than the Action
Replay one, and therefore is a lot more
confusing for beginners.
It allows you to fiddle with such
things as the individual bitplane
pointers, the bitplane modulos and the
ddfstart and dffstop values. It will
usually guess the values you need, but
I found it didn’t work as well as
Action Replay. One advantage the
Nordic Power has is that it uses
standard AmigaDos disks, so vou
don’t have to mess around with a
conversion utility.
Where Nordic Power really shines is
in its sound ripper facility. It shows a
graphical representation of memory,
which you can output to the speaker
as a sample. You can change the start
and end positions and zoom in on the
display until you get exactly the right
length for the sample you wish to rip.
Pressing S will save the sample to
disk.
Like Action Replay, Nordic Power
has a machine code monitor. I was
disappointed with it though. Perhaps
it’s because I used the Action Replay
different machine, with a different
Kickstart, different memory
configuration or different number of
drives, and so on, will promptly cause
the Amiga to crash 99 per cent of the
time.
Both cartridges are ideal for people
playing a game who want to save their
game position when there is no save-
game option. Programmers will be
delighted with the debugging facilities
they offer. Would-be pirates will be
disappointed.
cartridge first, but the Nordic Power
monitor seems a very basic affair,
offering a bare minimum of features
and lacking some which I regard as
essential, such as a block move.
None of this is helped by the
manual, which is the victim of some
nasty translation. For example: “We
call the actual screen that on the
moment of pressing the freeze button
the graphic” and “ The Amiga musics
exists from samples (samples means
monsters)
Some of the mistakes cannot be
excused by translation and must be
put down to brain failure: “On Amiga
text screens are called dual
playfields. ” What?!?
Nordic Power has a game trainer
option, but unlike Action Replay it is
totally automatic. It assumes you are
losing one life at a time, and therefore
cannot be used for other counters that
may go up, like damage for instance.
When it finds the correct value it
replaces it with 127, so you don’t have
infinite lives, just 127.
This is not a good way to train a
game because some games crash if the
life value is too high for the display -
for example, if the game tries to draw
127 little spaceships at the top of the
screen and runs out of space.
Overall, Nordic Power is a very
useful unit. The use of AmigaDos
format with the ability to format disks,
catalogue and delete files, makes it
easy to use. But it doesn’t seem very
reliable - if you hold the freeze button
down too long it crashes.
Amiga Action Replay, £59.99, Datel
Electronics, 0782 744707.
Nordic Power, £59.99, Data &
Electronics, 0795 472727
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 85
DISKS DISKS DISKS DISKS DISKS DISKS
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ay SPECIAL COLOURED DISK OFFER
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PRICES ARE PER DISK. ALL DISKS
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RETURN THE COUPON FOR FREE COLOUR OROCHURES!
Commodore A500
Flight Of Fantasy
AMIGA
FLIGHT OF FANTASY
Flight of Fantasy is the very latest Amiga 500 pack from Commodore,
featuring BRAND NEW software releases, to make this the most spec-
tacular A500 pack ever! The pack features the Amiga 500 computer
with mouse controller and TV modulator, as well as four top software
titles. These include the following:
The high quality graphics program that
set the standard tor other Amiga art
packages. Deluxe Paint II includes
powerful, easy to use tools that bring
out the artisi in you Create master-
pieces. presentations. 3D perspectives
or just doodle
with dozens of different tactical missions.
Aerial combat, stralegic bombings, interac-
tive ground based battles, seagoing earners
the Ust ot features is endless Real time
cockpit displays, including true radar'
enhance the realistic feel o < this stunning
simulation
Here's something completely different
- a science fiction story with ccmic
book style graphics Our heroes Jake
and Duxe are on the Planet X rescu-
ing Humans who have been captured
by the Robot Monsters and forced to
create an evil Robot Army to DESTROY
EARTH 1 Jake and Duke fight their way
through hordes of evil Robots to help
the Humans escape
PACK INCLUDES:
A500 Computer & Mouse £399.99
A520 TV Modulator £24.99
Deluxe Paint II £49.95
Escape/Robot Monsters £19.99
Rainbow Islands £24.95
F29 Retaliator £24.95
TOTAL RRP: £544.82
Less Pack Saving: £145.82
PACK PRICE: £399.00
For the more serious or professional applica-
tions user. Commodore have a selection of
systems based around the expandable Amiga
2000. at prices from £1295+VAT. The A2000
features a full 1Mb RAM (expandable to 9Mb),
9 system expansion slots, plus IBM com-
patibility with the use of PC-XT or PC-AT
bridgeboards. Complete and return the
coupon, putting a tick ~ -
mtheA2000box.for |r|lQC
details of A2000 com- M
puter systems. -*-vat. £1489.25
The Commodore A500 Batman Pack must
surely rank as one of the most popular com-
puter packs ever! The pack features the
Commodore Amiga 500 computer with
mouse controller and TV modulator, plus
four top software titles. The software in-
cludes: ‘Batman The Movie’ - Rid Gotham
City of the cunning joker, in Ocean's top
selling title based on the blockbuster Bat-
man film; New Zealand Story • high quali-
ty conversion of the leading arcade game;
Interceptor • Dogfight with two F-I6’s in
this leading flight simulator; Deluxe Paint
II - top quality Amiga graphics package
which set the standard for others to follow.
Return the coupon for further details.
PACK INCLUDES:
A500 Computer & Mouse £399.99
A520 TV Modulator £24.99
Batman The Movie £24.95
New Zealand Story £24.95
Interceptor £24.95
Deluxe Paint II £49.95
TOTAL RRP: £549.78
Less Pack Saving : £150.78
PACK PRICE: £399.00
FOR FURTHER DETAILS OF THE AMIGA
RANGE, COMPLETE THE COUPON AND
RETURN IT TO SILICA SHOP
THE UK’s Nol AMIGA SPECIALISTS
DELUXE PAINT II:
ESCAPE I ROBOT MONSTERS:
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SILICA SHOP OFFER YOU
FREE OVERNIGHT COURIER DELIVERY: On all hardware orders shipped in the UK.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT HELPLINE: Team of Amiga technical experts at your service.
PRICE MATCH: We normally match competitors on a “Same product - Same price" basis.
ESTABLISHED 12 YEARS: Proven track record in professional computer sales.
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BUSINESS/EDUCATION/GOVERNMENT: Volume discounts available for large orders.
SHOWROOMS: Demonstration and training facilities at our London & Sidcup branches.
THE FULL STOCK RANGE: All of your Amiga requirements from one supplier.
FREE CATALOGUES: Will be mailed to you with offers and software/peripheral details.
PAYMENT: By cash, cheque and all major credit cards.
CREDIT PAYMENT TERMS: Silica are licensed credit brokers - return coupon for details.
Before you decide when to buy your new Amiga computer, we suggest you think very carefully about WHERE
you buy it. Consider what it will be like a few months after buying your Am ga, when you may require additional
peripherals or software, or help and advice with your new purchase. And. will the company you buy from contact
you with details of new products? At Silica Shop, we ensure that you will have nothing to worry about Silica have
been established for over 12 years, and have an annual turnover of £13 million With our unrivalled experience
and expertise, we can now claim to meet our customers requirements with an understanding which Is second
to none But don't just take our word for it Complete and return
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PLEASE SEND INFORMATION ON THE AMIGA
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j^Which computer(s). if any. do you own? A200(HI^
taut Aa*«rti»ed prices a no specifications may cnange piease return tne coupon tor tne latest in*ormation
Many small companies go broke each year
because there is nobody to look after the
time-consuming job of keeping proper
accounts. Alex Aird looks at a package
from Arena Technologies which aims to
keep the small businessman on top of his job
H AVE you ever wondered why
some people get to review
certain products in Amiga
Computing? Well, I run a little
computer shop and while I was
chatting with the Features Editor one
day I happened to mention that I was
doing my yearly accounts. Jeff asked
what software I was using. I told him I
didn’t know of anything good and was
doing them by hand.
Surprised by my reply, he sent me a
newish accounting package, which
shall remain nameless, and asked me
to try it out. I played with it for about
15 minutes and sent it straight back.
A couple of days later Jeff sent
another, Arena Accounts. “That’s
better,” I said. “This is something I
might be able to use.”
Arena Accounts is a full accounting
package aimed at small to medium-
sized businesses. It requires at least 1
meg of memory and, as usual with
serious packages, two floppies or a
hard drive makes life very much
easier.
The software is not copy protected
and even comes with a little program
to copy itself to your hard disk - a big
plus point for me as I use an A590. I
hate programs which will not run
The Add/Amend module is
where you set up the details
for each of your accounts
Horhbenoh topf n
Enter Account Code
; fl 1 1 BIAFTX WII I
I Sales 2 Purchases
3 Direct Expenses 4 Overheads
*» - Tixed Assets 0 Current Assets
7 - Current Liabilities 8 Capital
The Nominal Ledger is
where you'll probably
spend most of your time.
from my hard drive.
W HEN the program has loaded
you are presented with a
menu giving you access to the sales,
purchase and nominal ledgers, plus a
further option of sales invoicing.
The sales invoicing section allows
you to create, print and post invoices
into the accounts. Normally I would
use a word processor to print out an
invoice then add the invoice amount
to the sales ledger. This program will
add it to the ledger for me when I tell
it to.
The nominal ledger, however, is the
19/M/98
With facilities for up
to a million accounts,
even the biggest of
businesses should
have room to spare
1 456980 Overseas Travelling
460988 Training Costs
462980 Carriage
471888 Electricity
aiOMUi-i
. Interest
tries
Debts
it and Machinery
ice Furniture
)r Vehicles
tors Control
ty Cash
Iry Debtors
it Advance
litors Control
Subsistence
Entertaining
Gas
Advertising
Public Relations
Bank Charges
Charities
Depreciation
Grants
P/M Depreciation
0/F Depreciation
H/V Depreciation
Bank Control
Stock
Pre-Paynents
Deposit Account
Accounts for all seasons, 80 obvious ones
are provided to save your pinkies from
wearing out
88 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
■ REVIEW ■
Ar«*»:
place to start. Here you have to add
your own unique accounts to those
already entered for you. With a
computer shop we have classifications
such as Sales of Software and, of
course, Purchases of Software.
Altogether more than 80 separate
accounts are entered into the
system - things like stock, rent,
rates, petrol and so on. There
is provision for around a
million separate accounts,
which is more than enough
for any business.
To enter the account
classification you click on
the Add/Amend Accounts
box, enter the account code,
account name and account
type, then post the entry by
clicking on a postcard icon.
All the icons are large and
well chosen. If you want something
sent to the screen you click on a
picture of a monitor, to print
something you click
on a picture
of a printer.
Next you need to set up the sales
and purchase accounts. For example,
if you have several regular customers
who buy from you on credit, you will
need to have a separate account
for each. This is not
relevant to a retail
operation such as a
computer shop; the
main account for us
is daily cash sales.
Every account has
to have a six-figure
account code. I
called Daily Cash
Sales CASH01,
non-VAT sales
became CASH02.
Purchase
accounts also had
to be set up.
>
Before running the program, a script file must
be executed to copy 20k or so of data to ram
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 89
1
| REVIEW |
>
Software Sellers became SOFTOl;
other accounts were set up in a similar
fashion.
This setting up procedure may seem
long winded, but it is quite simple and
just the same as having separate books
or columns when doing accounts by
hand.
When everything has been set up
you can start entering your data. Every
day the money in the till is counted
and the day’s takings are entered into
the sales ledger. Invoices that arrive in
the post are entered into the purchase
ledger.
This is the rather mundane part of
any business, finding different books
and entering figures in the correct
column always seems a long job.
Doing it on a computer seems to make
it less tedious.
The hard drive
installation script will
only copy the program
to SYS: - if you want it
somewhere else you ’ll
have to do it yourself
If you suddenly discover
you’ve set something
up incorrectly, the
Utilities program is
there to rescue you
Morkbtnch Sor»»n
T HE major advantage though of
any computerised accounting
system is the information which the
package can give to the user. Most
accounts packages will print out a
VAT return for you, but the more
information the better. Computers and
monitors take up a lot of space, so are
the profits they generate worth the
space they take up?
With a computerised accounting
package I expect to have this
information at my fingertips, and
Arena Accounts provides me with
exactly this. I can click on the account
inquiry box and get the figures for
Hardware Purchases and Hardware
Sales, combine this with a quick stock
check and I will get a very good idea
of how hardware sales are going.
I found I was clicking on the
account inquiry box quite a lot. I
could find out just how much I owed
to each of my suppliers and exactly
what my bank balance was at any
time, so I knew exactly the financial
state of the business.
I also discovered that selling
computer books was hardly
worthwhile considering the shelf
space they take up and the money
involved in keeping a large stock. If
you’ve ever thought of buying a book
for an Amiga and then changed your
mind because of the cost, you will not
find my decision too surprising.
If you’ve done a bit of small
business accounting you will know
the time it can take to do a trial
balance, produce a profit and loss
account or a set of final accounts.
With Arena Accounts you simply
click on a box and the information is
there before you.
Although I find Arena Accounts
very useful, it cannot replace the
accounts I do by hand. Firstly, you
see, the taxman and vatman will have
to approve the package - an important
point to remember before changing
over to computerised accounts.
Also, backing up data becomes more
and more important, three or four
copies of a disk is not overdoing
things at all, it is merely being
prudent. The loss of a disk full of
accounts data can set you back a long
way if you have no other records.
I CAN find few faults with Arena
Accounts. The first version I had
(vl.02) caused me a few strange
problems, but a quick phone call to
Arena Systems got me vl.04. I am
always impressed by this sort of
backup from software manufactures.
Arena Accounts multi-tasks nicely
- but slowly - with Protext, the word
processor I use, so I can check up on a
few things while writing this review.
One of the things I do not like is the
fact that it runs on the Workbench
screen in a window which cannot be
resized. This means I can’t access any
disk icons while running the program.
It could do with an option for opening
on its own screen for those users who
have the available memory.
This gripe apart, Arena Accounts is
a useful program for any small
business to own. By the time you read
this review, a tweeked vl.05 should be
available, which will include a
delivery note option in the invoicing
module.
REPORT CARD
Arena Accounts (vl.04)
Arena Technologies Ltd 0724 280222
£149.95 + vat
EASE OF USE .
Marks dropped for the utilities section
being a separate program, and for
hijacking the workbench screen.
SPEED.
Ok unless you want to multi-task, when
the screen refresh rate begins to
resemble that of an Amiga Basic
program. Fast enough for the job.
VALUE.
An good accountant will cost you
about £250 a year. Use this program
once instead, and you’ve got your
money back.
OVERALL 82%
The best accounting package I’ve used
on the Amiga so far.
90 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
THE AMIGA 500 PC/XT IS HERE
Run Professional
MS DOS Software
on your Amiga 500 at
a price you can afford
Cs
Why did you buy an Amiga 500?
Of course, because of its superb graphics, music and animation capabilities. However if you
want to get serious, you soon realise that it is distinctly lacking in memory and professional
software.
Well - they said it could never happen - but it's here at last!
You! In your own home can transform your Amiga 500 into a real IBM compatible PLUS up
to ONE AND A HALF MEGABYTE Amiga memory expansion.
It's simple - no screwdriver, no soldering iron and no technical knowledge required. Just
turn your Amiga over, open the cover, slide the Power PC Board into the connector, close
the cover and your Amiga PC/XT is ready. (In other words, no loss of guarantee)
You are now ready to use a wealth of professional MS DOS software at speeds faster than a
PC/XT (ind. review), and in colour, with compatibility thanks to Phoenix-Bios.
You can also rely on the correct date and time at any moment in Amiga and MS DOS mode
(with the aid of a battery pack).
★ Video support: monochrome, Hercules and Colour Graphics Adaptor (CGA)
(4 and 8 colours)
★ Disk support: internal 3.5* external 3.5" external 5.25" drive. (Software-upgrade to H/D
A590 in pipeline)
★ Including MS DOS 4.01 , MS DOS shell and GW Basic (market value approx £130.00)
★ Including English Microsoft books + KCS manual + FREE software
★ Further exciting software upgrades in the pipeline
★ Available memory: 704KB + 64KB EMS in MS DOS mode, 1 megabyte + 512KB RAM
(disk) buffer in Amiga mode
★ No extra power supply necessary thanks to the most modern CMOS and ASIC technology
★ OK with TV. No special monitor required
★ Price: £320.00 including VAT. Postage in UK £4.00 Total £324.00.
Access and Visa accepted.
★ For export price please contact us
★ Trade enquiries welcome (UK - Scandinavia - Australia/NZ and all English language.)
First deliveries expected in May. Place your order now and get into the queue. Don't send
any money yet. We will contact you when we are ready to ship.
Compatibility is excellent but no-one can guarantee every single program available, therefore if your
purchase depends on a particular program, please ask us first or send in a copy of the program. (With
suitable S.A.E. if to be retur ned). Price subject to change without notice.
Bitcon Devices Ltd.
88 BEWICK ROAD, GATESHEAD,
TYNE & WEAR, NE8 IRS ENGLAND.
Tel: (091)4901919/4901975.
Fax: (091)4901918
SK MARKETING
| COMPUTER SUPPLIES j j j
LONDON’S LEADING
AMIGA HARDWARE
AMIGA 500 +
FREE
SOFTWARE!
: Amiga 500 + TV Modulator
: Batman the Movie
: New Zealand Story
: Interceptor
r Deluxe Paint II
r Dust Cover
and Mouse Mat
ONLY £375 Inc. VAT!
AMIGA 500
Indudina:-
Mouse, Workbench, Utilities, Manuals,
Tutorial, Modulator
SKM pfice £355
DOT MATRIX PRINTERS
Star LC10
Star LC10 Colour
£185
£213
Panasonic KX-P1124
Panasonic KX-P1180
£305
£190
A590 20MB Hard Drive £374.99
Vortex 40MB Hard drive .. £499
Philips 8833 Monitor £289.95
Commodore 1084S Col. Monitor £259.95
A 501 Ram Expansion/Clock £129.95
Video Digitizer .. £99.95
Cumana3.5' Drive .. £94.95
MES Half Meg Ram Expansion .. £75
FLIGHT OF FANTASY
★ Amiga 500 + TV Modulator
★ Deluxe Paint II
★ Escape from Robot Monsters
★ F-29 Retaliator
★ Rainbow Islands
★ Dust Cover & Mouse Mat
ONLY £385 inc VAT
Amiga B2000 P.O.A.
30 Pool £15.90
5th Gear £14.90
Advanced Ski Sinulator £14.90
Altered Beast £17.45
Aquanaul £17.45
All Dogs Go to Heaven £22.50
Armada £15.90
AMC £17.50
CLASS OF THE 90's
* Amiga 500 + TV Modulator
* Midi Master Interface
* Deluxe Paint II
* Publishers Choice
* Maxi Plan 500
* Superbase Personal
* DR-T'S Midi Rec. Studio
* Amiga Logo
* BBC Emulator + Mouse Mat
* 10 Blank Discs + Disc Wallet
ONLY £539 Inc. VAT!
CONTROL CENTRE
Instantly transform your Amiga 500 into an
A1000/2000 'look a like' without any modifi-
cation to the computer. Simply slip the
’control centre* over the Amiga 500 and by
reason of its colour match and contour
hugging design it becomes an integral part
of tne computer itself.
• Hides untidy connections at rear of A500
• Holds disk drives, genlocks etc...
• Easy access to joystick parts
• Monitor sits about A500 £54.95
Advanced Amiga BASIC £18.95
Amiga 3D Graphics Prog BASIC £18.45
Amiga Applications £1 6.95
Amiga Assembly Lang Prog £10.80
Amiga BASIC Inside & Out £18.95
Amiga C for Beginners £18.45
Amiga DOS Inside & Out £18.45
Amiga DOS Manual £22.95
Amiga DOS Quick Reference £13.95
Amiga DOS Ref Guide £14.95
Amiga Disk Dnves Inside & Out £27.95
Amiga Gd Graphics Sound Teleco £17.45
Amiga Handbook £15.95
Amiga Intuition Ref Manual £22.95
Amiga Machine Lang Guide £19.95
Amiga Machine Language £14.95
Amiga Microsoft Basic Prog Guide £18.45
Amiga Prog Handbook Vol. 1 £23.95
Amiga Prog Handbook Vol. 2 £23.95
Amiga Programmers Guide £16.95
Amiga Programmers Guide £18.45
Amiga ROM Kernel Ref Man Exec £22.95
Amiga ROM Kernel Ref Man Lib £32.95
Amiga System Programmers Guide .... £32.95
Amiga Tricks and Tips £14.95
Amiga for Beginners £12.95
Becoming an Amiga Artist £18.45
Beginners Guide to the Amiga £16.95
Compute's 1st Book of Amiga £16.95
Compute's 2nd Book of Amiga £16.95
Elementary Amiga BASIC £14.95
Inside Amiga Graphics £16.95
Inside the Amiga with C 2nd Ed £20.95
Kickstart Guide to the Amiga £13.95
Kids & the Amiga £15.95
More Tips & Tricks for Amiga £18.45
Programmers Guide to the Amiga £23.95
DEALER
PROFESSIONAL AMIGA SOFTWARE
9 out of 10
£29.95
Animator/Images
. .. £89 95
Animator
£39.95
Animator 3D
£99.95
Arena Accounts
£149.95
C-Ught
£39 95
Comic Setter
£44.95
Deluxe Paint II
£49.95
Deluxe Paint III
£64.95
Deluxe Print 2
£39.95
Deluxe Music Construction
£54.95
Deluxe Productions
£99 95
Deluxe Photolab
£54.95
Deluxe Video
£65 95
Digipaint III
£54.95
GFA Basic Compiler
£39.95
GFA Basic Interpreter III
£39.95
Hisoft Devpac V2
£42.95
Hisoft Lattice C
£175.95
Home Accounts
£22.95
Home Office Kit
£120.00
Instant Music
£21 .95
K-Data
£34.95
K-Gadget
£19 95
K-Seka
£29.95
K-Spread III
£75.00
K-Text
£14.95
Kind Words V2
£33.95
Mailshot Plus
£40.95
Music X
£169.00
Photon Paint 2
£54.95
Prodata
£59.95
Protext
£64.95
Publishers Choice
£74.95
Starter Kit
£54.00
Superbase Personal
£54.95
Superbase Personal II
£65.95
Superplan
... £69 95
TV Show
£59 95
Word Perfect
£185.00
Workbench 1 .3
£15.00
Zoetrop (5 in 1 package)
£79.95
American Dreams ... £1 7.50
Archipelagos £16.95
Asterfx £15.90
Axel s Magic Hammers £14.90
Baal £13.90
Balance of Power 1990 £15.90
BaJlistix ...£13.90
Bangkok Knights £17.95
Bartanan II £14.90
Battle Squadron £16.90
Batman the Movie . £1 6.50
Battle Tech £17.45
Battle Chess... £17.45
Beach Volley £17.45
Beam £15.90
Beverly Hills Cop £15.90
Bionic Commando £18.95
Blood Money £15.90
BkxxJwych £17 45
Blue Angels £17.50
Bridge Player 2150 £17 45
Cabal £17.45
Capone ...£19 95
Captain Blood £15 90
Castle Master £16 50
Castle Warrior £17.45
Championship Football £17.45
Championship Golf £15.90
Chariots of Wrath £16.90
Chase HQ £16.90
Chess Player 2150 £17.45
Circus Games £13.90
Cloud Kingdoms £17.50
Conflict Europe £17.45
Continental Circus £16.90
Conquerer £17.50
Crazy Cars 2 £15.90
Dan bare III £17.50
Darius £17.45
Dark Castle £19.55
Day of the Viper £16.90
Defenders of the Earth £15.90
Demons Tomb £17.45
Denaris £14.90
Dominator £16.90
Double Dragon II £17.95
Dragons Breath £21.95
Dragons Lair II £32.95
Dragon Ninja
.£16.50
King Arthur
£1745
Dragons Lair
Dragons of Rame
£32.95
£17.45
King Quest 3 Pack
Kuh
£24 95
£17 45
Drakkhen
Dr. Dooms Revenge
Dungeon Master
Dungeon Master Editor
£21 95
£15.90
.£15.95
...£8.45
Last Ninia II
Leisure Suit Larry
Leisure Suit Larry 2
Leisure Suit Larry III
£17.50
£14 90
£19.95
£29 90
Dynamite Oux
Elite
.£17 45
.£15 90
Licence to Kill
Lombard RAC Rally
Lords of the Rising Sun .....
Manhunter
Maniac Mansion ....
Microprose Soccer
Milenium 2.2
Mindbender
Mind Roll
— £15.90
— £15 90
— £20.90
£20.90
— £16.90
— £16 95
£17.45
— £14.90
£15.90
F-Mntmn
Escape from Planet Robot
Monsters
.£17.45
.£16.90
Eskimo Games
.£17.45
FI 6 Combat Pilot
F29 Retaliator
.£17 45
£17.45
Falcon
£19.95
Falcon Mission Disks
£14.90
Mini Golf
£14 90
Fast Lane
.£14 90
Moonwalker
Mystery of the Mummy
£17.45
Ferrari Formula 1
.£1745
****** £1490
Fiendish Freddie
.£15 90
Nevermind
£13 95
Fighter Bomber
£21.95
Nightdown
£1990
Flight Simulator 2
£36 80
Ninja Spirits . ..
£17 45
Football Manager 2 Expansion
Fun School II under 6
Fun School II 6-8
Fun School II 8 and above
Future Wars
£1035
£14.95
.£14.95
. £14 95
£15.90
North & South
Offshore Warrior
Oil Imperium
Operation Thunderbolt
Outlands
— £16.90
— £16.50
£16.90
£17.45
£13.90
Galaxy Force
£17.45
Overlander
Pacmania
£16.50
Galdragons Domain
£14.90
£15^95
Gazza's Super Soccer
£15.90
Passing Shot
£15 90
Gemini Wing
£13.90
Perennial Nightmare
£1990
Ghostbusters II
Ghouls n Ghosts
Giants
£16 90
.£16.90
£21.90
Player Manager
Pnlifp nrect
PoSce Quest II
£13.90
£17.45
. .. £17 45
Grand Monster Slam
Grand Prix Circuit .
.£13.90
£17 45
Populous
Populous Data Disks
Powerdrift
— £17.45
— £11.90
£16.90
Gravity
. £1730
Gunship ...„
£16.50
Powerdrome
£17 45
Hard Drivin
£16 90
Precious Metai .1
Premier Collection
Z~ £17^45
£23 50
Hawkeye
£13.90
Honda RVF
Hot Rod
.£16.90
£17.50
Premier Collection II
Pro Tennis Tour
£20.90
£15 90
Hound of Shadow
£16 90
Quartz ZZZ""!
Rainbow Islands
Rainbow Warrior
Red Heat
Red Lightning
Red Storm Rising
Rick Dangerous
Risk
— Zl 6 90
£17.45
— £16 90
£15 90
£21.95
£16.90
£15 90
£17 45
Hunt Fcr Red October .
Impossamole —
Indiana Jones Adventure
Indiana Jones Crusade
Interphase
£15.95
£15 90
£17 95
£14.90
£16.90
Italy 1990
It Came From The Dessert
£17.50
.£24 95
Iron Tracker
£13.90
Road Blasters
£15 90
Ivanhoe
£17.50
Rnhnr.nn
£15 95
Joan of Arc
..£9.99
Rocket Hanger . .
£20 90
Keef the Thief
£1690
Ron thp Gauntlet
£17 45
Kick Off
£13 90
£999
Sargon III Chess
Scape Ghost
£19 90
— £13 90
Kick Off Extra Time
LEISURE SOFTWARE
Silkworm ..
Shadow of the Beast £17.50
Shadow Warriors
Shinobi
£17.50
£14 90
Shogun £19.95
Shoot em up Construction Set . £21 .95
Silent Service £15 90
Sim City
£21 95
Space Ace
Space Quest 1
£32.95
£17 45
Space Quest 2
Space Quest III (1 Meg)
.£17.45
£20.90
Spy vs Spy
...£9.99
Star Glider 2
£15 90
Star Wars Trilogy ...
£21.95
£14 90
Storm Lord .....".
Story So Far Vol. 1
£15.90
Street Fighter
£17^45
Slrider *
£15 90
Stunt Car Racer
Super Hang On ....
£14.90
£1745
Super Scramble Simulator
Super Quintet
£16.90
£16.90
LATEST RELEASES
Supreme Challenge £24.90
Sword of Sodan £19.90
Swords of Twilight £17.90
Take em Out £14.90
Talespin £20.90
Tank Attack .£15.90
Tenys Big Adventure
Thntt Time Platinum II
Thunderstrike
£13.95
£19.95
.£17.50
Tin Tin on the Moon
Toobki
£13.90
£14 90
Tower of Babel
Triad
£16.90
£22.95
Triad III
£23.50
Turbo Outrun
TV Sports Basketball
TV Sports Football
£19 95
£20.95
. £19 95
Twin World
£15.90
Ultima V
£17.50
Virus
£17.45
Watertoo
£19.90
War In Middle Earth
Winrtwalkpr
£13.95
£20 95
Wipe Out
Wizard Wars
£17.45
Xenon II Megablast
Xenonphobe ...
£17 45
£16 90
Zak McCraken
£17.45
668 Attack Bub ....
£17.45
American Dreams
£17.45
Btack Tiger
- £17.45
•Blade Warrior
_£15 90
‘Bomber
£21.90
*Budcfchm
„£17 45
•Ceslle Mister
£17.45
‘Chess Champion 2175 £20 90
•Chrono Quest II .
£1990
"Colon do
£15.90
'Cyberbel
£14 90
'Demodes
£1690
•Dm Dan III
_..£13 90
Datastorm
£14 90
Os tint Suns
..0699
*E -Motion
£17.45
*F29 Retailor
£17.45
Ful Metal Rmet ..
£17.45
Gold of the Realm
£14.90
•Hammerfist
_ £17.45
•Hot Rod
....£1745
Hypamania
£1745
Hyptrecbon
£1745
Intes talon
£17.45
•tanhoa ...
£17.45
•Jumping Jackson £14.90
•Kid Glows ... £15 90
*KI«x ...£14.90
‘Knights ol He Crystalicn ...... £17.45
Last Dutchman's Mina £17.45
•Last Ninja II £17.45
‘Leisure Suit Larry III £24.90
•Loot Patrol £17.45
Magnum 4 .£21.90
Manchester Uld £17.45
'Matrix Marauders £15.90
•Midwinter £21.90
Nxija Spirit ..£17.45
Pans -Dakar 90 £17.45
Rotor £14.90
*Stm City Terrain Editor £11.45
‘Sonie Boom £17.45
Space Rogue £21.90
•The KilSng Game Show £15 90
•Theme Park Mystery ....£1690
•Triad III £2090
Untouchables £17.45
‘Woe Out £13.90
X-Out £14.90
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■ PUBLIC DOMAIN ■
Ray trace yourself a new
home with A-Render
Textures such as glass may be
incorporated into the images
W RITING a program as
complex as a ray tracer is
difficult enough; writing one which
runs at any kind of speed takes a large
investment of time and money.
The upshot is that there are no
freeware ray tracers. But there are a
couple of shareware ones, and they are
remarkably inexpensive for what they
offer.
Both systems are capable of good
results, but without the polished user
interfaces of Sculpt or Silver. Both
require use of the CLI, and one of
them needs a large amount of mental
calculation beforehand.
A-Render, which lives on Fish Disk
#99, is the easier system to use. It fills
the disc with a slideshow of very
reasonable ray traced pictures. The
documentation is extremely
comprehensive, reading more like a
technical paper, complete with
introduction, appendices and
bibliography.
But it doesn’t quite work on a
Kickstart 1.3 machine, which the
majority of Amigas are by now. (If the
switch-on Hand Screen says 1.3,
you’ve got Kickstart 1.3.) This is
unfortunate, because the actual
rendering routine works fine on all
machines, as do most of the object
definition tools. However, one very
necessary program gurus out straight
away. So don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Installing A-Render would be very
Ray tracing has
always been the
Amiga’s strong point.
The combination of
a large colour palette,
good processor
power and low
hardware cost has
brought the science
out of the university
and into the home.
Stewart C. Russell
puts two public
domain packages
to the test
difficult but for the script files
provided for every possible Amiga
setup. Once A-Render is installed,
which can take anything up to half-an-
hour on a single drive system, you’re
ready to follow the tutorial.
This as well thought out as the rest
of the package. The aim is to create a
HAM picture of a heart with an arrow
through it. I know it sounds tacky, but
it just happens to use all the programs
in the A-Render suite in its creation.
Not merely does the author include
all files created by the tutorial session,
>
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 93
>
he also provides the final rendered
picture, so if you can’t quite get the
program to work, at least you’ll be able
to see what the results should be like.
It also means that Kickstart 1.3 owners
can have some fun with the program.
A-Render, like all ray tracing
programs, defines a set of physical
objects in a three-dimensional space
and works out how they are affected
by the lighting conditions.
Objects can be built up from
polygons using a digitiser program,
each point (or digitise) being a vertex
of the polygon.
Alternatively, if you plan to use
solids of revolution, which doesn’t
mean sticks and half-bricks, you can
build objects on a lathe. This lathe is a
program, as opposed to a real engine
lathe. Would you want to clean swarf
out from under the keyboard?
You can vary the speed of the render
by changing the resolution. Normal
(maximum) resolution is 320 x 200
HAM, which can take a couple of days
to render if you’re close to the
maximum eight objects.
Halving the resolution quarters the
generation time, but the picture begins
to look very blocky. Any further
reduction in resolution is only useful
for quick test renders to see if your
More textures - brick this time
objects are visible. Many’s the time
I’ve started a ray trace only to realise
that most of the objects are off the
screen. But we won’t dwell on that.
A-Render produces good, if simple,
results. They’re not on a par with
Sculpt or Silver, but this package is far
less sophisticated - and a lot cheaper
- than either of those. Rumours about
A-Render now having mutated into a
commercial product are getting louder
every day. It may become more
expensive, but at least the bugs will
have been ironed flat.
W HERE A-Render tries to be
helpful, DBW_Render on
Faug Disk #42, doesn’t. User interface-
wise it has the interactivity of a
Now you can C
I T is rare to find a book in a public
domain collection, but that’s
exactly what Fish Disk #337 is. Aha,
says you, the man’s finally cracked
under the strain of leafing through
innumerable PD catalogues and has
started to imagine hardbacks among
the double-sideds.
Not so, says I. Anders Bjerin’s C
Manual is about 200 pages long, and
just happens to have executables of all
the example listings. Using the magic
of file compression, three discs full of
data have been packed down on to
that single disc.
Anders is a deeply generous type.
Not merely has he written some very
fine PD games, some of which have
been featured on our cover discs, but
he’s got a mission to get the whole
world programming in C. All his
games are written in C, and they all
multi-task in the way that good
programs should.
In order to get more people
programming in C he’s started the
Amiga C Club (ACC) from his home in
Sweden. Not only will he help with
any C-related angst that ACC members
may have, but there’s also a digitising
service and a special deal on further C
Manual volumes.
As there isn’t a full C compiler
release in any PD library, Anders has
based the manual on the industry
standard Lattice C version 5. Ox, a very
expensive but generally fun-to-be-with
compiler, if such a thing exists.
Everyone's favourite bitmapped image
Ahh... Stewart and Wendy
cornered bear. On the user-hostility
front it’s like ordering a Chateaubriand
at a Vegan takeaway.
In order to get yourself a rendered
scene you have to plan out where all
the objects are, define them in three
dimensions relative to a fixed origin,
work out what textures you want the
objects to have, and then work out the
lighting.
Once you’ve done that, you load up
your favourite text line editor (just to
maintain the mainframe-ish
atmosphere) and key in all the lovely
data using a cryptic command set. You
then decide how long you want the
program to spend on the calculation,
set everything going, and wait while a
lot of full stops fill up your CLI
window.
Several hours and many gallons of
better
The C Manual isn’t designed to be a
tutorial for absolute beginners, but the
very large introductory chapter gives a
whistle stop tour around the more
difficult points of C data types and has
a good section on getting Lattice C to
spit out exactly what you want it to, or
at least a fair approximation.
As the Lattice documentation is so
huge, this is a welcome condensation
for those who still think that braces
are things that look rather fetching in a
Paisley pattern.
Version 1.00 of the manual covers
Screens, Windows, Graphics (Border,
Text and Image structures), Gadgets,
Requesters, Alerts, Menus, EDCMP and
Sprites. In order to be able to use all
these system functions, you have to
know about memory allocation, linked
list manipulation, and various other
bits of vital information - the manual
introduces these topics very neatly at
exactly the right time you need to
know about them.
■ PUBLIC DOMAIN ■
coffee later, you buzz your way back
Amigawards to see what’s going down.
If you’re lucky, you get a massive
data file containing RGB information.
If you’re not, you get a mouthful of red
guru. Boot it up and start again...
Once you’ve got your RGB file you
need to post-process it to create an IFF
image. This can be from 320 x 400
interlaced HAM down to lo-res 32
colours. If you’ve set the render time
low (an hour) you’ll get a very odd
picture indeed - small patches of
detail connected by rectangular splats
of colour. This is due to
DBYV_Render’s technique of guessing
the colour of a pixel before it
calculates it. The more time you leave
for the calculation, the better the
picture.
T HE documentation is good solid
stuff, a description of command
line arguments and data file structure.
It’s hardly bedtime reading, though.
Full source of the package is included,
so if you feel the urge to convert the
program to run on an Iris 4D
workstation or a ZX Spectrum, you
can give it the old college try.
There are the obligatory example
pictures of very high quality, and
The format of each chapter of the
Amiga C Manual, to give it its full
title, is one long explanatory file on a
topic and then a large number of
examples in both source and
executable form. All the examples are
complete, unlike the code fragments
in the Technical Reference Manuals,
and are documented to such a heavy
degree that even people who can’t C
should be able to understand what is
going on.
Also included in the distribution,
but not really part of the Amiga C
Manual itself, is Anders’ FileWindow
program. This is a completely public
domain file requester. Charlie Heath’s
ARP one has a few restrictions on its
use; FileWindow may be slightly
simpler, but it is fully documented
and comes complete with header and
object files. It also works well on lo-
res screens, something I know a lot of
people cannot get the ARP requester to
do.
The Amiga C Manual isn’t the end
of your C problems, you’ll still need to
find the cash for Lattice C version
5.04, a snip at around £170. But what
example files to get you started. You’ll
need them.
DBW_Render’s results are quite
astonishing. It produces good results
more quickly than A-Render and
handles surface textures, like marble,
glass and brick, as well as any ray
tracing package on the market.
It has functions which aren’t
available on any other package -
damped waveforms on a surface, such
as ripples in water or a fractal rock
face. The image can be defocused
towards the edges to give more realism
and various anti-aliasing filters can be
applied at calculation time.
But all these wonderful things make
the rendering go more slowly than a
rush hour tube train. For people
who’ve never been on the tube,
imagine slow, then half that.
DBW_Render has been upgraded to
v2 and is now a commercial product
masquerading as the brains behind
Synthetic Reality’s World 3D, a
package unavailable in the UK at time
of writing. The original minimum
registration fee was $10 US, which
does not entitle the user to upgrades.
If you’re at all interested in ray
tracing, and you can handle sums and
user-unfriendliness, DBW_Render vl
on Faug Disk #42 is highly
recommended.
A wee bitmapped face in a
medium-sized window : just one of
Anders' many example programs
it may manage to do is get you feeling
more confident about C programming.
It may even ward off the fateful day
that you need to buy a volume or three
of the Amiga Technical Reference
series.
Anders plans to upgrade and update
the manual frequently, at reduced cost
to members of the Amiga C Club. The
shareware fee of £15 includes
membership of the Amiga C Club.
Updates to the manual cost a fiver. For
that kind of money, it’s a bargain.
You can write to Anders Bjerin at
Tulevagen 22, 181 41 Lidingo,
Sweden.
GAME
MONTH
FLASCHBIER
O RIGINALITY is what it's all
about on the games scene.
Flaschbier is a game, and it's not
original in the slightest. So how come
I, a well known games reviewer
(cough), like this game so much?
People with long memories may
remember an Ariolasoft game on the
C64 and CPC called Werner. It was all
about a chap called Werner and his
mostly futile attempts to get a crate of
beer to a party.
In Flaschbier. everyone's favourite
lager-lout has discovered that his beer
supply has been scattered over a wide
and somewhat hazardous area.
There's earth to dig out, rocks to
avoid, and. worst of all, hordes of Riot
Police, all trying to stop Big Wern
getting his beer.
The one consolation is that there
are well over 250 bottles to collect. But
there’s only one bottle of beer per
level, so it is not going to be easy.
Does this sound suspiciously like a
Boulderdash clone? You can safely
betcha life, betcha Sweet Bippy. or
just betcha Mel Sauce on that one.
Unlike the original, Flaschbier
confines all the action to a single
screen rather than scrolling about.
This makes the puzzles that bit
smaller and neater, and is several
orders of magnitude easier to
program.
It’s a great little game - fast, noisy,
slightly hackish and very cheap,
because it appears to be freeware.
The instructions are in German,
though that won’t be much of a
problem as you already know how to
play this sort of game anyway.
Flaschbier takes up all of UGA
Game Disk #2 and would be a
passable game at the £25 level. It's a
fabulous game for 25 florins. And don’t
tell me you don’t know what a florin is.
Pdom PD Amiga Software Pdom PD Amiga Software
Graphics
AMP3 Graphics Pack 1 - Amiga MCAD
excellent CAD package, VDraw brilliant
painting program, Ray Tracer Generator,
An object -orientated drawing package,
IFF to pieces jigsaw program, ROT 3D
drawing program. Loads of utilities.
A 3 disk pack for only £7.50!
AMP1: Home Business Pack, RIM the
relational database and HyperBasc
database, UEdit the word processor which
includes builtin help and tutorials, spell
checkers, and VisiCalc the excellent
spreadsheet. All auto loading.
A 3 disk pack for only £7.50!
Application
APDC 15 - Icon
utilities: full of icon
files and creators.
AMICUS 22 -
Printer Driver
Generator V2.3.
Pdom Cliplt! Voll
5 disks full of clip ar
all in .IFF format.
3Mb of clip art.
5 disks for only
£15.00!.
FFISH 158 -
DiskX SectorEdit,
MSDOS Reads
MSDOS or ST
format into RAM:.
FFISH 243 - No
APDC 18 - Floppy
Disk Utils: Quick
Copy, Disk Mapper,
Disk Salvage, Virus
Check, System Utils:
Blitz text editor,
TimeSet, ACalc a
calculator, Amiga
Monitor, MeM Grab
fast memory grabber.
DirectoryMaster.
A must get disk for
your Amiga P.D.
collection! Excellent.
Utility
Click stops the disk
drive clicking if no
disk present. Pass
Word you specify the
password for your
system security.
Pcopy V2.0 the
excellent disk copier.
FFISH 244 - Boot
Intro you specify
The headline text of
upto 44 characters
and the scrolling text
of upto 300.
FFISH253-
Elements a display of
the periodic table.
FFISH258
BACKUP allows you
to backup any hard
disk path.
PDOM 62 - The Public Dominator
Anti Virus Disk: Virus X V4.0, VCheck
VI. 2 (for memory), VCheck V1.9 (for
disk drives), Zero Virus V1.3 the fully
integrated virus detector and killer. Also
Boot Block Champion the utility.
PDOM 65 and 66
- Red Sector Mega
Demo. THE best
demo on the Amiga!
A 2 disk demo with
the best sounds and
graphics! A must!
FAUG 41 - Amiga
Arc V0.2 compatible
with ARC V5.0.
PDOM93 - ARP
V1.3 Amiga DOS
Replacement Project.
FFISH 58 -
ASDG a RAM disk
that survives reset,
Big View displays
any size IFF picture,
EGraph creates
graphs from X,Y pair
text files. NewZap
disk sector editor.
FFISH 188 - Boot
Intro V1.0 displays a
scrolling and a still
message of your
choice at boot up.
PDOM 86 - The
Memory Expansions
demo Nol.
PDOM 87 - The
Memory Expansions
demo 2. Both
Require 1MB RAM.
PDOM 73, 74 and
76: The Star Trek
Dry Dock Demo,
Starship Enterprise
demo and the Star
Trek Shuttle demo.
Amazing graphics.
AMP21 Graphics
Pack 2 - Mandelbrot
Explorer, DBW
Render a Ray
Tracing utility,
ST2IFF picture
converter, HAM2IFF
picture converter.
Excellent value!
A 3 disk pack for
only £7.50.
FAUG 50 - Dir
Util VI the disk
manager.
PDOM 59 -
Ameteur Radio
Disk: disk full of
HAM utilities.
FFISH 157 -
Xlcon V2.01 allows
you to call up scripts
containing CLI
commands from an
icon.
PDOM 83 - Space
ACE Demo an
excellent demo of the
game with fabulous
animation and
incredible sampled
sounds!
AMP8 - Games
Pack 1 - Cluedo,
Klondike, Canfield,
Cribbge, Backgam-
mon, Yahzee, Missle
Command, 3D
Breakout, Empire,
Gravity Wars, Hanoi,
Hockey, Jackland,
Othello Master, Pac-
man, plus loads of
other brilliant games.
Amazing value!
A 3 disk pack £7.50!
AMP22 - Games
Pack 2 Escape from
Jovi V3, Monopoly,
Amoeba Space
Invaders, Cosmo
Roids, StoneAge,
Back Gammon,
Mastermind, Reversi,
Black Jack, YachtC,
Daleks plus loads of
other brilliant games.
Amazing Value!
3 disks for £7.50!
PDOM90 - Tennis!
excellent tennis
action game, fully
working.
PDOM79, 80 + 81
the StarTrek game!
Abrilliant three disk
graphics game!
Requires 1MB RAM.
Most of the disks in this advert
actually contain more than is
listed, for full details of all the
disks, send for our disk cata-
logue, which costs only 70p ful-
ly inclusive! and allows fast
and easy searching for items!
PD Disk Prices: I to 5 disks
are £3.00 each, 6 to 10 disks
are £2.75 each and 11 or more
disks are £2.50 each!
Blank disks : 10-£7.00,
50-£33.00.
Disk cleaning kits - £2.50.
All prices are fully inclusive. To order
please send a cheque or postal order
payable to Pdom PD Amiga or
Access & Visa credit card details to:
Pdom PD Amiga ,
P O Box 801
Bishop’s Stortford,
Hertfordshire, CM23 3TZ.
Telephone 0279 757692.
96 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
■ PUBLIC DOMAIN ■
Registering gives more
than just a warm glow
I T’S satisfying to hear from a
shareware author thanking you for
your hard earned cash. It’s deeply
satisfying getting the newest version
arriving on your doormat. But in the
awesomely wonderful satisfaction
league, there is little to compare with
the delivery of software available only
to those who have registered.
The system works like this. You get
a program, downloaded from a BBS or
from a library disc. You see in the
documentation Version X is only
available to registered users ...”
followed by some blatant sales pitch
about how much more ozone-friendly
the new version is.
After using the software for a while,
you get to like it, but feel there are a
few limitations - bugs, missing
features or physical limitations
compiled into the program to
encourage registration.
You send off your money and before
you know it, assuming you have a
reaction time of around eight weeks,
the new version arrives containing a
dire warning that you must not
distribute this software on pain of
being prodded in the navel several
times, or worse.
As an example of how mind-
alteringly fantastic it can be. I’ll take
two examples of registered-user
software.
QED is a compact text editor.
Nothing wonderful about that, you
say. It is fast; global search/replace in
a 2,000 line file is completed in under
three seconds. That’s 10 times the
speed of the unslothful Protext.
The blitter renders the text directly
to give super-speedy scrolling. QED
can have as many editing buffers as
you want and can cut-and-paste text
between them. It has rudimentary
formatting and printing capabilities,
so it could be used as a budget word
processor.
As found on Fish Disk C019, QED
can only save files up to 10,000
characters long. Once you register, the
author - Darren Greenwald of Santa
Ana, California - sends the latest
version, which has no file limitations,
full documentation on its command
language and ARexx capabilities
(three syllables, pronounced A Rex X).
With the addition of ARexx, a macro
language capable of inter-task
communication and control, QED
becomes capable of driving a whole
host of applications such as comms
programs, compilers and databases.
Neat, or what?
Considering the pukka QED costs
around £13 (S20) to register, you’d be
crazy not to. And I’m not on a
percentage to say that.
My second example of shareware
worth registering is Iconmaster, which
was on the October 1989 cover disc.
When it comes to icons, there’s
IconMaster and nothing else. It does
everything you could want. And that’s
just version one. Version two, which
costs $25 from John Scheib in Las
Vegas, gives loads of extra colours.
You want a 16 colour workbench?
No problem, IconMaster 2 can edit in
up to 16 colours and a tiny utility on
the disc can add the necessary
bitplanes to workbench.
A 16 colour workbench is very pretty.
but it eats memory and system
performance. You want speed, then? How
about a two colour workbench?
Guaranteed to go flat out and use very little
ram, but look only slightly more interesting
than a PZzzzzz... Sorry, meant PC.
If your workbench is looking a little
dull. IconMaster 2 will banish the
blues. Not to mention the oranges,
blacks and whites.
So there you go. Don’t be suspicious
all vour life. Come out of the cupboard
and have some fun with registered-user
software.
MessyDos - faster than CrossDos, and free
T HE Amiga, you’ll be surprised
to learn, isn’t the only
machine to use 3.5in discs. A certain
machine called a PC from a
hicksville outfit called IBM can use
them too. Unfortunately IBM didn’t
have the foresight to use the
advanced data format that the Amiga
uses, and the systems are
incompatible.
For some strange reason a lot of
people wish to transfer data from
this PC thing to the Amiga. There are
plenty of commercial programs to do
this. But apart from a few demos of
commercial products, the shareware
scene is devoid of anything along
these lines.
Predictably enough, MessyDos fills
this gap. It’s a whole new file system
and device driver to read and write
double sided PC 720k 3.5in floppies
in any standard Amiga drive.
Despite its powerful features, it is
not that difficult to install. Anyone
who knows which end of a CLI to
hold should be OK.
MessyDos allows most of the
things that the commercial product
CrossDos can, but cannot read or
write Atari ST discs or the very rare
single sided 360k 3.5in floppy. It’s
very fast, roughly twice the speed of
CrossDos, and seems to be reliable.
There are a few “features” which
are a bit annoying, but none
endanger the data on your discs. For
instance it throws up an error when
you put an Amiga disc in the drive
where MessyDos is expecting a PC
one. Cancel the requester and the
drive becomes a standard
AmigaDos one again. I’ve been
using it a lot for the last few weeks
and it hasn’t failed me yet.
A lot of machines support the
720k PC format; they can be used
as normal on an Atari ST and the
newer Apple Macs, capable of
using 1.44 megabyte discs, can
access them as well. So if you have
an Amiga, MessyDos and another
(lesser) machine, you can probably
exchange data easily.
MessyDos (aka MSH) lives on
Fish Disk #327. It’s shareware, but
Olaf Seibert (he who did the deed)
didn’t bother to specify how much
he wants. That doesn’t mean that
you don’t bother to pay him, OK?
THE ONE ON THE RIGHT
IS HANDLING
STOLEN GOODS.
If you are involved in software
piracy then you are breaking
the law.
THIS CAMPAIGN IS ORGANISED BY
EUROPEAN LEISURE SOFTWARE
PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
Any information on piracy
should be passed to
The Federation Against Software Theft.
Telephone 01-240 6756
PIRACY
IS THEFT
■ FEATURE ■
W HY bother? What is the
big idea behind DTP
anyway? Well, after long years of
being fettered by the whims of
others, the desk-bound executive
is now free to make his own
mistakes. In these electronically
enlightened times one man can
Nic Veitch
begins a series
which will show
that any Amiga owner
can be capable of professional
quality graphic design
become a publishing company.
Creativity unleashed, without
having to know the secret
handshakes of the print room
Templates
boys.
Therein lies the problem. People
who belong entirely to the group
not in possession of a clue are
traipsing their ideas through
forestfuls of virgin paper, with
results resembling the off-cuts
from other less noble forms of DIY.
Before I start a long diatribe of
A DTP package without
templates isn’t an application,
it’s a waste of money. Page
templates are exceptionally handy when
designing things which are likely to be
more than a one-off or has multiple
pages which are similar in design.
If your package doesn’t come with
templates, you can make your own.
It’s simple really. Just keep a saved
page which has been laid out but has
no text in it. You still have to do all
the pixel-perfect calculations once,
but at least if you get them wrong they
will be consistently wrong. And
consistency is very important.
invective over the wheres, whys
and et ceteras of DTP, I would like
you to open your mind to one
concept: There are no rules, only
guidelines.
The process of DTP, from
writing the words through layout
design to printing is just that - a
process. It is not an event. It is
never “done”, it evolves. And it
does so because there are no hard
and fast rules set in stone. Nor in
hot metal, for that matter.
If it were as easy as merely
obeying commands, we could all
do it, or mechanise it, and I
wouldn’t be sat here writing about
it.
S O you have a load of text
and you’re ready to start
some serious desktop publishing,
right? Sorry, not. Mistake numero
uno. I have one word to say to
you: Planning. That is what it’s all
about, make no mistake. Writing
Borders
B BORDERS help decide what the
jargonists call the colour and
emotional tone of the
publication. It doesn’t matter if you
draw them in or not, borders are still
perceived by the eye between the body
text, around the edges of the paper,
and between columns of text.
Tangible borders can be drawn
using the DTP package’s line or box
function. If you want a very thick
border, try using four filled boxes
around the edges. Remember, borders
don’t need to go all the way around
the text. Often borders appear just top
and bottom or on one side only to
provide a margin for comments.
Be careful though. Natural borders
can be created by illustrations on the
edge of the body text. In most cases
this makes an assumed border, one
which the reader perceives but does
not exist physically, so no further
mucking around is necessary.
Aha, that reminds me of the second
golden rule, I mean guideline, here at
Amiga Computing Towers: If
something is unnecessary, why put it
in? Less is more.
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 99
>
the text becomes part of the
equation. Length, angle, style...
these are the basic ingredients
from which the greater glory of
your publication is formed. Forget
them not.
Take the example of this article.
I am only about 300 words in but I
already know it has to make four
pages, that there are going to be
more than a couple of diagrams,
that Pm going to need about
another 1,700 words.
I know what sort of person is
going to be reading it, I know what
they are expecting to see in it and
I know exactly how they are used
to seeing this subject presented. I
have even given thought to the
title - its shape, what it may look
like, where it will go. Not much I
admit, but as the article begins to
take shape I will still be thinking
of these things, and thinking about
them will effect what I am writing.
These thoughts should be going
through your head long before you
boot up Pro Page or whatever.
Identify your reader.
The purpose of all this planning
is to trap the reader into your
article without them knowing it.
To entice, to promise and then to
deliver. The design of the pages
should guide the reader easily and
naturally through it. Remember,
half the battle is attracting their
attention. Don’t let them get away.
Use all the tools at your
disposal, the tools of graphic
design. Don’t think you can’t do it
because you haven’t got the
training. Every one of us who has
ever read a book, a magazine or
even the adverts in the
Underground knows all about
graphic design.
The tools I have outlined here
are the meccano of any
publication. Study this magazine.
Study other magazines. See how
their style develops from simple
graphic design techniques. Play
around with your DTP package
and see what you can come up
with. Remember there is nothing
you don’t know about graphic
design. Like background
radiation, you’ve been exposed to
it since birth. It’s bound to have
had some impression.
• NEXT MONTH: Use your
newly discovered graphical
design knowledge and skills to
enhance the communicating
potential of your publication.
Keylines
B KEYLINES, also known as rules,
are like miniature borders within
the text. Used vertically they can
unite or separate columns. Used
horizontally they can be used to give
emphasis to headings, to separate
different subjects in the same column or
for pull-quotes.
A pull-quote is a quote from the text
pulled out, set larger and usually in
bold. Horizontal rules provide a contrast
against the grey of the text and the white
space surrounding the quote. See the
example to find out just how eye-
catching they can be.
The weight of the keyline should
complement the colour of the
publication. Thick rules are set off better
when surrounded by white- space,
whereas thin rules are more appropriate
for pages containing a lot of copy.
Most DTP packages support line
drawing. Simply adjust the weight of
the line to your needs. A snap-to-grid
option will be useful to get a straight
line, but anyone who has practised with
any sort of computer art package will
soon get an eye for it.
SUBHEADS are
used to break up
the body copy
into nice manageable
pieces. They also
improve appearance and
enhance appeal by
providing a nice spot of contrast just
when the old eyeballs are getting tired.
From an organisational point of
view they make it a lot easier for the
reader to find the bit he wants quickly.
There are a lot of techniques for
drawing attention to subheads. Apart
from the ones already discussed for
Subheads
headlines - though on a smaller scale
- there are a few more tricks in the
armoury.
Changing the justification - left,
right or centred - can
provide good contrast
with the main text
without being so
obtrusive as to
demand the reader’s
attention.
One of the most
obvious ways of
isolating a subhead
from the text is by
using a vertical rule
to create a margin.
Subheads can then go
in the left margin
where they don’t
obstruct the flow of
the text. This is only really viable
where all text is running in one
column, like in textbooks and
manuals. It is, of course, a bit of a
waste of space as well, which is a
decided advantage if you happen to be
writing a manual or a textbook. Makes
it bigger. Better value for money.
■ FEATURE ■
Margins and
columns
B MARGINS are one of the
simplest but most effective way
of controlling the overall tone
of the page. White space between the
physical edges of the paper and the
“live area” gives breathing room. Don’t
ever get the idea that any part of the
page that doesn’t have text or an
illustration in it isn’t doing anything.
It’s working hard to make the rest of
the page legible.
This philosophy stretches to the
space left between columns, which
apparently now comes under the
general term of a gutter. Space
between columns is arguably more
important than margins.
If two columns are placed too close
together it becomes impossible for the
reader to perceive the boundary of the
first, especially if they are set ragged-
right. This makes it a pain to read and
in all likelihood the reader will give
up after a couple of lines.
Column width is just as important as
margins, and for almost the same
reasons. If columns are too wide the
Boxes
J
BOXES are another tool used
to emphasise and isolate
information. This is usually
employed when there is some copy
both relevant and important to the
main copy but which does not flow
from it. Which is why what you are
reading now is in a box.
They can also be used for send-off
coupons and anything else that is
likely to be cut out from a
publication, like competition entries,
response forms or tokens.
Most DTP packages will allow you
to draw a box with a dashed or dotted
line for this purpose.
Headers and
footers
HEADERS and footers are a
useful way of discretely
imparting information to the
reader. Headers should reinforce the
identity of the publication, let the
reader know where exactly he is just
in case he has forgotten.
Headers or footers are the habitual
location for the page number, if you
decide you’re having one.
Symbols
J
SYMBOLS are used to group
together a number of items
which are related without
having to go to the trouble or space of
writing all that tiresome filling copy.
Asterisks and bullets are commonly
used for this purpose. Bullets can be
anything from a blob to a relevant icon.
Numbers can be used when
itemising a list of points in order of
importance for example, or a list of
instructions.
Headlines
HEADLINES are the most
simple text organiser ever.
Everybody knows what they
are, where they go and what they do.
They are also difficult to write
because they have to be accurate,
concise, more or less grammatically
correct, and they even have to be the
right shape. But the most important
thing about any headline is that it
should be easily distinguished from
body copy.
There are a number of ways to do this,
the most common of which are to set the
headline in a bigger point size, in bold
and usually in a completely different
font. It is common practice when doing
this to use a complimentary font - if the
body text is serif the headline should be
sans-serif, and vice-versa.
eye has further to scan back for the
beginning of the next line. This isn’t
so bad when the point size is large
because the scanning angle is greater,
but small type in wide columns is a
horror, legibility-wise.
Glossary
Copy: a general term used to describe
text.
Gutter: formerly this used to mean the
space in the centre between two
adjacent bound pages, but now also
refers to the space between adjacent
columns.
Justification: the way text is arranged
in a column, either flush with the left
and/or right sides, or centred.
Point size: type is measured in units
called points. There are
approximately 72 points to the inch.
This topic will he discussed in more
detail next month.
Sans-serif: a class of typeface without
serifs (see below).
Serif: a large family of typefaces
categorised by tiny decorations,
which add character to the letters and
help guide the readers eye from letter
to letter. This text is set in a serif
typeface.
Typeface: refers to the style and shape
of characters. The nearest publishing
equivalent to a font. Typefaces will be
discussed in greater detail next
month.
Weight: roughly the thickness of a line
or character. Bold is a heavier weight
that italic , for example. The weight of
lines is usually measured in points.
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 101
MAKE YOUR
AMIGA
EARN!
Yes making money with your Amiga becomes incidental when you know how.
Your micro is, if only you knew it, a gold mine. The size and make is irrele-
vant. Make the initial effort. NOW by starting your own
HOME BASED BUSINESS.
This may be the most impotant move you will ever make!
REMEMBER: You’ll never get rich by digging someone else’s "ditch". Anyone
in the country, including YOU, can become very rich in a relatively short peri-
od of time just by doing a few basic things! It’s more rewarding than playing
games. The benefits are many and varied, Full or part time. For FREE details
send S.A.E. to:
EXTERNAL 3.5" AMIGA DISC DRIVE
12 Months Guarantee
On/off switch
Through port
Slimline
Add £2.50
Post & Packing
Tel: 0767 314252
8/9 Market Square Biggleswade Beds. SG18 8AP
OMPUTER REPAIRS
ATARI ST/AMIGA
STOP PRESS:
A500 512K RAM
► FIRST AID
FOR
TECHNOLOGY
Simply send your machine along
with a £15 diagnostic fee aini.
you will be sent a written '
quotation for the cost of
repairing your machine.
W.T.S. ELECTRONICS LTD, CHAUL END LANE, LUTON, BEDS LU4 8EZ
Tel: 0582 491949 (4 LINES). Fax: 0582 505900
MISTRAL COMPUTER
SUPPLIES
0705 453814
AMIGA SOFTWARE
F29 Rctaliator 16.99
Third Courier 16.99
First Contact 16.99
American Dreams 16.99
Supreme Challenge 19.99
Space Rogue — 19.99
Fire Brigade 19.99
Pipe Mania 16.99
Player Manager -..13.99
Dragons Breath 19.99
World Boxing Manager 13.99
Chess Player 2150 16.99
Hyper Action 16.99
Escape from Singes Castle 29.99
T.V. Sports Basketball 19.99
Tower of Babel 1 6.99
After the War 13.99
Full Metal Jacket 16.99
Rainbow island 1 3.99
Manchester United 16.99
Infestation 16.99
Cyberball - 13.99
P47 Thundcrball „...I6.99
Typhoon Thompson -...16.99
Renaissance -...13.99
War Head 16.99
Xcnomoph 16.99
Crossbow 1 3.99
Supercars 1 3.99
Scramble Spirits 13.99
Risk 13.99
Hunter Killer 3.99
Hot Rod 16.99
Budokan - 16.99
Datastorm 1 3.99
Interceptor 16.99
Batman 16.99
New Zealand Story' 1 6.99
Robocop 16.99
Pinball Magic - 16.99
Predator - 16.99
F16 Falcon 19.99
Falcon Mission Disk 13.99
Gazzas Soccer 16.99
Double Dragon 11 - 13.99
Xenon 11 16.99
Super Wonderboy 16.99
Beach Volley 16.99
Space Ace - 19.99
Ninja Warrior - 13.99
★ ★★★| AMIGA HARDWARE | ★ ★ ★ ★
..phone
Amiga 500 Bat Pack ‘SPECIAL OFFER*
Amiga Bat Pack or Right of Fantasy with Tcnstar Pack L379.99
Amiga 500 Right of Fantasy Pack £359.99
A590 Hard Drive 20 MB ‘SPECIAL OFFER* 1352.99
Cumana External disk drive - — *£79.99
1084S Colour Monitor - L -Z * "
A501 Ram Expansion
Trapper Ram Expansion with clock —.. • •• ibS.yy
3.5” Disks Sony unbranded, boxed and fully guaranteed
1 0 65p each 50+ 60p each
Send chequeipo to: Mistral Computer Supplies, 42 Park Way,
Havant, Hants P09 1HH
Add £5 per item to cover 1st class postage on all Hardware.
Send for full Software and Hardware list. Software available for all formats
Greater London Computers
AMIGA 3000
Available Soon
Advanced Orders and information
from our Sales Lines: 081-527-0405
HARDWARE
AMIGA 500 BATMAN pack £389.95
AMIGA 500 Flights of Fantasy Pack £389.95
AMIGA 500 Class of the 90 s pack £559.95
MONITOR
A1084S Stereo Colour Monitor £249.95
Philips CM8833 Colour Monitor £299.95
Philips BM7502 (AMBER) £92.95
DISK DRIVES
A1011 External 3.5* Disk Drive £99.95
A590 20Mb Hard Disk £379.95
RAM Chips for A590 per
half Megabyte £34.95
PRINTERS
MPS1230 Printer £199.95
MPS 1550 Colour Printer £239.95
Star LC-10 £199.95
Star LC-10 Colour £249.95
Star LC-24/1 0 £249.95
OTHERS
A501 Memory upgrade £89.95
A520 TV Modulator £24.95
A1352 Mouse £34.95
Mini Gen Genlock £129.95
SOFTWARE
Deluxe Paint III, Deluxe Video III. Publishers
Choice, PageSetter II in stock.
Plus Lots of Games, ring for details
418 Hale End Road,
HighamsPark,
Chingford,
London,
E49PT
Tel: 081 527-0405
Fax: 081 531-2688
Delivery
All orders of £50 or over include
delivery. Orders over £400 include
guaranteed next day delivery by
DATAP0ST.
Plugs
All computers are supplied with a
correctly fused plug fitted.
Mail Order:
Orders can be made by
Telephone. Fax or Post, Credit card
orders are despatched checked and
despatched at once. Cheques are
rapid cleared and goods
despatched upon clearance.
Other Items
Greater London Computers also
stock the Amstrad PC range. Atari
ST and several other systems plus
printers by Epson. Star, Brother etc.
We also keep a wide range of
Printer ribbons and blank disks in
stock at very competitive rates.
Please Call for details.
102 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
■ SHORTIES ■
We come in peace
shoot
to kill
f
S urprising as it may
seem, the Amiga has
never really attracted its fair
share of light guns. It’s
doubly surprising because
(a) the Amiga hardware
directly supports such a
device, and (b) it has a good
- perhaps too good -
reputation for games.
Have manufacturers have
thought Amiga owners too
pacifist? Too mellow? Not
any more, for US Action
(081-568-8297) has decided
that Amiga owners have
been unarmed for too long
and have given us a
complete light gun and
software package.
The gun itself is a real
handful of black pistol. It
appears to have been
adapted from a toy battery-
operated unit, and still
contains an (unused)
miniature loudspeaker. DIY
fiends will have great fun
wiring this up for their own
devices. The important part
is half way up the short
barrel. It’s a lens which
focuses light on to a
photosensitive diode.
Thanks to the miracle of
Amiga technology, the pen
connects directly to the
joystick port via a short
cable to sort the order of the
wires. No interfaces, no set-
up procedures. Results
depended at lot on the
monitor used and angle at
which the gun was pointed
at the screen. With a bit of
experimentation, the gun
was accurate to within a
few centimetres. Just plug
in and blast. Ahem.
Now you know me, I’m
not one for gratuitous
violence. That’s why I was
particularly pleased to see
that the games provided
with the gun where not just
simple gratuitous shoot-
’em-ups.
Instead, the gun is being
used as a legitimate input
device. Now the cosmic
laser pistol can rate along
with keyboards, trackerballs
and mice as simply ways of
getting information into the
computer. So it’s shaped
like a dangerous weapon.
Would it be better if it was
shaped like a rubber duck?
Tricky philosophical
questions such as these are
better explored in other
forums.
The first game is called
Gateway to Ypsilon and is a
nicely put together three
dimensional scroller. Not
only do you have to zap any
objects that get in your
craft’s way, but you have to
steer it as well.
In the second game the
gun in its more traditional
form. Master of the Town
urges you to play the part of
of an urchin who has a
strong dislike of street
lamps. So strong in fact,
that he must shoot as many
as possible before the police
arrive. It’s a circus sideshow
type of game with a bit of
“Rebel without a cause.
In terms of value for
money, £49.95 will get you
the gun and the two games.
The games are quite simple,
and would probably come
into the budget-priced side
of things. This means you
are paying about 40 quid for
the gun. Short intake of
breath.
Hopefully with the
Amiga’s standard hardware
and the better than average
results, software writers
will start to take advantage
of light guns. Otherwise
they’re just a shot in the
dark.
John Kennedy
OMMODORE claims
that the standard
A500 PSU can comfortably
supply enough power to
handle one external
floppy drive. This is
probably as many
as most users will
want.
However once the more
expansion minded add yet
more drives and perhaps a
meg or two more ram, the
strain on the PSU may start
to show.
Most modern 3. 5 in drives
are pretty frugal with
electricity, but older
versions and unpredictable
5.25in systems might be a
different story. Plus, with
the emergence of A2000
lookalike expansion boxes,
even more people will be
looking out for something
with slightly more oopmh
to drive their peripherals.
So if you have expanded
your setup and are
experiencing strange Gurus,
you might be facing an
internal power struggle.
The solution, according
to WTS, is its new,
upgraded PSU. It is a direct
replacement for the
standard unit and is housed
in an almost identical case.
In fact, if the leads were a
bit longer you would be
hard pressed to tell them
apart.
The most important
difference is something
which you can’t see directly
- the power output, which
The
struggle
for
power
has been increased by a
claimed 30 per cent. This
has been achieved by
upping the current on the
plus 12V rail to 2A. As this
is where the external drives
get their power, it should
enable the full quotient of
three external drives to be
used with ease.
It is important to
remember that for seriously
expanded systems where
large amounts of ram are to
be powered internally, you
might need an even more
powerful supply. In the
meantime, for us mere
mortals who don’t have an
8 meg memory, this will do
nicely.
The A500 PSU is
available for £49.95 from
WTS on 0582 491949.
John Kennedy
J
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 103
This is
what the
EuroLink
package
offers • •
Fully automatic
operation - you
don't need any
prior knowledge
A multi-speed
modem - 2400,
1200, 300 and
1200/75 baud,
offering MNP
error correction
Easy-to-use free
comms software
FREE registration
to MicroLink
THE MODEM
The EuroLink modem is a robust and sophisticated device which turns data from your
Amiga into signals which can be sent along a telephone line. It can handle speeds up to
2400 baud - about 40 words a second. Although it has many powerful features, it is
simplicity itself to use when combined with its accompanying software. Built into the
Hayes-compatible modem is MNP error correction - your guarantee of a corruption-free
connection. Its wide range of other features include - auto dial and auto answer, auto
redial, baud rate scanning, auto terminal baud rate sensing, 32-entry number store,
internal loudspeaker, call progress monitor, bell tinkle supression, external plug mounted
power supply unit and built-in 'watchdog' circuitry.
THE SOFTWARE
Accompanying the modem is one of the Amiga's most popular and easiest to use
telecommunications packages, Access!, which simplifies the connection to MicroLink.
Two mouse selections and the rest is automatic. After that you can move freely around
MicroLink, capture text on disc and send pre-prepared documents - all with a minimum
of keystrokes. It can also be used to dial other services in addition to MicroLink.
WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH MICROLINK
With MicroLink any Amiga can be turned into a complete communications centre.
Without any additional expenditure it becomes a telex machine, a fax machine, an
electronic mail terminal.
■k You can use it to send a letter for next-day delivery to any address in Britain, send a
telegram to anywhere in the world, or even send flowers without moving from your
Amiga.
k It's also a retrieval tool that lets you search out and store data from the world's
leading electronic libraries.
k It gives instant access to the credit status of many thousands of companies all over
the UK... and it lets you embark on exciting adventures - in real time! - with like-minded
enthusiasts in faraway places.
k It keeps you up to date with the latest news, sport and weather.
YES - the long-awaited breakthrough in
data tommunitations has finally arrived!
Now you can use your Amiga
(plus phone) to talk to MicroLink
and other computers anywhere in
the UK - or all round the world* -
using the very latest in modem
technology.
Today there are hundreds of
MicroLink telephone points
throughout the British Isles.
This means that the majority
of subscribers access
the service for the
price of a local call.
APPROX
telecommui
in the InqJ
thee
inection to
specified
ibject to
|hem
It’s al[ you need to become
part of a very friendly qncf
helpfu[ on ^ ne community
ORDER FORM
Please send me a EuroLink modem with MNP error correction
plus Amiga lead, power supply and free Comms software -
all for the special offer price of £254.95 (incl. VAT)
I am already a member of MicroLink
I am not a member of MicroLink. Please send details
I wish to pay by:
Cheque/Eurocheque enclosed made payable to EuroLink
Access/Mastercard/EurocardSarclaycarcWisa/Connect
Expiry
Date
No.
J L1_L
Name_
_Signed_
Address
*The EuroLink modem and its accompanying software
can also be used to access other information services
I such as Telecom Gold and CompuServe, as well as
| innumerable other databases and bulletin boards in the
UK and overseas.
_Post Code_
Daytime telephone number in case of queries _
Send to: EuroLink, Europa House, Adlington Park, Adlington, Macclesfield SK10 4NP
PHONE ORDERS: 0625 878888. FAX ORDERS: 0625 879966 AMC 7
Thanks to a breakthrough by Rombo
Productions in frame-grabbing technology,
you can now produce good colour images
quickly and cheaply with Vidi- Amiga and
the VidiChrome colour software.
• Take snapshots in 16 shades live from video
• Multiple frame store
• Dynamic cut and paste
• Full palette control
• Hardware and software control of brightness and contrast
• Compatible with all video standards
"Vidi must be one of the most exciting peripherals you
can buy for your Amiga" - Amiga Computing, March 1990
RRP £134.95*
OUR PRICE
£ 119.95
* Includes colour
upgrade worth
£19.95
While stocks last, use the form on page 111
COMPUTING
READER OFFERS
>st you micro's sound output with an Amiga
ke advantage of the Amiga superb sound capabilities by routing
the output through the Soundblaster’s high quality amplifier and speakers.
The amiplifier has been designed specifically for the Amiga and implements the lat<
microchip technology to produce an ear-shattering five watts output. Twin volume
controls enable you to adjust the output and balance to suit.
The quality 50 watt speakers consist of a 3in woofer for thumping bass output, a 2in
mid-range unit for crisp music and effects and a tiny tin tweeter which pumps out the
highest frequencies the ear can hear.
The package comes complete with mains adaptor and full instructions.
No soldering or opening of the Amiga casej^gguired - simply plug
in, boot up your favourite software
and turn up the volume
Sou*'
Soundblast
ONLY
£ 34.99
The essential peripheral for all
games players and musicians
Order today, using the form on Page 111
You've never s&en a
disk like
★ It adds, substracts,
multiplies and
divides
★ It works out VAT and
other percentages
★ It has a powerful
three-key memory
★ And it's solar
powered!
(But just don't put it in your computer!)
... and it comes
FREE* when
you subscribe to
COMPUTING
* UK Only
nPnUD POPM Valid to Please tick the
UnUCn runivi July 31,1990 appropriate Box
12 Months Subscription - UK (including free calculator disc)
New Renewal
With cover disc £29.95 p 9532 rp 9534
Without cover disc £24.95 t 1 9533 LJ 9535
12 Months Subscription - outside UK New Renewal
Europe/Eire (with cover disc) £34.95 r — 19543 1 -19544
Rest of World — Airmail (with cover disc) £49.95 L 1 9545 I j 9546
Only subscription applications received by June 22
Payment: please indicate method (✓)
□ Cheque/Eurocheque made payable to Interactive Publications Ltd
□ Expiry /
Access/Mastercard/Eurocard/BarclaycardA/i sa7 Connect Date l_
Name Signed
Address
Post Code
Daytime telephone number in case of queries
Send to: Database Direct, FREEPOST, Ellesmere Port,
South Wirral L65 3EB (No stamp needed if posted in UK)
Order at any time of
Orders by phone: 051-357 1 275
Orders by lax: 051 -357 281 3
address and credit card number
Orders by MicroLink: MAG001
1
General Enquiries: 051-357 2961
If you prefer to have the
magazine delivered with
your morning paper, cut out
this form and give it to your
newsagent
Dear newsagent Name _
Please reserve me Address.
every month a
copy of
Amiga Computing
Reader
offers
TANK ATTACK
The unique
computerised
board game
Tank Attack is a computerised board game for two, three or four players, where each one takes
the role of a General commanding a country's Tank Corps of one of more armoured divisions.
Your objective is to capture the enemy headquarters, which will require the planned strategic
deployment of your forces and regular fire duels between your own and enemy units.
Weather, morale, skill, judgement, planning foresight, careful management of rebuild and repair
facilities and luck all play a part in deciding the result of each game.
• Control a full division of tanks and armoured cars
• See all the fighting live’ on your computer
• Superb board and fully detailed playing pieces
• Real time graphics
• Play as allies or enemies
• Suitable for all ages
RRP £22.95
OUR PRICE
£19.95
AMIGADOS: A Dabhand Guide
Is a comprehensive guide to the Commodore amiga's disc Operating
System (Versions 1 .2 and 1 .3). It provides a unique perspective on this
powerful system in a way which will be welcomed by the beginner and the
experienced user alike.
Rather than simply reiterating the Amiga manual, this book takes a
genuinely different approach to understanding and using the Amiga and
contains a wealth of practical hands-on advice and hints and tips.
The many features of this book include:
• Full coverage of Amiga DOS 1 .3 functions
• Filing witti and without the Workbench
• The Amiga's hierarchical filing system
• Pathnames and Device names
• The Amiga's multitasking capabilities
• The AmigaDOS screen edtor
• AmigaDOS commands
• Batch processing
• Amiga Error code descriptions
• How to create new systems discs
• Use of the RAM discs
• Using AmigaDOS with C
Amiga Computing approved reading
£ 14.95
Only £1
genuine leather
personal organiser
Worth over £30. the personal organiser
is crammed full of pages of information
including year planners, first aid tips,
international holidays, mileage charts,
dialing codes, weight and measure
conversions and locations of motorway
service areas.
There's also a daily diary section for
1 989, 1 990 and 1 991 . maps of the UK
and the London underground, an
appointments schedule, several pages
for notes, a personal finance organiser,
expense sheets, a telephone index,
and much, much more!
Each section is marked using plastic
tabs - making it easy to find the page
you need. There are special pockets
for your credit and business cards, and
you get a handy plastic ruler which you
can also use to keep your place
So get yourself organised on us.
Order today and well mall your
personal organiser by return!
Just some ol the personal organisers
information-packed pages
TO ORDER
PLEASE USE
THE FORM
ON PAGE 113
LET THERE BE COLOUR
Once upon a time there were two drawbacks to video digitising on the Amiga. Either it was slow or it was
expensive. Thanks to a price breakthrough from Rombo, you can now produce good colour images quickly and
cheaply. Thanks to Amiga Computing and Rombo you can get the high specification PAL VIDI digitiser and Vidi
Chrome colour software for only £119.95.
The award winning Vidi digitiser connects to a black and white or colour video camera to grab mono pictures
instantly and uses a series of filters combined with a camera to produce startlingly realistic HAM colour images.
SAVE £15
Hisoft Basic is THE language to get you
started with programming the Amiga.
★ Runs up to 30 times faster than
Amiga Basic
★ Produces stand alone programs
★ Compatible with PC Quick Basic &
Amiga Basic
Hisoft Basic is easy to use
★ Supplied with a high quality manual
★ No upper limit to program or data
size
★ Multi-tasking editor and compiler
Hisoft extend is the natural enhancement for
Hisoft Basic users
★ 50 functions and subprograms
★ Load and Save IFF pictures
★ Use all the commands in your own programs
Together both programs would
usually set you back almost £1 00,
as a special offer to Amiga
Computing readers both programs
are available for just £69.95.
SEE ORDER FORM ON PAGE 111
EXCLUSIVE!
Just how
good is
Protext?
RRP £99.95
OUR PRICE
£79.95 1
SAVE £20
Protext is acknowledged by many as
THE word processore for most home micros,
and the Amiga version is no exception.
/What you get with Amiga
Protext is a powerful workhorse with
a proven track record. Plus a saving of £20
off the retail price of the
new version 4!
Press comments
Ajtorrcc of to!
Pago Ctmm mown dirng eding
Cntselcnecxei you type
Oor 7C.C0C word English OOonjry
Uaoo roco»d mode
Morn »ven confgurcon program
Ajb moont for program edfl.ng
Lredrtwrg
Fast and flonOie ‘no and replace
Pcwrtl m»lmerge ‘acny
Box mods for croatng colimni
Edttvoflasctaama
Keyboard or mouse opr ato n
‘...merely the best
wordprocessor for
the Amiga’
- Reveiwed in
Amiga Computing,
January 1989
"For power and value for money, I don't think that Protext can be beaten. It can be used as sinply as
you choose, or can handle the most complex mailmerge routines... in short, it can be what you want it
to be". - Micronet
•Anyone with a professional interest in words is likely to find it pays dividends’. - PC Business World
“It is a refreshing change to review an inexpensive WP package which lives up to every expectation". -
Which PC
’Protext deserves to be the system by which all other word processors are judged’. - Your Computer
“The great strength of the package is its ease of use". - CPC Computing
"Deserves very serious consideration". - Amstrad Professional Computing
Reader
offers
Keyboard dust cover
(A500)
£4.95
Protect your
Amiga with
this top-
quality
cover made from clear, water-resistant vinyl.
It's bound with strong cotton and features
the Amiga Computing logo.
MoUSe desktop environ-
ment for your mouse with its
ryigf specially-designed, perfect-
ai grip surface. It ensure much
£6 95 smoother movement.
gives super-positive
control and protects
your table top from
scratches.
Binder
£5.95
Twelve rods hold your issues
in place and keep them in
pristine condition in this smart
PVC binder.
Disc storage box
£4.95
This luxury padded box is the
ideal storage medium, holding
up to FIFTY 3.5" discs
RRP £54.90
OUR PRICE
£34.90
Home Accounts Day by Day
Home Accounts has been designed to make full use of
the Amiga's features, giving you the widest range of
home accounting facilities available at this price.
The program lets you set budgets and control up to 13
separate accounts, with optional printouts of any data.
Within seconds of loading you data disc you can check
your budget or any account, and even display or print the
data in bar or pie charts.
Day by Day replaces your manual system for diary, business organiser,
notepad, planner, reminder and so on.
It's suitable for both business and home applications, including numerous
useful functions which serve every requirement.
It's suitable for both business and home applications,
including numerous useful functions which serve every
requirement.
Among its many features are:
☆ Calender/diary/planner
☆ Categories such as bills, birthdays and letters
☆ Appointment sorting
☆ ‘Urgent’ notice board
☆ ‘Overdue’ notice board
☆ Advance notice of forthcoming events
☆ Updating of regular appointments
☆ Comprehensive search facility
☆ Automatic reminders
☆ At-a-glance week and month summaries
☆ Print option
☆ Grouping of related messages
Both of these powerful programs are excellent value on their own. but
if you buy this exclusive combination package we’ll knock £20 off the
combined retail price.
Publishers' Choice
Whether you are designing a simple flyer, creating a newsletter, banners, posters, or even
producing a magazine, Publisher's Choice offers a comprehensive solution to your Desktop
Publishing and presentation requirements.
With the program you can easily combine text in a variety of styles, in multiple columns and with
customised graphics. It comes with over 200 professionally designed images, and high quality
"Headline” fonts. 7
In fact, Publishers' Choice combines the Kindwords 2.0 wordprocessor,
PageSetter 1.2 page composition package. Artists' Choice art program, and the
Headline fontpack.
Because the Amiga is multi-tasking you can have all the programs working on
the screen at the same time, or just use them individually as powerful stand-
alone programs.
RRP £99.99
OUR PRICE
£79.99
Steve Davis
World SNOOKER
Play Steve Davis at his own
game in the most popular
snooker simulation the home
computer has ever seen
RRP £19.95
OUR PRICE
£14.95
"A classic game..."-
Amiga Computing. July 1989
✓ Fast one-pass design
✓ Code limited only by memory
✓ Unlimited number ol labels
✓ Long label names
✓ Unlimited macro nesting
✓ Unlimited include nesting
✓ Include binary data
✓ Extra helpful error messages
✓ Instruction cycie timings
✓ Processor flag display
✓ Multi tasking
✓ Full multi-file capability
✓ Unlimited split views of files
✓ Cut/paste between windows
✓ InserVdelete blocks etc
✓ Full configuration facilities
✓ Save/restore environment
✓ Extremely last text scrolmg
✓ Fast page update rates
✓ Assemble from any window
✓ Works on Workbench
^ttnseji
£ 54.95
RRP £59.95
SAVE £5!
• Snooker, 10 ball or 15 ball
• Billiards, English or French
• Pool, American or English
• Smooth, fast movement
• Six skill levels
• Trick shots
• Table editor
• Magnify option
• Digitised pictures and sound
It's the perfect game for billiards
and snooker fans of all ages, a
game you'll come back to again
and again, year after year
ArgAsm
Probably the fastest
assembler ever
for the Amiga!
Exclusive price for readers of
WE'VE TAKEN INTO
ACCOUNT AllBRITAJN'S
BIGGEST BUSINESSES
The facts about 2.1m U.K.
companies and full audited accounts
for companies with £,lm+ turnover
via JORDAN INFORMATION
HOT NEWS FROM
MICROUNK
Instant access to
early edition
newspapers plus
many U.K and U.S
magazines,
journals and
research reports
through PROFILE
INFORMATION.
WHAT'S THE QUICKEST
WAY TO JFK?
Key into the OFFICIAL AIRLINE
GUIDES (OAG) for full flight.fare
and seat availability details of
100's of airlines.
YOU'VE GOT FRIENDS IN
THE TRADE' ALL OVER
THE WORLD
HOW'S BUSINESS
FOR 280,000 TOP U.K.
COMPANIES?
INFOCUECK gives you the current
status and credit recommendations
on over 280,000 leading companies
in Britain.
WHAT'S
GOING ON
OUT THERE?
VIEWTEL lets you see
at a glance what's
happening - as it
happens -in the world
of Finance, current
affairs, sport and
leisure.
STEAL MICHAEL
FISH'S THUNDER!
‘SAY IT’ WITH
FL0RAUNK
Make someone's day
extra special with
flowers and your
message delivered
direct via MicroLink's
FLORALINK facility.
WEATHERLINK lets
you display satellite
weather maps of the
U.K. and Europe on
your own monitor.
mkrolioh
THE BUSINESS BRAIN
THAT’S YOUNG
AT HEART
BE ABLE TO ACCESS ALL THIS
FROM JUST £7.00 A MONTH
With a PC/Terminal,
modem and
communications
software , you can use
MICROUNK to access
business information
worldwide, com mun icate
on a global scale, even
organise your social
calendar and much,
much more. All from as
little as £7.00 a month.
Mail the coupon below to
find out more.
MKR0UNK TURNS ANY
PERSONAL COMPUTER
MT0A COMPLETE
COMMUNICATIONS
l""T would like to know more about MicroLink. Please send me the complete
MicroLink Information Pack. AM FC 7
Name
Address
‘TODAYS
WAY 1
TO
GET
in tone I
MicroLink is your
vital link with other
users the world
over. Exchange
news and views
via a Bulletin Board
or pit your wits
against fellow
players of
MicroLink's
challenging
multi-user games, -
including
BLOODSTONE and
FEDERATION II.
BUSINESSUNK is MicroLink's
bulletin board where you can pose
problems, queries and requests to
like-minded professionals
throughout the world.
And these are just a few of oier
1200 varied business databases
available through MICROLINK
covering Market Information and
Research Reports to Technical .
Medical and Scientific Data.
Make the most of your
computer with
MicroLink's total
communications
package which
indudes Electronic
Mail, Fax,Telex,
Telemessages,
Telegrams and RadioPaging.
Postcode
mkroUok
The Vital Link
Tel No
MICROUNK, 4 MOONS PARK.
BURNT MEADOW ROAD, REDDTTG 1.
WORCESTERSHIRE B98 9PA.
TEL 0527 69459 (Sales & Marketing)
FAX: 0527 6(5084
J
Offers subject
to availability
COMPUTING READER OFFERS
Valid to 31.7.90
Back issues
* January 1990
February 1990
March 1990
April 1990
* May 1990
* June 1990
* Includes cover disc
£3.10
£2.10
£2.10
£2.10
£3.10
£3.10
9719
9720
9721
9722
9723
9724
Bargain bundles
Six issues of Amiga Computing (Jan-June) £15.00
Six program-packed cover discs (Aug-Jan) £9.00
fAdd £3 Europe & Eire / £12 Overseas
9905
9881
Rombo Vidi-Chrome
(see page 1 10)
£119.95 9891
Protext Version 4
(seepages 108/109)
£79.95
9530
Hi Soft Basic
(see page 108/109) Basic Compiler £69.95
9896
Battery charger
£19.95
Plus post and packing £1 .50
9861
✓
World Snooker
(seepage 108/109)
£14.95
9900
Mail Order offers
(seepages 108/109)
Publishers Choice
£79.99
9867
Mini-Gen
£98.85
9869
Word Perfect 4.1 version
178.85
9870
X-Cad
£89.85
9871
Small Business Accs Xtra
£89.95
9873
Mavis Beacon Typing
£24.99
9874
Home Accounts/Day by Day
£34.90
9851
ArgAsm
£54.95
9858
Flight Simulator
£35.95
9868
Pair of Scenery Discs
£31.90
9872
Flight Simulator + Discs
£65.85
9878
—
Amiga Soundblaster
(seepage 106) £34 , 99 9890
Batman - The Movie Game
£14.95
9882
Tank Attack
(seepage 108/109)
£19.95
9848
Dust covers
£4.95
9507
Mouse mats
£4.95
9508
]
Binders
£5.95
9509
Personal Organiser
(see page 108/109)
9901
Disc boxes
£4.95 9860
Amiga DABhand Guide
(seepages 108' 109)
A comprehensive guide to the Amiga's disc
operating system (versions 1 .2 and 1 .3) £1 4.95 9866
Addition for postage: Europe & Eire add £3
Overseas add £5
Unless otherwise indicated
ill* ill* :il* in* ii* in* in* ii* n* TOTAL
Send to: Database Direct, FREEPOST,
Ellesmere Port, South Wirral L65 3EB
(No stamp needed if posted in UK)
Products are normally despatched within 48 hours of receipt
but delivery of certain items could take up to 28 days
Order at any time of orders by phone: 051 -357 1 275
the day or night
Orders by Fax: 051 -357 281 3
Don Y forget to give your name, 1 "
address and credit card number Orders by MicroLink: MAG001
General Enquiries: 051-357 2961
Payment: please indicate method (/)
Cheque/Eurocheque made payable to Database Direct
Access/Mastercard/Eurocard/Barclaycard/Visa/Connect
Expiry
Date
Name Signed
Address
Daytime telephone number in case of queries
Post Code
AMC7
L
J
SERVE IS A PLEASURE 512K RAM BOARD
Stand 80
Sixteen
3it Show
28-29-S0th
June, 1st July.
TM
2000 ‘SLOT MACHINE*
For the 2000 with auto-booting and driver software. Ready
formatted. Can be a hard card or with drive mounted in a
drive bay or in an external case. Your choice. ( We can
provide just the interface if you provide the ST506 drive).
Uses the OMTI cache memory card that is RAPID! Read
speeds near to 500K a second are possible. We can sell
you a 40 meg system for £450 but for the serious user we
recomend the very latest drive, a 66 meg 3.5 inch 24
mill/secs drive that you can hardly hear running and at
£550 it is a steal. Don't forget, with our systems you double
the capacity by the purchase of a second drive only! Highly
recommended by AMIGA USER INTERNATIONAL and 17
BIT SOFTWARE Will work In the new B3000 AMIGA
HARD DRIVE KITS
You provide the ST506 type drive, we provide the interface,
cables, fast caching controller and case with fan cooled
power supply. The full kit (less drive) costs £299 for an RLL
system. MFM £289. Or buy the complete system ready
formatted capacities start at 42 megs.
FULL B2000 SYSTEMS
We can supply the B2000 & Fatter Agnus at £799
8meg card with 2 meg £275
40 meg auto-boot hard card £425
66 meg auto-boot hard card £550
87 meg auto-boot hard card £720
larger drives available
A500 owners find out how your A500
can be worth £300 when you buy a
B2000 rev 6.2. This is not Commodore‘s deal but
our o wn so we don‘t force you to have a hard drive of 40
megs. YOU choose the peripherals you want.
NEW!
68030 card for A500 and B2000
The first ever to give you B3000 power on the
A500. 25 mhz and 33 mhz can take kickstart in 32 bit
memory and works with your existing 1 6 bit memory as
well as 32 bit. Same board for A500 and B2000 very fast
so send or request full spec and low low prices
ONLY FROM US
Without clock £44.95 With clock £49.95 We do not
believe in switches that break and cause problems.
Al l our Ram Boards go with a utilities disk for
switching Fast Ram on and off; a clock reset
program when the clock has been hit by a virus or a
protection routine and the latest virus checkers.
2MEG BOARD
A500 memory board uses low power CMOS chips as 512k,
1 meg or 2 meg. Transparent auto-configure. No leads or
jumpers, multi-layered board, buffered at £299 for 2 megs
1.5MEG BOARD
A1000 memory board with clock, can autoconfigure 512k
1 meg & 1 .5 meg software ram test disk 1.5 megs £250
OCTABYTE™ 8MEG - 2000
For the 2000 and the new AX-S expansion system. (2000 Only)
With a ram controller chip for contiguous ram not fragmented!
Software support disk tests ram. The latest technology, not a
board a few years old. 2 megs £275 8 meg £699 will work
in the new B3000I!
X-RAM™ 8MEG - A500-A1000
The same as 'OCTABYTE' but in a slimline case with optional
power supply.. £325 for 2 megs X-RAM can be used in a
2000 when you upgrade or in the new B3000.
A500 fan cooled beefy power
Supply no more power problems and only £69
MUSIC X full version £99
With Midi interface £109
AUDIOMASTER II plus
SOUND TRAP 3 £59.95
BEST SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE
MIDI INTERFACE AND SONIX £35
MAXIPLAN 500 plus KIND WORDS 2 plus
SUPERBASE 2 together retail at over £250. From Us
a silly £70 or £30 each Get one of the three at £20
with every Ram board purchased. Save lots of
money but hurry while stocks last
F29 RETALIATOR £17.50
IT CAME FROM THE DESERT £17.50
V/SA
BYTES & PIECES, 37 CECIL STREET, LYTHAM, LANCS, FY8 5NN, UK
Tel 0253-734218 Fax 0253-736035 ON-LINE Support number available
Callers by appointment please. Open 1 1 am to 6pm Monday to Friday Prices include VAT unless stated
We are the Official Spirit Technology distributors and manufacturers. Dealer enquiries welcome
112 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
AMIGA PUBLIC DOMAIN
LOOK!!
•HUNDREDS OF TITLES* ‘STARTER PACKS*
•FAST, RELIABLE SERVICE*
LOOK!!
£1.80 each of £16.50/10
Pack A Delirious 1 . 2. 3. 4 (4 Disks) £6.50
Pack F Titanix. Crusaders.Trash & TTB Music (3 Disks) £5.00
Pack I Vortex, Antitrax. & Northstar Megademos (3 Disks) £5.00
Pack K DOC, Wild Copper. & RIP Demos (3 Disks) £5^00
Pack L Every inch a Lady, Sam Fox. Sabrina Demos (3 Disks) £5.00
Pack M Tiffany. Kyte, & Debbie Gibson Demos (3 Disks) £5.00
MANY MORE OFFERS & STARTER PACKS SEND S.A.E. FOR FULL LIST
PLEASE MAKE CHEQUES/POSTAL ORDERS PAYABLE TO:
MAGNETIC MEDIA
VICTORIA ARCADE, ALDERGATE
TAM WORTH. STAFFS B79 7DL
TEL: 0827 59566
PRICE INCLUDES VAT,
1st CLASS POST IN UK
(Airmail Postage: Europe/ Scandinavia £3.50/10
Other countries £6.50/10
Ep D • \ • Ep 0 ' Ep D ' \ ' Ep 0 ' Ep 0 ' Ep 0
ELECTRA PUBLIC DOMAIN
A Fast and Efficient Service
1 Disk £1 .60
10 or more Disks £14.00
(Postage, Packing & VAT inclusive)
In the event of a query please contact Paul King on
jgffq fc: 071 433 3428
Cheques or postal orders payable to P.J. King,
Electra Public Domain, 35 Marlborough Mansions,
Cannon Hill, London NW6 1 JS
AMIGA SPECIALISTS
WE HAVE 1 00s OF SOFTWARE TITLES (MANY ARE NOW
DISCOUNTED). BOOKS
AND PERIPHERALS IN STOCK AT ALL TIMES.
CALL IN TODAY FOR YOURS
£1000 INSTANT CREDIT AVAILABLE
TO PERSONAL CALLERS
^ 0273 674626
1 OPEN 1 0 AM TO 5.30 PM MONDAY TO SATURDAY
44 GEORGE STREET, KEMPTONX/N. BRIGHTON
OPPOSITE THE AMERICAN EXPRESS BUILDING
es
Reach the top with ... LCL Self-Tuition Services
_ World leaders - Hons graduate - Teachers Authors - At all major
, shows - £5 off total for 2. £1 0 off for 3
* Each course includes 24 programs on up to 1 05 topics and come with 2 books and usually
A a voice tape and costs only £24.
NEW NATIONAL CURRICULUM VERSION
PRIMARY MATHS COURSE - Full screen colour graphics. Ages 3-12 years.
tty MICRO FRENCH (8-GCSE) - With real speech + graphics adventure game.
K MICRO MATHS (1 1 -GSCE) — Best seller, highly acclaimed.
r ' MICRO ENGLISH (8-GCSE) -Eng. Language or EFL with real speech,
r MEGA MATHS NEW- A-level course with all calculus by graphics.
L HOME COLLEGE - Opening learning course of video, software and books.
I y Choice of MATHS. ENGLISH or FRENCH. Only £49.99 each.
SEND OR PHONE ORDERS OR OFFICIAL ORDERS FOR FREE COLOUR CATA-
LOGUE AND POSTER TO:
LCL (DEPT AC) Thames House, 73 Blandy Road, Henley, Oxon RG9 1QB
FT1 OR RING (0491) 579345 (10AM -10PM) 2S
AmigaTEX
AmigaTEX provides a powerful alternative in document
preparation. It enables you to typeset complex or long
documents, especially those of a technical nature such as
user manuals or journal papers. It gives you true typeset
quality with kerning, ligatures, full floating accents,
mathematical and technical symbols and the ability to
produce tables and special formats. AmigaTEX will accept
input from any text editor or word processor and with its built-
in screen previewer, a document formatter of mainframe
power becomes available. Also included with AmigaTEX are
LaTEX - a document formatter with dozens of preformed
styles, SliTEX - a slide generating macro, and BibTEX - a
bibliography database program. AmigaTEX is fully file
compatible with other versions of TEX.
Printer drivers are available for most printer types and the
complete set of Computer Modern Fonts is included. A
companion program METAFONT is available for those who
wish to create new fonts or modify existing ones.
AmigaTEX is £125 and printer driver sets (laser series,
Epson FX series, NEC P6 and Epson LQ series, HP
DeskJet) are priced at £75 each. METAFONT is £50.
All prices include VAT and carriage.
Access and Visa accepted.
For further details and free demo disk write or call:
THE TEXT FORMATTING COMPANY
SUFFIELD WORKS, 1 SUFFIELD ROAD, LONDON N15 5JX
TEL: 081-802 4470
DELTABASE A -
Analogue Yoke joy-
stick for Flight Simll.
Similar to a light air-
craft control it rocks
from side to side for aileron
movement and slides in and
out for elevator controls.
£29.95
DELTA 3A - A light
action analogue
joystick with fire
buttons. Introduced
so that software
companies can produce the
software to use it. Meantime
this also will only run Flight
Sim II. £14.95
DELTA 3S - Standard switched joystick but very light and easily
hand held. £14.95
AMI-CAT - Mouse eliminator. Joystick control of mouse functions.
£29.95.
SIMULATOR - Sublogic Flight Sim II. £27.95.
SOFTWARE - Scenery Discs. £15.95.
EXTERNAL DISC DRIVES - 1 Meg Chinon drives as used in Amiga.
Cased, with leads, through port and disable switch, limited number -
first come first served. £69.95.
VOLTMACE
Unit 9. Bondor Business Centre, London Road, Baldock, SG7 6HP
Telephone 0642 894410
Prices include VAT & 1st class post ■■■■
r \ 1 Dealer & Distributor terms availble wmmmm
AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990 1 13
■ THE LAST BLIT ■
I T may be easy to believe
that the life of a computer
magazine journalist is a fun-
filled and relaxing experience.
You might even think that
here in the editorial offices of
Amiga Computing we do
nothing more than sit around
and play games all day.
Occasionally the telephone
might ring and one of the bevy
of PR persons might invite us
out for lunch under the
guise of showing us
their latest game.
Then back
to the office for a
quick chat
with the
advertising
you think
office which went along these
lines:
”Erm... I’m not in Dublin,
I’ve been run over. Where am I?
What am I supposed to be
doing? Right... I’ll call again
some time...”
After about six hours without
contact. Green was offically
classed missing, presumed out
to lunch. Even the software
house which had invited him
on the journey had not seen
him. Was Green wandering
around Euston Station in a
dazed state? Who would write
Amiga Arcade this month? The
office party was well into the
planning stages.
Eventually our beloved
Reviews Editor did reappear,
complete with large facial
bruise and forehead mounted
sticking plaster. Having missed
the flight by being in the
casualty ward of a local
hospital, he clambered into the
InterCity and came home again.
Comments such as “I see
you’ve suffered some sort of
head crash" were not
appreciated.
It’s a hard life.
department, a cup of delicious
vending machine coffee and off
home in the company Rover.
Alas, if only this were the
case, for real life rarely lives up
to expectations.
Take the recent Green
incident, for example. There he
was, all set to visit Dublin to
see the premier performance of
the Don Bluth film All Dogs Go
To Heaven because of a
computer game tie-in.
Everything seemed wonderful.
Little did Green know of the
horrors in store.
All was going well as he
made his way courtesy of
British Rail to London Town
and next day’s early morning
flight. Then the first
disaster struck - his
accommodation refused
to accommodate him.
This necessitated a
hasty visit to a friend,
who agreed to put
him up for the night.
And so next morning,
bright eyed and bushy
tailed, he set off for the
airport. He never made it.
Instead, halfway across a
zebra crossing he was struck in
the midriff by a Vauxhall
Cavalier
Several dramatic loop-the-
loops later he re-established
contact with the ground, using
his head to cushion his fall.
The first we knew of all this
was a telephone call to the
Harder than
ADVERTISERS INDEX
Amigatex 113
Applied Research Kernal 83
Amor 66
Ashcom 29
Bitcon Devices 91
Bytes & Pieces 112
Calco 31
Castle Software 98
Computer Store 76
Computerwise 113
Contriver Europe 20
Database Software 110
Delta Pi Software 84
Diamond Computers 16, 17
Digicom 35
Digita International 58
DS & K Designs 77
Electra PD 113
Eurolink 104, 105
European Peripheral Distribution. .6
Evesham Micros 26
Greater London Computers 102
Hampshire Micro Computers 31
Home Based Business 102
HSV Computer Services 25
Infogrames 2
Janor Hirst Holdings 102
LCL 113
Magnetic Media 113
MD Office Supplies 67
Media Direct 83
Media Value 86
Memory Expansion Systems 12, 32
Microdeal 50
MicroLink 87
Microtext 84
Millenium 45
Mirrorsoft 116
Mistral Computer Supplies 102
Overseas Media 3
Power Computing 13. 14. 15
Proton Software 84
P Dorn PD Amiga 96
Rombo 115
Silica Shop 18
SK Marketing 92
Softmachine 83
Softsellers 19, 29
Softwise 34
Solid State Leisure 34
Special Reserve 49
Trademasters 77
US Action 23
Virtual Reality 34
Voltmace 1134
WTS Electronics 102
Wizard Software 31
114 AMIGA COMPUTING July 1990
VI DI-AMIGA SCREEN SHOT
PAL VERSION
£114.95
VIDI FEATURES . .
VIDI ENABLES YOU TO
I l;i\ r perfrrt freeze (Vaiiie from
aiiv \ ideo.
hicoiporate real life objects into
\ (Mil* lavoiiriti* (](‘>iun.
( wal» real time S-l)
from 1 \ .
la Viu-e v.i ) ii \'j i p hi<
iiUjp. '
)hyj
( aj a tire ami Mon
■{<■; i i lit f (m mmmmmk
■ action M'lpiences
• Desk t()|i \ ide< >.
D l l’. I)»k Top
i(
k
wMf0P,
. ■ini!!;’:;:
Wljjg
WlMifm
IiPkm
VIDI-
TAMIGA
JiiittiiB
FAX: 0506-414634
AVAILABLE
FROM ALL GOOD
COMPUTER SHOPS
COLOUR UPGRADE
£19.95 inc VAT
Take snapshots in 16 shades live
from video.
Multiple frame store will utilise all
available memory !.
Dynamic cut and paste.
# Full palette control.
I Iardware and software
control of brighmess and
contrast .
Compatible with all video
standards colour, black
and white. VI IS. Beta.
PAL. NTSC etc.
I pgradable to full colour
with additional
MDICI IHOME* pack.
