January, 1994 - Volume 11, No 1
$3.95 (NZ $7 inc. GST)
Tnlfff At
■ ■" ?" i 'j z
:: - : V
0^1
*m
$m
M
PREVIEW: Final Writer
NEW Super Powerful
Wordprocessor
FeflCil Wnrfi
j UrWTt*3 - MQlrK&oc^
iia 'Si 3 Wi VsfHian '2JJ
g!$fSiiBl.Hl Jjg[ife> '.. iTviilJjHEI LfiUii JjJ jv i^J AJ-5Ji ^
_J :_.._:.=."_ ! ".". " " ■ '
TBI'S
■ i ■,. ■■ ■
he first time I hove had a prudence to write you about the
rjrrv ^ ser Evt rc°" 5W ^ Preference |^
Thii
Hie
IfSBj
had
Thit
abo
Thif
had
atac
T h is is tThis is the first time I have
had a prudence to write you
□bout the amazing Final Writer.ar
This is tj
Latest CD32 Games
Registered by Australia Post Publication Nfo, NBG 6656
: Recommended Retail Price
Sigmacom ^ 524 9846
Leaders in Quality • Service & Price.
CD ROM Drives and Systems
NEC CD ROM Drives. SCSI interface supports MAC, PC & Amiga Ensures superior
performance, reliability and expandability.
CDR -25 Ext. Portable, Kodak Photo CD Comp. $499
CDR-55 Internal Multispin Multisession, Kodak
Photo CD Compatible 256k cache SCSI-2
CDR-74 External Multispin Multisession, Kodak
Photo CD Compatible 256k cache SCSI-2
, si
Xetec Driver for Amiga, all CD formats,
Add $99
Kg/ -I...; ."" — S^^lSi
} -
— * *
vv7
January
CD Special
NEC CD ROM 1
$499
(^fa<w,&VROWS<$M^
Hard Drive
Quantum
Hard Drives
SCSI Drives
85 Megabytes $369
120 Megabytes $449
240 Mb SCSI-2 $599
1.05 Gig SCSI-2 $1999
"Quantum drives
give you the high-
est performance
and reliability,
and a high speed
256K onboard
cache."
Maestro
14,400 bps
Fax/Data/Modem
Alter a survey of all available
Fax/data 14.4 modems, Maestro
came out in front. These
modems come packaged with
GPFax fax software at the
incredible price of
$599.
A1200 HD
Upgrade
Swap your 40Mb Hard Drive or
Add an extra drive to your A1200.
Size Price to Price to add
Swap as 2nd Drive
40Mb NA $249
80Mb $349 $499
120 Mb $449 $599
209Mb $699 $899
Bernoulli
Multidisk System
SCSI Drive with a difference.
Internal or Transportable SCSI
drive with 35MB to 150MB
removable media.
Price for Drive and One cartridge.
Multidisk 150 Insider $1350
Multidisk 150 Transportable $1550
Multidisk 90 Pro Insider $1260
Audio
GVP Digital Sound Studio
$169
Sunrise AD101 2 1 2 bit DSP Caid
$950
Sunrise ADS1 6 1 6 oil DSP Card
CALL
Accelerators
GVP A530 80Mb HD 4Mb RAM
$1499
GVP A1 230 40MHz 030 58882 4Mb 1199
GVP G-FORCE Accel 4014014
S' 199
GVP 040 A2000 33Mta
with 4Mb 60ns RAH
$2100
Ex-Demo Call for Avail.
Commodore A2620 Accel 2Mb
$393
Commodore A2620 Accel 4Mb
$699
Commodore A2630 Acce! 2Mb
$699
Commodore A2630 Accel 4Mb
$749
G-Foice 25 MHz
$799
Base Machines
CD32
S6S9
Amiga 500 512K Ex-Demo
$249
Amiga 1 £00 40Mb HO
CALL
Amiga 2000 New machines
$499
Amiga 2000 base machine Ex- Demo $399
Amiga 4000 68030 CPU 4Mb 120HD $Call
Amiga 4000 68040 CPU 6Mb 120HD $Call
Emulators
QVP PC286 IBM Emulator
$199
XT Bridgeboard Ex-Demo
$100
AT Bridgeboard Ex-Demo
$399
Golden Gate 386SX Bridgeboard
$995
Commodore 386SX
$999
EMPLANT Emulator Card
$799
AT-Once Emulator ex-demo
$199
Hard Drives
1 20Mb H D for A1 200 instead of 40Mb$449
209Mb H D for A1 200 instead of 40Mb$699
Additional 40Mb H D for A1 200 $249
Additional 80Mb H D for A1 200 $499
Additional 1 20Mb HD for A1200 $599
Additional 209Mb HD for A120O $899
52Mb Quantum SCSI HD Drive only $299
1 20Mb Quantum SCSI HD Drive only$449
170Mb Quantum SCSI HD Drive only$549
240Mb Quantum SCSI-2 HD Drive only$599
1 06Gb Quantum SCSI-2 Hd 3.5" FH $1999
Syquest 88Mb C Remove Drive + Cart$899
250Mb Tape Cartridge $79
44 Mb Syquest Cartridge $ 1 49
88Mb Syquest Cartridge $220
Bernoulli 1 50Mb Insider w/cart $13S0
Bernoulli 1 50Mb Transport w/cart $ 1 550
150Mb Cartridges $280
Hard Drive Controllers
Z3SCSUI RAM CD MSDOS $995
GVP Impact 500 No Drive $475
GVP Impact 500 No Drive Ex-Demo $300
GVP Impact 500 HD 52Q Ex-Demo $599
GVP Impact 500 H D BOO $749
GVP Impact 500 HD 1 20Q $949
A590 W/40+2 $599
QVP Impact 2000 HCB No Drive $325
GVP Impact 2000 520 $599
GVP Impact 2000 1 20Q $749
GVP Impact 2000 240Q $949
GVP I mapct 4008 No Drive $349
A590 20MbHDO RAM X-Demo $399
A590 20Mb HD 1Mb RAM X-Demo $449
A590 20Mb HD 2Mb RAM X-Demo $499
Commodore A2091 HD Controller $1 99
Commodore A2091 HD Card Ex-Demc$149
GVP SCSt/RAM A 1200 No FPU OK $599
GVP SCSI/RAM A1200 No FPU 1Mb$699
GVP SCSI/RAM A1200 No FPU 2Mb$799
GVP SCSI/RAM A 1 200 882 4Mb $895
CD Rom Drives
Xetec CD ROM Driver Software Kit $149
NEC CDR-74 CD ROM Drive with s/w$949
NEC CDR.-25 External with stor $599
NEC CDR-56 with s/w $799
Monitors
1084S Stereo Monitor Ex-Demo $249
Commodore 1942 Bisync Monitor $649
Sony 14" Trinitron $899
NEC 3D Mullisync Monitor Ex-Demo $699
NEC 5D 20" Multisync Monitor Demo $1 999
Commodore 1 940 Bisync Monitor $499
RAM Expansion
51 2K RAM Expansion for Amiga 500$S9
A60 1 4 Mb RAM for A6QQ $ 1 35
4Mb 32-bit 60ns SIMM for GVP AccelS399
4Mb 32-bil SIMM for A4O0O $399
4Mb ZIP Sialic Column RAM A3000 $399
MBX1200 RAM Card 58881 OK $279
MBX 1 200 RAM Card 5888 1 1 Mb $349
MBX12O0 RAM Card 6B881 4Mb $599
2Mb PCMCIA Card for AS0O/A12O0 $299
4Mb PCMCIA Card for A6007A 1200 $399
ChipEx 2Mb CHIP RAM witti Agnus $299
Software
Art Department Pro v2.3 $299
Aladdin 4D $529
Amiback 2 + Tools $99
Arexx Cookbook
Art Expressions
Bars & Pipes Pro V2
Battlechess CD Software
Broadcast Titter Hi-Res
Broadcast Tiller Super Hi-Res
Cinemorph
CDPDVoll
CDPD Vol .2
CDPD Vol 3
Devpac 3
Depuly CG Tiller
Directory Opus
Distant Suns v4.1
Deluxe Paint AGA
Electric Thesaurus
Essence for Imagine
Excellence V3
FlnaiCopyllUK
Final Writer
Fractal Universe
Fred Fish on CD
Fred Fish On Line version
Glgamem
GPFax
Hi-Soft Power Basic
Hi-Soft High Speed Pascal
Hotlnksf.1
Hotllnks Additions
Hisoft Power Basic
High Speed Pascal
Intro Cad Plus
Image FX
Imagemaster R/T
Imagine V2
KDV5
Megadisc
Morph Plus
$275
$449
$59
$399
$409
$149
$169
$249
$109
$99
$150
$59
$99
$149
$139
$219
$89
$75
$75
$169
$149
$119
$199
$69
$159
$199
$99
S449
S229
$349
$20
$17.95
$299
January AGA Trade-up Deals
Each month Sigmacom is offering Fixed Price upgrades
to the New AGA machines - for example
Package 1. 1084S* > 1940 Bi-Sync
*Working 1084S monitor trade up to a 1940 Bi Sync monitor oi
Package 2. A3000 I A4000 030
Amiga 3000 with 52Meg HD 6MbRAM trade up to
an A4000 with an 030 processor 120Mb Hard Drive 4Mb RAM
Package 3. A3000 I A4000 040
Amiga 3000 with 52Meg HD 6MbRAM trade up to
an A4000 with an 040 processor 120Mb Hard Drive 6Mb RAM
.L,- i .,.^i\a
In Stock Now
The fastest most reliable SCSI-It card for
the A3000/A400Q with space for up to an
incredible 256Mb of 60ns RAM - $995
Features • Full 32 bit Zorro 3 irtc auto conlig &
DMA • up to 20mb/sectranslir- SCSI,SCSH1 &
Fast SCSI-il -Mount R&W MS DOS formatted volumes-
Speed increase - CD Rom stds. • new caching software.
I
V-LAB Framegrabber -
V-LAB Y/C and Ext V_LAB for A1200
These boards can now grab at an effective rate of 3D
frames/ sec. VLab is a 24- bit framegrabber
designed to compliment the Retina or Harlequin
boards. Botb cards fiave full AdPro and
Imagernaster drivers, extensive developer libraries
and docs. Phone or call in for a Demonstration.
'ZatU & 7<fi&
Enhance or replace?
This is the question posed by many of our customers over the past
month. The question of whether to upgrade your existing Amiga or
trade it in on a new AGA machine is a difficult one, and the solution
really depends on what you intent! using the machine for most.
The AGA machines (the Amiga 1200 and 4000 series) offer previously
unmatched graphics for a base machine. A wide variety of existing and
new software is being released which makes use of the extended colour
palletes. Up to 256,000 colours, from a pallets of 16.8 million, can be
displayed simultaneously. For many images, this HAMS mode is
indistinguishable from full 24bit (16.8 million colours simultaneously).
Meanwhile, the last month has seen a previously unmatched number of
24bit display cards released or advertised for release. Clearly adding
one of these boards to say and A2O00 or A3G00 provides more colours
to work with than a standard A4000, and in many cases, a faster display
than AGA. Some of these cards offer a form of AGA emulation, which
'fools' AGA software into running in AGA modes. However, in our
experience, this emulation is suspect at best, at least at the current
releases of driver software.
Despite this, more and more serious graphical software applications are
including drivers specifically written to support these cards, thus
offering full 24bit graphics! Clearly the decision of whether to add a
24bit card or upgrade to AGA depends on the software you intend
using, the cards it supports directly, and of course your budget!
In general it's cheaper to add a24bitcard to yourold machine.
Morphus for Imagine $169
Newtek Media Station $299
NASA CO Software $59
Pagestream 2.2 $159
Professional Draw V3 $199
Proper Qrammer II $89
Powercopy III Copier $89
Professional Page 4 $149
Prey CD Software $89
Professional Calc $229
Pro Video Posl $299
Prowrrite3/3 $129
Quarterback $89
Quarterback Tools $109
Real 3D V2 $699
Rexx Plus Compiler $229
SASC Lattice C V6-2 $429
Scala 500 $149
Scala Multimedia $399
1 7B1T Collection on CD $99
SIMCITYonCD $69
Softfaces $99
Superbase Pro 4 $349
TVPaint Retina $599
True Print 24 $109
Video Director Amiga $ 1 99
Video Director PC $249
Vista Pro V3 $99
Winimages $249
Xenon2onCD $49
Spare Parts & Cables
68882 Maths Co-pr for A40QOI030 $299
2.04/2,05 Kiekstart ROM $69
8375 Agnus $69
3-way Internal SCSI Cable $29
PARNET Cable $45
A1 200 clock $59
Mice and Accessories
Jin Colour Mouse $39
Axelen Optical Mouse $S9
Mouse Master $69
Pan Mouse $59
Video Products
Opalvisions Ex-Demo $996
GVP Impact Vision + Splitter $2499
VLAB Comp Framegrabber $699
VLAB YC Framegrabber $799
VLABA120O $799
DCTV $499
Opalifisioti 24-bil Display Card S 1 1 99
Q VP Q Lock Genlock Only S899
GVP GLock with Scala MM211 $1199
GVP GLock VGA S2'.'-9
Vldl12 $299
GVP EGS Spectrum 1 Mb $999
GVP EGS Spectrum 2Mb $1 149
Modems
I nterll nk VOIDAX II DaUVFaxfVoice $649
InteriinkVOIDAXIllData/Fax/Voic© $799
Maestro 14,400 Data Fax Modem $599
Miscellaneous
GVP 10 Extender $299
Keyboard Skin (suit all Amlgas) $39
Roclite External FDD $1 65
High Density Floppy Drive external $299
Kickboard Plus $59
A1200HD cable double $49
Monitor Adaptor 23- 1 5 pin $39
Monitor Switch Box $99
Kiekstart 2.04 ROM $89
Ex-Demo
Amiga 500S12K Ex-Demo S299
Amiga 2Q0Q base machine Ex-Demo $499
External Floppy Drives Ex-Demo $99
XT Bridgeboard Ex-Demo St 00
AT Bridgeboard Ex-Demo $39?
AT-Once 286/16 Ex-Demo $199
GVP Impact 500 No Drive Ex-DemoS300
GVP Impact 500 HD 52Q Ex-Demo$599
A590 20 Mb HD O RAM X-Demo $349
A590 20Mb HD 1Mb RAM X-Demo $399
A590 20Mb HD 2Mb RAM X-Demo $499
Commodore A2091 H DCard X-Demo$ 1 49
Flicker Fixers from $249
1084S Stereo Monitor Ex-Demo $249
NEC 3D Molthync Monitor Ex Demo$699
68030 Accelerators call for details
All with warranty. Call for availability
If you are looking for something that we do not
have advertised, please call as we have a lot
more in stockman we have space lo Est.
At Sigmacom You will receive the best service
and most courteous advice on all new and
used Amiga products.
JpJigmacom
ph= (02) 524 9846
-Mobile: (018)25 7471
Facsimile: (02) 540 4554
Suite 17, 20 - 24 Gibbs Street,
Miranda NSW 2228
Phone Orders Welcome
!GS 28/24
: EGS SPECTRUM from GVP fully supports
die Display Database starting with Kickstart
2.04. Any programs that open screens from this
list will run on the EGS-28/24 SPECTRUM,
including Workbench!
Even programs that do not support the Display
Database, but do use standard workbench-type
screens will also run on the EGS-28/24
SPECTRUM in high-resolution colour.
The high-performance Paint package has abilities
and features not found in other paint software,
including Pantograph painting, turbo airbrush,
and Real-Time 16-million colour painting tools.
The window-based architecture allows multiple
images to be opened at once on high-resolution
screens (up to 1600x1280) for editing,
compositing, and manipulating. This makes life
easier than ever before, and is unavailable on
competitive products.
The EGS libraries make it easy to develop
professional-looking, high resolution, true colour
applications that are portable, reliable, and
productive.
Years of R&D have gone into these libraries and
they offer a very real and very flexible
Retargetable Graphics Operating System for
the Amiga platform.
PLUS the EGS Amiga Pass -Through allows
native displays to reach the monitor under
software control. This feature eliminates the need
for two monitors without sacrificing features.
e=
Jb
FmdCopyS
Final Wrtei
w
Final Copy II
Word Processing from
beyond. • Scalable Fonts •
Multiple Columns • Text
Flow round graphics •
On-screen Drawing • Boxs
Borders Lines Arrows •
Import Graphics in AG A.
This Month $139
Final Writer
Looking for a performance
word processor? You want
even more than Final Copy II
120 PS fonts • 100 clip-art
images • extensive features.
On Special $219
ProPage 4.1
Be Head and Shoulders
above the resl. For real DTP
control and no toys, but all
the bells and whistles.
This Ad was done entirety, concept
lo mm, cm Pro Page.
On Special S149
Power Copy
For your disk to disk work,
& general copy work you
won't believe how simple
Power Copy makes your
life. Hardware included
Now Only $89
Build your Software
Library and make your
$$$$s go further
iiaiuruvm
S '"'•
SCALA MM 200
MultiMedia Video, Present
• New Plug n' play system
• Sync Pro Transitions &
Wipes with Music & Anims
• Scala Snapload • Shuffler
• Buttons Sound •
Today S399
Soon SCALA MM300
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■I
CineMorph
If you want Static or Full
Motion Morphing, Single
Image Warping, Multi
Speed and line or Spline
Morphing and animation al!
in 24bit colour or 8bi1 grey.
This Month S99
Deluxe Paint AGA
Deluxe Paint comes of age
with the AGA version
offering full 24bit painting at
the standard we expect
from the World's No.1 Paint
Software.
A Steal at $150
Directory OPUS
If you use disks - Hard or
Floppys - you will love
DOPUS. Heaps of user
definable functions and
buttons, you can totally
customise your interface.
Every Amiga's MUST HAVE
For January $1 09
'""■""
AMI-BACK
Vidi Amiga 12
Digitising hardware and
software for real time video
capture. Anim features,
Composite or S-Video
input.
You wont get these specs
anywhere for the price
Our price $289
AmiBack Plus Tools
Hard Disk backups or
disasters cause less stress
with Ami Back Tools. The
Disk Ambulance and file
recovery modules are easy
to use and very fast.
Yours now for only $99
ProCalc
For business, for Home, for
School, for everyone - a
speradsheet that takes the
work out. True power and
function + 123 Wk file
compatible.
This Month $229
Mobi;
AH pnees subject to change wittwLrt notice
At Sigmacom You will receive the best
service and most courteous advice on all
new and used Amiga products.
Sigmacom
p h: p. 524 9846
(018) 25 7471 ■ Facsimile: (02) 540 4554
Suite 17, 20-24 Gibbes St. Miranda
Phone Orders Welcome
CONTENTS
Features
1 6 Palmtop Computing & Your Amiga
Low price alternatives to an Amiga portable
22 Preview of Final Writer
Super Enhanced Wordprocessing with DTP power
24 What the Manual Doesn't Tell You
Some interesting aspects of the Amiga, for beginners
28 Deluxe Music 2
The improved new version can be used as a proper
semi-professional tool
32 QuickNet - Delivers Network Speed
A new peer-to-peer network from a local developer
37 Understanding Libraries
Why libraries are so important & how to manage them
70 Art Gallery
Regulars
6 Notepad
12 Media Watch
14 Letters
38 CanDo - Getting key input
42 Hot PD - Latest Public Domain and Shareware
49 Amos ■ New extensions for AMOS Pro
54 Blitz 'em - Zones of control
58 Andy's Attic - Ebony and ivory
60 C64 - Bumper Tips Edition
Entertainment
64 Phil Campbell's Entertainment
Latest news, hints and tips, letters
67 Adventurers Realm
Hints & Tips, News, Clever Contacts Updated Listing,
74 Game Reviews
AGAR PD Games 2, Mean Arenas, Yo Joe!, CD32
Quickshots - D/Generation, Whale's Voyage, Overkill
80 CD32 Entertainment
A new column - latest info on hardware & software
Published by: Saturday Magazine Pty. Ltd.
21 Darley Road, Randwick NSW 2031
Ph: (02) 398 51 1 1 Fax: (02) 398 5322
Editor: Andrew Farrell, Phone (02) 879 7455 Fax : (02) 81 6 4714
Entertainment Editor: Phil Campbell
Advertising: Ken Longshaw, (02) 817 2509 Mobile 018 230 912
Production: Brenda Powell Layout: Tina Coins
Subscriptions / Back Issues: Darrien Perry (02) 398 51 1 1
Distributed by: Network Distribution Printed by: Ian Liddell Pty. Ltd.
Vol 11 No 1 - January 1994
Jil irVal WfiNi-
[ojyrriirtad - u&n {Body)
aiepnaialHI *AaiaP'fl^lBlj^ MB|^!!^ z\ji
■ ■ tir i jc :..:■ .J ,-\. .jw ■!_;■■: :lj; it: ;:-- . i: '■■- !■-. r- — >. :•■-.
M- 4 ^-— 1 ! I '■» -'•^ JJ - J ~-|jE — ' — M ' ^ MI ~M J T^ — I — 1 — ITr ^ r
— S
JffliS
Final Writer
ir T
^
(il
_, * ■ f
niAL
r>l l»lm i»v.lt
p^^^r^ ^m
ej ■-. ■ ■■. Z-.-snt-'-Tr r TMfjp ' -l*'f •
9%%
itoS^nfft
CWdll of F iifthi
P
_J *UM I 6*"»l I
SUff '...-i-
^-jaicjiEjs^^i
H -i* Jli,\\vttl't
IfifitpDM fhtic
TT I TTT 1 TT I T TTTTTTTTTTTrTTTT
w
m
28
Deluxe Music 2
77
Yo Joe!
ACAR3
EDITORIAL
The Future of Amiga
At the start of each year, it is traditional to step back
from the day to day grind and take a few moments to
ponder the future, or indeed the past. I speak purely of the
microcosm that is the world of Amiga. It has always been a
world of uncertainty from the very day the Amiga Lor-
raine corporation ran out of money and were later pur-
chased by Commodore - but only after bids by Atari fell
short of the amount needed to keep the company afloat.
Ever since that fateful day, Commodore International
has come under heavy scrutiny by the millions of Amiga
owners who wished more shared their passion. They blamed
lack of marketing, poor advertising and late delivery of
new technology for the Amiga's low profile. And yet,
Commodore have had some very memorable campaigns.
In the US, "Try that on your Mac, Jack!", was one of the
ads which extolled the Amiga's brilliant multitasking ca-
pabilities. Lucas Productions spent millions on another
series of ads which looked like a scene out of the movie
Close Encounters - but the encounter was with the amaz-
ing Amiga. In Australia we saw John Laws do his usual
droll delivery, with all the authoritative punch that a man
who found something better and switched to it could possi-
bly have.
When the Amiga 1000 was launched in Australia at the
Abbey restaurant in Sydney back in 1985 Ross Bloore,
Commodore Australia's Amiga marketing guru of the time,
impressed the audience by running multiple clocks. The
media gasped in appreciation and yet few seemed to really
grasp what the machine was
all about. Multitasking was
clearly an impressive feature -
one which Chicago, the next
version of Windows, may fi-
nally offer some nine years
since the Amiga's launch.
So, what of the future? Ig-
nore any doomsayers. Whatever happens, Amiga technol-
ogy will survive. It's too good not to.
Although stiff competition in the future is likely, right
now CD32 is leading the CD based games console market
- it's the only available console with CD as standard and
software support is growing.
AAA development continues, and Commodore do have
plans for future Amigas. Third party product development
is racing ahead in the video area. Programs like Final
Writer and Pagestream 3.0 will also see to it that the
Amiga continues to grow as a design tool for print media.
On the emulation front, a new version of AMAX - with
complete colour and System 7.0 support - is expected any
day now, and the amazing Emplant card promises new
capabilities every month (3 DO and 486). It won't be long
before we can run DOS and Windows software without a
hitch.
At Amiga Review, we're very confident the Amiga is set
for another good year. Sure, there will still be some who
disregard it as a serious machine, but then few of these
people have actually ever used one,
ANDREW FARRELL
Did you fill in the reader
survey last month?
Every reader survey returned is in the running
to win an Amiga CD32 player or one of three
Hoopy Paint programs or two Amiga 1200
training videos.
Now, Hoopy Paint is a seriously groovy
paint program. In fact, we reckon it's the most fun
you'll have this summer - especially if you've got
some kids around the house who need to be enter-
tained. Hoopy Paint makes painting easy and
fun for all ages. So be sure to return the survey
from last month's Amiga Review so that you're in
the running!
-Th**!-^^^ & TAB CI U
in
mti ^jsr
ACAR 4
SCA
The Multimedia Re
The file Requester Shuffler
provides a fast visual
overview of a directory.
Stale MM3O0 /
features draw trig
tools tor easy
creation of
graphics, line,
. circle and
I rectangles are
" supported.
The Edit Menu now
includes tools for structured
drawing.
The new Absolute Timing
is extremely useful when
working with video and
music.
rUft iir'l T rramrl
BRBnQS39
Many exciting new wipes
are included in MM300 and
can be applied to pages, text
and brushes.
Scala EX
A revolutionary new plug and play system for the integration of
LaserDisc, Stili Video, MIDI, or CDTV sound in your Scala
presentation.
NEW: IV-24, G-Lock, Link, Canon ION Still Video, MID] 2.0, CDTV
2.0, and other EX's included.
IS Scala Wipes
More than 80 amazing, smooth and professional transitions
provide possibilities previously unseen on the Amiga.
NEW: Many new wipes including Dissolve, Rollodex, Ccccut,
FadeTo White, Nuclear, Ants, FlipOver etc.
Scala Sound
Enhance your presentations with voice-over, music and special
sound effects ! Scala offers total control of recording and play-back.
NEW: Play sound samples direct from hard disk.
\*V Scala Shuffler
Instant viewing of your whole presentation. You can see up to 112
pages at one time. Simply shuffle them around with the mouse!
NEW: File Requester Shuffler for easy preview of pictures,
animations and brush files.
© Scala Buttons
Creating interactive hotspots has never been so easy! Scala
MM300 even includes full support of variables.
NEW: Add sounds to buttons and automagic button creation for
screeii objects.
Scala LINGUA
The multimedia language Lingua with its close link to ARexx puts
the advanced user in total control!
And much much more. Upgrades from
MM200 available NOW! Please Call!
□ Scala Echo
With the optional Scala Echo your Scala MM300 system
becomes a powerful DTV solution. Scala Echo enables you to
easily edit your videos with your personal computer. Add high
quality titles, graphics and sound to your videos. Scala Echo
consists of a sophisticated cable unit which connects to the
computer's serial port. One cable has a LANC/Control-L
minijack which connects to the source deck, and the other has
an infrared sensor which exchanges signals with the VCR. The
recording is done in OnePass, retaining quality and saving time.
Includes over 1 50 symbols to personalise your videos.
Distributed in Australia by: ,
peripheral -Jftk
World ^9
506 Dorset Road, Croydon. Victoria 3136, Australia
Phone (03) 725 3233 Fax (03) 725 6766
Brushes can be cropped and
resized freely.
Bali
Our beautiful vacation
November 1^93 .' ,'\
With the optional Echo
EE100 IR/LANC interface
you have freedom to add
titles and captions to your
video creations.
Use the Echo EE1 00 IR
trainer to teach the software
how to control your VCR
and other ]R controlled
devices (i.e. CD Players,
LaserDiscs, Amplifiers etc.)
Echo EElOO's LANC
controller jives you
complete control of a source
video from within MM30G.
NEWS
Notepad
Pixel 3D 2
Axiom software is shipping ver-
sion 2.0 of Pixel 3D Professional, the
popular 3D utility for conversion of
bitmap fonts and images to 3D. PixPro
2.0 also features full support of Post-
script fonts and files. Convert Post-
script type 1 fonts to 3D images, and
convert Postscript drawings to 3D with
high resolution for perfect 3D logos.
There's now full support for AGA
modes, a new z-buffer for viewing
objects, point editing, smoothing
beveling, and data reduction functions.
You can convert 3D objects from one
format to another with support for ob-
ject heirarchies and surface attributes.
Upgrade from previous versions avail-
able from Axiom software.
Pixel 3D Professional requires 2
Megabytes Fast RAM, 1 Megabyte
Chip RAM and Workbench v2.0 or
higher. Suggested list price is US
$399.95. Upgrades from Pixel 3D 1.1
or 2.0 are available for US$ 125.00.
Upgrade from Pixel 3D Pro v 1.0 will
be US$40.00 from Axiom Software,
1668 East Cliff Road, Burnsville MN,
55337, (phone) 612 894-0596.
Commodore
stock jump
Interest in Commodore stock at the
New York Stock Exchange jumped
recently with a $1.50 rise in the share
price in one day as some 57 million
shares were traded between unkown
parties. Most observers were very sur-
prised, although some Amiga com-
mentators in the US remain sceptical,
ACAR 6
Talk of possible takeovers has once
again surfaced, although there's noth-
ing official to indicate something is
afoot.
Imagine 3.0 ships
In fact, because the manual wasn't
quite done yet, it looks like version
2.999999 is shipping now and ver-
sion 3.0 will be in your mailbox at the
end of the month with the complete
manual !
Videostage Pro
unveiled
According to Oxxi, spectacular
video and on screen interactive pro-
ductions are easily created with
Videostage Pro. Shows can incorpo-
rate text, graphic objects, video clips
and sound. Remote control via mo-
dem or network and built in ARexx
interface enable Videostage Pro to de-
velop applications in training, kiosk
style information centers, and video
catalogs. Videostage Pro is compat-
ible with AmigaDOS 3.0 and AGA
chip set.
On the Storyboard you can insert
Icons of "show events" - graphic im-
ages, title screens, sound events,
ARexx calls, genlock events, and play
loop events. Scroll bars allow you to
quickly move about the show.
The Time Line displays different
tracks for Graphics, Titles, Sound,
ARexx, Genlock and Control Events.
You can zoom in for precise align-
ment and preview any segment of the
show.
Individual characters, lines of text
or blocks of text can be animated.
There's the option of Normal,
Piecewise, and Gridwise movements.
Fonts supported include Amiga col-
our and rescalable compugraphic.
Characters can "grow" from small
to large. Any IFF image can be used
as a backdrop or you can generate
gradient backdrops, or gradient fills
of text or objects.
All Amiga resolutions and overscan
levels are supported. With certain
Genlocks it is possible to switch be-
tween A and B video sources with the
click of the mouse. Interactive Hot
Spots can be set up. Pre-defined play
loops can be utilized for user directed
interactive on screen presentations.
Hot Spots can be areas of the screen
01 graphic buttons. A Button can be
outlined or given an embossed ap-
pearance plus you can incorporate
identifying text.
Button text can incorporate any
Amiga font including colour and
compugraphic fonts. Dazzling Special
Effects include over 60 built in transi-
tions. Transition style effects include
wipes, fades, scrolls, smooth scrolls,
and blocks. There's complete control
of individual transition effects.
Automatic detection of colours that
can cause a bleed effect for NTSC or
PAL Composit Video is provided. The
On-line Color Palette allows user to
adjust colors to tolerable levels.
Hot Color Test works in all resolu-
tions including NTSC and PAL.
Remote Control of VideoStage Pro
is possible through modems, networks
and ARexx scripts. It automatically
checks for time and data changes and
can load new version of file automati-
cally.
Videostage Pro requires an Amiga
with one disk drive and 3 Meg of
memory. Optional additional RAM,
additional floppy disk drives, or a hard
drive can't hurt.
For more information contact Oxxi
Inc., at PO Box 90309, Long Beach,
CA, 90809, (phone) 310-427-1227,
(fax) 310-427-0971.
TUPsof t announce NEW Products
•••and NEW lower pricing * !
/■'-/ '
Final Writer '^VKH" $219.00
The most powerful Word Processor/Publisher
on the Amiga. New features include - table of
contents, bibliography, endnotes, index, text
block rotation, graphic rotation, cut/copy/paste
graphics, EPS support, user configurable button
strips, 100 EPS clip-art images, 120 outline fonts.
All the features of Final Copy II plus much more!
Final Copy II -New Low Price $145.00
Smooth scaleable outline fonts, multiple
columns, drawing tools for boxes, borders,
shadows, lines and arrows. Excellent print quality
and graphics handling.
Hoopy Paint - NEW & FUN $59.95
The kids painting program that mums and dads
want to use. More than 80 pictures built-in, heaps
of clip art to add to your creation. Lots of zany
sound effects add to the fun. When your creation
is finished print it out and hang it on the fridge!
Pagestream 2.2 $169.00
THE most powerful yet easy to drive DeskTop
Publisher on the Amiga computer.
Pagestream 3.0 Available Mid Dec '93
TypeSmith 2.0 ^V*t^ $225.00
Create/edit PostScript, Compugraphic, SoftLogik
and bitmap fonts. Includes Autotrace. A must for
DTP users.
Blue Ribbon Sound works $Various
We stock the full range of Blue Ribbon
Soundworks products including SuperJam,
Patchmeister, Bars and Pipes Pro 2 etc.
Lascelles Productions $Various
We stock the full range of Lascelles educational
software including The Connoiseur Fine Art
Collection, Word Construction Set etc. As
reviewed in AGAR.
Available from your local dealer
or call TUPsoft.
*AII prices are recommended prices only.
Ami-Back $69.00
Backup to floppy, hard disk or tape. Image
backups of any partition. Compression,
unattended backup etc.
Ami-Back Tools $69.00
Optimize disks, recover deleted files, repair
corrupt disks. Fast and reliable. Online help.
Am-Back + Tools $1 1 9.00
All-in-one data backup, repair and maintenance.
Distant Suns 4.2 $99.00
Combine a time machine with a telescope and
view the heavens from your Amiga. View stars,
comets, constellations, etc as seen from any time
or place on Earth.
Vista Pro 3 $99.00
Landscape your world with Vista Pro 3. Position
trees, lakes, rivers, roads, buildings and clouds on
any of the many landscapes included, even Mars!
KeepTrack
$79.95
Customer contact oriented database with
integrated diary, calendar and to-do list.
LinkUP $59.95
Transfer data between your Sharp Electronic
Organizer and your Amiga. Formatted printing of
data. SuperBase and KeepTrack support.
Kill Da Virus
New version knows 21 6 viruses.
$24.95
PowerPacker Professional 4 $39.95
Compress files to dramatically increase your
storage capacity. Automatic decrunch. Easy to
use.
Distributed in Australia by:
TUPsoft
9 Miller Ave, Hornsby NSW 2077.
Phone: (02) 482 7040
Fax: (02) 476 5736
DEALER ENQUIRIES WELCOME
NEWS
Professional
backgrounds
If you're looking for slick
24-bit backdrops for your own
video work, animation or pres-
entation, Videoworld Multi-
media have released just the
thing. The Nexus Pro range of
images were captured on an
A4000 using a 24 -bit frame
grabber. The disks come as
AGA images, although they're
also available in other formats
on request. Subjects include
Papers, Fabrics, Textures,
Travel, Weddings and a gen-
eral Introduction pack. The
disks are only available direct
from the UK by contacting
Videoworld on 041-641 1142.
The whole set should come in
at around $200.
The only copy utility
you'll ever have to buy!
►The fastest and most
powerful disk back-up
system on the Amiga
►Compatible with all
Amiga models
►Easy to use with
complete online help
►Copy, format, check
and compare disks
•Copy, format and erai _
using multiple drives
•Backup your disks to
your hard drive for easy
storage and retrieval
up9 fade
delays
Manufactured and Distributed in Australia by
Peripheral <%
World
506 Dorset Road, Croydon, Victoria 3136, Australia
Tel (03) 725 3233 Fax (03) 725 6766
Analyse and Edit tracks
Copy to and from RAM
or a virtual disk on your
hard drive
Includes PowerDevice
hardware with passthru
Also includes:
PowerBoot
PowerFont
PowerPic
PowerDocs
PowerMem
Supplied with over 400
custom parameters
$89.95
NEWS
PageStream 3.0!
Although the arrival date for the
most major upgrade in the history of
Amiga desktop publishing seems to
have slipped since our last issue, the
feature list is looking no less spec-
tacular.
According to Softlogic, PageStream
3 is the ideal program for any desktop
publishing project. It can be used to
write letters, produce high-end colour
separations and publish complex books
with multiple sections and chapters.
The new trapping and plate control
features makes PageStream 3.0 a
leader in the emerging pre-press field.
PageStream 3 breaks new ground
with a dual paragraph and character
style system that allows style over-
ride, style ripple and object styles.
The new style system makes applying
attributes to text and objects easier
than ever before. The flexible toolbox
allows users to choose between small,
large, vertical and horizontal toolbox
layouts. There are floating panels for
fonts, colours, styles, macros and
pages to make editing easier.
PageStream 3 offers an incredible
array of document formatting features.
Auto- kerning and auto-hyphenation
have been added, and text styles are
configurable, including changing the
shadow type and offset, and the un-
derline method. The tab feature al-
lows left/centre/right alignment on any
character, and dot leaders {filled tabs)
can be made with any character.
UMAX Scanners
Selected by Mac User maga-
zine as the best quality flat bed
scanners, the Umax range is now
available for the Amiga. Startek
have been appointed as Australian
distributor and sell the units com-
plete with an AdPro loader and
SCSI cable. Model include a
600DPI, Sbit model for $1745, up
to the 800DPI, 24bit version at
$2499. The UMAX are certainly
excellent value for money.
For more information call (03)
752 3905.
Easy Ledgers II
The Australian Amiga Profes-
sional Software Company is a new
consortium of two companies -
AeroStar Industries and the world
famous Dr Greg Perry - the man
mostly responsible for the Amiga
fax revolution. TAAPS now hold
the rights to Easy Ledgers and Serv-
ice Industry Accounting. Upgrading
these two programs to the AG A en-
vironment is complete along with
numerous bug fixes. Both programs
are being further enhanced to make
them easier to use. The updated pro-
gram will have a single complete
manual for any system - for home
and small office including pur-
chases, sales and a ledger. Modules
of inventory and job cards will cater
for larger business.
Accessing the extra modules will
be possible simply by making a
phone call to get the necessary un-
lock code and pay the extra cost -
the entire package will ship with the
original purchase.
A video called How to use Easy
Ledgers is being produced to en-
courage everyone with an Amiga to
look at the program as a solution to
their accounting needs. You'll need
a machine with 1Mb of RAM and at
least Workbench 1.3 - for more in-
formation call (074) 9 1 9190.
PageStream 3.0 now supports the
Pantone Color System, using this in-
dustry standard to provide printed col-
our accuracy with guaranteed results.
It also offers support for spot and proc-
ess colour, and CMYK, HSV, and
RGB colour models.
PageStream has always supported
numerous formats. Import a Word Per-
fect file and export a Final Copy docu-
ment. Or import an IFF ILBM and
export it as TIFF. Import an Adobe
Illustrator 3.0 EPS file, interpret it
into a structured drawing, and dissolve
it into component shapes and paths.
And the newly added format of
translating Professional Page docu-
ments. Users of Gold Disk's Profes-
sional Page DTP can now make the
transition to PageStream painlessly.
Converting a Professional Page docu-
ment for use in PageStream is simple.
PageStream 3 adds the power of
ARexx without adding the complex-
ity. PageStream 3 features are an ex-
tensive ARexx command set that will
satisfy any power-user.
PageStream 3.0 comes with the
PageLiner 2.0 text editor and the BME
2.0 bitmap editor. These programs are
linked to PageStream with the in-
cluded HotLinks 2.0, the Amiga data
exchange standard.
PageStream 3.0 will be available
in early autumn for $395. Customers
who purchase a full copy of
PageStream 2.2 after March 15, 1993,
are eligible for a free upgrade to ver-
sion 3.0 by mailing their registration
card, proof of purchase and $5 for
shipping and handling, to Soft-Logik.
Previous purchasers can upgrade for
$125 if they own PageStream 2.0 or
higher, or for only $95 if they also
own HotLinks Editions. Professional
Page owners can upgrade to
PageStream for $175 (limited time).
Deluxe Paint tutorial
Taking full advantage of Amiga' s
multitasking environment, DP Jute
can run on your Amiga as well as
Deluxe Paint. The program simu-
lates the Dpaint screen - selecting a
tool generates information and
graphic examples about the selected
item. It is ideal for schools, as it
relieves teachers of the constant hand
holding normally required with paint
software. DPTute is not copy pro-
tected, may be installed on your hard
drive and will be followed up by
tutorials covering additional areas
of Deluxe Paint. RRP is $45. For
more info (008) 251 3655.
ACAR 9
NEWS
PC Sound and Video
Add a bridgeboard to your Amiga
3000, and oniy one PC slot remains.
Fonhof Computer Supplies have
solved this dilemma by sourcing the
[Mb ATI VGASTEREO-F/X card -
priced at $449. The card combines
SVGA graphics and sound/midi on a
single board and supports up to 1024
x 768 in 32,768 colours with a 72Hz
non inter! ace refresh rate. It also comes
with an 8W sound amplifier and MIDI
breakout box.
This slot saving add on for your
bridgeboard or Golden Gate card
works on an A4000, 3000 or 2000.
For information call (02) 639 7718.
Scala offer new range
As competition in the multimedia
stakes starts to hot up, Scala have an-
nounced the launch of a range of new
products including a new version of
the popular Scala MultiMedia. A natu-
ral progression across to Desktop
Video software has also happened,
with the launch of Scala Echo EE100
for entry level users, and the profes-
sional VE500. Both products make it
easier to combine titles, animation and
Amiga sound with video footage by
combining the video assemble and
presentation elements into one step.
Volumes 2 and 3 of the Scaia Art
Library were also announced, each
with a selection of over 50 back-
grounds. ScalaType 2 gives you 15
new fonts to play with - two are de-
signed specifically for subtitling, the
others are all for decorative purposes.
Scala MM300
Owners of Scala MM200 will be
pleased to know the next version is
now shipping - however upgrades re-
quire trading up your old dongle! What
Scala think we'll all be doing without
our dongles while they are shunted
around the country and sea by snail
mail has us here at Amiga Review
somewhat dumbfounded.
Anyhow, there's some neat new fea-
tures which do make it a worthwhile
upgrade. The File Requester now
opens as a Shuffler - so pictures show
up as thumbnails (using icon embed-
ded pictures)! Drawing tools let you
create lines, rectangles and circles
which can be resized and moved -
plus the usual transitions and styles.
According to Scala the new Floyd-
Steinberg dithering of images and
brushes is so fast it leaves other pack-
ages miles behind. In the timing area,
there is now the option to set absolute
time points so you can easily sync up
a presentation with a prerecorded
video segment or other absolute
events. You can set an event to hap-
pen at a particular time code - all a
part of the product's continuing evo-
lution into desktop video.
Optimize palette will calculate the
best colour palette for a page when
several pictures, brushes and text col-
ours are used on the same page.
Brushes and pictures can be resized
on the page or when you import them,
They may also be cropped and moved
as often as you like, or converted to
different sizes, resolutions, numbers
of colours and so on.
At long last the sound on button
option has been restored. Antialiasing
functions better to help create smooth
flicker free text.
Other new features include
Automagic button creation, new wipes
(FadeTo White, Nuclear, Random, Dis-
solve, Ants, Rollodex, Flipover, and
Ccccut), better horizontal scrolling,
separate underline colour, new back-
grounds, transparent boxes, hard disk
sound playback and 24-bit picture pre-
view.
New EX modules included are
MIDI 2.0, CDTV 2.0 and various
genlock and 24-bit EXes. Overall, a
very impressive number of improve-
ments. It will be interesting to see
how new competition such as
MediaPoint stacks up. G
Computer Adventure Games - Hints and Tips
[The Second Adventurers Realm. Hint Book)
Detailed clues to many adventure and role playing games, from Bards Tale to Wonderland
9^-U including post and packing
POST OR FAX YOUR ORDER to Gareth Powell Publishing, 21 Darley Rd, Randwick 2031. Phone (02) 398 5111,
Fax (02) 398 5322. {Write us a note if you don't want to use this form)
Please send me ... . copy/ies of Computer Adventure Games - Hints and Tips for $1 each including postage.
I enclose a cheque or money order for OR
My Bankcard Q Visa card □ Mastercard □ number is
Name (print) Signature
Address
, Postcode
ACAR 10
AMIGA Entertainment I QGICO
Tftle Members Price LHP
A-Train
84.95 83.95
A-train Const. Set
47.95 49.95
Abandond Places II B4.95 89.95
Air Warrior
84.95 89,95
Allen 3
64.95 69,95
Apocalypse
64.95 69.95
Armour Geddan It
64.95 69.95
Ashes Of Empire
84.95 89.95
Atac
74.95 79.95
B17 Fljiirlp Fortress 74.95 79.95 |
Battle Use '93
64.95 69.95
BC Kid
64.95 69.95
Beasllord
64.95 63.95
BlacK Crypt
47.95 49.95
Body Blows
64.95 69.95
Btirninp Rubber
64.95 69.95
Caesar
74.95 79.95
Campaign 11
84.95 89.95
Camng's Rugby
64.95 69.95
Gannon Fodder 1
T.B.A
Captive II
74.95 79.95
Chans Engine
64.95 69.95
Chuck Reck II
64.95 69.95
Civilisation
74.95 79.95
Civilisation ABA
84.95 89.95
Combat Air Patrol
74.95 79.95
Contraptions
64.95 59.95
Curse ot Enchanter 64.95 69.95
Dartmere
74.95 79.95
Dark seed
74.95 79.95
Desert Strike
54.95 59.95
Dune II
74.95 7S.95
Title Members Price LHP
ET's Football
64.95 69.85
Eye of Beholder It
64.95 69.95
Fantasy Worlds
84.95 89.95
Flashback
84.95 69.95
Frontier - Elite II
74.95 79.95
Global Gladiators
54.95 69.95
Goal - Kick OK II
74.95 79.95
Enoch Cricket
74,95 79.95
Go och2nd innings
74.95 7S.95
Grand Prix
74.95 79.95
Glinshlp 2000
84.95 89.96
Heart ot China
64.95 69.96
HeimdBtt II
74,95 79,95
Hired Guns
64.95 69.95
Hisloryline
74.95 79.95
Humans II
74.95 79.95
Indiana Jones All.
84.95 89.95
John Maddn Ftball
47.95 49.95
Kingmaker
64.95 69.95
Knightmere
64.95 69.95
Legacy
64.95 69.95
Legend
74.95 79.95
Legend*)! Kyrandia
64.95 69.95
Legend ot Valor
64.95 69.95
Lemmings 11
74.95 79.95
Lethal Weapons III
84.95 69.95!
Lost Vikings
74.9S 79.95
Nick Fa loo's tiolt
74.95 79.95
Patrician
74.95 79.95
PGATuuiGoll
47.95 49.95
P GA Tour Data Dsk
39.95 39.95
Pinball Fantasies
74.95 79.95
Premiere Manager
Putty
Reach tar the Skies
Realms of Mania
Realms ol Darkness
Road Rash
Robo Sport
Rules of Engagemt I
Scrabble Deluxe
Secret Monkey Is 2
Sensible Soccer 93
Shadow Beast III
Shuttle
Sim Ant
Sim City
Sim Earth
Sim Lite
Sim Life AGA
Solitaire's Journey
i Space Hulk
Star Trek
Slreetlighter II
Sword of Honour
Syndicate
UGH
Ultima VI
| Vikings
Walker
I Wing Commander
Wing Comandr aga
World Class Rugby
! Ztiol AGA
64.95 69
47.95 49.
64.95 69
74.95 79.
64.95 69
47.95 49
47.95 49
94.95 99
64.95 59
74.95 79
64.95 69
64.95 69
64.95 69
84.95 89
74.95 79
S4.95 89
84.95 89
84.95 89
74.95 79
74,95 79
74.95 79
74.95 79
54.95 59
84.95 89,
64.95 69
84.95 89
54.95 59
64.95 69
89.95 94
89.95 94
64.95 69
64.95 69.
AMIGA Productivit
Title
Members Price LHP
Title Members Price
LRP I
Disk Master 49.95
59.95
Display Maker 229.95
239.95
Distant Suns V4.2 94.95
99.95
DrT's Tiger Cub 129.95
139,95
Edge 99.95
109.95
Essence 4 Imagine 89.95
99.95
Essence Imag Val2 153.95
169.95
Final Copy it 139.95
149.95
Final Writer 189.95
199.95
Fontasia 79.95
89.95
GigaMem V2.Q 149.95
159.95
Hi Soft Basic Pro 179.95
189.95
Hi Speed Pascal 109.95
199.95
Hume Accounts 2 129.95
139.95
Hyperbook 129.95
139.95
Image FX 389.95
399.95 C
Imagine V2.0 279.95 289.95
lnterch'gePlusV3 189.95
199.95
Intro Cad Plus 89.95
99,95
Kindwords 3 119.95
129.95
Maxiplan 4 149.95
159.95
Media Point V3.0 529.95
539.95
Mega Tools 79.95
39.95
Mini Office 119.95
129.95
Morph Plus 269.95
279.95
Morpti for Imagine 119.95
129.95
Outline Foots 249.95
259.95 I
PageSetter3 99.95
199.95
PageStreara V3.0 CALL
Hotlinks Edition 159.85 169,95 I
i Tills
Members Price LRP
I Action Replay 3 169.95 179.95
Aladdin 4D 419.95 429.95
Ambassador 91. 289.95 299.95
Ami Back + Tunis 109.95 119.95
AMOS Pro Compiler 59.95 79.95
Anim Workshop 89.95 99,95
ARcm 79.95 89.95
ArtOeptProV2.3 259.95 269.95
I Art Dept Pro Control 89.95 99.95
Art Dept Conversion 79.95 89.95
Art Dept Tools 229.95 239.95
Art Expression 249.95 259.95
Audio Engineer Jnr 179.95 189.95
I Audio Engineer + 329.95 339.95
B.E.S.T V3.D 469.95 4B9.95
Bars & Pipes Pro 2 389.95 399.95
Brilliance 269.95 279.95
Broadcast HiRes 389.95 399.95
C-NetV3.0 259,95 259.95
CanDoV2.0 179.95 189.95
Cross Dos 5 59.95 69.95
Cygns Ed Pro V3.5 119.95 129.95
Deluxe MUSfC II 179.95 189,95
Deluxe Paint V4.1 149.95 159.95
Deluxe Paint AGA 209.95 219,95
Deluxe Print 2 94.95 99.95
Deluxe Video 3 94.95 99.95
Design Works 69.95 79.95
DevPacS 149.95 159.95
Direclry Opus V4.1 109,95 119,95
LOGICARD MEMBERSHIP DETAILS
Enclose $10.00 with your initial order & receive:
talogue, * Membership privilege card and PIN number.
least SW discount. ' Discount vouchers and unbeatable special offers.
"■ savings on Sky Design PO Library ' Special priviliges on the Logico BBS
Pelican Press 94,95
Pixel 3D Pro i An i 239,95
PowerCopyPro3 93.95
Printm aster Plus
Pro Calc V"
Pro Draw V3.D
Pro PageV4.0
ProText V5.0
ProWriteV3.3
Quarterback V5.04
64.95
229.95
189.95
183.95
269.95
94.95
74.95
Quarterback Tools 124,95
» Real 3D V2,0 779,95
' SAS Lattice Cfi.O 419.95
Stain 500 139.95
Scala Mf.1211 389.95
i Scenery Animaf'r 4 89.95
I Soft Faces 1 -4 (ea) 94.95
' Superbase Pers. 4 159.95
: Superbase Pro 4 339.95
Super Jam 1.1 149.95
. Synchro Express 3 129.95
I TV Paint 2 Pro Ret 639.95
TypeSmith V2.0 189.95
Ultra Detslgn Pra 219.95
i Video Director 219.95
i Visionary 129.95
I Vista Pro V3.0 94.95
Wave Maker 249.95
WShell 114.95
WnrdWorth V2.0 249,95
99.95
249.95
99.95
59.95
239.95
199.95
199.95
279.95
99.95
79.95
129.95
789 .95
429.95
149.95
393.95 |
99.95
99.95
169.95
349.95
159.95
139.95
549.95
199.95
239.95
229,35
139.95
99.95
259.95
119.95
259.95
Our objective audi policy is to be us
competitive as possible wilh the lowest
prices on all our product*.
II is no longer possible for us to list all
iht products we sell. If you don't see it
[ please call.
j All prices and availability are subject to
change without notice-.
U L T I M E
A
Marrickville NSW 2204
PHONE: (02) 519 6719 Fax: (02) 519 7213
Amiga 4000 '040 - Amiga 4000 '030
Amiga 1200 $CALL
i
'ADPTo ols
e """""l The ultimate music tool for
| ~~*Mlf sic aimposing, performing and
publishing just gof better. New
features in version 2.0 . You can
attach tiny instrument sample or
MIDI channel to an instrument
name. NEW - DehixeMusk
supports 48 staves of music
ADPToois Professional ts a
powerful spline based animation
system providing image
processing, compositing and
^ special effects for digital video and
animatioa ARFroote Professional
provides a FAST, creative 'tool for
all animators and video producers.
Space Hulk - Terrifying
nu t, it r eal-time combat. Lightning-fast
FreezeTime strategy. Over 50
,, deadly missjons including Heath
Wing Campaign. 12 weapons
including Lightning Claws and
--■ Assault Cannon. Control single
Space Marines, 5 man squads or
multiple troops.
Flashback - Unquestionably the
V most eagerly awaited game for
S years. Stunning 24 fps screen
updates resulting in superb
animation. Unrivalled graphic
. qualities. Addictive formula
combining, strategy and speed.
Compelling movie atmosphere.
Overnight Delivery
Only $10
Mail Order Form
PO Box 572 Marrickville NSW 2204
Name:
Address:
. Post Code:
Phone: ( ) Date Sent:
Payment: DBankcard □ Visa D Mastercard
□ AMEX □ Money Order Zi Cheque
card no: nmn DOI] DTTTl m n r
Exp, I>aieOZ|/ QLJ Signature:
Susan's Message Board. " Take the attitude of a student. Never be too big to ask
questions. Never know too much to learn something new"
Qty.
Product/Program Name
Computer Disk Type
Price
Membership-No; L
J*v94ACAFI
Tun zrnnrnnnn:
Postage $
Total S
5.00
UPDATE COLUMN
There's a lot new on the Amiga this month and
especially for A1200 owners:
• AMIGA 1200 NEXT STEPS (BOOK). For
the Amiga user who has mastered the basics
on Ihe 1200, (his introduces you to the more
powerful aspects of the Amiga 1200.
• MASTERING AMIGA AMOS Revised
Edition (BOOK). Updated version of this very
popular book. Covers everything from Easy
AMOS to AMOS Pro, 3D and the Compiler. It
will also teach you game concepts and ideas.
• ASSEMBLER INSIDER GUIDE. Written by
Paul Overaa, the author of MASTERING AM IGA
ASSEMBLER. This is designed for the
newcomer to get a grip on Assembly concepts
and programming.
• MINI OFFICE is now compatible with the
A1200.
HOT HOT HOT HOT
Alfadata 2.5" to 3.5" IDE Cable adaptor - This
amazing cable will allow you to connect a
cheaper 3.5" IDE drive to your A1 200 instead of
your 2. 3" 40MB IDE Drive. 3.5" Drives are around
$200 - $300 cheaper than their 2.5" cousins.
This is simply the cheapest way to add large
storage media to the Amiga 1200.
RRP $19,95
OKT 2008 SCSI 2 controller for the Amiga
2000/3000/4000 with space for up to 8 Meg of
RAM. RRP $399.00
ATB 2008 - (DE/AT Bus Controller for the Amiga
1500/2000/2500/3000/4000 with space for a 8
Megs of RAM. RRP $299.00
MFC III - Multiface Card for the A1 500/2000/
3000/4000. This is a Zorro-ll plug in card that
contains a 9-pin male serial, 25-pin female
parallel, 25-pin male serial with cable and
brackets for a 2nd serial port. RRP $299.00
ALFADATA 400DPI Mouse - This is the highest
DPI mouse on the Amiga market.
RRP $59.95
As you are aware there are many sales on in
January. One of the biggest is the Harvey Nor-
man Sale at their stores throughout the coun-
try. Look for a great range of Pactronics' prod-
ucts at ridiculously low prices.
Pactronics Pty Ltd,
33 Aieyne St, Chatswood NSW 2067
Phone (02) 417 7255 Fax (02) 41 7 7099
^IPactronics
Media Watch
Spottings
Phillip Rankin of Sysart, Qlci spot-
ted an A500 and 1084 monitor in the
movie Alien Factor, and a CD32 as a
prize on Wheel of Fortune-
John Hill of Green Point, NSW saw
none other than Mike Carlton and his
son playing a soccer game on a 1 084-
equipped A500 in the November 27
issue of New Idea (and he doesn't
want a free subscription - he' s already
got one that he paid for!).
The same can't be said for Daniel
Szmandiuk, who'd like his subscrip-
tion extended for spotting an A2000
keyboard in the Arnott's Shapes ad
featuring the young man ransacking
his room. The clincher was the stand-
ard Commodore mouse sitting by the
keyboard. *** Does he get afreebie,
Andrew? ***
Likewise hunting a sub extension
is Nic Beavis of Tamarama, NSW,
who was among the many fans who
spotted Amiga graphics on the video
wall at the Sydney Entertainment Cen-
tre for the Sydney Kings' last game of
the season. Nic went to the trouble of
tracking down the source - an A30OO
running Scala and switching in and
out of live video. *** Don't think he
gels a sub, though ... ***
The most impressive sighting this
month comes from Dougias De Vine,
who spotted an article all about Ami-
gas in September's edition of Arts &
Education. The article talks about De
La Salle College, a high school in
Cronulla NSW, where students are us-
ing Amiga systems to present their
history assignments. With Digi-view,
Deluxe Paint and Scala, students are
putting together video presentations
via a genlock. They gain skills in in-
formation technology, management,
communications, simple electronics
and visual media as well as history.
Many people have now spotted
Andrew Farrell's regular articles in
the Sydney Morning Herald and Mel-
bourne Age computer sections. In the
words of Michael Gran at of the Vic-
torian Amiga User Group, the column
provides "a high profile voice for the
Amiga" in both cities, waking up the
hordes of IBM users out there to the
capabilities of the machine.
Country Amiga
Users Association
The CAUA is a user group cur-
rently forming to cater for Amiga us-
ers all over Australia but based in
Young, NSW. They aim to produce a
quarterly disk magazine, called The
Amiga Generation, and are currently
trolling for sponsors and advertisers.
If you're interested in this or in just
becoming a member, contact Michael
on (063) 82 3292 or Joel on (063) 82
3097.
Commodore Hornsby
User Group
CHUG is a well-established Com-
modore and Amiga users' group with
about 100 members that has under-
gone some changes recently. They still
meet on the second and fourth
Wednesday of the month, the second
for workshops and the fourth for the
main meeting, at St Leo's College,
Woolcott Ave, Wahroonga at 7:30pm,
but the Secretary can now be con-
tacted on (02) 487 1062, and the bul-
letin board number (Three Amigas) is
(02) 609 4458.
The group features a PD and maga-
zine library, a bi-monthly magazine
(Peripheral), beginners' classes, phone
help and a club shop.
ACAR 12
Efficient Network Technology
for the Amiga 8 Computer!
R
THE SYSTEM
QuickNet™ is a complete Network
System consisting of a plug-in
EtherNet card & integrated software.
QuickNet allows Amiga computers
to share files & peripherals (e.g.
printers)which can increase
productivity, free up hard drive
space, reduce system administration
& maximise your computer
resources.
THE HARDWARE
All models come with thick EtherNet
& either thin EtherNet (coaxial cable)
or twisted pair. The hardware is
based on an industry standard chip
set & complies with IEEE 802.3
standard.
AUTHORISED DEALERS:
THE SOFTWARE
"Version 1.3, 2.x & 3.x
compatible.
* Works with any commercial
accelerators & hard disk
controllers.
* QuickNet is FAST.
* Completely transparent in its
operation.
* VERY easy to use.
* Easy to install with step-by-step
instructions
* Includes unique system for
"diskless" computers to boot
"auto-magically" off any compute
on the network equipped with a
disk drive,
* "peer to peer" network for
maximum flexibility.
* Manual provides grounding in
basic network technology S
includes a comprehensive
glossary of terms.
QN500 FEATURES
* Connects to expansion
connector on the left side.
* Optional memory expansion with
up to 8 Meg of FAST RAM using
1 Meg or 4 Meg 72 pin SIMM's.
'Available December 1993.
QN1200 FEATURES
* Plugs into "trapdoor".
* Includes two 72 pin SIMM
sockets for 1 Meg or 4 Meg
SIMM's allowing 1 , 2, 4 or 8 Meg
of 32 bit wide FAST RAM.
* Super Fast 32bit transfers to the
network card for blistering spegd
Do you have a Network that you are not happy with?
Enquire about our Trade-In deals
and low CPU overhead.
* Available January 1 994.
QN2D00
* Plugs into any free 100 pin
connector on the A2OO0, A3000
orA4O00.
"Available now.
QN30O0+
* Plugs into any frree 100 pin
connector on the A3000 or
A4000.
* Super Fast 32b.it transfers to the
network card for blistering speed
and low CPU overhead.
* Available January 1 994.
Also available 1st quarter 1994,
network card for (he CD32I
i
Commercial Productions
of Australia
PO Bast 187 Vaucluae
NSW 2030
Tel: (02) 337 6255
Fax: (02) 337 6255
Computer Affair
L2, 337 Penhurst St,
WIHoughoy North
NSWZG6B
Tel: (02)417 5155
Fax: (02)4175542
HTV Media P/L Resource Southern Crass
PO Box 104 Leura Management Force 29-31 Bume Ave,
NSW 2781 7n -74 May St., Dee Why
Tel : (047)84 2305 St Peters NSW 2044 NSW 2099
Fax : (02)S4 2305 Tel: (02) 550 4244 Tel : (02)982 2291
Fax: (02(550 4284 Fax: (02)982 2231
Technical Direction Yarra Bank Resources Amuse Developments
I4a Hordem PL,
Camoerdown
NSW 2050
Tel: (02)550 6255
Fax: (02)550 4813
SO River St,
South Yarra
VIC 3141
Tel: (03) 827 6987
Fax: (03)824 1876
2-15 Burns St
Chrisichurch 80O2
New Zealand
Tel: ++64-3-379-5000
Fax: ++64-3-379-8760
MVB Computer
Supplies Ply Ltd
506 Dorset Rd
Croydon VIC 3136
Tel: (03) 725 6255
Fax: (03) 725 6766
LOCAL design, LOCAL Build, LOCAL Support
QijickNotartrj Ihf Oui^knor logo ar& 1 racterriark?; owned by Robert McFarlane PLy L*d AMIGA is a traderftartc owned by 'Commfirfnro-Aniigis, inc. ynrf is usesd.wilh its permission
LETTERS
Letters
to EDITOR
1960 monitor support
My 1960 multisync monitor is capa-
ble of supporting 800 x 600
(noninterlaced) and 1024 x 768 (inter-
laced) displays. Yet I can't take advan-
tage of these displays because my
Amiga 1200 doesn't offer the corre-
sponding display modes.
Now I know the Amiga 1200 is ca-
pable of a 1024x1024 (non-interlaced)
display albeit only in four colours
(A2024 display mode). This makes me
think that the AGA hardware should be
capable of supporting the display capa-
bilities of my 1 960 monitor.
I have read that the AGA display
modes are totally configurable through
software drivers, and so 1 was wonder-
ing if there were any alternate display
drivers out there that would be of more
practical use to me.
The set of display drivers supplied
with the Amiga 1200 seem to have put
256 colour capability above all else -
for productivity I would prefer to sac-
rifice colours in order to attain the
higher resolution displays that my
monitor is capable of.
For example, I would find a 16-col-
our 800 x 600 non-interlaced display
far more useful than the annoying
flickery 256 colour Super72 Super-
High Res display I currently have to
put up with. Are any such drivers avail-
able or even better, any utilities that
allow you to design your own display
drivers and choose your own trade-
offs?
Michael Flanagan
ACT
Ed: The display enhancer for the
Amiga 4000 does what you want. At
the moment, AGA technology offers a
somewhat cludgy method of fixing
flicker which tends to sJow down things
- and it only works in hires - not above.
The original display enhancers avail-
able as an option in the Amiga 2000,
and built into the A3OO0, were better -
but lacked the colour bandwidth of
AGA - and of course the graphics chips
on the earlier machines didn't offer the
higher resolutions. Life's one big com-
promise sometimes. Hopefully third
party companies will solve this short-
coming soon. No alternative drivers are
currently available.
Which sampler?
I have owned an Amiga 500 for
about three years now (after upgrading
from a C64), and I have been using it
in the areas that the machine excels at -
graphics, games and especially music.
I regularly use OctaMED Pro V3,
Pro tracker 3, JOB and sometimes even
the ancient DMCS for creating both
originals and enhanced versions of
songs, but the thing is that I need many
samples, which I have on my keyboard,
but not on my computer, so I have de-
cided to get a sampler, I've narrowed it
down to two: Stereo Master (which has
been recommended by a good friend
and computer wizz and also which I
can get through the British magazine
Amiga Format for about $90ish) or a
package which I have seen advertised
in this magazine; Digital Sound Stu-
dios (DSS) by GVP (The ad made it
sound really good, but I don't know
the price, sorry). Another problem is
that I'm a student in year 10 on a very
limited budget and I really can't afford
to spend too much over the $100 limit.
Could you please tell me the pro's
and con's of each package, so that I can
continue creating - but please note that
I need compatibility with an: A500 with
a lmeg agnus, 512K chip RAM, 51 2K
fast RAM and a 9 pin printer in the
parallel port (my keyboard isn't midi
compatible, but I may sell it and buy
one in the future). Thanks a lot!
Ian McElwaine
NSW
Ed: Well Ian, in your case the deci-
sion is made simple by your price con-
straints. The DSS PLUS is $199 - al-
though I'm assured it's a way cool sam-
pler.
Paranoia or valid
concern?
I always enjoy reading both the
magazine and your column in the Com-
puter Age on Tuesday. So, I was hop-
ing you could relieve my mind of a
nagging concern. I don't think I am an
unduly paranoid person, but I am de-
veloping an increasingly bad feeling
about the future of this fantastic com-
puter.
Has anyone but me noticed how hard
it is to find software now? The depart-
ment stores that once were good places
to browse now have one or two Amigas
on display but virtually no software,
and what there is, is very old.
The reasons? - 1 always make a point
of asking: "There's no demand for it".
"Shelf space costs money". Or worse,
"Amiga? What's that? Some sort of
game?" Even those stores that have be-
gun to stock Amiga hardware, like
Brash's or Dick Smith, have minimal
software. Similar reasons are given;
'There' s not much around", or "It's not
worth our while".
Worse things too. In my spare time I
am addicted to big strategy games, like
Civilization and Warlords. I had an ac-
count with Computer Source Direct in
the ACT, a wonderful firm to buy from.
ACAR 14
LETTERS
They apparently disappeared some
months ago, taking a paid for program
of mine with them!
And in last month's Amiga Review
an inquiry was made about Warlords
H.Sol rang DirectSoft to find out when
I could buy an Amiga version of this
excellent game. I was told very defi-
nitely that there will not ever be such a
game.
When I asked why this was so I was
told: "There's not enough demand for
Amiga products now", and worse, "The
Amiga is a dead computer. No- one is
producing anything for it now".
What is going on? Although won-
derful new hardware is being devel-
oped, where is the range of software?
Do we wait and hope, or must we look
at cashing in our beloved Amigas and
joining the crowd of PC and Mac us-
ers? Is this just an Australian phenom-
enon, which will mean that software
will have to be purchased from Britain
or the USA, or is the Amiga really head-
ing for extinction? I hope not!
Lynden Fall
Vic
Ed: Since your observations were
made, I believe things have improved
slightly - thanks to valiant efforts by
Commodore Australia to encourage the
larger resellers to carry software. Ac-
cording to official sources, titles such
as Wordworth have moved in consid-
erable numbers through these channels.
Smaller resellers continue to report
strong trading and by no means do they
feel the Amiga market is shrinking.
Amiga Review' s advertising support is
proof that the market is alive and well .
Of course, you've raised some valid
points. However, if seeing PC titles was
any way to score the future viability of
the Amiga, it would seem all was lost
long ago. Not one main stream MS-
DOS product in the wordprocessing,
spreadsheet or database area has made
its way across to the Amiga. No, not
one desktop publishing or paint pro-
gram either.
And yet, today we happily desktop
publish, paint, wordprocess, and
spreadsheet using products which are
Amiga through and through. Although
it's a shame we don't have Lotus 1-2-3
or Word for Workbench, we've got
some mighty fine alternatives.
No, the Amiga is not dead. There
has been a pause as software publish-
ers move across to AG A. And now that
CD32 is out, I'm sure we'll see plenty
of new entertainment titles across the
board - especially on the AG A machine.
It is true that in America, and Aus-
tralia to some extent, the Amiga's
strengths continue to grow in niche ar-
eas. However in Europe and Germany
the machine continues to enjoy im-
mense popularity as a main stream
choice for home computing. That is not
to say the Amiga has not been hurt by
falling PC prices. It has, and wil] con-
tinue to be.
However, the Amiga operating sys-
tem and architecture continues to com-
pare well against the PC, especially once
your average DOS box is souped up to
match Amiga's sound, multitasking and
overall speed. The fight is not over yet.
Should I wait for 3.1?
Firstly, I would like to compliment
you on the continued excellence of the
A CAR magazine.
I am an Australian living in Singa-
pore, although I travel a lot from here.
Support for the Amiga here is no good
- hardware and software are both very
expensive. I have an Amiga 500 with
Workbench 1.3, an A590 and 127Mb
Hard Drive.
I have a software version of Kickstart
2.04, and a copy of Workbench 2.05 to
evaluate at the moment prior to up-
grading my system to a 1Mb Agnus,
Workbench 2. 1 and Kickstart 2.04 or
2.05.
After reading the Notepad article on
Workbench Updates in the September
issue of ACAR, 1 was wondering
whether to wait a little longer. In this
article the writer mentions the immi-
nent arrival of Workbench 3.1 - and
goes on to say it works with any Amiga.
I realise there is probably no official
information released on it yet, but can
you tel! me whether or not it will work
on my Amiga 500. Is it worth waiting
for? Should I settle for Workbench 2. 1?
Also which ROM is best suited to my
upgrade - 2.04 or 2.05 - or is there a
new ROM to go with Workbench 3.1?
J. R. Whitehurst
Singapore
Ed: Details on Workbench 3.1 are
still sketchy. It exists, and it's finished
and it does work on all Amigas - yes,
you will also need a new Kickstart
ROM. The benefits of 3. 1 to the aver-
age A500 user are minimal. However,
since you're about to upgrade anyhow
I would say hang on for another month
or so and see what news surfaces.
As for the 2.04 or 2.05 issue - ROM
versions normally reflect improve-
ments, bug fixes and new features. So,
grab the latest one compatible with your
system - 2.05 if you can't wait for 3.1.
Amiga 4000
compatibility?
I am wondering if the Amiga 4000
is 100% compatible with the Amiga
1200? I have read in English maga-
zines that some games that work on the
A1200 don't work on the A4000. Both
machines have the same chips and the
same Workbench, so why aren't they
fully compatible?
Also, will the AAA Amigas be com-
patible with the AG A Amigas? When
will they be released on the market.
Keith. J. Walker
NSW
Ed: Although the A 1200 and A4000
share the same custom graphics chips,
the processors are very different. The
68020 based CPU (the computer's brain
if you like) in the A 1200 is largely
compatible with the earlier 68000 CPU
used in the A500. The 68040 inside the
A4000 is much more powerful, and a
lot fussier about how programs are writ-
ten.
Games tend to hit the hardware di-
rectly, and don't expect to run into too
much out of the ordinary. On the
A4000, the CPU is different enough to
cause problems to many entertainment
and even some productivity titles that
don't do things the right way. Gener-
ally speaking, newer titles are more
likely to work on all machines - pro-
grammers take more care these days.
ACAR 15
PALMTOPS + AMIGA
Palmtop Computing
«' and your Amiga
While there may be no
Amiga Laptops, there are
low price alternatives for
those whose creativity
doesn't stop when they
are on the move. Getting
them to talk to the Amiga
is possible too! By H.
Wynen
The technology of the Amiga has
improved considerably with the ad-
vent of the AGA machines, but there
is still little hope of seeing a portable
Laptop version in the near future. De-
spite the use of CMOS components in
many areas, power consumption sim-
ply remains too high for acceptable
running times away from the mains.
Serious Amiga users are conse-
quently forced to look elsewhere if
they really need portability. However,
as today's Notebook computers are as
powerful as their desktop cousins,
apart from lacking some expandability,
they come at a price which puts them
out of reach of the average, non-cor-
porate Amiga user.
This doesn't mean that Amigans
without professional interests have to
spend all of their computing life in-
doors. There are at least two very in-
teresting and surprisingly affordable
choices when it comes to genuinely
portable computing.
Genuinely pocketable
We are talking about Palmtop com-
puters here, machines small enough
to fit into the rear pockets of most
jeans. Because there are all kinds of
technological problems involved with
bringing a fully specified computer
down to that size, especially heat dis-
sipation, the number of available Minis
is rather restricted.
This lack of competition has kept
prices quite high over the last couple
of years. In fact, with one notable
exception, Palmtops have been almost
as expensive as the lower end of the
Laptop market.
With Sharp deciding to retreat from
active participation in the sales battle
as far as mini computers are con-
cerned, its PC-3x00 models can be
snapped up for under $700, a price
which makes them very tempting in-
deed. However, for even less than half
of that amount, it is possible to pur-
chase an Atari Portfolio offering a
similar range of PIM (Personal Infor-
mation Management) utilities.
To come to the right decision con-
The Atari Portfolio is physically the smallest Dos compatible computer
1 . RAM card (mounted)
3- Parallel interface
4. Serial Interface
ACAR 16
PALMTOPS + AMIGA
The Sharp PC-3 100,
discontinued and therefore a genuine bargain at the moment.
1. Serial port adaptor 2. Parallel port adaptor
For transferring data and files between two comput-
ers directly without a modem, a Null Modem (pic-
tured) or special serialllaplink cable is required
deed. However, for even less than half
of that amount, it is possible to put-
chase an Atari Portfolio offering a
similar range of PIM (Personal Infor-
mation Management) utilities.
To come to the right decision con-
cerning which portable computer
would be most suitable to our spe-
cific, individual needs and intentions,
or even whether to buy one at all, we
need to know exactly what we want it
for. Neither Laptops noT Palmtops are
offering anything near to the multi-
media capabilities of even a basic old
Amiga 500.
This means if we wanted to com-
pose music, or title our latest home
video epic, we would certainly do it
on our desktop Amiga. Graphics'? ...
Well, it would be nice being able to
draw up a few sketches on the move,
should the need arise, but we would
hardly feel the urge to paint a master-
piece on anything less than a 14" col-
our monitor.
Basic facts
So what's left? Wordprocessing is
certainly the most important task as-
sociated with mains independent com-
puting (or in fact all computing!) apart
from organizing schedules and phone
numbers. Another area of interest
would be spreadsheet/database opera-
tions. Both the Sharp and Atari are
well equipped for performing such
duties away from home or the office.
Like other Palmtops they are based on
the 8088/8086 microprocessor series
found in very early IBM PC/XT com-
patible computers.
This is not exactly state of the art
anymore but still acceptable for the
expected use. The Sharp runs at just
over twice the Atari's clock speed,
not too important for wordprocessing,
but a clear advantage when it comes
to larger spreadsheets one would think.
However, when processing the
same rainfall chart with Maxiplan 4
on the Amiga 500 and the portable
duo, the Sharp, even at full speed (10
MHz), appeared somewhat sluggish
Setup screen for PC-Task, the Australian software PC emulator, which now
includes EGA and VGA graphics capabilities in addition to the standard
CGA and MDA modes
rc-rasfc | mt-n mis %m$
All riglits peseiweti Worldwide
ACAR 17
PALMTOPS + AMIGA
(25s) in comparison with the Commo-
dore machine (1 6s) and the Atari (14s).
At 5MHz the loading and recalculat-
ing time almost doubled to 46 sec-
onds. All three spreadsheet programs
read and write Lotus J 23 compatible
files with a .WKS extension.
Amiga's Maxiplcm offers that op-
tion as a second choice which proved
incapable of interpreting high ASCII
characters the portables can use for
drawing tables and special symbols.
Wordprocessing
Text files produced by the two
minis are clean ASCII and can there-
fore be read into any Amiga text edi-
tor or wordprocessor. All basic func-
tions are avaitable, like simple search,
adjustable right and left margins, word
wrap, insert/overstrike modes and file
merge functions.
The clipboard is shared by the other
programs, allowing easy inserting of
addresses from the phone book or
spreadsheet results into a letter or re-
port. In this area the integrated struc-
ture of the portables has some advan-
tages over normal desktop machines.
In addition the Sharp provides
AUTO-INDENT, WORD COUNT
and rather comprehensive printer setup
facilities, although the Portfolio will
also allow word counting from inside
the application via third party PD and
commercial programs. Before we get
to the question of external software
options though, I should mention that
the Address Book (ADR) and Diary
(.DRY) files are fully interchangeable
between the two Palmtops.
The right connections
To run additional software on the
Laptops, the user can either buy ROM
cards containing commercial programs
or transfer whatever is needed via a
parallel or serial link to and from a
desktop computer. The Sharp also of-
fers the option of connecting a port-
able floppy drive to the expansion port
on the back, but at almost $400 it is
no cheap solution. (There are a number
of PD programs which allow running
an unmodified Tandy floppy drive on
the Atari via the serial port at 19200
baud).
First time fde exchange by cable
hook-up is only possible with an
MsDos compatible computer, as nei-
ther the Sharp, nor the Atari come
with a built-in terminal program. The
optional parallel/printer interface for
the Portfolio is supplied with file trans-
fer software on 5-1/4 and 3-1/2 disks
for a PC compatible computer to com-
municate with the complementary pro-
gram in the Atari's internal ROM.
To employ the serial port, which
needs to be attached to the same ex-
pansion slot as the parallel interface
and (optional) pocket modem, either
the parallel port plus software is re-
^t\®
w Stores up to 150MB of data on a single disk.
«■ Removable disks are rugged and transportable like
floppies, but are as fast as a hard drive.
w Great for transporting large files, 24 bit f ramestores,
sound, and animations.
w Unlimited storage is as easy as adding new 150MB
disks.
w MultlDisk system allows use of 35, 65, 105, and 150MB
Bernoulli Disks In the one drive.
*- Removable disks can be kept in a safe place, so your
data is safe.
*• The perfect companion for your hard disk.
MESSAGE TO THE PUBLIC
DigiPic Productions would like to warn the public against purchasing illegally imported Iomega Bernoulli
Box 150 units from some unscrupulous dealers.
Ensure your dealer purchases their Units from the authorized Australian Amiga distributor,
DigiPic Productions to receive,
- Full warranty and technical support direct to Iomega in the U.S.A..
- Upgrade offers,
- New product information.
- Brochures and technical tips.
For further information on respected re-sellers, please contact
Digipic Productions (02) 948-2766.
Putting Customer Service and Support FirstI
ACAR 18
PALMTOPS + AMIGA
quired as well or a commercial ROM
card with terminal program. With both
ports costing around the $100 mark
each and Atari's own DOS Utilities
card touching on $70, it appears more
economical to stick just to the parallel
port, which also allows the connec-
tion of a printer.
There is a hitch, however. Unless
you own a PC or have a close friend
with one, you will have to use a PC
emulator on your Amiga. As the avail-
able hardware options are excellent
but unfortunately somewhat expensive
for the occasional file transfer ses-
sion, a software solution would prob-
ably make more sense.
Software emulation
PC-Task, written by Australian
Chris Hames, will do a good job, but
you have to put up with extremely
slow parallel file transfers. So, unless
you want to print directly from the
Portfolio, it appears best to go for the
much faster serial port interface and
the Dos Utilities.
The Sharp has both ports built in,
but the miniature sockets still require
adaptors so they can be connected to
standard computer I/O devices (about
$70 each). The Laplink program on
the internal ROM disk (C:) normally
provides extremely swift serial file
transfer (plus housekeeping features),
although the initial setup, which is
supposed to transfer a copy of Laplink
to the desktop machine, doesn't seem
to work with PC-Task running on an
ordinary 68000 Amiga.
In that case the only solution is to
hook the Sharp up to a real PC, trans-
fer the Laplink software, save it to
720k disk and run it then on PC-Task.
After setting the transfer rate to 9600
baud (maximum possible rate with PC-
Task) on both coupled computers, file
exchange can be controlled from ei-
ther machine.
Once the connection has been es-
tablished, external DOS software can
be transmitted to be used on the porta-
bles. The Sharp runs most titles not
requiring more than CGA graphics (4
colours, 640 x 200). On the more popu-
lar PC-3100 with 2 Mb of RAM (PC-
3000 has 1 Mb) the user can decide
how to distribute the memory between
up to 640K for DOS, a RAM disk (E:)
and EMS (expanded memory/driver
on board). There is also a small 76k
drive (D:), which survives even a cold
reboot, for storing important data. The
best way, however, to keep data and
other software secure is on PCMCIA I
cards. The Sharp has 2 built-in card
drives (A:, B:) with a good locking
and eject mechanism.
The single slot (A:) on the Atari
lacks the latter and its cards, though
similar in dimensions, are a propri-
etary system. As a consequence they
normally only come in up to 128K
capacity for around $120, compared
The
Blue Ribbon
SoundWokks
Ltd
S<^ =
SunRize
INDUSTRIES
THE MULTIMEDIA SPECIALISTS
Cnr Burelli & Atchison Sts, Wollongong, Ph (042) 26 2688 Fax (042) 27 3527
AMIGA4000/040 $4195
AMIGA 4000/030 $2665
AMIGA 1200/40 CALL
AMIGA CD32 $699
1942 MONITOR $649
1940 MONITOR $499
1084S MONITOR CALL
OPALVISION
Main Board Available
Modules Available Soon
SUNRISE Studio 16 V3 Soon!
AD51 6 1 6-Bit Audio Card $2599
AD1 01 2 12-Bit Audio Card $1050
SMPTE Generator $279
DD524 Digital I/O Board
Available Soon
BLUE RIBBON PRODUCTS
Bars & Pipes ProV2 $399
The Patchmeister $115
Triple Play Plus $299
Sync Pro $350
SuperJAM $179
One Stop Music Shop $1150
GVP EGS 24-bit/2Mb $1 099
Deluxe Music V2 S189
Pagestream V2.2 $189
ScaiaMM211 $399
Brilliance $299
Deluxe Paint 4 AGA $139
Final Writer $199
Final Copy II $149
Pixel 3D $60
Professional Calc V2 $249
Imagine V2 S3S9
Art Department Pro $299
Morph Plus $299
X-MEM Virtual Memory $150
All latest Games
Educational Software in Stock
AGAR 19
PALMTOPS + AMIGA
with ca. $250 for a 512k card fitting
the Sharp (2Mb about $700).
Compax in Sydney has recently in-
troduced a 524K Flash card for under
$400, a first for the Portfolio in this
country. The company also provides a
service to expand the internal memory
of the Atari from 128K to the maxi-
mum 512K. Should the full 640K of
DOS memory be needed, the user can
buy two 256K external units and fit
them to the expansion port that also
takes the I/O interfaces.
Those memory units also contain
an additional card drive, configurable
as drive B:, which could be handy for
reorganizing disks. Unfortunately the
whole setup is pretty large, not very
stable and awkward to handle.
For most purposes the basic ma-
chine is quite sufficient with 128K, of
which up to 64K can be configured as
a RAM disk (C:). The reason for this
is the low memory requirement of
Portfolio specific software. In addi-
tion to commercial titles from Atari,
Compax etc, the latter also offers a
full range of over 500 PD programmes
on 3 1/2 inch Dos disks.
These include games, graphics,
sound and productivity items taking
into account that the Portfolio's screen
only accommodates 40 columns by 8
lines (240 x 64 pixels). To run stand-
ard DOS software, as long as enough
memory is available, the screen can
be switched to full 80 x 25 size of
which only a 40 x 8 section is dis-
Mpitten by Alex 5t,x*do. Copyjpisrht
1992 Ci-npaM (dnstialiil P*a T.**
},
3 >
si
Send ^ file TO the Atar>i Portfolio
Receive a file FROM tile Atapi Poiptfoli
List files on tlie Atapi Portfolio
Display file contents
Change to another* director'j
Cpeale a x,e*j cUyentory
_ an ertptjj directors
Chflnse to a no trier* drive
Delete * file on the Atari
Portf ol io
«:\ l!f,i.2l)
3
Elite* m-uk [_«.■* j :
NHS tor^y listiTig of
ANSI . SVS. . . .
CMI>El?IT.COH.
7H . COM ......
KSlMCOHP.COM
SORT. COM. . . .
rtCOPW .COM. . .
SLAUE.EXE, ■ ■
Pre s s any ke jj to
. 1862
. 1709
. 7570
dm
hsk.coh 1&-B1
OIF. COM 4448
FREEDSK.COM. . . 1624
MODF.COM 2807
SPOOL. COM 2 397
XDIR.COM 4223
SLftWE. TXT 2127
t i nue - • ■
RTTRTB. COM. . .
DSKCHJt.COIi. . .
FREEMEM.COM. .
PflSSUORD.COM.
TGD-CQMj
KTOH . COM. . . .
. 1 lOl
.2391
hhd.coh* .
KSIH. COM . .
KEBOQT. ^OM
UFDfiTE, COM
SI.ftUE.PGC
. .930
[ ™<
. 1425
Stave is one of many Portfolio file transfer programs. Here two screens have
been merged to save space. Selecting a number from the top display (3)
produced the file list at the bottom
played at any one time in a movable
window.
Power consumption
In contrast to 386/486 compatible
Laptop computers, the 8088 equipped
Palmtops in this article run much
longer than two to four hours on a set
of batteries. Both require three AA
cells lasting at least from a full work
The expansion port
on the back of the
Sharp accepts a
portable, 3 1/2 inch
1.44 Mb high
density floppy drive
(expensive). The
coin slotted lid in
the bottom houses
the Lithium backup
battery
day without any major pauses for the
Sharp up to about a week for Atari.
When the voltage has reached the
critical value of 3V, the machines au-
tomatically shut down to preserve
enough power for retaining the
memory contents. The three volt limit
makes it safe to use NiCads, but they
should have at least a capacity of 600
mAh for acceptable running times.
On the Portfolio a special capacitor
holds enough charge to allow chang-
ing the batteries without data loss. The
Sharp employs a Lithium cell which
maintains power to the standard RAM
(DOS/disk E:) for about three minutes
before shutting down to protect drive
D:. This leaves enough time for chang-
ing the batteries.
Conclusion
Both the Sharp and Atari arc capa-
ble of coping with most tasks one
would expect to perform away from a
power point. With Protext loaded on
the PC-3100 and Amiga,
wordprocessing becomes a breeze. The
Interfaces on the screens are identi-
ACAR 20
PALMTOPS + AMIGA
cal, the same spell checker takes care
of typing mistakes and the keyboard
on the Palmtop is fun, fast and precise
enough for extensive typing.
In contrast the Atari's keys tilt back-
wards, which requires some getting
used to. They are also not quite as
precise as the Sharp, missing the odd
character, but with 'Key Click'
switched on. the loudspeaker confir-
mation allows quite speedy typing af-
ter a short while. The Portfolio's
speaker also serves as an automatic
tone dialer for the phone book utility,
an obvious solution which is sadly
missing from the Sharp.
Overall, at around $500 for a kit
which is ready for hooking up to an
Amiga desktop machine running ei-
ther an IBM emulator with terminal
program (more versatile but slower)
or an Amiga comms package (opti-
mum speed), the Atari appears to be
the ideal portable companion for rest-
less Amigans.
<DIR>
<DIR>
SYSTEM
flCQt1.EXE
RCOMOHPC.USE
HNGLE-FL.HKS
DISTCRTN.HKS
- Fri S3 Sep 93 16
= D19L1 h
Address book
Calculator
Diary
Editor
Setup
Worksheet
= INS
mm
liable
2=Baif
3=Sink
4=Stove
I 5=Frids
LmJEE
B5T75"
-fl-
PffiflHETEK
Iterative height
Nesatiwe width
Format diagonal
ftnsle of view
Focal lenath
i .,£_ I ,. C— f
INPUT
24
60
75
Alva*
RESULT
48,6
55.6
43,3
46 .8
28.2
mm
These screen grabs from the Portfolio have been taken and converted to
common PC graphics format with PD programs written specifically for the
Atari, The graphics are only one bitplane and slow, but even extend to simple
animations
For those who want maximum flex-
ibility, don't mind the 40% higher
price and slightly larger size and don't
require VGA and Windows capabil-
ity, the Sharp will be well worth con-
sidering.
Keep in mind that the interlaced
CGA screen means small text. On the
Atari the letters are much more gener-
ous and easier on the eyes. The 40
column screen isn't as bad as it sounds
and it soon becomes good practice to
reformat text to 80 columns before
transferring it to the Amiga. Q
P.O. Box 3072
Weston Creek, A.C.T. 2611
Phone: (06) 288 6946
Fax: (06) 299 1473
in association with:
OF THE U.K.
FISH VIDEO PROD.
DEMOS — UTILITIES
MUSIC — GAMES
SEND $2 FOR OUR CATALOGUE DISK
PROUD TO BE A MEMBER OF THE RDAA
The LANGUAGE For The Amiga!
Now Available in Australia - the One Amiga
language that has stood the test of time.
This new package represents the fourth major upgraded release of
F-Baslc since 1988. Packed with new features, 5.0 Is the fastest
and fullest yet. The power of C with the friendliness of BASIC.
Compatibility with all Amiga platforms through the
4000. .compiled assembly object code with incredible
execution times. ..features from all modern
languages, an AREXX port, PAL and
ECS/AGA chip set support... This is
the fast one that has taken the
USA by storm.
Supports DOS
1.3,2.0,2.1 &3.0
F-Basic 5.0™ System $189,95
Includes Compiler.Linker, Integrated Editor Environment,
User's Manual, & Sample Programs Disk.
F-Basic 5.0 ™ + SLDB System $289.95
As above with Complete Source Level DeBugger.
Available only from: BR1DESON PTY LTD, P.O. Box 1326,
BUNBURY. WA. 6230 (Add $9,50 P&P) j~ 00 g g 34 844
Bankcard, Mastercard, Visa Welcome. Fax (097) 254814
ACAR 21
WORD PROCESSING
Preview: Final Writer
Super Enhanced
Wordprocessing
by Andrew Farrell
The fine line between desktop
publishing programs and
WYSIWYG word processors
has becoming steadily grayer with
every major woidprocessor upgrade.
Now it seems there is no longer a dis-
tinction between the two. Indeed, with
the arrival of Final Writer, a new high
end version of Final Copy, desktop
publishing power is now within the
reach of your average word processor
user.
Power
With some 120 included fonts, 100
EPS clip art images, the ability to wrap
text around images, rotate text boxes,
squash and stretch words and a whole
lot more, Final Writer offers features
that would put some main stream desk-
top publishing programs to shame.
A document may be made up of
many sections, each with its own pref-
erences, master page and page layout.
Pages can have up to six columns, with
variable gutters. Final Writer also
knows about the unprintable area of
various printers.
Paragraph sorting, contents, table of
illustrations, endnotes, indexes, bibli-
ography, outlines and bullet points can
all be produced in a semi-automated
fashion too - for those who are serious
about doing real wordprocessing.
Configurable
The nine megabytes of installed files
are worth their weight in RAM chips.
Almost everything on the edit screen is
configurable, including the button strip.
You can add or delete icons to do just
about anything possible within Final
Writer. If you find yourself using a
particular menu option often, it's no
trouble to add it to the tool bar for
faster mouse activated selection. Some
of the icons are a little odd. Scissors are
used for cut, but a clipboard picture
represents paste!
Clip-Art
The included clip art is in EPS for-
mat. This means you can scale it with-
out loss of detail. Despite EPS being a
postscript description of a graphic -
which can normally only be printed on
a postscript printer - Final Writer will
happily print EPS clip to any printer.
The EPS support makes it easy to in-
clude graphics from programs such as
Art Expression and Professional Draw.
Speed
I tested Final Writer on my Amiga
2000 with a GVP 33Mhz Combo card.
The program seemed a tad faster than
the earlier version, and in hires mode
the screen tools and gadgets, despite
being small, are easy to read and use.
The manual is well written, with plenty
of illustrations and clearly marked page
numbers. It looks like the entire publi-
cation was produced using Final Writer,
judging by the examples included in
the colour brochure. This is a fine rec-
ommendation for what appears to be a
solid, professionally designed package.
Watch for a full review next month.
: OT nU Tli* fooJisli Ihtjtr*
done by erdj' twrTtawan cT
tile tUJ.idrui fl£t, Citing
bocr renlLy foal: Ule Hbe,
ICt- .is: pane wcujd sry it.
Iftfe Uie Mfct OtLieii* mijlilF
jtiefer JfoiHLWd on thfL cuke
before hooUtnj it tip lo n
lust ttnnff-ibttr wheeler
[rmd lowing [Lie slid catz
itlami lite stint.
I I prefer siRitdn out
leoreinj of Face nrjd lit, 1
■aoincklni dionir^infi flf
icing: covered bits FoJ Lowed
jb>- Ed urphiE
remnants: fatmri rirj.ltcm ijl;
tile mil Or ,1f some would;
remnants found floating in!
rite the rniLCc." as ionic wcuLclj
iay, it tie tite cuke OtLiersi
mighty prefer stomped on;
ACAR22
WORD PROCESSING
piHarwrTier
J-B-ig
jjHBJWi^BHi^Bi JBBI3S JSW|aiS!pi|s!3^:F!f3l -iSifelSUJi
nil i/MI&l
g ig s a) & j ju .^Mffla ■ui^i^J^.iiiiM^ jy^feLJgaL
tenia
1233;
lie first linne 1 have had a prudence 1o write you about the
- cosv:marti3 oeaftitjo.*
dS
"■# Mffli^'.^nv^ri
■■■J
C<*5 rirncir<I
j£ur
— AiT^r Bytfon ,
abc]
This is" II his is the Firsf lime 1 have
had a prudence to write you
about the amazing Final Write r. a r
This is ti
Highlights
Outline Fonts:
• Includes 120 Outline Fonts
• Size fonts from 4 to 300 points
• Includes 100 EPS Clip-art images
• CompugraphicType 1 Support
• Easy to learn and use
• NirrbusQ Support
• Excellent printing
■• Line Spacing control
• Comprehensive User Manual
• Compress/Expand Character widths
• Underline and Double Underline
Word Processing:
• Strike-Thru
• Small Caps and All Caps
• Table of Contents
• Obliquing
• Index
• Superscript and Subscript
• Table of Illustrations
• Color Text
• Bibliography
• Endnotes
User Interface:
• Outline generation
• Named Paragraph Styles
• User-defined button strip
• Named Text Styles
• User-defined "User" menu
• 144,000 word Speller
• Magnified and reduced page views
• 1.4 million word Thesaurus
• User-defined preferences
• Document Statistics w/ Word Count
• Extensive ARexx support
• Automatic hyphenation
• Page guides
• Sections
• Optional horizontal & vertical
• Multiple Master Pages rulers
• Multiple Columns
• Very Fast Search & Replace
Graphic Support:
• Text Clips
• Header/Footer Support
• Import IFF ILBM & EPS images
• Left, Right, Center, Decimal Tabs
• Draw Boxes, Ovals and Lines
• Paragraph Justification
• Draw Perfect Squares and Circles
• Document Statistics
• Draw rounded cornered boxes
• Insert Date, Time, and Page Number
• Draw arrow tipped lines
• Sort Paragraphs
• Create, move & resize Text Blocks
• Add Columns of Numbers
• Real-time text flow for graphic
• Auto Bullet & Hanging Indent Control
• Optional "Flow Over" Text Flow
• Indent paragraphs left & right
• Depth arrange graphics & text
• Cut/Copy/Paste text blocks
• Cut/Paste ruler
• Scale graphics to any size
• Insert and remove page breaks
• Crop imported IFF and EPS images
• Go to Page, Section or Selection
• Rotate graphics
• Title Page and Preface Sections
• Lock/Unlock Graphics
• Mail Merge
• Group/Un group Graphics
• Delete document within program
• HAM, 24 bit &EHB Support
• Show EPS images on screen
Printing:
• Print at full resolution of printer
• Built-in PostScript(tm) support
• Print EPS images on graphic printers
• Draft printing option
• PostScript halftone & spot function control
• PostScript crop marks
• PostScript scaling
• PostScript thumbnails
• Tall or wide printing
• Color graphic and PostScript printing
• 12 bit color graphic printing
• Front-to-Back and Back-to-Front printing
• All, Right only and Left only collate option
• Print ail or range of pages or sections
For more information, contact
Tupsoft (02) 482 7040.
If you own Final Copy, there is an
upgrade policy, please make sure to
ask about it.
ACAR 23
FOR BEGINNERS
What the manual
esn't tell you
The Amiga comes with
documentation written in
easy to understand
Engiish. But as always,
the manual doesn't tell
you everything. In this
article we reveal some
interesting and less
obvious aspects of the
Amiga.
If you don't yet have an Amiga,
there are a few features and limita-
tions of which you should be aware.
You undoubtedly have seen the eye-
catching graphics and have heard the
stunning sounds of the Amiga.
Perhaps you think of these as the
essence of the machine. They are im-
portant, but there are other significant
things. Perhaps the most profound is
multitasking - the ability to have sev-
eral programs or tasks running at the
same time.
Multitasking
That's rare in computers, and it's
even more rare to find an operating
system that does it so efficiently and
transparently as the Amiga. It's very
useful once you get used to it, and one
by Sural Gulrajani and Prapakorn Srisaman
can easily take it for granted while
using an Amiga.
Can you imagine running a data-
base as a background task, while writ-
ing a letter, performing a mail merge
and formating a disk? The number of
tasks you can run at one time is only
limited to the amount of RAM you
have available.
In the list of Amiga's features, the
ease with which add ons such as print-
ers, modems, digit isers, extra RAM
hard drives and the like can be added
is wonderful. There's also a huge
shareware and public domain software
library containing useful programs you
can obtain from suppliers all ovei ihe
country for little more than the cost of
a disk.
Limitations!
There are some limitations that may
be of some concern to you, however.
The basic Amiga 500's processing
speed is somewhat slow when com-
pared to some other machines. How-
ever, its input and output rates are
rather quick, especially output to the
screen. The custom processors inside
the Amiga allow for quick graphics
updating. That's why animations are
so smooth on the Amiga.
If your idea of fun is to chop around
inside a machine that has simple ar-
chitecture, the Amiga is not for you.
Its inner structure is quite complex,
and you'll have a good deal of re-
search ahead of you before you can
take the simplest journey into the
Amiga's inner space.
You'll also find your Amiga will
be much more flexible with at least
two disk drives (or a hard disk) and at
least one megabyte of memory.
The Workbench
The manual, Introduction to the
Amiga, that comes with the computer
dues a nice job of showing you how to
use the Workbench. By the time you
finish the tutorial, you should know
how to click, double click, select a
menu, size a window, drag a window,
and do many other tasks along this
line. There are a few things, however,
ACAR 24
■
FOR BEGINNERS
that went unmentioned or were left in
vague.
First, it's very important to back up
your disks. Put away your original
Workbench disk and use a backup for
day to day use.
As you go through the Workbench,
opening a disk, then opening a drawer
within that disk, and so on, you may
be surprised at a few subtleties of the
Workbench's file handling. Drag a file
from one disk to another, and you
make a copy. Drag a file from one
part of the disk to another say, from
one drawer to another and you move
it. Drag a file out of its window, to an
empty area on the Workbench screen,
and it stays there for easy access.
Don't worry, the computer keeps
careful records about where files and
tasks originate, If need be, your Amiga
will ask you to re-insert the appropri-
ate disk when a task tries to access the
wandering file again. The Amiga re-
fers to disks as alphanumeric names,
so disks swapping is not so confusing
as it may seem on other computers.
Using Workbench
When the Workbench loads from
disk, the drive runs for a while before
the Workbench screen appears. Let it
do so; don't rush in with the mouse or
start typing something until everything
settles down.
If you jump in too quickly, the com-
puter becomes busy with many differ-
ent tasks at the same time. (Well, ac-
tually most "startup sequences", in-
cluding the one on the original Work-
bench disk, perform a number of dif-
ferent tasks at the same time already.)
On a faster Amiga, you can launch
many tasks one after the other if you're
not sure what you're doing. On a slow
machine you'll find it frustrating if
yon just keep clicking away trying to
make something happen. If the drive
light is on and you're not sure what's
happening, wait a moment and see.
Your Workbench configures itself
according to a text file called the
startup sequence, and any actions done
before the opening sequence is fin-
ished may interfere with your Work-
bench environment. It is best to wait
it out.
From time to time you will find the
need to edit the startup sequence. No
doubt you'll fine out it is difficult to
get it right the first time around. We
will give some pointers about this later
on. (Workbench 2.0 users will find
this less of a problem.)
There's often more on a disk than
what you see in the disk's window.
The Workbench only shows icons for
those files that have a special "info"
file associated with them.
To see the rest you'll need to go to
the Command Line Interface (CLI) or
use a "shell" of some sort.
Trashcan
If you drag something into the
Trashcan, it's not actually deleted, so
you do not free any disk space. That's
because you're allowed to sort through
the contents of the Trashcan.
If you change your mind about dis-
carding something, drag it back out of
the Trashcan and put it wherever you
want it to belong. If you're sure you'll
never want that item again, select the
Trashcan icon, go to the disk menu
and choose the Empty Trash option.
All items in the Trashcan directory
are discarded, and the disk space is
reclaimed.
Here's another way to throw away
files: Select the items you want to
throw away, go to the Disk menu of
the Workbench screen, and choose the
Discard option. This deletes the file
and reclaims the disk space right away,
so be careful.
Empty drawer?
Why is there an Empty drawer on
the Workbench disk? To give Work-
bench users something to copy when
they need a new drawer. To make a
Buying a Video Camera?
Then get the only Australian magazine with a complete guide to
all the current video cameras on sale now!
The magazine for beginners, experts and hobbyists.
Only $3.95
To Subscribe phone (02) 398 51 1 1 or fax (02) 398 5322 6 issues for $23.70
ACAR 25
FOR BEGINNERS
new drawer, select the Empty drawer,
go to the Workbench menu of the
Workbench screen and select the Du-
plicate option.
Now, use the Rename option in the
Workbench menu to give it the name
of your choice, This new drawer may
be dragged anywhere on the disk -
even within another drawer. Life is
easy for a Workbench user, isn't it?
(Workbench 2.0 users can use the
Make New Drawer menu option in-
stead.)
After you've moved an icon to a
desired place within a window, fix it
in place by calling Snapshot on the
Special menu. If you're redecorating
a window and have moved several
things around, log all of their new
positions by performing "multiple se-
lection" - select each item with the
left mouse button while holding down
the shift key - before calling on Snap-
shot. (Under Workbench 2.0 you can
select a group by making a box around
them, or using the select all option.)
Preferences
Double-click the Preference icon
(or drawer under 2.0) to invoke this
program. Most of the options are well
described in the manual, but a few
features are worth noting.
The first time you use the system,
be sure to select the Change Printer
and set up the type of printer you are
using. Click on the Save button when
you're finished to make this change
permanent. (Remember that all cus-
tomising of your computer environ-
ment should be done on a copy of
your original disks, unless you are us-
ing a hard disk of course.)
It's fun to customise the mouse
pointer. While in Preferences, click
Edit Pointer and draw your own.
Maybe you'd like to add your initials
to the tail of the pointer or to draw a
personalised icon. Remember that the
pointer has a hot spot - the actual
place on the pointer where action takes
place - which you can place by using
the Set Point box.
Try to pick a logical place for this,
so that the useT (you) won't be con-
fused while using this pointer. Let's
see ... the tip of a finger, the nose of
an airplane, the bullseye of a target.
Info
If you select an icon, and then
choose info on the Workbench menu,
you'll get a lot of information per-
mu
Vlf)l€
Presents...
'An Introduction to
the Amiga 1200'
(Vol 1)
The ultimate way to quickly and easily get
to know your new computer (your own private
instructor on video!). Learn at your own pace.
An Australian made product being marketed
overseas. For more information contact your local
dealer or phone.
Ph: (02) 411-2108
or Toll free (008) 808820
Dealer Fax Number (02) 412-3436
Are you lost, feeling helpless or
confused?
Just follow the signpost!
'Amiga Specialist
Shop 7,
Peninsula Plaza,
20 Bungan St
Mona Vale
N.S.W. 2103
P.O. Box 1014,
Mona Vale
N.S.W. 2103
L-J
Ph:(02) 979 5833
Fax: (02) 997 5641
Looking for a new
Hard Disk Drive, call
about our fast and
very reliable range of
" Bernoulli ''
Removable Hard
Drives.
In need of a new and
powerful Word
Processor with superb
graphic features?
Call about
" Final Writer "!
A very big he! to to all my freinds in Taree, and a very big thank
you to Keith Woodward for his patience and co-operation.
ACAR 26
FOR BEGINNERS
taining to the file or device that the
icon represents. There are five types
of icons, and the inform ation you get
is related to the type. The types are as
follows:
Disk: These are the physical disks
that you put into a drive.
The RAM: device icon (named
"RAM DISK" by default), if it has
been mounted, is also treated a disk.
When you select Info on a disk, you
get the disk's name, its capacity, and
how much disk space is currently be-
ing used.
Drawer: You might think of a
drawer as a filing cabinet. It may con-
tain a number of things (including,
perhaps, other drawers). A drawer is
usually called a subdirectory in other
tongues of computerese.
Trashcan; A special type of
drawer. It can contain things, hut this
drawer has special responsibilities (as
mentioned above).
Tool: A tool is what we would call
a program. So when we double-click
a tool, we run a program.
Project: This is data to be used by
a Tool. In the case of Amiga Basic,
for example, the program you write is
considered by the interpreter to be
data. The program you write is the
Project and the Amiga Basic inter-
preter is the Tool.
Projects are especially interesting,
because they may be attached to cer-
tain tools. When you double-click a
tool icon, the program selected toads
and runs.
If you double-clicked on a project
icon, the computer toads the default
tool, starts the program, and then loads
the project file into the program as
data. For example, double-clicking a
text file causes a word processing pro-
gram to be called to handle the file.
You can change the default tool
entry, and at times you may need to
do so. The most common problem is
that when you copy a project to a new
disk, the name of the default tool is no
longer correct. With Info, you can cor-
rect it.
Breaking free from
Workbench
Workbench is good for the casual
user who doesn't need to learn any
special commands. But to gain more
understanding and control of the
Amiga, you'll need to move onto CLI.
Keep reading Australian Commodore
and Amiga Review for more articles
on this subject. Q
AMIGA PUBLIC DOMAIN
SOFTWARE
Over €000 Disks to choose from
MO POSTAGE CHARGES ■ AUSTRALIA ONLY
(OVERSEAS ORDERS ADD $10.00)
(Overseas Orders A$ Only)
DISKS FROM $2.50
All orders shipped within 24- hours of receipt
Send $5,00 for 3 DfSK CATALOGUE
Catalogue Updated free with Orders
GAMES PACK 1 (WBUOnly)
10 DISKS FULL OF GAMES (OVER 50)
PLUS CATALOGUE DISKS $30.00
GAMES PACK 2 (WB2.0 Only)
10 DISKS FULL OF GAMES (OVER 45)
PLUS CATALOGUE DISKS $30.00
CMANUAL OH 12 DISKS $34.95
INCLUDES SIX MANUALS, «3 CHAPTERS, 175 FULLY
EXECUTABLE EXAMPLES COMPLETE WITH SOURCE CODE,
PLUS OTHER GOODIES.
1? BIT, AMOS, FISH, AMAZ. AMICUS. FAUQ, NZAUS. TBAG,
AMIGOZ, MUSIC S. SOUND, APPLICATIONS, UTILmES,
ANIMATION, DEMOS, GRAPHICS, SCOPE PLUS OTHERS. WE
ALSO HAVE OU R OWN RANQE OF OVER SOO DISKS ALL
SELFBOOTING AND READY TO USE.
Deja Vu Licencaware - CLR tjcerweware ■ Amiga Nuts lic&iCBware
Amiga Public Domain Centre
PO Box 435, St Agnes SA 5097
Phone (08) 396 2163 Fax (08) 263 1393
We Accept BankcarcJ, Mastercard and Visacard
Money Orders and Cheques
130 Mb 3.5" IDE Seagate
214 Mb 3.5" IDE Seagate
360 Mb 3,5" IDE Seagate
525 Mb 3.5" IDE Seagate
ALL SIZES SCSI/2
HARD DRIVE SPECIALISTS
A1 200/600 HD40/64Mb $CALL
A1 200/600 HD 65Mb $385
A1 200/600 HD 127Mb $475
A1 200/600 HD 209Mb $695
Hard drives for A4000, A500, A2000
$315
$415
$625
$1160
$CALL
Pickup/Delivery + Installation from
anywhere in Australia - ONLY $75!
We will even trade In your Hard Drivel
Removable Media Also Available
Syquest / Bernoulli / CD ROMS / Tape
AMIGA TOWER SYSTEM
We will transform your A2000/A4000
into a sexy 230 Watt floor standing
heart pounding system with
provisions for 8 Internal 5.25" or 3.5"
devices. Prices start from S695!!!
Pictures next month.
We also have extensive experience with
Hard Drive repairs & Data recovery
ALL MODS / REPAIRS / UPGRADES
PC compatible computers - systems
made to order - all repairs I sales
FIXED PRICES ON REPAIRS
RAPID TURNAROUND
BEST HARD DRIVE PRICES!
WE BUY AND SELL ALL TYPES OF HARDWARE
DISK-w-TGCH
Specialists in Computer Technology
Phone (054) 416 Q54 Facsimile (054} 416 277
Shop 2-176 Lyttieton Tee Bendigo Vic 3550
IBM Bridgeboards
Golden Gate 486sx/25 $1499
Golden Gate 386sx/25 $999
ATonce-Plus 286/1 6 $299
Monitor switchbox $99
VGA-Sound-Midi card $119
All IBM hardware
GVP Hardware-Software
CD-ROM NEC SCSI ext $489
Fred Fish CD
IDE and SCSI hard drives
Scanner $249
24 pin Printer $459
105Mb Syquest drive $799
105Mb cartridge $169
A600 1Mb ram card inc! clock
MBX 1200 8Mb ram card
2Mb chipram upgrade $259
Fax Modem inc software $329
Phone/Write lor our free priceiisl on disk
Fonhof Computer Supplies
64 Cross Street, Baulkham Hills NSW 2153
Phone (02} 639 771 8 Fax (02) 639 5995
ACAR 27
MUSIC
Electronic Arts are one of the
golden oldie Amiga software
companies. They were respon-
sible for a whole passel of Deluxe
programs - Music, Paint, Video and
others - but only Deluxe Paint really
made it big. Very big. Indeed.
The original version of Deluxe Mu-
sic Construction Set, coded by Geoff
Brown, was released years ago, at
which time it was very impressive. It
was then never updated, which made
it pretty weak by today's standards.
Versions on other computers kept com-
ing out, but the Amiga market was
neglected.
Deluxe Music 1 was slow, clumsy
and ugly, but it was still the only dedi-
cated stave music program on the
Amiga and so it sold a few copies
nonetheless.
Translation time. There are two ba-
sic sorts of computer music program.
One is aimed at traditional musicians,
who read the five line stave form of
musical notation. This is designed to
be easy to read, but isn't that easy to
write. The other sort of computer mu-
sic notation is that used by sequencers,
which use a sort of piano roll design
in which notes and effects are shown
as letters and numbers and scroll past
as they play. This sort of notation is
dang near impossible for a human
musician to read and play, but is easier
to write.
If you already know how to write
traditional notation, though, and want
to make scores that can be printed out
and read by humans, Deluxe Music is
the way to go. And now it's been
jazzed up enough that it can really be
used as a proper semiprofessional pro-
duction tool.
What's new?
The new version of Deluxe Music
has been written by Talin (David
Joiner), also responsible for the clas-
sic Music -X and the highly successful
games Discovery and Faery Tale Ad-
venture. It's built on the code for a
recent Macintosh version, and so has
functionally nothing to do with the
old Amiga program.
Deluxe Music 2 is superficially
similar to its predecessor, but much
has changed. Everything now matches
Workbench 2+ style parameters, ot
gets pretty close anyway, and you can
run the program on a public screen if
you want to. Nothing looks squished
or stretched in different resolutions.
The interface also includes better key-
board control.
by Daniel Rutter
Deluxe Music now supports
locale. library in WB2. 1+, and comes
with a French catalogue. While this
feature tends to leave English, speak-
ing users unexcited, it means compos-
ers all over the world should be able
to use the program easily, greatly ex-
panding the possible music sources.
You can view several scores at once
- as many as you have memory for -
and tuck them away out of sight if
you don't want the clutter. This lets
you easily cut and paste between
scores, so you can grab a melody from
one movement and easily import it
into another. Unfortunately you can't
view several bits of one score at a
time, but them's the breaks.
You can record macros to simplify
oft-used commands. This is the tradi-
tional hit the keys and hope you get it
right sort of macro recording, but it's
perfectly adequate for many tasks.
If you need more power, the whole
program can now be driven through
ARexx, so expert users can now in-
tegrate Deluxe Music with many
other applications, or set up macros
of baroque {no pun intended) com-
plexity.
You can write filtering or selective
modification scripts, or even algorith-
mic composers, in ARexx, and sit back
ACAR 28
E^H^H
i^^h^^^^^hhb
Amiga Computers
; A1200s with your choice of
5 drives and expansions
! A4000s with larger drives and
SCSI expansions.
Commodore Monitors fOT all
Amigas. We can configure your
Amiga to suit your needs and
budget. Trade ins welcome.
Call for a trade up quote.
CD32
; Hardware and Software
: Call for latest options and
: software. Latest titles always
; available.
; Printers
I Citizen Dot Matrix
9 pin Colour $399.00 1
24 Pin Black/White $499.00
24 Pin Colour $599.00
Canon Bubble Jets
From . . . $CALL |
Hewlett Packard Inkjets
From . . . $699.00
Art/Graphics/Animation
Art Dept Pro 2.3 $279.00:
Deluxe Paint 4.1 $99.00
| Deluxe Paint AGA $149.00
! Personal Paint 2. 1 $109.00
Brillance $269.00
Distant Suns 4.2 $99.00 ;
[ Imagine 3 $Call
I Vista Pro 3 $99.00
j Scenery Anim 4 $99.00
Video Hardware and
Software
Rombo Vidi Amigas
Vidi Amiga 12 $275.00
RT12 $449.00
RT 24 $749.00
Call for details on our Trade Up
Offer on your old Vidi Amiga
12 to a new Real Time Version.
GVP and Electronic Design
Genlocks $Call
Montage $499,00
24 Bit Video Titling
OpalVision $1199.00
Scala Home Titter $149.00
EGS Spectrum/24 $ 1 149.00
r|: Word Processing/DTP
II Pen Pal $89
I Final Writer $Call
| Final Copy II $149.00
;| Pagestream 3.0 $Call
|ProPage4,l $149
I* Fontasia 300 CG or Postscript I
i Fonts
$99.00
s Program Languages
•CanDo2.51 $209.00
Devpac 3.0 $149.00
: Professional AMOS $ 199.00
• SAS C 6.5 now out $399.00 ;
; Sound/Music
I Bars and Pipes Pro V2 $399.00 1
\ Deluxe Music V2.0 $199.00 i
" MegaMix Master
Stereo Sound Sampler $109.00
GVPDSSSPlus $199.00
Pyramid MIDI Int. $69.00
Utilities
Directory Opus 4. 1
$109.00
Cygnus Ed 3.5
$139.00
X-Copy Pro
$79.00
HyperCache Pro
$59.00
AmiBack Plus Tools
$119.00
Ami back
$69.00
Qback Tools Deluxe
$149.00
CAD
X-CAD 2000
$349.00
X-CAD 3000
$699.00
Bernaulli Drives
As recommended by i
\CAR:
With ISOMbCartridg
e...
Internal
$1350
External
$1550
Finances
Easy Ledgers V2.0
Call for Details
Pro Calc 2.0
$249.00
Fax/Data Modems
Call for details and prices.
DataBases
Contact 2.1 $79.00
SuperBasePro4vI.3 $299.00
SuperBase Personal 4 $ 3 79.00
RAM Expansions
} Microbotics 1200z with clock.
$249.00
! Call for SIMM prices.
; Microbotics 1230xa with clock
! and 030 Accelerator from
$599.00
: GVP A1200 Expansions $Call
- 40MB Seagate Hard Drives -
Limited Quantities $200.00
Add as a second drive to your
[ A6OO/1200. Installation Kit
I Free with Drive Purchase,
! 80, 120 or 200MB Drives also
! available.
A1200 Clocks
$49,00
A600 1MB RAM
$129.00
A500 512K
$69.00
A500 2Mb
$229.00
New Year
Clearance
I Online Platinum
$15
I Flip-Side
$15
1 Quartet
$19
1 Organise
$19
1 Dr. T's Music Mouse
$19
1 DOS-2-DOS
$19
1 HyperHelpers
$19
\ Images
S25
; J op Fonn
$29
I Personal Finance Manager S29
j SpectiaColour
S29
j Graphics Sarter Kit
$39
; Title Page
$39
Pro Write 3.3
$99
ScalaMM200
$359
A600/1200 PCMCIA with:
2MB RAM $249.00
4MB RAM $399.00
Accessories
Logic 3 Speed Mouse $49.00
Aexelen Optic- mouse $69.00
3 1/2 inch Floppy Dve $169.00
A500/1200 Dust Gov. $9.00
Keyboard Skins $35.00
Call for your copy of
our FREE Disk
Catalogue.
Postal Orders:
34 Tecoma Drive
Glenorie NSW 2157
Sydney Metro
Callers
(02) 652 2712
Amaoeus
or rip titers
FREE CAUL
®Q$ 80® 503
Kfssri SBrribBj M&n€ly mflmz
iti Hit DSiH IpT-DCJUfitS.
MUSIC
a [ jagjbugty l*t W-abuamm
l Sftiiu fur si jTT it
>1 ! 2*1 I
thnpi J I bm [ I, Eg
chj Staff | " - " J _
&s*C!» flbeve: (j ■
I 5pkC« QgLlMp: 6 ■
_1 a,* mi ^ Slj(( ^
Er*r**FO" *S«* 1 lows J fl
-
TTTTTT I TT I TTT I TT I TTT I TT I TTT
•.**.* | MvJnct |
I
Deluxe Music 2 sports a new Workbench 2 look
and amaze yourself with your own
brilliance.
MIDI Support
While we're talking power users.
Deluxe Music's MIDI support is con-
siderably augmented by support for
the new camd. library and
realtime. library, which let it coexist
with other MIDI programs and use
thhd parly serial cards.
Realtime. library also lets Deluxe Mu-
sic sync with animation players for
multimedia work.
A MIDI synthesizer hooked up to
Deluxe Music makes a very cheap but
high powered music workstation.
The Amiga's four internal voices
are fine if you're writing for a barber
shop quartet, but anything more com-
plex needs external hardware. With a
synth plugged in through a MIDI in-
terface, you can write for much larger
ensembles so that people lacking
Beethoven's powers of visualisation
can hear what they're building.
MIDI, along with the score presen-
tation, lets you easily transcribe mu-
sic into Deluxe Music from paper,
something which is much more diffi-
cult with a sequencing package.
The tool window is much more
complex, and now includes every note
duration down to hemidemise-
miquavcrs. You can also do septup-
les, double dots, flipped note stems,
staccato, legato, sforzando and beam
notes. The tool window also contains
the play, stop and play section but-
tons, for quick access with the mouse.
These extra tools reflect the new
music format used by Deluxe Music,
Common Musical Score (CMUS),
which replaces the old, proprietary
Deluxe Music format which nobody
else ever used or understood. CMUS
is going to be a public format, so
anyone can incorporate CMUS play-
back and output in their software.
The dominant Amiga music form at
the moment is the hacker-driven
SoundTracker MOD format, but
SoundTracker has no capacity for "real"'
musical composition, being first and
foremost a sequenced four track system.
Playback
Deluxe Music 2 also comes with a
freely redistributable player program,
to make up for the incompatibility of
CMUS with just about everything at
the moment. When you write a tune,
you can distribute it with the player.
Deluxe Music 2 will load Old
Deluxe Music, Simple Musical Score
(SMUSj, Standard MIDI (SMF) and
Music-X (MSCX) tunes as well, so
users of other software aren't left out
in the cold.
Scores can now have up to 48 staves
in them, and time signatures can have
up to 64 beats per measure. Gener-
ally, all the old limitations have been
pushed back, and Deluxe Music is> now
a Whole New Deal, right down to the
comprehensible yet comprehensive
167 page manual.
The Amiga isn't short of music
packages. If you're a shoestring op-
erator a S5 public domain Sound-
Tracker clone will do you proud; most
professionals will go for a powerful
sequencer from the Doctor T stable or
maybe Bars and Pipes Professional,
if they don't mind the Blue Ribbon
Soundworks fairground look.
Dabblers can go for Super J am, Bars
and Pipes' little brother, or a cheap
copy of an outdated package like
MusicX or the ancient Sonix. But for
people who are musicians first and
computer users second. Deluxe Music
is once again a real option.
For more information contact your
local Amiga reseller, or Electronic
Arts (075) 9 1 1 388. Approximate price
$180. 3
PO Box 5A
Mt. Kuring-Gai NSW 2080
Phone (02) 457 811 1 Fax (02) 457 8739
Software and
accessories for
Amiga and C64
You can't use Software this Powerful,
and produce Documents this Good...
^
my VLitumu Season
i-.niii.igKia::.4i7--i:--A.i-.Mni.- -» .'it ikiii teiniia
Ei pa ir. riiijmrtrffn-MinT- r Klia Cmimijip
P.v^l ,..-!—
Unless, you buy an expensive PC or Macintosh™
a high priced Colour PostScript™ Laser Printer,
and a complex, costly Desk Top Publishing Package
If you're looking for a quality Word
Processor/Publisher that performs as
well as this, you may well start by
searching through PC and Apple™
Macintosh™ software catalogues.
Even then though, you probably
won't find a program that will
combine the very best in Word
Processing and... easy to use
integrated DTP type facilities.
You certainly can't find Word
Processing Software for your
Amiga that's capable of all this...
...or Can You?
i^]H]BB]ajHJMl^l^l]^lM]
B
NETWORK
QuickNet
delivers
network speed
by Andrew Farrell
Here at Amiga Review's edito-
rial HQ, we have a total of sis
Amigas, Back in the days of
Workbench 1.3, several were net-
worked together. However, with the
arrival of version 2.0 of Workbench,
our old HydraNet network cards were
rendered useless. The networking soft-
ware was incompatible with the new
operating system, and it was decided
to ditch the cards and resort to using
removable 44Mb Syquest cartridges
for moving information around.
Of course, other network solutions
have been available, including Novell
client software and TCP/IP, Many uni-
versities have taken advantage of these
offerings. However for mainstream
users, the only affordable and readily
available alternative has been the
somewhat sluggish public domain
Parnet system.
Thankfully, a local developer, Re-
source Management Force, are now
shipping an excellent peer-to-peer net-
work called QuickNet. Providing
Amiga computing resources for a siz-
able company in Sydney, the guys at
RMF are familiar with the needs of a
large network of users.
Their efforts have concentrated on
maintaining compatibility and achiev-
ing good speed. They have succeeded
on both counts. QuickNet allows net-
worked Amigas to share any mounted
volume or device. Information can
move around QuickNet at around 350-
380 Kilobytes per second when con-
nected to an Amiga 3000.
The transfer speed compares to a
full 32-bit 66Mhz Intel 486DX, with
local bus - proving yet again the hum-
ble 1990 model Amiga 3000 with its
standard Motorola 68030 processor,
custom graphics chips and 32-bit ar-
chitecture is still well matched to the
latest in IBM compatible PCs.
RMF have plans to release the card
for other Amiga models too, includ-
ing CD32. Already they have a work-
ing gateway to TCP/IP and Novell.
An additional ROM socket on the card
will allow the QuickNet hardware to
run Commodore's Envoy network soft-
ware - a slightly more sophisticated,
but rather slower system.
Envoy
There is a good chance Envoy will
be available from a third party com-
pany soon, following Commodore's
announcement recently that certain
technology developed, but not cur-
rently being manufactured by Com-
modore, would be available at a very
good price to interested companies.
QuickNet may reach Envoy's level
Top Window: The master configuration program records what devices or
volumes are available on each machine on the network, as well as
maintaining the security settings. The same program allows you to manage
the users security.
Bottom Window: The user management program selects what volumes are
mounted automatically or when first accessed when a user logs in.
'pySr'
^hllWijKiJLL- _,
| vt.Q Q uickNet us
CNjickNsE inastisr tofsflguranofi
if
Lay'
|H;ia
153
|
Select tanjMiter
Hast.pr_.S^rver
Uorkstat t oir_1
jHastgr...Sgrver
pk'frCw»iiiiMiisa""| ft^p"|Iljjjjji
Select device
m
81
fe
Bi>a tljijfeEs
J
fcB
■
Benote Machine
Henot.e Device
, f _ __
&| HanuaL Haunted \ Save/Exit |
Valune Kane
D&vice htMte
\m\<€b
DelaV hount
mm
M d lira t;
Mod
Selnct * f*met i
Rertate Machine
drkst-at *t>n_1
□rkstat ioi^l
on..]
fid d/Ch ange )
Oh 3
Dh2
Phi
SPL
Uorkc
Uoi-k a
3^*>tert
pps2
tew M*
E>h'J
Dh.2
m
'""'■ -tr-^xny
ACAR 32
continued on page 36
You Can Now... with New
Final Writer™
Put Your Finger on the Buttons of the
Ultimate Amiga Word Processor
fmalWw
From the publisher of the acclaimed Final Copy II
comes its new companion. Final Writer - for the
author who needs even more! If you already use an
Amiga Word Processor, it won't include the complete
and comprehensive array of features found in this latest
addition to the SoftWood family.
Can your Word Processor...
Output crisp PostScript™ font outlines on any graphic
printer (not just expensive lasers), and was it
supplied with over 1 10 typefaces? Import, scale, crop,
view on screen and output structured EPS clip-art
images (Final Writer is supplied with a hundred), again, on any printer? Also create
structured graphics and rotate them along with text to any angle, giving you DTP quali-
ty presentation? Provide a huge range of printing options (eg, thumbnails, scaling, crop
marks etc, on PostScript™ printers) and fulfil other advanced Word Processing func-
tions easily such as automatic indexing, table of contents, table of illustrations and
bibliography generation? With Final Writer, this is now available to you along with a
list of features that just goes on and on. We know
that you'll be impressed by this revolution in Amiga
Word Processing, but don't be put off by it's
advanced capabilities. With its complement of user
definable Command Buttons and Superb Manual,
Final Writer is simply one of the easiest programs to
learn and use.
Final Writer is not just a one-off product.-
Softwood are acknowledged as the World's leading software company publishing
for the Amiga and no other system. So, if Final Writer exceeds your current
requirements - whatever your Document Processing needs, - SoftWood will still
have the Perfect Package for you.,.
Final Copy II, Proper Grammar II
and now New Final Writer
Once you become a registered SoftWood user, you'll gain
access to unlimited five technical support (others often charge
you or don't provide support at all) and preferential upgrades to future
versions of these and other exciting new products being developed right now.
If you've outgrown your existing package ask about our 'trade up' options from your
current Word Processor
Quali
TUPsoft
POBox47 Hornsby NSW 2077 Australia
Telephone: (02) 482 7040 Facsimile (02) 476 5736
Available from all good dealers or, contact us for a list of nationwide stockists.
Alt information cermet ttt time of going to press, E&EOE. All Trademarks ockmfwtedged.
The document on the previous page was output an a titw tost Canon Bubble Jet.
SoftWood
iMJMJiSJMJMjsJ^JMJSl
Vjii'JUB^ai^^miii..jtnijai*jj. i i mm*m*m
ity software for your Amiga
(other publishers' WFs
are eligible loo).
_±_
~^
□
n
=►
*A
%
%
□
X*
4§t>
<#
AL
B
c>
S
ll£l
BI
D
A
,JK»
""""
*?*
A
fi*
(* . m$
if"
fl*
^t^
^>
;>>*
,tf s '
a v .i«t?
t^ v
.--$*
C- Productivity Software C*
AMOS Pro Compiler $69.95
AMOS Professional $159.00
Aladdin 4D $429.00
Ami-Back 2,0 $67.95
Ami-Back Plus Tools $1 1 9.95
Ami-Back Tools $69.95
Amiga Vision Professional $1 39.00
Anim Workshop $89,95
Art Department Abekas D rive r $209.00
Art Department Conversion Pack $84.95
Art Department Epson Drivers $179.00
Art Department Pro V2.3 $275.00
Art Department Pro Control $94.95
Art Department Sharp JX 1 00 $135.00
Art Department Tools Pro V2.0 $219.00
Art Expression $269.00
Bars & Pipes Creativity Kit S69.95
Bars & Pipes MultiMedia Kit $59.95
Bars & Pipes Pro Studio Kit S69.95
Bars & Pipes Professional II $429.00
Blitz Basic $189.00
Board Master $97.50
Brillance $259.00
Broadcast Tiller 2 Hi-Res $429.00
C-NetV2.6 S1 19.00
Calagari 24 S47S.00
Calculus $59.95
CanDoV2.5 S215.00
Cinemorph S1 29.00
Contact V2.0 S74.00
Cross DOS V5.0 / Cross PC S59.95
Cyclernan (Suit Imagine) S69.95
Cyclem uscles ( S u it Tmag i n e) S159.00
Cygnus Ed Professional V3.5 399.00
Deluxe Paint 4.1 S99.95
Deluxe Paint 4.5 AGA $139.00
Desktop V i deo Worl d Mag S9-95
DirectoryOpusV4.11 $104.95
Distant Suns V4.2 $79.95
Easy AMOS $84.95
Edge $CALL
Electric Thesaurus $56,95
Essence for Imagine $74.95
Final Copy II (Australian Version) $145.00
Final Writer (Australian Version) S call
Fontasia 300 CG Fonts $79.95
GigaMemV2 $145.00
Hlsoft Dev Pack 3 $122.95
Home Office Kit Deluxe $185.00
Humanoid V1 .0 (Suit Imagine) $259.00
Hyperbook $99.95
Hypercache Pro $54.95
MVB Recommended
Productivity Software
FINAL *£%, $219.00
Vista Pro fc
3.0 $99.95
Deluxe Music 2.0
New Version $185.00
ADPro 23 $ 2 75.00 |
Image FX V1 .5 (New Version)
Imagemaster R/T 1 .0
Imagine 2 PAL
Infofila
Interchange Plus
Intro Cad Plus
Kind Words 3
Mac to DOS
Mapmaster Suit Imagine
Maxi Plan 4
Media Point 3.0
Mini Office
Montage 24
Morph Pius
Morphus for Imagine
Newtek Media Station
No Virus
PC-Task
PageStream HotLinks VI. 1
Pagesetter V3
$449.00
$275.00
$399.00
S50.00
SCALL
$84.95
$119.95
$135.00
$69.95
$175.00
SCALL
$149.00
SCALL
$275.00
$109.95
$199.00
$29.95
$49.95
S1 39.95
$99.95
Pagestresm Font Classic
Pagestream Font Newsletter
Pagestream Font Pack 1
Pagestream V2.2 &47 Fonts
Pascal High Speed
PatchMeister (Bars & Pipes)
Pelican Press
Pixel 3D & Anim Workshop Pack
Pfaymation
Power Copy V3
Power Packer Professional V4
Prinimaster Plus
Pro Fonts Volume 1
Pro Fonts Volume 2
Pro Draw V3.0
Pro Write 3.3
Professional Calc V2 AGA
Professional Page 3,0
Professional Page V4
Proper G rammer II
Quarterback Tools Deluxe
Quarterback V5.02
QuickWfite
Real 3D V2
SAS C V6 Dev System
Scala HT
Scala MM210
Scala MM300 (NEW VERSION)
Scapemaker V3.0
Scenery Animator V4
SoftClipart Animals
SoftClipart Classic
SoftClipart Collectors
SoftClipart People
SoftFaces Vol 1,2,3,4 (each)
Super Desk Jet Drivers V2
Super Jam V1.1
Superbase Personal II
Superbase Personal 4
Superbase Pro 4 V1 .3
Tapeworm
TAKE 2
TV Paint
True Print 24
TypeSmith
Video Director
Virtual Reality Studio V2
Visionaire
Vista Pro 3
Wordworth V2 AGA
Your Family Tree
Product Review
PC-Task allows any Amiga
i!tC~ computer to enter the world
" ^ of PCs. It runs thousands of
PC programs and will even
run some VGA modes on any Amiga. With
AGA Amigas the boundaries widen, and 256
colour VGA is possible. Even though this is
an 8088 emulator it can run Lotus 1-2-3,
WordPerfect 5.1, Microsoft Word and DBase
111. This is the fastest software PC emulator
on the market. Hard disks and CDROMs are
supported.
A great Australian made product.
Only $49.95
r
HOT NEW PRODUCT
TBC+*Smk
Without SMPTE $1850-
With SMPTE $SOON
FRAM Expansion $499-
LAY-BY
i A VAILABLE
lie AMIGA Specialists !
.Amiga &. its Customers!^
<9
Mai way Ref: Page 51 A8
M
.»,'«, I«t <#■
MOT AMIGA
GAMES
[ Alien 3
! Alien Breed 2
Combat Air Patrol
Flashback
I Global Gladiators
Gunship 2000
!Ishar2
j Prime Mover
' Syndicate
Theatre of Death
$57,50
$76.50
$66.95
$66.95
$66.95
$84.95
$66.95
$66.95
$76.50
$66.95
24-Bit Graphics & Video System
^^
$ CALL
_j.-
Hard Disk Mechs
I • Quantum 3.5 " 85 MB ELS $399-
■ Quantum 3.5" 170 MB ELS $429-
| • Quantum 3.5" 240 MB LPS $579-
Bernoulli Removable
Hard Disk Drive
> Externa] 150 MB $1550
!• Internal 150 MB $1350
GREAT VAUIY PRODUCTS
A1230+ Series II
(Suit A1 200)
• A1 230/030/40MHz/4MB
• A1230/030/50MHZ/4MB
• SCSI Kit suit above
• FPU Kit 68882 40MHz
• FPU Kit 68882 50MHz
I
$1049-
$1450-
$200-
$289-
$CALL
*On demo in showroom
Accelerators & RAM
Expansion
A500/600:
• A500 51 2k RAM Expansion $69-
■ • A500 51 2k RAM Expansion w/ No Clock S49-
• A5O0 AX-RAM 4 MB (0MB) $99-
I • ASOO 1 MB No Name RAM Expansion w/ Clock S1 1 9-
• A6O0 16bit PCM/CIA Credit Card BAM 2MB S279-
?«A60016bitPCM/CfA Credit Card BAM 4MB S469-
, • G VP AS30+ '030 40 MHz 4MB RAM from $ 1 1 49-
f-VXL 030 25 MHz No Co-Pro 0MB $375-
• VX L 030 25 Mhz w/ 68882 Co-P ro $574-
• VXL 32bit RAM 2MB (Suit above VXL 030) $475-
* A1200:
# • DKB A1202 1© MHz wi 68882 & Clock 0MB
Latest AGA
Games
Colore
A4000
• G VP A1 200 SCSI Cfc- w/ NO Co-Pro & 0MB
| • GVP A1 200 SCSI Clf w/ 33Hz 68832 & 4MB
! ■ GVP A1230 030 & 68832 40MHz w/4MB
• GVP A1 230 Series II (New Model) See Box On Left I
■ Mferobotics MBX1 200z w/ 68882 & Clock 0MB $299-
$299-
$519-
$949-
$1175-
Alien Breed 2
Civilization
Donk
James Pond 2
Transarctica
Body Blows Galactic
$76.50
$76.50
$66.95
$66.95
$66.95
$66.95
.'
A2000:
'■ ■ GVP G-Foroe 030 25MHz w/ 68882 & 1 MB $899-
s ■ G VP G-Force 030 40MHz w/ 58882 & 4MB $1299-
• GVP G-Force 040 33 MHz w/ 4 MB 60ns RAM $CALL
IA4000:
> • DKB 31 28 Ram Exp up to 128MB 32bit RAM $749-
■ G VP A4008 HardCard U p to 8MB 1 6bit R AM $349-
• Fastlane SCSI II Expansion Card $995-
A500/A2000 Chip RAM Expansion:
, * ChlpEX 2MB Chip RAM Expansion $299-
■■
How to Order
1 1
^GVPSttEAf V* 11 ^ PRODUCTS
CCS 2SI24
SRCCTftUM
24 Bit Display at Blinding Speed
« GVP EGS Spectrum 1 MB $999-
;■ GVP EGS Spectrum 2MB $1149-
* Call for more info !
.
Its Easy"
( rf » f | J JH | ! f 1
tt*3*c;,V\\ <
We Accept
Cash, Cheque, Bankcard, Visa,
Mastercard, Money Order or Direct
Deposit
Km
s
• A4000/120/030/4MB RAM
* A4000/120/040/6MB RAM
Monitors:
• Commodore 1940
•Commodore 1942
How:
$2799- Phone, write, fax or come and see us
$4150- ' j in our showroom.
*Please do not send cash through the mail
Free Mouse Mat
with every order over $100-
SCALL
$CALL
*This Ad was produced entirely using Amigas
*AI1 Piices subject to change without notice
Dorset Ro®d, Pfo: (OB) 7k
' "toUoria S1S6. F@x: (03) 721
■\
E & O E
NETWORK
of sophistication in the future - espe-
cially in the disaster recovery area.
Right now, it's perfectly capable of
handling most network requirements.
In our office it has made the old
ThrowNet system completely redun-
dant.
Where QuickNet gets a little clumsy
is when one machine on the network
crashes. In our situation, where the
resources of every machine are avail-
able to all others, this often means
everyone has to reboot. If only one
machine is offering resources to the
rest, this is not necessary. Automatic
recovery is planned for a future ver-
sion of the software.
Indeed, a number of desirable fea-
tures will have to wait for updates -
however some things can be achieved
now by using AREXX commands.
Launching applications on remote
machines is one such function, as is
implementing some form of Electronic
Mail system.
Security
QuickNet offers a simple hierarchy
of security levels, allowing the net-
work supervisor to restrict access to
drive partitions where necessary. Each
partition is granted a security level
from 0-255 and each user receives a
similar number - granting access to
all partitions equal to or below that
number.
Whilst this may be perfectly ad-
equate in most installations, there are
certainly those for which it is not. For
example, the accountant may need a
secure area for storing sensitive infor-
mation which cannot be seen by the
programmer sorts - who in turn don't
wish the accounts people to be able to
run Quarterback Tools. RMF assure
us that a more sophisticated security
method will be offered in the future.
It's possible to configure the soft-
ware so that when a user logs in, an
entire Workbench environment is re-
stored regardless of which machine is
acting as host.
So, I can log in at a machine across
the room, and see exactly my Work-
bench colours, favourite utility pro-
grams and preference settings. I can
have access to any hard drive in the
room, use a printer across the hall and
access a modem on yet another ma-
chine.
Conclusion
A network is ideal for anybody
needing to share data, move large files
around between Amigas, or share pe-
ripherals amongst a number of users.
QuickNet is simple to install, the soft-
ware to manage the system is easy to
use and the performance is excep-
tional.
QuickNet sells with software for
$469 per card. For more information
call Resource Management Force on
(02) 550 4244. □
Due early '94 the two most requested
improvements to A-Max: colour and
multi-tasking of Mac/Amiga sessions
A-Max IV CoIo(u)r
Allows use of .System 7's Colour Quicketraw
Uses standard 2.1 Amiga drivers for storage & I/O devices
Use all Amiga RAM up to 2Gb 32-bit clean
Display devices can be several ECS or AG A screens
Multitasks with AmigaDOS and Amiga applications
Accesses Mac SCSI devices through your SCSI controller
Access Ethernet networks with any SANA-II controller
Supports Mac stereo sound
Transfers files directly between Amiga & Mac
Saves ImageWriter 9 and 24-pin output as Amiga IFF
Supports text cut and paste between Clipboard & Finder
Superdrive emulated for use with Apple File Exchange etc
Uses Amiga drive to directly read/write Mac 800K disks
Two Mini DIN-8 RS422 serial ports & Mac midi port
LocalTalk (Appletalk) support
Requires min. 68020, System 7.1, 2Mb free RAM, WB 2.1.
Brought to you by accredited dealers of
PO Box 3053 Manuka ACT 2603 Tel (06) 239 5658 Fax 239 6619
BBS now online with Xenolink software (06) 239 6659
AMIGA
LOST AND CONFUSED?
NEED HELP AND SERVICE?
LOOKING FOR THE BEST OF
SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE AT
COMPETITIVE PRICES?
WHAT YOU REALLY NEED IS A
TOUCH OF MAGIC!!
COMPUTA MAGIC
44 PASC0E VALE ROAD, M00NEE PONDS, VIC 3039
PHONE: (03) 326 0133 FAX: (03) 370 8352
NOW IN STOCK
VIDI 12RT, VIDI 24RT, COMPLETE AND READY TO
RUN, GOLDEN IMAGE HAND SCANNERS WITH OR
WITHOUT OCR, AT NEW LOWER PRICES.
COLOUR MOUSE AMIGA, IN RED, BLACK, GOLD,
SILVER AND BORING OLD WHITE (BLACK BASES
AND LEADS EXCEPT ON WHITE MODELS)
COMING SOON
GOLDEN IMAGE HIGH DENSITY EXTERNAL
DRIVES WITH DUAL SPEED MECHANISMS
ACAR 36
LIBRARIES
Understanding
Libraries
The library is one of those amaz-
ing aspects of the Amiga that
makes it able to do all of its won-
derful tricks using less memory, and also
one of the reasons Amiga programs are
considerably smaller than their IBM
equivalents (if, that is, any IBM pro-
gram can be seen as equivalent to an ...
no, I won't get into that).
Unfortunately, these library things are
a bit of a mystery to newcomers. After
all, their LAST computer didn't need
them, and all of a sudden you're running
the latest PD disk, and "You need
Reqtools. library". I mean, nag nag nag,
I don't need it, this stupid program needs
it, right? What does the program need it
for? It can't be all THAT important, can
it? What is a library anyway?
What do they do?
Okay, let's get down to it. The reason
that libraries are so important on the
Amiga is that they hold 'routines' (parts
of programs) in them. A program can
use these routines to do lots of marvel-
lous things, such as: display pretty file
requesters, crunch files and load things
from disk ... betcha did a double take on
that one, huh?
Yep, a library is required just to load
a file from a disk on the Amiga. Fortu-
nately this library, along with a whole
host of others, is stored in your Amiga' s
ROM, not on your disk, taking up space.
So the reason a program needs a li-
brary is because the program doesn't
contain all the necessary code in it to do
everything it needs to.
Let us take, for example, the Arp li-
brary, which was actually pretty popular
until Kickstart 2.0 came along, Nowa-
by Paul Mclachfan
days, all its routines have been included
in the libraries that are in ROM, so there
is no need to have Arp on disk. Arp
actually stands for 'Amigados Replace-
ment Project', which is not really a coup
to take over your machine, it just sounds
like one.
This library contained all sorts of
wonderful routines that saved the pro-
grammers from having to re-invent the
wheel every time they wrote a program.
Little things that Commodore, well, for-
got. So, the programmers simply used
the library, and life was pretty simple,
since every second program used the
thing, then everyone had a copy of it on
just about every bootable disk they had.
But then came the library explosion.
(No, not like that, not any more than the
population explosion was like that.) All
these libraries started appearing that ei-
ther did seemingly useless things, or just
did something that nine other libraries
could already do. The classic case of the
latter being the file requester libraries,
which I just counted six of in my libs
directory. Arp had one, there's a
Reqtools, a Req, even Commodore did
one and called it Asl. Okay, so most of
these have routines in them other than
just the basic file requester, but gener-
ally, they perform the same function.
Library disks
Now the problem is, one program uses
this, another uses that and so on, until
eventually, some program is going to
want to use one you've either never heard
of, or simply don't have room to install
on your disk.
I don't know about you, but the libs
directory on my hard drive is a little
over 2.1 meg, and still growing steadily,
which really, is a little too large for my
liking. Of course, it's my fault as much
as anyone's, since I just install every
library I come across: I must have this
phobia about messages like: 'you need
so and so library version 912 or higher'.
We need a solution, something short
of installing every library that you see
and hoping you never see 'volume dhO:
is full' or similar. Well, for the obscure
library problem (the one that is useless
and none of the programs seem to use
it), I'd suggest creating a library disk.
Simply format a blank disk, and in
the root directory of this disk place all
your libraries. If you then call the disk
'libs', then every time you need a li-
brary (hat hasn't been installed, simply
insert the disk and try the program again.
This has the magical effect of the pro-
gram loading the library off the disk
rather than your libs: directory. Since
you probably won't use that disk very
often, even if you have a hard drive it is
appropriate.
Actually, I use much the same effect
for my FONTS: directory as well: I don't
use fonts that often, but every now and
again I want some really huge font and 1
can just pop in this disk. But I digress.
For the multiple library overkill I'd
go with the clever solution thai that in-
genious fellow, Nico Francois (author
of Powerpacker, and, incidently, a re-
quester library called Reqtools) thought
up. It's a small (4k) program that is called
'Rtpatch', and it plays around in the
never never, probably doing things Com-
modore never intended to be done, and
'patched' in Reqtools as your favourite
library. Now, any program that uses the
Req or Arp file requesters will use
Reqtools instead, meaning that you don't
need those libraries installed, because
those programs which use them will
THINK that they are there, and instead
use Reqtools.
Libraries make it easier for program-
mers to write for the Amiga, as well as
making their programs smaller and simi-
lar to each other (your file requesters
will look and act the same way for dif-
ferent programs) so I suppose we should
put up with these few shortcomings.
After all, libraries are a significant
part of what makes the Amiga able to
multitask, and besides, we're stuck with
them, but at least we all now know why.
ACAR 37
PROGRAMMING
CanDo
Column
Getting Key Input
This month I will be discussing
the Key Input Object, accessi-
ble from the CanDo Editor
Main Panel. The Key Input Object is
used to detect keyboard input from
the user, which can then be interpreted
and acted upon.
The Key Input Object has various
uses, such as allowing function keys
to be used in .applications, to screen-
ing valid key presses for an old-style
MS-Dos menu where you press the
letter or number corresponding to the
menu option.
The Key Input Object has one ma-
jor fault, which you should be aware
of before designing an application. If
you are using fields in your applica-
tion, and you have a cursor set in a
field, the Key Input Object will not
work. I have tried various methods to
try and get the Key Input Object to
work while a field is highlighted, but
without success.
How it works
When designing Key Input Objects
for an application, take a little time to
work out exactly what key presses you
want to trap, and what you want to
happen when the keys are pressed.
The Key Input Object is very power-
ful but can also become confusing if
not used correctly. You can have as
many Key Input Objects in your ap-
plication as you want. As an example,
by Greg Abernethy
you may wish to create a Key Input
Object for each function key and have
a script performed when each key is
pressed.
To begin, select the Key Input Ob-
ject from the Objects section on the
Main Control Panel of the CanDo edi-
tor, (It's the button with the key with
an "A" on it.) Select "Add" to create a
new Key Input Object. Examine the
Key Input Object Editor Window that
will now appear. There are three fields
labelled NAME, QUALIFIER and
KEY CODE.
You can give each object an identi-
fying name, to help you identify which
keys you are checking. A QUALI-
FIER is a key that is pressed in con-
junction with another key to perform
an action. For instance, AUTOCLI
uses the combination of LEFT
AMIGA and ESCAPE for opening a
Shell window. You can specify any
valid qualifier in this field. You can
have a maximum of three qualifiers in
the Qualifier field. They must be sepa-
rated by spaces.
For example "LEFTALT
LEFTAMIGA RIGHTAMIGA", It is
also possible to check for the mouse
buttons being pressed, although I
would prefer to use a full-screen in-
visible button for checking for mouse-
clicks on a screen. See the manual for
the full list of qualifiers available for
use. The KEY CODE can be any key
on the keyboard. To examine the vari-
ous keys, click on "Sample Keys" and
then press different keys on the key-
board. You will see each key's corre-
sponding code appear in the KEY
CODE field.
At this point it is important to ex-
amine the codes carefully. Any
AmigaBASIC programmers who, like
me, have switched to CanDo, will im-
mediately notice that the code does
not follow the INKEY$ convention.
All alphabetical keys are uppercase,
and the other keys, such as the
spacebar ("SPACE"), are words. This
makes checking the keys both easier
and more difficult (huh?).
If you are checking specific keys
then there is no problem, but what if
you want to set up a Key Input Object
that can check all QUALIFIER and
KEY CODE presses. This is achieved
by setting both fields to "ANY". In
this way all key presses can then be
interpreted. This would be most use-
ful for applications such as a Desktop
Publisher or a parser for a text adven-
ture game, where you want to exam-
ine all key presses and filter out un-
wanted results,
This is where the problems begin.
When you want to check what KEYS
and QUALIFIERS have been pressed,
there are two variables that contain
the required information. They are
"KeyPressed" and "Qualifiers
Pressed". A sample script for inter-
preting key presses could be;
key = KeyPressed
qua! = Qualifiers
Pressed SetText "My F!eW" , q ua 111 V'and'l I Ikey
As shown above, when you press
the SPACEBAR the string "SPACE"
is returned in the KeyPressed vari-
able. This makes interpreting key
presses a bit more difficult. I had de-
signed a little program that allowed
you to type with any sized font and
did word wrapping and had a fair bit
of trouble getting a workable inter-
preter to handle the strings that were
returned. I have listed below an op-
tion that you can use for interpreting
these strings. It is incomplete, but you
will get the idea of how to expand it
for your own purposes.
ACAR 38
Database Setup
Dispose Press
Let Press[1].string = "SPACE"
Let Press[1 j.code = 32 ; ASCI I code for SPACE
Let Press[2].string = -BACKSPACE"
Let Press[2],eode = 8; ASCII code for BACKSPACE
Let Press[3].strfng = "DELETE"
Let Press[3].corJe =12 ; ASCII code for DELETE
Let Press[4j.strlng = "HELP"
Let Press[4].code = 139 ; ASCII code for HELP
This script creates a list of the
strings that are returned by the
Key Pressed variable and assigns the
ASCII code of that string to a vari-
able. Now for the interpreting script
which can be called as follows;
Let key = KeyPressed ; gel the key string
li NumberOfChars(fcey) > 1 ; if the string is longer
than one char
Do "Interpret" ; interpret the string
Endlf
Interpreting the Key
Presses
This is the ""Interpret" Routine
script;
Lets =SearchArray( Press, key,", string", 1)
If s>0
Let code = Pre ss[s]. code
Endlf
Explanation:
This script searches the Press Data-
base for the key string, checking the
".siring" variables only. If it finds a
match it returns the record number in
the "s" variable. The variable code is
then set to the corresponding string
code, enabling us to perform the ap-
propriate action.
Performing the
appropriate action on
the key
Once we have a code for the key
press we can then perform the appro-
priate action for the key press. This
script is an example of what you could
do to carry out an action on the key
pressed.
Let key = KeyPressed ; get Ihe key string
If N urn be rOf Chars (key) > 1 ; if the string is longer
than ona char
Do "Interpret" ; interpret the string
Else
Let code = ASCII(key) ; the key code has only
one character
Endlf ; so it is an alphanumeric character.
If code = 32 ; its the spacebar. Print a space
or ignore it perhaps
Endlf
If code = E ; backspace. Delete character
left of current cursor position
Endlf
If code = 12 ; delete, delete character under
cursor
Endlf
If code = 139
file here
Endlf
; Help pressed. Pop up a help
This script isn't very fancy, but you
should be able to get the idea of how
to interpret and carry out the appro-
priate action for any key press from
the keyboard.
It will also be necessary to create
an interpreter if you wish to check for
qualifiers pressed in conjunction with
a key press. For example, you might
want the user to press LEFTAMIGA
ESCAPE to pop up a Shell such as
used in AutoCLI. I would create a
separate Key Input Object that only
checked for this combination, rather
than try to interpret it in a script, but
this may not always feasible if you
are using large numbers of key com-
binations in your application. This
would be for you to decide.
If you do use several Key Input
Objects, remember that you can ar-
range the order in which the key check-
ing is carried out. In this way you
could put all the specific Key Input
Objects above the general Object in
the Editor List. In this way all spe-
cific combinations will be checked
before the general interpreter is used
to check the keys pressed.
Final words
As can be seen, the Key Input Ob-
ject is a very powerful tool for use in
many applications, but can also be-
come quite confusing if not used cor-
rectly. The main thing to remember is
the fault with the highlighted edit field.
I am hoping to have designed a Typ-
ing Tutor for the next tutorial, to show
various aspects of the Key Input Ob-
ject.
Have fun! Q
ATTENTION
AMIGA
PROGRAMMERS!
BLITZ BASIC 2 IS NOW
AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA!
Blitz2 is fast, becoming the most popular
language for developing programs on the
Amiga computer.
Featuring an integrated editor/compiler,
Blitz2 produces fast, compact,
standalone programs quickly and easily.
• A complete extended BASIC
command set including procedures,
SelecL.Case, Whiie..Wend flow control
• Support for standard IFF graphics,
sound and anim files
• New types ala C Structures making
Blitz2 more than just another BASIC
• In-line assembler commands available
for speed and control
• Linked lists for database programming
• User magazine featuring tutorials,
updates & heaps of new commands,
every 2 months!
For applications Blitz2 features:
• Standard Amiga screen, window,
menu & gadget management commands
• Powerful user interface generator
• Extended Workbench 2.0/3.0 support
• Standard Amiga Font support
• Random & sequential file access
For arcade-type software:
• Superfast Blitz-mode which cleanly
takes over the Amiga OS
• Siiky smooth hardware slice control
• AGA support for leading edge games
No other programming environment
on the Amiga gives you such
complete access to the Amiga's
potential in such an integrated,
friendly manner.
For more information about the power
of Blitz2 including a free demo disk
call, write or fax us:
RATBYTE SOFTWARE
PO BOX 1420
WOLLONGONG 2500
PHONE OR FAX
(042) 281 489
DEALER ENQUIRIES WELCOME!
Credit Cards Welcome!
ACAR 39
Fined Writer
FINAL WRITER
The latest (could you call
it an upgrade) by the
Final Copy S/W makers
This has all the signs of
being a desktop
Publisher at a low W/P
cost $209
|§ OCTAGON SCSI II
A new German HD
controller that holds
8 megs of ram works
on ALL AMIGA'S
MULTIFACE II
The new german HIGH
speed multi serial port
with an extra parallel
port $295
Ginger Meggs Copyright Jimera P/L.
CD 32 units from $679 now with ai least 10 sortware
titles in stock (might be many more by now) from $69
AND VIDEO Modules now available
A1 200 SCSI/RAM 4mb $ 895.00
A1 2001 230 40mhz/4mb $1 1 95.00
GLock from S 899.00
Digital Sound Studio + $ 185.00
IV24 52695.00
Retina 24 bit S845.00
GForce Combo40/4m $1295.00
A500 Impact ll/80m $895.00
Series II 2000HC8 $345.00
EGS 28/24 high res
Graphics bd ..$ call
A4008 A4000 scsi controller $call
A4000 040/33 '040 bd for
030' A4000S Call
VIDEO
Electronic design
Sirius Genlocks $1425
YC Genlock.. $775
Pal Genlock. $575
Video converter ...$395
Framestore. $795
GVP GLock...... ..$895
Video Digitisers
Vidi 12 $285
Vidi12RT $495
Vidi 24 RT ..$775
VLab comp $695
VLab YC. $795
VLab 1200 $795
24 bit Cards
Opal vision $1295
EGS 1meg $995
EGS2meg $1145
Picasso II retargt......$1095
Picallo $1095
Accelerators
GVP A1230 4/40 030 $1195
CSA 12Gauge from $995
CSA Magnum 040 $1895
CSA Derringer fr $795
Audio
Sunrise 1012 $995
Sunrise 516 $2695
GVP DSS fr ...$145CD
CD Rom drives
Xetec CD Rom drivers..$145
NEC CDR-74 $945
NECCDR-25.... $495
Monitors
1 084sXdemo , $245
1942 $645
1940 $495
A1 200 addons
Ram expansions fr......$275
030 Accelerators fr.....$890
SCSI controllers fr $599
RAM EXPANSIONS
A500 1/2 meg „ $59
A540 1-4 meg exp fr..$245
4 meg for A4000 ..$395
MBX 1200 ok ram $275
MBX 1200 1 meg $345
2meg Chip ram exp...S299
A2000/8 meg cards avail
from $145 including scsi
HARD DRIVES
127 meg $395
170 meg $545
120 meg for A1 200... $449 ex
240 meg $645
1.2 gig worm B/U $1495
44 syquest .$759
88 Syquest ...$899
150 Bernoulli $1350
VISA
or
th & /atest
Ring for all mail order . delivery next day Call (02 ) 544 1874
CD32 The ultimate
Entertainment Module $695
A4000
Commodore
A 1200
In ALL types ('040,' 030)
in any set up
For the best prices and trade UP deals
Ring me and we will HAGGLE
BUT no prices listed here as I give up
trying to outguess CBM as to next
months prices
CSA 12 Gauge
33 or 50 mhz '030 Ram + SCSI from $999the ULTIMATE A1200 add on
.has room for network,FPU and Ram
Derringers
25 &50 mhz ace, boardswith RAM and co-processors From $795.00
We carry i most App S/Wn stock , for Also carrying AG A games
Trolls , Sim Life, Nigel Manseil 2 Racing, James Pond, Ishar ,
Transartica, 1869, Whales Voyage, Int'l Golf and more £59.00
APPLICATION Software
SCALA MM200 $395, PAGESTREAM2.2 $285
ALADDIN 4D $495, DELUXE Paint 4.5 $149
ADPRO $259 , ART Expression $245, CANDO $199, VIDEO
Director $275, BROADCAST Titler $245, IMAGINE 2 $185,
IMAGEMASTER $185, Xetek CD software $95 and many mort
just ask LATE EXTRA ****Media Point >...$559
Use our support BBS (02)5441248 with modems from Maestro
14400 + fax $595 with GP fax INTERLINK Voidax 14400/fax $645
AMI-TECH
PHONE (02) 544 1874 or 018 862611 a/h FAX (02) 544 1873
Mail Address for mail order P.O Box 343 Cronulla 2230
PUBLIC DOMAIN and SHAREWARE
\Mk% '%, ^^ ^ jLl^f
Another Fish Disk Festival from Daniel Flutter
To get the hottest PD software,
you have to have a modem. Li-
braries are cheap and easy, but
they can't get you stuff that came out
yesterday, which a bulletin board sys-
tem can. As regular readers know, one
of my favourite systems is Amiga Con-
nection, but since it's pretty much para-
lysed as I write - waiting to change its
operating software - a new board in the
Sydney district caught my eye.
Apologies to everybody who lives
somewhere other than the (02) area, but
now you know how we Sydney-siders
feel having to call the mighty Amiga
Distributor BBS in Adelaide on (08) 34 1 -
5255. Sydney needs a good huge Amiga
BBS and Oz Online looks like being it-
if it lives up to expectations.
Oz Online, run by Tyrone Rossow
and reachable on (02) 264 3636, is still
being constructed at the moment. There
aren't many users (I'm one - leave me a
message!), the file areas aren't doing
much yet and the messages aren't all
hooked up either.
But Tyrone is taking the board very
seriously, and if he doesn't lose heart
Oz Online will blow out into a 30 line
monster with every Amiga related file
and message area under the sun. The
board's not just a file repository -
Tyrone's making the effort to get a real
community atmosphere. Give it a call
and check it out; users are what keep a
BBS alive!
Fish Festival
Regular readers will know that it's
time for my every-other-month Fish Disk
Festival again. The Fish disks are up to
number 930 now, and the latest 20 came
out on the very first Fish CD-ROM. Fred
will keep making floppy Fishes until
number 1000; then he'll switch to CD-
ROM only. Floppy users will still be
able to get the stuff from other libraries,
of course, but the only things with Fred's
official stickers on them will be the CDs.
Fred got hit by Murphy on this first
ROM -disk 91 9, as distributed, actually
contained the rather nasty Saddam virus
as a "virus to test". This uncharacteris-
tic oversight - it's been ages since any-
thing vaguely dangerous was on a Fish
disk - and in Fred's own words;
"Once we were certain that the CD-
ROM contained an active virus we halted
further distribution of the CD-ROM, This
meant that I had to destroy approximately
500 CD-ROM's at the WOC show in
Cologne, much to the frustration of lo-
cal German users who begged to be al-
lowed to purchase them. The optical side
was carved up with a knife, I signed the
front, and we gave them away as souve-
nirs of the show."
Fred's lost a fair pile of money reis-
suing the CD, which might or might not
end up reflected in the price, which is
now SUS34.95 including shipping. But
the disc contains 84Mb of new material
including the 20 new Fish and lots of
other stuff, 1 50Mb of utilities and tools
and 404Mb of old Fish disks. Not a bad
deal, even if the price does go up a bit!
Here's the highlights of the latest 20
Fish floppies.
Fish 912
UU Utilities
UUen coding (pronounced you-you-
encoding) is how you turn a binary file
like a program into text characters, for
sending it to somebody on an electronic
mail network. I don't usually mention
comms specific programs, but since so
many email users can't figure out
UUencoding, UUArc and UUxT deserve
a mention.
UUArc behaves much like other ar-
chiving programs - LhA, ARC, ZOO
and so on - except it makes UU'ed files.
This makes it easy to integrate it into,
for example, GuiARC, the archiver
graphical user interface that last came
out on Fish 863. If you can use a regular
archiver - not kid stuff in itself - you can
use UUArc.
U UxT does much the same thing, ex-
cept it can also LhA the file before it
UU's it, which is just as well because
UUing ALWAYS makes a file bigger
than the original, so you need to do some
compression first for best efficiency.
UUxT can do multiple files in a sin-
gle step and supplies a graphical user
interface, but it was a bit flakey on my
system. People with fewer than (checks)
76 things running at once will probably
find it more stable.
Fish 913
Assign Tools
On Fish 9I3 there's another pair of
related utilities; AssignManager and
AssignPrefs. Both aim to make all those
custom assigns easier, by giving you
another prefs program that takes care of
them. Personally I still like MultiAssign
(Hot PD 4, available from Prime Artifax),
but these are worth a look if you want
something more friendly. They both need
Dos 2 or higher.
PickStartup, on the same disk, lets
you select a startup- sequence of your
liking. This means you can have several
startups, for example for different games
or running a system with minimal back-
ground tasks so huge programs get the
RAM they need. It needs DOS 2, too.
Still on 913, the delightfully named
Sticklt is a computer replacement for
the Post-It note. It lets you stick notes
onto your screen which will be displayed
every time you boot. You can have an
unlimited number of notes on screen;
notes remember where you left them
and can have different fonts, colours and
AGAR 42
PUBLIC DOMAIN and SHAREWARE
M iiiiii ippn^Mipi IIMI 1 1 II 1
;
■■'■'■■ ■■ ■ .■■....
^■Jl'^-i' " ■ ■ <'*i*<7U~i^*?"i**i5TT
... ,.,■*,.,.< -, -*-*»
&£fc*r.
s£££3^?WHt^&W''— *.-».- *■
(,„. ( HI.; ilia A* TCE^ ■ " ■ 3C
ST*!
iS
v*^^,.,^
9 5
IS a«
EdWord Pro - Fish 924
sizes. It's an excellent little package if
you're apt to forget things. Needless to
say, it needs DOS 2 too.
Fish 915
BIitz2Demo
Blitz is a ravening monster version
of the BASIC programming language
with features borrowed from PASCAL,
C and others. Blitz2 can genuinely be
used to program any type of software,
against AMOS which isn't really much
use for serious stuff. Fish 915 contains a
demo version, with the "create execut-
able" option crippled; apart from that
it's fully working!
On the same disk there's an update to
StatRam, which I mentioned in the Sep-
tember issue. It's a very fast WB2+ re-
coverable ram drive. This version, 2.1,
fixes the bug that caused StatRam to
screw up on some machines, and in-
cludes a slightly better manual. G'wan,
read the back issue if you're interested!
Fish 916
ChangeMode
This is a utility to change the screen
type and overscan of a picture or anima-
tion. Feed ChangeMode the picture and
it gives you the options; you can bounce
whole directories full of pictures into
different resolutions. It's not as power-
ful as it sounds, though; some picture
headers it barfs completely on and it
can't convert pictures into resolutions
with more or fewer colours. Still, worth
a look.
The same disk contains WBrain, one
of those puzzles for people who like
untangling steel wool. The accompany-
ing picture will not make the mechanics
of this game any clearer to you, and you
should count yourself lucky. It takes a
special sort of brain to appreciate it, and
I think most of those brains have been
carted off to lightning-wreathed
mountaintop castles by creepy little pop-
eyed hunchbacks.
It needs WB2, too. Build your own
Workbench 2 ROM, it'll be easier.
Worms, also on 916, is a rather nice
screen blanker and input blocker - it
puts a pretty little wriggling worm dis-
play on the screen, and stops cretins
from stuffing up your computer by lock-
ing out all input except its secret key
combination. Selectively useful. Needs,
wait for it, WB2.
Fish 917
Man del Mania
This is a very fast Mandelbrot and
Julia set calculation program, that does
Lyapunov space too (see Lyapunovia
review, September issue). It can create
animations automatically via ARexx
script files and includes on-line
AmigaGuide help and AG A support. If
you've ever wanted to get into playing
with those rather cool fractal graphics,
this is the program for you.
Multiplot-Fish918
Fish 918
Multiplot
This is the program I use for the per-
formance graphs that accompany quite
a lot of my reviews. I dress them up in
Deluxe Paint, but Multiplot does the
spadework. I don't use a tenth of its
features; Multiplot will build just about
any graph you could ask for.
Multiplot' 's got automatic scaling,
zoom and slide with clipping at bounda-
ries, a range of output file formats and
publication quality printed output from
any Workbench printer, on top of the
usual stuff like different sorts of graph,
equation fit and so on.
The last version of M« /rip to back on
Fish 572, was pretty good; this one adds
various minor bugfixes and a modified
interface.
918 also has WBVeriauf, the pro-
gram to put hip and groovy rainbow col-
ours behind the Workbench on AG A
machines. This version's been turned
into a commodity for easier operation
and adds a configuration window, lo-
calisation and bugfixes. Fab.
Fish 919
Touch
Touch is a utility used on computers
running the UNIX operating system. If
you Touch a file, its date is set to the
current date. This Amiga version is ex-
actly the same as the UNIX one, right
down to creating an empty file if the
AGAR 43
PUBLIC DOMAIN and SHAREWARE
specified one doesn't exist.
TxtCvt, on the same disk, converts
PC text documents from Microsoft Word
or Windows Write to pure ASCII for-
mat, getting rid of all those irritating
formatting characters.
Fish 920
AmigaGuide
Commodore' S hypertext documenta-
tion system, working much like the Help
system in Microsoft Windows only
sexier. This is the latest version, an up-
date to the one 50 disks earlier and with
all sorts of programmer's support stuff
included. Works on 1 .x and 2+ systems;
get it!
920 also has BigAnim, an animation
player capable of "direct from disk" play-
back, with user selectable buffer size
and playback speed. It's a great way to
show animations much bigger than your
free memory, and it goes very quickly,
particularly on AGA machines. It re-
quires WB2 or higher.
Fish 921
CapShift
This simple commodity turns the shift
key into a caps lock toggle key; if caps
lock is off, the shift key produces an
upper case character, as usual; if caps
lock is on, the shift key produces a lower
case character. You can also disable caps
lock when a function key or a qualifier
is pressed, to avoid those moments when
you reALISE YOU'VE HIT IT BY MIS-
TAKE.
921 also contains two little Work-
bench games. There's a rather lame
Pacman game and aiso Minilsola, an-
other fiendish little puzzle but not nearly
as excruciating as the last one. Fun.
Fish 922
WBSearch
This is a multi-tasking Workbench
AppMenuItem file search utility. It puts
a "search" option in your Tools menu;
you click a device or two and select the
option, tell it what characters to search
for and it burns off through the devices
looking for files with those letters in
their names. You can have several
searches running at once, and it seems
bulletproof, Needs WB2, of course.
Fish 923
CryptoKing
Cryptograms are those puzzles with
letters randomly substituted for those in
a phrase; you have to figure out what
equals what in order to read the phrase
and win the game. CryptoKing is a
shareware program that puts the game
onto your screen, making it much faster
and therefore more fun. I didn't think
I'd like it, but I did; take a look.
Fish 924
EdWordPro
If you're after a cheap text editor,
look no further. EdWordPro is a
shareware text editor with all the usual
stuff as well as up to 1 5 documents in
memory, a Macro facility, automatic case
Save
[A Quicknet Network gives |
lvou HUGE savings on HARD,
DRIVES, TJME and EFFORT. I
I • Fast & Easy installation
I • Peer to peer networking
1 » Ethernet, std COAX cabling
. Suits Amiga 2000/3000/4000
• A500- Here in December
| Authorised QulckNet Deal er
A1200 PCMCIA Nettwork
Link A12<Kta with this simple
and very versatile networking
sy stem. Call for Specs,
Quantum SCSI-H
105Mb - 1.2Gig SCSI 2. Fastest
and highest quality drive
•lOMegSec transfer • Access
(Jrns • 5 Year warranty. POA
S CSI-n cards P° A
Amiga AGA Systems
Amiga A4000 '040 - A1200 and
up grades $Best ___
CD32 - Multimedia machine
in st ock. Call for today's price .
Laser printers, Scanners,
Calcomp digital - pressure
sensitive tablets, in stock
- Network!
TtwlsforGraphics&Video
New Product Announced.
CPA now has the specs for a new RISC
based Transputer accelerator system that
will boost Amiga processing MIPS and
M'FLOPS into SGi performance. Using
plug-in modules that are expandable fie
price wil I be very competlitiVB. Stay Tuned,
MediaPoint.
Premutation S'ware that Beats SCA-LA.
. AGA, 24 bit • Xapp Modulus - SMFTE &
MINI time codes • Synchronise ' Pull mobon
Video • Super eastf • NO Dongle
Your Choice of Graphics Boards.
v Piccolo NEW NEW ta> fl * m
24-W^hks «tu-^ ^ ;™?
323X200 his 1 280*1024 res 32bit Hitter I J0WU set)
2/ Picasso E icTGWreaNoliraitChipRAM
3/Merlin- aflst Graphtocard
4/ OpaWision - BoasteriicwinprodTiciion!!
Video Cards
Harlequin 3&-Bit Framebuffer.
Brosdcestorftymrkstation Romance
JV24 Version 2.0. The Berious Video
Interfere Unit AH addons hers NOW.
. Sunrise AD 516 16 bit Sound cards.
• VLab Frame Grabbers * Pro. Gentocte.
EMPLANT *7 99 f M J.
Mac/PC emulator with optional Mac
high speed Serial ports, Apple Talk &
SCSI.'aGA colour & MM, f™
Multi-tasking. Run most Mac/PC sV
80-65% speed of Quadra!
Software
We stock all titles.
Full GVP Range
The NEW 3.5" SCSI II 105 MB
Syquest removable hard drives are
light, compatible, reliable and easy to
install. Come as Internal or External
models & give you fast transfer rates.
CPA have a limited number units.
Call now for more information.
Int + one cartridge $1299
E xt + one cart ri dge $1399
Non Linear Digital Editing
Digital Edit Master January release
The whole solution for broadcast on a card.
• A/B Rolls, wipeB, transitions & fades
• Rotoftcoping • Time lapse * Stop motion
■ NTSC/ PAL conversion * 16bit Audio stereo
parrallel editing ■ Full 50 fields per Second
• Full motion compression & decompression
with instant random access to any frame
■ Full screen video - 640 1 4B0 to 768 1 678 •
Call for a price on a complete system ready to
run or just the Digital Edit Master card.
/HNL Commercial Production of Australia
dlffi> P.O. Box 187, Vaucluse NSW 2030
2lSo,Ph.(02y337 6255
Specialist Video Dealer. Fax (02) 337 6255
S-VHS/Betacam
A/B roll edit suite tools ,
Ausy designed & made Amigal
btop Frame Controller. $1200
New Equipment.
Laser Printers • Scanners
• Personal TBC cards • Personal!
v-scope Waveform Monitors • Sonyl
& NEC Multisync Monitors • JVC I
Sony & Panasonic Pro Video!
editors, cameras & VCRs
Video Hire. Cameras, VCR's.l
fBCs + Software, Hardware &|
Systems,
CPA supports and trains on most I
Video Applications and equipment
For the BEST prices on A4000 |
A1200 and 1942 Multisync!
Monitors call CPA now.
We deliver Australia- wide
CPA Service Specialties
» • Personalised Training Courses •]
Design * Digitising • Rendering •[
'Anirrmtion'St^fi^meaniniatioa
Okay, Okay,
So It's A Digital Time Base
Corrector,
But can it...?
The Plus Means Yesi
j:
I
Following GVP's philosophy of complete feature integration
pioneered by our G-Force Combo™ accelerators (used in a majority
_ of Amiga® Video Toaster'" Work-
stations], we are proud to present a
professional TBC with time and money
saving features.
You would demand a TBC to be
100% digital, have 4:2:2 throughput, and an integrated ProcAmp. You
would want it to be under $1,000. We agree. What does the Plus get you?
/~%ui - Real-tune 16.7 Million Color Frame-Grabber/FiameBuffer for use
as a digital video stillstcire or signal generator. Included ImagelX'" modules
allow direct editing and manipulation in the framebuifei,
/CJtuA - Full Transcoding between Composite and Y/C (SVHS) Input and
Composite and Y/C (SVHS] Output.
/Otu-S - Real-Time Professional Special Effects Generator featuring
solarization, strobing, pseudo- color, monochrome effects, and more.
fDLu, - NTSC/PAL/SECAM Signal Standards Conversion to NTSC/PAL for
integration into worldwide video environments automatically.
jCJIms - Complete Amiga Software Control and ARexx™ Interface that
allows seamless integration of all TBCPlus features into an exisiting
automated video studio installation.
/CXui - Full Processing Amplifier (ProcAmp) Control for correcting
or adjusting incoming video "on-the-fly" quickly and professionally.
/CJbii - 3 inputs |2-composite, 1-Y/C] that can be connected
simultaneously and 'Hot-Switched' with software without having
to play with cable connections.
jOUi4 - Convert the 2-composite inputs into a single Y/C input,
providing two switchable Y/C inputs.
jOiud - Full SMPTI/EBU encoding/decoding/striping available as an option.
fC/Ui& - tnucA., tnudv ftuft&f
x his is simply the most powerful end flexible video
stabilization device for the Amiga computer. The TBCPtus makes
jo excellent complement to any GVP TV24", NewTek Video Toaster ,
or Centaur OpalVision™ Graphics System, The Pins means it also
offers more!"
day Gekmcw. Pits'iiem M.:^i'.- iiujj^ f '.nmimmiamms. Inc.
Distributed in Australia by .
Peripheral J& ^
=GVP
World
S06 Dorset Road, Croydon, Victoria 3136, Australia
Phone: 03 725 3233 Fax 03 725 6766
TBC Plus, G-ftifC* Comix). ImaggFX and IV24 are trademarks a\ Greal Valley Products Inc, Amiga Is a registered tradflniafl: of Ccunmodofe Amiga. Inc., All other tFademarts are the property o4 Iteir lespeclive mWrs ^^^^^^^^^M
In the beginning there was ECS...
Then came AQA...
Ndw ±hC=*r-£-. IS EGS!
EGS-28/24 SPECTRUM :
Takes your amiga*
beyond aga!
The EGS-28/24 SPECTRUM elevates your Amiga
2000, 3000, or 4000 Above and Beyond AGA and
rockets you into the world of powerhouse worksta-
tion resolutions and real-
time 24-bit true-color, at a
mere fraction of the cost!
Look at the colors — and fea-
tures— in our SPECTRUM:
• Programmable resolutions up to an amazing
1600x1280 - 800x600 in 24-bit!
• Real-Time 24-bit display and graphics operating
system!
• High-performance 24-bit EGS-Paint package for
professional painting and photographic editing.
• Amiga-RGB Pass-Through so the Amiga and the
EGS-28/24 SPECTRUM can share a single monitor!
•ZorroII (16-bit] and Zorro-IIl [32-bit]
AutoSensing for maximum performance on all
Amigas!
• Hardware blitter to accelerate all GUI operations,
including the Workbench driver!
• System conforming applications can use the EGS
screenmodes directly from the Display Database!
5/»ecr/?t//w
EGS requires Kickstart 104 or higher
mo *
^i
B3*s
"jgSjjSgS^
^B™fe
=GVP
Distributed in Australia by
Peripheral
World
506 Dorset Road, Croydon, victoria 3136, Australia.
4 Spectrum is a trademaik ol Great Valley Produds P Inc. E6S Is a trademark of VmnaDevriDpiiraFiL All Bf)]BfSMajiwnffl HffflM prupfl lv ;.>■ -.-■:■. twprow? owners.
AMIGA
Technical Specifications
Product
Amiga CD32
Clock Speed
14.19MHz
Processor
Surface-mount Motorola 68EC020 microprocessor
Custom Chips
AA muftichip coprocessor system for video, graphics,
sound and DMA
Chip Memory
2Mb 32-bit RAM; as standard
EEPROM
1 Kb non-volatile memory for high-scores and game position saving
ROM
1Mb
External Interfaces
Game controller/mouse/joystick (DB9 male, two)
Aux connector to both keyboard and highspeed serial port
Colour composite video
RF modulator and S-video
Internal Drive
Right and left stereo audio phono connections
Dual speed CD-ROM drive transfers data at 150Kb and 300Kb per second
Vjdeapisplay
Output type: colou r composit e; RF modulated; S-video interlaced and
non-interlaced; up to 8 bitplanes
Graphic Modes
AA custom chipset produces resolutions ranging from 320x200 to 1280x400
(more with overscan, including 800x600). Colour palette of 16.7 million
colours. 2 to 256,000 user definable colours displayable on screen
Sound
Four channel stereo sound, 8-bit D/A converters, 6-bit volume and CD-audio
Power Supply
23 watts, switching
Dimensions (WxHxD) Approximately 311mm x81mm x 21 2mm
OSCAR
The game scenario is set in a mult! screen cinema complex where Oscar can enter any of the Magical
Film Worlds. CD-Audio Soundtrack. Video Sequence Intro. 256 colours AGA.
Cartoon Capers
World of Commodore
Wild West World
Children's Matinee
Game Show Bonanza
War Games
Prehistoric World
The Horror Channel
SCI Fl Encounters
DIGGERS
A GAME OF CUNNING, MONEY MAKING AND SUBTERRANEAN ADVENTURE.
You've just arrived on Zarg, you've got one month to mine yourself a fortune. The only problem is which
race of unruly Diggers are you going to choose? Fabulous treasure and amazing discoveries await the
successful few. Specially produced for the Amiga CD32.
Four races to choose from with distinct character traits
Cr
Masses of undiscovered treasure to be found
34 huge levels to explore
Over 1 million locations to mine
Break the Zargon bank
An i mated sequences
Fantastic CD digit al soun dtrack and voi ceover
Over 370 megabytes of action packed adventure
In credible 256 colour graphics
The game contains a sophisticated Zargon Gui de Boo k
Sounds good, well what are you waiting for? Get DIGGING!
Technical specif i cations are subject to change without notice. Commodore Business Machines
Pty Ltd recognises all trademarks and copyrights contained within this document.
© Commodore Business Machines Fty Ltd. 1993 A.C.N. 001 947 1 19.
Commodore
AMIGA CD
32 BIT CD BASED ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM
NC 1
Amiga CD32 from Commodore brings you the world's
first multi-entertainment system: • It's a standard audio
CD player offering crystal dear stereo sound. • It's the
only 32 Bit based video games system which gives you
stunning speed, life-like graphics and millions of colours
that no-one else can get close to offering. • Most
importantly, it has been built to be fully upgradable, so
unlike other products it won't be obsolete in the next
12-18 months.
COMPARE THESE FEATURES:
• Easy connection to standard T.V. and/or hi-fi system.
• Also capable of connection through SVH5 or even composite video.
• Plays normal audio CD's • CD+G (Graphics) • Karaoke Disks.
• Picture quality is based upon showing up to 256,000 colours from
a palette of 16.7 million colours which means it performs better
than arcade quality games.
• CD's can store up to the equivalent of 660 computer disks of information
which enables stunning audio, visual, graphics, speed and fun to be
incorporated into this latest generation of video games.
• Built in expansion areas for future add-ons.
• Ability to play industry standard full motion video CD's and movie CD's
with optional plug-in cartridge.
• Video games to be priced at an average of $69.
• Comes complete with 2 games: Oscar and Diggers.
AMIGA CD 3S
YOUR INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE!
c*
PUBLIC DOMAIN and SHAREWARE
changes for keywords, 12 possible screen
resolutions, a full ASCII table, powerful
search routines, vertical blocks, a built
in calculator, a word count, the ability to
sort a piece of text alphabetically and,
of course, much more.
This demo release has an annoying
"register me!" window every three min-
utes but otherwise works fine; if I didn't
already have the far more expensive
CED and EdWord didn't have a rather
stupid file requester I'd be tempted.
924 also contains a pile of Chas
Wyndham's programs, all of which are
designed to take text files, pictures,
animations and so on and turn them into
compressed self-executing files, that
need no external viewer. S_Anim5 does
animations, S-Exec does programs, and
S-Omni does almost anything, includ-
ing virtually any combination of a data
file and an appropriate tool.
Scripts (with all the files called in the
script), installation files, demonstrations,
tutorials, can all be made completely
self-contained, needing no special Librar-
ies or external support. This is rather
cool, and all of these programs are
freeware!
Fish 925
DonsGenies
Professional Page from version 3 has
included the ability to use ARexx "ge-
nies" to automate complex routines; sort
of monster macros, if you will. This pack
has nearly seventy genies, plus some
supporting material. None of them are
utterly amazing, but the booklet one's
nice; it automatically jiggers a load of
pages around so they'll print in such a
way that you need only fold the sheets
right to get an A5 booklet.
Sound Machine, on 925 too, plays
□ | VVBrain vl .2
\E3
■a
Undo
2
4
3
2
4
3
2
3
Retry
2
3
2
1
2
4
2
2
New
1
1
3
3
1
3
1
3
3
1
1
4
2
3
4
[Coins: 8
2
|Rous : 8
(Level: 8
A
3
1
1
2
1
1
2
1
2
1
1
4
1
1
2
4
2
4
3
3
2
4
3
1
4
1
4
2
1
2
3
^
W Brain - Fisk 916
RAW, IFF, VOC, and WAV sound files,
without conversion. This lets you play
all those grillions of IBM sound files on
your Amiga with no fuss.
I prefer to use SOX to convert files
over, but playing them in native format
has its advantages. Two versions are in-
cluded: one with an Intuition interface
and a smaller CLI version.
Fish 928
Annotate
This is another text editor for DOS
2.0 and up. Features include folding
(hide away chunks of document you
don't want to look at), shifting, full clip-
board support, macros, a scroll bar, edi-
tor buffering, printing, text locking, tools
menu, and a full Arexx Port. This slightly
bugfixed version isn't as powerful as
EdWordPro, but then again it's free.
928 also contains PriMan, a task pri-
ority manager along the same lines as
TaskX, but prettier and configurable. It
requires OS2.0 or greater, and lets you
crank the priority of tasks in your sys-
tem up and down to stop dumb pro-
grams glomming CPU time they don't
Mini/sola - Fisk 921
Mtn! sola vi.O
i i — i — i — i — i — i — r
i — i — r
i r* i iiii i i r
ipippi
r
I.l.llLI.'.l.l.l.l.lJ.'.IJ.l. —
(f
I 1 I I IP
Choos-e square to destroy.
| Stop
need or getting paralysed because they
set themselves too low.
Fish 929
WBvwm
This rather cool little gizmo lets you
use a huge scrolling Workbench screen
under WB2+, and get around it easily
without scooting about with the mouse
hunting your windows. WBvwm opens
up a small window representing the en-
tire Workbench area, with little boxes to
represent windows. By moving an ob-
ject, the corresponding window can be
placed anywhere. You may also instantly
move to any part of the Workbench area
by double -clicking in the corresponding
area of the WBvwm window.
Fish 930
QuadraComp
This is a sort of shareware Intuition
SoundTracker - it lets you write tunes
and loads most SoundTracker modules
but doesn't use the bizarre non-Work-
bench interface every SoundTracker
clone sports. QuadraComp features 128
kb x 256 samples, 256 rows x 256 pat-
terns; compatibility with any screenmode
and a spectrum analyser; it's no
PwTracker despite its big numbers but
it's worth a look, if only for curiosity
value. Requires OS 2.0+.
The entire Fred Fish library is avail-
able from Prime Artifax on 008 252 879
(Sydney callers 879 7455) - and the price
per disk drops with the more you order.
That's about it for this month; I've al-
ready collected all sorts of interesting
stuff for next month's companion disks,
so I'll see you then! □
ACAR 46
AMOS COLUMN
AMOS Column
New extensions
for AMOS Pro
by Wayne Johnson
There's a couple of new exten-
sions out for AMOSPro (VI. 12
and up only). These extensions
contain some of the handiest commands
in any extension I have come across!
With some commands cutting down
multiple lines of AMOS code to single
commands that are often faster than the
AMOS versions, sometimes up to 300%
faster! These extensions are compatible
with the new compiler and they get even
faster when compiled.
Both of these extensions were writ-
ten in Germany.
JD Extension
The JD Extension contains 103 new
commands that include the following
categories.
a) TIME COMMANDS: Commands
for reading and setting the date and time
as well as various other time commands
that convert the time into seconds.
b) INPUT COMMANDS. Three new
POWERFUL input commands. One al-
lows only NUMERIC input, another sim-
ply returns the key being currently
pressed and the most powerful new com-
mand is the new string input command.
It is much the same as the AMOS Pro
version except that you can now specify
a prompt instead of the usual "?". But
main bonus is that it gives you FULL
editing facilities similar to intuition's
string gadgets. You can now move the
cursor to the left or right, erase the full
string with a single key-press as well as
numerous other editing functions; a bit
like Workbench's Shell.
c) WAIT COMMANDS. Four new
wait commands including simply wait-
ing for a mouse button and returning a
value for the button hit, stopping until
any mouse key has been hit, waiting for
one of the Amiga keys to be hit and the
most powerful command is the new com-
mand that waits for a key. With this
command you can pass the exact keys
you want to test for, and the ascii value
will be passed back into your calling
variable.
d) CHECK COMMANDS. Com-
mands for checking things like
diskchanges and if the printer is acces-
sible. But it also has commands which
calculates sector Checksums as well as
Bootblock Checksums. There is even a
command to test whether a number is
ODD or EVEN.
e) STRING COMMANDS. 17 new
string manipulation commands. Includ-
ing the ability to ENCRYPT and DE-
CRYPT a string, two extremely power-
ful commands to CUT & PASTE into a
string! Two commands for UPPERCASE
& LOWERCASE string conversion. A
very fast command to COMPARE
strings, a command to count the occur-
rences of a string in another, say we
wanted to count the number of P's in
this sentence ... "PLEASE DON'T
PAINT OUR PRETTY POPPIES", the
value returned would be 6, this also
works on larger strings not just single
characters. There are still more com-
mands that we have not even touched
on in this category.
f) CALCULATION COMMANDS.
New commands for complex calcula-
tions including Pi, Percentages, convert-
ing OCTAL numbers to Decimal and
vice-versa.
g) BIT COMMANDS. AMOS
equivalents of M/L commands for bit
manipulation such as ASL, ASR, LSL,
LSR, ROL, ROR, ROXL, ROXR etc.
h") TRACKDISK COMMANDS.
Very handy routines that allow you to
interact with TRACKDISK such as for-
mat a disk, read & write sectors, install
a disk, copy a file to a new destination
with one command. There are three com-
mands that put all HARDWARE De-
vices, VOLUME Names & LOGICAL
Devices into a string. Simple commands
that allow you to interact with files such
as - determine the length of a file, return
the file type, whether it is a file or a
directory, set and read a files PROTEC-
TION Bits & COMMENTS.
i) FONT COMMANDS. Handy com-
mands to set your font by its name and
size as well as measure the height and
width of individual characters in a font.
j) SCREEN/WINDOW COM-
MANDS. New commands to interact
with screens such as being able to deter-
mine the number of BITPLANES in a
screen, switch screens on and off. There
are even commands to return pointers to
intuition SCREENS, WINDOWS &
RASTPORTS. The last two very handy
commands allow you to calculate the
distance between two points either along
a straight line or using an ARC.
k) SCREEN OUTPUT COM-
MANDS. Allow you to scroll text in
special ways onto the screen, some great
effects are available. There is even a
command that prints a string with sound
effects just like a typewriter. There is a
command to do HEXDUMPS & print
text to the screen using a different font.
The last two commands draw SPLINES
and ANGLES with ease!
1) SCREEN COPY COMMANDS.
New commands that allow flasher screen
copies from one screen to another.
m) OTHER COMMANDS. Miscel-
laneous commands that allow you to re-
set the computer, read the largest amount
of both CHIP & FAST RAM available
at the time. There are even commands
to allow you to DE-CRUNCH
POWERP ACKER DATA files!
Virus Extension
The Virus Extension has a number of
extensive Virus Finding commands, as
AGAR 49
AMOS COLUMN
well as an assortment of general pur-
pose commands that are not available in
AMOS Pro. These general purpose com-
mands are my favourite because they're
generally little extras that most people
seem to always be after.
General Commands: There are 22
commands in this section. There are
commands for copying chunks of
memory around very fast! There is a
command that cheeks whether the read/
write head is above cylinder in dfO:
Another command returns the version
of EXEC LIBRARY in use. There are a
couple of commands to turn TASK
SWITCHING OFF & ON, this will
speed up your programs by at least 5%.
As well as commands that turn INTER-
RUPTS ON & OFF!
There are some new commands to
check the status of the printer, they are
able to check whether the printer is busy ,
off-line, paper is in or the printer in on-
line. There is a command that returns
the processor installed as well as if there
is a maths co-processor. Another returns
the Power Supply Frequency.
Another handy command allows you
to TURN ALL FLOPPY DRIVES OFF,
this will return around 20k per drive
back to the system. You can also reset
the computer with a single command as
well as check to see if the disk in the
drive is write protected.
Antivirus Commands: There are a
total of 14 new Ami- Virus commands,
these allow you to do things like return
the ExecBase pointer, clear the COLD
CAPTURE, COOL CAPTURE,
KICKCHECKSUM,
KICKMEMPOINTER,
KICKTAGPOINTER & WARM CAP-
TURE vectors to 0. You can also read
those vectors as well.
Virus Finder Commands: This ver-
sion is able to detect and kill the follow-
ing Viruses ... AEK, BITCREW, BYTE
WARRIOR, DISK DOCTOR, DISK
HERPES, GADAFFI, IRQ, LSD, MI-
CRO SYSTEMS, REVENGE, SCA
&VKILL.
These extensions are available on the
same disk complete with a 23 page
printed manual from Public Domain
Plus, PO Box 791 Homsby, NSW 2077
for just $14.95. They've also got a large
range of AMOS related products and
you can get a catalogue disk from them
for just $2.00. These guys seem to be
the new hot favourites for AMOS stuff.
They might be worth keeping an eye on
for the following stuff in the news be-
low ...
News, news, news
There's good news and bad news,
and as usual, I put up my disclaimer for
any information that I present here. This
is because, along with my usual calls, I
get the odd one that is rather annoyed at
what I have published here. Sometimes
people think I control the delays and
bugs that go along with AMOS. Never-
theless, here it is:
• AG A is off until February. Expect
further delays (it's like a bad train trip,
eh?). This is because of the PC version
and Francois is obliged to finish the
Workbench Extension first. In my opin-
ion I feel that this is more important as
We know WHY
you chose Amiga !
,omputer
affair
Love at prst byte
Amiga Specialist
Education Systems & Training
Small Business Solutions
Home Office Computer Systems
■ Networking & Communications
Desktop Publishing & Video
: CD-ROM & MultiMedia Solutions
337 Penshurst St., Willoughby 2068
Tel: 02-41 7-51 55 Fax: 02-41 7-5542
UNITECH ELECTRONICS
Hardware Available
Hsuis Hi-Tak MoniLor Filter
■in-.'.: a-'!- i'.'lii P.S.U.
Amiga DissH» 0MOFP Switch
Xkbtail 2.94 Awn
Kictetsil 2.Q5 Awn
Supar Danisa
&S75 Aqnuj 2l4eg Away
Gary 0^5719
Paiia 8*54
CIA KM
Kktiwrct Plus (3 way}
Kiekboacd (! maj AW»}
Teac A50O Internal Drive
Aaclec Erfl Driv*
ICD IDE Contoler
2.5' IDE Hard OliiR
3,5' Hard Mva
1/2 meg A50Q espan Mam
KAO 9ift 50s OSOD 3.5' Disks
Eledronlc Oftsign Pal Genlock
Golden Image HIScanner
G.I. hVScsnnerwilhOCfl
Clock tar A1ZD0
Mc*i*or Swilch Box Iram
A1200 Dual dftva cable from
AKB(A120e HD cable
Mlifeync/ArigB Adapt**
MUtayrc IWAmiga Adaptei
Analog joystick adapter
Parcel Cahr* + PD dsk
SCARTIAroiga loea raWa
SCSI 25 10 25 70O rrfn obla
A1MO 1o 3.5' HD afflnl irouni
Madam cabla short 350mm
Printer »bte 5 jnalres ban
Printer extension cabte
C64 Power suppty'a rehire
A 120D School pack
A--' Co::-"."', School peck
CD32 School Package
A12D0 t Accowftls Package
A.I200 Dual H DrivaiActoutils
A600 school Package
AKK> HD School Package
$39.95
$175,00
£10.00
$Call
(Call
$56.95
S77.M
$27.40
$72.40
859,95
$30.00
$155.00
SI 75.00
$2&B.0D
$Cal
$Cal
$79.00'
$65.00
$535.00
$309.00
$429.00
$45.00
$109.00
S49.0G
$35.00
$50
$15
$S8
859
$59
$49
$59
$49
132,95
$32.95
$59
$1,280
$3,190
$799
$1 199
Stall
$499
$799
Our Products are also
available Irani your
friendly Amiga Store
PTY. LTD.
Celebrating 15.5 years trading!
(02) 820 3555 9-5pm.
Fax (02) 603 8685 24 hrs.
Member of Australian Amiga Developers Association
Mail Orders: P0 Box 137 Minto NSW 2566
Showroom: 8B Tummul Place, St Andrews NSW
Payments: Bankcard/MastercardA/isa/Money Order.
AMIGA DEALER TRADE ENQUIRIES WELCOME
Omeros
Accounting for
the Amiga $gg
CD32 a Winner!!
Software Titles...
James Pond 2, Pinball Fantasias,
D. Genertion, Sensible Soccer, Zool,
Whales Voyage, 1869, Trolls, Morph,
Genesis, Reach out lor gold, Surf Ninja,
Alfred Chicken.
JURASSIC PARK I TTTTTTTT TT1
James Pond 3, Liberation, Boot, plus many
more coming through the pipeline
all $69.35 BRP
Prices subject to change without notice.
ACAR 50
|DO\" QUIXOTn l
KEDFtlVAHEj"
The AMiGA. and CDTV Specialists
Scunners
If you're hi the market for a hand
scunner then forget the rest and get
Powencan
Amiga Format
July 15*92
Power Scanner v3.0
m 100-400 DPI scanning resolutions
■ 64 grayscales
m Thru 'port for printer
™ Award winning editing, image
manipulation Ascanning software
Power Scanner v3.0 $399
Power Scanner Colour $599
L ()s;r;iile Offers
If you consider your scanner system to be
inferior to the Power Scanner, we will happily
upgrade your software and interface. (Power
Scanner is compatible with most scanning
heads)
V3.0 Upgrade (inc. interfaee)....$U3
V3.0 Software upgrade for PowerScanner
users(send SAE)..$40
i'he Amiga, can (inry disnlav 16 EteyscateK
I [Ell Wl HI
Fon Tt* AMIGA A500
ami saw ASOO Si CDTV
rUll METAL CONSTRUCTION
Comes Willi:
" Duel cover
" ilouee Keeper <
' Mouse mat
■ Joystick and P^e P'U
mouse leads
$119.95
ftuto ROM Share
Kick off is the latest
One of (he most advanced kickstart ROM
sharers available
i A clever design on a small reliable board
1 No "CIA adapter" or other trailing wires
' Jumper to select which ROM boots fust
i Simple internal fitting
i Change ROMS without powering
down.
ROM Share. $49.95
Video Back lem
l Use VCR as a backup storage device
I Blank video tape is all that is required
I ZOO Amiga floppy disks will tit on a 4 hour
tape
1 Can lie used for hard disk backup
■ There is roinu for 175MB of data
■ Backup an Amiga disk hi 1 minute
■ Allows you to watch VCR on 1084 Mom.
i Effective error ewrectiou
Video Backup System..
..$159.95
PC 1204 4MB Memory Expansion
for the Commodore Amiga 1200
Power Computings inovative 4MB 32 bit
memory expansion for the A 1200 is now
available. The PC 1204 includes these many
features.
I Zero Wait State-Unlike some other
expansions the PC i 204 allows your amiga to
run at its maximum speed.
< Ultra Fast FPU- An optional maths co-
processor speeds up intensive calculations.
A 50 MHZ chip will speed up operations by
up to 30 times.
I Real-Time I Sail cry hacked up cinck-
Allows files to be date stamped.
I Low Power- High Density RAM's mean
low power consumption.
I Easy to tit- Fitted in minutes without the
need to remove the computers case.
I Optional FPU Disable Switch- Disable the
FPU instantly for software that will not run
with a maths co-processor installed.
PC1024 4MB with dock, no
FPU $549
PC1024 4MB with clock, 20 MIJz FPU
$670
AS ADVERTISED IN UK. MAGAZINES
now produced a AU&TDALIA
Prices are subject to change
without notice due to market
fluctuations, so please ask for
current pricing when calling.
PRICES DO NOT
INCLUDE POSTAGE.
POST- $5.00
COURIER- $9.00
* on most items.
CDTV Soft*
CDTV $399.00 (while stocks last)
CDPDI
CD-DEMOS
CD-DEMOS II
17 Bit Continuation
Cover girl Strip Poker
Titles
AMINET CDROM
CDPD 11
Cni'D III
17 BIT
PANDORA'S
Plus many others, too numerous to
mention! Plus, these unbeatable
bargains on accessories!
DQ$ RRP
Infra red CDTV mice $ 99 150
*Demo CDTV's even less than $599
So get your order in while stocks
i§al
t DEM VU
range [over 20G titles BvaitBtteJi
1 range ol extremely usefii software
Call today for FREE catalog,
[Educational Software
>rn 1 use flies Productions
Art Connoisseur 54 disk
Back to Basics 49.95
Fractions 34.95
Word Construction Set 49.95
Kim A A 34.95
1.95
9.95
John Bams European Soccer 69.95
James Pond 2 69.95
Moiph 69.95
Overkill / Lunacy 69.93
Ptnball Fantasies 69.95
Reach out for Gold 69.95
Sleepwalker 69.95
Trolls 69.95
Whales Voyage 69.95
Zool 69.^5
Mean Arena's 69.95
SurfNinjas 69.95
W inter Super Sports 69 .95
Beavers 69.95
Nigel Mansel 69.95
Prey 69.95
Plus our usual range of CDTV Titles
with new CD 32 Titles too numerous
to mention!
MAIL ORDER © (076) 391578
OR. WRITE TO
P.O. BOX 786. TOOWOOMBA, OLFJ. 4350
TOOWOOMBA STORE, 25a Russell St.
Pfri (076) 39 1578 Fax 07« 320195
For all your AMIGA needs ■UH dealer enquiries welcome
AMOS COLUMN
Figure 1
well. If you want AG A in a hurry, I
might be able to help. Check next month!
• The latest version of the Turbo Ex-
tension is vl.76. This version (for both
Creator & Pro) contains some bug fixes
and the new commercial version con-
taining the long awaited vertical blits
should be, no doubt, available through
Public Domain Plus by now.
One of the nicest inclusions in
AMOS Pro would have to be the Inter-
face Language. This is a language struc-
tured similar to AMAL that allows you
to create buttons, gadgets, sliders, test
boxes and all sorts of things on screen
to produce a graphical front end for a
program. The manual, however, has
made trying it a little off putting. Al-
though it seems difficult, it's extremely
easy and powerful.
For example, if you wanted to write a
calculator program, you could create a
box containing many buttons and a dis-
play screen. This could also be done in
standard AMOS by drawing your screen
in a paint package, creating the pushed
in images of the buttons and turning into
a bank of BOBs, and then setting zones
around each button as well as coding
each button to reverse when it is clicked
on.
Interface does all that for us. All we
need, in order to create an interface, are
the following two things:
1) An IFF screen containing all our
own gadgets (or you can use the default)
2) A string containing our interface
program.
Let's start off by going into a paint
package to create a few buttons:
1. Select a screen that's 640 x 256
and 8 colours (Hi-res interfaces look best
for most applications). Turn on the meas-
uring tool (shift + "\" in Dpaint & Bril-
liance).
2. Set the palette as 0=999, 3=fff,
2=bbb, 3=000, 4=777, the rest can be
any colours you like.
3. Draw a hollow black box that is 72
x 16. Fill it with colour 2 and make
changes to it as shown in figure 1.
4. Make a brush of the button and
paste it below the original button. Now
that we have two identical buttons, fill
colours 1 & 4 (white & dark grey) with
colour 2 (the grey button centre). This
should make the second button look like
the one in Figure 2. This second button
is what our button will look like when it
is clicked on,
5. This part is very important. We
deliberately made our button images 72
wide because this is divisible by 8. All
objects have to be created within 8 pixel
boundaries, however, the height can be
any amount. For this reason, we need to
cut out the buttons as a brush and place
them exactly on the left hand side of the
screen or on any 8th pixel of the screen.
However it's easier just to place them
against the left hand side.
Be careful not to go too far left and
go off the screen. You don't want to
shave a pixel or two off your buttons!
Save this picture out.
6. Boot up AMOSPro and Select the
RESOURCE ED. from the USER menu.
Click on "create new bank" and then on
"edit graphic elements". You will be
prompted to select an IFF picture file.
Select the picture you created previously.
What we have to do here is to define
each image (our button) as an element.
7. Click on NEW ELEMENT (should
already be highlighted) and then on
GRAB ONE ELEMENT. Here you can
drag a box around the first button just
like cutting out BOBs in the BOB grab-
ber, or you can drag a box anywhere on
the screen at the size of 72x16 and re-
lease the left mouse button. What you
have is a transparent square under the
mouse that you canplace on our first
button image and click the left mouse to
position it. Either method will define
the first element (button image 1).
8. Do the same as step 7 for the But-
ton Image 2.
9. Select QUIT and click on SAVE
AS. Save out our custom made Resource
bank.
10. Select EXIT and go to Direct
Mode. Type: Load Fsel$("") and use the
requester to load the Resource bank that
we just created. The resource will load
into bank 16.
That's it for the moment. We can
now start to program using the Interface
Language ...
Programming the
interface
Now that we have a bank attached to
our program (even though we don't have
any code yet!), when we save, the bank
will be included with it just like a Sprite
or Music bank. As I mentioned before,
Interface programs are stored as strings.
A bare interface program consists of the
following code:
Resource bank 16
clsOa$="EXit;"
Dialog open t,a$
d=dialogrun(t)
Do
Loop
The above program simply lets
AMOS know that the resource to use is
in bank 16, An interface program is de-
fined that simply performs an exit, and
it is called by opening up a channel to
run under interrupt. The program con-
tained in a$ should consist of many in-
structions and then terminated with the
EXit; function.
Let's set up a simple button on the
screen. Replace the a$ line with the fol-
lowing:
ACAR 52
AMOS COLUMN
a$="BU 1,1 60,100,72,1 6,0,0,1 ;[UN 0,0,1;][Bfl 0;J"
a$=al+"EXit;"
Now, I'll explain the above Interface
commands. BU stands for button and is
used to position a button on the screen.
The parameters used in the above BU
example are:
1 = Number assigned to this button (button 1),
160 = X position,
100 = V position,
72 = number of pixels wide (divisible by 8),
16 - number of pixels high (no rules for height),
- the currenl value of this button (usually is
because it is not being clicked on)
=the minimum value this button can be,
1 = the maximum value this button can be.
finally, a ";" is placed at the end of the command
and Ifs parameters Gust like in AMAL).
Next we have a set of square paren-
thesis ( [] ) in which we can define extra
information. For buttons, it is vital that
we place a UN command in here. This
command is the UNpack command that
places the actual image of our button
onto the screen. If we don't include it,
and just leave the parenthesis empty,
the button will be on the screen, BUT
YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SEE
IT! This is because no image would have
been pasted to the screen.
The UN command works like this:
UN 0,0,1;
The first value is the horizontal off-
set in pixels from the true button posi-
tion and the second value is the vertical
offset (this allows you to click on a but-
ton that is not really on its true zone;
why you would ever want to do this is
beyond me at the moment ...).
The third value is the image number
in the resource bank that we want to
use. We only have two images in our
bank (1 = Button up & 2 = button down),
so we set this to one.
You can use UN in another and bet-
ter way: UN0,0,BP1+;
This tells the interface system that
you want the button to start with image
1 but increase the image each time it is
clicked on. The images that appear will
depend on the last three values set in the
BU command (the current, the min, and
the max button settings).
We really only want to use our two
images. At the moment, our program
will alternate between the two images
for the button when it is clicked on. This
means that our button is currently an on/
off toggle button. If you want a work-
bench style button (returns back to nor-
iiSiv-^gBiMa
Colour 4
Colour 2
Figure 2
mal when not clicked on), then you need
to add the BR command into the second
set of parenthesis. This stands for But-
ton Return and is set like this: [BR 0;]
BR 0; means to return to back to the
minimum value, set in the BU defini-
tions. Run the program and if all goes
well, a button should appear on the
screen that is quite happy to be clicked
on. AMOS, however is really still stuck
in a DO LOOP waiting to do something
else at the same time. It is here that we
can define the button's function. Let's
add some lines between to the do loop
that will read our button:
Resource bank 16
cisO
a$="BU 1, 160,100,72,16,0,0,1 ;[UN0,0,8P 1+;][BR
0;]"
a$=a$+"EXit;"
Dialog open 1 ,a$
d=cfialogrun(1)
Do
BUTTON=Dlalog(1)
If BUTTONS : Bell : Print "Clicked" : End if
Loop
Dialog open l,a$ tells the interface
where to get its program from and de-
fine it to channel 1. In this case, it's aS.
d=dialog run (1) starts the program un-
der interrupt. It uses d as a dummy value;
it can be any variable.
Inside the DO LOOP, we read the
current value that is constantly updated
that is coming from the interface pro-
gram. We use this value to find out what
is going on in our program. It is like a
window to the interface. If we click on
our button, the value in Dialog(l) should
read "1" because the button is defined
as button 1. The rest is child's play ...
1 hope this makes it a lot clearer to
those who have been put off trying the
interface because of the manual. I was
for a long time and now I'm reaping the
benefits. I'm working on a program at
the moment that will be a valuable tool,
and I don't have to worry so much about
setting up the buttons and making them
work with zones and so forth. All I need
to do is worry about the code that's
linked to them. And that's the way it
should be. Be adventurous. Fill your
screen with hundred of active icons, but-
tons, sliders and whatever you want.
Prove to yourself just how easy it is.
AGA! AGA! AGA!
Want some Quick and Dirty AGA
stuff? Over the last few weeks, I've been
experimenting with some AGA hard-
ware registers and I've found some in-
teresting discoveries. Next month, I will
be giving you the ability to open a hi -res
32 colour screen from within AMOS.
No cheating, this the real AGA thing. It
took a while to achieve, but the secret
will all be revealed next month ...
But for now I have some tid bits from
my discoveries. Go to direct mode and
type the following:
DOKE$DFF106,%10000D00
A Hires pointer? Like it? Try this one ...
DOKE $DFF106,%110OOQ00
A super Hires pointer? I knew you'd
be impressed.
To all the guys (and occasional la-
dies) who have phoned me on the club
support line, and friends in the industry,
have a great holiday. J
ACAR 53
BLITZ BASIC
'EM
by Roy Hurley
Hello again to all the Blitz2 Programmers
out there across Australia!
The feedback for this column is start-
ing to flow in, and let me say thanks to
all of you who took the time to get back
to me with your comments, suggestions
and source code.
Special thanks must go to Perry
Mowbray, who sent me a binary search
program. The code was well thought out
and written, and Perry tells me it was
his first effort with his newly acquired
Butz2. Weil done Perry, and keep up
the good work!
Over the next few months 1 hope to
put together the Australian Blitz2 PD
library, so if you have any work you
want to share with your fellow program-
mers, send it in to: Blitz2 PD, Box 1420
Wollongong 2500.
This month we'll be looking at a few
general purpose programming functions,
as well as a few source code formatting
tips. But first, we'll start the ball rolling
with our feature on zones of control.
A common task within all types of
programs, is detecting if the mouse
pointer has been moved within a zone of
control by the user. There are many ways
to accomplish this, but for now we'll be
looking at an elegant solution involving
a 16 colour Hires screen with no less
than 33 zones, none of which are Said
out in nice convenient square areas.
The Map
Our map is a 16 colour hires map of
the world, 640 by 256 pixels. Our appli-
cation has the four main countries in
bright colours, and six shades of grey
have been used for the neutral countries.
The Algorithm
How are we going to know which
country the user is pointing the mouse
at? Our algorithm is going to use the
colours to help tell us, but we only have
six colours, and 28 neutral countries ...
By using a combination of blocks and
colours we can achieve our pixel perfect
zone detection. The trick is in the design
of the map and the blocks.
We want to minimise the number of
blocks that need to be checked, so that
our routine will run quickly. However,
we can't select areas containing more
than six neutral areas.
Using Deluxe Paint, with the co-ords
on, we write down the top left x and y
pixel positions, and the bottom right x
and y pixel positions.
If you take a look at the map with the
blocks drawn on (for illustration pur-
poses only) you can see that eight blocks
are needed, and it's important when de-
signing your graphics that these areas
do not overlap, and that there are no
gaps in between them. The main coun-
tries don't need to be enclosed in these
blocks, since they are filled with their
own unique colour. The water areas are
all colour and the borders are done in
colour 1. By carefully floodfilling our
neutral countries with spaced out col-
ours, we get all 28 areas covered into
eight blocks.
Our routine need only calculate which
block the pointer is in, and look up the
colour within that block to determine
the zone selected. This method can be
used where pixel perfect zone detection
is required, and there's no limit to the
amount of zones you can cover. The
more colours you have, the fewer blocks
you'll need, and the quicker your rou-
tine will run.
The Code
Our main workhorse is the select
country function, which needs no pa-
rameters, but Blitz 2 still requires the
empty curly brackets. Our Function uses
the SMouseX and SMouseY commands
to determine the Mouse pointer posi-
tion. The Point () command looks up the
colour number under the mouse. The
function returns the zone number under
the mouse pointer, by comparing the
Block it's in and the colour number,
Notice how we check for the colour
number first? This is a little trick to
keep in mind when ordering Cases within
a Select ... Case control block. The most
common occurrences should be put at
the top of the list, as they will be checked
first by Blitz2, and this will speed up
your code considerably.
Funetion.b SELECTCOUNTRY {)
x.w=SMo useX: y . w=S Mouse Y
c.b=Point(x,y):b,b=0
Select c ; c is the colour
CaseO
Function Return
Case 1
Function Return
Cases
Function Return 3
CaseS
Function Return 4
Case 10
Function Return 2
ACAR 54
Case 11
Function Return 1
End Select
If K?75 AND x<231 AND y>74 AND y<f 94
BLOCK 1
Select c
Case 2
Function Return 5
Case 3
Function Return 8
Case 4
Function Return 9
Cases
Function Return 10
Cases
Function Return 7
Case 7
Function Return 6
End Select
End If
If x>161 AND x<351 AND y>=0 AND y<44
; BLOCK 2
Select o
Case 6
Function Return 12
Case?
Function Return 11
End Select
End If
If x>2S6 AND x<415 AND y>47 AND y<:102
BLOCK 3
Select c
Case 2
Function Return 13
Case 3
Function Return 15
Case 4
Function Return 1S
Case 5
Function Return 16
Cases
Function Return 14
Case 7
Function Return 17
End Select
End If
If x>257 AND x<369 AND y>99 AND y<182
; BLOCK 4
Select c
Case 2
Function Return 13
Case3
Function Return 21
Case 4
Function Return 20
Case 5
Function Return 16
Case 6
Function Return 22
Case 7
Function Return 19
End Select
End If
If x>454 AND x<576 AND y>83 AND y<194
; BLOCK 5
Select c
Case 2
Function Return 26
Case 3
Function Return 24
Case 4
Function Return 27
Disk Magazine
Mail Order
&PD
WmfrnfAi/A
f ...for the
best in
Amiga info
and entertainment
NEW FreePost ~ No stamp required
when sending orders! Free Number far
Contributors and Orders: 008 227 418
What's available from
Megadisc?
1. Subscriptions to the best disk-magazine in the world!
This is unique - devoted to helping you get more use and fun from your
Amiga, each issue contains 2 disks full of compressed material -
tutorials, programs, listings of what's new, reviews, articles, hints & tips
and more. Once you get it you'll have to have it!
* 6-issue subscription (1 year), inch 4 PD disks - $69 New Price
* 3-issue subscription (6 months) incl. 2 PD disks - $40
MD Extras disk - all PD mentioned on MD: $20 for 6 issues
2. A library of Public Domain and Shareware disks of over
5500 disks, available singly or as packs, Some of our packs are:
* Outline Fonts Packs & Type 1 Fonts packs (126 fonts $35)
* Clip Art - both structured and bitmapped, singles and packs
* Games 10-packs - 5 of these with all the best PD games ($30)
* Educational 10-packs - primary and secondary $30 each
* Programming Pack for C ($12) and C manual ($15)
To get all the info on what we've got, call us
or ask for our free Catalogue-disk or get the
Catalogue we've already sent you updated.
3. Licenceware of all kinds - we have CLR, Deja Vu, AmigaNuts
and more. These are individually packaged and fully documented and
cover all types of programs - educational, games, business, databases,
typing tutors, graphics, and so on.
4. CD-ROMs of all kinds - Fish on ROM, all the CDTV & CD32
titles, AmiNet, 17-Bit, etc., along with other accessible IBM ROMs.
5. Megadisc Compilations
* Hints & Tips disk - all the hints from all the Megadiscs $13.95
* MD Articles - 3 disks full of all the articles from Megadisc $27
* MD Reviews - 4 disks full! $24
* Starter Pack - 6 disks for beginners to easily use Ami gas $24
* MegaDos - full Dos Manual (for WB 1 .3) $ 13.95
6. MD'S Mail Order - 5% off for subscribers! See Catalogue or MD for
full range of commercial h/ware & software * Get free disks with all MD Mai]
orders, and free subscriptions for larger orders! • Ask about our range of printers,
modems, CD-Rom players, GVP h/vv. software and more!
7. No-frills Educational Software - simplified packaging and manuals
on disk let us reduce the price of these 22 terrific packages for $29 (from $69!)
MD 37 AVAILABLE!
BLITZ BASIC
Case 5
Function Return 25
Case6
Function Return 23
Case 7
Function Return 28
End Select
End If
lfx>368ANDx<448ANDy>101 ANDy<167
; BLOCK 6
Select c
Case 2
Function Return 30
Case 5
Function Return 29
Case 6
Function Return 22
Case 7
Function Return 17
End Select
End If
If x>507 AND x<571 AND y>53 AND y<8t
i BLOCK 7
Select c
Case 4
Function Return 32
Case 7
Function Return 31
End Select
End If
If x>4H AND x<455 AND y>67 AND y<102
; BLOCK 8
Select c
Case 2
Function Return 30
Cases
Function Return 33
End Select
End If Function return
End Function
Since I can't give you the map graph-
ics to go with the source code, there's
not much point in listing the main con-
trol loop and other bits of the program.
The main thing to note is the method we
have used to solve our zone detection
needs, and this method can be adapted
to a wide range of applications.
To those of you lucky enough to have
a modem, I have made this program and
some other Blitz2 stuff available on ei-
ther Powerhouse BBS (042) 616380/
622170 or Squids BBS (042) 261047. 1
can also be reached here for questions
or feedback.
To finish off, here's another little snip-
pet of code to whet your appetite. It's a
statement that replaces all the occur-
rences of a byte within a memory block
with another byte value. One very use-
ful purpose for this that springs to mind
is replacing all the chr$(10) newline char-
acters with a chr$(0), so that the com-
mand PeekS(address) will return strings
correctly. Many thanks to Steve
Boothman for this 100% Machine code
Statement, Thanks Steve!
It's called REPLACE [Start, Length, Byte 1,Byle2}
; replaces all occurrences of bytel wfth byte2
; in the block of memory starting at "start"
; and "length" bytes long.
Statement REPLACE {start, lengllt, byte 1,byte2}
UNLK a4 ; No recursion
MOVE.I d0,a0 ; Copy address of data block to
clean to aO
loop
CMP.b (a0)+,d2 ; Check byte in
memory, is it equal to bytel?
; If not, jump over replace
; Else replace it with
; one less byte to check
; Back to main loop if any
BNE loopl
command
MOVE.b d3,-1(a0}
byte2 (stored in reg d3)
loopl
SUBQJ #1,d1
BNE loop
bytes left
RTS
End Statement
Here is a small example of its use in
everyday life, coupled with our BLOAD
and BSAVE modules. It's easy to put
together a useful program in a few min-
utes. Here we are loading a file into
memory, and changing all the chr$(10)
newline characters with the more stand-
ard chr$(0) end of string null the system
prefers.
DEFTYPE.I
1NCD1R "Blitz2:lncludesr
INCLUDE REPLACE.Stat
INCLUDE BSAVE.Fun
INCLUDE BLOAD.Fun
II BLOAD [Filenames]
REPLACE (FADDRESS,FLENGTH,10,0]
resu!t=BSAVE
{Filename$,FADDRESS,FLENGTH}
FreeMem„ FADDRESS.F LENGTH
Else
NPrirt "Couldn't BLOAD{} ".Filenames
MouseWait
End If
End
Happy coding!
There will be more useful procedures
and code next month. I'm always happy
to receive your feedback, so write me a
letter, reach me on the BBS, or send me
your PD contributions, Roy Hurley, PO
Box 1420, Wollongong 2500 NSW.
'
P*m«***:
mmm'f ! -wmm
ACAR 56
; Commercial i
Entertainment titles
list i feii i ■ si
DPI .v Ar^r-^cc^nc^c
; Bigitlzeirs ■ » ; Soakers:; i I ! j
: Laser Printing :*:G64
fi/g ftiflcra Sesf Prices/
Call for a free catalogue.
Credit Cards Welcome!
PO Box 192,
Katoomba NSW 2780
Tel/Fax (047) 57 3982
Scarlet
Amiga PD Software
PO Box 458
Doveton Vic 3177
(03) 793 381 4
Phone for
Catalogue Disk
Open 9am - 10pm
Computer Adventure
Games - Hints and Tips
The Second Adventurers
Realm Hint Book
Need help? Want to know how to
solve the toughest problems? How to
score the most points? Buy this book.
$10 inc postage
From Saturday Magazine P/L,
21 Darley Rd, Randwick 2331
Ph (02) 398 5111, fax (02) 398 5322
Send a cheque, or fax or phone your credit
card number
NEW!
Make your own Cartoons
'Cool Cat'
A4 Disk Set (3.5)
Containing all you need
For Only S50
Ami-Art
Computer Animation
Tel: (02) 331 4004
11111 11 111 11 1 1 111 M
Market I
I Place
To advertise here contact ',
Ken Longshaw on I
(02) 8172509.
This size $1O0
Hflllltllttltttttl
ROD IRVING'S
"BULK DISK PRICES"
"NO BRAND DISKS"
LIFETIME WARRANTY BOX OF TEN DISKS
ALL DISKS INCLUDE ENVELOPES & WHITE PROTECTS
DESCRIPTION 1-9 10+ S0» 100+ 500 +
5WDS/DD $4.50 $4.30 $4.30 $3.95 $3.95
5W DS/HD $8.50 $7.95 $7.90 $6,90 $6.90
3'A DS/DD S8.50 $7.50 36.95 $6,90 $6.90
3'A DSHD S10.5O $9.95 $9.75 $8.95 $8.50
R OD IRVING ELECTRONIC S ,c.,m»-:i,
L1H HJ CHlCOr.! I'*: a? r+4 5i?6 FAX: DM Ki iJ&5
iW^ i; W mVrr.ftww :iJWiBtiiriil
mntnmi
FOR ONLY $21.95
+ $1.95 P&H
YOU CAN WIN UP TO
$1000 P/W
FOR INFORMATION
PHONE: (079) 721 786
ASK FOR CRAIG
9am - 3pm
Monday - Friday
- PCM -
SHOP 9 ELONERA RD
NOBLE PARK
PHONE (03) 791 6264
FAX 701 3377
SELF SERVICE PD
$2.00 INCLUDES THE DISK
Repairs Upgrades Modifications
Peripherals, Modems, CD-ROMs,
Software, IBM Compatibles
C64 SOFTWARE
SPECIAL OFFER - 4 disks packed with
programs for the Commodore 64.
Top PD utilities, Games, Word Proces-
sors & Disk Catalogue.
4 Disk Pack only $15
Or write for free catalogue.
For immediate delivery send
cheque or money order to:
BRUNSWICK PUBLICATIONS
PO BOX 745
CAMPSIE NSW 2194
Ph (02) 759 7343
MEMORY EXPANSION
PRICES at December 1st 1993
1MBx1-80ns
4x255 ■ 80ns
1MBx4ZJP-70
1MBX4 ST COt -70
1MBx8-100
1MBxB-BQ
4MBxB -BO
4Mbx32 -60 GVP
4Mbx32-70-72Pin
PCMCIAV2-1M
PCMCIA V2-2M
8.00
8.00
34.00
35.00
67.00
ao.oo
215.00
330.00
250.00
198.00
395. 0C
SEAGATE 2.5" IDE
64MBI6ms32K
85MB16ms64K
128 MB 16ms 64K
209 MB 16ms 64K
SEAfiATCa- S - S
245 MB 12ms 128K
452 MB 12ms 128K
230.00
370.00
395.00
58O.0O
SI 000
740.00
FLOPPY DRIV ES
FD3S6 SONY880K 116.00
Please phone for the latest prices. Sales tax 21 %.
Overnight delivery, credit cards welcome.
PELHAM PTY LTD
Tel; (02) 980 6988 Fax: (02) 980 6991
1st floor, 100 Yarrara Rd, Pennant Hills 2120.
PO Box 382, Pennant Hills 2120.
C64 Games Pack
Mega Games Pack containing 380
top quality and Public Domain
games for the Commodore 64
Only $39.95 « Disk Only •
COD AVAILABLE
Call or write for a complete
catalogue
Entertainment Software
21 Lawson Crescenl
Taree NSW 2430
Tel: (065) 52 6991
COMMODORE & AMIGA
• EDUCATION and
GENERAL SALES
• REPAIRS AND MODIFICATIONS
• ALL ACCESSORIES
• SOFTWARE
• 12 YEARS IN BUSINESS
Electronics
1074 MateSI.AIbury 2640
Tel: (060) 25 4066 Fax: (060) 40 1553
AGAR 57
ANDY'S ATTIC
Andy's Alio
The Great Debate!
This issue we examine the constant
arguments peopie seem to have re-
garding which computer platform is
better than the other and give you a
chance to have your say on the mat-
ter. As a special bonus, you could win
a few disks for your effort to boot.
A quick follow up on Spot pointing
software reviewed in the October is-
sue of AGAR and a reply to a reader's
letter regarding printing problems. On
with the show ...
Ebony and ivory
One of the huge benefits of owning
a modem is being able to log onto a
BBS and participate in public conver-
sations with other like-minded people
from all over the world. We do this
via networked message areas which
bulletin boards carry called echoes.
A personal favourite of mine is an
echo called Aust Amiga. As its name
suggests, it only travels Australia wide,
but it's full of regular participants who
are dead keen on their Amiga and
who enjoy talking about their machine,
often exchanging various bits of juicy
information and tips.
AH that's great and dandy, but every
now and then, the inevitable happens
and someone dares write something
positive about <shock, horror> an IBM
clone machine. The verbal wars which
result when this happens have to be
seen to be believed and are highly
amusing to those that have sense
enough to just sit back quietly and
enjoy the fighting. At the same time
though, such wars are disruptive to
the purpose of the medium, which was
naturally designed to discuss the ad-
vantages of owning an Amiga.
What's this got to do with Andy's
Attic? Bear with me for just a little bit
longer and you'll find out. Many peo-
ple, myself included, own both plat-
forms. I have an IBM clone and an
Amiga 500 and happen to enjoy them
both. My favourite is the Amiga, so it
gets used for most of my computing
needs, but the IBM clone sits here,
chugging away 24 hours a day run-
ning my bulletin board.
The point I'm making is that BOTH
can be, and ARE useful. In my opin-
ion, for someone to say something
like an IBM clone makes a good book-
end is crazy. Am I wrong?
My two machines sit here on the
same computer table at Andy's Attic,
mere centimetres separating them, and
not once have I heard them arguing
with one another that one is better
than the other. I'm not surprised, be-
cause they can't talk on their own, but
even if they could, I'd bet that they
would probably know better.
I'm going to stick my neck out here
and say that this often asked question
of which is better, Amiga or IBM, is a
question which can not be conclusively
answered. Why? Because the Amiga
is not (in my own opinion) "overly"
better than the IBM clones and nor
are the IBM clones "overly" better
than the Amiga. My invitation (chal-
lenge?) to you is to prove me wrong.
Amiga v IBM
I invite anyone interested to write
in and tell us why they think their
Amiga is better than an IBM clone
and vice versa. As I said earlier, many
people own both so there should be
quite a few of you in a position to be
able to offer informed arguments both
ways.
I'll collate your responses and de-
vote a whole column to what I con-
sider to be the best replies from both
sides of the coin. Further to that, I'll
select an overall best letter and send
the writer five disks chocka block full
of randomly selected, latest PD/Share-
ware archived software that's on my
BBS harddrive at the time, FREE as a
prize for writing the best letter. You
can't lose so what are you waiting
for? Start hitting that keyboard and
send your views to: Andy's Attic! PO
Box 1335, Hoppers Crossing Vic 3029.
Spot Update
Modem owning users that decided
to try Spot pointing software after our
review in the October issue of ACAR
will be pleased to learn that it's since
been updated. Containing various bug
fixes and new features, the current
version at time of writing is 1.2 A.
Note that the latest version of Spot
may always be file requested from
Andy's Attic with the magic file name
of Spot. Our netmail address for dash
mail and file requests is 3:633/106.
Anyone may file request.
More good news is that an Austral-
ian Registration Site has now been
established for Spot e valuators. You
can now register your copy of Spot by
sending $50.00 Australian to; Richard
Galezowski, PO Box 237, Reservoir
Vic 3073 or netmail him for more
info at 3:633/106.3 @fidonet. Richard
gives a top service to Spot users, bring-
ing in the latest versions direct from
Belgium as they become available and
also by bringing in the Spot support
echo direct from Belgium, giving ac-
cess to all for nix and paying for the
resulting hefty phone bills all on his
own coin.
ACAR 58
ANDY'S ATTIC
Readers' letters
Mr Rob Robinson of Eildon in NSW
writes in with printer problems ... Dear
Andrew, I am what is called a Golden
Oldie, being in my mid 70s, and have
been a Commodore fanatic since 1983.
I've read ACAR since it was first
printed and follow your interesting col-
umn every month.
After reading your articles on the
V2 Roms in April, May and June of
this year, I found myself so interested
that I went out and purchased a V2. 1
Rom Enhancement kit. I had it in-
Stalled with a DNA Tech's switchable
board in my lmeg A500. I'm very
impressed with the new Rom system
which works fine for me except for
one item which brings me to the rea-
son for this letter.
I use a STAR 24/20 with an EpsonQ
driver for my word processing and
this works fine when booted on the
V2.1, I have transferred the EpsonQ
driver from the V2.1 Extra/Storage to
the V2.I Devs/Printers and followed
the instructions in Printers Chapter 9
of the Workbench Users Guide manual
using the default settings (and others)
but try as I might, I simply can't get a
printout when I enter the Shell and
type TYPE or [ LIST S: Startup-Se-
quence to PRT: ], all I get is a re-
quester asking me to PUT PRINTER
ON LINE and this will come up four
times before I can exit Shell and Work-
bench.
If I switch off and re- boot with the
VI. 3 switched in, I can get the same
printout from 1.3 Shell along with
many others. I have two printer leads,
tried them both and also tried the
CBM(MPS}1000, EpsonX, Epson
(Old)X and Generic drivers, all with
the same result. I know it's not the
printer but the V2.1 Workbench does
not seem able to recognize that the
Star24/20 is on-line!
I wonder if you have any clues on
this matter and the time to write. Can
you HELP me before I tear what little
hair I have left out of my head?
A A: The only way to find the cause
of a problem like this one is brute trial
and error. Start at the basics and elimi-
nate them one item at a time. The fact
that your printer works fine with VI. 3
of Workbench is encouraging and
proves that there is nothing wrong with
the printer itself. It's unlikely the ca-
bles have anything to do with the prob-
lem either as you would have similar
problems with VI. 3 of WB.
1 suggest going back and re-check-
ing your preferences settings. Make
sure you have selected the correct
driver. Have you tried clicking on
InitPrinter before attempting to print
while in a shell? Tried using Generic?
Got the correct Printer Port selected?
If all experimentation fails, then you
may need to resort to taking the printer
to your nearest Commodore dealer and
ask them for some help.
That's about it for this issue of
Andy's Attic so till the next time,
keep hammering those keyboards. □
$M
AMIGA SOFTWARE
BIT MASTER SOFTWARE
POBox 84, TuLlamartne Vic 3043 Tel (01S) 53 8225
1 ™alian| Lotto Supersystems
I VERSION L2 OUT NOW !
Turn the odds your way and WIN !
Lotto Supersystems is the Smart, Cheap and Easy way to increase (be odds of winning in
Lotto games such as Pools, Tattslotto etc. Playing systems is the key to turning Ibe odds your
way and winning more often. Lotto Suptrsyttms cuts the cost of regular systems cutties,
while maintaining tbe winning edge. Now with [he release of Version 1.2, you nave even
more computing power at your finger tips- Version 1,2 now features:
* 36 Computer systems ranging from system 8 to system 20.
* System combinations ranging from 7 to 5537 combinations,
1 Data Analysis and computer Chit tjng.
1 Complelefy User Friendly,
1 User a Manual,
' Suns on ACA machines. Quick Picks &. Much more.
$49.00
PD Packs
Game Pack 1
GALAXIANS- a jrreat Arcade remake- Plus
MICROBES (Very Fast) and GALAQA. All
L>n une ^If bOOling disk.
Education Pack 1
MATHEMATICS. A great teaching aid for
children. This disk covers Multiplication,
Division, Subtraction and Addition.
Game Pack 4
PACKMAN 92- This version is even Better
than the original, Pits HEMROIDS, Mil
WOBBLY &. THE SUPER SUCKER 1L
Business Pack 1
This disk is an ideal smail business starter
pac*. disk includes, TYPIST, MONEY
MATTCRS & SRFAD SHEET VI .0 .
All PD Packs only $5.00 each. All Pritxs include Postage and Packing,
Send (^eque^MoneynDrdt^toTTiiFMastcr Software
Tel (018) 53 S225 AH calls welcome. PQ Box 84, Tullamarine Vic 3043
Name . . .
Address ,
State Post Code
Products Ordered
Ttilal enclosed $ .
PUBLIC DOMAIN
AND
SHAREWARE
SUPERMARKET
Visit our store, browse through the shelves and
choose from 1,000's of disks from only $2.50 each.
Mail and Telephone facilities are available for
country and interstate orders.
iMsk indude nfrttgsmt,
cotfiprcn^nsitv usttnfis of
ourftmiga, C64, ffiM.
Qmpatiib and Atari ST
Tsdiic 'Domain, and.
SHarcuwx disfcart
atxaSaBU (nj sending fiJ36 in
postage stamp- te:
LEEJAN ENTERPRISES
P.O. Box 8fl. Happy Vailoy
489 Marion Road
Sth Plympton.
S.A.5038
Tel (08) 3712655
MAO. ORDER
P.O. Box 66
Happy Valley,
S.A. 5159
TRADING HOURS
Tubs to Sat .... 10.30am - 4.30pm
Sunday ...,1pm -4.30pm
Bankca/d, Mastercard, Visacard
($5.00 mtn)
Cheque or Money Order
Printed C64 lists are available
by sending a stamped-seif
addressed envelope.
Send its' our Catalogue Disks
and we'll include a voucher for
a free disk with jour first order.
SHAREWARE PROGRAMS REQUIRE A SEPARATE
PAYMENT TO THE AUTHOR, IF FOUND USEFUL.
ACAR 59
C64 COLUMN
Bumper Tips Edition
New address
Brunswick Publications, Jong time
supporters of the C64 through their
extensive public domain library, has
moved to a new location. Orders and
enquiries should be sent to Brunswick
Publications, PO Box 745, Campsie
NSW 2194. Their telephone number
remains unchanged as (02) 759 7343.
More power!
There seems to be an unwritten rule
that no matter how fast or powerful
your computer equipment, there will
be some unusual or obscure technique
for squeezing more out of it. Some
are complicated hardware patches that
require betteT than average soldering
skills to install, while others are little
more than a few well placed POKEs.
In this issue, we're going to take a
guided tour of some of the more sim-
ple but useful software options for
squeezing just that little bit more out
of your 1541 disk drive. No matter
how fast your disk drive, eventually
you'll find it too slow. Although no
replacement for Warp Speed or simi-
lar speed-enhancing cartridges, the
following will improve the speed of
Scratch, Validate and Rename func-
tions:
OPEN 15, 8, 15: PRINTS15, "M-W" CHR$(7)
CHH$(28)CHR$(1)CHR$[15)
When files are saved to disk they
become one of four file-types:
USR (User), REL (Relative), SEQ
(Sequential), or PRG (Program).
BASIC programs are saved in the
regular PRG format. However, this
isn't a restriction because you can save
a file as any type.
Although providing no great ad-
vantage, it can serve as a simple form
of file protection, since a program that
is saved in any format other than PRG
can't be loaded in the normal way.
Aside from this, if you save your BA-
SIC program as a sequential file then
it can easily be loaded into your fa-
vourite word processor to become part
of a text document. To save a file as a
sequential file, type:
SAVE°Filename,S",B
Notice the comma S extension at
the end of the filename. This S tells
DOS that the file should be saved as a
sequential file. The S can be replaced
with other letters, depending upon the
type of format you wish to save it as.
Loading files require a similar exten-
sion:
LOAD Tilename,S ,, ,a
Remember to replace the S with
whatever letter you saved it as.
File Name Recover
Here's an easy way to recover the
name of the last file you loaded. Sim-
ply type SYS 62913. Unlike the regu-
lar commands for loading the direc-
tory, this one isn't destructive.
Save & Replace
A great source of frustration for
many users is the Save and Replace
function. This function is designed to
replace an existing disk file with an
updated version, but unfortunately it
doesn't always work as intended. The
problems generally arise when a disk
is low on space. Save and Replace
works by saving the newer version of
the file first, before deleting the origi-
nal. Obviously if available space is
low, it will have problems and you
may end up losing both the old and
newer versions. My advice is if you
must use this command, always en-
sure you have enough space on disk
to save your program a second time.
Aside from this, many users claim an
insertion of a zero directly after the @
sign will improve stability (SAVE
"@0: Filename", 8).
Disk Detect
A useful feature of the Amiga is
their ability to detect when a disk is
inserted or removed from the drive.
What a lot of 64 users don't realize is
that this can be achieved on their 1541
or compatible with a small software
subroutine. The subroutine listed be-
low will wait until a disk is either
inserted or removed from the drive
before continuing.
10 OPEN 15,8,15
20 PRINT#15, "MR"; CHRS[30);CHR$(0)
30 GETS15, A$
40 IF ASC (A$+CHR$(0)) THEN 20
50 CLOSE 15
The above routine would need to
be called twice - once to sense the
disk's removal, and again to sense the
presence of the new disk. With this
routine you may never have see a "Hit
key to Continue" prompt again. If only
GEOS made use of it ...
ACAR 60
Close All!
Working with a lot of files from
within a program can be very confus-
ing and you may easily find yourself
in a tangled web of files and channels.
If you wish to close all open fdes then
try SYS 65511. This system call can
even be used from within a program
(use if to ensure all files and channels
are closed after the user has selecting
the quit option from your menu).
Write Protect?
Checking the status of the write-
pro tect tab of a disk from within a
program can greatly reduce the chance
of your program crashing during disk
operations. The following short rou-
tine can be incorporated into your own
programs to check if a disk may be
written to before trying to access it:
10OPEN15,8,15:PRlNT#15,"M-
R";CHR$(30);CHR$(0):GET# 15,A$:CL0SE 15
20 IFASC(A$+CHR$(1))=1 THEN PRINT" DISK IS
PROTECTED": END
30 PRINT' DISK IS NOT WRITE PROTECTED"
UnNEW
If you find that you've typed NEW
before you should have, or want to
get back your program after a reset
then type:
POKE 2050,8 SYS 42291
Program Protect
Keeping your BASIC program from
prying eyes can be a real problem.
Here's a tip to make BASIC lines dis-
appear from the listing:
1. At the end of any program line,
place a colon, a REM, and two quota-
tion marks ("").
2. Curser back one position so that
the curser is flashing over the second
quote mark.
3. Press and hold the SHIFT key
while tapping the DELETE key once
for every character in the line that you
want to disappear
4. Now release the SHIFT key and
type the DELETE key until you reach
the newly positioned quote mark.
5. Hit RETURN
If you now type LIST you should
find that part or all of that line will
have disappeared.
Round numbers
If you've done much in the way of
BASIC programming you have prob-
ably found the need to round numbers
off to a particular number of decimal
places. The following formula will will
round off any number to any number
of decimal places. At the start of the
program, you'll need a line like this:
10 DEF FN RD(XHNT(X*10'-DP+0.5)/10*DP
To round off a number, set the vari-
able DP to the number of decimal
places required. It uses the define func-
tion command. As an example, to
round off the square root of 8 to 3
decimal places from within a program
you would need a line like this:
B0 DP=3: PRINT FN RD(SQR(8))CIA
Squared
Problems with drives or keyboards
can be a common occurrence, but a
solution may be easier than you think.
Unplug the computer and carefully
unscrew the base of the 64. Have a
look at the array of chips on the main
board. If you look carefully you should
find two chips placed next to each
other that are marked with CIA or
6526. These CIA (Complex Interface
Adapter) chips are the possible cause
of the problem.
They are, in fact, identical chips -
only that one controls the keyboard,
and the other controls the user port
and disk drive functions. If these chips
are swapped over then often the prob-
lem will be rectified. The CIAs might
be either plugged into a socket, in
which case the job of changing them
would be greatly simplified, or sol-
dered on, making your life just that
much more challenging.
That just about wraps up this
installment of The C64 Column. As
usual, I'd love to hear from you. Send
your questions, suggestions, news or
anything else to me at The C64 Col-
umn, PO Box 288, Gladesville NSW
2111. See you next month. J
Australian Commodore &
AMIGA
Review
For Professional and Home Users
Subscribe now!
******
Please enrol me for a issue
subscription to The Australian
Commodore & Amiga Review,
commencing with the issue.
I enclose a cheque/money order lor
Please charge my Bankcard, Visa
Mastercard:
Card number:
Expiry date:
Name:
Address: ....
.Postcode:
Please tick applicable:
First Subscription j ~
Renewal
To: Saturday Magazine P/L
21 Dariey Road,
Randwick NSW 2031
Phone: (02)398 5111
Fax: (02) 398 5322
Rates within Australia:
6 issues $20.00 (inc. postage}
12 issues $38.00 (inc. postage)
New Zealand: (inc. airmail postage)
6 issues Aus $34,00
12 issues Aus $68.00
ACAR 61
879 7455
Sydney Metro
Support * Orders
Low Cost
Home Office • Games • Business • Graphics
Clip-Art • Fonts • Animation • Utilities
Most orders despatched day after receipt • Expert advice available
HOT GAMES DISKS
■ Ml - AirAce, Missile Command (Atari style),
Care Race, Downhill Racer (Skiing)
■ #2 - Blackjack, Metro (Trains), China
Challenge, Klondike (21)
■ S3 - Hate (3D Perspective shoot 'em up),
Megaball (super break-out style game)
• #4 - Calaxian, Pacman, Space Invaders and
Asteroid look-a-likes - "the classics"
■ #5 - Imperium, Mech Fight, SCombat
• #6 - Chute!, Defender, Pharoah's Curse,
SkyFight, SpaceWar
■ #7 - Amiga Tanx, Cave Runner, X-Fire,
Bally m, Llamatron, Obess-0-Matic
• #8 - Asteroids, Bug Blaster, Microbe, Poing,
Revenge of the Mutant Camels, Ring War,
Trix
■ #9 - Pacman (brilliant copy of the original),
OmegaRace, Columns, Nebula and POD,
■ #10 - Donkey Kong, Galaga (the best!),
Artilerus, Flench
•-NEW • HOT GAMES 1 1 Scorched
Tanks - the latest super version, 2-4 players.
■ Adventure 1 - Island of Nephoton, Rescue
Sc. Jungle, Zut Alors! and Treasure Island.
Some text based.
• Star Trek - Two Disk - animation,
sound-FX, point and click interface. 1Mb
• Balance of Power - Strategy game for one or
two players. Control the world powers to
avoid nuclear war.
• UChess - Chess game - Needs 4Mb and
accelerator - Ideal for A 1200 or 4000. AGA
Support.
Home Office
• Analyticalc - Powerful spreadsheet package
■ CAD - Five Programs: Speaker and Circuit
Design, Landscape & Architectual
■ Database - Hyperbase, HyperDialer,
DataEasy, Home Manager, bBasell
■ Forms Designer - Text based forms editor.
■ Genealogy 1 - A-Gene and Family History
■ Genealogy 2 - ArJay - Up to 1000 people,
WB2.x/lMb required.
•"NEW ■ Home Budget ■ Easy to use, well
documented home finance program. 1Mb
• Home Tools - TouchTyping, simple
database, Furniture Helper, Resume Maker,
VCR Database, Diet Aid and LP Database.
■ Spreadsheets - Easy to use SCalc, SPREAD
• Finance - BankN, Your Money, Budget and
CheckBook
••NEW - JCGraph - Create professional
2D & 3D graphs, various save formats.
• Text Editors - Az, UEdit, QED, DME +
Text Editors Guide
Wordprocessing - Text Plus, AmigaFOX,
Liner, SuperRetLab, GWPRint & Print Studio
Pretext 4 J - Includes spell checker, word
count, footnotes, anagrams - hundreds more
features. Text only - no graphics.
• Bowling - Keep track of bowling scores.
1Mb required.
Communications
• NCOMM 3.0 - Shareware AREXX,
SCRIPTing, simple BBS mode.
■ Term 3.4 - Freeware, scripting, powerful, 3
disks, hard drive req. WB2.X required.
Fonts
• CG-Font Pack 1 - Suitable for Workbench
2.x and above, Final Copy, Professional Page,
Pagestream and PageSetter III. Includes over
60 different Compugraphic fonts. 6 disk set.
■ Bit-Mapped Font Pack 1 - Suitable for
Worbench 1.3. Over 40 different fonts, ready
to use directly from floppy - ideal for Deluxe
Paint and most paint programs. 6 Disk Set.
Clip Art
• Clip Art Pack 1 - A selection of black and
white, bitmapped clips, suitable for
wordprocessing and desktop publishing.
Subjects include Abstract, Holiday, People,
Plants, Signs, Sports, Things, Animals, Food,
Ships, Crests, Famous Faces, Funny Folk,
Helicopter, Holidays, Military, Movie Stars,
People, Sports, Things, Vehicles, More
Animals, Computers, Dwellings, Fantasy,
Food, Plants, People, HouseHold, Merrymenta
and Business. Three disk set - $13.50
• Structured Clip 1 - Assorted ProDraw
format clip -art.
Desktop Publishing
• Pagestream Enhancer ■ requires
Pagestream 2.x or better. New drivers,
Postscript utilities and more.
• Professional Page Enhancer - requires
PPage 3.x or better. Lots of great genies for
smart borders, copying pages, group, special
effects.
■ PageSetter 1.2 - Entry level desktop
publishing program to try and see what the
world of DTP is all about.
Cartoons (Require 1Mb FREE)
■ Cartoon 1: Batman, Shuttlecock, Stealthy
■ Cartoon 2: Amy Vs Walker
■ Cartoon 3: Jugette, Jugette 2, Juggler 2
■ Cartoon 4: F16 Combat, Stealthy Manver II
■ Cartoon 5: Bigs Bunny
Big Cartoons (Require 3Mb)
■ Big Cartoon 1: Anti -Lemmings
■ Big Cartoon 2: Coyote
• Big Cartoon 3: Pogo
• Big Cartoon 4: The Daring Game (2 disks)
• Big Cartoon S: Unsporting
• Big Cartoon 6: Enterprise Docking
• Big Cartoon 7: Bait-Masking
Education
■ Education I - Elements, Draw Map, Rubik,
Space Log, Gears
• Education 2 - Gravity Well, Planets, Life
Cycles, Orbit, Enigmas, ZPlot
• Education 3 - Word Puzzle, Crossword,
Word Game, A-Solve, POWER LOGO!
• Education 4 - PlotMap - Two disk set -
creates maps of world, save in IFF format
■ Hypertext - Create text files with links to
animation, graphics, sounds, songs - anything
(via AREXX). 1Mb & WB2.X required.
■ Stockmarket Simulation - Buy and sell
shares, take out a bank overdraft, and
eventually qualify to joing the insiders club.
Local program to simulate local conditions.
■ Chemistry - Create 3D models of different
molecules
Emulation
• Atari Emulator - German Only
• MS-DOS Emulator - Transformer - Original
PC Speed. Require MS-DOS System, No
Graphics! -
■ C64 Emulator - Run C64 Program, Interface
C64 Peripherals (opt. interface available from
U.S.A. Only)
Graphics and Animation
• Graphics 1 - Still Store: For sequencing
stills for video production
■ Graphics 2 - Mostra, ImageLab, TitleGen.
sMovie, ABridge, SceneGenDemo,
SlideMaster
■ Graphics 3 - Icon-Editor, Turbo Title,
Cyro-Animation Utils
■ Graphics 4 - FreePaint, Graffiti, PED,
PicBase - IFF Database
■ MandleBrot Tools - Six Disks, Create
amazing shapes and patterns!
•-NEW - MiniMorph - Create your own 16
grey-scale morphs, 1Mb
• AGA Demos 1 - HOIS-AGA and AGA-
Amiga Boing.
■ Mobile! - By Spaceballs - 3D Animation,
A1200 and 3000 compatible.
• AGA Images - Six disks of hot AGA piccies
including 3D rendered in Aladdin, and photos.
Software!
Emulation Software • Educational s
Genealogy • Multimedia • Animation
008 252 879
RDER HOTLINE
Outside Sydney Metro
We guarantee satisfaction or your money back, no questions asked.
■ Image Objects 1 - Enterprise, Chess Pieces,
Amiga 3000.
Music and Sound
• Med 3.1 - The best Amiga low-level
sequencer - some MIDI support
' Sound Tools - Play, edit, arrange, distort and
create IFF sound samples
• Sound Tracker - Five disks of the original,
with sounds and instruments
• Sound FX I - Filled with short, sweet sound
samples - Bells, Horns, Dogs., etc
■ Remix 1 - Two remixed music samples -
Madonna and Black Box
• Tracks 1 - 1733, Agression, Angies,
Arkenoid, Atmospheric, AxelF, Azeirev
• Tracks 2 - Beat, Benny, Biochall, Biochal2,
Blue Days, Blue Moon, Boss, Call Me, T.C.S.
■ Tracks 3 - Cloud Song, Creation 2,
Crockets, Ear, Electric Dreams, Last Ninja II,
Megaforce, Metal Synth
■ Tracks 4 - Oxygene, Piano-Plimc, PopCom,
DISK PRICES
All our disks are covered by one pricing
schedule. All prices includes postage,
packing and support.
Disks Total Price Cost/Disk
1 $ 5.00 $ 5.00
2 $ 9.50 $ 4.75
3 $13,50 $ 4.50
4 $17.00 $ 4.25
5 $20.50 $ 4.10
6 $24.00 $ 4.00
(for orders of 6 or more disks,
each additional disk is $3.75)
We use quality Memorex Brand
diskettes.
RSI-Hard, Skylight, Smoke, SupeBASIC,
Tocatta
• Tracks 5 - 3 at Dance, Bond, Fresh House,
Lambada, Pawnl, WasteLand
■ Movie Samples - 9 Disks of IFF "Make My
Day" style samples
(Tracks 6-23 also available now.)
Improve Your Workbench
■ AGA Utilities 1 - AGA Anim players,
picture showers, AGA disable, GB? Shower
and more.
■ WB1.3 Superdisk - Bootable, ready-to-run.
Read/Write MS-DOS disks, DIRWORK file
manager, AutoCLI WB Enhancer, includes
Documentation on disk.
• WB2.X Enhancer - Icons, Presets, NAG
program for appointments, Fractal Screen
Blanker, KCommodity: Auto window
activation, Clock/Memory usage, Keystroke
Audible Click, Gadgetless window closing,
Hotkey, Mouse accelerator and much more.
■ Antivirus - Latest protection using BOOTX,
Tutorial on Virus Protection and more
• Hacker - Rip music from games, create
custom boot blocks, look for secret messages
on disks
• DOS Utilities III - All the latest PD Utilities
to organise your disks
• MS-DOS Utilities - READ/WRITE and
FORMAT 720K MS-DOS Disks! Now you
can bring you work home - many Amiga
programs can use Lotus or Dbase. Read them
directly into the application using this utility,
then save them back onto an MS-DOS disk to
take back to work.
• Hard Disk Utilities 1 - HD Backup, Alock
security, Undeleter, Disk editor, mark out bad
blocks, alter your boot logo, find misplaced
files and HDMem.
• Parbench - Network two Amigas via a
special Parallel cable. Ideal for CDTV owners
1
to use as a CD-ROM drive.
Programming
• ACE AmigaBASIC Compiler 1.1 - Speed
up your BASIC programs into fast executable
binary. Indudes linker and assembler.
• Pascal - Two disks, PASCAL includes PCQ
compiler, A63K, Blink, Debugger, Men,
examples and PCQ source.
Printer Drivers
• General - A selection of over 100 drivers
covering almost every known printer. Includes
special drivers for 24pin dot matrix printers
and postscript.
• Canon Drivers - Covers Canon
BJ10,130,3O0
• HP Drivers - Covers HP500, 550, 500C,
550C and LaserJet 1,11,111.
Call for a FREE Catalogue
PD Starter
Packer
7W
\%\ss
The ideal way for first time public
domain software buyers to start
building a useful library of good
software. This pack is a collection of
our most popular easy to use titles.
Hot Games 4 • Anti- Virus
Finance • Sound- Vision Demo
Cartoon Animations 3
Tracks 1 * Hot Games 1
PRIME
A R T I F A X
^Guaranteed
satisfaction or your
money back."
ORDER FORM - Post to Prime Artifax, P.O. Box 288, Gladesville 2111
January ACAR
Name
Address
Post Code
Day Phone
Card No. [
m nana nana nana
ValidTo \ Visa □ B/C [j M/C □ COD □ChequeO
Signature
Public Domain Disks
Please bill me each month for your
NEW disk/s of the month offer : Q
ENTERTAINMENT
Happy New Year
Welcome to yet another year of
Entertainment here in the ACAR En-
tertainment section. With the CD32
console selling like hot cakes, the fu-
ture of Amiga entertainment seems
secure. As you'll see in the next few
pages, this month marks the start of
some heavy-duty CD coverage - if
there's a development on the CD32
Entertainment front, you'll read about
it here. Not only that, over the next
few months we'll be reviewing a
bunch of hot new Amiga titles too -
see the details below. Don't forget,
we're still the best dudes to write to if
you're looking for an answer to a prob-
lem or a hint for a game. And if you're
a full-on adventurer, check out Ad-
venturers Realm, the biggest and best
information exchange in Australia. In
this issue, we're featuring our annual
update of the Realm's clever contacts
- experts on almost every game you
can think of who are happy to dish out
free advice! What a deal! What a
mag!
New hints from
ACAR
Good news, folks! We're de-
lighted to announce a new addi-
tion to the ACAR Hints Disk sta-
ble. ACAR Hints Disk Number 3
is packed full of hints, cheats, level
codes and even full solutions for
games released since Disk 2. There
are 160 Action Replay Cheats,
codes for all 1000 levels of Populous
2, hints for games like Lemmings 2,
Chaos Engine, Zool, Flashback, and
Desert Strike - to name but a few - as
well as all the hints and tips printed in
the ACAR Entertainment section over
the last two years. 100 Adventure
games have been covered, many with
complete solutions. So if you're look-
ing for help with Zork 1, 2 or 3, with
Monkey Island 2, with Larry 2 and 5,
or with Police Quest 2, Kings Quest 2
or Space Quest 4, here's where you
look! To order Hints Disk 3 - or Disk
1 or 2 - send a blank disk, a stamped,
self addressed envelope, and a cheque
or postal order for $5.00 to Phil
Campbell, ACAR Hints Disk Offer,
PO Box 23, Maclean NSW 2463.
More PD games from
ACAR too!
More good news for disk collec-
tors! We're also happy to announce
Body Blows Galactica
the addition of a new PD Game Disk
to our ACAR Series. Graeme Beaven's
ACAR PD Games Disk 2 is now avail-
able. Graeme has searched high and
low for top quality PD games for our
readers - see a full review of the disk
in this issue. Order details are as per
the PD disks - see the item above.
New releases from
Hot Point
Things are still running hot at Hot
Point Software, Australia's most com-
mitted Amiga software stockists. Now
distributing for the UK's ICE - that's
International Computer Entertainment
- as well as Psygnosis and a bunch of
other top class software houses, Hot
Point's Kevin Davies reports brisk
business. ICE are responsible for qual-
ity Amiga titles like Deep Core, a
slick arcade shoot-em-up, and the
corny Gnome Alone, a corny,
cartoonist! scrolling action adventure.
A number of A 1200 specific titles have
been released recently, like Alien
Breed 2 and Oscar, and Kevin sug-
gests that 15 CD32 titles should be on
the shelves by the time you read this.
Digisoft
Development Deal
Australia's very own Digisoft - de-
velopers of the A1200 and CD32 title
Overkill, are currently negotiating an
Australian and international distribu-
tion agreement with an Aussie soft-
ware company. Currently, Digisoft
products are distributed by Mindscape
UK!
Next month ...
Stay tuned next month for our
long awaited review of Soccer Kid
- one of the most popular
platformers in the UK, and cer-
tainly doing brisk business with
the kids in my house! You'll also
get the low down on Body Blows
Galactica, a game that you could
only describe as a real hit! Now
why didn't someone think of a deep
space beat-em-up before?
ACAR 64
ENTERTAINMENT
*$y~"*«fy
Need help? Check out this month's
selection of handy hints and tips. If
you can't find the help you need, drop
us a line and we'll advertise your prob-
lem. Better still, if you've found out
something sneaky about your favour-
ite game, let us know. Write to ACAR
Hints, PO Box 23, Maclean NSW
2463.
Castle Master
During the game, press SHIFT, L
and then tap the right mouse button
around 20 times until you hear a sound.
Some boxes will have appeared ahead
of you. Shoot either of them for infi-
nite lives, all ten keys and the end
sequence.
Horror Zombies From The Crypt
Type CHEATMODE during play
and use F10 to skip levels.
Monty Pythons Flying Circus
Type SEMPRINI as yom name on
the high score table to restart on any
level previously reached by using the
cursor keys.
Shadow Warriors
Press CTRL, ESCAPE, F2, 5, C, J,
HELP, right ALT, left bracket and
ENTER on the keypad. The bottom of
the title screen should flash purple.
Now HELP skips levels, 1 and 2 will
give the respective players more en-
ergy and Q will make them invinci-
ble.
Viz
On the character selection screen
type WHAT A GREAT LOAD OF
BULLOCKS. Now the keys 1-5 will
skip to that level.
Agony
Hit any one of the following keys
during play to activate these cheat
modes: Fl - Puts a sword underneath
owl F2 - Puts a sword above owl F3 -
Increase size of bullets Press F3 three
times to gain an extra life. This cheat
can be repeated often so watch out
you don't run out of lives.
Alien Breed
To activate the following cheats,
log onto the terminal on deck two
(one screen south of where you start)
and simply type in (including spaces)
one of the following;
PUFFNUTS MODE - makes the
aliens quite slow
IS IT TRUE THAT THE ALIENS
SUPPORT MAN UTD - makes aliens
very weak
PITBULLS ON THE LOOSE -
makes the aliens dangerous as pitbulls
BEN JOHNSON TRAINED
THESE ALIENS - makes the aliens a
bit faster
THE IRAQIS MADE THE WEAP-
ONS - gives you abysmal weapons
SALMAN RUSHIE PLAYS AL-
IEN BREED - all the aliens flee in
terror
BEWARE ALIENS SPADGE HAS
DROPPED ONE
Regular contributor and hint-disk
guru Graeme Beaven has contributed
the following up-to-date hints. Thanks
Graeme!
Chaos Engine
Enter the following Passwords to
receive extra money, lives and weap-
ons.
TTTTTTTTTTTT Start at World 1
VVVVVVVVVVVV Start at World 1
XXXXXXXXXXXX Start at World 1
YYYYYYYYYYYY Start at World 1
P#S7Q6MJZCHJ Start at World 2
VL7V76F7TWRG Start at World 3
TYJRRWRDYRV8 Start at World 4
Desert Strike
Passwords
Level 1 : None Needed.
Level 2: LQJMQRX.
Level 3: JLJOLRH.
Level 4r JTBOOMJ.
Win Screen: KIKPPHN.
Goblins
Level Codes:
1
NONE
12
FTQKVLE
2
VQVQFDE
13
DCPLQMH
3
ICIGCAA
14
EWDGPNL
4
ECPQPCC
15
TCNGTOU
5
FTWKFEN
16
TCVQRPM
6
HQWFTFW
17
IQDNKQO
7
DWNDGBW
18
KKKPURE
8
JCJCJHM
19
NGOGKSP
9
ICVGCGT
20
NNGWTTO
10
LQPCUJV
21
LGWFGUS
11
HNWVGKB
22
TQNGFVC
Leander
Level Codes
LEVEL 1 : Not Needed
LEVEL 2 : ZXSP
LEVEL 3 : LVFT
Use the joystick to select the pass-
word LVFT and then move it left or
right to choose any of the three levels.
Once the level has been selected,
change the password to LTUS. You
will now have unlimited lives plus
weapon select using Fl to F5.
Lemmings 2 - The Tribes
When you first come to the Main
Menu Screen, click on the "Load" but-
ton and then click on "Cancel" to get
straight back to the Main Menu once
more. Now click the mouse button
once on each of the four comers of
the screen until you hear a Lemming
call out "Let's Go". You will now be
able to play on every level in the game
at any time.
Road Rash
Enter the following Password to
start on level 1 with $25,000. You
will now be able to buy any bike you
want.
10111 -02DJ1 - 10ITV - 103FC
Please note, says Graeme, that the
Road Rash passwords are in four sec-
tions. You must type in each of the
above numbers in the appropriate box
for the password to work.
ACAR 65
ENTERTAINMENT
Got something entertaining to say?
Or maybe a question about Amiga
gaming? Maybe you want to com-
plain? Just drop us a line at the Enter-
tainment Mailbox, PO Box 23
Maclean NSW 2463. And, as a little
reward for those of you who bother to
read tbe bumpf like this at the top of
the letters section, next month's best
letter writer will receive a free copy
of Mean Arenas, courtesy of Hot Point
software.
Ports of Call Question
Dear Phil, Would you please tell
me a way to get a large sum of money
in Ports of Call. I think ACAR is
great and the Entertainment & Ad-
venture Sections are excellent. Keep
up the good work!
Dale Scott
Innaloo, WA
Ed: The best way to get lots of
money in Ports of Call is to read
through your AGAR back issues - I'm
sure there's an answer in there some-
where, but I can't put a finger on it at
the moment. Let's hope someone with
a good memory lets us know, I've got
a feeling it's got something to do with
picking up stranded voyagers.
CD Listings
Dear Phil, I have a NEC 74 CD-
ROM Reader on a Amiga 2000. If you
have a listing of CD vendors, could
you please send me a copy. I have
purchased material from Don Quixote
and a few PC format (GIFF) CD disks
and I thought it was possible there
were other outlets.
B Benyon
Woodridge, QLD
Ed; Good news - our new CD32
column will keep you up to date on
the latest happenings in the worid of
Commodore CD. Don Quixote are
your best bet for Amiga CDs, as
they've always been Australia's best
CDTV supporters. As for listings of
PC disks, the field is huge, and grow-
ing every day. They're good for text
applications, and fine for graphics and
some fonts if you've got the right soft-
ware.
Want Twin World? You've got it
Dear Phil, In answer to Peter
Ramshaw wanting a copy of Twin
World (ACAR Nov), I have an origi-
nal copy still in box with manual.
Price $20.00? Also I have if anyone is
interested the following games:
Ultima 6 + Manual & Hints
Shadow Sorcerer + Manual
Limited Edition D/D Clue book
with Curse Azure Bonds
Death Knights of Krynn with Clue
Book
Kings Quest V + Manual + Clue
book
All are originals and all have their
boxes.
R Morgan
20 Riowena Place
Lithgow NSW, 2790
Ed: Thanks for responding to Pe-
ter's plea! Hopefully, he'll be in touch
- if you're not swamped with other
readers first.
A Character Reference for
James
Dear Phil, I am writing to all those
people who are thinking about writ-
ing to James Abram in England, and
are still pondering whether to trust
this man who lives on the other side
of the world. Stop pondering and DO
IT!
I answered James' request in the
January issue of this year and have
not regretted it. James is a good friend
(by post) and a hard-working Amiga
user. I have received numerous disks
from him for sending him issues of
ACAR, he even gave me Zool.
In closing I would like to say James
can be trusted with your money, in
fact I trust him more than a bank, and
anybody who wants to take up his
offer but are holding back their money
then just send it now.
Jeremy Taylor
Bunbury, WA
Ed: Okay, Jeremy, I know you're
really James' mum trying to fool us.
But we'll take your word for it this
time! By the way, thanks for the good
work James. Pass your copies of
ACAR around to a few other Poms -
they need to see what a decent com-
puter mag looks like!
Another CD question
Dear Phil, I am concerned about
the future of the CD-ROM drive. I
have many questions to ask :
1) Will the CD32 take over and
make the CDTY old news? Or will
the CD32 reflect on the CDTV and
make more programs available for us.
2) Are there any Sierra adventure
games coming soon to CDTV?
3) What has happened to Monkey
Islands, Microcosm, CDTV Football
and Dracula for the CDTV - 1 haven't
seen them around anywhere, can 1 get
them through mail order?
4) Are the rumours true about an
adaptor for the CDTV and the CD32
to make them both compatible?
Thanks a lot and keep up the good
work.
Paul Spiroski
Balga, WA
Ed: Sadly, Paul, it seems like the
days of the CDTV are now numbered.
Much as the Amiga 500 has been su-
perseded by the AGA graphics modes
of the A1200, the CD32 outshines the
CDTV, and new CD32 specific discs
won't run on your CDTV. Unless
someone comes up with an AGA adap-
tor for the CDTV, you'll be stuck with
your existing CD collection. Don't
expect Monkey Islands, Microcosm or
CDTV Football for CDTV - some of
them are already on the way for CD32.
Check out our release list in this
month's new CD32 column.
ACAR 66
ENTERTAINMENT
MICHAEL SPITERI'S
Mms&msi
a
Happy New Year to Realmers
across the land! Welcome to the first
Adventurer's Realm for 1994. This is
the part of the magazine where an-
swers lie to many problems. You can
write to one of our many Clever Con-
tacts (a full list printed this month) or
to Kerrie for one of her many free hint
sheets. If all of those options fail, drop
a line to me here at the caves of the
Realm.
If I can't find help for you among
my huge database of hints and tips
then I'll print your problem here for
all to see and hopefully a solution will
be forthcoming.
Of course, you are more than wel-
come to send in your hints and tips,
your views and news, your rumours
and gossip, your complaints and chat-
ter, in fact if it's on the topic of ad-
venture and roleplaying games then
we want to hear about it!
The address to write to for adven-
ture hints, tips, problems, natter, chat-
ter, rumours, complaints, etc. is:
Adventurers Realm, 12 Bridle
Place, Pakenham, Vic 3810.
Kamikaze Andy resides deep in his
Dungeon and he is our resident
roleplaying game expert (he is also
pretty cluey when it comes to games
in general). Drop Andy a line at:
Realms Dungeon, PO Box 1083,
Canning Vale, WA 6155.
Always enclose a stamped ad-
dressed envelope when writing to any
of the addresses published in this ar-
ticle.
Realm's Super Hint Disks
Orders for the Second Hint Disk
are coming in thick and fast, and for
good reason of course as it is the best
dressed and most easy to use hint disk
ever. It features a very easy to use
interface that allows you to display
hints and maps at a click of a button.
It also has a catchy background tune.
Absolutely packed to the last remain-
ing sector with hints and maps, it is an
absolute bargain at just $7 (including
p&p) or $5 if you supply the disk and
stamped addressed envelope.
Not as pretty but just as useful is
the first hint disk which is also packed
to the brim with hints. The two disks
combined feature help for around 200
games. Not bad eh? To order either
disk send a cheque to Michael Spiteri
for the required amount to Realm's
Hint Disk, 12 Bridle Place, Pakenham,
Vic 3810.
Hint
Sheets
Kerrie, the Lady of the Realm, spent
Christmas under a pile of mail. The
fact that I hid her present under last
month's mail could explain why she
got lost and didn't reappear until Box-
ing Day. Anyhow, she is still just as
quick when it comes to processing
your hint sheets requests and is eager
to read your letters.
All our hint sheets are absoiuteiy
free and you can choose up to four
from the list below as long as you
send your request with a stamped ad-
dressed envelope to: Free Hint Sheets,
12 Bridle Place, Pakenham, Vic 3810.
Hint sheets available are: Mortville
Manor/Maupiti Island, Monkey Island
I, II, Space Quest III, IV, Wonder-
land, Leisure Suit Larry 3, Champi-
ons of Krynn, Kings Quest V, Pool of
Radiance, Zak McKracken, Zork 1, 2,
3, Bards Tale I, 2, 3, Hitchhikers'
Guide to the Galaxy, Guild of Thieves,
Jinxter, The Pawn, Corruption, Faery
Tale, Indiana Jones and the Fate of
Atlantis, Loom, Space Quest II, and
the brand new 1994 Clever Contacts
Listing.
Realm's Super
Hint Books
Take your pick or pick both of our
wonderful hint packed hint books.
Volume 1 contains hints and tips to
over 40 games, and Volume 2 con-
tains hints and tips to over 25 adven-
ture and RPG games as well as pages
upon pages of mapping sheets.
Volume 1 is only $9 and Volume 2
is only $10. To order either book,
drop a line to Darrien Perry at 21
Darley Road, Randwick, or give her a
bell on (02) 398 5111.
ACAR 67
ENTERTAINMENT
Clever Contacts Updated Listing
The Clever Contact service has been
running for over three years and is
now a very realiable source for hints
and tips for specific games. AH the
contacts are volunteers who donate
their time (and sometimes money) to
helping out very troubled adventur-
ers, and also picking up pen-pals along
the way. It's a great way to get in
touch with fellow adventurers and has
been a huge success.
As usual, January is the month
where I list all of our Clever Contacts,
and boy has the list grown over the
past year, by 25 percent, in fact. There
are over 90 Clever Contacts scattered
across Australia. With our new addi-
tions from the Northern Territory and
Tasmania, we are well and truly a
national service. Hopefully this year
we can add New Zealand to the list
and become international! So, if there
are any Kiwi contacts out there, we
need your services.
Remember, you can write to Kerne
in the Free Hint Sheet Department for
an update of the Clever Contacts list-
ing as seen in these pages.
If you use the services of a Clever
Contact, be polite and keep in mind
the contacts are helping you out of the
goodness of their hearts. Make sure
you enclose a stamped addressed en-
velope and sufficient funds for addi-
tional printing and photocopy costs.
Congratulations and many big
thanks to all our Clever Contacts for
doing a fantastic job and making us
proud here at Realm Headquarters.
New South Wales
Simon Vaughan of 64 Lakeview Parade,
Primbee, NSW 2052 can help out in the
following games: Yukon, On the Run, Shift-
ing Sands, Hitchhikers' Guide,
Neuromancer, Curse of the Azure Bonds,
Maniac Mansion, and Zak McKracken.
Please enclose 50c to cover photocopy
costs if you require complete solutions.
Daniel Cannon, 1 3 Tamworth St, Dubbo,
NSW 2830 can help out in Monkey Island
1, 2, Zool, Dream Zone, Rocket Ranger,
Colorado, Garfield, Hook and Zak
McKracken.
Peter Coielough of 79 Scholey Street,
Ma/field, NSW 2304 can help in Black
Crypt, Death Knights of Krynn, Quest for
Glory 1, Countdown to Doomsday, Kings
Quest II, Space Quest II and Police Quest
II.
Ben Ashby of 11 Miles CSose, Forster,
NSW 2423 can help in a huge range of
RPG and adventure games - too many to
fit on these pages!
David Weston, PO Box 64, Henry NSW
2658, can help in the following games:
Bards Tale III (and map for Dargoth's
Tower), Ultima V, Last Ninja, Labyrinth,
pokes & tips for a few arcade games as
well as general hints and tips for games in
general.
Aaron Anderson of 107 Bant Street,
Bafhurst 2795, can offer help in the follow-
ing games: Monkey Island I, Space Quest
2, Kings Quest 2, Search for the King, Pool
of Radiance, Heroes Quest {Quest for
Glory) 1 + map, Larry 1, Loom, Eye of the
Beholder maps, and Operation Stealth.
Tom Le, 34 Dudley Street, Mt Druitt
2770, has compiled a disk packed with
solutions for many games, including Larry
1, 2, 3, Kings Quest 1, 2, Police Quest T, 2,
3 plus others. Send a disk and $2 and
you'll promptly receive the hint disk.
Tony Finn of 214 Fernieigh Road,
Wagga Wagga, NSW 2658 can offer help
in trie following games: Monkey Island 2,
Eye of the Beholder 1 & 2, Dungeon Mas-
ter, Hitchhikers' Guide, Borrowed Time,
Uninvited, It Came From the Desert 1,
Bards Tale 7, 2, 3, Space Quest 1, 2. 3,
Kings Quest "1,2,3, 4, Police Quest 1, 2,
Ultima 4, Codename Iceman plus many
other Sierra games, Deja Vu 1, Deja Vu 2,
Conquests of Camelot, Black Crypt,
Lancelot, Dragons Lair 1 & 2, Loom, Ma-
niac Mansion, Arthur (Quest for Excalibur),
Operation Stealth, Champions of Krynn,
Lure of the Temptress, Colonels Bequest
and Heroes Quest 2.
Noel McAskill, 9-18 Vega Street,
Revesby, NSW 2212, can offer help in
Mortvitle Manor and Maupili Island.
Darren Chapman of 1 a Wearden Road,
Belrose NSW 2085, can help out in Space
Quest I & 2, Monkey Island 1, Pirates,
Civilization, Shadow of the Beast III, Rail-
road Tycoon and A-Train.
Doug Smith of 19 Hibiscus Avenue,
Brooms Head, NSW 2463 can offer help in
most Lucasfilm, Delphine and Sierra
Games, and also some help with Castle of
Dr. Brain and Fool's Errand. Doug has a
saved game for Fool's Errand which has
all solutions up to and including the Sun
Map. Anyone sending a disk and postage
is welcome to this.
Tony Finn of 214 Fernieigh Road,
Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650 will offer his
services as a Clever Contact for Eye of the
Beholder 1 & 2 plus over fifty other titles.
Mark Harris from Bondi Junction can be
contacted on {02} 369 4920 between Sam
and 11am during the day and between
7.30pm and 1 0.30pm during the evening.
No calls on weekends, please. Mark can
offer heip in a huge range of adventure
and roteplaying games.
Juris Graney of 41 Cameron St, Maclean
2463. Help offered: Various games for
Amiga & C64.
Robert McGechen of Exmouth Road,
Dapto 2530. Help offered: Sierra games,
Maniac Mansion, Zak, Future Wars, Gold
Rush, Operation Stealth, Colonels Bequest.
Peter Chirn of 37 Austral Avenue,
Westmead, 2145 (email pec@newt.
phys.unsw.edu.au). Help offered: Ultima IV,
V, Eye of the Beholder, The Hobbit,
Shadow of the Beast I & //, Zak McKracken,
Larry 1, Time Tunnel, Prince of Persia,
Indy (Last Crusade), Phantasie ///and some
help in Pools of Darkness.
Nathan Allan of 1 1 Maple Avenue, Pen-
nant Hills, 2120. Help offered: Larry 1 & 2,
Space Quest 1 A 2, Police Quest 1, Faery
Tale.
Andrew Bell of 67 Byamee St, Dapto,
2530. Help offered: Sierra Games, Hillsfar,
Bards Tale I, Millennium 2.2, Warhead,
Battletech, Iron Lord, Champions of Krynn,
Codename Iceman, Heroes Quest.
Shayne Cooper of 43 Raye Street,
Tollard, Wagga Wagga, 2650. Help offered:
Hints and maps for Alternate Reality: The
Dungeon.
Gus Wrethman of 31 Anderson Street,
Mortdale, NSW 2223. Help offered: Sards
Tale 1, 2, 3, Dungeon Master, Chaos
Strikes Back, Might and Magic I, II, Eye of
the Beholder, Dragon Wars, Alternate Re-
ality (city and dungeon), Phantasie III, Deja
Vu, Pirates. Tass Times, Lemmings and
parts of Legend of Faerghail.
Peter Georges of 34 Arundal Park Drive,
St Clair 2759. Help offered: Has a collec-
tion of hints and tips printed in almost every
magazine over the last five years (Amiga,
C64, ST).
Matthew Sant of 3 Baringa St, Blaxiand
2774. Help offered: A huge list of adven-
ture, arcade and role playing games.
Suzanne Parkes of 1 Ida Place,
Blacktown, 2148. Help offered: Asylum,
Adventureland, Find Daryl, Giants Gold,
Hitchhikers' Guide, Irish Adventure, Jinxter,
King Solomons Mines, Lucifers Realm,
ACAR 68
ENTERTAINMENT
Magicians Bail, Pilgrim, Perseus & Andro-
meda, Pirate Adventure, Subsunk, Secret
Mission, Pawn, Boggit, Voodoo Castle, Lost
City, Winnie the Pooh, Zork 1,2, 3.
Andrew Hansen of 4 Stevens Street,
Pennant Hills, 2120. Help offered: Sards
series, Ultima i, III, IV, Zork 1 & 2.
Anthony Stubbs of 66 Hoskins Street,
Nyngan 2825. Help offered: Captive, Pools
of Radiance, Azure Bonds, Silver Blades,
Champions of Krynn, Kings Quest,
Bloodwyche, Dracuia Pt 3, Curse of Sher-
wood, Wolf man Pt 1, Labyrinth, Bards Tale
III, Hitchikers' Guide.
S. Rawiings of 6 Balder Street,
Doonside, 2767. Help offered: Bastow
Manor, Drak, Curse of the Mad Mummy,
Dale Priem of PO Box 43, Jannal, 2226.
Help offered: Space Quest 1, 2, 3, Larry \,
Zak Mckracken, Hitchhikers' Guide.
G, Beaven of PO Box 254, Wyong, 2259.
Help offered: C64 ... Last Ninja, Might and
Magic, Ultima 5, Labyrinth, Head Over
Heals. Amiga ... Eye of the Beholder I & II,
Search for the King, Might & Magic III and
Black Crypt. Please enclose $2 to cover
photocopy costs.
Shane Robertson of 14 Sonoma Road,
Budgewoi 2261. Help offered: Dodgy Gee-
zers, Mask of the Sun, Hobbit,
Dragonworld, Fish, Pay Off, Runaway,
Wishbringer, Zorks, Bards Tale I, II, III,
Bastow Manor, Voodoo Castle, Zak
McKracken, ZZZZZZ, Castle Master 1 & 2,
Yukon, Winter Wonderland, Urban Upstart,
Unknown, Time Machine, Stainless Steel
Rat Saves the World, St Jives and Skull
Island, Deadline, Stationfall, Ballyhoo, Lurk-
ing Horror, and Suspect, Miser, Lost in the
Amazon, Apache Gold, Castle Adventure,
Castle of Mydor, Lost City, Hitchhikers'
Guide, Harboro, Gypsum Caves, Guild of
Thieves, Dog Star Adventure, Critical Mass,
Corruption, Cavern of Riches, and Castle
Quest, Adventure/and (Public Domain), Af-
rican Adventure, Alien, Shifting Sands,
Buck Rogers 1, Shard of I nova r, Rigals
Revenge, Return to Eden, Red Moon, Price
ofMagik, The Pawn, Murder on the Water-
front, Dungeon (Public Domain).
Jonny Corfleld of 56 Third Street,
Boolaroo, NSW 2284. Jonny can help in
Larry 1, 2, 3, Kings Quest 1, 2, 3, 4, Man-
hunter 1, Police Quest 1, 2 and Space
Quest I 2, 3.
Jen Howell of 30 Frewin Avenue,
Woodberry, NSW 2322 can offer help in
Cruise for the Corpse, Monkey island 1 &
2, Space Quest 1,2,3, Kings Quest 1, 2, 3,
4, 5, Maniac Mansion, Operation Stealth,
Indy Crusade and Indy Atlantis, Larry 1,
Fascination, Police Quest and Deja Vu.
David Cucvara of 18 Holford Crescent,
Gordon, NSW 2072 can help out in the
following games Curse of Azure Bonds,
Champions of Krynn, Death Knights of
Krynn, Ultima VI, Gold Rush, Hero's Quest
(Sierra), Space Quest 1-3, Larry 1-3, Kings
Quest 1-3, Police Quest 1, 2, Another World
and Dragons Breath. David has set a limit
of three games per letter.
Andrew Malcolm of 13 Shiral Avenue,
Kanahooka NSW 2350 can offer help in
Hero's Quest 1, 2, Space Quest 1, 2, 3,
Kings Quest 1-5, Heart of China, Monkey
Island 1 & 2, Loom, indy and Last Cru-
sade, Enchantress, Hook, Larry 1, 2, 3,
Maniac Mansion, Police Quest 1, 2, 3, Al-
ternate Destiny, plus a heap more games.
Ryan Tan of 21 Albion Street, Concord,
2127. Help offered: Most games!
Caroline Africh of 26 Cowl Street,
Greenacre, 2190. Help offered: Maniac
Mansion.
Y. Chan of 4/91 Drumalbyn Road,
Bellevue Hill, 2023. Help offered:
Bloodwych.
David Marjanovic of PO Box 342,
Revesby, 2212. Help offered: Space Quest
I, II, Larry I, II, Shadowgate, Deja Vu, Zak,
Arazok's Tomb, Pawn, Deja Vu II, Guild of
Thieves, ManhunterNew York and Leather
Goddesses, Space Quest 1, 2, 3, Man-
hunter New York, Manhunter San Fran-
cisco, Deja Vu I, 2, Shadowgate, Unin-
vited, Monkey Island, Arazoks Tomb, Guild
ot Thieves, Operation Stealth, Zak
McKracken, Indiana Jones and the Last
Crusade, Larry 1 & 2.
Aaron Upcroft of 24 Ryan Street,
Balgownie, 2519. Help offered: Zork III,
Deadline, Tass Times in Tone Town, Lurk-
ing Horror, Fish, Maniac Mansion, Zak
McKracken, The Hobbit and Not A Penny
More, Not A Penny Less.
Philip Mayer of 27 Digby Court, Glen
Innes, 2070. Help offered: Bards Tale 1, 2,
3 and Zork 1,2,3.
Paul McLachlan of 60 Hertfield Street,
Blakehurst, 2221. Help offered: Hints and
maps for all of the older Infocorn titles.
Daniel Leggett of 16 Knighton Place,
South Penrith 2750. Help offered: Champi-
ons ot Krynn, Death Knights of Krynn, Po-
lice Quest 1 &2, Kings Quest 1 to 4, Space
Quest 3, Codename Iceman, Gold Rush,
Man Hunter New York, Indy, Larry 1, 2, 3,
and It Came from the Desert. Please en-
close a stamped addressed envelope.
Victoria
Shaun Hately of 45 Moreton Street,
Frankston North, Vic 3200 can offer help in
Bards Tale III, Death Knights of Krynn, Se-
cret of Silver Blades, Police Quest 1,2,3,
Ultima 6, 7, Kings Quest 1, Eye of the
Beholder 1, 2, Champions of Krynn, Pool
of Radiance, Curse of Azure Bonds and
Bards Tale 1 & 2.
Robert Cameron of 1 1 Wallaby Avenue,
Kangaroo Flat, Vic 3555 can offer help in
Bards Tale //as well as a very strong char-
acter disk (you supply the disk). Robert
can also help out in Maniac Mansion, Larry
1, 2, infidel (with language translation),
Lurking Horror, Suspect, Ballyhoo, Hitch-
hikers' Guide to the Galaxy, Suspended,
Starcross, Deadline, Witness, Moonmist,
Planetfall, Stationfall, Enchanter, Sorcerer
most of Spellbreaker, Zork 1,2,3, Beyond
Zork, Zork Zero, some of Keef the Thief
and Search for the King.
Tim Wilson of 16 Riatta Court, Rye Vic
3941 has hints, solutions, and some maps
lo the following games: Or Brain, Covert
Action, Eye of Beholder 1 & 2, Police Quest
III, Pool of Radience, Curse of Azure Bonds,
Secret of Silver Blades, Pools of Darkness,
Champions of Krynn, Death Knights of
Krynn, Dark Queen of Krynn, Gateway to
Savage Frontier, Treasures of Savage
Frontier, Hook, Monkey Island 2, Lure of
the Temptress and Kings Quest V
Chris Stratton of 2 Suding Close, Wy
Yung, Vic 3875 can offer help in: Monkey
Island 1, Lure of the Temptress, Larry 1,
Kings Quest 1 2 3 & 4, Buck Rogers 1,
Bards Tale 1 and Eye of the Beholder
(maps if need be).
Kieran (Kizz) Hanrahan of 39 Harold
Street, Wendouree Vic 335S can offer help
in: Pool of Radiance, Secret of the Silver
Blades, Bards Tale 3, Dark Queen of Krynn
and Zork 1.
Peter Nuzum of 50 Smeaton Close, Lara
3212, Help offered: Maniac Mansion, Zak
McKracken, Runaway, The Last Planet,
Deja Vu, Bastow Manor and most of Scott
Adams adventures.
Andrew Maiden of 29 Alkira Avenue,
Geelong 3215. Help offered: Monkey Is-
land I & II, Maniac Mansion, Might and
Magic 3, Ultima IV, Hitchikers' Guide, Robin
Hood, Larry J, Kings Quest V, Lemmings,
Bards Tale, Zak McKracken, Indy, Cruise
tor a Corpse. Please send 50c for copying
costs.
Mick and Meredith Blackmore of PO Box
1356, Swan Hill, 3585. Help offered: Ma-
niac Mansion, Castle of Terror, Lost City,
Oasis of Shalimar,
Ben Moore of 53 Douthie Road, Seville
East, 31 39. Help offered: Eye of the Be-
holder, Hems Quest, Heart of China, Mon-
key Island, Gods, MegaLoMania, Kings
Quest Vand Last Ninja III.
Steven Fochi of 40 Dover Street,
Albanvaie 3021 . Help offered: Moebius (+
maps), and Leather Goddesses,
ACAR 69
t
'£
'£
m\
Welcome to our new Amiga Art Gallery.
Following in the tradition of Professional Amiga
User magazine, we've decided to kick off a
regular spread of the best Amiga Art out there.
So, if you've got something to contribute, why not
shoot us a disk - or modem the file to
our simple BBS on (02) 816 4714.
(please include your name, tel no and how you
created the image)
Background
BELOW: Batman Shield by Juha Kallioinen
Imagine 2.0 in 640x480x24bit Trace mode.
LEFT: Dinos and Icebergs
RIGHT: Hall, rendered using Imagine2.0,
4000/040 and lOMeg of RAM. Original Image size
was 985x704, in RGB8-24 bit and took 17hours to
render. - Craig Donaldson.
gV^pPPH
fewir •_ "*** "1j
jfik^fe<»o»
^*^-?1j!
t Jm ^p M.^jftBM
'#&*
©Matt
Felfarel<
ENTERTAINMENT
Dorothy Millard of 12 Venetian Court,
Croydon 3136, Heip offered: Almost every
adventure game for the Commodore 64.
Scott Pitcher of 13/176 Rathcown Road,
Reservoir 3073. Help offered; All Scott
Adams adventure games.
Stefan Lamont of 209 La ndsbo rough St,
Ballarat North 3350, Help offered: Kings
Quest 1,2, 3, Leisure Suit Larry 1.
Michael Jones c/o Vision BBS BBS =
(03) 569 4442 VOICE = (03) 563 5125,
Martin McLaren of 39 Jones Crescent,
Rosanna 3084. Heip offered: Pool of Radi-
ance, Bards Tale li, III, Police Quest, Mon-
key Island and Eye of the Beholder.
Wade McGregor and Greg Eames of 9
Kentworthy Place, Mount Pleasant, Ballarat
3550 have formed a group known as the
AMIGA DUO. Heip offered: Treasure Is-
land Dizzy, Indy, Maniac Mansion, Zak
McKracken, Monkey Island, Snoopy and
Peanuts, Space Ace, Dragons Lair, Drag-
ons Lair: Time Warp, Lemmings I & II,
Targhan and Three Stooges.
Stuart George of 66 Sharon Rd,
Springvale 3171 can help in a huge range
of adventure and roieplaying games for
Amiga and PCs, including Curse of Azure
Bonds, Heroes Quest I, Future Wars, Infi-
del, Hitchhikers' Guide, Magic Candle,
Manhunter II, Zork Zero, Buckaroo Banzai,
Witness, Conquests of Camelot, Indy and
the Last Crusade, Zork I, II, Lurking Horror,
Space Quest ///and Codename: Iceman.
Heath Kirby Miller of RMD 221,
Sunraysia Highway, Stuart Hill 3478. Help
offered: A good range of C64 adventure
and arcade games. Please enclose 50
cents for solutions and always enclosed a
larged stamped addressed envelope.
Travis Howell of 1 Aeulinga Ave,
Aspendale 3195. Help offered: Pool of Ra-
diance, Curse of Azure Bonds, Secret of
the Silver Blades, Champions of Krynn,
Death Knights of Krynn, Buck Rogers:
Countdown to Doomsday, Gateway to the
Savage Frontier, Kron, Hunchback Adven-
ture and Liberty. If you send Travis a C64
diskette and stamped envelope, he'll re-
turn it packed with a party of characters,
Matthew Armstrong of 1 1 Harcombe St,
Bell Post Hill Geelong 3215. Help offered:
A good range of Amiga adventure games.
For full solutions send 50c for copies.
Games include: Sards Tale, Colonels Be-
quest, Curse of Enchantia, Dagger of Amon
Ra, Battletech, Dark Seed, Kings Quest
VI, Omnicron Conspiracy, Space Quest 5,
indy & Fate of Atlantis, Rise of the Dragon
and Heart of China, and Countdown.
South Australia
Darren Mummery of 28 Cunningham
Court, Golden Grove 5125 Help offered: A
fully equipped high level group of adven-
turers for Pool of Radiance, Curse of Az-
ure Bonds and Silver Blades for the Amiga
versions, Please send Darren a formatted
disk and a stamped addressed envelope.
Darren can also offer help in Labyrinth,
Bastow Manor, Dan Dare and other older
C64 adventure games, as well as Eye of
the Beholder, Champions Krynn, Monkey
Island, Plice Quest II, Pools of Darkness.
David Lear of 33 Ludgate Hill Road,
Aldgate, SA 5154 can help out In the fol-
lowing C64 games: Boggit, Dallas Quest,
Dracula, Eureka (Prehistoric), Kayleth,
Kentitla, Knightmare, Kobyashi Naru, Lords
of Time, Murder on the Waterfront,
Mindshadow, Never Ending Story, Quest
tor the Holy Grail, Ring of Power, Runa-
way, Subsunk, Bastow Manor, Wizard of
Oz, Zork I, Zork II.
David Sark of 54 Mad gal en e Terrace,
St Mary's 5043. Help offered: Larry II, III,
Operation Stealth, Codename Iceman,
Shadow of the Beast if, Loom,
Neuromancer, Pool of Radiance, Heroes
Quest, Kings Quest IV.
Paul Andrews of 10 Sovereign Street,
Hallett Cover 5158. Help offered: Bastow
Manor, Island of Spies, Cavern Adventure,
Temple Curse, Murder on the Waterfront,
Zork f and Castle of Mydor.
David Stacey of 3 Tigree Drv, Hallett
Cove 51 58. Help offered: Maps for Bards
Tale 2, 3, Pool of Radiance, as well as
interesting hints and tips. Hints and tips for
The Story of the United Seas. Is willing to
give copies to those who write to him with
a stamped addressed envelope. (+■ Heaps
of other games, too many to mention).
Andrew Gormly of PO Box 123,
Walkerville, SA 50S1 can help out in ...
Bards Tale 1, 2, 3, Zork 1, 2, 3, Blade of
Blackpool, Cyborg, Deadline, Death in the
Caribbean, Enchanter, Gruds in Space, In-
fidel, Ptanetfall, Sorcerer, Starcross, Sus-
pended, Ultimas I, II, III, IV, Witness, Jinxter,
Pool of Radiance and Hillsafar.
Jason West of 74 Matthews Avenue,
Seaton SA 5023 can heip out in Maniac
Mansion, Deja Vu, Zork and Famous Five.
James Wilson of 1 1 Marlborough Av-
enue, Victor Harbour SA 5211 can help in
a huge range of adventure, RPG, and ar-
cade games for the Amiga. Ensure you
enclose a nominal fee for photocopy costs.
Queensland
Adam Ceremuga c/o J. Cermuga, Dept
of Elec Eng, James Cook On!, Qld 4811
can offer help in the following games: An-
other World, It Came from the Desert,
Rocket Ranger, Defender of the Crown,
Monkey Island 1 & 2, Police Quest 7 & 2,
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis,
Flashback. Conquests of Longbow (Robin
Hood), Larry I, III, V, Sim City, Sim Ant,
and the first two chapters of KGB and
Phantasy III.
Jim Waller of 35 Kanturk Street, Ferny
Grove, Qld 4055. Help offered: A huge
range of games!
Scott Logan of 9 Colington Street,
Mansfield, Brisbane 4122. Help offered:
Pool of Radiance, Zak McKracken, Tem-
ple Curse, Last Planet, Island of Spies,
Adventureland, Azure Bonds and Corrup-
tion.
Adam Breen of PO Box 1 577, Toowong,
Brisbane 4066. Help offered: Bards Tale I,
II, Ultima 4, Champions of Krynn, Hitchhik-
ers' Guide, Larry I, Zork I, II, Millennium,
Dungeon Master and Leather Goddesses.
Derek R, Monz of 12 Noonan Street,
Heatley 4814. Help offered; Larry III, Elite
and Millennium 2.2.
Brendan Burns of 8 Nelson Street,
Ormiston 4160. Heip Offered: Lord of the
Rings, Hobbit, Zork 2, 3, Wishbringer, Kings
Quest III, Deja Vu, Dracula and Hitchhik-
ers' Guide.
Brad Roberts of 43 Olearia St, Everton
Park 4053. Help offered Bards Tale III,
Chrono Quest, Hulk, Zorks, Infidel, Dead-
tine, Starcross, Rigels Revenge, Asylum,
Dallas Quest, Mindshow and Uninvited.
Rhonda Toms of 18 Alawoona Street,
Redbank Plains 4301. Help offered:
Astrodus Affair, Seabase Delta, Grand Lar-
ceny and ZZZZ.
Mark Heaiy of 78 Ipswich Street, Esk,
4312. Help offered: A good range of ad-
venture games.
Ben Christensen of 1 Margaret Street,
Ayr Qld 4352 can heip out in Space Quest
2, Police Quest 2 or Monkey Island 2.
Australian Capital Territory
Chris Collins of 22 Moroney Street,
Fraser 2615. Help offered: Hints and tips
for a huge range of adventure and arcade
games.
Alex Stivala of 6 Schey Place, Spence
2615. Help offered: Tnnity, Hitchhikers'
Guide, Hobbit, Castle of Terror, Maniac
Mansion, Lords of Time, King Solomons
Mines.
Kathy Kupresak of 8 Wuronga Hill,
Bonython, ACT 2905. Help offered: Ultima
ill, IV, Bards Tale I, li, Times of Lore, Lei-
sure Suit Larry, Zak McKracken, Leather
Goddesses, Wishbringer, Legend of the
Sword, Kings Quest i.
Allan Mills of 36 Pickworth Street, Holt
261 5. Help offered: Maniac Mansion, Ultima
1, 2, Neuromancer, Space Quest 1, 3, 4,
ACAR 72
ENTERTAINMENT
Leather Goddesses, Larry 3, Pool of Radi-
ance, Azure Bonds, lndy& Fate of Atlantis,
Conquests ot Camelot, Countdown, Eye of
the Beholder I & I! and for starters in Kings
Quest IV.
Ian Myers of 1 Phillipmore Place,
Charnwood 261 5. Help offered: Legend of
the Sword and Deja Vu It.
Western Australia
Andrew McCulloch of 33 Carvie Street,
Hillman WA 61 68 can offer help in Castle
of Dr Brain, Neuromancer, Populosli, Rail-
road Tycoon, Thunderbirds Mission (/and
Treasure Island Dizzy.
Mitchell Rashbrook of 34 Conidae Drive,
Heathridge 6027. Help offered: Many
Amiga and C64 disk adventures.
Felicia Holmes of 70 Sheffield Road,
Wattlegrove WA 61 07. Help offered: Cham-
pions of Krynn, Death Knights of Krynn,
Heroes of the Lance, Zak McKracken,
Faery Tale, Kings Quest II, III, Police Quest
I, II, Space Quest III, Quest for Glory I and
II, Willy Beamish, Countdown to Dooms-
day, Operation Stealth, Monkey Island and
Legend of the Sword 2.
Andrew Phang of PO Box 1083, Can-
ning Vale WA 6155. Heip offered: Most
adventure and roleplaying games.
Jozsef Toth of 1 1/8 Gamett Place, Balga
6061. Help offered: // Came From The
Desert and Lords of Time.
Turrican of 20 Braden Way, Marmien
6020. Help offered: Police Quest, Indy,
Treasure island, Dizzy.
Darren of 20 Crufts Way, Canning Vale
6 155. Help offered: Operation Stealth, Pool
of Radiance, Champions of Krynn, Dun-
geon Master, Btoodwych, Bards Tale I, II,
Milennium, Phantasie I, III, Faery Tale,
Knight Ore, Jinxter, Shadowgate, Kings
Quest I, III, Larry I, II.
Andre Thomas of 9 Dean Place,
Lockridge WA 6054 can help out in ...
Mega-lo-Mania, Hunter, HeroQuest, Eye of
the Beholder, Monkey island 1, Monkey
Island 2, Elvira (maps), Kings Quest 1-tV
(most), Kings Quest V, Myth, Dungeons of
Avalon 1 & 2 (most), Curse of Enchantia,
Xenomorph, Flash Back, Alien Breed 92,
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Mega-
Lo-Mania, Another World, Gods, Eye of
the Beholder, and Bards Tale III.
Aaron Danks of 192 Shaftesbury Av-
enue, Bedford WA 6052. Aaron has com-
plete solutions to Ween and Larry 1 and
can offer small hints and level codes for
Archer McLean's Pool, John Madden Foot-
ball, Road Rash (passwords), Desert Strike
(passwords), McDonald Land, Sensible
Soccer, History Line and Monkey Island 1
&2.
Tasmania
Cathi Cherry, 30 Bayview Road,
Lauderdale Tas 7021, is vice-president of
Friendz & Contax and she writes the ad-
venture column tor their bi-monthly maga-
zine. Cathi can offer help on quite a few
C64 adventure games. Write to her, or give
a bell on (002)487 103.
Northern Territory
Aaron Davis 2A Careela St, RAAF Base,
Darwin NT 0820. Hetp: Space Quest I, II,
III, IV, Kings Quest IV, V, Maniac Mansion,
Police Quest II, Black Cauldron.
Realm's Trading Post
You don't just get free hints, free
tips, free contacts, and free publicity
when you write to the Realm, you also
get to display free classified adverts. You
can advertise your old games to sell or
swap or you can send out a plea if you
are after a particular game. This is not,
however, an avenue to swap or sell pi-
rated software! If you do then you are
breaking the law and if caught can get
stooged for thousands of dollars as well
as digging a deeper grave for our be-
loved Amiga. The address to write to is:
Realm's Trading Post, 12 Bridle Place,
Pakenham, Vic 3810.
Darren Chapman of la Wearden
Road, Belrose NSW 2085 has A-Train
and he is willing to swap it for Sensible
Soccer or Chaos Engine or sell it for
$60. Darren adds that his A-Train is in
perfect nick. Darren is also in the mar-
ket for Railroad Tycoon.
Brian Grinter of 166 Kildare Road,
Blacktown NSW 2148 has Monkey Is-
land 1, Leisure Suit Larry 3, Zork Zero
and Dungeon Master for $30 each (ne-
gotiable), and also Guild of Thieves and
Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy for
$20 each (also negotiable). Brian will
swap his games for right product. You
can give Brian a bell on (02) 621 3130.
Steven Burns of 2A Arden Street,
Waverley NSW 2024 has had past suc-
cess with the Realm Trading Post and
has come back for more. Steven has
Flashback, Superfrog and Dune II all
for $35 each, and Dark Seed, Wing Com-
mander, Fire and Ice and Vikings for
$25 each. Steven will consider swap-
ping them for any decent games (such
as Eye of the Beholder II or Legends of
Valour). Give Steven a ring on (02) 665
2276 after 4 pm.
Michael Harrison of 2 Paul Court,
Christies Downs SA 5164 has a brand
new AGA version of Sid Meier's Civili-
sation, He will sell the game for $60 or
swap it for any version (AGA preferred)
of Elite 2. Michael also has Battle Chess
which he'd like to swap for a decent
non-shoot-em-up game.
Nick Zografos of 37 New England
Drive, Kingsgrove NSW 2208 has a few
games for sale, including Superfighters
Pack (WWF/Final Fight/Pitfighter) for
$25, Blues Brothers for $25,
Meglomania/First Samurai for $30, and
Black Tiger for just $15. Nick will swap
all of the above games for Lionheart or
Assassin, or any three for John Mad-
dens Football. Nick is also in the mar-
ket for Pinball Fantasies. Don't like your
chances on that last one, Nick!
The Adventure
Problem Centre
I've had to keep this down to a mini-
mum due to all the space the Clever
Contacts list has taken. If you can help
either of these two dudes out, please
write in quickly.
Gary Pettinger of Whyalla Nome in
SA is currently stuck in Black Crypt.
He is stuck on level ten in front of the
magic wall. Most of the level is com-
pleted except for this room/passageway
beyond the magic wall and two locked
doors. Gary adds ... "I ended up cheat-
ing and looked in my manual and one
of the keys is beyond the next two
magic walls - but I can't knock them
down. There were several dispelling
scrolls around but the ones I used never
worked." Any takers for this problem?
Ben Christensen from Ayr in Qld is
losing many nights' sleep playing
Cruise for a Corpse. Ben writes ... "I
can't find any keys and only three pas-
sengers, and all the doors are locked to
the rooms. Also, I can't get into the
kitchen and I need a hammer and some
pincers. I have found a note on the
floor of the study and the receipt for
the necklace, and that is it!" Sounds
nasty, Ben (who is also stuck in Kings
Quest 11 looking for the riddle for the
last door).
That's all folks!
AGAR 73
ENTERTAINMENT
ACAR PD-Garnee
What's this? A review of our
very own brand new ACAR
PD Games Disk Number
2? Isn't that a bit like asking Derryn
Hinch whether he's the most talented
ex-TV presenter in Australia?
Well, yes. And as you'd expect,
we're going to say all sorts of nice
things about it. After all, our good
mate and sometime-writer Graeme
Beaven compiled it especially for
ACAR readers. So take it for granted,
we're extremely biased. On the other
hand, at just five bucks plus the cost
of a disk and postage, it's not as if
we're asking you to pay an arm and a
leg! The fact is, we've compiled our
ACAR PD Games disks to save you
all the fuss of hunting through endless
PD collections - in our brand new
Disk 2, we're offering a selection of
nine nice PD games, guaranteed to
give you lots of fun at a very reason-
able price. So check out the details.
The quaintly named Deathbringers
is a classic space shoot-em-up with
clean and simple graphics. Borrowing
heavily from games like Galaxians,
Croak
Disk 2
it's fairly rudimentary - mind you,
that doesn't mean it's easy. The al-
iens get faster, the levels get harder,
and you'll soon find you're hooked.
By the way, the actual graphics are
better than our screen shot - we've
simulated the background and the ti-
tle box, as our screen grabber only
grabbed the active sprites.
The Gallows is a Hangman type,
game, which means you have to fill in
the blanks and guess words. Guess
letters by either using the mouse and
the letters across the bottom of the
screen or by using the keyboard, and
be warned - you'll go to the gallows
after the seventh miss.
New words can be added to in-
cluded list, making The Gallows an
excellent tool for spelling revision.
The word list can have 9,450 words,
and each word can have up to 20 char-
acters. Good ol* Hangman has been
helping kids learn spelling words for
yonks - Gallows automates the proc-
ess, and it's lots of fun.
Trix is a public domain version of
the time honoured Styx, one of the
Nebula
first games I ever played on my Com-
modore 64. The object of Trix is to
colour in as much of the playfield as
possible by drawing lines enclosing
rectangular sections. You must avoid
the Trix, the Sparkles and the Foos.
The Trix is a swirling set of coloured
lines in the playfield that will kill you
if it touches your line. The Sparkles
are white clouds that travel around
the playfield boundary in opposite di-
rections. The Foo is another sparkle
that races around the line you're draw-
ing if you're foolish enough to hesi-
tate. Great game, great fun.
Missile Command is another golden
oldie, and it needs almost no intro-
duction. You're protecting a city from
a hail of incoming meteorites - move
your crosshair cursor across the night
sky and blast them to dust with your
missile launcher. It's still just as much
fun as ever, and this PD version is
every bit as good as the arcade origi-
nal. What can I say about Croak? Au-
thor Selwyn Stephens claims it's an
Amphibian Migration Simulation, and
he's absolutely right. It's also a near-
Deathbringers
W^^^^^^^^^
ACAR 74
ENTERTAINMENT
perfect rip-off of the ancient and mega-
popular Frogger. Guide the little green
guys across the roaring highway, hop
'em across the logs floating down the
river, and nestle them neatly in their
little froggy homes. Apart from the
fact that it's flawlessly programmed,
the best thing about Croak is the si-
multaneous two-player mode, that
transforms the game into a vicious
contest for homes and bonuses. By
the way, when you "croak", you leave
rather nasty splatter marks on the road.
Watch 'em - they're slippery!
There's plenty more ... like
Hemroids, a painfully named Aster-
oids clone. And Nebula, a rudimen-
tary but fast 3D filled vector space
game that'll have you rushing around
a planetary surface shooting at all sorts
of interesting origami objects.
Blackbax is a simple looking affair
with a numbered grid - I haven't
played it yet, because it looks like it
needs brainpower.
Finally, there's Pipeline II. And
what more can 1 say than it's a stink-
ing-rotten-annoying- frustrating game
that I can't stop playing. Quick! Con-
Pipeline II
nect the pipeline pieces before the oil
starts flowing! It's not nearly as easy
as it sounds.
Basically, the A CAR Public Domain
Games Disk 2 is packed full of fun
stuff. Public Domain games of the
nineties are the equivalent of the ar-
cade games of the eighties - which
really makes your mouth water for
ACAR PD Games Disk Number 97,
due for release in the year 2003!
To order, send a blank disk, a
stamped, self addressed envelope, and
a cheque or postal order for just $ 5. 00,
to: ACAR PD Games, PO Box 23,
Maclean, NSW 2463.
Australian Commodore & Amiga Review back issues still available
Mafch1993Vol10No3
• Dirwork and Disk-master • Crystal Sound • AmiBack
Vs Quarter Back • Profracker • DTP • Technique &
design • Can Do - Scramble • Opal - digital imago
composition • C64 - Geos Utilities • Games ■ Hagar the
Horrible, Howzatl, Nigel Mansell's World Champ, Nick
Faldo's Champlonshp Golf, Paperboy 2, Tearaway Thomas
April '993 Vol 10 No 4
• Word Processing Comparison • Connect Two Com-
puters • Scripting • Virtual Realily • Multi Plot XLNe
• CanDo - Pattern Matching Game • DTP • Hot PD
• Amos Column - Dual Play fields • DPalnt - Hi-res
• Andy's Attic - Workbench 2 • C64 - PD Update
• Games - Curse of Enchantia, Wing Commander,
Shadow of Beast III, A-Train, Pinball Dreams, Catch 'Em
June 1993 Vol 10 No 6
• 3D Animation with Aladdin • The Animation Woikshop
• New Releases for WOC Show • Disk Swapping Blues
• Deluxe Paint Tutorial - Animating in 3D • Amos
Column • Andy's Attic - WB2 • CanDo - Directory Utility
Part 2 • Education - World Construction Set • Opal -
Using the Alpha Channel • C64 Column • Hot PD
• Games - KGB, Fate - Gates of Dawn, Darkseed,
Civilisation, King's Quest Solution Part 1
July 1993 Vol 10 No 7
• Real 3D 2.0 # Accelerators • MS T Dos with Golden
Gate • Micnodeal Clarity - 1 6-bit sound sampler ■ Home
Accounts 2 • D Paint Tutorial - Animation in 3D •
Education - Back to Basics • Amos Column - Turbo
Extension V1 .75 • CanDo - Directory Utlity Pal 3 • C64
• Andys Attic - Buying PD • Hot PD • Games - The
Chaos Engine, Beavers, Sleepwalker, Vikings
Solutions - SuperFrog and Kings Quest Part 2
August 1993 Vol 10 No 6
• Show Report - WOC Amiga Show * Vidi Amiga 1 2
• Final Copy II • Amiga Games Console • Perfect
Sounds - sound dig Rising • Intro to Desktop Video •
Hypercache Professional • Education - Aust Graphics
Atlas • CanDO - Communications program and printer
utility • DPalnt Tutorial - Floating Baubles • C64 Column
• Amos Column • OpalPaint's Zap function
• Hot PD • Games - Hired Guns, Trolls, Graham Goocti
World Class Cricket Solution - SuperFrog Pari 2
September 1993 Vol 10 No 9
• Art Expression - Paint Program • 68060 - the Next
Generation • Power Copy Professional • Quarterback
Tools Deluxe - lordisaster recovery* CanDo 2.5 Upgrade
• DParnt Tutorial - Animation feature - Global Whirling •
Hot PD • The C64 Column • Amos Column - AMOS Pro
V.2 update and Amos Pro Compiler • CanDo - Speech
Utility • Education - Back to Basics Fractions • Andy's
Attic - How to create a RAD drive • Games - Creatures,
Flashback, SuperFrog, BodyBlows, Dark Seed - Solution
October 1993 Vol 10 No 10
■ DPalnt AGA • PC Task MS-Dos emulation • Ami-
Back Tools vs Quarterback Tools Deluxe • Personal Paint
• Hot PD • Blitz 'em - Adding commands • Andy's Attic
- Workbench Tools • DPalnt Tutorial ■ Dark Side of the
Moon • Education Column - Learn to play the Piano
• CanDo - Make your own Calendar • CS4 - Graphics
Software • Games - Campo's Int Rugby, Reach for the
Skies, Project X Revised Edition, Syndicate, Street Fighter
II, Dune II
November 1993 Vol 10 No 11
• Brilliarrce • Hoopy Paint - makes an artist of everyone
• Amiga on the Cheap - finding cheap equipment • Video
Tutorial to A12O0 • CED 3.5 • Frame Machine - Desktop
Video • Education ■ Personal Tutor • Blitz 'em - more
adding commands • D Paint - Cel Aberration • Hot PD -
Latest Fish Disks * CanDo - Designing an animation
viewer • Amos - Getting into Assembly • C64 - seeking
software • Games - Pinball Fantasies, Desert Strike -
Return to the Gulf, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis,
KGB - Full solution part t
December 1993 Vol 10 No 12
• Amiga CD32 - an in depth look • Affordable Tape
Backup - SCRAM plus Tamberg • Bernoulli Mullidrfve vs
Syquest 105 - removeable hard drive comparison • Next
Generation Graphics - EGS Spectrum • Education -
Christmas gifts • Hot PD • Blitz 'em - more clever
functions • 084 - Modemlng • CanDo - Foreign language
file converter • Games ■ Air Warrior, Two Player Games,
101 PD Games, KGB - Full Solution part 2. CD32 Games
Pinball Fantasies, Oscar. Diggers
S3 each including postage.
Send cheque or phone/fax credit card number.
Saturday Magazine. 21 Darley Rd, Randwlck NSW 2031 .
Fh (02) 393 51 11 Fax (02) 393 5322.
ACAR 75
ENTERTAINMENT
Remember when computer games were plain old fun?
Phil Campbell does, Happy days are here again, with ...
ARENAS
Take a liberal dose of good ol*
fashioned Foe-Man - one of
the most popular computer
games of all time - add a pinch or two of
Terminator-style firepower, and mix
with a twist of TV-Game-Show-style
presentation. What have you got?
Well, you could call it the ultimate in
mixed metaphors. Or you could com-
plain that it's just a hopeless mish-mash
of unrelated ideas. But the reality is, it's
the makings of the best night of compu-
ter gaming fun I've had for months. And
possibly even yeaTS.
Mean Arenas is simultaneously en-
tirely original and entirely derivative.
Heaps of games resort to the tired old
"simulated TV Game Show" theme -
think back to The Kilting Game Show
for a recent example. Typically, the game
will start with a commentator on the
screen, introducing the action.
And Mean Arenas is no different.
Well okay, there are two commentators.
It's a little bit different.
On the up-side, these
guys are actually quite en-
tertaining. With nicely digi-
tised voices, exploding mi-
crophones, and Station
logos that fall from the
wall, they'd be more at
home on a blooper tape
than live- to -air. Through
the game, you'll hear them
throwing in plenty of gra-
tuitous comments - "Mah-
vlous, Absolutely
Mahhhvlous." "Did'ja see
that?" "Yes indeed." And
I'd almost swear that Clint
Eastwood throws in a
cameo performance with "What a guy!"
So what about the game play? There's
no denying the fact that there's a strong
smell of Pac-Man in the scenario. The
game screen displays a top-down view
of a maze; on every floor tile, there's a
dot. Look closely, though, and you'll
see they're actually gold coins. Gone
are the Pac-Man power pills, replaced
by a number of high tech goodies like
Invulnerability Orbs, Speed Shoes, and
power packs.
The ancient cheesy-looking hero is
long gone too, replaced by an armour
plated warrior. He's fully armed, he's
nicely animated - but his job is exactly
the same. Race around the maze, grab
all the gold, and make life as miserable
as possible for all the enemy life forms
that get in the way.
Tactics are crucial. If you're sur-
rounded by a group of guards, you've
got two choices - either blast them with
your limited supply of ammo, or run for
RFACTBOX
ean Arenas is pure fun.
Sure, it's a lot like Pac Man -
nil so what? That's why it's fun!
Ratings:
Graphics; 79%
Sound; 82%
Gameplay: 88%
Overall: 84%
Distributed by Hot Point Soft-
ware (02) 428 7791 . RRP $69.95.
an Orb. They're strategically located
around the maze, and you'll need to
make sure you only use them when you
absolutely need diem.
If you 've suffered a bit of damage,
keep an eye out for the first aid station -
a "red cross" icon that's usually in an
out of the way corner of the maze. And
if you're looking for a quick route to the
other side of the screen, hop on a
teleporter - you'll be there in no time.
The mazes - or, more correctly, Are-
nas - in Mean Arenas are far more com-
plex than anything Pac-Man ever en-
countered. In fact, to travel from one
end to the other you'll scroll smoothly
through almost three full screens.
Graphically, they're very nice too. Level
three, for example, features green, mar-
ble-tiled floors, with orange neon-glow-
ing walls.
The control system is worth a men-
tion too. It's a simple enough up-and-
down and round-and-round joystick af-
fair, but it's perfectly
tuned - steering your lit-
tle guy around the maze
is smooth and easy.
In the end Mean
Arenas may be just an old
idea revisited - but who
cares? The fact is, I'm
stuck on level three, and
I'm desperate to make it
to the next stage. And it's
the sort of desperation
that doesn't come too
often - there are plenty of
slick, glossy mega-games
that simply don't
generate the same sort of
thrill. □
ACAR 76
ENTERTAINMENT
Here's a platform hopping game with an interesting
story line, and plenty of colour and action. Trouble is,
it's not very original, says Juris Graney.
First things first - I must tell you
the story behind the game, or
this review won't make any sense
at all. Joe Maroni is the son of a family
of Italian immigrants who ran a suc-
cessful pizza restaurant which was blown
up by the Mafia. The reason? Joe's old
man wouldn't let the Mafia extort money
from him. That's when Joe became a
street kid, sleeping all day, and roaming
the streets at night, Joe's into all the
typical street stuff - especially "street
painting", otherwise known as graffiti.
That's where he met Nat (the Rat)
Gonzales. One fateful night the two
rebels found themselves painting on the
same wall. The story gets a little boring
here, but let's just say they became the
best of friends.
Well, one night the guys were paint-
ing their walls when a group of thugs
surrounded them. Joe and Nat beat them
up, but were stopped by the police. They
ran, and found refuge in a delivery van.
In this van were heaps of comics. The
guys started reading them, and lost track
of time. By the time they realised where
they were, the truck had taken them far
from the city - into the scrub near a
MYSTERIOUS LOOKING CASTLE.
Naturally, they had to investigate. Oth-
erwise, there wouldn't be a game!
Here's where you come in. Control
Joe through the six levels of castles,
labyrinths, pyramids and so forth until
you get to the end of the game and watch
the superb end of game sequence.
Folks, I have to say that Yo Joe! is
just like every other platform game I
have ever played. I can't see how com-
panies can keep making the same games
over and over. I mean, I like it okay ...
but the repetitiveness of these games is
depressing. On the upside, I have to
admit there's nothing better than com-
ing home from a hard day at work and
running riot in an illusionary world cre-
ated by somebody else's distorted mind.
Graphically speaking, Yo Joe! is top
notch. The scrolling is perfectly smooth,
the colours are radiating and the charac-
ters are perfect in every detail. The lev-
FACTBOX
Original it ain't! Colourful,
smooth, and frustrating? Defi-
nitely. That's the verdict on Yo
Joe!, the latest Amiga platform
hopper. The addition of level
codes wouid have helped relieve
the frustration!
Ratings:
Graphics:
87%
Sound:
86%
Addictiveness:
56%
Originality:
2%
Playability:
67%
Overall:
68%
Distributed by Metro Games
(03) 329 2999. RRP $69.95.
els abound with jewels and weapons
which will help you along the way.
Weapon-wise, the game has little origi-
nality, except for a hefty chainsaw which
does a lot of damage. The occasional
extra life is scattered around, but there's
not much else of any importance.
The worst thing about the game is
that it's simply too repetitive - and there
are no end of level codes, so when you
die it's back to square one!
Sound- wise, Yo Joe! is pretty reason-
able. The sound track provides a good
atmosphere for each level. The music is
upbeat, entertaining and definitely worth
listening to as you slog it out with the
end of level baddies.
If you're looking for an original game
then keep going. If you want another
scrolling platform game then Yo Joe! is
for you. No originality, but lots of col-
our and music, and plenty of platform
hopping action.
ACAR 77
ENTERTAINMENT
CD32 Quickshots
D/Generation
The packaging describes D I Genera-
tion as "virtual reality meets action
adventure," That is a little overstated
- virtual reality it ain't - but it is a
great 3D action adventure game! The
game is set in the Genoq company's
Singapore lab in the year 202 1 ,
The D/Generation, a deadly artifi-
cial organism with the power to dis-
guise itself as anything, is loose in the
building. The workers are still trapped
inside, including Jean-Paul Derrida,
the head scientist and creator of the
D/Generation. Your task? To rescue
the workers and get a package to
Derrida inside the building.
Also loose are the A, B, and C/
Generations - you'll need to neutral-
ise them before you tackle the D-Gen
heavies. So far I've only encountered
A and B. The former look like those
"space hoppers" you used to be able
to buy - big orange bouncing spheres
that gobble you up. The Bs are bouncy
purple cylinders that jump up and
down on your head and squash you
into the floor. There are other equally
interesting ways to die - like being
electrocuted by the security devices
in the floor.
The game progresses through many
rooms as you work your way up from
the 80th to the 90th floor. The 3D
perspective view takes some getting
used to, but is impressive. New scenes
take about half a second to load from
CD - a far cry from the days when you
had to endure minutes of disc crunch-
ing between screens!
So far I've managed to get up one
storey, but can't find the password to
get me to the 82nd floor. I'll keep
trying! For now let me say that on
first impressions D/Generation passes
the test as a good adventure game. It's
amusing, exciting, interesting, and re-
quires a good mixture of brainwork
and skill. Recommended.
Whale's
Voyage
This is the sort of game you can't
review after a short amount of play -
it's huge! Whale's Voyage is an inter-
active adventure quest mixed with a
dash of role playing, and it's set in
space.
It's called Whale's Voyage because
your spaceship looks like a big friendly
whale! The game is somewhat like
Starflight - a mixture of Bard's Tale
and Elite. Choosing your crew is in-
teresting, but excruciatingly slow. You
actually have to determine their ge-
netic makeup by choosing their par-
ents, genetically modifying them, and
deciding what primary and high
schools to send them to! Some of the
parents you can choose look suspi-
ciously like some well known
glitterati, such as Madonna and
Harrison Ford. And the guy in the
shop where you equip your ship talks
very much like big Arnie!
The graphics and sound track are
predictably good, but since I've only
had time to visit one planet so far, I
can't comment fairly on the gameplay
yet. All I can say so far is that Whale's
Voyage is not for the impatient. As
with most games of this type, it may
not appeal to those who prefer good
old non-cerebral fast and furious ar-
cade play. It requires patience, plan-
ning, puzzling, and (shock, horror!) a
thorough reading of the manual.
AGAR 78
ENTERTAINMENT
Overkill
Do you think the best type of game is
one you can just load and play? Then try
Overkill\ Programmed in Australia by
Digisoft, and distributed by Mindscape
UK, this game was one of the first to
take advantage of the new AG A ma-
chines' graphics capabilities. You may
have seen it running on several A 1200s
at the World of Commodore show in
Sydney last July. And now it's available
on CD32.
Overkill is bundled with another game
called Lunar-C. On the one disc, you
get two top quality CD 3 2 games for
$69.95. Good value!
I won't bore you with the predictable
scenario descriptions. On this kind of
game they're all the same, and you can
read it on the back of the pack for your-
self. You know the stuff - alien war,
only you can save the galaxy, etc. It all
adds up to one thing really - shoot the
crap out of anything that moves!
Both Overkill and Lunar-C are true
load'n'play, totally mindless, veg-out
style shoot- 'em-ups. The gameplay in-
structions for Overkill take all of four
paragraphs and you don't need them any-
way. Just put on the CD, press the reset
button and enjoy the AGA graphics.
Overkill is yet another Defender
clone. Defender appeared in the game
arcades ten years ago - it was the first
game to use a horizontally scrolling
pi ay field. You piloted a wedge-shaped
spaceship along the surface of a planet,
picking up pods to save them from at-
tack waves of alien invaders. It was very
fast, and my first efforts were measured
more in seconds than minutes.
Overkill follows the Defender
gameplay pattern, with a few variations.
You pilot the same wedge-shaped space-
ship but the background and aliens are
different, I seem to remember Defender
having only a black sky in the back-
ground. Overkill has 3D scenery stretch-
ing into the background with a sky of
various hues. Instead of picking up trun-
dling pods you rescue a whole troop of
little men who parachute down to the
planet from the mother spaceship.
Their job is to blow up the "Trilithium
crystals" lying on the surface of the
planet before the aliens get to them and
use the energy to mutate into even more
Distributed by Hotpoint Softare
(02) 428 7791. RRP $69.95.
dangerous squidies! Every time your
troops blow up a crystal you must re-
equip them with explosives. Troopers
who want more bombs jump up as you
approach, screaming "Down here, get
me!" - or something like that, in their
amusing squeaky little digitised voices.
Sound easy? Well it would be except
for the fact that while you're trying to
keep track of all these funny little men
the alien squiddly-diddlies are trying
their best to monster you. You must
dodge them and the plasma balls they
shoot and try to grab the icons they drop.
This takes a bit of concentration and
your first attempts will end with a lot of
exploding spaceships! It doesn't take
long to get the hang of it. You get five
ships and a shield to start with - extra
ships and shields are awarded every
25,000 points.
When you've cleared all the aliens
from the first planet you go to the screen
with a solar system map. You choose
the next available planet and work your
way into the Alien fortress planet in the
inner-most orbit. Each level is basically
the same with different backgrounds. In
the end you will be confronted with the
huge enemy fortress.
What more can I say? Overkill has
fast, top quality graphics; it's good value;
and it's sure to provide you with many
hours of addictive gameplay.
ACAR 79
ENTERTAINMENT
CD32
Entertainment
By now, everyone has heard of the new Amiga CD32 games
console. It's a great machine! If you're planning to buy one,
or if you have any queries, drop us a line at the address
below. This brand spanking new column is fully devoted to
having fun with your CD32, together with information on all
the latest hardware and software releases.
By Laetone Gravolin
Future games
At the moment, new A-grade CD32
games are still under production in lead-
ing software houses. There's been a rush
of re-releases of popular old titles like
Sleepwalker, Zool and SitnCity - some
greatly enhanced, some pretty much
identical to the original Amiga versions.
Here's a list of new titles you can ex-
pect early this year: Akira, Alfred
Chicken, Amiga CD Football. B17 Fly-
ing Fortress, Body Blows, Biosphere,
Chaos Engine, Fl Grand Prix, Lotus
Turbo Trilogy, Mortal Kombat.
Most of these titles are distributed
Advertiser's Index
ACAR Subs Form 61
AGAR Back Issues 75
Amadous Computers 51
Amitech
AmigaP/D Ctr
B&CSoftware
Bitmaster
Brideson Pty Ltd
Brunswick
CPA
Code One
Commodore
Computa Magic
Computer Affair
Computer Outpost
Desktop Utilities
Disk-O-Tecti
Digipic
Don Quixote
Electronic Design
Entertainment SW
Fonhof
Hargware
Leejan
40,41
27
57
59
21
57
44
57
30,31
36
50
26
36
27
18
7
OBC
57
27
21
69
Logico
Megadisc
MVB
PCM
Pactronics
Peitem
Peripheral World
5, 8, 33, IBC
Prime Artifax 62, 63
11
55
34,35
57
12
57
RMF QuickNet
Rat Byte Software
Rod .rvhc
Scarlet PD
Shadow Software
Stop 4
Sigmacom IFC,1,2
Software to Go 29
Softwood Tupsoft
45,47
TupSoft
United! Electronics
Wall St Video
Webb Electronics
World of Computers
48
50
26
57
10
Zool
through Hot Point Software. You can
contact them on (02) 428 7791,
That just scrapes the surface of what
the yeaT has to offer. Unfortunately at
the moment there are not many educa-
tional titles being released - I'm sure
they'll arrive eventually.
MS-Dos CDs on CD32?
While on the subject of games, the
CD32 can run some MS-Dos CDs! The
CD has to be multi format though - ask
your local computer store to give you a
demonstration to find out if the program
works or not. Surprisingly, the title
doesn't usually say that it is multi for-
mat. For example, the MS-Dos CD-
ROM version of Guy Spy works per-
fectly on the CD32 - great stuff.
MPeg video module
Sometimes playing games just is not
enough. You need to rest your poor tired
fingers from twitching on the control
pad so you can sit back and relax. The
little magic box that will let you watch
CD movies is available for the CD32
now. Price is around $400. The movies
will soon follow - these will be old and
new releases creating much better sound
quality than a VMS movie. Picture qual-
ity may be slightly inferior, but still very
watchable.
The MPEG (Motion Picture Exper-
tise Group) module will be able to play
all of the CD movies via the new CD
standard. The good news is, all the ma-
jor CD drive companies are now sup-
porting the standard, which is called
"MPEG 1".
Should you
consider a CD32?
Want the latest in Amiga technol-
ogy? Play games all the time for pure
non stop entertainment? Then the CD 32
is a great move. On the other hand if
you 're thinking of turning it into a whole
computer system, forget it! Commodore
are working on a CD drive for the A 1200
which will be able to handle all CD32
programs. However, Commodore claim
that there might not be one available for
the A4000 - not for a while anyway.
Network card
coming soon
There's a nifty network card coming
out for the CD32 soon - if allows flex-
ible networking from one computer to
another. This will be terrific, as you'll
be able to access your CD32 from other
Amigas on the system. For more infor-
mation phone Computer Affair on (02)
417 515$.
Next month ...
Well, that's all folks. Next month I'll
have loads of information and advice on
new products coming out for the CD32.
There will be also be a review on the
MPEG module and a quick look at some
of the technical side of the CD32, and a
full listing of games that are available
for the CD32. If you have any questions
or problems, or if you want any infor-
mation concerning the CD32, write to
the CD32 Column, c/o Laetone Gravolin
271 River St Maclean, NSW 2463.
ACAR 80
Rocket Science Made Simple
...HIGH FLIER VERSUS "SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED"
Some 24 bit video boards make you pay
your money and take your chances. You take a
chance that they'll be up and flying in the future.
You take another chance that all the
"enhancements" they promised will be around
tomorrow. Or that they'll be around tomorrow.
Why take any chances when GVP has everything on your
countdown list today!
IV24"
Integrated video genlock. <g5
1.5MB 24-bit, 16.8 M color frame buffer. (V$
Real-time framegrabber/digitizer... (5$
De-interlaced video flicker eliminator (j5
VIU-S" with RGB, composite, S-VHS
input/outputs ^5
Optional W-CT" pro-grade component transcoder
(Betacam, M-ll compatible) inpuVoutputs (g$
2- way moveable, sizeable PIP
(picture inpicture) display,
(video over application or application over video) (V$
Digital and analog key inputs (W$
Captured image retouching/processing. <j5
Video switcher transitions <g5
Real-time 24 bit paint (P$
Mmation/3-D rendering <g$
The VIU Advantage:
GVP is serious about video! So IV24's
Video Interface Unit gives you more choices for
inputting and outputting video signals than any
other Amiga® peripheral on the market. Nobody
else gives you a VIU splitter, let alone one that
does so much. IV24's VIU manages video from computer
sources, component tape formats, composite video, even broadcast
professional formats— in any combination you can imagine.
Software Mission Control
Desktop Darkroom'" « Capture images in Desktop Darkroom or
bring stills in from other applications for professional
processing and retouching, using filters, special effects and
color separation.
MyLAD" • Hot-switch between two video sources with 50
packaged video transitions for live action production studio
effects.
Maciopaint-IV24'" 2.0 • |New release— Significantly enhanced!]
Paint 24 bit graphics from a stunning palette of 16.8 million
colors. Then key video over graphics or graphics over video.
Access ARexx scripts directly.
Caligari24" • IY24's newest software bonus is a complete 3-D
modeling/animation/rendering package. Desktop animation's
future— on your Amiga today.
IV24 is on the launching pad today, awaiting your order for
lift off. The decision— how to spend your video future-
airborne at full thrusters...or grounded, waiting for parts?
Distributed in Australia by .
Peripheral ^ £
World
506 Dorset Road, Croydon, Victoria 3136, Australia.
Phone: 03 725 3233 Fax 03 725 6766
Picture in Picture
PIP in six different sizes whictyean be"
freely positioned. Two live videos as well
as graphics and titles can be displayed
simultaniously. (FM-Prisrn + Genlock)
■
1
■
.Video Mixer
Mixing of two video sources, with unlimited.
possibilities ©f wipes or special effects. In
addition, titles or graphics can be super-
imposed. (FM- Prism + Genlock} .
i
p m
^_
Pegasus PC- Video
Converter board from PC to video. Fully
compatible to any EB Genlock to
post-edit videos with titles, graphics etc.
from an>PC (MS-DOS or Windows).
•0. *7
mfcf
^Authorized Dealers .
' I Headlam Computers West Leedervi lie, 6007 W.A*.
1 116 Cambridge Street pall: (09)3883666
O Computer Discounts Broadway Z008 N.S.W.
8 Shepherd St. Call: (02)561 7411
Amitech Crorwlla, 2230 N.S.W.
Shop 9 / 2A Suff Road Co|^ (02) 544 1 874
Computa Magic P/L Moonoe Pnds. 3039'VIC
44 Pascoe Vale Road Call: <03) 326 01 33 -
Maxwell's Computer Center" Abbofsford, 3067 VIC
162-1 64 Nicholson Street Call: (03) 41 9 68 1 1
RhoeniK Microtechnoiogies Keswick 5035 S.A
18 Hampton Road Call: 08)293 87 52
Video&Audio Brisbane Toowong, 4066 QLD
•45 Sherwood Road Call: (07) 870 03 00
O Video&Audio Gold Coast Souttiport,-421 5 QLD "
18 Scarborough Street Call: (075) 91 4224
The Floppy Shop H&barf 7000 TAS
108 Collins Street Call:- (002) 23 56 19
