Thank you so much for going monthly with your publication. I seem to find problems in other magazines that I don't find in yours, such as 1) pages of corrections in future issues, 2) characters that often don't resemble what I'm putting on the screen, 3) the frustration of different characters taking up different sizes.of space, and 4) no method of checking programs for typing errors. It is really great to know that the best will be coming out to shine twice as much as it was before!
Also, I'd like to say I agree with Neil Weinstock's letter in issue #14 concerning the lifespan of the Atari 1200XL, and those of us who got a rather raw deal by buying one. A little bit of good (and fair) business on their part would be to give the owners of 1200XL's a chance to upgrade to the newest line now out, and - speaking for myself - I would waste no time in buying a 1450XLD if the company behind it could demonstrate to me that it sincerely wishes me at least a couple of years before it discontinues the product I bought.
Jim Slocum
St. Petersburg, Florida
I have been very pleased with the quality of your writers and of the contributed software. However, I have two observations.
First, the HEXPAD program (issue #14) is quite useful and tripled my input rate. I am a touch typist of long standing, and relearning the replacement of the letter hex codes was something I decided not to tolerate. The letters "a" through "f" are all reachable by the left hand and do not interfere with the redefinition of right hand keys for the digits "0" through "6." The following new Line 31013 will allow touch typists to retain at least the familiar left hand position for letters. Change Line 31013 to
31013 DATA 32,109,106,107,108,117,105,11 1,97,98,99,100,101,102,48,48,49,50,51,52 ,53,54,65,66,67,68,69,70
The second point is minor, but still is an annoyance. Each time you publish a game in assembler, the BASIC code used to build the disk image uses the common name "D:AUTORUN.SYS." This approach denies rapid access to DOS option "A" (directory listing) and assumes that each game will reside on a separate diskette. To overcome these "deficiencies," I modify the filename to reference "D: gamename.L", where "gamename" is some descriptive name. The ".L' reminds my disk users to use DOS option "L" to "run" the game.
Walter D. Lazeat
Fairfax, VA
Newer releases of the 5200 incorporate some minor hardware changes. Controller ports 3 and 4 have been eliminated, making POT4 through POT7, TRIG2, TRIG3, and bit 1 of CONSOL useless. A few of the connector pins have been redefined. Pin 2 of the 1/0 expansion connector now carries POKEY's Audio Out signal. Three pins on the cartridge connector have changed to accomodate the new 2600 adapter. The system clock, 02, is output on pin 14, isolated through a diode. An alternate video input is taken from pin 24 and is also isolated through a diode. Pin 30 provides an alternate audio input.
There is space on the newer boards for circuitry for a PAL (European TV standard) version of the 5200. Also, on power-up, the monitor program checks for the PAL version by examining the GTIA register PAL after step 2 of the initialization routine. It also checks the cartridge program for PAL compatibility. The byte at $BFE7 should read $02 if compatible, or $00 if not. This is the only important change to the monitor program. There are some additional hardware changes, but none affects the machine's operation from the programmer's view.
Claus Buchholz
Greenwich, CT
Since I tried to write some really great programs with the information contained in Inside Atari Basic and didn't get far, I started to look around for some help. I was pleased to find ANALOG at my local book store. In it I found Space Assault and Observational Astronomy. I also found tons of adds, reviews, reports, and the helpful hints and information I need. Not only did I have a learning tool, but I wound up with some great software for next to nothing.
I sat down and typed in Space Assault in about four hours, debugged it (I only missed two numbers in a DATA line), and called my resident game experts (Tracy, 12 and Billy, 10). They played the game and reported that the gun did not move fast enough. I fooled around for awhile (read days) and finally found a cure. Once I got the gun going faster, it seemed only right that the game should get harder as it went.
These are the changes I made.
1165 IF SC>10000 THEN GOSUB 1222 1168 IF SC>20000 THEN GOSUB 1230 1169 IF SC>30000 THEN GOSUB 1236 1222 IF DIR=1 THEN XSHIP=XSHIP+3.5 1224 IF DIR=2 THEN XSHIP=XSHIP-3.5 1225 RETURN 1230 IF DIR=1 THEN XSHIP=XSHIP+4 1232 IF DIR=2 THEN XSHIP=XSHIP-4 1235 RETURN 1236 IF DIR=1 THEN XSHIP=XSHIP+5 1237 IF DIR=2 THEN XSHIP=XSHIP-5 1230 RETURN
I added to line 1720:
1720 X=X+XPOS(ST)*2:Y=Y+YPOS(ST)*2
I have one last question. I'd really like to buy some fantasy and/or adventure games, but they all seem to be on disks. Now I know disks are better and faster than my 1010 recorder, but I am not going to be buying a disk drive any time soon, if ever. I'm lucky I got the computer! And it seems to me, with interest picking up and prices going down on personal computers, that more people like me will be in the market for products that don't cost a small fortune just to run. Where can I find some games on tape that do something more than blast aliens?
Sincerely,
Bill Moore
Wilmington, DE
Thanks for the kind words. It happens that there
are several reasonably good text adventures available on tape,
including the entire Scott Adams Adventure Series from Adventure
International. ANALOG's own
Adventures in the 5th Dimension
(Issue #11) was specifically written with cassette users in mind;
and we'll be publishing more tape-compatible adventures in the near
future. Stay tuned!
-B.M.
I would like to put in a word about Kyle Peacock's review of Starbowl Football in Issue #13. After reading his review, I immediately went out and bought the game. However, I was all prepared to meet an incredible computer team. Instead, I found that the computer gave me the option of playing a fair "college" team, or an outstanding "pro" team. Of course, for starters, I chose the college team. I beat the team by three points on my very first try. Is this a new option? If not, I still hope that you publish this letter to inform my fellow game enthusiasts that, in Starbowl Football, they have the option of getting smeared (as Mr. Peacock was), or having a very close game against an average computer opponent.
Chris Johnson
Alexandria, VA