Jackpot
19F : I thought that the idea was very good and the game was fun to play,
once I had realised that the middle row was actually the pay out row and
not the bottom which was the one I started off thinking was. Maybe you
could say how much money you are paid for each item when you get 3 in a
row before the game starts, and also, what was C used to cancel??
18E : This game would be very good if the reels actually appeared to spin.
0E7 : I like the graphics very much, they are so nice and clear, but I do
not care for the screen blanking out every time the SPACE BAR is pressed.
I would also like to see the actual windows revolve after pressing the
SPACE BAR. Is this possible and how about a little more instruction on how
to play?
-- I agree that this game was very lacking in documentation; hopefully we
will see some answers from the author next issue. I also agree that the
screen-blanking was irritating, though a revolving effect would be
extremely difficult to program.
Guess the Letter
18E : I tried this game on my five and a half year old son who knows the
alphabet very well. He lost interest after finding one letter, because
there was nothing happening on the screen to keep him interested in
finding the next letter.
0E7 : Nice presentation. Pity a window format had not been used for the
answers, as if you get several incorrect answers they litter the screen
giving a very untidy apperance.
Teletext Screen Printer
24K : The program does work on my machine but is unable to print a MODE 7
file from any drive, only the drive it is currently on. However when the
text is printed out (on my printer at least) the text looks rather
strange. A better solution to this problem would be a program that prints
double height text. Programs should be written with a option to change
drive, as I rarely manage to get the program and the data on the same side
of the disc!
-- Teletext articles have been absent for two issues now, but see the news
section for details of issue 23; Chris Richardson's routines have been
vastly improved.
Satellite Havoc II
C83 : A lot better than the original. I especially like the scrolly stars
in the background. One problem - the collision detection isn't very
accurate... and it's a bit repetitive. Nevertheless quite enjoyable.
0E7 : The response to the up/down keys is rather slow and erratic thereby
spoiling the playing of the game, as the Space Ships are always that much
quicker and have a smoother action, biasing the play in their favour.
Would it be possible to get a smoother response to the up/down keys?
Why do the Space Craft not appear to do any damage in their attacks? Can
this be rectified?
-- I think the continual use of special effects (scrolling stars, sound
effects etc.) is one of the things that slows down the gameplay and
response to the controls in many of Sattar's games. However, some of these
special effects are very popular, like the stars in this instance, and, in
my opinion, the sound effects in Satellite Havoc I and Loopy Loop II. So I
suppose there has to be a compromise between special effects and speed
somewhere - smoother and more responsive games such as Power Raider are
lacking in good sound effects.
Loopy Loop
0E7 : I do not think the opening graphics are necessary; the title screen
is enough. Why can there not be a sound off key to turn the repeats of the
jingle off? The game seems very easy to play compared with others of its
ilk, or perhaps I have not gone far enough into it, possibly put off by
the jingle. There is a nice smooth flow to the action and instant response
from the control keys which fail on some similar efforts I have seen.
Overall very well presented.
-- A number of people have mentioned Loopy Loop crashing, which appears to
be due to a lack of memory on higher levels (81 and upwards). James
Cavanagh (1V5) has suggested altering PAGE to &1100, which prevents "No
room" errors until level 171, or alternatively the program can be modified
not to load in the music, so that PAGE can be reduced to &E00. However, I
imagine level 171 is about as far as anyone would want to go!
Loopy Loop II
0E7 : With two lots of inputs to control I find Loopy Loop II impossible.
I also prefer the larger screen of Loopy Loop I.
Why not make the second opponent the computer or would it be too easy for
the machine to win every time?
-- I think the two sets of input were meant for two players, rather than
one player controlling both. As for a computer opponent, it would have a
huge advantage in reaction times and "steering" through small gaps, but
you could outwit it at slow speeds unless it was quite "clever"; which is
very difficult to program. Loopy Loop III perhaps?
Number Converter
0E7 : Very nicely presented. I like it very much. It will be very useful
to me as it will save taking my socks off to manipulate digits in the
future.
Hacker
0E7 : That will teach you to go peeking and poking where you should not.
-- Well actually that was not quite the idea, and the little message in
the REM statements was not quite as sincere as it looked. Because, of
course, there is something more to this little "BASIC program" than meets
the eye. I (and a friend) were just interested to see if anyone (and Hugh
Williams in particular) noticed. After all, I did put "a very interesting
little program" when describing it in issue 21 documentation - REM
statements do not count as very interesting. So, after this little hint
(which makes it rather too easy), can anyone tell us what the program
does?