8-Bit Software Online Conversion

                                             ---------------------- Those of you that tried to print out the Solinet advert file or the messaging system info from the DFS version of issue 30 will have found that the menu would not allow this. You have 3 options: 1. Forget it. 2. Return issue 30 to me with return p+p for the corrected version. 3. Get a printout like this: Put issue 30 into drive 0 Type : *DR.0 Z%=1 $&A00=":2.Soliad" or $&A00=":2.MesInf" CHAIN"7TO3" Then follow the prompts as usual. Another problem that has been brought to my attention is the printing out of non teletext articles. One printer has locked up after printing only one or two lines. The reason for this was something to do with the printer being unable to handle lines that did not contain RETURN characters at regular intervals. If you have experienced problems printing out articles please let me know exactly what has happened and what hardware you are using. I want to find out how widespread problems are. The previous problem was compounded by the fact that the file that the member was trying to print out was too big to fit into his word processor. If he had been able to edit it, he could have solved the problem himself. I have therefore written a short program which will split up a given file into smaller more manageable ones. The program is included on this disc as "Split" Bugs in other programs are mentioned in the program reactions article.    ------------- I am not 100% happy with the questionnaire. It was written some time ago and was written to be compatible with a previous questionnaire. There are questions in there that I no longer wish to ask. Some are quite misleading. Particularly the question about a two disc issue. I am therefore in the process of browbeating someone into writing us a new system. Not as simple as it may sound at first when you consider that firstly it must ask the questions I would like to ask. Secondly it will have to be 8BS member proof (you are a very critical lot you know). Thirdly all the analysis software will need re-writing. Fourthly, you will all have to fill in the new questionnaires. All this will take time. Meanwhile, please keep sending me the completed questionnaires using the old system.        --------------- As I hinted, the two disc issue is not a viable proposition. Here is why: The ADFS version usually contains software for the Master only. Therefore BBC users without ADFS are not missing anything. The ADFS version is then topped up with PD software readily obtainable at ridiculously low prices from the PD pool. The DFS version is always packed to bursting and I am sure that it should keep most people happy for a few weeks. I already produce 3 discs for each issue, 1*DFS, 1*ADFS and 1*40 track DFS version. If the DFS split into 2 this would end up as 4 discs. I would need a new disc box! Submissions are variable and would not always fill two DFS discs.      ----------- I can supply members with blank 5.25" discs but I am having to increase the price of blank discs to £3.40p for 10. This price includes postage (the main culprit). BOOO! Could I mention here that, as you know, members are entitled to any disc of software from the pool at a nominal charge of 10p as long as a formatted disc and return p+p are supplied. Some members have been requesting new discs with copies from the pool on them and including the 10p extra. This means that I have to format the disc thus increasing wear and tear/electric etc. Up to now this has posed me no problem. So any member who has ordered blank discs with discs from the pool copied on to them I AM NOT HAVING A GO AT YOU! You have only done exactly what I would have done in the same situation. However, membership is increasing and what used to be a small amount of work is slowly increasing (I am not complaining). Could I ask members to include an extra 10p per copy when ordering in this way. So for instance if you want to order 10 new discs with copies from the pool on them the price would be: Buy 10 discs inc p+p= £3.40p Format 10 discs = £1.00p Copy 10 discs = £1.00p Total = £5.40p. Still a giveaway price! Are you lot getting fitter out there now you are using my bike exercise program? Come on get those feet going!          ---------------------------------- This is the new 8BS competition. Please have a go at it. Read the article available from the main menu. Members that class their ability as programming in simple BASIC should be able to write a srategy. I would expect that everyone classing themselves as programming in complex BASIC and above will be able to submit a strategy. Steven Flintham will put your functions into the program "Comp1" which is on this issue. Use "Comp1" to test out your strategy. He will run the program and let me know the results. Send your functions to ME. I will forward them to Steven Flintham who will insert them all into the main program. I have written a strategy which I shall forward to Steven before I have seen any of your submissions so that there is no cheating! I assume that Steven will not write any strategy after receiving the first submission. There will be first, second and third prizes (assuming enough entries!). So come on!! Get your thinking caps on. All you need to write is something like this: 10 DATA My Entry,my`entry 20 DEF FNmy`entry(dummy%) 30 IF round%=1 =1 40 IF RND(10)=2 =2 ELSE=1 And you could end up with £19.95p worth of software!        ------------------ Just in case the OSMI screens re-awoke your interest in the REPTON3 game as it did with my kids. Here are the rest of the passwords that I know: Commercial Repton 3 Screens Original REPTON 3 screens. PRELUDE A PRELUDE 56882 B CITADEL 48042 C MORNING 13330 D AWKWARD 33023 E FRITTER 24656 F LAWLESS 8515 G RATION 3447 H TOBACCO 2303 TOCCATA A TOCCATA 48042 B UPSTART 6527 C OCTAGON 27492 D CHAOTIC 20312 E MAJESTY 1356 F REVENUE 16713 G FORESEE 50190 H RESERVE 65280 FINALE A FINALE 27246 B ENLIVEN 24937 C CONTEST 3200 D ILLEGAL 19786 E APPEASE 3346 F STUDENT 20055 G VERAGE 16660 H PHOENIX 51762 Repton Around the World AMERICA ORIENT A 52463 A 10019 B CURTAIN 57036 B THRUST 47727 C VAMPIRE 2457 C COLONEL 29389 D CREATED 2560 D PERSONS 29842 E LUNATIC 16961 E CRICKET 48573 F MAXIMUM 15699 F TUNNELS 13365 G COMPOSE 56696 G INTENSE 34674 H COLOURS 10568 H GALLERY 36424 OCEANS AFRICA A 34645 A 53997 B MAGENTA 44892 B WELCOME 54996 C ELECTED 15334 C WORKING 36857 D DISEASE 14535 D FIREMAN 13942 E THEATRE 14089 E KESTREL 25155 F DREAMER 16710 F REFRACT 26421 G CURRANT 55886 G ADDRESS 39304 H GENERAL 13003 H RECEIVE 51901 ARCTIC A 25363 B DIAMOND 20049 C RUBBISH 44028 D MANAGER 10455 E PACKAGE 18279 F PRIVATE 43587 G CAPITAL 8380 H DUNGEON 21510 Life of Repton BABY SCHOOL A 56882 A 36216 B KEYHOLE 44287 B ADVANCE 14562 C FAILURE 58847 C BAPTISE 49514 D GADGETS 24882 D LESSONS 39008 E REACTOR 61197 E ZIPPERS 21622 F REUNION 19047 F BLEAKLY 27442 G OBSERVE 5067 G CORPSES 4831 H DIVERGE 36440 H ZYGOTES 21882 TEENAGE WORK A 61268 A 21012 B TURBINE 32854 B INCLINE 7014 C WEAKEN 51857 C HOSTAGE 60159 D CHEAPLY 53452 D TWISTED 9677 E OVERLAP 22068 E TAXABLE 14439 F PADLOCK 43672 F WARTIME 21383 G DIALLED 13517 G ALGEBRA 57802 H CIRCLES 4405 H BETTING 996 OAP A 20910 B UNAWARE 18760 C SOAKING 57020 D EVOLVES 21489 E QUIBBLE 52892 F NATIVES 30995 G JUMPING 21164 H SHALLOW 35064 Thru Time PREHIST EGYPT A 12345 A 8473 B HEATERS 16494 B FAVOURS 5012 C HILLOCK 29652 C HAPPENS 48238 D PILFERS 28262 D PERSONS 2247 E MEDIATE 25655 E CONQUER 31761 F COMPACT 9761 F EVENING 19495 G CARTOON 43981 G MASTERS 52592 H TUBULAR 35862 H PIMPLES 51035 VICTORYI A 54066 B MERCURY 57950 C CLEAVER 62809 D BINDERS 31463 E CONFUSE 35584 F JINGLES 10659 G DOLPHIN 45367 H MINSTER 23180 NOW FUTURE A 54524 A 3376 B OCTAGON 21370 B ORACLES 1119 C CASTLES 48417 C STAPLER 36126 D CHARLES 9698 D DANCING 46223 E GREATER 58449 E FANCIER 48475 F BOOKLET 23963 F BANANAS 34409 G FUNTIME 64332 G EVEREST 54136 H SAVOURS 29294 H KINGDOM 53546 PD Repton 3 Screens TROG BLOG UPAKA A A A B EXILE B UIM B SIMCITY C ACORN C IS C QWERTY D HOVER D RUBBISH D DOS E BEANS E HADFS E BCD F REFORM F CPU F COMAL G PAXO G CELESTA G AIKEN H EASY H TIRO H ALGOL JOKE TOPD TOPD2 A A A B FIE B SWISS B HYPOXIC C ISTO C ALIEN C DRIVE D BE D CHT D SYSTOLE E TAKEN E PARESIS E MOBITZ F ASA F EEZEE F MIMETIC H TOTAL G GARDEN G NEBULE G JOKE H LEMMING H PEDIAL K1P L1L L1LREP A A A B OBTAIN B CAMELOT B BALANCE C NORTH C PALACE C NAUGHT D SIDE D MAGIC D REPRISE E CHICKEN E COSMIC E CAVIAR F RHYTHMS F RENDER F GENERAL G ALBUM G BENDER G LUNATIC H LISTEN H DOGDAY H ECLIPSE OSMI TOPD3 A CANOE A PERFECT B NOSTRIL B COOKING C WOMBLE C THINGS D PIGEON D STITCH E CORNISH E SHELVES F NOVELTY F VIDEO G EUREKA G LITTLE H FIATUNO H GENIUS The Adrian Jackson set CHRISTM CAMPING A 8255 A 36737 B SURMISE 369 B TYPISTS 6399 C POINTER 32817 C ROBOTIC 34047 D FLICKER 45425 D FACEIT 45440 E POWERUP 20493 E WOWZERS 57359 F PASSAGE 40120 F ABCDEFG 32896 G NEARING 45264 G BONES 12595 H SAUSAGE 27104 H HARDEST 20912 BIRTHDA R&D A 46335 A 51272 B JUMPING 49663 B DUNGEON 54813 C RUNNING 60608 C NASTIES 23832 D SIMPLER 14641 D SAUSAGE 31628 E COMPLEX 65455 E CONTAIN 23487 F SMELTER 45057 F PARCELS 40440 G PODDLES 45284 G DIVIDER 30227 H HORRORS 25404 H CRASHES 9592 DRIVING A 304 Screens not B ORANGES 33167 possible: C ZOOLOGY 16627 D SMELTED 40761 CHRISTM F E BANKING 29057 DRIVING F F BOUNCES 59649 G STINKER 34047 H HOLIDAY 20479 If anyone wants copies of the above 16 (PD) sets of screens, I have put them onto TBI-45. 8BS has 128 Repton 3 screens in its library! The screens for "JOKE" are a bit naughty and could quite easily cause offence by the way. Anyone wanting this set of screens will have to specifically request "JOKE" or I will not send them. On this issue is a new version of the Repton 3 cheat that I wrote some time ago. This one should work on most games and most computers. I have added new facilities to the cheat which now gives you a choice of: Master users, no need to wait whilst the editor is loaded if you don't wish to use it. See all maps. Infinite lives. Immortality. No need to collect crowns or kill monsters. No need to collect diamonds. Master Editor version. No need to enter screen codes to edit. You will also find "R.ToPD3". This is my third set of Repton screens hot off the press.        Repton 2 has no passwords, but a bit of invulnerability helps. Here are some pokes. Assuming you have a backup! *LO.REP3 1D00 Meteors: ?&2743=&8C:?&2744=&8C:?&2745=&8C Monsters: ?&2823=&8C:?&2824=&8C:?&2825=&8C Spirits: ?&2A29=&8C:?&2A2A=&8C:?&2A2B=&8C Boulders: ?&2EE9=&8C:?&2EEA=&8C:?&2EEB=&8C Skulls: ?&2FD6=&8C:?&2FD7=&8C:?&2FD8=&8C Master Compatibility: ?&4393=&8C *SA. REPT3 1D00+53A0 700 */REPT1        ------------------ I have also included on this disc a Repton 1 cheat. The cheat gives you immortality, view all maps and stops the timer. The passwords for Repton 1 are: Chameleon Terrapin Sidewinder Gecko Python Salamander Iguana Cuttlefish Octopus Giant Clam The Kraken        ---------------- After the publishing the 8BS accounts in issue 29 many of you are concerned about the state of the finances of 8BS. Fred Nevin even put his mind to it and made several suggestions as to how to make 8BS solvent again. Please do not be concerned over the finances. After the initial outlay money is coming in at a steady rate. By Christmas there will be a small profit. When there is enough, I shall start looking for a cheapo hard disc on which to store the 250 discs or so that I have collected in recent months. I have no wish to make money out of 8BS and do not mind the small outlay which will eventually find its way back into my wife's purse anyway.        ---------------- It is wise to obtain proof of postage from the post office when you send off your discs to me. It costs nothing, but in the rare event of something going wrong, you have a bit of comeback. Twice now, packages that I have posted have been returned to me the next day using the return address rather than the correct address. It was useful to be able to wander into the post office with the envelope and proof of postage. There was no argument, the packages went straight back into the mailbag. Two errors in all the hundreds of items that I have posted isn't too bad though.  I found Knight Lore skulking around in a disc box the other day. Why not put a cheat into it I thought: Knight Lore Infinite lives: *LOAD KNIGHT2 2100 ?&2E69=&87 ?&2E6A=&87 *SAVE KNIGHT2 2100+5B80 5F00 1100          Most of us have software on tape and disc that is gathering dust unused. Most of us are also on the constant lookout for software that we haven't got. The odds are that between all of us we must have everything that anyone could want. I propose to set up a software exchange/loan service. This is how it will work: Members will send me a list of software that they have available for either loan or exchange. Members will also send a list of software that they are looking for. When I find a match between haves and wants I will message each of the parties involved. Each party then sends the offered software plus enough return postage to receive the requested item/s back. When I have all of the items involved in the exchange, I will then post them off to the relevant parties. I will mediate the exchange firstly to ensure that no one loses their prize software and secondly, done this way it will be possible to have a "chain" of exchange that members themselves would not be able to create. Use the 8BS messaging system to send me your lists of haves and wants. If there is a reasonable response from you, I will start wheeling and dealing immediately. PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME YOUR SOFTWARE JUST YET!  PRESS BREAK FOR THE MENU