ANNOUNCEMENT
As you may have already noticed, we have another new section. We hope it will be permanent. In it, we will talk about the works of leading programmers from our Samara (of course, those we know; those we don't know, hey, reach out, we would be glad to see you), who are either in the development stage or in the testing stage, i.e., later they will "migrate" to the "REVIEW" section, where they will be discussed in more detail. Since we are not threatened by modesty, let's start with ourselves.
ZX-WINWORD. (gr. "STARS OF KELADAN". E. Milun)
As I hoped, the name is quite disheartening: "ZX" is clear, but "WINWORD" - ? Although the experienced reader familiar with IBM has already found the painfully familiar sounds - "WINWORD" ("WORD FOR WINDOWS"). That's what I will talk about now. Surely many know how "WORD FOR WINDOWS" (on IBM) is very favorably different from "LEXICON" (also on IBM) - the ability to include drawn objects (pictures, circles, ellipses, etc.) in the text. Our SPECTRUM does not have this (at least in the TR-DOS system), and what is frustrating is that a similar editor DOES exist on the BK! So we decided to create something like a small publishing system on the SPECTRUM.
If you are reading these lines now, it means the first version is already ready - it was developed for the convenience of formatting our magazine and contains a minimal set of functions (for now). In short, "ZX-WINWORD" is intended to be an analogue of IBM's "WORD FOR WINDOWS". I designed the user interface and menu similar to the "ZX/IBM EDITOR," which I liked very much, so I ask you not to judge me harshly - in some sense, this is a continuation of "ZX" - it can work with it in one package. The only unfortunate difference is that "ZX-WINWORD" is designed to work with 128K memory, which is related to the volumes of text-graphics it can process. Now about the name. Why "WIN-", since there is no "WINDOWS" there? What do you want me to do? After all, WORD is already on the SPECTRUM, it doesn't matter that it's more "LEXICON" than "WORD," but the name is already "taken." That's why I had to give it such a name.
UNRECOGNIZED FORMATTING OBJECT v1.0. (gr. "STARS OF KELADAN". A. Korolev)
Another disk-to-disk copier with simultaneous formatting of the output disk. No, this is not just "another one." This, according to our estimates, is one of the best and most universal. Judge for yourself about the possible modes of its operation: copying (with formatting, of course) on two drives, on one, "healing" disks (a submode of copying on one drive). Moreover, all this occurs at a quite high speed with one disk - about 4 minutes for one MS-DOS disk. (Agree, this is very fast, considering that the layout on the copied disk may be random, for example, as in UFO-2 or ZX-FORMAT#3). In general, "backtracking," this copier was conceived for copying the game "UFO TERROR IN DEEP," but was later transformed for "twisted" disks.
In "UN.FOR.OBJ" there are many settings that allow you to control the copying process, for example, turning off the checks for the reliability of reading/writing disks. There is even a completely unique setting that allows you to compare the contents of the input and output disks during copying, which increases the reliability of copying. [According to our data, due to "glitches" when copying track-to-track with various sophisticated copiers without comparing the copy and the original, spoiled UFO2 and ZX-FORMAT#4 are circulating in Samara.] With "U.F.O." you can make a copy of a disk, for example, TR-DOS, MS-DOS, IS-DOS. Speaking of IS-DOS, it's worth mentioning separately. The fact is that this copier not only copies IS-DOS disks but also makes them "MASTER DISKs," i.e., IS-DOS doctors "recognize" the copies as MASTER disks.
The only thing that the copier cannot handle is various sophisticated disk protections that analyze the track image. But perhaps this drawback will be fixed soon.
Considering the particular sophistication of the program's work, U.F.O cannot work in the popular "virtual" SPECTRUMax, i.e., emulators. The program, when launched in one, will display a cheerful message like "WORKING UNDER Z-80 EMULATOR" and will work purely conditionally - you can "browse" through the menus, but you won't be able to start copying.
FUNCTION ANALYZER DESIGNER (DAF) v8.4
ORIGINAL IDEA AND DESIGN: EDA SOFT
CORRECTED AND REMIXED BY: M.M.A/SC
About a year has passed since the development of the first version of DAF, and already more than 10 different versions of the program are circulating in the country. Today I (M.M.A) present to you the new version under the working number 8.4. This is somewhat different from what I promised, but still!
So, what is DAF?
DAF, I will tell you, is such a valuable program that can suddenly make your life easier or more difficult! But seriously, with the help of DAF, you can build graphs of functions and their derivatives of various orders, investigate the behavior of the function (concavity, convexity, etc.), as well as much, much more that you could not even imagine.
Originally, DAF was conceived as a program to assist in the learning process at school or in the first or second year of college. But then the possibility of using this wonderful program in demo construction as a calculator for complex motion trajectories (sprites on the screen) was noticed. However, to use this potential, the program needed to be supplemented with procedures for loading and unloading the coordinate buffer and much, much more. Naturally, all this could only work from 128KB.
As planned, all this was to be implemented in version 8.5, but due to the delay in releasing this version, I decided not to wait, but to release the latest version of DAF 8.4 for users of 48KB machines right now.
Here is a brief list of changes in the program:
- increased accuracy of calculations of function values and derivatives to one decimal place.
- a scrolling line has been introduced in the construction mode, which describes all the function keys.
- a method for solving nonlinear equations (the Newton-Raphson method) has been implemented, allowing you to find the corresponding value of "X" for a known value of "Y".
- a multitude of minor errors and typos in the texts have been corrected.
The release of version 128 of DAF is likely to be postponed, but if it appears, it will definitely be included in the next issue of "OBERON."
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RELEASE 2.0
ULTIMATE PLATINUM PACK!
STEP'95 / SPEED CO.96
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ATTENTION! WARNING!
THERE IS NO SUCH VERSION OF "INHERITANCE"
EVEN BY ITS AUTHORS!
"STAR INHERITANCE" 2?
No! Just the usual "Star Inheritance," which has long been passed and forgotten by everyone. So what's the catch, you ask?
It's very simple! All this time (since August 1995 - the actual date of the game's release for sale) there has not been a properly working version on the country's markets.
Well, how could there not be, you might ask again? What about the "official" one from INFORKOM? Well, of course, we must admit that the official version can be completed, but only on a real SPECTRUM!
And what about on IBM, in the emulator?
Not at all! None of our four emulators wanted to run the game. Naturally, unless you consider broken and initially unplayable versions that could be freely copied and loaded into the emulator, but did not work due to non-standard operations with TR-DOS!
All these facts prompted the creation of a fundamentally unprotected version of the game. During the work, new ideas arose, and to date, all this is close to realization in the following form:
DISK: 5.25' (preferably 3M or Verbatim)
TITLE: SPEED CO.'96
FORMAT: TR-DOS (2560 SECTORS)
HARDWARE: TR-DOS 5.01.5.03.5.04T ......
ANALOG SPECTRUM 48.128....16M
A:> CAT
SPEED CO. INTRO
STAR INHERITANCE release 2.0
STAR INHERITANCE HELP BY MAXSOFT'96
"ЗВЕЗДНОЕ НАСЛЕДИЕ" НОВЕЛЛА
(from SPECTROFON'10)
And all this, as you understand, on one disk!
The game itself is packed and loads through the most standard of all TR-DOS ROM points #3D13.
Finally, we want to say that we have no claims against the creative group STEP and hope that STEP also has no claims against us!
We will not earn a single penny on this version, but the game will live FOREVER!
P.S.
"... AND ON THE RUINS OF i B M - they will
WRITE OUR NAMES!"
P.P.S
"...Turn the page,
it's not GAME OVER yet..."
And to conclude this section, I would like to address the issue of acquiring both the programs announced above and all other programs written in our beloved city - SAMARA.
So, you can find all Samara programs in at least two places:
- MARKET SOFT OF SAGE GROUP
(their advertisement is included in the appendix)
- VASILIEV YURIY
pr. Lenina d.9 kv.37 tel.34-98-66
from 5 PM to 8 PM - on weekdays
from 10 AM to 8 PM - on weekends.
USER - remember! The author often does not engage in the distribution of their programs. They entrust this to special people - distributors. So it is not worth calling the author with questions like: "I really liked your game like BOLDER DASH 13 and I wanted to ask you, what other games did you insert such things into... well, what are they called?... oh, I remembered, those - "damn, MODES"?
Unfortunately, to date, no major organization like "STORE" supports the idea of trading Samara programs in SAMARA. Although, in the "DO IT YOURSELF" store, you can find most of the creations of recent years, but in the catalogs of the Moscow firm "MAGIC SOFT." Thus, the store receives programs from its native city through Moscow, which takes at least three months. And it could take even longer if I (M.M.A) did not periodically send packages with the disk SOFT FROM SAMARA to the capital of our homeland.
This disk is a collection of programs written in our city over the last month or two! To date, the new, already tenth collection is almost ready. Here is its approximate composition:
SOFT FROM SAMARA vol.10
1) M.M.A GIFT (SPEED CO.)
2) M.M.A-18 (SAGE GROUP)
3) ZX-WINWORD v1.0 (STARS OF KELADAN)
4) U.F.O. v1.0 (----------------)
5) TRACK DOCTOR (----------------)
6) VU-3D (SPEED CO.)
7) DAF v8.4 (---------)
8) TWIN TURBO V8 (---------)
9) BUGGY RANGER (MARKET SOFT/SG)
10) GHOSTS AND GOBLINS (SB SOFT)
As you can see, the disk includes not only original developments but also disk versions and adaptations. In addition, a detailed description is attached to the disk.
You cannot buy this disk in Samara again, as there is no demand from buyers or software sellers. However, outside of Samara, the disk is in good demand.
If you have the opportunity and, most importantly, the desire to collect a similar disk in your city, then I (and not only I) will be glad to cooperate with you in terms of software exchange.
I also urge all those Samara programmers who wish to distribute their developments beyond the city and who have not yet contacted me.
Call, and I will make you famous!
M.M.A
(8462) 22-12-11 from 6 PM to 9 PM Moscow time
Ask for MAXIM!
P.S. I want to make a note that is not related to the article itself:
If you find a mistake in the text - think!
Perhaps it's just an exception to the rule!
Contents of the publication: Oberon #02
- Introduction
Introduction to the second issue of Oberon magazine, with insights into its delays and team expansion. The editorial team acknowledges past misunderstandings and introduces the new issue's contributors. Details on distribution, contributions, and user interaction features are provided.
- Scroll - Alex Noman
Game manual for 'Peking', detailing controls, menu options, and gameplay strategy, involving matching pairs of crates under time constraints.
- Scroll
Empire 128 is a strategic space game where players act as merchants dealing with an alien invasion. Gameplay involves trading, mission completion, and space exploration. The game requires 128K memory and offers both disk and RAM save options.
- Scroll
Description of various space ships, including their specifications, weapon systems, and purposes. Each model differs in speed, armament, and functionality. Includes notes on origins and uses.
- Review
Review of ZX Spectrum games and tools: Double Xinox 128 offers a modern twist on Xonix with 80 levels and new challenges. UFO 2: Terror in the Deep has multiple versions with improvements and issues noted. Shadow Dancer for ZX Spectrum shows graphical evolution but maintains classic gameplay elements.
- Review - Unbeliever
Analysis of the 1996 ENLIGHT demo competition in St. Petersburg, evaluating participants and results across platforms. Highlights the achievements and critiques of notable entries. Provides insights into the dynamics of the competition and perspectives on the ZX Spectrum demos.
- Our Response
Reader feedback and editor's response regarding magazine content, the need for more graphics, and the state of local Samara software distribution.
- About Everything
Critique of Sinclair software quality, concerns about poor programming affecting computer lifespan, and commentary on CODE BUSTERS group's practices.
- Educational Program - Paul Atrides
An in-depth examination of the eight essential stages of software development, from defining technical requirements to testing and distribution. The article provides insights into the necessity of each stage and critiques poorly executed examples. It emphasizes the importance of systematic programming for both commercial and personal software projects.
- Hardware
The article discusses synchronization issues in various Spectrum models and provides a circuit solution to correct INT signal delays for improved graphics performance.
- Announcement - M.M.A
Introduction of new column highlighting Samara programmers' works, detailing projects like ZX-WINWORD, UNRECOGNIZED FORMATTING OBJECT, and DESIGNER ANALYSIS FUNCTIONS. ZX-WINWORD aims to be a publishing system for Spectrum, while U.F.O. offers advanced disk copying. DESIGNER ANALYSIS FUNCTIONS aids in mathematical graphing and function analysis.
- Programming - Unbeliever
A humorous narrative featuring Stirlitz, a fictional intelligence officer, in absurd and surreal situations involving Gestapo, programming, and secret plans.
- Pogurammim - Unbeliever
A humorous and fictional narrative involving Shtrilitz's spy adventures during a covert operation with many unexpected turns and satire.
- Advertisement
Advertisement for electronics and components store offering used equipment, software, and literature.
