Here comes another stream on the globe - the stream of your letters to our editorial office. We hope that very soon this stream will turn first into a calm, and then into a turbulent, full-flowing river.
At the moment, we have received two letters, both from Samara. Here is the first one:
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Dear editorial team! Recently I was given the opportunity to look at your magazine. At first, I didn't even want to take it, recalling some Samara programs and their quality. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I first saw the disk design and then the magazine itself.
Having been pleasantly surprised, I was also a bit disappointed with the text formatting. I would like to see separate sprites in the descriptions as well. In my opinion, this would benefit the magazine.
There is also a wish to increase the number of sections and their informativeness. For example, it would be nice if you could tell us about ASSEMBLER and the convenient programs for it. It would be great if you could suggest which program is best for working in assembler. As a beginner programmer, I am interested in knowing this.
I heard that the ENLIGHT exhibition recently took place; please tell us about it if it's not too much trouble.
In one of the latest issues of Spectrofon, there was a demo version of the game "PRINCE..."; I heard that the game already exists in full version, and I would like to see it included in your magazine. Also, it would be nice to see "UFO-2". By the way, about space, if possible, could you reduce it a bit? It feels a bit overwhelming with "Stars of Keladan", "OBERON", and "Rebel Star".
I was really surprised to learn that you fully utilize the Scorpion's memory; thank you for that.
In general, your magazine looks quite decent. If we compare it with SPECTROFON, you are very similar in design, but in quality, you have surpassed them, which is pleasant. So we can confidently say that the first issue of the magazine TURNED OUT WELL.
I hope to see the next issues of the SAMARA magazine "OBERON" soon.
Sincerely,
PEACE USER.
03.10.96
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OBERON: Once again, we would like to say that we are very pleased that letters from readers have started to come to our editorial office. And we cannot leave unanswered the questions and wishes expressed in the letter.
First of all, about the quality of some Samara programs. We all (we are "STARS OF KELADAN," "SPEED COMPANY," and some other Samara groups and solo authors) were once small and inexperienced, but due to a fateful turn of events, it was during the "SINCLAIR boom" that programs could be bought literally on every corner. But now, when we have experience and qualifications, everything is "O.K." (modestly?), there is practically no one to distribute our programs in Samara, so only the authors themselves, their friends, and ... all of Russia know about new Samara programs!!! Yes, yes, many Samara programs are known in Moscow, whose existence you might not even suspect (for example, the programs of the "SPEED COMPANY" group have even been published in some electronic magazines, of which there are now a sea in Russia). We were shocked by this ourselves.
Now regarding our magazine. Our reader correctly noted the absence of sprites and graphics in the text, and we knew about it ourselves. But as we mentioned, the first issue was "the first pancake," although we are glad to learn that it is "not a lump." But at that time, we did not have the tools to integrate text and graphics into a single whole and edit this "whole," now we have written it. In the second issue, as everyone has probably noticed, there is no lack of graphics. And in the third, we hope there will be even more graphics.
Regarding the creation of additional sections. In this issue, several new and, we hope, permanent sections have already appeared: "POGURMIM," "ANNOUNCEMENT," "ADVERTISING," ... As for assembler, we will take your wish into account, and in one of the upcoming issues, we will try to conduct a comparative analysis of all (or at least almost all) existing assembler editors. In this issue, in the "OVERVIEW" section, you can read about the ENLIGHT'96 competition.
Here we are again approaching the question of programs. We are happy to inform you that several months ago, the full version of "PRINCE" and "UFO-2" (which has already been corrected ten times and seems to be fully functional now) have been circulating throughout the country, occupying only a third of the disk, along with many other new programs. They are also available with us (for example, the long-awaited STS 4.3), but... First of all, these are Russian author programs, and we need to be careful with their distribution. And secondly, ... there is no one to distribute them in Samara. For instance, we were surprised to learn that the programs we described in the first issue are practically impossible to find in Samara!!! And this despite the fact that they are already "quite old" and half the country has forgotten about their existence.
The thing is that we cannot agree on operational and mutually beneficial cooperation with the known software distributors, so we end up with a "thing in itself" - there are many new, good programs, but we don't know how to distribute them. If only you knew what obstacles we faced when distributing the first issue. But let's not dwell on the sad; we have become a bit smarter and more experienced and hope that everything will be "o.k." with the second issue.
As for space, we must disappoint our reader here - space will not occupy the least place in our magazine. Gentlemen!!! Do not forget that we live in the nuclear-cosmic age, when a person has already walked on the Moon and will literally walk on Mars in a couple of years, in an age when several man-made devices have already left the solar system and are wandering among the stars. So do not be afraid of space; be afraid of the cramped cage of Mother Earth.
Why "OBERON," we have already explained, and why "STARS OF KELADAN"? Well, first of all, we love science fiction, hence the names of our initial "one-man groups" - "Stars Soft" (this is simply about stars) and "Keladan Soft" (this is a slightly modified name of a planet from Frank Herbert's novel "DUNE"), then we linked, and since no one wanted to "be under someone else's banner," we named ourselves "STARS OF KELADAN" - "STARS OF KELADAN."
We are very pleased to learn that we have achieved our goal - we created a magazine that, in terms of quality and objectivity of information, has left even "SPECTROFON" behind, although it still lags behind it in design. But now, if we can put it this way, the "editorial board" of our magazine consists of not two people, but five, plus several advisors, critics, correspondents, authors of articles, etc., and all are programmers! Now our magazine has "native" music and its own images.
Well, and the second letter.
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Dear editorial team! Allow me to greet you and express my gratitude as a novice user of SPECCY for taking on the difficult task of publishing a computer magazine.
I believe many will agree with me, not only those who bought a SPECTRUM with a disk drive yesterday but also the cool CODERS; Samara has long needed its own magazine (or newspaper) - and finally, the local Sinclair enthusiasts have seen your work - the FIRST issue of "OBERON."
Most printed magazines have similar designs; computer magazines are no exception, so one should not expect much originality in the cover, but we can only hope for the content. Of course, I would like it to be interesting for everyone, regardless of their background. Although, if professionals are involved, it will probably be so.
Now about wishes. I am probably not the only one who is eager to see the continuation of the cool game by V. Mednonogov "UFO. Enemy Unknown" - "UFO2. Devils of the Abyss." Your respect would not diminish if somehow, in your spare time, this piece along with its detailed description made it into the magazine. Also, it would be quite nice to possibly observe the complete protocol of the famous Novosibirsk version of the 3rd ELITE, although perhaps some are tired of the endless, time-consuming, aimless flights through the 8th galaxy, for example, with all those refugees.
Well, enough about nonsense. (Just a joke). Games are undoubtedly essential, but in my opinion, information about how they are created is much more important. I mean that the new center of spectrum culture ("OBERON," that is) could occasionally (at least in every issue) inform USERs from the same land about various (preferably useful) recently (or almost recently) released literature about the remarkable ZX-SPECTRUM, and most importantly, about WHERE it can be found...(that is, purchased) in SAMARA, because you cannot find anything in any other electronic publication (from other cities, of course).
Well, that’s probably all I wanted to inform you about. And the magazine turned out great, especially for the first issue. Keep it up, "STARS OF KELADAN," SAMARA is behind you.
A grateful (or ungrateful - it’s still unknown) admirer of ZX-SPECTRUM.
P.S. Please excuse the style of presentation.
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OBERON: Unfortunately, this letter also conveys the thought "when will new games appear in Samara?" Well, here’s the answer - the newest games and systems are always available in Samara (at least with six people), but there is nowhere to distribute them!!! To be precise, they are being distributed, but with a significant delay, when the whole country has long forgotten about them. And we have a normal, functioning UFO-2, but ... As for its inclusion in the issue, it takes up half a disk, which means it will not fit on our disk. This is regarding the "pirate" version, while the "author's" version takes up two disks. Moreover, we do not intend to include programs in the magazine that have the status of new releases to avoid infringing on the interests of the authors. But to not completely offend the author of the letter and the readers, in this issue of OBERON, we are including a save file from UFO-2 (V2.40,2.45 - see OVERVIEW). In this file (UFO.INFI), many game parameters have been modified, allowing one to easily complete it. The author of this release is Alex Naumov from Dnepropetrovsk. Special thanks to t.MAXSOFT for its teleportation from Ukraine to Samara.
Additionally, due to circumstances beyond our control, our first issue did not break even, so it is too early to talk about acquiring licensing rights for some author programs - there simply is no money, but in the future, we will definitely deal with this. And to publish "pirate" versions, we need to be ethically certain that the "hackers" have done more for this program than the "author" himself (as paradoxical as it may sound).
As people who have seen and played UFO-2, we hasten to cheer everyone up that it contains the author's description, and you can read about some of its secrets in our "OVERVIEW" section.
We hope it is not worth discussing the Novosibirsk ELITE 3 here; it’s better to read the "SCROLL" section and check our "BOX."
But enough about nonsense. (Also, by the way, a joke). About how to make a game. Probably everyone is already tired of the books "How to Write a Game" from the "Piter" publishing house, which mainly contain lengthy phrases about some algorithms and procedures, and a few chapters are dedicated to "a brief course on Assembler." We really do not want to repeat their main omission - a person who does not know how to "program at all" will not be able to write a decent game. Therefore, in the "LITERACY" section, we want to first teach our readers "programming in general" and get them used to the idea that programs cannot be written hastily without thought (after all, we are professionals). And only then show how creating a game differs from creating a system or application program. And in general, thank you for the "signal."
And a little more about literature. Unfortunately, at this stage of the development of the global community, after the victory of global democracy and humanism, in short, at the current stage of evolution of our branch of the Metagalaxy, it has become impossible to find any fresh printed information about SPECTRUM (except for the magazine "ZX-Review"). And you can buy the latest one in the "DIY" store, which is near the Aurora Bus Station. Additionally, you can (and it’s probably easiest) subscribe to "ZX-Review," either borrow it from friends or (if you’re lucky) buy it at the book market.
We also have an idea to conduct a brief overview of "ZX-Review" materials in our magazine. What do you think of such a "retrospective"? So, perhaps the only accessible mass means of transporting information about ZX-SPECTRUM are various electronic magazines, the most famous (and probably worth it) besides ours (very modestly, isn’t it :-)?) are "SPECTROFON" (Moscow) and "ZX-FORMAT" (St. Petersburg).
And now a small wish to the "unknown" author of this letter: it is always better to be a grateful admirer, you know, it’s healthier for the stomach. So let’s defend our native, beautiful computer "ZX-SPECTRUM" together, as we have no place to retreat - SAMARA is behind us.
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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.
