Hello, dear editorial team.
I am writing to share my impressions regarding your electronic creation. To be frank, I expected more. It seems to have quality design, decent music, and even some interesting notes here and there, but something is off. It lacks the solidity and simplicity that FORMAT has. Everything feels a bit convoluted, though original.
I was very disappointed by Mr. M.M.A, hmm... let me find the hematephoe word... Couldn't find it. Alright, then a quote: "Self-confidence is the audacity of a little beaten person." Guess who said that? No, not me, but Georgy Ratner (surgeon, scientist). That's exactly who you, Mr. M.M.A, should consult to heal your hypertrophied... M.M.A> After working for the good of SPECTRUM in Samara, not only will your self-esteem hypertrophy. As R.ATRIDES says, almost a joke.
....self-opinion with complications of lamerdom.
I have a question for the editorial team. You say that you have a huge number of new and interesting games, but the content of your "Box" probably has been inherited from the programmers of Uncle Sinclair's time. Other thoughts about what I saw there don't come to mind. This "box" is hard to compare with the previous one, there was "ELITE 3" and "PEKING." The box is, for me as a USER, the most interesting part. This, if you will, is the face of the magazine.
M.M.A> PEKING, and ELITE 3 were definitely outdated by the time they were published in the application a year to a year and a half ago. The only thing that saved these programs was the improvements made to them. Otherwise, it was the same "old stuff" that we continue to publish now. Just this "old stuff" is considered by some people as classic and the best representatives of their genre.
What do you think I and my acquaintances look at first when we get a new magazine? Right, at the application, and only then at everything else (if we want to look). So, in my opinion, you messed up with the box.
Well, in general, the magazine is readable, although some texts do smell of nonsense, but what can you do - the world is imperfect.
Another little question, if you allow me. When I return from the text, the menu appears after pressing a key - why is that?
As for the service, it would be nice if, while studying the next masterpiece, one could also see its title. In general, it would be great if there was an opportunity to go directly to reading the next literary wonder without leaving the menu from the text.
I ask you not to take offense too much, after all, our USER's job is to try out the next creation and suggest what is wrong.
I wish you once again to have more original ideas, as well as the time to bring them to life. So, the keyboard to you in..., right, in your hands.
PEACE USER.
05.04.97.
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So, what can be said here? In some ways, our reader is right, and in some ways, not quite. For example, about the Box. Despite the relative age of the games QUAZATRON and MAGNETRON, they do not become less exciting and interesting. Of course, every game appeals to some and not to others. There is no need to look far for an example - ELITE. There are people who do not understand what is so special about it. Everyone has their own tastes... But we will still try to select newer programs in the future that can appeal to as many of our readers as possible.
As for the technical issues of the magazine's shell, well... In short, the suggestions have been accepted and taken into account. In this issue, if you haven't noticed yet, the title of the article is displayed when viewing it, and you do not need to press a key when exiting the article...
And there's no need to be so afraid that we will be offended. To be offended by justified...
M.M.A> And by unjustified too.....
...criticism is foolish. After all, this is a kind of feedback from the readers.
Next letter:
-----------------------------------------
Message (in three parts).
(from Stranger)
If a philosopher could become a gravedigger, then why can't a gravedigger become a critic?
Part one (grateful).
Hello, editors of OBERON. I decided to write to the magazine, for the first time, and maybe the last. As you probably guessed, in this part I will express my gratitude and praise the glorious Samara programmers for their useful and undoubtedly difficult and painstaking work. I am very glad that finally, we in Samara have our own magazine, which is not inferior, and in some parameters even surpasses such magazines as SPECTROPHONE, ZX-FORMAT, etc.
I hasten to express my gratitude to Vasilyev Maxim for the wonderful copier NEXT COPY.
Thank you to the group "STARS OF KELADAN" for the improvements to games like "SPACE CRUSADE" and "ELITE III" (the store version). Many people who had "Deltas" could not play this cool game before, but now, thanks to you, they can enjoy this glorious game.
Now about the innovations introduced in the magazine. I liked the new design of the magazine the most, and such improvements as the survey of 48, 128, 512, 1024 KB. It's great that you no longer have to wait for articles to load from the disk (I'm talking about 512 and 1024 KB of memory), and after waiting once, you can even remove the disk from the drive.
I also liked the music, it is simply magnificent.
The new window menu looks very nice. But it would be nice to go straight to the menu after exiting the article, instead of this constantly redrawing pattern on the screen. You know, it starts to irritate after viewing the second article.
Well, that seems to be all I wanted to say in this introductory part.
Part two (sarcastic).
The main law of programming (or simply folk wisdom): "Every programmer, debugging programs, leaves many bugs for others."
I say this because in "THE LAND OF MYTHS," lovingly processed by the author-hacker group "STARS OF KELADAN," there is still a lot of work left for others. In this game, there is one "small" bug that makes it impassable - there is just one piece of the map missing. And because of this bug, my friends and I, after spending several days and nights trying to complete it (the game), were unable to do so. Just imagine our feelings after all this, and no words can convey the disappointment we experienced.
And a couple more wishes regarding this game:
1. If it runs on PROFI, then why not use 512 KB instead of 256 KB;
2. Could you not insert the save game loading menu into the game itself, because not everyone has the patience to reset the game and load it again when your army is attacked by a horde of wolves or druids, as fighting them is useless.
And one more remark, although it may not be relevant now. This remark concerns the "BYTEMARE PROTECTION" that you install on disks. I've never seen a more buggy thing.
Once, coming home from "KOLOS,"...
M.M.A> Here is where the dog is buried! "KOLOS" installed the protection, not STARS OF KELADAN. And where is that "KOLOS" now? In the window opening! And all because they were selling protected disks with all sorts of old junk.
...where I stocked up on two disks, and although I was completely sober (I swear I didn't take a drop of alcohol that day, not even beer), I still couldn't load the desired program, because when choosing one, another loaded instead, and vice versa. At first, I thought my computer was glitching, but it also happened on PENTAGON, DELTA, and another PROFI.
I am of course not against protections on disks; you have to pay for pleasure, but these protections should not affect the operation of programs or their normal launch. Moreover, a disk with this protection is very easy to copy.
Well, that's all the dissatisfaction I wanted to express in general.
These are all my complaints against the hacker group "STARS OF KELADAN." Now let's move on to the problem of the leadership of Samara hackers.
M.M.A> For some reason, the hackers don't have this problem! It seems to arise only among users... Maybe they just feel sorry that I am not the Leader of Users?!
Noman> "Feel sorry" for the little bee ;)
We were hitchhiking with Max (M.M.A), sipped some soda, and... he called himself the Great and Terrible Leader of Samara Hackers (GUTSH).
Firstly, any leader, not just Samara hackers, should be elected by the people at a meeting, and his statements that thanks to him, and only him, new programs appear in Samara, do not give him the right to be a leader. But if he wants, from this moment I propose to change his nickname M.M.A to GUTSH - Great and Terrible Leader of Samara Hackers.
M.M.A> I propose to add square brackets with the inscription [Fierce]...
But this title will be nothing more than an empty sound for everyone else until it (the title) is approved by the Samara hackers.
Part three (farewell).
Well, this somewhat tedious letter has come to an end. That's all I could reproduce from my foggy METALLIC brain.
I almost forgot to ask about some rumors that reached me.
Is it true that this issue of "OBERON" is the last, and that you are tired of publishing it?
In my opinion, it is not very hacker-like to retreat in the face of difficulties and abandon such a necessary endeavor as the publication of this only magazine in Samara.
M.M.A> The difficulty here is the magazine itself. The truth is the fourth issue has been released and you are reading it... But are you satisfied? Was it worth it? Is this what you expected from us?
Well, that's probably all I wanted to write to you. Sincerely, Stranger.
P.S. My address: 443122 Samara, Silina St. 9, apt. 65, to Stranger.
P.P.S. For those who study (suffer) at SSGU, you can write to me at the address: NEWTON server, name STRANGER, using the PMAIL program on disk Z in the PMAIL directory. GOOD BYE.
UNFORGIVEN THE BEST !!!
-----------------------------------------
And now, so to speak, here are our answers to the questions raised in the letter.
First about "The Land of Myths." Firstly. When creating version 2.0 we pursued only three goals:
(1) To make self-tuning for the type of computer, so that there are no "versions for Scorpion, Profi, ATM, ...":
(2) To make it possible to save/load the state file on any disk, not just on the disk with the game:
(3) To make it possible to configure game parameters.
We believe all three points have been implemented.
As for the "glitch" with the missing piece of the map, we cannot say anything. We passed our version and found no glitches. Moreover, we discovered and killed an author's "joke" at the end of the game. So, it is likely that this is either a corrupted version (for example, someone had a read error on the disk and during the game copying, they chose Ignore), or an unnoticed author defect.
Regarding the wishes:
1. The game is designed for 256K and all memory above that is simply unnecessary for it.
2. Inserting the loading menu into the game is quite complicated because the state file contains a lot of information about which specific module of the program is needed for operation. That is, with "soft" loading of the state, it is still necessary to reload more than half of the program itself.
And it is quite possible that in our "Land of Myths 2.0" there is still work for others, and we never claimed that our version is the best. It is an improved one. That's it.
For example, Dmitry Grigoryev (OLDMAN) is very dissatisfied that we did not remove what he considers the only drawback of the original - the flickering of sprites, and instead "mocked the program and its authors." He categorically stated this on the pages of the 64th issue of his electronic newspaper ONLINE. As they say, tastes vary.
About BYTEMARE PROTECTION. The most important thing: we do not protect programs with BYTEMARE. This program was sold to the ZX Club at one time. The distributors install the protection.
To say that it is buggy just because on some protected disks it loads one file instead of another is like accusing a gun of being crooked because it missed a duck. The problem is not with the gun (the protection), but with the shooter. In the documentation for BYTEMARE, a list of "not recommended" actions is clearly stated. One of them is that you cannot delete already protected programs from the disk or, for example, replace the "boot" shell on the disk. This will lead to such confusion with loading. So all claims in this matter should go to "KOLOS." Furthermore, we believe that only new author programs should be protected.
As for the copyability of protected disks, it is fundamentally impossible to create a protected disk on the Spectrum that cannot be copied...
M.M.A> It would be more accurate to say not copied, but broken!
...on it.
Well, and about, perhaps, the most pressing topic - about the "Leader, Great and Terrible." Guys, what are you talking about! This is a joke. You didn't nitpick at Noman for being a "wandering hacker" (can you imagine that!) or at Paul Atrides for "showing the way."
In fact, these are "empty sounds," just friendly caricature pseudonyms.
Although, of course, we are to blame ourselves. We should have explained in issue 3 how the phrase "Great and Terrible Leader of Samara Hackers" came about. It originated during the writing of a humorous-friendly letter to ZX-FORMAT, which, however, was never sent. That's when "Great and Terrible" (from "The Wizard of Oz") and "Leader of Samara Hackers" (also known as "the father of Russian democracy," "a person close to the Emperor" - from "The Twelve Chairs") were born.
M.M.A>> Everything mentioned above about me is R.Atrides' personal opinion and nothing more.
Noman> Rather Stars of Keladan...
And about the rumors. Here is, in fact, the next issue of OBERON. "And like flies here and there, rumors go around the houses..." (C) V. Vysotsky. We did not intend to "tie up" with the release of OBERON, and we do not intend to (this is not very hacker-like).
However, we plan to do something else - to find and deeply investigate the source of these rumors (this seems very hacker-like). Just kidding, of course.
-----------------------------------------
Another letter came to us from the guys at ZX BEST HACKERS GROUP. They attached several graphic works to their message with a request to publish them in the magazine.
Of course, we could not include everything in the magazine, but we did place one picture.
And right after the picture, you will find the next large letter from the city of Kuznetsk in the Penza region.
Contents of the publication: Oberon #04
- From the Editorial
This editorial discusses the legal 'charges' against the creators of Oberon #4 as a humorous narrative, highlights the challenges faced in publishing this issue, and announces a potential hiatus for the magazine.
- Scroll
Analysis of the game 'Chaos' by Julian Gollop. Simplified gameplay mechanics and strategic elements. Description of creatures, spells, and tactics.
- Scroll - Unbeliever
Description of a mathematical game for ZX Spectrum where players collect formula symbols while navigating gears.
- Scroll - M.M.A
Discussion of 'Doc the Destroyer', a unique fighting and adventure game for ZX Spectrum. The article covers controls, character customization, and game mechanics. Compatibility issues on different ZX Spectrum models are also addressed.
- Overview - M.M.A
The article provides a review of games for ZX Spectrum, including KOMANDO 2, WRESTLING SUPERSTARS, TAG TEAM WRESTLING, and CAPTAIN PLANET. It highlights the features, graphics, and gameplay of each game, noting both strengths and weaknesses. The review concludes with recommendations and comparisons to other platforms and games.
- Overview
Overview of various ZX Spectrum games, highlighting their unique features, gameplay mechanics, and design elements. Includes critique on sound effects, graphics, and technical issues. Discusses games like 'Stryker in the Crypts of Trogan', 'Phileas Fogg's Balloon Battles', and 'Survival'.
- Overview - Alex Noman
The article reviews games for the ZX Spectrum, including BOOVIE, MOTOR MASSACRE, SOCCER PINBALL, and HUXLEY PIG 1 & 2. Each game is detailed in terms of gameplay, graphics, and unique features. The discussion includes comparisons to other games and highlights specific technical aspects.
- Review
A review of various games, including Little Computer People and Lost Caves, highlighting their features and versions. It also discusses 75Occ Grand Prix by Codemasters with its limitations. The article provides insights into game mechanics and versions.
- Review
Detailed review of various assemblers like Alasm 3.8, TASM 4.12, and others, highlighting their features and shortcomings.
- About Everything
Announcement of the creation of the SamZxNet network in Samara and the challenges of setting it up with HAYES modems. Explanation of the modems' power requirements and potential difficulties. Invitation for technical advice from experienced readers.
- About Everything
Description of travel to ENLIGHT'97 and meeting various demoscene participants. Observations of event organization and issues. Insights into participant experiences and scene discussions.
- About Everything
Report on the second day of ENLIGHT'97: events, challenges, and reflections. Describes voting results and organizational difficulties. Highlights future prospects for Spectrum demo parties.
- About Everything
The article features reader feedback on Oberon #04, critiquing design and content choices and discussing issues with software protection and game enhancements.
- About Everything
Discussion of the adventure game KAYLETH with gameplay tips and advice. Includes a game dictionary and suggestions from the author and their team. Calls for a local artist for future RPG development.
- About Everything
Reflection on the closure of the 'ZX-REVIEW' magazine and the adaptation of its article for 'Oberon'. Discussion on the development of ultra-short boot loaders. Optimization techniques for writing one-sector boot loaders on ZX Spectrum.
- About Everything
Exploration of amateur contributions to electronics, music, and computing history, highlighting figures like Faraday and Babbage. The evolution from handmade instruments to personal computers. Discussion on jazz, blues, and rock'n'roll's informal origins.
- About Everything
The story of Lieutenant Edward Roberts' journey from radio kits to creating the first PC, the Altair 8800, overcoming skepticism and challenges.
- About Everything
The article explores the rise and evolution of the computer industry, highlighting the transformation from passionate hobbyists to corporate dominance by giants like IBM and Microsoft.
- About Everything
An exploration of Sir Clive Sinclair's project after selling the Sinclair brand, detailing the features of the Cambridge Computers Z88 laptop.
- About Everything
Discussion of software market problems in 1997 for ZX Spectrum, highlighting lack of new software and user reluctance to pay.
- Announcement - M.M.A
Announcement of 'Black Raven' game by V. Mednonogov, focusing on gameplay, technical challenges, and upcoming features.
- Announcement
Discussion of the decline in ZX Spectrum development, reviews of new games and utilities, and announcements of future projects.
- Educational Program
The article provides an overview of FidoNet, a non-commercial computer network often considered the predecessor of the Internet, detailing its origins, growth, and unique cultural aspects.
- Hardware
Instructions for connecting the 'ALEGRO' modem to computers with normal port #FF, detailing hardware modifications required for proper signal handling.
- Hardware
Connecting Hayes-compatible modems to ZX Spectrum, focusing on Scorpion and Pentagon models, detailing hardware modifications. Specific instructions for internal port blocking and signal alignment provided. Step-by-step process and technical intricacies explained.
- Hardware
Discussion of the transition from 5.25' to 3.5' floppy disks for ZX Spectrum, including installation issues and solutions for compatibility with existing software.
- Let's Feast
A satirical story about a Rabbit who lost his house to a cunning Fox and how a Rooster helped him reclaim it.
- Let's Gourmet
A humorous tale about Malysh and Karlson's adventures with technology, drawing parallels between computers and everyday life, culminating in a comic mishap with an AMIGA computer.
- Advertising
Article discusses free advertising policy of Oberon, catalog of programs and hardware for ZX Spectrum, and adventure game engagement.
- Advertisement - Kano
Promotional campaign by Magic Soft and RPSG in Russia for Amiga multimedia computers, offering exhibitions, sales, and consultations. They highlight Amiga's advantages over other systems, describe various models, and provide price lists. Collaboration with 'Computers for Population' for distribution and services.
