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We received a message from Andrey Shkolnikov from Moscow:
"As it seems to me, there is a genre that literally begs to be included in your magazine - COMPUTER NOVEL. In an electronic magazine, this genre gains additional advantages: it will be possible to illustrate the novels with pictures from games, maybe even moving ones. Novels can be used as a supplement to the 'DEBUT' section, or they can stand alone..."
Thank you, Andrey, for your support and reasonable advice. It should be noted that we have never refused to describe games written in the genre of 'computer novel'. It’s just that until recently, we didn’t have time for novels. We had to spend all our working hours preparing the next issue of the 'SPECTROFON' magazine. But now, when it has become a bit easier to breathe, as we have received letters from readers, we can afford to publish a computer novel for all of you. Read in this issue a novel based on the game 'Viaje at centre of Terra'. It was sent to us by Dmitry Usmanov, who lives in Moscow. The published description is his first attempt at this genre.
Also, Andrey Shkolnikov asks us not to stop cooperating with the editorial board of the 'PC-REVIEW' magazine. He really liked the article about emulators published in the first issue of 'SPECTROFON'.
Of course, we continue our cooperation with 'PC-REVIEW' and in the upcoming issues of our magazine, we will offer you new articles specially adapted for all 'Speccy' enthusiasts.
Many people are restless about the versions of the game 'ELITE'. Some suggest making a special issue of 'SPECTROFON' entirely dedicated to this game, while others ask for a more detailed account of a particular version. And everyone is searching for the 'pure' 128 version of this game, which has six 'native' missions. So far, we have not encountered the 'native' 128 'ELITE'. And we hasten to warn everyone that 'ELITE-3', 'remixed' by the company THD, has nothing to do with the branded 'ELITE (128K)'.
Yes, the THD version has music and an additional menu. But we were unable to see any new missions from them. Moreover, after several months of desperate trading and star battles, we managed to reach only the first mission related to the explosion of a supernova and the evacuation of refugees. After some time, this mission repeated again. Then again. Then again... Know that we no longer play this game. It simply became boring and uninteresting.
Of course, there remains a chance that THD decided to blow up all the stars in the galaxies, but this is hard to believe. Most likely, this team forgot to remove some brilliant operator from the game, which looped the program.
At this stage, we are much more interested in the Novosibirsk 'ELITE-3', but unfortunately, we cannot please you with anything yet: the author of this version, V.Kladov, is silent, and we cannot move the matter from a dead point. However, we conducted gameplay testing of 'ELITE-3' and today we present the first part of the report from our independent expert. Read the report in the 'REVIEW' section.
For those who ask us to increase the volume of our magazine, we inform you that at the moment we do not prioritize the volume of 'SPECTROFON', as we pay more attention to its periodicity and quality. How we manage this is up to you, our dear readers, to judge, but we will take your wishes into account. In general, of course, it is possible to release 'SPECTROFON' on two disks, but then it will come out once a quarter. Therefore, let’s make our magazine together. Write to us. No letter will go unnoticed. This means the volume of the magazine will increase, and we will be able to simultaneously promote other, no less interesting projects while preparing the next issues.
And now we would like to address all lovers and collectors of computer games.
It so happened that many games that came to our country were so severely damaged by thoughtless copying with the MAGIC BUTTON that it is now simply impossible to restore them. In some programs, the loading blocks are missing, in others, the source data is erased, etc.
The "MAGICIANS" who supplied cassettes with programs to the USSR apparently were never true connoisseurs of good, intelligent games. Therefore, many games of this kind were practically destroyed.
We have been restoring games as much as possible and offering them to all readers of our magazine. However, there are still interesting but "broken" games that can no longer be restored: the "MAGICIANS" worked too well with them. Moreover, some games even lost their titles, not to mention the introductory picture.
And we have almost ready detailed descriptions of such games. And these descriptions are not taken from Western magazines. No, this is all that we managed to squeeze out of the defective versions. To make the description complete, we need properly working versions.
It is sad to see when in the next issue of 'ZX-REVIEW' in the 'FORUM' section one of these games is discussed. A user asks a multitude of questions or shares their discoveries, and we read and already know that soon they will face disappointment, as there is no normal version in our country. And they, like us, after playing half of the game, will get stuck in the "magic," and then will frantically rush around all the trade points in search of a working version.
Or another situation, when in the collection '500 games' a completely false description of the game is given. It is clear that those who wrote it had the "magic" version and, not really understanding the game, limited themselves to their "fantasies on the subject."
Additionally, the authors of the description provided a minimum of control keys, and those are incorrect. As a result, the trusting user is led down a false trail, and after wasting a lot of time, spitting in frustration, puts the fascinating game in the farthest box of diskettes.
But we remain optimistic for now and hope that someone who is reading these lines has good branded versions of the games we need, and they do not understand our suffering.
Therefore, we appeal for help with the following games:
1. CAPTAIN BLOOD [Informatique] (in all versions we have seen, the loading blocks are missing).
It is clear that only those who have completed this game or at least reached the first subloading can help us. We are interested in any versions: both disk and cassette.
2. ENTERPRIZE [Melbourne House], another title ENTER PRI [Icon] (the source data is erased)
There are many oddities and uncertainties with this game.
The fact is that in those versions that are widely distributed in our country, there is neither an introductory picture nor a title. Hence such a terrible confusion. We have not found anything on this matter in Western magazines so far. Therefore, the question about the title of this game remains open.
It is clear that ENTERPRISE and ENTER PRI are two different games. The game we have resembles ELITE, in which you also need to trade and get rich. We prepared a description of this game back in the second issue of our magazine, but soon found out that our version is "broken." Desperate searches for a branded version led to nothing. We ask anyone who has a properly working version to respond!
Now a few words on how to determine the operability of the 'ENTERPRISE' version. Immediately after loading, when you are asked to enter your name, press "ENTER". If the autograph "MAGICIAN" - "PPPP" (four P letters) appears in the "NAME" field on the screen, then accept our condolences: this version is only good for the paranoid who, after entering their name and aimlessly wandering in space with subsequent death (that’s the way for them), pressed the "MAGIC BUTTON".
The program, thus raped, reacted sharply to such a rude attitude: now the whole country looks in surprise at the autograph of an unknown weirdo, with no possibility of enjoying an interesting game.
We hope that someone has a normal version of this game. We will be waiting for letters.
And now allow us to make a lyrical digression and present to your attention a small science fiction story. It was written in 1985. The author is your humble servant, the editor-in-chief of the 'SPECTROFON' magazine - Yuri Matveev. When preparing the material on the programs 'CAPTAIN BLOOD' and 'ENTERPRISE', it seemed that this old story sheds a little more objective light on all the problems we discussed today.
Yuri Matveev
A N D T R U T H
(a science fiction story)
Having overcome the dense layers of the atmosphere, the spaceship heavily settled on a foreign planet. Gray-blue mountains with snowy peaks surrounded the landing site. The landing party left the ship. They were in a hurry. The work plan for each of the planets in this system was very strict: if a tribe of intelligent natives were to peek out from the bushes right now, the landing party would have to limit themselves to taking photographs. Chasing them and establishing contact would have to be done by others. However, no one thought about this; experience suggested how incredible such a meeting would be, it was even undignified to stutter about it among serious researchers. Especially on this bare planet, slightly covered by a rarefied atmosphere.
And then a shout from one of the paratroopers echoed in the helmets. Everyone rushed there. The shouting one stood before a sheer wall, on which some inscription was inscribed across the entire width of the slope.
These solid lines mesmerized the paratroopers. Here it was - CONTACT! Now the civilizations would not miss their chance! The program was disrupted in an instant. As much as was permissible according to the conditions of space navigation, the ship remained on this planet. But no other signs of life were found, although the paratroopers turned over every stone three times!
Waiting any longer made no sense. The ship rose on a fiery column and disappeared into the black sky.
Then for many years, the highest minds of the planet tried to decipher the inscription of the aliens. But there was clearly not enough information. And one by one, the scholars washed their hands. The only thing everyone agreed on was that the inscription was made not by the natives, who were not found, but by some mysterious civilization sending either a warning or some absolute truth to all intelligent beings in the cosmos, true in any corner of the universe.
In memory of the first contact of rational beings, it was decided to erect a monument.
The best sculptor of the planet depicted seven paratroopers-pioneers, kneeling in reverent awe before the incomprehensible wisdom of another mind.
Suffering from serious illnesses and rejected lovers came here to touch the lines of the inscription, which contained obvious power, astonishingly beautiful, running down to the foot of the monument, in which the absolute truth of a distant and incomprehensible civilization was hidden. They touched their faces to the last line, straight and confident in its correctness, touched and received relief.
And years went by, accumulating into centuries. But nowhere were traces of the mysterious civilization found. And the inscription healed the suffering and provided a balm for the hearts of rejected lovers. How it did this remained a mystery, one of the great mysteries of the Cosmos.
*
The scout ship 'Earth' discovered this little planet when the civilization living on it had already ceased to exist because everything dies in its time. And rational civilization too, when its time comes.
Rational beings left, leaving their home pools connected by an interwoven network of shallow canals.
The commander walked to the main city pool and thought about the fates of civilizations. He thoughtfully raised his head and froze with his mouth open.
On a large basalt stone stood seven figures shining in the sun, raising their tentacles in a handful high up to the sky. And on the pedestal stone, in huge letters, glowing red paint, shone the audacious inscription:
Contents of the publication: Spectrofon #04
- Экспертиза - Дмитрий Усманов
Detailed description of the game 'Hostages' for ZX Spectrum, its gameplay mechanics, and strategies for success. Emphasis on mission types, sniper and assault roles, and tips for players. Essential guide for completing operations and freeing hostages.
- Дебют
Introduction to adventure games, focusing on 'Espionage Island' by Artic and 'The Crypt' from Castle Master 2. Description of gameplay mechanics and storyline. Guidance on starting both games and tips for success.
- Экзамен
Summary of tasks from previous issues of Spectrofon, with solutions for 'DRILLER', 'DEACTIVATORS', and 'CASTLE MASTER', along with notable reader contributions.
- Фантазия - Дмитрий Усманов
A journey to the center of the Earth inspired by the game 'Viaje al Centro de la Tierra', following Professor Lidenbrock and his team. They explore a mythical underground world in search of the Immortal Sea, facing natural challenges and strange creatures. The expedition becomes a test of survival and discovery.
- С миру по биту - Matthias
Discussion on computer novellas in Spectrofon magazine. Includes mention of the game 'Viaje al Centro de Terra' and analysis of different 'ELITE' versions. Appeals for original game versions to restore faulty copies.
- Система
Introduction to two music software programs 'WHAM+' and 'WHAM+AY' for ZX Spectrum from the 'System' section, referencing detailed reviews in 'ZX-РЕВЮ'.
- Реклама
Advertisement for purchasing and collaborating with the Spectrofon magazine, distribution contacts, and hardware offers for ZX Spectrum enthusiasts.
