.

A Haymarket publication
December1986/January 19871

. +

+
"o 9

PRINTERS AND SOFTWARE FOR TOP.RESULTS

WIN A LEVEL 9 YEAR PLANNER AND PEN
.
- +

{19B
A
ddic
tive
Oam
es
Ltd.
0
RRP
If you have any difficulty in obtaining your copy of Football Manager for the MSX please send your cheque or postal order to:
Endurance Games Ltd, ZLitle Prk Gardens, Enfield, Middlesex EZP.Tel: -37Z13.
Don't forget to include your name and address and please allow Zbdays for delivery.
HEGULAHS
4 NEWS. Read all about it
four pages of the latest MSX
developments.
8 POSTBAG. Hints, queries,
criticisms or praise - keep
those letters coming.
25 READER INFO. Find out
what we've done i n the past and
what we are up to i n the future.
Don't forget to take out a
subscription.
65 HIGH SCORES. More dedi
cated joystick bashers join our
high score hall of fame.
66 CLUBS. Join an MSX cl ub
and learn how to make friends
and influence people.
FEATUHES
14 TOP GAMES. Need ideas
.
for Christmas? Martin Banks
tells us his all time favourite top
MSX game hits.
33 COMPETITION. Don think
ing caps for our caption com
petition and win a Level Ni ne
year planner and pen.
34 DESKTOP PUBLISHING.
lt's the talk of the town, so find
out how to produce profession
al-looking documents.
57 COMPETITION WINNERS.
We list the lucky competition
winners including those from
the software review challenge.
DEPAHTMENTS
1 8 BASIC. Tim Markes final
ises his Basic series and begins
a Basic programming ques
tions and answer column.
21 ADVENTURE QUEST.
More problems solved i n the
weird and wonderful world of
adventure.
30 ARCADE HINTS. Staring
this month, a hint and tip
session for arcade game
addicts.
HEVIEWS
26 PRINTERS. What should
you look for i n a printer? Steven
Mansfield puts together an
interesting selection and helps
you choose the right one.
38 SOFWARE SCENE. MSX
software production is on the
increase.
LISTINGS
52 Flex those fingers, tap those
keys -it's listings time.
DECEMBER 1986/JANUARY 1987
MSX hardware will be harder to find in the shops next year.
Many of the manufacturers have now completely ex
hausted their stocks in this country and are unwilling to
commit themselves either to bring in new supplies of the
familiar MSX-1 machines or to launch MSX-2 in the
foreseeable future. The companies which have effectively
closed their Lh MSX operations are Toshiba, Mitsubishi,
Panasonic, Sony and Sanyo. Once dealers' existing stocks
of these machines are sold, there will be no more from the
manufacturers to replace them.
Companies still marketing their MSX products are
Yamaha and Spectravideo. Yamaha rightly sees the
enhanced music capabilities of the CX5MII as a unique
selling point taking it out of the normal home computer
market. Spectravideo also has an enhanced machine, the
X' Press, which is now being marketed more as a low-cost
CP/M micro in the Amstrad mould than as a pure MSX. JVC
retains some small stocks of the HC-7GB, though what will
happen when these run out, probably just after Christmas, is
anyone's guess.
What does this mean for MSX users? lt's not all doom and
gloom. The software scene is surprisingly healthy, as the
review pages in this issue testify. The signs are that even if
no-one ever sold _another MSX in this country ever again,
the existing user base, variously estimated at about
250,000, would be enough to ensure continuing support
from software houses. Meanwhile the runaway success of
MSX in the rest of Europe should ensure plenty of support
from across the channel.
This issue of MSXCOmpu||Ugfeatures some year-end
changes. Out goes the old Basic programming course,
having reached its logical conclusion, and in comes a new
question-and-answer programming workshop. We have
also managed to find space for something many of you have
requested, a regular forum on arcade games, similar to
Mike Gerrard's popular adventure department. These
features can only thrive through your suppor, so keep the
questions, information and comments coming.
The editor welcomes any corrections or additions. Prices quoted in
editorial and advertisements are correct at the time of going to press but
may be subject to variation.
Every care is taken in compiling the contents of this magazine to ensure
that they are correct and accurate, but the publisher assumes no
responsibility for any effect from errors or omissions. All material published
in MSX Computing is copyright and reproduction in whole or in part is
forbidden, except by permission of the publishers.
Editorial, advertising and circulation departments: Haymarket Publishing
Ltd., 38-42 Hampton Road, Teddington, Middlesex T11 OJE
Telephone: 01-977 8787
Photosetting and litho origination by Meadway Graphics, Carlisle House,
198 Victoria Road, Romford, Essex RL 1 2NX. Printed by: Chase Webb
Offset, Plymouth
1986 Haymarket Publishing Ltd
EDITORIAL
Editor: Simon Craven
Ar Editor: Tony Baldwin
Photography: Mike Cameron
Publisher: Gareth Renowden
Publishing Director: Patrick
Fuller
ADVERTISING
Adverising Manager: Nail
Alldritt
Production Manager: Dominic
Negus
Production Assistant: Julia Bell
Adverisement Director:
Chandra Harrison
Front cover illustration by Pentrix.
Technical queries: we regret
these cannot be answered over
the telephone. However, should
you wish to write in we will
endeavour to answer any queries
through the magazine.
UK .....& .... . ................................ 16
Europe ............................ : ....... 20
Overseas ...N N #..# .....=.......# .......<20
Airmail/Middle East ..... ....... . . < 35
Airmaii/USA, Can, Afr, lnd ....... 42
Airmail/ Aust, NZ, Japan .......... 45
W W
Prestellink
with Gold
Good news for subscribers to
Prestel , British Telecom's pub
l i c videotex service - from
early December subscri bers
wi be able to access T elecom
Gold, British Telecom's elec
tronic mail system.
The move follows the crea
tion of a new X 29 based
gateway l i nk between the two
serices and is the first stage i n
establishing ful l communica
tion between the two networks.
The X 29 gateway has been
developed to i mprove the re
ception of Telecom Gold on
videotex terminals.
One of the main advantages
of the l i nk is that i nformation
sent on a "scroll ing" ASCI I -type
terminal will be formatted i n a
Prestel page style which has 24
lines with 40 characters to a
l i ne.
Another asset is that T ele
com Gold will look much more
elegant on a videotex termi nal,
with the last two or three lines of
message carried forard to the
top of the next page for easier
readi ng.
Additional features of the l i nk
include text editing prior to
transmission as well as si mpl e
access enabling the user to go
straight to an ID entry point.
If you are worried about the
extra cost, don't be, because
Prestel users will only pay the
equivalent of a local telephone
call plus both service charges.
For more details contact
Prestel on 01 -822 1 056.
Just arrived
Bernard Babani has just pub
lished its new 1 987 catalogue.
As well as listing books
dealing with MSX micros speci
fically such as An I ntroduction
to MSX BASIC by R. A. and J. W.
Penfold or Easy Add-On Pro
jects for Amstrad and MSX
Computers by L. Bishop, the
catalogue also lists many
books dealing with al l aspects
of 90mputer programmi ng.
Obtain a free copy by send
i ng your name and address to
Bernard Babani at The Gram
pians, Shepherds Bush Road,
London W6 7NF.
Tel: 01 -603 7296.

Samleco's up-market Epson competitor

Samleco has added a new dot
matrix printer, the DX- 1 36 re
tailing at 350, to its existing
range of competitively priced
printers.
The printer is i ntended to
compete with the Epson printer
range, particul arly the very
widely used FX 1 00 model, and
has many

simi' lar features.

The 1 32 column DX-1 36
printer has a speed of 1 20
characters per second and a 9
Konix has finally got itself
together and can now meet the
demand for its Speed King
joystick.
Since last January U K de
mand has outstripped supplies
three times over which meant a
long wait for customers eager
to get their hands on one.
Things got so bad for Konix
that it had to turn down an order
for 60,000 joysticks this Sum
mer. Konix managing di rector,
Wyn Hollow ay, is optimistic
about meeting future demands
and says, "Now that the joystick
can be produced i n sufficient
quantities we can concentrate
on ensuring the best joystick
yet is also the best sell ing
joystick yet." .
Chunky and black with red
stripes, the Speed King joystick
has one firing button, micros
witch control , and retai ls at
by 9 pin head character matrix.
lt can produce draft, corres
pondence as well as near letter
quality print.
Other printer features in
clude a number of different
typestyles such as enlarged,
sub-script and italics plus eight
i nternational languages. The
DX-1 36 is provided with a
tractor feed and has an alterna
tive friction feed attachment.
The special MSX character
1 2.95. lt is available from most
computer shops or by mail
order di rect from Konix, Unit
set is not included i n the printer,
but it is MSX compatible with
the parallel interface cartridge
-i ncluded i n 350 price tag.
Alphatech is the main distri
butor for Samleco and will be
supplying the printer to dealers
around the country.
Further i nformation on dis
tribution can be obtained from
Alphatech, Marlow Road,
Bourne End, Bucks, SL8 SSP.
Tel: (06285) 31 41 1 .
+
1 2- 1 4 Si rhowy Hi l l I ndustrial
Estate, Tredegar Gwent, South
Wales, NP2 4QZ.

King size
fraud
Watch out, watch out there's a
fraud about! And rew Steele of
Cheshire wrote i n to warn us
about King Size by Robtech.
He purchased the game cas
sette from a branch of John
Menzies i n Edinburgh for
9.95, and was horrified to find
that it was a di rect rip off from
not only our magazine listings,
but bona fide games manufac
turers as well.
The case cover advises us
ers that the games cassette
contains 50 games, but what it
doesn't say is that at least 1 2 of
the games are direct copies of
games listings publ ished by
MSX Computing over the past
year.
Nor does it mention that a
game called Golf on the tape is
an identical copy of Crazy Golf
by Mr Micro.
We contacted John Menzies
in Edinburgh and Nick Gregory,
product manager of home com
puters, told us that after receiv
ing this information Menzies
has decided to discontinue
selling King Size.
You might be forgiven for
thinking that this mind-man
gl ing crew is the cast for
Konami's latest zap-a-minute
carridge game. I n fact it is a
collective mug shot of the
entrancingly awful Sigue Sigue
Sputnik, a group whose main
ai m i n life is to make Frankie

onam1car r1
Konami has grown from suc
cess to success i n the last two
years and its operations have
spread worldwide cul minating
in the opening of a new head
quarters in Japan.
Carridge software for MSX
has been a bit thin on the
ground recently, but Konami
are hoping to release two
arcade games and Games
Master, all in cartridge form,
before 1 987.
Games Master is a program
designed to enhance your play
of Konami's other cartridge
games and plugs into the
second cartridge port.
Once plugged i n, players can
alter stage numbers, player
numbers as well as changing
the ranking mode whenever he
wishes.
The advantage is that when
playing a game where you have
to complete the lower levels
before moving to a higher level ,
you can bypass this occa
sionally tedious process and
just move straight to a new
higher level .
I n addition, players can save
orror.
Goes to Hol lywood look like the
Dagenham Girl Pipers.
We know we need a pretty
bul l et-proof excuse for blight
i ng the pages of your favourite
computer magazine with the
gri m visages of the boys behind
Love Missile F111, to mention
but one of their hideous sound
games on tape or disk and also
print the scores out.
Games Master costs 1 5. 95
and wi l l be avai lable i n early
December.
Green Beret is a high action
arcade game featuring the
player trying to get through
German lines while avoiding all
the dangerous obstacles such
as guns and tanks which inevit
ably accompany such a
dangerous mission.
Costing 1 5.95, the carridge
wi l l be available just before
Christmas.
creations, but this particular
picture (part of an album cover)
was hard to ignore. Why is it, we
wonder, that arch-Sputnik
Tony James (left) is wearing a
top hat with MSX written all over
it? Maybe there is going to be a
computer program featuring
these talent-free terrors.
MSXGolf
missing lines
turn up
Funny things, program listings.
Sometimes we wonder just
how many people actually
bother to type them i n.
Fido
update
Adventure forum
Unti l , that is, something goes
wrong. The Golf listing i n the
last issue got a few l i nes
chopped out of the middle, and
several hundred of you rang i n
to let us know. The omission
was entirely your editor's fault,
so naturally he got someone
else to find the missing chunk of
program. Eventually the crucial
lines of code were found adher
i ng sneakily to the underside of
contributor Phi I Rotsky's ghast
ly plastic briefcase.
This one wasn't our fault,
honest. If you've been ringing
the Stockton Fido computer
bul letin board, you probably
haven't been getting the right
number. The board recently
moved to (0642) 605838, 6pm
to 6am. Use 300 baud.
Adventure game addicts i n the
Reading area wi l l be delighted
to hear that Level Ni ne Comput
i ng is holding its fi rst ever
Adventure Forum.
The whole Level Ni ne team
wi l l be at ORDEM computer
store in the Harris Arcade off
Friar Street, Reading between
1 1 am and 1 pm on Saturday
1 3th December.
Apart from talking to you
about adventure problems,
Level Ni ne might have two
brand new adventure games
ready.
The Growing Pains of Adrian
Mole sel ling on the Mosaic label
for 9. 95 and Night Ore selling
on the Rainbow label for 4.95
are the two titles to look forard
to.
2670 PRESET (8, 1 75), 2:
PRI NT #1 ,"Tree. "
2680 GOSUB 2750
2690 PRESET
(8, 1 75),2:COLOR
2: PRI NT#1 ,"Tree. ":COLOR 7
2700 DI =(RND(1 )*4)+ 1
271 0 RETURN

Under
ware
reeso wareo
We can't resist telling you about
the latest great idea from the
States (at least, that's what it
says here). Underare is
sweeping the mi crocomputing
community. Buy one of these
special ribbons for your Apple
l magewriter or Epson MX, RX
or FX-80 printer and you can
use your graphics software to
make iron-on transfers which
you then apply to your . . .
er . . . T -shir.
This is especially timely as
this issue of MSX mputing
carries a review of Pri nt-X
Press, a software package
suitable for just such an ap
pl i cation. The ribbons cost be
tween 9.95 and 1 4.95, and a
pack of heat transfer paper a
furher 6.95. MGA Microsy
stems has these items and
more: you can contact them
on (05806) 4278, or write to
MGA Microsystems, 1 40 Hi gh
Street, T enterden, Kent.
Prohibitive price tags on busi
ness and scientific software
can be an obstacle to serious
MSX users, but the Public
Domain software group has
come up with a solution.
Andrew Emmerson, MSX
Computing contributor and a
member of the group explains,
"Many people write their own
software and wish to share it
with others without making
commercial gai n."
"By forming a computer cl ub
or user group such as Public
Domain software, users can
share their utilities, business
and scientific programs
amongst fellow enthusiasts."
Emmersoncontinues, "Once
a group member has written a
program he thinks other users
wi l l be i nterested i n, he adver
tises it amongst the group and
asks a small fee to cover his
costs only. "
"For i nstance I ' m asking 6 a
disk for three MSX business
utilities I've just written. "
General advice to readers
concerning advertisements
When replying to adverisements in this issue, you should note the following points:
1 + Always clarity the exact nature of any guarantee being offered.
/. Never send cash-always a cheque, Postal or Money Order.
3. Insist on a written receipt.
, Clearly state the equipment you seek, and detail any acceptable alternatives.
. Request an immediate statement of how and when the goods are to be delivered
and whether the delivery will be split.
. Check by telephone the latest prices and availability of goods you are ordering.
7. Cases of non-supply or wrong supply of goods should initially be taken up directly
.
and as soon as possible with the supplier.
8. Because of fluctuations in prices and discounts, it is advisable to ensure that you
reply only to adverisements published in current issues.
Mail Order Protection Scheme
(Limited Liability)
kyou oraer gods from mall order adverisrs In this magaine and pay by post In
advanc m deliver, this publication ('u8xComputing') will consider you for
Opnstion If the averiser should bome Insolvent or bankrupt, provid:
T. You have not ived the goos or had your money returne; and
Z. You write to th publishr mthis publication ('u8xComputing') explaining the
psition nt erlier thn Zdays from the day you sent your order and not later
than Zmonths from that day.
Ples do not wait until the last moment to Inform us. When you write, we will tell
yo hw to make your claim and what evidence mpayment la reuire.
We guaraDto me t thclalmafrom readers made lnaccrdancwlththeabve
proure as son aa pssible afer the adverisr has ben delared bankrupt or
Inslvent up to a limit of E4,Mpr annum for any on adveriser so af and up.
to ET3,Mp.a. ln respt of all Insolvent adverisers. Claims may mpaid for higher
amounts, Owhen th abve prour had no ben complied with, at the decision
of th publction ('u8xComputing') but Wdo not guarante to do so In view of the
m to some limit to thla cmmitment and to learn quickly of readers'
dlfcuHiea.
This guaraD cvers only advance payments snt In dImlrespons to an
adveriBnt In this magazine (not, for example, payments made In respns to
catalogues ,reived as a resul of answering such adverisements). Classifie
adverisements are exclude.
Note: Te sums referre to are annual amounts available for compnsation and
thy will mdivide equally amongst all valid claims reeived.
"Of course it is ill egal to sell
such programs as they are i n
the Publ i c Domain," Emmerson
adds.
Members of Publ i c Domain
Software pay annual mem
bership costs of 1 5 and re
ceive four magazines per year,
but the group deals with all sorts
of computers not just MSX.
If there is enough i nterest
and any other MSX users would
like to share their software
ideas with other people
Emmerson says "I wi l l act as a
clearing house for ideas,
although it is i mportant to
realise that only disk software is
used and that onl y serious
business and utility programs
are considered. "
lt sounds like an excellent
idea to us and Emmerson can
be contacted for further i n
formation at 71 Falcutt Way,
Norhampton, NN2 8PH. Tel :
0604 8441 30 (after 4pm).
Please enclose a stamped
self-addressed envelope.
Foreign
news
A number of readers have
written to Microsoft UK to buy
copies of the MSX Technical
Guide and received a letter
saying that Microsoft can no
longer supply these. There has
i n fact been a break between
Microsoft and the Japanese
ASCII Corporation.
The result is that Microsoft no
longer has any dealings with
MSX. Microsoft suggest read
ers contact the various hard
ware manufacturers but this is
clearly not going to enable you
to buy the Technical or BIOS
manuals.
I nstead you wi l l now have to
write direct to the ASCI I Cor
portion at Sumitomo Minami
Aoyama Bui l di ng, 5-1 1 -5 Mina
mi Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo,
Japan.
This is not very satisfactory,
but unforunately this is the sort
of thing that happens when two
business organisations fall out
with each other! MSX technical
books are also rumoured to be
avai lable from Quest Pub
lishing i n the USA, but we have
no address for them - can
anyone help?
NewSony
in France
The new HB-F700 computer
just released by Sony i n France
offers a number of new faci l i
ties, not least a mouse. This
comes supplied as standard,
as does 256K of user RAM and
1 28K of screen memory
(VRAM). To go with the mouse
there is an on-screen menu
system based on icons, rather
like that of Apple's Macintosh
and the Atari ST. Thus you have
pictures of how to move the
mouse to activate the printer,
disk drive A (built-in), drive B
(optional ) , Basic, notepad,
dustbin, and so on. Also pro
vided is Hi-Brid, a bui lt-in suite
of interactive programs for the
electronic office. These com
prise Hi-Text (word processor),
Hi-Base (filer), Hi-Calc
(spreadsheet) and Hi -Graph (a
graphics designer package).
Both English and French lan
guage versions are available.
Apar from this, all the normal
MSX-2 features are provided,
down to bit-mapped graphics of
256 ?21 2 pixels, each defin
able i n 256 di fferent colours. At
a price of 4990 francs (about
500) this computer should
really put Sony back on the
map: just don't ask when it wi l l
be available here!
Continental
copycats
Just across the water in France
the MSX magazines are firing
sniping shots at each other.
The latest issue of Micros MSX
points out how one of its rivals.
MSX Magazine France has
been copying material from the
competition, even down to re
peating errors i n tables of
technical data. Accepting that
i mitation is the sincerest form of
fl attery, your own MSX Com
puting is delighted to see how
much our French cousins en
joyed our map of the game of
Sorcery. Only the order of
rooms and numbering of ob
jects has been reversed -
apart from this .he text is a l iteral
translation and the artwork is
virtually indentical! Plus ea
change, plus c'est la meme
chose!
The Minfluence spreads ever wider
Don't believe anything you hear
about MSX-3: that's the mes
sage spelled out in Micros
MSX. If it ever arrives i n the
Western World it wi l l probably
carry some other name, to
escape the reputation of MSX-
1 and MSX-2(makeof thatwhat
you will!).
I n the meantime though, if
you can't wait for MSX-3 but
want the next best thing, Hol
land or France is the place to
go. That's where you can buy
the Spectravideo X' Press 1 6.
Billed as the most powerfu I
home computer ever, the
X' Press 1 6 represents a fasci
nating hybrid between IBM PC
clone and MSX-2. lt has an
ISM-style keyboard and 5. 25"
drive, while it generally looks
like the IBM as well. Ful l IBM
compatibility is claimed, with
built-in MS-DOS operating sys
temandGW-BASIC(notMSX).
Graphics are PC CGA stan
dard, with a colour palette of
51 2 combinations. Memor is
vast by MSX standards-256K
user RAM expandabte to 640K
and an additional 1 28K for
enhanced graphics. A PC
compatible joystick is also sup
plied; a mouse for the mouse
port (mousehole?) might have
been more usefu |.
But here the similarity with, say,
the Amstrad and other PC
clones ends, because the
X' Press 1 6 also has MSX-2
features! So you get the MSX-2
Advanced Video Display Pro
cessor (AVDP) offering 256 ?
21 2 pixel resolution with 256
colours or 51 2 ? 21 2 pixels with
1 6 shades. Sprites - we got
'em too! Thiry-two i n al l , with
mul tipl e col, ours. You can fl i p
the screen for animation
effects. An exclusive superim
pose capability enables you to
overlay images created by the
normal PC display on those
generated by the AVDP. The
MSX sound capabilities are
also provided on the new
X' Press, so you have 8 octaves
and .3 sound channels, together
with a programmable envelope
generator for sound effects.
A number of bolt-on goodies
are also listed. A games car-
tridge adapter wi l l enable you to
play virtually all MSX games
and connect standard MSX
joysticks. A low-cost multi
tu nction card adds 384K of
RAM, and RS232C port and a
real-time clock and calendar.
Cooling fans, video adapters
and a second disk drive are also
noted.
The price of the machine wi l l
be under 2000 Dutch gui lders
(approximately 660) i n Hol
land and under 9000 francs
(900) i n France. UK price and
availabil ity are not yet stated,
but one thing is sure - you
won't be able to upgrade your
existing X' Press to 1 6 bits!

MSX is well established i n the

Netherlands and apart from
several MSX areas on Viditel,
the Dutch Prestel system, there
are also a few bul letin boards
catering for MSX enthusiasts.
Al l work is on the standard
viewdata ( 1 200/75 baud) sys
tem and I have given a couple of
telephone numbers at the end
of this article in case you wish to
explore the systems yourself.
The following hi nts are just a
few of the interesting tips and
ideas I have picked up while
scanning through these
boards. Some of the hints may
be familiar to you already or
they might not work on your
particular machine, but I am
sure they wi l l be useful to
someone!
Do you want to stop people
from listing your programs?
The following in l ine 1 should do
the trick.
POKE &H8002,255
POKE &H8003,255
The screen can in fact be
turned on and off under soft
ware control :
VDP(1 )=VDP(1 ) AND 1 91
switches it off, and
VDP(1 )=VDP(1 ) OR64turns it

on aga1 n.
Programs which contain
LPRI NT statements tend to
hang up if the printer has not
been switched on i n advance.
The following l i ne wi l l cure the
problem.
I F I NP(&H90) = 255 THEN
PRI NT"Printer notconnected!
Switch on and type RUN
<RETURN> to continue":
STOP
The following routine will give
a screendump at any time "p" is
typed during a BASIC program.
60000 ON I NTERVAL= 1 00
GOSUB60020
6001 0 I NTERVALON: GOTO
(start of program)
60020 I FI NKEY$="p"THEN
60030 ELSE RETURN
60030 FQRN=OT0959:
LPRI NTCHR$
(VPEEK(N));:
M=M+1 :
I FM<40THENNEXT
ELSEM=O:
LPRI NT: NEXT.
If you have a disk system you
wi l l be aware that the computer
reseres some RAM for the

disk operating system's use,

enough in fact for two disk
drives. lt does this because it
must be able to remember the
files and their addresses.
If you have a BASIC program
and wish to stop the disk
system from grabbing this RAM
you can do so by keeping the
SHI FT key depressed while
you power up the computer.
Note how the message 24,456
bytes free changes to 28, 81 5.
You wi l l now have additional
free memory enough to run
cassette programs which need
the extra bytes, but you wi l l not
be able to run any disks. This
trick wi l l also be useful if you
have a disk system and wish to
si mulate a cassette system
whi l e developing programs.
I n some programs you may
encounter a disk-related error
message such as DI SK FULL
which causes the program to
hang up. Under these circumst
ances typing CLOSE, followed
by RETURN often does the
trick.
Finally, here is a ver neat
automatic disk menu program
which wi l l boot up by itself. lt will
run any BASIC program and
should be saved under the
name AUTOEXEC.BAS.
1 00 REM automatic program
1 1 0CLS
1 20WI DTH38
1 30 PRI NT"Contentsofthis
disc"
1 40 PRI NT STRING$(38,"-")
1 50FI LES
1 60 PRI NT STRING$(38, "-")
1 70 PRI NT "Spare capacity:
";DSKF(O);" Kb"
1 80PRI NT
1 90 I NPUT"Which program",
P$
200RUNP$
21 0END
There are two MSX bul letin
boards in Holland:
Filotel . . . 01 031 50- 1 451 74
MT-Tel . . . 01 031 78- 1 561 00
There is a handy l i brary of free
programs to download on MT
Tel. Casual visitors should en
ter user number 222222 and
password 2222. You can regis
ter on-line to get your own
personal codes.
Andy Emmerson

W
W
W




W
Reset risk
I would like to point out that
Brian Scott's advice about a
reset switch for the M LF -80
involves risky procedure and
also invalidates the guarantee.
I also had to have repairs
made to my power on/off switch
and my method of resetting the
machine involves a switch con
necting the two rightmost pins
on any joystick port. This
method seems to work as long
as the switch is pressed down
for more than two seconds.
I s there any chance that you
could include machine code
game listings? This would
make entering listings easier
and a lot more interesting.
Paul Kinsella
Newtown
Eire
We can't really see how
machine-code games list
ings would be easier to enter.
Even fully-documented
assembly listings are a lot
harder to foHow than Basic,
and for a given program they
would be so much longer
than Basic listings that we
could only get one or two i nto
each issue.
Considering that lots of
readers don't have assemb
ler/editor/debugger softare
we might be reduced to Basic
hex loaders and reams of hex
to type in. The debugging
would be horrifying - one
mistake and the whole
machine could crash, giving
you no idea of where the error
lay. There's also the fact that
999 out of every thousand
programs sent i n are Basic.
... and more
With reference to the reset key
for Mitsubishi's MLF-80 by
Brian Scott of Aberdeenshire, I
feel I must warn you that this
modification should not be car
ried out. Scott suggests that
you connet a switch pin 28 of
the HN61 3256P chip to earth.
Since all Z80 mi cro-proces
sors have a reset pi n, I am
surprised that using that wasn't
suggested. Pin 26 (RESET) of
the Z80 has two inverter/buffer
stages plus a resistor and
capacitor connected to it.
These form the power-on reset
circuit found on all MSX compu
ters. If a push-to-make switch is
connected to the circuit and
*>v

earth, this would make a manu

al reset. See diagram.
Mr S Ellerker
Croydon
More switch
difficulties
I read Brian Scott's letter about
the reset key for MLF-80 with
interest. The power switch
failed on my MLF-80 after 1 4
months of use and when I had to
buy a new switch, the dealer
informed me that the power
Z8O

M1

switch on his MLF-80 had also

recently failed.
lt appears that there may be a
design fault here and I would be
interested to hear Mitsubishi's
comments on this. I look for
ward to more coverage of
serious applications i n future
issues of MSX Computing. I
would also like to hear from the
MSX Working Party about how
they intend to keep the MSX
concept alive and kicking i n the
UK in the face of competition
from companies like Amstrad.
As a user of Tasword, I am
now used to seeing 64 charac
ters per l ine on screen. Is there
any chance of a future feature
on how to achieve this for
normal programming and for
use with programs such as
spre3dsheets?
JCBrooks
Forest Row
Sussex
We have a utility program
scheduled for the next issue
which gives a very good 64
column display, but this
effect can only be achieved
within your own programs.
Commercial sofware usual
ly defaults to 40 columns,
even on a machine like the
SpectravideoX'Press, which
has an 80 column option
implemented in hardware.
I ncidentally, the switch went
on our MLF-80 too.
Recommended
I recently bought an MLF-80 for
my grandchi l dren and your
magazine is useful as it helps
me avoid awkward questions.
Brian Scott suggests a reset
switch across pin 28 of
HN61 3256P and deck. This
chip is a 32 Kb ROM, of which
pin 28 is VCC ( +5v). Surely a
dead short across the power
supply would sooner or later be
disastrous?
The reset on the Z80 CPU
chip is pin 26 and a switch from
there to earth, say pin 29, via a
47 ohms resistor will force the
program counter to zero and
initialise the CPU.
***
g
This would perform the fol
lowing operations: disable the
i nterrupt enable flip flop, set
Register 1 to = OOH, set
Register H to = OOH, set
i nterrupt mode= 0.

255 P]
During reset time, address

K6>7
and data busses are disabled

all control output signals
MLdJpower switch problems
become i nactive - i n other
words, a cold reset.
Perhaps some bright spark
might pick up the RESET
connection from the cartridge
port -if not too busy chasing
disembodied legs . . .
I enjoy reading your maga
zine -after Commodore any
thing makes light readi ng.
Perhaps you, might find
room in your pages for connec
tor pin-outs? If you haven't
come across them yet, I refer
you to Electronics and Comput
ing, September 1 984.
James F Fowkes F. I Diag. E
Kings College
London
Technical
enthusiast
Like so many potential compu
ter users, I was captured by
computing as a consequence
of the recent price-cutting war.
My first computer had too
little memory, but when MSX
came into existence, I felt the
Sony Hit Bit had a lot going for it
including a reasonable price
tag (under 1 00), a 29K user
memory and an attractive black

cas1ng.
Computers have a great role
to play in this new world and we
have only just begun to scratch
the surface of the potential of
these machines.
The price cutting policies of
MSX companies have given
the ordinary man or woman the
chance to get over what I call
techno-fear, a psychological
fear of anything technical, and
given them the opportunity to
learn about something only a
few could afford until now.
A computer is not a God and
neither is programming a reli
gion -but they are the future.
When we get our act together

and really star using compu

ters the way they can be used,
then the stars wi l l not be the
limit.
Andy Wilkinson
Lytham St Annes
Lancashire
Game loading
commands
I have just bought Molecule
man by Mastertronic and I am
having problems loading the
game.
The loading i nstructions say
LOAD"CAS", R, but they don't
work. I have tried al l the com
mands that I know such as
BLOAD"CAS", r, CLOAD and
LOAD"MOLECULEMAN, r, but
nothing seems to work.
This is the second tape from
Mastertronic that has left me
high and dry with the game
loading commands. Can you
help me?
.WBarker
Hartlepool
The loading instructions do
indeed say LOAD"CAS",R.
What they should say is
LOAD"CAS:" ,R. The colon is
the offending omission.
Tasword tie
I n the October/November issue
of MSX Computing, I note your
reference to Tasword and the
difficulty you had loading the
program. I've experienced ex
actly the same problems.
I contacted Tasman House
and someone advised me to
type i n GOTO 30 and press
return. He also said that the
problem arose with some MSX
machines.
Following his instructions I
loaded Tasword again and
when SYNTAX ERROR I N 21 0
came up, I typed GOTO 30 and
the following message
appeared on screen: LOAD
I NG MACHI NE CODE
PLEASE WAIT.
The program did eventually
load although I had to load it
four or five times before the
problem suddenly righted itself
and since then I have had no
further problems with T as word.
I was intrigued to see a
screen from MST -Calc i n the
same issue on page 1 9 as I
have used the program quite a
bit and have never seen that
screen before. The manual
doesn't mention it either. Is your
copy a different version or am I
doing something wrong?
Gerald Cawthorn
Bingley
You could say it's a different
version-in fact it's a picture
of a diferent program which
accidently got into the wrong
file. Oops!
Magazine
ambitions
Could you please tell me what
qual ifications I need to become
a software reviewer (no, it's not
a joke! ), because I am ver
interested i n becoming one
later on in life -hopefully with
your magazine.
James Garnett
Felixstowe
No formal qual ifications are
required -just an abil ity to
do the job well, and do it
reliably. If you have ambi
tions towards ful l-time
magazine work you need an
aptitude for lots of other
skills as well. There's really
no such thing as a ful l-time
software reviewer, even
among the freelance journal
ists who write most of our
reviews. Everyone does
other jobs as well.
Magazine journalism can
be a fascinating l ife, and if
you have knowledge of a
specialised area such as
computers or hi-fi, that can
provide a way in. If you are
seriously interested in jour
nalism as a career, you
should investigate some of
the polytechnic courses in
periodical journalism now on
4
ofer, as these give a good
grounding in the technical
aspects of magazine produc
tion, interviewing techni
ques and the l i ke.
Assemblers
Please could you recommend a
good cassette-based assemb
ler/disassembl er/editor? How
much would it cost and where
could I obtain it?
Paul Measday
Greats tone
Hisof Devpac, 1 9.95, {0525)
71 81 81 , or Zen from Kuma,
1 4.95, {07357) 4335, would
probably fit your needs.
Disk decision
I have recently purchased a
Sanyo MPC- 1 00 and wish to
take advantage of the software
services offered by the Public
Domain Software Interest
Group.
I need your advice on the
avai labil ity of a suitable disk
drive which can use the CP/M
and MSX-DOS operating sys
tems. Would it be possible to
use both disk operating sys
tems on the one disk drive and if
so, where can I buy the system
disks and a suitable disk drive.
I n the August/September
issue, Alan Wood mentioned in
his article that the CP/M and
MSX-DOS systems come pre-
.packed with a complete disk
system. Does this mean that as
an MSX user I will be forced to
buy two separate disk systems
just to gain possession of CP/M
and MSX-DOS?
I can barely afford one drive
at the moment. Please put me
out of my misery and offer some
of your advice.
Kevin Maynagh
Kirkonnel
Scotland
Good news and bad. You can
run CP/M or MSX-DOS using
the same disk drive. Howev
er, because of the way CP/M
is written you need an 80
column display. Fine for
MSX-2 and X'Press owners,
not so good for the rest of us.
X' Press buyers are doubly
fortunate in that they can get
CP/M and MSX-DOS with
their machine, along with a
fine collection of other soft
ware including Wordstar.
Otherwise, the only source
we know of at present is
Hisof. {0525) 71 81 81 .
`
.
`' ' `' !
AAKOTEXTlDS (CASS&DIS) . . ........... . .. 3995
AAKOBlDS (CAS&DIS) . .......... . E39 95
'RDSTORE/MASTERICE. . . .. . ... . . . . 5 95
MUSX ... ... ........ ... . . 7.49
ULTRACHESS ................... 5 49
FLIGHT DECK . . . . . . ........ .... 8.39
NORTHSAHELICOPTER ......... . . ... . .... 839
LLMfQLL. .. .. . . ... . ..... ..... .......... Lb
/ c |
CttI ... 88 .8 ...# ............ .........w . . .
I<( J`./hl
JILBREAK. . . . . . . . . . .a 8 . . . . . +. . . . .. . . . . . . . . 8. . . 14.50
YIEAR KUNGFU . . . . . . . . . . . (CART) . .. . . . 14.SO
YIEAR KUNGFU 2 . . . . ....... (CART) . . . . . . 14.SO
HYPERSPRTS .. . . 8 .. v. . . . (CART) . . . . . . 14.50
HYPIRSPORTS 2 . . . . . . .. . . . . . (CART) . . . . . . 14.SO
Pf# ANYONE @E12.9
WFF
ANYTOtmE19.W
THREEmE29.50
YRACK& FIEMJ KONAMI
TRACK& FIEMZKONAMI
HYPER$HOTKONAMI
KONAMI GLF ................ (CART) ...... 14 SO
KONAMI TINNIS .+......+.... (CART) ...... 14 5
HYPIR RALLY..... 8. . . ....... .. . (CART} ...... 14 SO
KONAMI SOCIR...&. . . . . .. . (CART) .... .. 14 SO
KONAMI PINGPONG .... . (CART) ...... 14.SO
ATHLETIC LND. . ... +. .+..... (CART) .. .... 14 SO
ANTARTIC ADVINTURI.. (CART) . . . . . . 14.50
ROAD FIGHTIR . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . (CART) . . . . . . 14 5
cJRCUS CHARLII. . . . . . . . .. . ... (CARJ . . . . . . 14.SO
COMIC BAKIRY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (CART) ... ... 14.SO
KONAMI BOXING 8. . . ... . . . . (CART) ... ... 14 SO
KINGS VALLIY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (CART) . . . . . . 14 SO
MOPIRANGIR . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . (CART) . . . . . . 14 SO
SKY JAGUAR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (CART) . . . . . 14 SO
TIME PILOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . (CART) . . . . . 14.50
MONKEY ACADEMY....... (CART) . . . . . 14 SO
SUPERCOBRA . . . .. . . .+ . . . . . . . . (CART) . . .. . 14 SO
HYPIR SPORT 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . {CART) . . . . . 14 SO
HYPIR StOT.................. .. . . .. . .. . . . . . . . 14 b
KNIGHTMARE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (CART). . . . . . 14 SO
SILLIARDS ...... . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . (CART)...... 14 SO
NEMEIS ... . . .... .........w. ... .w... .8 ......... . 14.50
GO NII 8.... 888#.....#.+8 . . . . . . . . . .. ......... 14.50
GRIENBIRET ...........z.............. ...... . 14.50
ALLI GATA
CONTRACT BRIDGE ... .... .... .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.5
BLGGER ... . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . ... . . . . .. . . 5.95
DISC WARRIOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . \z99
KNOKOUT . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. . . . . . . 5.95
ANIROG
SLPSHOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : . . . 5.95
'
737 FLIGHT PATH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.95
JUMP JET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.95
OUICI<SIL VA
BOOGA-BOO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.99
THE SNOWMAN. ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ..... s. . .. . 4.99
ACTI VI SI ON
RIVER RAID.................... . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 8.95
H.E.R.O . . . . . . . . . +. . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. .+ ................ 8.95
PITFALL II. . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. 8.95
BEAMRIDER .. . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . E7.99
MASTEROF LAMP. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . 7.99
ARTI C
MR WONGS LOOPY LUNDRY .. . . . . . . 5.95
MUTANT MONTY.. +. . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. . . .. . . . . . . 5.95
|l!|U| L5
HUSTLER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.99
BOARDELLO . . . . . . ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.45
PROESS (CART)' ...................... E34.25
CARDS (CART) . .. .........
.
.............. , .. E34.25
MAILS(CARTJ . ............... ..... . .. 63 49
CASKCONTS(CART) ................ ..... 85 99
VkEEET (CART) . ........ ......... . E34 25
COMMNICATIOS (CART) . . . .. .. . 34 25
THE SCRETR(CART) ...... .. . . ..... ..... 85.99
COMUNICATINS w R232 (CART) .......... 85 99
SCRETAR H R232(CART) .. .......... .. .. .179 99
Snd toFREEPOS Richar Reeves Ld.
|l /''| L
WIG MORE
MOUSE
W
59.95
KlLK I1
3I^L L31L3
3LL3LLL
N^L ^11^K
MLIIL
3LM1IILLL
LLN I4L^LM
L LM 3MI1|
3N^K3M^KL
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I^MLLI^MIL
LL1V^3
N^ZL3 LMLNI1LL
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Starin Machn Coe o th MSX ###888
t
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wth &0lth MSX ..8..... .... ttss

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Stari n whth MSX ............8............ ts,ss
.
JOYSTICK
T
t.
Th MSX d&###8#8888888#+84484#8888##+ tt.ss
Pamin MSX #4w444444444####t),ss
| | l C l\|l
CHACK N POP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 6.95
THEWRECK. .. +. . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . ...... . . . . . . . El l .95
BARNSTORMER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7. 5
MT BASE.& . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ...... .. . . . 37 95
SHARK HUNTER.... .. . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . ........ 6.95
CHOROL . ........................................ 6.95
BUZZOFF ............ .............................. 5.95
XYZOLOG ....+.................................& . 6.50
BACKGAMMON........................... ..... 6.95
| l 'l I|/`|t |
Interational Krate.. .........w.... 88#8#88 ... 7.95
l|lhL|
WAY OF THE TIGER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . &. . . . 7.25
BOUNDER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.99
CLASICS 8 . v. 8. . . . . . . . . 8#. =. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 7.95
VALKYR. . . . .. .,.. .............+...+. . . . .... .. . . . . . . .. .. .. . . .
|
6.99
JAK THE NIPPER . .. .. .. . . . . . . . . .. .. . ... . .. .. .. .. . . .. . . . 6.99
MR CHING (CART) ....... :.............. .. .. . ... . 12 49
STEP UP (CART) . . . . .. .... .......... ...... .. . 12 49
ROLLERBLL (CART) . . . .. . . . . ..... . . . .. .. . . . 12 49
SUPERBILLIARDS (CART) .. ...... ... .. ... 12 49
HOLE INONE (CART) ... . . . .. . 12 49
SUPERSNAKE (CART) . ... . . . ... .... 12 49
EDDY(CART) 24 95
MUE (CART) . 24 95
TRAKER BLL (1nl MP6C$MP67CJ 79 95
SUPERCHESS . . . . .............. . . . ...... . ...... t 50
NIN.JA .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . .. . 5 SO
KUBUS .......................................... S.SO
FRUIT FRANK. . . . . . . . . . ...................... ES SO
SHNAX.... .... .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . S.50
MUSIC MAESTRO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 25
STOPTHE EXPRESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ES.SO
SPOKS 6LDER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ES 50
BUSTER BLOCK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ES. 9S
ZIPPER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 99
STAR AVENGER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.95
HYPER VIPER ............ .. . . . . . . . . . . . ......... 6.49
ERIC 6FLOATERS . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 99
WDPRO. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 9S
WDPRODISC . . . . . .. .& .............4. . . . . . . . . . 29 95
DRILLER TANKS.......... .......... ........... 6 9S
BNARYLND. .. .. . . . . . . . .. .. .... . . . .. . . . . . . . 6 9S
FIRE RISUE ...................... ............. 6 49
D FIGHTER................. ............... ES 49
COOINTHECASTLE.. ..=................ ES 49
CRIBBAGE..................................... ... 4 99
HOLFAST.................................... 4 99
MEANSTREETS ...... 8. . . . ... .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S 49
HOME BUDGE.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............. 10 9S
ZENMCODE ........ .=. . . +.... ...... ....... 14 9S
ZENMCOEDISC . . . . . . . . . . .=........... 29 9S
L.. .. . . .. . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .# 14 SO
COLOUR FANTASIA. . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . 6 99
DATABASE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ...... .. 14 SO
DATABASEDISC. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 9S
SPREADSHEET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 19 95
COMMUNICATJONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 14 SO
KUMA FORTH. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29.9S
GALAXIA v. . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . S 49
SHADOWOF THE BEAR............. .... 6 49
DEATHVALY GLRUSH. . . . . . . . .. .6 49
HUNTERKILLER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .
6 49
MC CODETUTOR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 9S
GALcTIC MERcENARIIS ............... 6 49
BRIDGE. ............................ ............ .. 6 9S
P.I5,,.. ................... ............ ... E6 95
PELANIM . ..8.. . .... ...................... 5.50
DRKOMANOR ............=#8.. . .. 7.25
NORTtSEA
BWNADVENTRE.................... 7.25
EXPLODeATOMSVIPER . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 4.95
SMASHOUT/OTHELLO. . . . . . .. . . . . . . .) . . . . 4.95
BUDGETACCOUNTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 SO
STOKCONTROL. ................. .. . . . . . . . . 12 SO
MONOPOLY ................................. .
SRABBLE . ............ ... . .. .. .. .. ..
CWED ..... . .. . . . .. . .. . .. .
LI VE WIRE
795
7 95
7 95
SKRAMBE.........
4l/mm
.
4/L`
! C Jl|lL`'| |
SPECIAL OPERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 5.95
PANZERATACK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.95
| l \l | '/
WORMINPARAOISE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 7. 25
COLOSSAL ADVENTURE. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 7.25
DUNGEONADVENTURE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.25
RETURNTOEDEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . ... ..... 7.25
SNOWBAU........... .... ..... +. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.25
LORDS OF TIME...... ......... .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.25
ADVENTURE QUEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.25
EMERALISLE.......... ......................... 5.50
REDMON...................................... . 5.50
PRICEOF MKiK . ... .. . 7.25
.
, 11 C| 'Cl| ||'
HOT SHOT. . . . . . . . .... Spial Ofer
GENOGRAMS ........ All THREE
DOMINOIS. ..... . . . . . ONLY 9.99
NEWAmrker. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 5.49
11f(f(()RC Jl |
STAR SEEKER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 7.9
737 FUGHT SIMUL . . . . . . #. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ... 7.25
SPITFIRE . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.95
EDDIEKIDDJUMP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 ............ 5.95
BRIANJACKS. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......... 5.95
ZOIDS . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 8. . . . . . . . . .. 6.50
SAMANTHAFOX STRIPPOKER ......... 6.95
GEOFF CAPIS STRONGMAN8 . .. .. . . . 5. 5
MASTERTRONIC
KNITTYM
MECULEN
\!|` .\1lC || '
L8
Ll.8
CRAZV GOLF....... :................................. . 2 49
CUBIT............ ...................................... . 2 49
HUMPHREY ... ........ ............................. . 2.49
MAYHEM .. ... .. . ... .. ...... .... .... ........... ..... . .2 49
ZAKILWOOD . . . .. . .... ...... ......................... 2.49
C )Rf ) | l!`
L8v .8 8 8 .8 8. 88 8#..8 8 8 8 8. .& .8 . . 8 8 8. .& . . . . . 8 . . . L.M
JOY CARD... ) . +. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 .& . . . &. 8. 8 . 7.25
* BOULDERDAH 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.95
* SPYVPX II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.95
CATLEBLKTAR ....................... .. 5.75
STEVEDVIS SOOKER.. . . . . ... . . . .. . . .. 7.49
ICE KING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 5. 75
M` CC||
\lflff<AME . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . .a. . . .. . Ei.95
OF DO M (DISK).............. J2.95
*TtE L.....z... 8. .. ....+... . . . i.95
> .8 . 8#.........8#. . ...=.................... .8 ... 2.9
GROS REVENE............. .. .a. . . . . . .. . . 7.9
*PE ^LU
7Gold I= Norhmpon, NN I IBR. CALLERS WELCOME
. l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l
or Telephone: ( 33578 for
AcC Barclaycard orden only.
Nane
Adres @@@@@@@
TMie +@
5igoe
Title @@@@@@
Thle @@@@@@@
Title @
Tel I enclo cheque/PO for payable to Richard Reves Ltd.
(NMZ
PbPN
in thi Magazin you find a produ
admat a lo pric Wwill math
thir pri and du a furher 20. Just
includ a copy dtir Mwhn rlying.
(hi not aply wh companie
char for minimum or poag or
not hav prdu in sok.)
PROBLEMS
LOADING?
Use 0! AZIMUTH
Alignt Taps
d 8#888.......8.88.88.## 4.0
lLAI< <OFT
THE BSS...... ............... .................... 5.50
\OFf CAT
FUN WORS...................... .......= . . . . . . . 7.25
LETS GO NX....................... . ... ... .. 7 25
ODSEY-K MUSfRITOR ............... l0.99
PGMUSRITER (CART)....... ... . . . . . 22.99
TERMINAL
J. .8 ....................... ........... L4.
HI SOFT
LL....................& 8 .8..... .... 8........ .Zb
P....... ..................... . .8 8 8..& . .8 &8 .. LZb.95
BATLE FOR MIDWAY . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.25
LES FLJCS. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... ....... . 3.99
MAXIMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . E3.99
TIME BANDITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 5 50
CHAMP MICTUTOR .............. . ... .. .. .. .. . .,2 49
VACUUMANIA ............ .. . .. ......... . . . . . 2.49
MAADAMBUMPER 6 95
(| ! I)RC) !
MANIMINER............ ... .. ............. 5 95
JET SETWIUY .. .. .. ...... .. .. ... . . +. . .+ ... 5.95
HARVEY SMITH .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .... 5 95
|| /|I !'Jl |
HITS 6 ...................... ............ ........... .. 5.50
HIT 6 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 5.50
/'h1/`
TASWORD UK. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . ... . ....... . . 9.95
NIGHTHADE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.25
<UN FRIGHT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 7. 2 5
KNIGHT LORE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.25
ALIENEIGHT . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.25
Vl <C dN
SORcERY. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. ...... ........... 6 95
\'XBCC|S
PROGRAMMERS GUIE........... 8. . . . . 7.95
INTRO^
LNGUE6M/CODE ................. 8.95
MS BIC REVEALED .................... 6.95
MS EXPOSED . . . . .. . . .8 ...... ............. . 7.95
MS GAMES BOK ....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.95
MSPROGRAMMINGGUIDE . . . . . . . . 14. 95
STARTINGBIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88. . . .. . . . . . 5.95
t4U. UUORDERS OR OVER
(MO3fMCLUOfMGMAMOWAME)
choose any game value
t4.UUor less (or deduct
t4.UUfrom cost if higher
value game preferred).
IMMEDIATE DESPATCH
of ALL
CREDIT CARD ORDERS
WHERE POSSIBLE
-any out of sock Item
will Dforwarded as soon
as we obtain fresh supplies -
phone orden-Vam-
.5Dpm If yu would like
confirmation that the
ltemfsJ you require are
currently In sock or use
our Z4MCUNACCESS/ISA
W WW W W W W WW

EJ/odirJ
computing
Help! Yesterday I inadvertently
withdrew and reconnected the
disk drive attached to my Sony
Hit Bit without first switching it
off. The result is of course a
mess. Can you tell me the name
of any qualified and reliable firm
who can repair it? Do you think I
have done any terrible damage
to my computer?
Lastly can you suggest a
method I can use to save data
from my Personal Data Bank to
disk. According to the operating
instructions, this can be done,
but no further reference is
made except for tape or car
tridge.
L CButt
Weston-Super-Mare
Avon
Tricky. There are a number of
computer repair outfits
around, but they all seem to
restrict themselves to Com
modore, Sinclair, Amstrad
and Acorn. lf any readers can
recommend repair firms,
we' ll pass on the info. If it's
any consolation, the damage
is likely to be limited to a few
chip replacements.
Business
aplication
You state i n the October/
November issue (on page 3)
that your readers fall into two
main categories. l consider that
these two should be subdivided
into a further two -those who
use MSX computers as a
games machine and those who
put them to small business use.
Reviews of games software
are very useful and interesti ng,
but reviews of business soft
ware wou Id also be of interest to
people like myself.
Aricles relating to pri nters
have been fairly prevalent i n
recent MSX Computing issues.
As a computer novice, I pur
chased a Brother M-1 009 for
about 1 50 and was very
pleased with it.
In future I hope you include
more utility programs instead of
games i n your listings pages as
I consider the MSX a useful tool
in the business world.
David Woodhams
Guildford

NITITdisk system-repair shop needed



Atari joysticks do work afer al

Joysticks
I noted i n the letters page of the
October/November issue that
"Disgruntled" of Lancashire
couldn't get any joysticks to
work with his MSX.
I use a standard Atari joystick
on my Mitsubishi and also a
Pointer Master from my Com
modore 64 and both work
perfectly. They also work on my
friend's Toshiba. From the way
"Disgruntled" calls everthing
rubbish, I suspect that ifs not
the equipment, but the man
that's rubbish.
H Fisher
Dewsbur
Yorkshire
MSX
library
I agree with al l the complaints
about the shortage of MSX
software and I must agree that it
i s difficult to get hold of in the
usual retail outlets.
There is another way of
obtaining MSX software-hire
it. The Mi dlands Computer
Li brary, based i n Worcester,
hi res out software from 75p to
4
2. 50 per week. To get its MSX
software catalogue, send 1
and state clearly that you have
an MSX computer.
Apart from the obvious
advantage of hiring (it's less
expensive), i t also enables
potential purchasers to test
drive programs. The address is
Midland Computer Library, 28
College Street, Worcester
WR1 2LS. Tel : (0905) 61 1 072.
Go/in Hunter
Salisbur
Wiltshire
KNN| UHTH| UES
Green Beret & & & & & M & W & & & W M & L14. 5b
Jail Break & W W & W M & W & & W & . M & & W L14.5b
Nemesis (new) W & W & & & & & # & W L14.5b
The Goonies (new) M M & & M & L14. 5b
Kni ghtmare M # & W & W & & W & W # # W L14. 5b
Vie Ar Kung Fu 2 # W & W & W # & W L14.5b
Vie Ar Kung Fu 1 & & & & & & # & & L14.5b
Hyper Sports 3 # # & & # & M M # & M L14.5b
Hyper Spors 2 & W # & # # & & # & # L14.5b
Hyper Sports 1 M M M & M W & W & M W L14.5b
Roadfighter W & W M & & M & W M & W M & W L14.5b
Hyper Rally & M & W & & # & & W & & # & & L14.5b
Soccer & & & & & & W & & # & & W & & W & & W B & L14.5b
Boxing & W & W & & # & W & # W & & # & & W & & W L14.5b
Kings Valley W W & # & & W & & W # & & & L14.5b
Sky Jaguer & # & W & # & & W & & & # & & L14.5b
Comic Baker M & W & & W & & W & & & B L14.5b
Super Cobra & M & W # & W # W # # . M # L14. 5b
Time Pilot M W M & M M # & & & & & & & W & & L14.5b

Ping Pang M W M M # & W & & & & W & & & & W L14.5b
Bi l l i ards & W & W & & W & W & W # & W & & # & # L14. 5b
Golf M & W M & W & & W & & M & & M M & W M & M M M L14. 5b
Athletic Land # & & & & # & & & & W & W L14.5b
Antarctic Adventure & & & & & W L14.5b
Tennis & W & W M & W M & W & W M W M # . M M L14.5b
Track And Field 1 M M M W # M # & L1 1 .5b
Track And Field 2 W & & W & & & & L1 1 .5b
Circus Charlie & & W & & & W & W & & L11 .5b
Monkey Academy W M & W & W & & L11 .5b
Mopi ranger M W M & W M & W M M M M W M & L11 .5b
TSh| BPEH| PhEHLS
HX-R700 RS232 W & & & & # & W & L55.5b
HX-E600 2 Cart Slot & W & # # LZ5.5b
HX-C81 0 Datarecorder LZ4.5b
HX-J400 Joystick & # & # & # & # & L5.5b
HX-S665 Wordpro & & & W & & & L45.5b
HX-P1 01 Di sc Drive M M M .LZ55.5b

JvU PEH| PhEHLS

HC-J61 5 Joystick & & & & # & # & L1Z.5b
HC-R1 05 Datarecorder L5.5b
HC-F303 Di sc Drive # & # LZ55.5b
Mi di I nterace
i nc Software & W & W & W & W & W & & L105.5b
SNY PEH| PhEHLS
MLP-001 Light Pen # & M # & & L5. 5b
DR-202 Datarecorder & & & & L44.5b
MJY -002 Joystick & W & & & W & W L1Z. 5b
UNPUTEHS
Toshiba HX-22 & # & & W & & & & L14b.00
JVC HC-7GB M & M M W M # W # & M # W & L55.5b
PH| NTEHS
Toshiba HX-P550 # # W . M & L110.00
Brother M1 009 M # M M & # M & W L105.5b
Panasoni c KY-P1 091 & W LZ55.5b
UUESSH| ES
HXP550 Printer Ri bbon W & .L1.5b
Modem . & M W & W & & & & & & M & & & & LZZb.00
Datarecorder & W & & & W & & & W & W M L4.5b
Wi g more Mouse & M . & & M & M & L05.5b
Plotter Pens l nstock & M # & & & L0.5b
NN| THS
Phi l i ps BM7522 Amber L5.5b
Phi l i ps Col our & W & & W & & W LZ15.5b
Sanyo CTP-31 43
Colour & & & & & & W M W M W M & & W & W & L15.5b
Sony h14CP1 Col our LJ55.5b
SNYS|TWHE
Crazy Train & & W & W & W & & & W & W & W & L11. 5b
Mouseo M M W M & W M W & W & W & W # M & # & L11. 5b
Battle cross W & W & & & # & # & W & W & # & L11. 5b
Do rod en & M & & M & & & & & & & # & & & & & & L11.5b
Juno Firs W M # W & W # W & W & W & M & M & M L11. 5b
Homewriter W & . W W M & M M # & M W & W LZ4.5b
NSX BKS
Starting with the MSX M . & M Lb.5b
Staring Machine Code with
MSX . M & W M & M M # M & W M # & & W & W & W B & M L1.5b
MSX Exposed W & # & & W & W & & & & & L0.5b
MSX Stari ng Basic # W & & M # # & L0.5b
Getting More from MSX # & L1.5b
Getting the Best from Your MSX
LZ.5b
NSX S|TWHE
Eggy & & W & & & & W & M M & W & & W & & M & W & & & L.5b
Co nfuzed M .................. L.5b
Moon rider. & W & & & & W # & # & & W & & W M LZ.5b

Robot Wars & & # & W & & W & & W & W # & # LZ.5b
Ice W M & M & M M W M & M # # M & M # M # W M & # M # LZ.5b
Smack Wacker . M M W & W # & # # & & LZ.5b
Panel Panic & & W & W & & M & & & & & W & & LZ.5b
Mazes Unl i mited & W & M M M & M & LZ.5b
Snake l t & & # & W & W # & # & & M & & & & W & & LZ.5b
Spacebusters # M & W M # M & . W & W # & LZ.5b
Jewels of Darkness . & & # & W L14.5b
King size & & & & & W & & & & & & & # & & # # & L5.5b
Syberun & W & M & & & & M M & M & W M & & 4 M & L5.5b
Footballer of the Year & # & W & L1.5b
Veracruz W M & M & W M W & W M & & M & & . M & & L5.5b
Winter Games & M & W & & M M # . M & & L5.5b
Speed King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L1 . 55
Astro Pl um mer & & & & & & # W & W & L1 . 55
Di amond Mi ne 2 . . . . . . . . . . . L1 . 55
Dars . W ...................... L1 . 55
M-D ro i d s & .................. L1.55
Silicon Dreams & & W & & M M W M & W L1 4. 5b
Adrian Mole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L5.5b
Front Line W W & & & & & & W & & M M & M B W & Lb.5b
Winter Olympics W M & W & W # & # & L1.5b
MSX Extra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L5.5b
Vestron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L1 . 55
Foot Volley & W M & & & & M & W M & W & & M M L1 .55
Bounder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L.5b
Harvey Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L1.5b
Reflexes W ................... L5.5b
World Cup Soccer & & M & & & M & L5.5b
MSX Classics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L5.5b
The I nheritance # & & & & & M & & & & # L5.5b
|0|0|
NSXS|TWHE
International Karate. & ..... L1.5b
Grogs Revenge & & & & 4 & & & . W W & L0.5b
Mandragore & . W . W W . . W . W W W W L14.5b
Ice King W W # # W W W W & & W & . & & & & & & W L0.5b
Steve Davis Snooker W . W W . W L.5b
Castle Blackstar W . W & W W W W & W W L0.5b
Boulderdash W W W W W & & . & & 4 . W . . L0.5b
Flight Deck & W W W . W W W W . . W W W W # W L5.5b
North Sea Helicopter W W W W W & L5.5b
Scenti pede # . W W . & W # & & . & & W W W W LZ.5b
Boom W ...................... LZ.5b
Hopper . . W W W . W W . W W W W & W W & W & W & LZ.5b
Oh No. . . .................... LZ.5b
Space Rescue . . . . . . . . . . . . . LZ.5b
Mac Attack W W # W W . & & W & & & & W . & & LZ.5b
Musix # W W W W W W W W . & & & & W & & . W W W . W L1.5b
Masteroice W W W . W W W W W W W W W . W L1.5b
Heist W W W # # W W W W W & & W & & W & & W & & W W W L1.5b
Time Curb . W W # W W W . W W . W W W W W W L.5b
Oils Well W W W W W W W # W & W & & W & & . & & & L1.5b
Jet Bomber # & W . & & . W W W & W . W W L0.5b
Chess Game W .............. L1.5b
Ghostbusters . W W W W W W W W W W W W L1 1 . 00
Decathlon W & & & W & & & & & & & & & & & & L1 1 . 55
Hero W W W W W W W W W . W W W W W . W W W W W W W L1 1 . 55
Master Of The Lamp 4 & & & & L11 .55
River Rai d . . W W W W W W W W W W W W W W L1 1 . 55
Blagger W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W L1.00
Contract Bridge & W & & . & & W & W W L5.5b
JJKnockout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L1.5b
Superbowl . W W . W W W & & & & W & & & & & LZ.55
Lets Go MSX W W W W W & & W W & W & & & L5.5b
Flight Path J. & & W W . W W W W W W W L.5b
Jump Jet W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W L5.5b
Slapshot. & .................. L.5b
Mr Wong . W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W & L.00
Mutant Monty & & W & & W & & & & & W . L0.5b
Computer Hits . . . . . . . . . . . . . L0.5b
Hustler W W W W W W . W W W W W W W W . W W W . W LZ.55
Turmoil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LZ.5b
Journey/Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . LZ.5b
Minder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L5.5b
A View To A Ki l l W W & & & W & & & .L10. 55
NSXS|TWHE
Lemans 4 & W & W W . W W . W W W W W W W W W W W LJ.55
The Wreck (ROM) W W W W # W & & .L5.5b
Buzz Off & . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . L1 .55
Barnstormer . W # W W . W W W . W # W W . LJ.55
Sweet Acorn W .............. LJ.55
XYZolog W & & & W & & & & W . & & & W & & & & . LJ.55
MSX Arist . W . W W W W . W W . W . W W W W LJ.55
Way Of The Tiger W # W W W W W W W & L5.5b
Bounder & & W & & & & W & & & . W & & W & . & & L.5b
Valkyr W . W . W W W W . W W W W W W W W W . W W W W L.5b
Eric And The Floaters . . . . . . Lb.5b
Coco I n The Castle W W W W W W W W L0.5b
Zi pper W W W W & W & W & W & & & & & & & W & & . & LJ.5b
Stop The Express . . . . . . . . . . L0.5b
Dungeon Adventure & # & & & & L5.00
Colossal Adventure . . . . . . . L5.5b
The Price I s Magic & & W W W . W W W L5.5b
Grid Trap W W W W W W W W W . W . W W W & W & W L1 . 55
Scramble W W W W W W . W W . W W W W W W & & . L1 . 55
Alphablaster & & & & W W W W W W W W W W W L1 . 55
Brian Jacks Challenge . . . . . L1.5b
Zoids & W & W W W W W W W . W W . W . W . W W W W . L.5b
Samantha Fox . . . . . . . . . . . . . L.5b
Space Walk . & & & & W W W W W W W # W W W L1 . 55
Chi l l er . W W W W W W W & & . & & & & & & & W & W W L1 . 55
Finders Keepers W W W W W W . & . & & L1 . 55
Formula 1 W W W W & . & & # W & . & & & & W & L1 . 55
Mol ecul e Man W W . W W . W . . W W W W L1 .55
Kni ghtyme . & & W W W W W W W W & & & W & W LZ.55
Hob bit & ..................... L5. 5b
Hobbit Book W W & W W W . W W W W W W W . L4.5b
Classic Adventure & & . W & & & & W L0.5b
Star Seeker W W W W . W W W W W . W . W W W L5. 5b
Zakil Wood W W W & W W W W W . W W W W W W . L1.5b
Crazy Golf W W W W & W W W W W W W W W W & & W L1.5b
Hunchback & & & & & & & . & W & W . W W & W L0.50
Boulderdash W . W W W W W W W W W W W W W L0.5b
Board Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L4.5b
El i don . . . & & & . & W & . & & & & & & & & . & . & L.5b
The Boss W .................. L0.5b
Les Fii cs W W W & & W W W W W W W W W W W W & W & L1.5b
Maxi ma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LJ.b0
Vacumania . W W W . W W W W W W W W W W W W LJ.b0
Macadam Bumper & & & & . W & W L.5b
PSG Musi cwriter W W W W W W W W W LZ4.5b
NSX S|TWHE
Jet Set Wi lly & & & & & W W & # . & # & & N & L4.00
Jet Set Willy 2 & . & & & . N W . # W W # W L1.5b
Manic Mi ner . W W W W W W W W W W W W & L1.5b
Lazy Jones W . W & W W W W W W & W W W W W L.5b
Alien a W W W . W W W W W W W W W W W . W W W W W & L5.5b
Gunfright & & . & & & & & & . W & & & . & . & & L5.5b
Knight Lore W W & W W W . W W W W W W W W W L5.5b
Knight Shade W W W W W W W W W & # & & W L5.5b
Sorcer W .................... L.5b
Monopoly & W W W W W W W W W W W W W & W & & L5.5b
Scrabble W W . W W W W W W W W W W . W W W . W W L5.5b
Cluedo W W & & W W W W W W W W W W & & W W W & W L5.5b
Breakout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L1 .55
Checkmate W ................ L1 . 55
Teach Yourself Basic W . W . W W L1 .55
MSX Text & W & & & W W . W W . W W W . W . W L45.5b
MSX Calc W W W W W W # W W W W . W W W W . W L45.5b
Cards W W W W & W W W & W & W W W W W W W W W . & LJ5.5b
The Secretar W W W W W W W W W W W W W L55.5b
Home Budget . W W W W W # . W W W . . L14.5b
Kuma Wdpro W W W W . W W W W W W W W LZ5.5b

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SO|1ABLOBDLB
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I
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|C|0l
ormally, I don't
take too kindly to
having my sleep
disturbed by unwarranted
Interventions, even by peo
ple I know, so when the
esteemed editor of this au
gust organ telephoned me
the other day, l took a dim
view of things.
But that was only at fi rst, for
he qui ckly managed to pacify
my rising angst with a simple
and magic word: Christmas.
That's what he said, just like
that. My curiosity was aroused.
With care he became more
specific. No, he wasn't actually
offering me a Christmas pre
sent, and certai nly not one now,
that would be most unfair.
I nstead, he wanted me to look
at some Christmas presents.
"For me?" I enquired hopefully.
The answer was disappoint
i ng; well, for me it was, anyway.
The presents weren't for me,
they were for you lot out there.
Then again, they were only for
you lot out there if someone
Ping-pong's disembodied hands
Martin Banks dons his

Santa suit and selects

some all-time classics
for the festivities
was kind enough (or mug
enough, it depends upon your
point of view) to rush out and
buy same for the festive period.
What the man wanted me to
do was examine some games
programs, things that might
make suitable presents for the
vast armyof yououtthere. This,
it has to be said, was quite a
brave thing to do, for your
esteemed editor knows full well
that I am not the world's
greatest lover of games soft
ware. But your editor is nothing
if not perverse. "Go on, be rude
if you want to," he said.
Now that is an offer one
doesn't get every day of the
week, and I ' m afraid it proved to
be just too tempting. So, here
we are, and you' l l have to put up
with it. Games I was asked to
look at, and my view of them i s
what you're going to get.
Those of you who have been
following my recent exploits
with an MSX computer, a tape
recorder and a great deal of
frustration will understand why I
made an i mmediate grab for the
carridge games. Those who
haven't been following prob
ably aren't into self-pity
anyway. .
Needless to say, when the
bag of programs arrived, I
made a beeline for the two
games from Komani, not be
cause I am a great lover of

them, but simply because they

were cartridges. I know they're
more expensive to make and all
that, but I ' m lazy and cartridges
are so much more convenient.
Fi rst out of the bag was Gol,
which by chance was the game
I ended up liking best, though
that pre-empts my stor a bit.
This game actually surprised
me quite a bit, because I have
never been one of the greatest
lovers of golf itself, though I
have understood the principles
for some time. (There are some
things I like, honest).
Anyway, I banged in the
cartridge and stared to play.
The game is really quite realis
tic for a two-dimensional repre
sentation of a three di mension
al event. lt was also interesting
to note that the player, or
players when working it mob
handed, are women. Too much
macho is bad for you, these
days.
lt gives you all the expected
playing options, together with a
good bit of additional useful
New graphics enhance the adventus

information, to make for an

interesting nine-hole game of
golf. Its one possible drawback
over other golf games I have
seen is that it only pl ays over the
same nine holes, i n the same
order. The counter-argument
to this is that most people wi l l , i n
real life, predominantly play on
the same course, and wi l l get to
know it well.
I have to report this is so. I
went from something horren
dous like 1 4 over par for nine
holes, to a best of three under.
Not bad, eh?
You start by choosing the
type of shot-straight, hook or
slice, while the system tells you
the distance to the hole. The
graphics are very good, as with
most Konami games I've seen,
with a 30 view of the fairay,
plus a plan view of the entire
hole. This can be very useful ,
for a couple of holes are real
devi ls, where you have to play
to a small patch of ground
surrounded by woods.
Using either the control keys
or the joystick, a cross-shaped
cursor can be moved around
the plan view to indicate the
direction of the shot. There is
also a small panel which shows
what number hole is being
played, whose shot it is, the par
for the hole, and how many
strokes they have taken so far.
Also displayed are the wind
direction and strength, which
rust be taken into considera
tion.
The manual gives details of
the distance that can be hit with
any club, and the system shows
how many metres are left to the
pin. You select your cl ub and
use the sliding power meter to
gauge the strength of the
wallop you give the bal l .
And so you make a stately
progress up the green to the
pin. Alternatively, you can find
yourself in the rough or out-of
bounds, both of which I
achieved with starling regular
ity to begin with.
As I have said, this is one
game I actually got to like
playing. lt almost got me to the
point of being just a bit in
terested in real golf, until I
real ised the game's one fatal
flaw. There is no ni neteenth
Confused? You wil be . . .
Or tr a relaxing game of Chess
hole, and even if there was,
two-dimensional graphical rep
resentation would somehow
not seem to have the same
promise of sensor pleasure.
Ah wel l .
So it was on to the next game,
another Komani cartridge cal
led, with stunning originality,
Ping Pong. Hands up anyone
who can't guess what this was
about . . . no sir, it was not
about bells and smells.
Yes, it was all about table
tennis, which is another game
that I am not totally struck by.
Maybe it's because it tends to
remind me of cold and damp
winter evenings spent as a
callow youth down at the local
youth cl ub. lt was either play
table tennis, or watch others
playing table tennis. Life was
not too exciting i n those days, I
can tell you.
Despite this latent prejudice,
I decided to have a go. This was
a game that was not so easy as
Golf, mainly because it re
qui red the learning of a paricu
larense of timing sothatthe ball
(pong?) could be hit. Agai n, this
game had Komani's generally
excellent graphics. In this case
however, the 20 display of a 30
event made it di fficult for me to
pick up a sense of where the
ball actually was i n relation to
the bat.
I n a word, I was always either
too early, or too late. I n both
cases the result was the same:
total ignominy for me and a
rapid accumul ation of points for
the computer. One of the
strangest things about this is
also the most sensible, logical
ly. Unl ike Komani's version of
ordi nary tennis, where the ten
nis players can be seen i n all
their glory, having players i n the
ping-pong picture would only
get in the way of seeing what
was happening on the table.
This means that the sensible
alternative is taken. Al l that
appears of each player is a
disembodied hand. Using
either the cursor keys or the
joystick, this hand can be made
to play either forehand or
backhand, and hit the ball. This
i s the bit that I really couldn't
cope with. I just could not get
the ti mi ng of this right with any
degree of consistency.
Needless to say, the compu
ter stomped all over me. The
most points I scored i n any
game was three, and most of
the ones I lost were given away
by my inabil ity to hit the damned
ball at all. Ironically, and indeed
perersely, I found it easier to
hit the ball on the harder levels.
The game offers five different
levels, and I found that on the
toughest I could get some really
worthwhile rallies going against
the computer, which proved
i mpossible with the lowest,
easiest level.
This must prove something,
though I ' m not sure what,
especially as I never actually
managed to win a single point i n
any game played at this level .
A couple of points on Ping
Pong that struck me abut the
graphics. Firstlythecrowd, who
are amazingly partisan, with
one side cheering the computer
and the other side supporting
me (guess who had little to
do?). They were great, and I
wou Id swear that one looked
just like a chimpanzee (make
what you like of that). The other
point is the other player whose
hand, on winning a game,
danced around making 'V'
signs at me. I was most hur.
Next came the point I had
feared, it was time to try some
cassette-based games. Know
ing my luck things started out
badly. Having had so much
trouble with cassette loading in
the past (see MSX Computing
passim) Murphy's law pre
dicted the same problems
would arise again, and they di d.
This time, however, I found the
tape recorder genuinely was
broken, so after a quick
change, we were successfully
in business.
Fi rst up was the Aacksoft
game, Confused, which is
probably an apt name for it. lt is
somewhat strange, though in
the end highly entertaining. The
object of the exercise is to
match up one picture with
another. lt would have been
better called Jigsaw as that is
the basis. The screen has three
main sections, one window has
the source picture, another has
a blank space into which bits of
this picture can be placed, and
the third has the bits of picture.
Difficulty is varied by i ncreas
ing or decreasing the number of
picture pieces that have to be
fitted together. This can vary
from four to 1 2 pieces, some of
which are the right way up and
others inverted.

Picking up these pieces and

placing them i n the window,
either with the cursor keys or
the joystick, sounds relatively
easy, but it is made harder by
the fact that the source picture
is movi ng. This makes life much
more i nteresti ng.
The game can be played in
non-competitive or competitive
modes. With the latter, it means
completing the picture in time to
beat a descending score coun
ter; something I never man
aged to do ..
-
And do I move on to another
Ackosoft game. Ultra Chess.
I ' m not too sure about this one,
not because there was any
thing wrong with it that I could
find, more because I ' m so
congenitally hopeless at chess
that I ' m the last person on earth
to pass any valid opinion on it.
Needless to say, the game
just wiped me out everytime I
looked at it, but then any chess
board can do that, even without
a second player. Simply by my
looking at the pieces I can find
More of those Rainbird/Leve/ 9 graphics
myself i n checkmate. Outside
assistance was therefore re
cruited.
Chess is a game mastered
only by those of high intelli
gence and a keen tactical mi nd.
lt was obviously useless to call
upon the opinion of any mem
ber of the MSX Computing
staff, but Big ' Ed Craven did
come up trumps by suggesting
the services of my fellow lexical
choreographer and com
munications buff Phi I Roisky.
This sterling fellow reported
that the playing standard of
Ultra Chess was gratifyingly
hi gh. Features which he sing
led out for praise included the
ability to save partially-com
pleted games on cassette for
later contemplation, and a prin
ter logging function which prints
out a complete record of the
moves in a game as they occur.
A simplified copy of the board
layout can also be dumped to
the printer at any time. The
i mpoverished Rotsky house
hold only runs to a black and
white TV, so he also appreci
ated the abil ity to change al l the
on-screen colours and thus
make the display more l egible.
The playing strength of the
computer is adjusted by telling
. it how many seconds it is
allowed to spend contemplat
i ng each move.
The only criticism I have
about Ultra Chess is that it
seems just a bit over-sold,
especially in the futuristic
graphics of the packaging.
The last package your
esteemed editor, 'Biggles'
Craven, asked me to open was
a compendium of classic
adventures, Jewels of Darke
ness, from Level 9 and Firebird.
This is, a pack of three casset
tes and a well-presented book.
The three cassettes contain
a trilogy of adventure games:
Colossal Adventure, Adven
ture Quest, and Dungeon
Adventure. Between them,
there should be enough excite
ment to satisfy the needs of
most people, especially those
who haven't tried entering the
strange, alternative worlds of
the adventure game before.
These are well presented
versions of the breed which
have been updated by Level 9
and Firebird. Not least i n the
updating i s the graphics, a new
addition to the original text
based game. These are really
quite good, and give an added
di mension to events by having
such eerie things as mauve
coloured tree trunks.
For one who has read and
enjoyed Lord of the Rings
several times, I sometimes find
adventure games rather frus
trating, and I found these occa
sionally just a bit i nconsistent.
At one point for example, I was
obviously going the wrong way,
but found that every exit from
the point I had reached seemed
to lead back to where I had
come from.
The presentation of the
games is excellent, however.
They come with a really in
teresting guide book both to the
games themselves and the
ambience of the idea. This book
is much more than the usual
documentation or instruction
sheet, though all that sor of
stuff is included. Its main differ
ence is the inclusion of a short
novell a, called The Darkness
Rises, by Peter McBride. If
nothing else, it makes good
reading while loading.
One minor point to bear i n
mi nd, of course, is that these
games are intended to run on
the MSX computer and, unfor
tunately, on a few examples of
the breed that I have come
across recently, a lack of effi
ciency i n the keyboard area has
been noticeable. lt can be very
frustating when you're trying to
play a text-oriented game and
the keyboard (or bits of it) seem
to refuse to acknowledge that
you exist.
So if you are a new-ish MSX
owner i n need of some classic
games that won't get boring for
a long time, try leaving these
pages on view around the
house, with the relevant titles
underlines i n red. Your loved
ones should get the message.
SOFTWARE
N00J0AM-J00' 8
M8X8-|0' A|' 8J8
First Choice for in Bucks & Hers
TOP 40

1~
SanyMPC- 1 0 Computer
NEMESIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Car 14.75
GOONIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Car 14.75
KNIGHTMARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Car 14.75
GREEN BERET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Car 14.75
JAIL BREAK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Car 14.75
MEANING OF LIFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L .50
FUZZBALL . . . . . . . . . . . & . . . . . . . . . . . . & . . & . . . 7.50
APE MAN STRIKES AGAIN . . . . = . . . . . . . . . . . 7.50
CONFUSED & . & 4 4 & . & . & . & . 4 . . & . & . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.25
FRONT LINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . = . .89
MSX ARTIST . . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . & . .89
ATTACK OF KI LLER TOMATOES . . . . . 4 . .6.95
DEVS EX MACH I NA 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L.W
STAR QUAKE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 & . L.95
SCRABBLE & . . . 4 . . . . . . . = . . = . . . . . . . 8. 75
MONOPOLY . . & 4 . . . . . . = . . = . . = . . . & . . . . . 8.75
CLUEDO . . . & . 4 & . . . . . . . . . = : . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.75
OLE . = . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . . . & . . . & . . . . . . .99
CHICKEN CHASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..99
TRAI LBLZER . . . . . . . . . & . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.25
FUTURE KNIGHT . & . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
AVENGER . . . . & . . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8. 75
FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
MSX CLASSICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.75
CYBERUN . . & . . & . . & . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . = 4 8.75
GAUNTLET . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
SUPERCYCLE . . . & . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.75
WINTER GAMES . . . . & . . . . . . . . . . . . . . & . . 4 . 8.75
Toshiba HX-F101 DiskDriv VERA CRUZ . . . . . . . . 4 . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . & . . . . . . 8. 75 BC ||GROG'S REVENGE . . . . . . 4 . . . . . . & . . 7.99
PRICE OF MAGIK . . . 4 . . 4 . 4 . . . . . 4 4 . . . . . . . 8. 75 DAMBUSTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.75
SPEED Kl NG . . . . . 4 & . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . 1.99 MSXTRA & . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.75
COMPUTER HITS J& . & . . & . & . . . . . . . . . 8.75 W .A. R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.25
VESTRON . . . . . . . . . . & 4 & . & . . . . & 4 = . . . . . . . 1.99 MANDRAGORE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . & & 4 . . . . . 12.95
FOOT VOLLEY . . . . . . . 4 . . & . & . . . & . . & & . . . . . 1.99 JEWELS OF DARKNESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.95
JOYSTICKS ACCESSORIES
CHEETAH 125 . . . . . . . . . . & . . . & . . . 4 & . . . . . . . . L.50 5%" DS/DD DISKS, 10 Pack . . . . . . . . . . . 12.49
CHEETAH MACH 1 & 4 4 . & & . & . & . & . 4 . . & . . 4 . . 13.49 C15 DATACASSETTES, 10 Pack . . . . . . . . . . . . 44W
Toshiba HXP550Printer
Nowln Sfock
COMP PRO 5000 & & . 4 . 4 & . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . 13.95
OUICKSHOT TURBO 4 . . . . & . & . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.49
QUICKSHOT I|. . . & . & . . . & . . . . . . . ..'. . . . . . . . . . . . 6.99
DATA RECORDER (Cheetah) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.50
HEAD ALIGNMENT TAPE KIT . . . . . . . . . . . .4.95
TOSHIBA HX-P550 PRINTER . . . . . . . . 129.95
Toshiba HX1 0 & HX22 Computers, HX-P550 Matrix Printer,
HXF1 01 Disk Drive, HX-R700 Communication Interface, HXJ400
Joystick
A-ZSOFTWARETel : {0604)24380
1 74 KETERING ROAD, NORTHAMPTON NN1 4BE
NPMLMLM LLPVPLPLL~LMLPLLMULL L
AlSo ln Sfock
Sanyo MPC 1 00 Computer, MLP-001 Light Pen, PR3000 Daisy
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
NPNL# # & & # 4 & & & & & & # # # & & # & # & # & # # & & 4 # # # & # = w # # & & 4 & & # & & & # & & # & 4 # & 4 & & & # # 4 & & 4 & w 4 & # & & # & & & & # 4 & # 4 4 & = = 4 = & # & & & # & 4 4 &
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CYBERUN # # . # . # & # # # # . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . # . # # . . 9. 99
STARQAKE . # # . # . # # # # . # # . # # # # . # . # # . # . # # # # # . . 8. 95
MSX ARTIST . . . . . # . . . . . . # . . . . . . # . # . # . # # # # . # 3. 99
COMPUTER HITS Vol l l l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9. 95
0 LE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. 99
TRAI LBLAZER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. 99
SALVAGE # # # . # . # . . # . . . . . . . . . . . . . . # # . . # # # # # # . 1 . 99
CONGO . . . . . . . # # . # # # # # # # . . # # # . . # . # # # # # # # . # # # 1 . 99
JUMPI N' JACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . 99
I NVADERS . # # # # . . . . . . . & # # . . . . . # # # . # # . # # . # . . 1 . 99
CAN OF WORMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . 99
STEVE DAVIS (Snooker) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8. 95
APEMAN STRI KES AGAI N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7. 95
FUZZ BALL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7. 95
MEANI NG OF LI FE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7. 95
HUSTLER/BORDELLO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. 99
FRONTLI NE # # # . # # . # . . . . . . . . # . . . # . . . # . # . # # # . 3. 99
THE GOONI ES (ROM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5. 95
OCTAGON SQUAD # # . # . . # . . . . # . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . 99
DAM BUSTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9. 95
bPEClL FFEH
MAXIMA . . . . . # . . . . . # # . . . . . . # # # . # # # # # # # # # # # # . 3.99
HOT SHOT # # # # . # # # # # # # . . . . . . . # # # # # # # . # # . . # # 3. 99
OH MUMMY . # . . # # # # # # # # # # . # # . # & # . . # # # . & # # # 3. 99
LES FLI CS # # # # # # & # # # # . . . # . . . . & . # & # # # # # # # & . . . 3. 99
BI NARY LAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.99
DRI LLER TANKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.99
FI RE RESCUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.99
Tl ME BAND ITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. 99
M I RRORSOFT 737 SI M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.99
KUMA W/P (Cass) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.99
KUMA MACHI NE CODE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.99
BLAGGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.99
SPECIAL OP' S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.99
SHARK HUNTER . # # # . . # . . # # # # . # # . # # . # # . # . 3.99
VULCAN JOYSTICK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. 99
JOYSTICK WI TH AUTO & # # # . # . # . # # # . # . . . 1 1 . 95
EGGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8. 95
0/SEAS, PLEASE ADD 1 PER ITEM TO P&P. PLEASE PAY BY EUROCHEQUE
SPI TFI RE 40-M I RRORSOFT # . . . . . . . . . # # . 9. 95
CLUEDO # # . # & # . # # # # # # # # # # # . # # # # . # # . # # . . # # . . . 9. 95
MONOPOLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.95
SCRABBLE # # # # # # # # # # # # & # . . . . . . . . . . . . . # . . . . . 9. 95
THE CHESS GAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7. 95
NEMESI S (Cart) . # . # . . . . . . . # . # . # # & # . . # . # # . 1 5. 95
SPEED Kl NG # # # & # # # # # # # # # # # # # # . # . # # # . # # # # . # 1 . 99
SNAKE I T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. 99
MAZES UNLI MITED # # # . # # # . . . . . . . # . . . . # # # # 2. 99
I CE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. 99
SMACK WACKER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. 99
DYNAMITE DAN
ODYSSEY K ( Music) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 . 95
MUE (Cart) -(Music) # & # # . . # # . # # & # & # # # # 24.95
SAM FOX (Strip) # # # # . # # # & # . . . # # # . # & # & # # # # & . 8. 95
JEWELS OF DARKNESS # # # . . . . . . # # # # . # # 1 4. 95
GREEN BERET # . # # . # # # . . . . . # # # . # # # # # # # # # . . 1 5. 95
JAI L BREAK . . . . . . . . # . # # # # . # # . . . . # . . # . . # # # . 1 5. 95
PLUS VERY MANY MORE
ASK FOR LIST
is is the final
appearance of the
Basic course i n its
present form, but to make up
for that, the first Instal ment of
a Basic programming ques
tion/answer shop is i ncorpo
rated into this feature.
lt will be a regular series and
its driving force wi l l be you-so
write to MSX Computing with
any queries and, in particular,
any tips you have for other
readers.
lt's your chance to get into
print, but fi rst it seems appropri
ate to round off the present
Basic series and to review the
essential points covered. So
mainly for beginners, here
goes.
Perhaps the most obvious
talent you would expect of your
computer is the abil ity to com
pute.
You need to know nothing
about programmi ng to do si m
ple sums like this -providing
you always press RETURN to
send each l i ne for processing.
?25+ 1 34 [RETURN]
1 59 (answe
You can also try rather more
complex formulae like this
sequence to conver from Cen
tigrade to Fahrenheit:
LET C=25
Ok
LET F=32+C9/5
Ok
?F
77
Remember that the asterisk
means multiply i n Basic and the
circumflex i s "to the power of ".
You can also use left and right
brackets for expressions.
Most of you wi l l recognise
LET as being one of the most
powerful , but least used
keywords i n the Basic pro
gramming language. The com
puter's intelligent i nterpretation
will understand the statement
even if LET i s missing. lt also
takes up valuable memor
space -so it is rarely, if ever,
used.
Tim Markes rounds off
his programming
course and introduces a
new help feature
To create a program, just
number the key lines i n the
sequence and they wi l l be
stored i n the computers mem
or to be used again and again,
as often as you like.
1 F=32+C*9/5
2 ?F
Now we can run this simple
temperature conversion pro
gram (for that's what it is) for
any value of C, like this, for
example:
C=22
GOT0 1
71 . 6
Ok
Any list I make usually needs
renumbering to allow for later
insertions-and program lines
are no different. Type RENUM
to number i n i ncrements of ten
and LIST to check the result.
Notice that the symbol ? is
actually a shorhand single
keystroke version of PRI NT
which i n Basic normally means
"display on the screen".
C i s a variable name, which
can be up to two significant
characters. Imagine it as a
pigeon hole i n the computer
memory where you can hold
numeric values or text ( charac
ter strings). Naturally you can
I NPUT i nformation from the
computer keyboard - so a
more flexible i nteractive pro
gram would look like this:
05 'Temp Conver
1 0 I NPUT"Centigrade";C
20 F=32+C*9/5
30 PRI NT"Fahrenheit" , F
40 END
Type RUN, which clears out all
the variable locations and
stars the program sequence at
the lowest line number.
This functional trio of I NPUT
i nformation, PROCESS it, and
OUTPUT the result, i s fun
damental to all computer soft
ware - including games.
Another key feature of compu
ter programs is their looping
abil ity. Here is a looping pro
gram you can type and RUN,
which pl ays all the notes i n the
MSX music scale (in semi
tones):
1 0 'Chromatic Scale
20 X=X+1
30 PLAY"N=X;"
40 GOT020
The format of PLAY doesn't
conform to the usual BASIC
rules - it is part of a special
MSX Music Macro language,
which you can read all about i n
your manual (or back copies of
MSX Computing).
Notice that a variable loca
tion like X, which is initially set to
zero by the RUN command,
can be changed (X=X+ 1 ) dur
i ng the progress of a program
sequence. This "Chromatic
Scale" program will eventually
go illegal, when the value of X
becomes higher than the sound
system can manage - check
using PRI NT X. You can pre
vent this happening by ENDi ng
the program when the final note
value (96) has been reached:
40 I F X<96 THEN 220 ELSE
END
The I F . . THEN . . ELSE
command i s a very powerul
method of conditionally chang
i ng the sequence i n which a
program is performed. You can
also use I F to test for equality,
inequality, greater than etc. ,
most of which are used i n this
article.
3
A semitone scale is actually a
ver simple example of "repeat
this sequence for values of X
from 0-96 (i n steps of 1 )". lt's
better programming practice i n
these circumstances - and
much easier to understand-if
you use a FOR . . TO . . NEXT . .
LOOP like this:
05 'Chromatic scale
1 0 FOR X=O T0 96 STEP 1
20 PLY"N=X; "
30 NEXT X
40 END
Check that negative STEPS
are also OK by altering l i ne 1 0
as follows:
1 0 FOR X=96 TO 0 STEP -3
and you wi l l hear the notes of a
"diminished" chord!
Words, sentences or any
character string can also be
stored and recalled as vari
ables (add the character$) , as
i n this question and answer
sequence:
05 'Text/Numbers
1 0 I NPUT"Name,Age"; N$, A
20 PRI NT"Hal l o! "N$" aged"A
The Basic programmi ng lan
guage also has a method of
reservi ng a group of locations,
which can then be treated like a
table or list. Take this sequence
for continuously storing and
recalling up to fifty different
items -say people at a pary,
for example.
05 'Remember me?
1 0 DI M NA$(50)
20 I NPUT"Name"; NA$(0) :
S=O
30 S=S+1
40 I F NA$(S)=NA$(0)
THEN PRI NT"Hello again"
50 I F NA$(S) =" "THEN
NA$(S)=NA$(0)
: PRI NT "Welcome"
60 I F NA$(S)= NA$(0)THEN20
ELSE30
The powerful DIM command in
l i ne 1 0 wi l l set up a "string"
variable NA$ with 51 elements,
numbered NA$(0) to NA$(50)
each of which can be addres
sed using the number i n brack
ets - which is called a sub
script. A multi element variable
like this is called an array. DI M
can get quite complex accord
ing to the DI Mensions of the
"table" it is representing. Notice
that line 50 shows an example
of two instructions on one
program line.
Basic will also allow you to
define tables of preset DATA,
but you can't do anythi ng with
this information until you READ
it into variable storage-which
might also be an array, of
course. Here's an example of
using READ and DATA to hold
the notes of a melody (Good
King Wenceslas, since it's
Christmas soon).
05 'Tune
1 0 RESTORE 40
20 READ N$
30 I F N$<>"Z"THEN PLAY N$
ELSE END
40 DATA L404C, C, C, D, C, C,
L203G, Z
50 GOT020
The instruction READ always
picks up the next item i n the
OAT A list, but you must point to
the first OAT A l i ne using RES
TORE or the program wi l l find
itself trying to play a OAT A l i ne
from another section of the
program.
There are several Basic
methods of examining charac
ter strings -to find a letter or
. phrase, for example. Just one
of them is I NSTR, which you
could use to find the position of
~
a word i n a line of text, say. Like
many other BASIC facilities, it
can be used in some surprising
situations. Here is I NSTR,
helping to convert your compu
ter keyboard into a simple
monophonic synthesiser (my
final method' ). lt can be done i n
just 5 i nstructions, but here i s
the enhanced fully transpos
able model (use the < > keys)
i n just 7 lines. Just add
appropriate characters to l i ne
1 0 to complete the keyboard
and get octaves too.
05 'Tuneable Synth
1 OT =30: P$="qawsedftgyhjik"
20 K$= I N KEY$: I F K$="?'
THEN20
! 30 I F K$="<"THEN T=T-1
40 I F K$=">"THEN T=T +1
50 X=I NSTR(P$, K$)+ T
60 I F X<>TTHEN PLAY
"N=X; "
70 GOT020
I seemed to have used music as
a logical teaching tool once
again, but when you under
stand the fundamentals of vari
ables, looping and changing
di rection, you wi l l find it si mpl e
to apply these techniques to
any MSX application.
Now for the very first time
here's the new Basic program
mi ng questions and answers
series. For the first session,
you've sent in some very in
teresti ng letters and apart from
the enormous enjoyment I get
|
'

(
from readi ng them, you've
brought up some fascinating
topics for me to try and solve
such as ti me, musi c, colour and
graphics. Keep them coming.
I wonder how many of you
forgot to put your clocks back
this year and arrived for a date
an hour early on Sunday 26th
October? I know a few people
who di d which just goes to show
that we could all do with a
built-in timer occasionally and
this happens to be the subject
of our first letter from D. Lindsay
of Lancashire.
He writes to ask if his Sony Hit
Bit has a built-in timer? Well the
short answer is no, but perhaps
it is worthy spending time to
explain further. Anytimerwhich
keeps track of real (24 hour
clock) time needs a processing
capability and power to drive it.
I n pre-chip days, clocks were
driven by a wind up spring. Now
they need continuous mains or
batter power to keep accurate
time. The Sony Hit Bit was
uni que i n that it provided a
battery powered 4K RAM Data
Carridge system, which could
be used with special organiser
software in 1 6K ROM to create
and store names and addres
ses etc. When the Sony MSX
was switched off, the batteries
i n the Data Cartridge continued
to preserve the contents of its
(CMOS) 4K RAM.
*

P
P
7

I
.
/

i
.

f/ I
9

There was no processor i n

the Sony cartridge and so the
passage of real time could not
be measured - although this
facility i s actually avai lable on
several computers i n the busi
ness field (for example Apricot
and the latest Amstrad 1 51 2).
But don't lose heart' Our MSX
computers do have a time
feature in MSX Basic, which is
al l that most of our readers wil l
need.
Time is a reserved location i n
computer memory which is
incremented 50 times per
second-once the computer is
switched on. As you can guess,
the contents of this memory slot
wi l l regularly overflow as the
number gets too big too hold. In
fact time wi l l reset to zero at a
value of 65536 (work that out i n
powers of two). With that i n
mi nd, it should be a simple task
to measure the passage of
time. You could use this stop
watch program sequence:
05 '**Stopwatch**
1 0 CLS: TI ME=O
20 LOCATE 4,21
30 PRI NT "M I NS SECS"
40 T =TI ME/50
50 LOCATE 5,20
60 PRI NT I NT(T/60) ;T MOD60
70 GOT040
Regular MSX Computing fol
lowers wi ll remember that I
used this kind of technqiue to
measure typing speed i n words
I !
l
J

a w
N
per minute (March '85). I won
der if any of our readers have an
unusual time application?
Something to brighten up the
longer and darker winter even
i ngs is a touch of colour -
another of the postbag topics
this month. A neatly written
question from Wayne Sl atford
and Brett Rapley i n Manchester
says "we are puzzled by the
inclusion of the colour 0 (i . e.
transparent) - why put in a
colour you cannot see?"
On the same subject, David
Barnes from Reading would
l i ke to know if you can -
"change physical colours cor
responding to their logical cl
ours like you can do with the
BBC Micro's VDU command"?
You won't always find a neat
answer to the question why is
this or that facility present or
absent. Sometimes hardware
and software designers will
include something just be
cause it's simple and cheap to
implement. Only later does it
turn out to be amazingly useful .
The COLOR 0 (zero) looks and
sounds transparent, so if 0 is
going to be included i n the
coding system at all, it might as
well be transparent -eh? |
On the BBC Micro
(O=BLACK), there is no trans
parent colour. This means that
to make something on a mutt
colour screen disappear, you
have to di splay it again in
background colour.
Displaying the image again
i n the .original foreground col
our will cause it to flash or
appear to move depending on
its position. On MSX, you can
make an image disappear no
matter what the background
colour by turning it transparent
with COL OR 0, which is simpler
to program (and remember).
In the text based screen
modes zero and one the Basic
COLOR codes refer di rectly to
an actual colour (for example 6
always equals dark red) . The
BBC Micro, on the other hand,
operates a paint palette sys
tem. I n other words, you can
change which actual colours
are in which logical pot num
bers. Your MSX system uses a
similar palette arrangement to
manage the colour display i n
screen mode two and you need
to be aware of how it works to
avoid smudged pictures.
Screen two has a 256 x 1 92
dot (pixel) matrix. In theory
then, you should be able to
PSET any of these 491 52
points to any of the 1 6 colours
(including transparent) avail
able on MSX. This i s a memory
crunching task indeed and the
more the system reserves for
its own use, the less there is for
you. Hence we have a com
promise. Marginally less colour
choice, and correspondingly
more RAM for us.
In practice, you an select
onl y two colours for every 8x 1
(across, down) pixel block on
the screen in mode two. The
MSX video RAM map holds
these as Background ( =0) or
foreground ( =1 ) . A separate
two colour attribution or pal ette
table is kept to show which two
colours are allocated to which
of the 61 44 (8x 1 ) pixel blocks
on the screen. So what then?
Well, since MSX holds only
two colours for each block,
what happens if a third colour is
requested for any part of an
8x 1 block? You can guess,

perhaps. The effect wi l l be

familiar to anyone who has tried
painting with water colours.
Just di p the tip of the brush onto
your wet painting with another
colour and it runs.
This "smudging" effect is
what you mi ght get using colour
on screen two if you don't keep
a careful map of which two
colours are attributed to which
block. The bonus is that you can
change the colour scheme of
any block just by pointing
(PSET) at it.
For a dramatically different
topic, we turn to Phil l ip Morris of
Cheshire. Phi l l i p even includes
a brief profile of himself, which
we welcome-mentioning that
he started programming on a
pocket Casio PB-1 00 compu
ter. He has provided a hand
written program which solves
quadratic equations. I think that
writing his biographic details
proved more exciting than de
bugging (or even keying i n) his
seven line masterpiece,
however, he left out the most
significant function - the
square root.
MSX Basic provides an easy
method of calculating square
roots using the mathematical
function SQR. To find the
squareroot of6.25forexample,
just: PRI NT SQR(6.25)
2. 5
To calculate a fourth root,
you can use (SQR(SQR(X)),
but suppose you want a more
general solution to the Nth root
of a number X? lt looks like this:
1 0 '**Nth root of X **
20 I NPUT "x, n"; X, N
30 Rf =X"(1 /N)
40 PRI NT Rf
Unless you use single preci
sion variables which are correct
to six di gits only, rather than the
usual 1 4, you wil l need to round
up for a more accurate result
check it out. Perhaps our read
ers have developed some i n
teresting games with numbers
on MSX?
Having finally written your
masterpiece, how do you pre
vent your friends from stopping
the program and listing it -
another postbag quer? The
short answer is to use the
STOP ON and ON STOP
features:
1 0 '** Security **
20 STOP ON
30 ON STOP GOSUB 70
40 PRI NT "Runni ng"
50 GOT040
60 'STOP Routine
70 BEEP
80 FOR Z= 1 TO 999:NEXT
90 K$=1 NKEY$
1 00 I F K$="?" THEN END

1 1 0 RETURN
Remember to include your
own method of ending the
program or you wi l l be forced to
use the rest switchf
On the subject of graphics,
G. White of Rochester has
been trying to dump Hi Resolu
tion screens to his Canon
T -22A thermal dot-matrix prin
ter, but has been unsuccessful
so far-can our readers help?.
MSX Computing would also
like to hear from everyone who
has experience of creating and
producing hard copy of
graphics screens. Please write
to us with details of your
particular hardware/software
technique and see your name
in print.
So far this month, we have
mentioned time, colour, num
bers, security and graphics. But
I have received more queries
about MSX music than al l
these, so in reply to many
readers, here is an update on
the scene.
Musically inclined MSX
Computing readers on a
budget wi l l know that you can
now use most of the Yamaha
CX5M music features on any
MSX computer. Details of how
you can connect Yamaha's
new SFG05 sound module to
your MSX appear i n the
November issue of Yamaha X
Series Owners Club News
letter. Any MSX owner with an
i nterest i n musi c should be-
come a member - apply to:
Box 494 Bletchley, Milton
Keynes. Membership fee is 5.
Another Yamaha product in
tremendous demand is the
FB01 Sound Generator. This
can be MI DI connected to any
multi-channel music software
system (for example the EMR
Performer) to produce up to any
eight of 240 preset FM stereo
sounds of DX7 keyboard quali
ty. At under 300, this is a
multi-timbral heart stopperf
Yamaha and EMR will also
be producing editing packages
for original FB01 voice creation
in time for the Christmas mar
ket. Watch out too for a nippy
new Playcard system -music
on credit? This multi-track fun/
teach product wi l l be on special
offer to X Series members for
25 -is this a record and can
you tell the difference?
CX5 (or MSX+SG05 sys
tem) owners are eagerly await
ing Digital Music Systems
DMS1 . 2 package, confidently
expected for release by Christ
mas. Expect a ful l colour, touch
sensitive, 1 6 track music com
position system, with windows
and mouse option, designed for
use with the SG05 sound
module, but with facility for i/o
from any MI DI instrument.
This i s the first of new series
of integrated music modules for
the CX5 from DMS, which will
include a sound sampling sys
tem, score writer and multi
carridge expansion unit.
Watch out for reviews of these
and other music products soon.
Remember, if you are having
any Basic programming prob
l ems, are having trouble with a
particular technique or have a
tip you'd like to pass on why not
write to us. We can't guarantee
to solve every problem as Basic
does have its l i mitations, but
we' 1 1 do our best.
Unfortunately we can't give
personal replies, but as many
enquiries as possible will be
answered through the maga
zine. The address to write to is
Basic problems, MSX Comput
ing, 38-42 Hampton Road,
Teddington, Middlesex TW1 1
OJE.
References:
Electra Musical Research
(EMR) Ltd, 1 4 Mount Close,
Wickford, Essex SS 1 1 81 1 G.
Tel: 0702-335747.
Digital Music Systems (DMS)
Ltd, 1 82 Wilmslow Road, Heald
Green, CheshireSK83BG. Tel:
061 -436 4799.
OMEGA ELECTRONI CS
0kllM5805IL55501NkL
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s the editor's pin

ched the new
adventure Castle
81ackstar for his software
pages, I ' l l concentrate on
your letters and throw in
some clues . . . including
several for Castle 81ackstar,
a game I've seen and enjoyed
on other micros.
Level 9 games are all avail
able across a range of
machines, too, and Bob Fitz
gerald of Bearsted is having
trouble with a couple of them,
Emerald Isle and Snowbal.
Having been told that he needs
a long rope to deal with the
statue's arm i n Emerald Isle, he
now can't find the rope! That's
to be located: TNEMUNOM
EHT WOLEB XELPMOC EHT
NI . If you can't reach that set of
locations, a bit of leverage wi l l
get you there: EUQALP EHT
WOLEB TSOP EHT TRESNI .
Bob's also looking for an idol i n
the same game, and that i s:
SNI UR TSEROF EHT NI
TPYRC EHT DNOYEB.
I n Snowbal, Bob's problem
is simply getting started. He's
got beyond the very begi nni ng,
which often has people
stumped for a while, ti l l they try
typing KOOL RO ENI MAXE,
but when he goes above the
elevator and tries cutting a tube
he always dies. Try not cutting
the tube for a change! The start
of Snowbal, usually slows peo
ple up so I ' l l give some answers
to this one, and give them
forwards, so anyone about to
embark on the game should
skip the next paragraph.
If you go out of the mortuary
at the start of the game, you are
continually hounded by the
nightingales, and as you can't
beat these very easily the
answer is to get away from
them somehow. The way is to
PRESS BUTTON at the mortu
ary entrance, doing it three
times (any button will do) , and
this produces another coffin i n
the moruary. You can cl i mb on
this and go up to the next level,
which you'll discover is almost
identical to the first. I n fact
you're now on the grey level of
the spaceshi p, as opposed to
the white level where you
began, and the nighti ngales
here don't patrol quite so reg
ularly. You can gauge their
movements by watching the
messages on the screen about
clanking noises, and by doing
this you can keep out of their
way. This al lows you to explore
these corridors a l ittle more,
and to send you on your way I ' l l
tell you to look out for a button
on the floor.
On to something a little
easier, and that's Zakil Wood.
Not my favourite adventure, but
lots of you bought it judging by
the requests I've had for copies
of the cl ue sheet. Suni l Bhavna
ni from sunny Neasden asked
how to get into the cottage after
crossing the river at the start of
the game. That's a fairly
straightforward EGA TTOC
RETNE, but you'll only get in
provided fi rst you remember to
EONAC EHT PORD. How you
can forget you've got one of
those tucked under your arm I
don't know.
How on earth
you can forget
you've got a
canoe tucked
under your arm
don't know
Nor do I know why S. Robin
son, who lives in Sunderland, is
having trouble with typing the
command GET LEAVES when
reaching the Path of Eternal
Sleep in Zakil Wood. When he
tries this he's told that he must
drop something first, which is
not necessarily unusual i n itself
except that this happens when
he isn't even carrying anythi ng!
Sounds like a bug i n the
program to me, as the com
mand to GET LEAVES should
work quite straightforardly.
Has anyone else experienced
this problem, and discovered if
^
there's a particular set of cir
cumstances that triggers it off?
If so, let both me and S.
Robinson know. He or she lives
at3Coastguard Station, Roker,
Sunderland SR6 OPD, and I live
in a cage in a damp dungeon i n
the basement of Haymarket
Towers, where the editor
throws me the occasional dead
rat as a reward for my adventu r
ous endeavours.
Andrea Murdie's puppy has
strange eating habits too, or
should that be strange eating
hobbits? That's because it
chewed up her i nstruction leaf
let for The Hobbit, and she
wrote to me to ask if I had a
spare copy. I suggested she
contact those awful l y nice Mel
bourne House people, who I ' m
sure will be happy to hel p, and
then she can contact Barbara
Woodhouse for advice about
the puppy. Adventures are
difficult enough without that
kind of problem to contend with.
Andrea, who's ten, was also
enthusiastic about Bug-Byte's
adventure, Journey to the Cen
tre of the Earth, even though
she found it fairly easy and
polished it off i n about three
weeks after school hours. She
found it wel l set out and very
playable, and thinks it gives
people i n her age group an
insight into adventure games.
She's also kindly supplied
some clues, as well as the
passwords needed to start the
final three parts, though I can't
imagine anyone having too
much trouble finding these out
for themselves. However, just
in case, the password for part
two is TNECED, for part three
TFIRDA, and for part four
NRUTER. If anyone wants a
copy of, And rea's complete
solution t9 the gae, send me a
stamped addressed envelope
and I shall oblige . . . such
generosity.
Neil Hayes wrote from
Merseyside to ask how to get
into the complex i n Lothlorien's
Special Operations, and as this
isn't a game I've pl ayed much
myself I hope someone wi l l
write to Nei l to help hi m out. His
address is 27 Borrowdale
Road, Bebington, Wirral,
Merseyside. We've covered
how to get into the compound i n
that game i n earlier columns
(which you've probably since
used to l i ne the gerbil's cage),
but not how then to get into the
complex. If someone can pro
vide a complete solution to that
game then let me know, and I ` |
make it available as another
freebie. Who knows, the best
solution might even earn the
sender a Level 9 adventure.
If you've solved an adventure
and are prepared to help other
readers who may be stuck, let
me know, and |'| print your
address. The same applies if
you're looking for adventure
pen-pals, or seeking other MSX
adventurers i n your area.
There's nothing like a good
brain-storming session with
fellow adventure addicts to
come up with solutions to prob
lems . . . or even just a good
moan about being stuck i n the
same place.
force, and also don't attempt to
start a job too late i n the day or
the Workstation Droid wi l l reject
you. Never be i n debt, either, as
you can't afford to pay the fine
and complete the game, so
keep an eye on your creds.
For a job you' l l need to know
where the Government Job
Centre is, and the details of this
wi l l be given out on a TV advert.
TV ads wi l l also tell you about a
travel agent (for the tickets
Gavin asked about), a florist
and a hardware warehouse.
Another piece of advice is that
the time system i n the game is
governed by a decimal clock,
where 'five' is midday and 'ten'
is midnight. Curfew is from ten
ti l l three the next morning. Each
hour consists of a hundred
mi nutes, and if you type WAIT
that passes ten mi nutes of time,
whi l e any other command that
you type i n causes one mi nute
to pass.
On the job front, you should
go to the Jobcentre and take a
There's nothing
like a good
brain-storming
session with
fellow addicts to
come up with
solutions to
probles

."'
job as a clerk. Don't accept a
YTS or YOP job, and if you're
not offered a clerk's job you
should keep tryi ng, though one
reason for not being offered
one could be that you haven't
taken a shower i n your Habi
home-keep clean at all times!
You should also progress to
better jobs as time passes.
Gavin Kruse is stuck in The
Worm in Paradise, wondering
how to get tickets for the boat,
get to a party, and find hi mself a
job. Fi rstly some general
advice on this game, as it's not
one with a set solution that's
identical every time you play it.
Only the very early par is
constant, and there are lots of
random elements governing
the later stages, not to mention
things that you the player can
do which create new problems
for yourself not covered by any
conventional 'solution'. One
piece of advice is to be sure to
be home before the curfew is i n
Gavin also asked about the
party at the Temple. For the
i nvitation forth at you need to go
to the Socialist's Habihome, the
location for which is found by
examining a brooch. You must
take your faithful Dagget with
you, and this wi l l find the
i nvitation for you.
Some of these cor ments wi |
also hel p reader Jeremy
Stocks, who asked me various
questions about the adventure,
and who also asked me to print
the answers backwards so he
could choose which ones to
read rather than read them all .
I n a game like this, though,
some answers are so long that
it's i mpossible to print them
backwards. What I can tell you,
though, is the use for the
Batpak you asked about: TEG
GAD NI TRESNI . Spi l l i ng wine
when opening the bottle at the
party: DAETSNI EMOH Tl
EKAT. Where to get the valve:
RERUOBAL A ERA UOY
NEHW ESUOHERAW ERAW
DRAH NI YUB.
One reason for
not being
ofered a job
could be that
you haven't
taken a shower
-keep clean at
all times!
&
Jeremy's final two questions
were how to cross the ravine
and how to get the scale off the
Behemoth. These two are link
ed, and again it will have to be
given forwards so be warned.
Once the Behemoth wakes and
stars to chase you, you can
hide i n the thornbush thi cket
close by, and at this the crea
ture l umbers past and will fall
into the ravine. You can then
cross the ravine on its back,
taking the scale as you go. and
see what happens then!
Finally those clues on Castle
Blackstar. Map the forest maze
by dropping objects. lt con
tai ns: SNOITACOL LAICEPS
EERHT. These are: ELPMET
DNA ETARG, GNI RAELC. To
get past the drawbridge: WO A
RA ER I F. To get the eggs from
the aviary: NI LOI V YALP. For
this you need: WOB DNA
NI LOIV. Use of the gold ring:
SNOGARD DNA SEVRAWD
OT ELBI SI VNI UOY SEKAM.
I can see the bottom of the
page approachi ng, so it just
remains for me to say: EMIT
TXEN UOY EES.
STOP PRESS: the editor in
forms me that the best com
plete solution to Special Opera
tions received by 5th January
1 987 wi l l i n fact win the Firebird/
Level 9 Jewels of Darkness
trilogy. Entries must be your
own work.
SNAKE I T
MOON RI DER
PANEL PANI C
*
SMACK WACKER
The toughest games, the biggest thrill, the most explosive
challenge. CLASSICS! Marellous arcade action plus a FHEE
joystick test and MUBIC and BPEECH built in with each program.
CLASSICS! Top quality software at budget prices.
Dealer inquiries call AACKOSOFT 0031-71 41 21 21 for your local
distibutor.

#
MAZES UNLI MI TED
I CE
ROBOT WARS
PANI QUE

@
W

===== T
June/July 86
Beyond Basic -the first steps
to more advanced program
ming with other languages.
Typing in readers' listings -
where to look if you run i nto
difficulties, and some hints on
sending in your own program-
August/September 86
Yamaha's new software for the
CX5M | revealed, plus an
explanation of MI DI .
Programmi ng hints to help you
et the best from your disk
drives.
Making the Spectravideo
Xpress work for its l iving, by a
satisfied user.
Compact printer - the near
If you've missed these issues of MSX Computing and want
to get hold of a paricular feature, help is at hand.
Contact our Book Sales deparment which will be happy
to send you back issues from our warehouse for 1 .45 per
copy (including postage and packing}.

Just send yourname and address plus a 1 .45 cheque or

postal order made payable to Haymarket Publishing Ltd, to
MSX Computing Book Sales, 1 2-1 4 Ansdell Street, London
W8 STR, stating which issues you require.
Listed below are the currently available back issues with
a brief description of the major features, tests and reviews
i n each. Al l issues carry software reviews and listings.
AUGUST '86 OCTOBER '86
letter quality Brother M-1 1 09
tested.
Sony's SMC-T1 1 tested - a
possible insight towards the
way MSX might develop.
How to get the most from the
function keys in your own Basic
programs.
October/November 86
MUD is not just an adventure
game, it's a way of life. We
explain.
Control a disk system using
your own programs with Allan
Wood.
Don't keep yourself in the dark,
our Knight Tyme map helps you
see the light.
Adding on a second disk drive
does wonders for your MSX.
We show you how.
Ti m Markes examines MSX
music software written by two
talented enthusiasts.
When a copy of MUXCOmpu/
/ng comes out, newsagents'
shelves are often empti ed of
stocks wi thi n days. I f you aren' t
qui ck off the mark you mi ght
fi nd yoursel f stuck without a
copy.
pop down to your local newsa
gent wavi ng a very l arge axe,
and suggest pol itely that he
i ncreases hi s order. But we:
recommend a second method
- so much more civi l ised -
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scri pti on to MUX COmpu//ng.
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7

hat's noisy, ex
pensive and
takes up valu
able room on your desk? The
answer is, of. course, a prin
ter. If you didn't know the
answer, the chances are that
you haven't got a printer, in
which case read on. The rest
of you can go back to debug
ging, or playing games or
whatever else it is you do
with your computer.
Choosing a printer isn't easy,
especially if you get bogged
down i n the terminology (for
which we have a less polite
name, but the editor probably
won't let me print it).
To help you out we've put
together an interesting selec-

Hard copy costs hard

cash, but Steve
Mansfield has his eye on
some low-cost options
tion of printers, from the very
inexpensive to the moderately

1nexpens1ve.
Which printer you finally go
for depends on too many vari
ables for us to pick one of this
bunch as the best choice. What
we've tried to do is select a
representative range and give
you some idea of the kind of
features you can expect i n the
various price brackets, with a
ceiling around 300. The list is
by no means exhaustive, but it
shou Id be i nstructive.
If the opening description
has put you off printers, take
heart - things are changing.
For example, printer prices
have come down and are still
dropping. Or, if you're prepared
to pay, you can get features
which were just a glimmer i n a
printer designer's eye a couple

of years ago. As for the last bit of

the description, once you've
got a printer you'll find it's worth
every square inch of that valu
able space.
For any serious computer
application a printer is essen
tial . If you use a word processor
you' l l need some way of com
mitting your pearls of wisdom to
paper-unless you're going to
invite all your friends round to
your house to read the words on
the screen. You might i mprove
your social life that way and
decide to give up mucking
about with computers
altogether, but check the idea
out with the rest of the family
fi rst.
Any self-respecting busi-
ness program will include an
option to dump the facts and
figures it manipulates to a
printer. That saves your
accountant having to fight his or
her way through all the people
reading your novel on-screen,
in order to work out how much
you owe the I nl and Revenue.
Of course, having bought a
computer you now can't afford

an accountant, but let's not

worry about that here.
Programmers also find prin
ters invaluable. lt's a real strain
scrol l i ng up and down the
screen in a desperate search
for a recalcitrant bug. Once a
program is down in print it's
amazing how those syntax
errors just leap off the page at
you.
So who doesn't need a
printer? Wel l , anyone who only
plays games. But you wouldn't
do that, would you? Or even if
you do, you probably wouldn't
want to admit to it, so having a
nice, shiny printer sitting next to
your micro is one way of
convincing people that you're
serious about this computing
business. Printers have a high
bluff factor.
Of course, buying a printer is
an expensive way of i mpress
ing your friends. Hanging furry
dice i n your Ford Escort is far
cheaper, although it doesn't
have the pizazz of new tech
nology.
The one thing that deter
mines the cost of a printer more
than any other is the printing
mechanism itself.
Dot matrix printers, which are
by far the most common type,
use a row of pins which hi t an i nk
ribbon, building up the charac
ters out of a matrix of tiny dots
so the name makes sense,
really. But that kind of precision
doesn't come cheap, so before
we get into normal dot matrix
printers let's have a look at an
alternative.
That alternative is the ther
mal printer which uses heat
sensitive paper. The printing
heads on this kind of device are
much simpler and so tend to be
a lot cheaper.
The Epson P-40, for exam
ple, should cost you around
95. Possibly the most interest
ing feature of this miniscul e
device is that it's portable,
running off batteries. That's
probably of little interest to MSX
owners, as you're still going to
have to find somewhere to plug
in the computer. But it must
have seemed like a good idea
at the time as far as Epson was
concerned, especially as that

Top: Juki 0. Above: Centronics Lll
company markets a batter
powered laptop micro.
The P-40 wi l l give you
reasonable print with its 9 x 6
matrix, albeit on narrow paper.
As well as the standard pica
style characters this machine
will come up with emphasised,
enlarged and condensed fonts.
lt's not up to producing classy
letters, especially as it uses
tacky thermal paper, but it's
more than adequate for pro
gram listings and hard copy for
your own records. l n spiteofthe
narrow paper you still get 80
characters a l i ne with the stan
dard font. That's handy when
you're printing listings as it
prevents too many program
statements being broken over a
couple of lines.
There's just one snag,
however. Epson, in its infinite
wisdom, has just decided to
drop the P-40 from its range, so
if you do find one of these
printers make sure that you get
any accessories you need -
l i ke a mains power unit and
rechargeable batteries
straight away. You might not be
able to find them in a few
months.
Star's STX-80 is another
thermal printer, but has the
advantage over the Epson of
taking wider paper. Like most
thermal models it's very qui et,
and i n spite of being cheap
produces quite good qual ity
type. Part of the reason for that
is that it uses a 7 x 9 matrix
which gives more detailed
characters than you get from
most pri nters of this type.
lt's a little l i mited when it
comes to typestyles, however.
You get a choice of normal or
enl arged -that's it.
At 60 characters per second
( cps) the STX -80 is reasonably
fast yet it has the one real
advantage of thermal printers
- it whispers. Try holding a
telephone conversation next to
a normal printer as it spews out
text and you'll realise what a
boon a quiet printer can be.
The Citizen 1 200 might not
be particularly quiet-it i s, after
al l , a standard dot matrix
machine. But it has a few other
things going for it. For a star, it
has that magical attribute to
which so many printers aspire
these days-near letter quality
(NLQ).
Unfortunately, the term NLQ
has a wide range of interpreta
tions in the printer manufactur
i ng community. With top of the
l i ne dot matrix printers, like
Epson's LQ series, costing in
tte region of 500-600 up
wards, the phrase means ex
actly what it says - that the
quality of the print is ver close
to the letter or correspondence
qual ity that you get from some
thing like a posh electric type
writer.
lt's a bit much to expect that
kind of qual ity from a printer
which only sets you back a
couple of hundred, but the
Citizen has a pretty good stab at
it. As well as the NLQ mode the
1 200 wi l l , if you ask it nicely,
come up with emphasised,
condensed, expanded and
double strike modes. lt will also
provide super- and subscript
and underl i ni ng.
Hidden i nsi de the machine
are a load of chips which can
save you a lot of hanging
around. These are memor
chips used as a buffer. Printers
without decent buffers stop the
computer sending characters
while they print the ones
they've already got. As pri nters
invariably print slower than the
computer sends out data the
result is a micro which does a lot
of waiting and not a lot of
computing.
A buffer takes as much data
as it can handle, feeding it to the
printer when it's ready. Once all
the data is dumped into the
buffer the micro is once more
free to do your bidding while the
printer plods away. The Citizen
has a generous 4K buffer which
i s equal to a reasonably large
word processed document or
Basic program.
Another interesting point ab
out thi s machine is the inter
face. Most micros talk to their
printers through a parallel inter
face, mainly because it's fast.
But there are occasions when a
serial interace is requi red -
because the micro hasn't got a
parallel port, is using it for
something else or is talking to
the printer through some other
device which happens to be
serial, l i ke a network.
For those reasons the major
ity of printers are available i n
serial or parallel versions. The
trouble is that once you've
chosen which you want, and
have handed over the requi red
dosh, it can be a little difficult
changing to the other type -
short of replacing the main
circuit board in the printer.
To overcome this, many prin
ter manufacturers are provid
i ng interchangeable interaces
on their machines. I n some
cases the interace comes ex-

..

Sar NL mplug-in interaces

Baner power with the Epson 4

..__

Britain's contender: the Samleco 0

. .

tra, which is worth bearing in purpose machines which can

mind when you're budgeting for do most jobs with reasonable
your printer. That's the case quality and reliability.
with the Citizen 1 200. lt does Another contender in this
mean, however, that changing arena comes from Centronics.
interfaces is a comparatively If that name sounds familiar it's
easy and inexpensive job, and because it gave its name to the
the change isn't permanent. standard parallel printer inter-
The 1 200 is one of a bunch of face found on most computers
printers now available around these days.
.
this price range which offer Whoever was i n charge of
virually everything you're likely modesty at Centronics
to need, except for making obviously had the day off when
coffee and advising you on your the company named its budget
grammar. These are general- printer - the GLP. Those

..

..

initials stand for ' Great Little

Printer'. But perhaps Centro
nics can be forgiven a little
trumpet blowing considering
they invented the dot matrix
printer in the first place.
The GLP is now i n its second
incarnation. The main i mprove
ment over the first model i s in
speed - the GLP | rattles
along at 1 OOcps i n draft mode,
which is about 1 00 per cent
faster than the previous model.
lt's a compact machine and
has a few tasty design features
-like a large dust cover which
is clear enough to read the
pri nted text easily. lt has the
obl igator fonts for a machine
at this price, including NLQ,
condensed and emphasised
characters, double-strike, sub
script, superscript, and under
line.
What the GLP can't do is print
al l the characters you can
produce on your micro. Indeed,
the main disadvantage about
most of the pri nters i n this
surey is that they are not fully
MSX compatible.
Of course, they are all cap
able of handling the characters
common to all micros-i n other
words, the ASCI I character set.
But they can't handle the spe
cial characters, including
graphics symbols, which MSX
micros can so effortlessly pro
duce.
The one possible exception
i s the Samleco OX-85. This
uses interchangeable inter
faces with versions for most
popular home and busi ness
micros. One of these is for MSX
machines, but you will need to
check availabil ity at the time of
purchase-you may have trou
ble getting hold of one.
Even without the interace,
the Samleco is worh consider
ing. lt has all the usual features
pl us automatic paper loading
and a fast print speed, at
1 20cps. lt's also a British pro
duct i n a predominantly
Japanese market.
Another good competitor i n
this medium price bracket,
although not British, is the
Shinwa CPA80+, which can
also be found under the Micro P
badge. lt's another NLQ
machine with its main feature
being a buffer option-you can
have 2K or 4K.
The CPA80+ i s a good,
all-purpose printer with
perhaps its main attraction
being that it comes from a
reliable stable, through a distri
butor - Micro Peripherals -
which is best known for its
professional services. For ex
ample, the machine comes with
a two year warranty.
Although most of the current
crop of dot matrix pri nters will
give you near letter quality print,
that still might not be good
enough. In that case you'll want
to go the whole hog and get a
real letter qual ity printer. I n
most cases that means a
daisywheel and a bigger over
draft.
Oaisywheels use electric
typewriter technology to give
superb quality print. Even the
best NLQ dot matrix pri nters
have trouble matching it. but
daisywheel pri nters have
tended to be expensive. The
Juki 6000, however, is reason
ably priced. lt's slow, fairly
noisy and unsophisticated in
the way of features, but what
comes out of it is indistinguish
able from the more expensive
members of the species.
What you do get for your
money is variable character
pitch - that's the number of
characters you get to the inch
along the line - underlining
and, unusually for an inexpen
sive printer, automatic canter
i ng of text if required.
The Citizen LSP-1 0 also has
an interesting text feature i n the
shape of proportional spaci ng.
Once again it's something that
was rare a couple of years ago
but is now definitely i n vogue.
What it means is that instead of
every letter taking up the same
amount of line space, regard
less of whether a letter is a
capital ' M' or a lower case ' i ' , the
letters are properly sized. lt
makes full justification i n word
processing difficult but the text
is more readable.
The LSP-1 0 is generally well
specified, including a ver good
NLQ mode and automatic
sheet loading with the optional
feeder. lt' s a machine for those
who need both high quality and
high throughput - a good
chJice as a main office printer.
With the last printer in our
selection we're starti ng to get
into the classy end of the
market, although still at a price
which won't bring tears to your
bank manager's eyes.
The Star NL- 1 0 has most of
the features we've al ready
talked about. lt uses inter
changeable cartridges contain
ing the interface. l t has a very
high qual ity NLQ mode. And it
has virtually every font your
average dot matrix user could
reasonably want, including ita
lics and double and quadruple
height letters.
The buffer is a very usefui 5K,
which means that i t wi l l take
most documents i n one squirt.
In addition to that, printing is
quite fast, clocking up a useful
30cps in NLQ mode.
The other notable feature is
the ease with which you can
select many of the settings -
like NLQ, italics and margins
from the control panel, as well
as in software.
When you select a printer
there should be a few points
you should check with your
dealer. How much do the
ribbons cost, how long do they
last, and can you get repl ace
ments easily? If the printer is an
unusual make, does it use the
same control codes as a better
known brand, such as Epson?
This wi l l make it easier to
achieve a ful l range of effects
with some software packages.
Finally, can he repair it if it goes
wrong?
So that's it. Now all you have
to do is talk your bank account
into parting with some money.
STAR STX-80 79
TYPE: Thermal dot matrix
(7 ? 9 matrix)
PRINTING SPEED: 60cps
MAXIMUM PAPER WIDTH:
21 3mm (thermal roll)
PAPER FEED: Friction
PRINTING DIRECTION: Bi
directional, logic seeking
BUFFER: One line
INTERFACE: Centronics as
standard
DIMENSIONS: 352 ? 1 90 ?
1 00mm
WEIGHT: 3.5kg
SPECIAL FEATURES: Quiet
OPTIONS: Serial to parallel
converer available
CONTACT: Star Micronics,
Craven House, 40 Uxbridge
Road, London W5 2BS. Tel :
01 -840 1 800.
EPSON P-40 95
TYPE: Thermal (9 ? 6 matrix)
PRINTING SPEED: 45cps
MAXIMUM PAPER WIDTH:
1 1 2mm
PAPER FEED: Friction
INTERFACES: Centronics or
RS232 versions
DIMENSIONS: 46 ? 21 6 ?
1 28mm
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Battery powered (comes with
mains adaptor) .
OPTIONS: Rechargeable
batteries available
CONTACT: Epson (UK) Ltd,
Dorland House, 388 High
Road, Wembley, Middlesex
HA9 6UH. Tel: 01 -902 8892.
CITIZEN 1 20D 197
TYPE: Dot matrix (9 pins)
PRINTING SPEED: 1 20cps
(draft) 25cps (NLQ)
MAXIMUM PAPER WIDTH:
250mm
PAPER FEED: Friction and
tractor
PRINTING DIRECTION:
Normal : Bi -di rectional, logic
seeking
NLQ and Graphics: Uni
di rectional
BUFFER: 4K
INTERFACE: Pl ug-i n.
Centronics as standard
DI MENSIONS: 386 ? 240 ?
90. 5mm

WEIGHT: 3. 7kg
OPTIONS: Parallel i nterface
(38). Serial interface (52).
Automatic sheet feeder (90).
SPECIAL FEATURES: Pl ug
i n interface cartridges. B/W
reverse image print.
CONTACT: Citizen Europe
. Ltd, Welli ngton House, 4/1 0
Cowley Road, Uxbridge,
Mi ddlesex UB8 2XW. Tel :
(0895) 72621 .
CENTRONICS GLP II 1 99
TYPE: Dot matrix (9 pins)
PRINTING SPEED: 1 OOcps
(draft) 25cps (NLQ)
MAXIMUM PAPER WIDTH:
254mm
PAPER FEED: Friction
PRINTING DIRECTION:
Normal : Bi -di rectional, logic
seeking
Graphics: Uni -di rectional
INTERFACES: Centronics
and serial versions available
DI MENSIONS: 327 ? 1 95 ?
71 mm
WEIGHT: 3. 5kg
OPTIONS: Paper roll and
tractor feed available
SPECIAL FEATURES: NLQ
mode. Smal l
CONTACT: Centronics Data
Computer ( UK) Ltd,
Petersham House, Harrington
Road, London SW7 3HA. Tel:
01 -581 1 01 1 .
SAMLECO DX-85 21 7
TYPE: Dot matrix (9 pins)
PRINTING SPEED: 1 20cps
(draft)
MAXI MUM PAPER WIDTH:
240mm
PAPER FEED: Friction and
tractor
PRINTING DIRECTION: Bi
di rectional, logic seeking
INTERFACES: Pl ug-in. Most
avai lable
DIMENSIONS: 370 x 280 x
1 30mm
WEIGHT: 6.0kg
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Forard and reverse line feed.
Pl ug-i n interfaces. Ribbon or
spool option
OPTIONS: MSX interface
avai lable
CONTACT: Samleco Ltd, 9
Fairacres I ndustrial Estate,
Dedworth Road, Windsor,
Berks SL4 4LE. Tel: (0753)
85471 7.
SHINWA CPA 80+ 230
TYPE: Dot matrix (9 pins)
PRINTING SPEED: 1 OOcps
(draft)
MAXIMUM PAPER WIDTH:
254mm
PAPER FEED: Friction and
tractor
PRINTING DIRECTION:
Normal : Bi -di rectional, logic
seeking
Graphics: Uni -di rectional
BUFFER: 2K or 4K options
INTERFACES: Centronics as
standard. Serial version
avai lable .
DIMENSIONS: 384 x 31 5 ?
1 25mm
WEIGHT: 5.0kg
SPECIAL FEATURES: NLQ
mode. Can be changed .
between parallel and serial
types by replacing interface
board inside printer
CONTACT: Micro Peripherals
Ltd, lntec 2, Uni t 3, Wade
Road, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG24 ONE. Tel :
(0256) 4 73232.
JUKI 6000 230
TYPE: Daisywheel
PRINTING SPEED: 1 Ocps
MAXIMUM PAPER WIDTH:
300mm
PAPER FEED: Friction
PRI NTI NG DIRECTION: Bi
di rectional, logic seeking
BUFFER: 2K
INTERFACES: Centronics or
serial options.
DIMENSIONS: 41 5 ? 222 ?
1 28mm
WEIGHT: 6.0kg
SPECIAL FEATURES: Low
noise. Simple operation
CONTACT: Micro Peripherals
Ltd, l ntec 2, Unit 3, Wade
Road, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG24 ONE. Tel :
(0256) 4 73232.
CITIZEN LSP-10 266
TYPE: Dot matrix (9 pins)
PRINTING SPEED: 1 20cps
-
(draft) 25cps (NLQ)
MAXIMUM PAPER WIDTH:
250mm
PAPER FEED: Friction and
tractor
PRINTING DIRECTION:
Normal: Bi-directional, logic
seeking
NLQ and Graphics: Uni
di rectional
BUFFER: 4K
INTERFACES: Plug-in.
Centronics as standard
DIMENSIONS: 385 ? 255 ?
90mm
WEIGHT: 3. 7kg
SPECIAL FEATURES: Plug
i n interface cartridges. B/W
reverse image print.
Proportional spacing. Hex
dump
OPTIONS: Stand for bottom
feeding
CONTACT: Citizen Europe
Ltd, Welli ngton House, 4/1 0
Cowley Road, Uxbridge,
Mi ddl esex UB8 2XW. Tel:
(0895) 72621 .
STAR NL-1 0 278
TYPE: Dot matrix (9 pins)
PRINTING SPEED: 1 20cps
(draft) 30cps (NLQ)
MAXIMUM PAPER WIDTH:
250mm
PAPER FEED: Friction and
tractor
PRINTING DIRECTION:
Normal: Bi -di rectional , logic
seeking
"LQ and Graphics: Uni
di rectional
BUFFER: 5K mi ni mum
INTERFACES: Pl ug-i n. Most
avai lable
DIMENSIONS: 400 ? 336 ?
1 04mm
WEIGHT: 6.6kg
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Forward and reverse micro
feed. Hex dump. Front panel
operation
OPTIONS: Automatic cut
sheet feeder. Interface
carridges
CONTACT: Star Micronics,
Craven House, 40 Uxbridge
Road, London W5 2BS. Tel:
01 -840 1 800.
t last - we've got
enough space to
include all those
handy hints, topical tips,
adventure game maps and all
those cunning methods you
keep sending in to us on how
to get ahead with your
favourite games.
From now on, MSX Comput
ing will be incl uding any i n
formation you may care to pass
on to fellow readers. We'll also
print a selection of game
queries and judging by the
volume that we receive there
are an awfu | lot of frustrated
games pl ayers out there!
So keep the information flow
i ng i n and hel p a fellow MSX
user beat the system. Write to
Arcade Action, MSX Comput
i ng, 38-42 Hampton Road,
Teddington, Mi ddlesex TW1 1
OJE.
KNIGHTMARE
I have just purchased the game
Knightmare by Konami , but I
can't get past the snake
headed Medusa in the fi rst level
as she blocks the entrance to
the next level. I think I have tried
everythi ng.
J. Grifiths
Newcastle

Just keep shooting. She can

absorb a lot of hits but
eventually you will destroy
her.
JACK THE NI PPER
I enclose a map and hi nts for
Jack the Nipper.
|compiled the map after my
friend and I had completed the
game. Everything has been
checked thoroughly and so
there should be no mistakes.
We hope to send i n furher
maps and hints on other games
in the future.
Nicholas Lewus
Go/in Mangle
Shefield
Rooms:
1 Bedroom
2 Hall
3 Jack's Bedroom
4 Launderette
I n response to popul ar
demand, hi nts and ti ps
for those i nfuri ati ng
arcade games
5 Street
6 Museum
7 Exit (to next street)
8 Just Micro
9 Toy Shop
1 0 Chi na Shoppe
1 1 Police Station
1 2 Jail
1 3 Museum
1 4 Gummo's Chomping
Molars
1 5 Exit
1 6 Technology Research
1 7 | . Bloom
1 8 Hummo's Socks
1 9 Room behind radiator
(bank)
20 Park
21 Graveyard
22 Park
23 Park
24 Exit
25 Playschool
26 Bank
27 Park
28 Park (Entrance to house)
29 House
30 Pl ayschool
31 Room behind radiator
(bank)
32 House
33 House
34 House
35 Lounge
36 Hall
37 Kitchen
Useful items: find the object i n
the first room number listed,
and use it in the second.
Washing powder 1 9 4
Weight 1 2 1 8
Bomb 34 1 2
Potty 30 1 0
Battery 1 1 8
Weedki l l er 1 7 20
Horn 33 1 1 ,30
Clay
30 25
Gl ue 4 1 4
Credit card 1 26
Floppy disk 26 1 6
The key (27) enables you to
enter the secret passages be
hind the radiators. The
peashooter (3) is useful for
getting rid of irritating ghosts!
NEMESIS TIPS
Level One.
At the start of every level there
are formations of ships to
KEY: S - STARTING PLACE; P - SECRET PASSAGE

1=
.

l
1

I
\
V H 2 \ 1
: 5 2
1b
3
'
t H 1
\

\ 6
|
[7
I 8

( O
D
b
~ | | |i

l
|

destroy. Take out a whole

formation and you are left with
an energy capsule to remem
ber them by. Using these
capsules you can bui l d up the
appropriate amount of energy
to be supplied with an extra
weapon. On this level try to get
mul tiple fire and missiles. By
picking up missiles twice you
get faster missiles which can't
be bad. Being a basic level no
problems should arise until you
reach the twin volcanos: there
you shoul d position your ship
di rectly above the first volcano,
just under the roof, where you
safely avoid balls of lava or
shoot them. At the end of each
level, most of the ti me there is a
guardian ship. To destroy this
si mpl y weave between his
shots while del ivering your
own. Either wear hi m down or
hit hi m dead centre. Lasers are
most effective now.
Level Two.
Armed with lasers and missiles
simply shoot away the red walls
and avoid the turrets. Try to get
a shi el d. The strange package
shaped aliens near the end can
be flown through while you
concentrate on blasting a hole
to fly through. The next bit has
yet more package monsters
which materialise wherever
your shi p is, so keep moving.
Deal with the guardian in the
usual manner.
Level Three.
Normal mul tiple fire and mis
siles are needed here, to keep a
constant flow of fire into the
mouths of the stone heads,
thus destroying them. Hiding
behind or between the heads
wi l l provide safety. The second
set of stone heads standing
back to back should be flown
between to move you on to the
bonus level which is a much
better move than going on.
i

S
1c
l1
4

+

4

| ]

| 7
Bonus Level.
Switch to multiple double fire
and missiles and go through the
centre passage. With this fire
you can blow a hole in the roof to
reach the yellow capsules for
extra bonus points. The green
capsules give extra lives.
Level Four.
Much l i ke level one but faster
and upside down. Using mul ti
ple fire and missiles dive low
under the roof volcano and
move off when clear. The insect
drones can be si mpl y blasted,
then avoided and finished off on
their next pass.
Level Five.
One of the toughest levels to
crack but it can be beaten if you
use the enemies' weapons
agai nst them. Again mul tiple
fire and missiles are the best
weapons as you wi l l need a
constant flow of fire. Shoot at
the skulls as soon as they
appear, before they can shoot,
and they will go down a treat.
Hide behind the skul l s you can't
shoot in ti me. The skul l s take a
lot of shooting but do go down
and the pools need to be blown
up. Avoid the flying bones and
the few more dragon skul l s and
you wi l l be on to the next bit
which is quite tricky.
Stay at the top left half of the
screen to avoid the alien crois
sants and make sure none of
the bl ue ball-shaped aliens get
above you. Make sure you
shoot as many as you can
without moving too far down.
Level Six.
A very si mpl e but time-consum
ing level which is made much
easier by a technique which
leaves the aliens practically
harmless. Try to get multipl e
fire and when faced with the
brains with tentacles, shoot
away the red segment of the
tentacle to render it harmless. If
you don't have time to take out a
tentacle then dive to the bottom
of the screen and fly under the
alien. Deal with the guardian i n
the usual manner.
Level Seven.
You must have lasers for most
ofthis level as you have to shoot
your way through. Make sure
you can switch to mul ti pl e fire
near the end as you wi l l need a
constant flow of fire and a shield
if possible. At the end, position
yourself between the two bl ue
layers of wall so you are firing a
constant stream of fire two
bul lets thick, with your shi p
positioned near the back of the
screen using the bl ue walls for
cover. Fire centrally so none of
the big white aliens fire can get
past your own. Soon he should
phase out and di ssolve leaving
you with i mmense satisfaction
and the final level to work on.
Level Eight.
Armed with double fire and
missiles simpl y push forward
trying to stay as central as
possi bl e. A little speed wi l l be
needed to out-manoeuvre the
package monsters and the
ridiculous hailstorm of bombs.
At the end of this level shoot
away at one of the arms and fly
through the gates before they
slam on you. Now you're here
shoot away the ropes holding
the master brain together, and
you will see . . . wel l , do it and
see for yourself.
Finally . . . buy a big bottle of
Scotch and do it again in one
game. I managed to get one
and a half times round before
retiring.
Nick Brown
Farnham
SORCERY
I need hel p with Virgin's Sor
cery. I have managed to free al l
the sorcerers, reached the
fountain of life where they are
waiting and received the mes
sage, "You have rescued all the
sorcerers", but | noted in the
Aprii/May issue that someone
sent i n a high score of 1 09, 841
and reached stage 3.
My problem is that my game
doesn't have any more stages
and my highest score is onl y
28,000 after completing the
game. Is there anything wrong
with my program?
David Kelly
Find horn
Scotland
Our mistake, David, it was a
printing error. There is only
one level in Sorcery and the
sole aim of the game is to find
all the sorcerers. The person
responsible has been made
to use a Commodore 64 for a
week.
Sorcer - only one level
VARIOUS GAMES
I have taken ti me off from
playing my computer to write
down some hints and tips on
Mutant Monty, Ghostbusters
and Way of the Tiger for fellow
readers.
Mutant Monty: for endless lives
press RUN after l i ne 50 of the
following program and press
play on Mutant Monty tape.
1 0 CLEAR 1 OO, &H87FF
20 BLOAD "CAS:"
30 POKE#27872,0
40 DEF USR=&H9000
50 A=USR(O)
Ghostbusters: buy a compact,
ghost bait and one trap and
then sit outside GHQ. Press B
on marshmal l ow alert and
move your car onl y when the
key and lock get close to Zuut .
When asked for account
name type i n CODEBUSTERS
and press return. When asked
for account number type i n
001 66605 for a mi l l i on dollars.
Try account name ANDY and
number 777 for unl i mited
amount of money. When asked
for name just press RETURN.
When asked for code type
31 222646 for 999, 000 dollars.
finally, when asked for name
just press RETURN. When
asked for code type: 61 4.
Way of the Tiger - Sword
Fighting: 1 st Warrior - keep
slashing at the legs. Ninja -
keep doing a head splitter. 2nd
Warri or-hi t hi m and jump out
of the way. After a whil e you'll
be able to do a continuous slash
to the legs. Armed warrior-he
is only vunerable in the neck
and legs. A sword ritual is
effective against hi m and so is
.any move to the neck or l egs.
Green Beret: the defenders
who carry guns are able to walk
up ladders so be carefu | if you
are at the top of a lorry or
pl atform. The defenders who
don't carry guns occasionally
start to jump, but to stop them
just jump i n the air and stab
them. Try to keep your
weapons until the end as there
i s a final charge at you before
you go on to the next level .
On level 2 (the harbour) go to
the far left hand of the screen if
you see a parachute i n the sky
as his bul l ets can't always
reach that far.
If you encounter a bouncing
dog at the end of the level , use
the same tactics as on the

defenders i n the first level , but

be aware that they come from
both sides.
On level 3 (the bridge) run
along the top and ki l l comman
dant before descending to run
along the bottom of the screen.
If he appears on the top while
you are at the bottom, fire a
grenade to ki l l hi m.
Keep three bazookas for the
final stage as three men i n
hel icopters appear. Run left
and turn around when the fi rst
man descends, fire and run
right. Turn and fire at the
second man as he comes down
and finally turn left to fire at the
last one.
Level 4 (prison camp) is the
hardest and longest stage.
Enemy soldiers appear with
flame throwers at the end. They
are difficult to combat, but try
jumpi ng towards them and
stabbing at them when close
enough. When the three or four
attackers are dead, you've
accompl ished the mission.
John Burnikel
Sunderland
PASSWORDS
The passwords for adventures
2, 3 and 4 on Journey to the
Centre of the Earh are DE
CENT, ADRI FT and RETURN.
On Vestron, after completing
each screen, waggle your joy
stick frantically to avoid the heat
seeking missiles.
I have a few questions too. Is
there any way to load pictures
designed with the Wigmore
Mouse without first loading the
mouse software? I compose
music i n Basic on my MSX and I
was wondering if there is any
way of getting drums to play
whi l e I ' m playing Mastertronic's
Formula One. And lastly does
anyone have any tips on Mole
cule Man, Finders Keepers and
Octagon Squad by Master
tronic?
Marin Hillarg
Bradford
Thanks for the tips, Martin.
We know for sure that it's
impossible to run your Basic
drum program at the same
time as playing Formula One.
LLMMLLH
A completely adjustable Chess
Game, suitable for the absolute
beginner aswel for the advanced
player.
MSX CASS.
Art.nr. 3223
L T.5
MSX DISK
Art.nr. 3 I23
L .5
Take the nuclear powered aircraft carrier HMS
Indispensable to the Danger Zne. Use your Recon
. naissance Planes and Jet Fighters to map out and
destoy the Terrorist Base.
C64
C64
MSX
MSX
CASS.
DISK
CASS.
DISK
Art.nr. 30T4
Art.nr. 30T5
Art.nr. 305
Art.nr. 380
L .5
L I I .5
L .5
L I I .5
The sparkling challenges tat The Chess Game I and 2
ofrs you have now been especially developed for the
MSX 2.
MSX Z
MSX Z
CASS.
DISK
Art.nr. 3 I 4
Art.nr. 32
L I 8.85
L 2I .5

Neither arcade, nor adventu stategy but
all in one . . . COSED?! Play one of 0
numerous electronic puzzles that will stu
and exhaust you, but will always keep you
busy.
C64
Art.nr. 322
C64
Art.nr. 3230
MSX
Art.nr. 32I 3
MSX
Art.nr. 3 I I3
CASS.
L 8.5
DISK
L I0.5
CASS.
L 8.5
DISK
L I0.5
HL/COPT 2
As a helicopterilot
you maintain a fe
quent connection
between Schiphol
and several drilling
platfors on the North Sea. Your deliv
eries exist of provisions for the crew of
tansportation of the six and the wounded.
Slowly the engines get heated and the rotor beats the air. Your comrades are in desperate
r:oveyoa:ea]:s:c|asspi|o:=::i:iis
need of help. Pick them up out of the blod ..sucking jungle and get them to safety as
::eo]|eie|icop:e:si|a:o:.
quickly as possible. Don't forget your god fortune: You fy the best heli in the world.
MSX CASS. Art.nr. 330
MSX DISK Art.nr. 33T0
fG3IkfW Gf Cf f f E
MSX Z CASS.
MSX Z DISK
Art.nr. 3I G0
C64 CASS.
Art.nr. 320 C64 DISK
ff < F7 & 9
Ait.nr. 3I 2
Art.nr. 322
L I3.5
L I5.5
= 4 4* #
Level Ni ne, giants of the adven
ture world, have kindly agreed
to donate no less than fifty
prizes to our Christmas com
petition.
Each winner will receive a
huge l ami nated year planner
especially designed for Level
Nine and decorated with col
ourful graphics by Godfrey
Dowson. The pictures tell of a
world where science fiction and
fantasy merge-just like Level
Nine's adventure games really
-and are superb. There is also
space to plan 1 987, day by day,
month by month.
In addition, lucky wi nners will

receive a Level Ni ne black

felt-tip pen to write down all
those imporant social engage-
.
ments.
TO WI N

W
W W
W
W
w m w
Win one of fifty
colourful Level 9 year
planners and a pen!


W W

W

w

w w w w

What do you have to do to win

these wonderul prizes? Simply
dream up two witty captions;
one for the cartoon and one for
the photograph of the Level
Nine staff looking rather si l l y in
the garden.
RULES
1 . The judges' decision is final.
2. No employees of Haymarket
Publishing or Level Ni ne or their
families may enter.
3. All entries must reach us by
the closing date of Monday 5th
January 1 987.
4. Entries must be addressed
to:
The Caption Competition
MSX Computing
Haymarket Publishing Ltd
38-42 Hampton Road
Teddington
Middlesex T1 1 OJE
I

v
ne of the hottest
concepts of the
moment is electro
nic or desktop publishing:
with the aid of a personal
computer and a printer you
can create complete pages of
catalogues, newsletters or
magazines on your own
desktop.
Text produced by word pro
cessing can be combined with
graphics and headings and
titles also created on the com
puter. You can also leave
spaces for photographs, then
dump the compl eted pages to
the computer and give it
straight to a printing company
for offset printing.
Desktop publishing allows
you to "do your own thing" and
create text, pictures and page
layouts, with no need to pay
other people a fortune. You can
then take the finished sheets to
an "instant printing" shop or use
your own offset printing equip
ment or even a photocopier if
desired. Al ready many com
mercial catalogues, customer
newsletters and in-house com
pany newspapers are pro
duced by this method, and the
technique is destined to grow
by leaps and bounds as the cost
of the technology comes down.
Sounds fabulous, doesn't it?
Perhaps you would like to do
this kind of thing at school or at
work, or you may be th editor
of a club or parish newsletter.
What do you need to join i n the
fun?
Well, as with so many things
in life, it depends! What it
depends upon is what sort of
results you are expecti ng. If you
want the same quality as "MSX
Computing" forget it: desktop
publishing does not give those
Andy Emmerson
investigates advanced
word processing
techniques
sort of results. Even to produce
a catalogue of reasoable
qual ity you need a business
computer such as a Macintosh
(an I BM PC is barely adequate)
and you also need a laser
printer with a resolution of at
least 300 dots to the inch, 32
shades of grey and an image
scanner for converting pictures
to computer format. By the time
you have bought the software
as well you are talking of more
than 8,000, which is probably
a little more than you or I had i n
mi nd!
But with a little bit of effort and
enthusiasm, plus a little more
imagination, we can achieve
something not too far different
on an MSX micro, using an
ordi nary dot-matrix printer and
affordable software. Virtually
all dot-matrix pri nters can
handle graphics as well as text,
and it is not difficult to design
large letters for titling and
headings on a micro. If you
have a printer with a Near Letter
Quality (NLQ) facility this will
enable you to print out the main
text of articles even more
neatly.
Chars, diagrams and other
graphics can also be produced
on the printer, and all you need
to do is cut out the various items
to go on each page. Then you
can lay them out on a blank
sheet of paper, add any photo
graphs and when you like the
final layout, past them down
with Pritt, Cow gum or some
other adhesive which doesn't
cause the paper to cockle. I f
you want a special typeface or
effect it may be advantageous
to use Letraset or some other
similar rub-down dry transfer
lettering, though this tends to
be expensive if you use only
par of a sheet.
The finished artwork, as it is
called, can then be photo
copied or taken to a print shop.
One ti p: most professionals i n
this field reduce their work. Let
me explai n: if your finished
page size is to be A4 (and you
should stick to standard page
sizes, as the printer probably
won't handle any othors) make
your artwork A3. 1 n other words,
always use the next size paper
(the numbers decrease as they
get bigger). If you intend to print
on A5 paper, make your
artwork on A4 paper. Al l profes
sional pri nters can handle the
task of reducing the page-size
(many photocopiers also do
this now). Hand-drawn dia
grams wi l l look neater, any
misalignment wi l l look less
obvious and you wi l l be able to
get more typed text on a page.
Although it will be reduced by
one third, al l ypur arwork wi l l
still be perfectly legible, and the
reduction in size wi l l make it
neater.
There are a number of
graphics designer and word
processing packages for most
home micros, even some
desktop publishing programs,

such as Fleet Street Edit or

and the lookalikes. For the MSX
micro the choice . is not espe
cially wide, but two new pro
grams, Print-X-Press and
AackoScribe, wi l l give you the
tools for the job. If you've got the
imagination and the enthus
iasm, then you' l l have no diffi
culties, because these are both
good programs. They don't do
all the work for you of course,
you' l l sti l l have to be "creative
designer"! You will need a dot
matrix printer, and a colour TV
or monitor is useful, though not
essenti al .
Print-X-Press comes from
Anglosoft, a Midlands com
pany which has also produced
some interesting software for
the Pioneer PX -7 video
graphics computer. At first I
thought the program might
have a special tie-in with the
X' Press micro, but no, it doesn't
except that this was the
machine I tested the program
on. The software itself comes in
a ver smar package, either on
disk or cassette. Working with
cassettes will be a slow process
if you intend to load and save
many files; another advantage
of the disk version is that you
get a number of demo and
sample files.
Print-X-Press is in fact a suite
of three sub-programs called
Designer, Compiler and Manu
script which enable you to
design monochrome or multi
colour documents. A special
colour separation facility en
ables you to print out text and
graphics one colour at a time. If
you are prepared to change
printer ribbons and align the
paper carefully before each
pass of printing, you can over
lay colours to produce multi-
coloured documents. A source
of supply is given for the
coloured ribbons, though I can
not guess as to their price or
their avai lability for your par
ticular brand of printer.
You can design your own
lettering styles and graphic
symbols on an 8x8 or 1 6x1 6
grid, and save up to 254
characters per file. Characters
can be loaded, edited and
saved, also copied, rotated,
inverted and shifted. You can
design your own or sel ect or
modify characters from the
li brary suppl ied. Documents
can be designed in up to seven
colours, and you can move,
copy, centre and delete por
tions of a document, all under
keyboard or joystick control.
Documents of up to A3 size can
be produced if your printer can
cope with this: obviously you
can view onl y part of the
document at a ti me on the
monitor screen. Items you can
design include greetings cards,
invitations, labels, personal
ised stationery, tickets, calen
dars, chars, plans and music
scores. Al l this can be done in
any quantity you requi re l i mited
only by the speed of your Epson
or Epson-compatible dot-mat
rix printer.
In use the program is a
pleasure to drive. Everything
relies on menus and choices,
and it seems to be well error
trapped -I did not manage to
crash the program at any time.
The disk runs automatically
and presents you with the
start-up menu: after this each
sub-program can be run on its
own or i n combination. The
well-written instruction manual
will take about half an hour to
read and digest, and after
another half hour's practice you
should be up and running. For
all that, the manual wi l l not be
easy going for an inexperi
enced user. My biggest com
plaint about the manual is that it
concentrates on the mechanic
al processes of running each
sub-program. lt does not have
any i l l ustrations at al l , nor does
it go to any depth into the total
desktop publishing process. A
complete demonstration docu
ment on the disk would have
been very instructive. I would
also have liked to know whether
an i nk-jet colour printer could
be used, and a complete list of
compatible pri nters would help
many potential users who may
not know whether theirs is
Epson-compatible (or even ex
actly what this means). The
packing also ought to tell you a
colour TV or monitor is almost
essential - trying to see a
black cursor on a green-screen
monitor is very difficult!
For all this I must say this
program is a good effort and
streets ahead of many rivals i n
the field of so-called serious
software for MSX computers. I
look forward to seeing the next
release, when hopefully some
of these weaknesses have
been corrected. In the mean
ti me it represents good value
for money and for all but the
most inexperienced user it
should prove extremely useful .
Word processor programs
for MSX computers are not
exactly abundant and finding
one that behaves anything l i ke
professional W. P. software is a
rare delight. I should know-I
bought four di fferent disk
based W. P. programs before I
found one I could use! The daft
thing is that there are several
fairly good MSX word proces
sors on the market, and if only
one program contained all the
best features of each it wou Id
be superb. If your i nterest i n
processing words goes beyond
j ust writing letters, spare a
mi nute to check out the fea
tures you just can't do without.
Ideally you need the follow
ing capabilities:
Wedit fairly large files
Wcentre text as well as left
and right j ustifying it
Wsaving files in ASCI I as well
as processed format (for
sending files to electronic
mail or to people with other
W. P. programs)
W use familiar mnemonics for
embedded commands (e. g.
JO for j ustification on, CE
for centring, etc)
Wset l i ne spacing and where
a page wi l l end
W have word count at any time
W have ful l control over printer
facilities (e. g. change
typestyles)
W stop the printer as soon as
you spot a mistake
W see what you're doing (in
other words the screen is a
close

replica of the
formatted document).
This last feature is called
WYSIWYG i n the busi ness -
What You See I s What You Get!
Having said all this, there is no
single word processor which
achieves all thi s. Wordstar gets
close and that is what I use now
(and intend to continue using),
but it wi l l only work on compu
ters with an 80 column display
(Spectravideo X'Press and
MSX-2 series). Prior to this I
used Aacko Text and I was
WW
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glu0Kll008W0u08JI
wlI8luullug0I0g0u
LTLLlLL
7a Sherwood Crescent
Market Drayton, Shropshire
JroW|r|acerjeltle|rercc|]rossere
AasWa||arYoXsctlWarearo|aroWare
b|//0005/0||005|0|0|00Mo500d3|0
/3/3|0q50/0|/
SPEEDSAVE 4000
1UHHOLORORNO
HRLH-UPU1tLt1Y
LptolourtimeslastercassettesavingandIoading
Load Speedsave, change the baud rates to any speed you wish
between 43band 400baud. Add a third saving speed, and you are
able to save and load with the most convenient speed.
luIl back-up laciIities to tape or disk
Speedsave loads and saves all machine code programs, even
headerless and beneath basic area. Files directory or tape header
reader to detail names, kind of programs, length and addresses of
all files on disk or tape. Screen copy routne. Cassette based to back
up programs up to 43K, tape to tape.
Oisk version with liIes recovery to restore deIetedliIes
Disk version for transferring machine code programs up to 40Kfrom
tape to disk. With automatc shift in memory when a program
conflicts with the disk area and slot selecton. Files recover to
restore killed files on disk, no matter the length and kind of file. With
disk sector reader.
A very easy utiIity lor use on M5X and 2.
LD LPOO1 .Zb
LD .b" lOH 1.Vb
lncIuJes.OrJerchequeorintemauonalostalorJer
aresonotiqinaltaporJsk
MCMH1I1
Z1ecN
Z1 Let@um
NeMetNetans
FOR TOSHIBA HX10 OWNERS. KONAMI'S NEW
GAMES MASTER CARTRIDGE PLUS ADAPTOR.
ONLY29.95
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any|eve|restart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All the latest MSX software reviewed

in our usual format to help you spend
your hard-earned money wisely. In
addition to our detailed description of
each program we use a star rating
system, evaluating games on
graphics, sound, value for money
and our overall verdict. Where a
rating is not applicable use of
sound in a wordprocessor, for inst
ance, the rating is given as N/ A.
Inspired by T.V. car chases? Stop! Return
your family's beloved Morris Minor safely to
the garage, plug in this Konami cartridge
and set yourself for the drive of your life.
In this game you race your red roadster
using joystick and/or keyboard against 11
blue roadsters, avoiding obstacles on the
way. These include 18-wheelers that drop
off oil drums, sedate family saloons, GT cars
and faster red neck hot rodders which will run
you off the road given half a chance, oil slicks
and of course twisting and narrowing roads.
STAR RATINGS
* Not worth the trouble
**Acceptable, but nothing exciting
* * * One of the best
disappointment and a fanfare is provided for
successful completion of each stage. The
sounds of the engine, screeching skids and
explosive crashes really make the game
realistic and therefore adrenalin pumping.
lt is highly addictive -other people may
SUPPLIER:
TYPE:
FORMAT:
Konami
T-4Z9Z44b
Arcade
Cartridge
Your viewpoint is that of a hel icpoter
hovering above your car as the colourful
scenery scrolls past below. This scenery
consisting of brilliant graphics changes
dramatically for each of the six stages.
These include icy wastelands, cliff roads
and a narrow suspension bridge. A well
needed rest is given between each stage as
a map of the whole course is shown
indicating your position.
During racing your position on that section
is shown on a control panel that also
indicates speed, fuel and points. Fuel is
important as an empty tank means the game
is over and fuel is lost every time you rash.
However, passing over a bonus purple heart
gives additional fuel as well as extra points.
, take over your computer. This is because
you can always improve, and a skill learnt,
such as driving out of skids, becomes
instinctive, yet just as you are feeling
proficient another hazard -such as an oil
drum bouncing along the road or a deep
patch of water slowing down the car -
causes a spectacular crash.
GRAPHICS* * *
SOUND***
VALUE**
The sound rather than being an
annoyance, as with some software, greatly
enhances this game. A jolly tune accompa
nies 'Game Over' to take the edge off your
The game is also very good to watch and
so the family end up as back seat drivers
cringing and squealing at near misses. I
recommend anyone to buy this game.
(This is reader Karl Wilson's competition
winning review-see p.51).
VERDICT***
SUPPLIER: Livewire
TYPE: Adventure
FORMAT: Cassette
RAM NEEDED: 32K
GRAPHICS**
SOUND**
VALUE***
VERDICT**
Nice to see a new release for the adventure
fans which isn't from Level 9 just for a
change and it's not a bad little game either
particularly when you consider the 1.99
price tag.
lt's got graphics, which occupy most of the
top half of the screen, although down the
right-hand side runs a neat Notepad feature
which al lows you to make memos to yourself
which stay on screen for the duration of the
game. To enter those you type NOTE
followed immediately by the words, and on
pressing RETURN the words appear on the
note pad.
But what are you meant to be salvaging,
and why, and what's in it for me? Typical
adventures' questions. You're in a convict
shuttle ship that isn't bound for Botany Bay
but has simply been in orbit round an
asteroid with a long name for the last 17
years. You're not doing porridge yourself as
the shuttle is now redundant, but you are on
board looking for the Sequerra Crystal, a
valuable source of energy.
Sadly for you, your teleporter device
throws a wobbler and you'll have to resort to
using the shuttle's device to escape. But
what's the code to bypass the security
system? Any hope that it may have been
secreted, in whole or in part, by convicts who
were hoping to escape from the ship?
The game plays fairly conventionally, with
one or two word input, a save game feature
and it understands the usual LOOK, INVEN
TORY and so on. The Detention Room
where you begin shouldn't detain you for
very long, and you find a credit card with two
digits on it-but are they part of the 5-figure
teleport code? And why has the Andrex toilet
paper got 43 written on it? The only thing I've
ever seen written on toilet paper is Govern
ment Propery, when the RAF thought
people would steal it otherwise.
The early problems are all very straight
forard, perhaps a little too straightforward
for regular adventures, but at least the
game's well done. Although it's disappoint
ing that it reads the first letter of any word it
doesn't recognise as an unexpected move
ment command.
Type SCORE, for instance, and you go
south whether you want to or not. As this can
just on occasion be to an instant demise, it's
an irritating fault. Who wants to go east when
you're trying to eat the toilet paper?
The tasks do get a little more difficult as
you go, but even in a quick play it's possible
to get quite a way into the game provided you
use that SAVE GAME feature cautiously.
We'd recommend this one mainly for
beginners, but keen players too will find
plenty to enjoy in this worthy effor.
Admit it, you've always wanted to be a
penguin, haven't you? You haven't! Have
you no ambition? Well you're going to be one
whether you like it or not in Ice, which
Eaglesoft has licensed from Bytebusters as
part of its Classics series, "the super-action
super-super arcades that will make history! "
That's what it says on the inlay anyway. Pity
they couldn't have found room for some
instructions, although registered arcade
addicts will know the general way in which
you play this one.
You can kick the diamonds, too, though
they don't smash and that's just as well as
you need to gather all of them together in one
par of the screen to enable you to go
through to the next level . We believe this is
known as constructing a time-gate, or some
such description and it's the bit the instruc
tions don't tell you about so you could be
kicking cubes forever and not have the
slightest idea what you're doing.


8

'#
SUPPLIER: Eaglesoft
TYPE: Arcade
FORMAT: Cassette
Our hero, the aforementioned penguin,
though in truth he looks more like a refugee
from a Pac-Man Convention, starts the
game on a screen that's partly-filled with a
pattern of ice-cubes. In among the ice
cubes are three diamonds, at least on the
first level, though these increase in number
as the game goes on . . . or more likely
doesn't, as this is a pretty tricky one, it has to
be said. Why, we had to play it for hours
before we could even review it. All in the call
of duty, of course.
Now as any sel f-respecting penguin will
tell you, ice-cubes are just there to be kicked,
so as you move round the screen under
joystick or keyboard control you can bash
the space bar or hit the fire button to send an
ice-cube sliding across the surace before it
smashes into oblivion.
One thing you're definitely doing is
keeping away from the inevitable nasties
that share the screen with you and plod
relentlessly in your direction. But if you kick a
cube or a diamond in their direction then they
kick the bucket - at least for a while, as
there's always a substitute waiting in the
wings. Wouldn't you just know it? And likely
as not it'll be one of the Mafia-types with the
cool shades that have the ability to walk
through some of the objects. Rats!
Graphics are good enough, as is the
speed of the action, and we toved the sound
on this one: a truly awful strangled yell when
you lose a life, and the "Oh my God, game
over!" when you've lost the lot. Not quite
good enough to warrant three stars, but
worth three quid of anybody's money.
lt is a pity that the instructions aren't a bit
better, otherwise we might have given it the
fu |three stars.
RAM NEEDED: 64K

GRAPHICS**
SOUND**
VALUE***
VERDICT**

l t is hard to describe Knight Tyme as it is not
what you'd call a traditional adventure
although you do have to go on a journey,
figure out the clues and fulfill your quest.
effort into the design of the game and I
particularly like the use of a technique they
call Windmation. What it means is that you
are allowed to access the windows in which
the command choices are given.
SUPPLIER: Mastertronic
01-377 6880
TYPE: Graphic/adven-
Knight Tyme isn't in the same category as
the classic text adventures, like those from
Level 9 , all the same it i s an adventure and a
cracking good one at that.
Cast as a Magic Knight, you are trans
ported to the 25th century and are on board
the Starship USS Pisces.
A metal creature called Klink has given
you a datacube from which you have
absorbed a host of i nformation which should
hel p you formulate a plan for your survival.
Do read the instruction before playing
Knight Tyme otherwise many of the choices
won't make much sense. The authors have
very graciously included some playing tips
on the cassette cover-use them. Don't try
to be bold and manage without 'cos you'll
end up making the same mistakes that I did.
l t took me ages to realise that Sarabwouldn't
reveal how to move the starship until I
appeared wearing a valid identity card.
ture
FORMAT: Cassette
RAM NEEDED:64K
The first task is to locate the Tyme
Guardians-that's if they exist, and obtain a
Tyme machine from them so that you can
make your escape.
The graphics are superb with plenty of
intricate and colourul details, which all add
to the game's appeal.
This is not the sort of game that can be
played in a couple of hours, it is going to take
several days unless you're one of these
ultra-brilliant whizz kids who has a penchant
for solvi ng adventures in not time at all.
GRAPHICS* * *
SOUND**
VALUE***
If you've read the last issue of MSX
Computing you'll already have a head start
as we published a map of the game that was
sent in by one of our avid readers. If you
haven't read it, do so now, you never know
when it might come in handy.
Your journey will take you far across the
galaxy and you'll have to visit and explore
many planets so I recommend that you draw
a map as you go along otherwise you could
find yourself covering the same ground.
According to the text on the cassette
cover Knight Tyme is the third in a series of
adventures from Mastertronic, if that's the
case all I can say is that this one's brilliant
and I can't wait to get the other two l
VERDICT***
The authors of this title have put a lot of
I f you're looking for an ace adventure that
doesn't cost a fortune, Knight Tyme is a
must.
4
Eaglesoft must know that the only hope they
have of boosting sales of this title i s by
putting a drawing of a topless woman on the
cover, though the fact that she has a reptile's
head does li ttle to enhance her appearance:
Nor do the graphics do much to enhance
the appearance of this rather dated version
of the old arcade favourite, Space Panic,
although any resemblance to arcade
graphics begins and ends with the title
screen, which is annoyingly the best part of
it. Pity you can't play a title screen, isn't it?
For those who don't know, Space Panic is
one of the original platforms and ladders
games, before Manic Miner came along and
made them better beyond belief. You control
the legendary little man, without whom no
arcade game i s complete, as he climbs up
and down ladders and runs along the
platforms trying to avoid the meanies whose
general attitude is: this screen ain't big
enough for the both of us.
As he' s usually outnumbered about
four-to-one, the LLM is given a shovel to
even things up a bit. With a bit of help from
you at the fire button or space bar (the best
place to buy a pan-galactic gargle-blaster),
he can dig holes in the platforms and hope to
tempt the meanies to fall right into them.
A quick bash on the bonce with the old
shovel and the meanie's sent to meet its
maker. If you omit to hit it quick enough, it
climbs out and continues in its pursuit of you.
Clear a screen of meanies and your reward
i s naturally to go onto even worse screens,
with .more complicated patterns of platforms
and ladders, ensuring eventually that you
probably get trapped as the filling in a
meanie sandwich.
You have three lives and in addition, the
man must complete doing his Charles
Bronson act on the meanies before his
oxygen level runs out. There are four levels
of nasties you can confront yourself with,
these being smart, normal, dumb or moron.
The game can be fun, and Panique has
some nice features: keyboard or joystick
control, hi -score table digitised voice saying
'Don't panic' and 'Next level. '
What it doesn' t have is decent graphics.
This is the original stick-man and the screen
colours are very limited. Response was
none too hot either, and despite the bargain
basement price tag it didn't make us want to
go on to the next screen, it made us want to
load up the next game quickly.
If you haven't played a game like this
before then it's worth 2.99 to find out what
all the fuss is about, as the actual playability
of the game i s fine. But if you are used to the
original arcade version you will be dis
appointed .
SUPPLIER: Eaglesoft
TYPE: Arcade
N
FORMAT: Cassette
RAM NEEDED:64K
GRAPHICS*
SOUND**
VALUEt*
VERDICT*
SUPPLIER:
TYPE:
FORMAT:
RAM NEEDED:
Eagle soft
Arcade
Cassette
b4B
GRAPHICS* * *
SOUND***
VALUE***
VERDICT***
And so once more unto the arcades, dear
friends, once more, to suffer the slings and
arrows of outrageous Fuzzba/. Or some
thing like that, anyway. But the only suffering
you'll do in this one is through lack of sleep
from playing it just one .more time about 87
times i n a row.
This i s based on the arcade game called
by various names along the lines of Q-Bert,
in which you control uoystick or keyboard) a
springy thingy as it bounces around a
pyramid that's constructed from various
cubes. As the thingy, hereinafter referred to
as Fuzzbal l , lands on a cube it generally
changes colour, and the idea is that you
have to bounce around the pyramid until all
the cubes are the same colour, the colour
you want being indicated at the top left of the
screen.
For those poor souls who can only afford
black and white, there i s a monochrome
option, and we tried this too to discover that it
works perectly well. Fuzzball always starts
at the top of the pyramid, and the first screen
i s comparatively easy as many of the cubes
only change colour once, i . e. when Fuzzbal l
lands on them a second time they don't
change again. But this i s only the first
screen . . . guess what's coming, folks!
Yes, on later screens a cube will change
each time you land on it, so you have to plan
your route very carefully. Deal with the top
three cubes fi rst i s a good bet, then try and go
down one side and sort out the bottom ones
too, before filling in the rest. One reason for
this i s that FuzzbaJI naturally isn't the only
thing on the pyramid. Balls start bouncing
down from the top, so it's best to sort out that
area first before the balls start raining down
in abundance. Later screens have more
balls, as you might expect.
The reason for attending to the bottom
cubes next is that occasionally a ball will
remain at the bottom instead of bouncing
off-screen, and this will slowly hatch into a
snake that then comes bounding after you,
by which time you should be dealing with
cubes elsewhere on the screen. Snakes are
pretty dumb, though, and you can usuplly
tempt them to leap suicidally over the edge,
but make sure Fuzzball doesn't do it unless
it's on to one of the platforms that spring you
back up to the top again.
Later screens lead to more complications,
without which no addictive game would be
complete,like the rival who also bounces
around changing all the cubes back again.
By then it's hai r-tearing time.
Fuzzball is frustrating, i rritati ng, madde
ningly addictive, and could result in a
severely strained joystick as you thrash it
from side to side. Recommended.
Just what is the Meaning of Life? Is it 42, an
answer that current philosophical theory
holds in very high esteem? Whatever it is,
the answer won't be contained in a silly
game like this.
anything with these dismal graphics. l t
seems odd to have sprites the size of
The game wou Id be pretty poor even if it
weren't forthe rather nasty scenario in which
your given task is to assemble the latest
Soviet nuclear device, named KRAZY. Is it
just us, or do you too find this hardly the right
subject for a computer game? Maybe if the
results had been better we might have been
less critical, but one loo at the first screen
and you can see you're not exactly in for a
life-enhancing experience.
This is the type of arcade adventure in the
Manic Miner mode, where you move a
character about the screen and have to leap
over objects, pick things up by passing
through them, head for an exit, and
generally work out for yourself how all those
things fit together. Great fun i n a good game,
but this ain't a good game.
The various missile components are
scattered throughout the factory that the
game takes place in, and you have to pick all
these up and bring them to the assembly
spot, one at a time. A demo mode shows you
whereabouts the assembly spot is, and what
you're meant to be picking up, which i s just
as welt as you'd be hard pushed to recognise
elephantsand yet still contai ning no detail,
but you only have to look at our screen-shot
to see how lacking in detail everthing is.
Those enormous sets of stairs, for instance,
which look like they've been drawn by a
5-year-old.
The fact that there are clashes of sprites
doesn't help, either, with blocks of one
colour passing through and temporarily
obliterating something else. The extension
of this i s usually that the accuracy you need
for moving about is poorly defined as well,
and that's the case here -you can be on
something when not seeming to be on it, and
hit some things before your man actually
makes contact.
Other elements of the game include a
clock in the top right-hand corner that ticks
down from 5,000 while you're searching for
the parts, and when it reaches zero you lose
a life. The ESC key allows you to quit and
return to demo mode, and you can use
keyboard or joystick, but why bother? There
has to be more to life than this.
At 2.99 this i s a low-cost product, but the
budget game league has made enormous
strides in recent months and this offering
from the talented Eaglesoft team comes as a
disappointment.
SUPPLIER:
TYPE:
FORMAT:
RAM NEEDED:
Eaglesoft
Arcade
Cassette
b4B
GRAPHICS*
SOUND*
VALUE*
VERDICT*

SUPPLIER: Eaglesof
TYPE: Arcade
FORMAT: Cassete
RAM NEEDED: 64k
GRAPHICS **
SOUND**
VALUE**
VERDICT**
Another in the series of Eaglesoft Classics,
re-releases of oldies that are sometimes
even goldies as well, and this version of the
arcade addiction of a few years ago is one
that might be worth adding to your collection.
In Moonrider, naturally enough, you ride
the moon. Well, you don't literally sit astride it
as if it were a Kawasaki made of cheese, you
ride your moon buggy over its surface which
unfortunately has more holes and bumps on
it than the M1 .
As with many of these Eaglesoft Classics,
you're given the option of testing both your
joystick ports as soon as the title screen's
loaded, but if your por is pole-axed you can
use the keyboard as well: left and right
cursor keys to decrease and increase
speed, up arrow to jump and space bar to
fire.
lt would have been nice to have had a
chance to redefine this, as we found
ourselves firing when we should have been
jumping, but we dare say that you arcades
tars out there with your dexterous digits
won't have that trouble at all.
The landscape, or moonscape, scrolls
from right to left across the screen and you
must leap the holes as you encounter them
and shoot away the boulders and larger
rocks. Just occasionally they slip in a tiny
boulder that has to be jumped rather than
shot at, to keep you on your toes. Naturally
enough the first stage is reasonably easy,
although later ones have rather nasty
combinations of boulders and holes and
sequences of potholes that require a fine
judging of the speed needed. A Rider Radar
at the foot of the screen shows you how far
you've progressed along the various sec
tions of the surface.
Holes and boulders alone might not be too
bad, if itweren't also for the UFO's that come
flitting along dropping bombs and firing at
you. Luckily for you, your firing action allows
you to shoot forwards and upwards simul
taneously, although sadly your forwards
firing range is severely restricted so you
need to practise hitting boulders at the last
minute.
The sound effects on this one are only
average, a feeble plinky-plonky effect that
could surely have been beefed up a bit.
However, it's well-presented with a hi-score
table for all you egomaniacs out there. 1t also
has that all important 'just-one-more:go'
quality, without which no arcade game is
truly complete.
At 2.99 it's not to be sniffed at, unless
you're into that kind of thing, and as long as
you don't expect state-of-the-art mega
blasting with the ultimate in graphics, you
shouldn't be disappointed.
This, according to the inl ay, is ''the most
stunning three dimensional Frogger of all
time!" Someone at Livewire obviously had a
mis-spent youth. And "full colour isometric
projection" they also proclaim, which
sounds grand, but it has to be said that this is
by far the best in Livewire's classic arcade
series, at least giving you a good game
which is not a million hops from the original
arcade machine.
landing on turtles and logs that also flow in
opposite directions. Your final leap must
take you into one of five safe spaces, and as
you have five lives, guess what you get to do
then? Right, do it again, four more times, till
all the spaces are fi lied with frogs. The space
at the extreme left is the hardest to get at,
mainly because the logs in front of it are
floating from left to right and to get there you
really have to hop to it.
The 3-0 graphics are impressive, too, and
we especially liked the addition of Sinclair's
C5's in the slow lane of the motorway you've
got to hop across.
Anyone who's led a frogless life so far
won't know what that means, but the idea of
the game is that you control the hopping
hero and must move him across the screen
from top to bottom, the problem being that
between the top and bottom lie a couple of
fairly major hazards. The first is a five-lane
motoray, which has to have the most
unusual contra-flow system ever invented
as the vehicles in alternate lanes travel in
opposite directions, and generally getting
faster the further across you get. Or don't get
if you're not quick enough on your flippers
and end up as another road traffic accident
statistic. lt beats the M25 any day.
Survive the hazards of the road and you
then have to cross the river by leaping and
Then what? Why, do it again with more
hazards, of course. Faster cars (must have
put new batteries in the C5s betwen levels)
and snakes and crocodiles just anxious to
snap at an unsuspecting frog as he crosses
the river. There are bonuses, too, if you can
catch a dragonfly or rescue a female frog on
your travels, but as the levels progress you'll
have your work cut out just in surviving. The
snakeless logs start to get slippy, and the
turtles have a habit of submerging just when
you least want them to.
The game didn't seem to us to be quite as
tricky as the original, but it's very nicely
animated with good sound effects and
should especially appeal to owners of 32k
machines. Would that all so-called arcade
classics were this good.
So if being an animated amphibian is the
life for you, buy it. But can someone explain
why arcade frogs can't swim?
SUPPLIER: Livewire
TYPE: Arcade
FORMAT: Cassete
RAM NEEDED: 32k

GRAPHICS* * *
SOUND**
VALUE***
VERDICT***
SUPPLIER:
TYPE:
FORMAT:
RAM NEEDED:
Mastertronic
01-377 6880
Arcade
Cassette
64K
GRAPHICS**
SOUND**
VALUE***
VERDICT***
Fancy a quick spin round Silverstone on a
high speed motorcycle? If the answer's yes
then this release from Mastertronic called
Speed King is the game to play.
Your aim is to pit your wits and skills
against 19 other determined riders and work
your way up to world class level.
The game has three skill levels and until
you get the hang of things your best bet is to
stick to the first level.
Your bike is equipped with six gears and
the selection is made either by waggling
your joystick forward and back or pressing
the top and bottom cursor control keys.
Each of the gears corresponds to a
particular speed range, just like 'real' gears,
and although it's tricky at first, once you've
practiced a few times changing gear will
become second nature.
Once you get going you'll find that your
speed increases very rapidly and you'll soon
be tearing round the circuit at breakneck
speeds of 200mph or more.
Colliding with another rider will cost you
dearly as it will result in a spill from your
machine and a subsequent time penalty
whilst you fight to regain control. A further
time penalty will be incurred if you swere off
the circuit at any time, so you need to keep a
cool head.
The only other bike game I have played
involved a character cal led Eddy Kidd who
bore a remarkable resemblance to a
matchstick man. | was far from impressed
with that title, but Speed King is far superior
and will I'm sure turn out to be a winner and a
real money spinner for Masterronic.
Great skill is required throughout the
game if you are to keep up a consistently
high speed and stay on the circuit without
becoming a cropper.
The graphics although basic are ver
realistic and there's a good scrolling effect
as you wind your way round the many
circuits on offer. My only complaint is that the
background music before the start of each
race is ver metallic and becomes boringly
repetitive after a while. However this is
compensated for by the realistic purr of a
cycle engine as you race around the track.
For me one of the game's major plusses is
that you can choose to preview the circuit
and suss out exactly what you are letting
yourself in for before competing with the
other riders.
If you manage to achieve a new record it
will appear on the grandstand display board,
another nice feature that adds to the game's
appeal.
Motorcyle racing games are few and far
between which is one of the reasons why I
reckon this game will prove to be popular.
Now how to review two versions of the
mighty Kong arcade game in one issue,
without repeating all that gumph about
Mario having to rescue his damsel in
distress from the clutches of Kong by
leaping over barrels etc? Because if you're
interested in this then you're sure to read the
review for Congo too.
Perhaps we could fill the space by quoting
from the Dutch instructions, which makes
the game sound very interesting, with
phrases like "Trommelend op zijn beestach
tige torso. " At least the Dutch readers would
know what we're on about, but you do get
instructions in English as well. What we want
to know is how you get an English pun like
"Fight for her before she goes bananas"
from a Dutch original reading "Vecht voor
haar, voor ze de pisang is!" Makes it seem
like she's been at the contents of the barrels.
That's not a sound you should hear for a
while, as the drawback of this version is that
it appears to us to be very much easier to
play. We got through the first two screens on
our very first game, though we admit to still
being struggling on screen three, with all so
far being reasonably close approximations
of the originals. Congo's problem is that it is
harder to play, but for all the wrong reasons
- sl uggish and inaccurate sprite move
ment, for instance.
On with the game, however. Where
Congo has all the hallmarks of the cheapie
product, Ape Man looks a lot better all round.
lt has the synthesised sound that appears in
many of these games that originate in
Holland from Aackosoft, and we like the way
they try to do something different in each
game. This time you get a real maniacal
laugh, and "He's coming for you . . . Ape
Man!" That's as well as the more usual
"Game Over".
Graphics on Ape Man are better in some
areas, worse in others. The ape himself
doesn't move while lobbing the barrels down
on your bonce, but he does a nice shuffle
when he lopes off to the next screen. Your
man Mario, Alfredo, or whatever he's called
in this one, is much better animated with
good detail, and his legs prove pretty long in
leaping over the rolling barrels, which is one
reason the first screen is so easy.
Neither of these, then, is the perect
Donkey Kong substitute, but overall we
generally preferred Ape Man despite the
fact that even average play
e
rs like us are
soon playing the last two screens. The
choice is yours.
Maybe someone will do a journalist's
version one day . . . a mad printer hurling
rolls of paper at a writer tring to file his copy
by the deadline . . .
SUPPLIER:
TYPE:
FORMAT:
RAM NEEDED:
Eaglesoft
Arcade
Cassette
64K
GRAPHICS**
SOUND**
VALUE**
VERDICT**
W
%
SUPPLIER:
TYPE:
Bubble Bus
Arcade-adven
ture

Okay, we admit it, we've not the slightest

idea what's going on i n this multi-multi
screen arcade adventure from Bubble Bus,
but we still thought it was terrific and one of
the best of this month's batch of releases.
Don't blame us, we didn't get a set of
instructions, and don't blame Bubble Bus
because by the time you read this, fini shed
MSX versions wil l be in the shops. Not for
long though, as we expect that anyone with
any taste who likes an arcade challenge in
the style of those ver popular Ultimate
games wil l be parting with their pennies fairly
quickly.
with elements such as secret passages,
skeletonauts, telepors, weapon zapping
and even flexible thingydoos -the mind
boggles.
.
Not that our A-Z helpd us much, although
we did discover that you can find ways of
flying about the screens as well as walking
and you have to avoid the sparks that fly
between what look like the horns of Viking
helmets -ver unflexible thingydoos they
are.
You can fly off the screen up, down, left or
right and you'll have to keep a careful map
otherise you'll wander around like an
amateur and get absolutely lost. (Of course

we weren't foolish enough to do anything

like that.) |
FORMAT: Cassette
RAM NEEDED: b4B
GRAPHICS* * *
SOUND***
The game, in fact, is said to have over 500
screens, and that seemed a conservative
estimate at times - we'd have willingly
swopped around the values of five lives and
500 screens to give us some chance of
succeeding at whatever it is we were meant
to be doing. POKEs, anyone?
Using the cursor keys or joystick you
control a little blob and it seems his
dangerous mission is to reach an unstable
planet that's emerging from a black hole
somewhere at the edge of the galaxy. The
core of the planet has to be rebuilt or there'll
be a terrific implosion and then it's bye-bye
The graphics are superb, smooth and '
fast-moving and the game comes over as a '
cross between Sabre Wul and Sorcer, if
such a thing can be imagined. All praise to
the Bubble Bus designer and graphics man, .
Stephen Crow.
VALUE***
VERDICT***

un1verse.
You're provided with a Galaxy A-Z, and
this shows that the game is choc-a-block
In its earlier Amstrad and Spectrum
versions, Starquake has picked up 'Crash
Smash' and C& VG 'Game of the Month'
accolades and that's not in the least
surprising. Good to see a great deal of care
has obviously been taken in its conversion
and we can therefore only declare it
MSXcellent.
According to the cassette inlay, this is "For intervals and the patterns that wil l enable
all Donkey Cong enthusiasts-a chance to you to move up the screen and leap over or
relive those yesterdays in the arcades", and avoid the barrels as they come at you. There
it isn't just the spelling they've got wro
n
g are also one or two hammers lying around,
either. Real Donkey Kong enthusiasts will and these you can pick up to bash the barrels
be bitterly disappointed if they expect this with, although you can't climb the ladders
attempt at converting the arcade version to while you're holding a hammer -and they
come even close to the fun and enjoyment of also have this nasty habit of disappearing
the original.
without warning, too. The ape, sorry, the
For an'one who might have been living in bear, also throws down fireballs but these
the depths of the jungl e when Donkey Kong are a minor irritation and usually pretty easy
came out, this is a four-screen arcade game to dodge.
that requi res you as the noble hero Mario, lt's surprising Alfredo can dodge any
here renamed Alfredo, to rescue your lady thing, though, as his movement is so
friend from the clutches of the killer gorilla, sluggish, while the bear consists of just three
the mighty Kong, except this version . sprites, hardly the ultimate in micro anima
changes the villain of the piece to Congo the tion.
crazy circus bear. Bears, frogs, gorillas, Later screens include umbrellas to help
penguins-it'sareal menageriethis month. you in your monkeying around the ladders
He still shares Kong's liking for rolling and platforms, while on the final screen you
barrels and throwing fire, however, and in have to flit about and remove the joints that
the fi rst screen you start at bottom left and hold the gi rders together in order to bring
have to zig-zag up the various platforms to the dreaded Congo crashing to the ground
. reach the top level, whereupon the hair one and ensure that your damsel is no longer in
will take the young lady and remove her to distress.
the second screen, whereupon you get to do The game at least has all the fripperies,
the same to a different design that also like keyboard or joystick control, good
involves moving pul leys and a bit more hi-score table, pause option, music on/off
planning. option, and so on, but none of that makes up
The barrels come rolling down the ladders for the actual boredom of playing it. Not a
SUPPLIER:
TYPE:
FORMAT:
RAM NEEDED:
Livewire
ware
Arcade
Cassette
dZB
GRAPHICS**
SOUND*
VALUE**

VERDICT*.
Sof-
at regul ar intervals, and it's spotting the good buy, even at 1.99
,

Strategy games seem to be the flavour of the

month and Octagon Squad is yet another
low-cost title from the Mastertronic stable.
Not that I'm complaining as it is a great game
to play. However before you play the game
take a tip from us, read the cassette cover as
you'll be utterly confused.
and it is going to take a far superior gamester
than I to master it. The screen is very busy at
all times and in the initial stages somewhat
confusing. Keeping your eye on the energy
display readout is absol utely vital, and no
matter how thirsty you get don't drink from
the fountains as they contain an energy
draining chemical residue.
SUPPLIER: Mastertronic
Octagon Squad is an icon driven game so
you need to understand the controls and
what you can and can't do, and even when
you have everythi ng under control , it still
isn't plain sailing.
The key word to remember is team work.
This game is described as a 'complex
strategy and team work' title - and it is
exactly that.
You are also required to coordinate the
Equadroids-which is where the teamwork
comes in. The droids need to be man
oeuvred into strategic positions so that they
block off the maze exits and keep the
baddies out.
01-377 6880
TYPE: Arcade/Strategy
FORMAT: Cassette
RAM NEEDED:64K
GRAPHICS* * *
In a far-off galaxy planet 54.7 (funny name
for a planet) has suffered a heavy chemical
attack. There are twenty-six survivors all
suffering from severe brain damage in a
reactor maze.
The wording on the cassette cover also
informs you that there is a hidden edit
function, alii can say is that it must be very
well hidden as I certainly didn't find it despite
several hours' play.
The graphics in Octagon Squad are
superb and of the quality that is normally
found in titles with a far higher price tag.
SOUND**
VALUE***
Cast as a Commander your task is to take
the Octagon Squad to the planet, beam out
the survivors via the teleport fence and
escape to safety. Sounds a doddle but it's
going to take you a while to get to grips with
the controls of the game and understand
what's going on before you can make any
serious attempts at winning.
Intriguing, unusual and impressive are
just some of the words I'd pick to describe
the game, science fiction freaks will revel in
it.
VERDICT***
Once you do get going you'll find that
Octagon Squad is an intriguing game to play
Like most of Mastertronics' titles this is
being sold at a give-away price and one that I
would definitely mention in my letter to
Santa. What more can I say except Beam
me up, Scatty!
Many software houses turn out cheap
games by the thousand and most are pretty
awful, but Mastertronic has built up a justly
deserved reputation for launching cheap
titles that are excellent value for money, and
its latest game an arcade adventure called
Molecule Man is no exception.
The blurb on the cassette cover describes
this title as 'the infernal surival game',
which just about sums it up as the name of
the game is survival.
Radiation (you are told) is gnawing away
at you and draining your body of all its
precious energy resources. The pills that
can bring about full recovery are hidden
within a multi-perspective 3-dimensional
maze, and one of your tasks is to find them.
However as with all good games there's
just one itsy bitsy snag! You are lost in the
maze and finding the pills as well as finding a
route out will cerai nly keep you occupied.
You also have to race against time as the
longer it takes you to find a way out, the more
radiated you become, and the less chance
of survival you stand.
The good news though is that there is a
teleporter which you can use to escape from
the maze, but the corresponding bad news
is that it can only be operated by inserting 1U
circuits (sounds a bit antiquated). Again,
you've got to find them first.
Extra life can be bought and there are
coins you can use but they are scattered
(sparingly) throughout the maze. But once
you find a coin you are then faced with an
agonising decision: buy extra life, buy pills
which can save your life or buy some bombs
and blast a way out through the parts of the
maze that would otherise be completely
unpassable.
Phew! I'm just as exhausted describing it
to you as actually playing it, there are so
many decisions to make and possible
courses of action to take that quick wits are
essential.
Fortunately the game does have a pause
facility so you can stop, plan your next move
and have a quick cuppa at the same time to
help you calm down.
I have thoroughly enjoyed playing Mole
cule Man as it is an 'adventure' game with a
di fference. The writers have incorporated
some pretty fancy programming, with excel
lent graphics that are clear and colourul.
In fact it is very reminiscent of some of the
Ultimate adventure/arcade games which
have proved to be very popular.
This is the sort of title that will appeal to all
ages and provide endless hours of intrigue
and amusement. l t is certainly worth buying
even if it wasn't being offered at a
knock -down price.
SUPPLIER: Mastertronic
01-377 6880
TYPE: Arcade
FORMAT: Cassette
RAM NEEDED: 64K
GRAPHICS**
SOUND**
VALUE***
VERDICT***

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Dedicated alien zappers will be in seventh

heaven with this latest space blaster from
the Aackosoft stable.
informed in no uncertain terms that 'an onion
.
could do better' -I'd like to see it try.
As the title suggests Robot Wars is a
traditional zap 'em and kill 'em type game set
in outer space. All the droids have gone
bananas and together they have decided to
declare war against you.
The sound effects are standard for this
sort of game in other words they are moe
akin to the rat-a-tat-tat of an Uzzi sub
machine gun than a laser blaster. Mind you
I've not heard a laser gun being fired but I'm
convinced it doesn't sound like a conven
tional gun. But what can one expect from a
game that only costs a few quid.
SUPPLIER: Nemesis
'1-741 2299
TYPE: Arcade
FORMAT: Cassette
RAM NEEDED:64K
If that's not enough to contend with there's
also a yellow pac-man type creature which
bounds across the screen. Bump into him
and you '11 come to a swift demise. Robot
Wars i sarelativelyeasygametoget into, but
it is difficult to knock up a really high score.
The main snag is that bouncing character,
he crops up everywhere and no matter
which way I turned he still managed to kill
me.
Knocking off aliens isn't normally my cup
of tea but I enjoyed Robot Wars. l t brought a
very mean competitive streak in me that I
didn't know existed. I also found the game
compellingly addictive so much so that I
couldn't leave it alone and your editor only
managed to drag me away from the screen
by being very persuasive!
GRAPHICS* * *
SOUND**
VALUE**
The game is made all the more interesting
by the inclusion of a mae, which you ha veto
work your way round whilst blasting the
droids to smithereens.
The authors have also written a high score
table into the game. You aregiven theoption
of saving it and seeing your name in lights or
disregarding it. Personally I get a kick out of
seeing my name at the top of the table!
Should you manage to knock up a lousy
score little messages will start appearing on
the screen. For example when | only
managed to achieve a paltry 700 I was
Robot Wars will appeal to all ages and
should keep many a boisterous child ,
occupied for several hours (mums and dads
mi ght bear this point in mind as the
Christmas holidays loom nearer). And at
such a low price it is the sort of game that can
be thrown to the back of the cupboard when
you're sick of it and retrieved at a later date
when you tire of all those adventures and
athletic titles.
VERDICT**
Having left Konami's excellent Nemesis a
smouldering heap in my cartridge slot I'll .
admit to fancying my chances on Vestron
by a new company called Players.
The game is aptly subtitled 'an impossi
ble mission' because it seems to find it
necessar to obliterate any timid player
until he sinks through the floor with shame
at his poor performance.
The story behind the game is that you
must save Earth, which is one of a few
planets remaining to be conquered by the
Amstradian empire. Sadly, Earth is dying
and to hold off the dreaded Amstradians it
will need a great deal of energy for many
years to come. This is where you come in.
You are sent to Vestron armed with
nothing at all to obtain the 'caloscin crystal'
with which the Earth could win the war
against the Amstradians. This is essential
ly a Jetpack type game and I have seen
many of this breed before. To the best of
my knowledge all of them were better than
this.
To reach this crystal you must first hover
around a number of screens picking up
little energy globes, some of which are real
devils to pick up even if you fly over them
several times. Avoiding the Amstradian
ships which wander aimlessly to and fro is
more tricky than it seems but you are
There are few games that | give strong
recommendations to and Robot Wars is one
of them. At 2.99 you can't go wrong.
equipped with a hyperspace option which
transports you to a random par of the
screen and more often than not on top of
an alien. The next part of the game is really
quite unnecessary and perhaps a bit too
di fficult. I found all three of my lives swiftly
disposed of in a matter of mil liseconds by a
funny green blur and a message appeared
reading 'mission terminated' - there's
faith for you.
Later I found dodging to be a satisfac
tory defence as long as it is at the last
minute. A whole batch of missi les follow
and a similar technique is needed to avoid
them all, going faster every time if you want
to survive.
l t was after seeing the second level that I
saw the game as nothing more than a
rather bland astro-Biagger with irritating
and suicidal intervals. On the whole the
game is neat and tidy, though retaining an
amateur feel about it.
I still feel Players could offer better and
will not dismiss them because of an
unfortunately poor first effort, but I would
not buy this game at any price. Players
seems to be an ironic title for a software
house producing such unplayable games,
which no company can afford to do as the
games business becomes more competi
tive and standards rise.
SUPPLIER:
TYPE:
FORMAT:
Players
Arcade
Cassette
GRAPHICS**
SOUND*
VALUE**
VERDICT*

KN| GHT8 UNUbATAULb M8X PAUKAGb DbAL8

E89 SONY HB1 OB *20 PROGRAMS. Latest 1 1 2K version of the popular Sony "HIT BIT' computer. The first MSX with
the new multi-chip MSX ENGI NE integrated circuit. Two carridge slots, 1 6 hi-res colours. 32 sprites, 3 voice 8 octave music
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Telephone for ful l details.
E1 1 9SONY HB1 OB *80 PROGRAMS including COMMANDER, MACHINE CODE, ASSEMBLER, + dozens of games
and teaching programs (see details below).
E1 39 HB1 0B 1 00 PROGRAMS including STOCK CONTROL, ACCOUNTS, TURBO DATABASE etc .

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KT B 1 28K QUICK DI SK + 1 00 + 1 0 DI SKS
KRB Box of 1 0 high qual ity SHARP blank disks
The QUICK DI SK has 1 6K of memor built into the interace
which plugs into any MSX. Just press F5 for a di rector of all
the files on disk. Zip the cursor up to the program you want,
press F1 -64K loads i n 8 secs. Spacewalk takes 5 secs,
Chess 6 secs but Stock Control takes longer -7 seconds!
W supply each unit with all cables, interace, power supply
+ our exclusive MSX SUPER COPY program with our
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KT BB TOSHIBA DOT MATRIX PRINTER + 20
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KTBB TOSHIBA DOT PRINTER + 100
The Toshiba HX-P550 printer has PROPORTIONAL, ELITE
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KRBB TOSHIBA 360K DISK + 20
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The Toshiba disks are far faster than any other 3.5in MSX
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N. B. : PACKGE DEALS WHICH SAY + Z INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS: TYPING TUTOR, TEACH MATHS,
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EDITOR. Dis-assemble, modify re-assemble ab-
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FORECASTING ACCOUNTS: user defines account
names fnancial year, displays i nformation i n neat
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or 360K disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E1
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NO N N N N N N N
LUW
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bCL
Stranded light yean frm earh Rocket Roger mus explore
the mer planet In sarh of the pwer crstals that will
rchare his spacecraf. Tke control as Roger
manoeuvrs with hlsjet pack avoiding the
nasteS desrolng his enemies
Alllgata SOar Ltd
Orange Street, Shefield V
Tel: ?55?96
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EAST LONDON' S
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IF IT'S COMPUTER
GAMES YOU WANT
THEN CALL AT:
280 BARKI NG ROAD
PLAI STOW, LONDON
E1 3 8HR .
Tel : 01 -476 5580
6b551d|h| bh1db15| b
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u/o//ou/UN
CUNC.
MSX COMPUTER 0SO
. 1 BRADPOLE ROAD
ELI ZABETH WEST
SOUTH AUSTRALIA 51 1 3
Tel : 01 061 8255 6738
Telex: AD 288
GROUND FLOOR OPPORUNIT

f the response to our

recent competitions is
anything to go by, Yama
ha, Star and Hisof are
favourite names among MSX
Computing readers.
In the June/July issue we ran
two competitions. Sally Bloom
field of Glenochil Village in
Scotland is the winner of a Star
NL 1 0 printer. She correctly
identified the ' bugs' printed in
the magazine -they were of
course prime numbers.
The second competition in
the same issue was to win one
of twelve Hisoft programming
packages by telling us the
number of books and maga
zines scattered on an untidy
desktop. This one proved a little
harder to crack, but the correct
answer was nineteen.
The six Devpac MSX win
ners are Leo Mescia of Hen
don, A. R. Edwards of Bexhill
on-Sea, Roger Adlard of Hod-
desdon, C. Ogunremi of Big
gleswade, Andrew Bamford of
Huthwaite Sutton in Ashfield,
and Jim McAreavy from Newry,
County Down. Winners who
expressed a preference for
Pascal MSX were S. Lewis of
Milford Haven, Karyn-Ann Mar
shall of South Croydon, B.
Strzelecki of T ewkesbu ry,
Daren Sangeelee of Edin
burgh, Wilson Aitken of Alloa,
and Mark Liu of Virginia Water.
In the October/November
issue, we asked you to write a
software review.
Frankly we expected a fairly
limited response to this - in
general, the number of entries
goes down as the competition
becomes harder to enter. But
you did us proud, with over
1 000 entries, many of very high
standard. Thank you for your
efforts. The winner of the mag
nificent 1 28K Yamaha CX5M | |
is Karl Wilson, of Whitehaven.

?
g
@
g @
@ @ @
,
@
,
,

___
____________
___
_____________

@ @ @
@ @ @
@

SKIPPY
, @ @

f f
This game featured in the October/November issue of MSX
Computing was wrongly attributed to David McQuiston. In fact the
program was written by two of Mr. Micro's programmers, who
included it The MSX Games Book, published by Collins. Apologies
to all concerned, and thanks to all those who took the trouble to let
us know. Eagle-eye of the month award must however go to Peter
Kay of Flixton who was the first to spot the problem.
We are always glad to receive program listings from readers, but
we must emphasize that anything you send in must be entirely your
own work. Sending i n someone else's program in your own name
can lead to breach of copyright. Don't be tempted.
DAM RAID
By fan Bradick
This game i s one of the best we've ever seen written in Basic for
any computer. As the name suggests, your task is to fly the
legendar Lancaster bomber through enemy fire and barrage
balloons to reach your target. On your final approach to the dam,
your height speed and timing must be spot . on if your single
bouncing bomb is to blow up the dam.
Full instructions are incl uded i n the first of the two listings. Save this
first
then type in the second listing and save it on the cassette just
after the end of the first program.
This is an extremely di fficult game to wi n. I an offers the tip that
adding one l ine to the second listing, 9 45 RETURN, will eliminate
some of the flak damage effects and make life a little easier during
your first attempts. All pound signs are # (SHI FT 3).
%%% T
IT
LE
10
RE
M
OR
1
5 1 4
, 14
20
COL
'
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uf st fcs , : c-so , t zo , s , 4
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0f st fct o, : s-t oo, t 4z , s , s
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st o c- ###### so-c cz ##+#####
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t szo csfoc t sso:o-t :t-t :L :t-c-t oo:
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s4o 0f st fcs , : -zo, -zoi
sso uf st fcz, : -zo , -zo
sso st fct : s st t s
szo st fct : s -st t t s
sso sosuo zooo
s=c sosuo t zso
4oo st fc o==
4t o uf st fc o , : x , v , t 4
4.U uf st fc t , : x-t s , v , t 4
4so uf st fcz , : c-zo , t ss , s , 4
44o uf st fcs , : c-so , t zo , s , 4
4so uf st fc , : s, t 4o , s , s
4so uf st fct o , t s-t oo , t 4zi , s , s
4zc t =o-t fcm sosuo t szo
4so uf st fct t , :c,v:tii,4,s
4o uf st fct z , : c , \ : t -t zi , 4 , s
soo uf st fct s , : c : t , v : zi , s, s
st o uf st fct 4 , : c : t , \ : zi -t z , s s
szo st fc om

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sso uf st fco , . x , v , t 4
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s~o sosuo zooo
sso sosue t zso
E'U t= ft -czs omo ft -c t oo fco sos
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zt o uf s t fcs , : c-sc , i zo , s , z
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zso t= . fco sosuo t oso
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L~ I l P t Y l ~Y t LM~ LY
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st o x LM sosuo xcL
xL sosuo 4o
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sc LPx cM Y-Y
o t = c : t fco cfuo
t ooo t = u-t fco v t t i -v t t i -t : v t zi -v t
zi -z
t ot o t = u-s fco v t t i -v t t i -t : v t zi -v t
z: -z
t ozo cfuo
t oso cn ----- oon -----
t o4o uf st fc 4 , t c-z, t s4i , t 4
t oso uf st fc s, t c, t szi , t 4
t oso ct oc t c-s, t si - t c-t s, t zoi , t z, o=
t ozo cfuo
t oso c- ------ scos -----
t oo f-zss: sosuo s4t o
t t oo =o t -t fo t oo
t t t o t = t :o ooo t t s fco st fct t s:
-stl t zi
t t zo t = t :t 4 ooo t so fco st fct t s
i -st t t t i
t t so t = t :z ooo t so fco st fct t s
i-sttt oi
t t 4o t = t :4 ooo i so fco st fct t s
i -st t t t i
t t so t = i :z fco st fct t si -st t t z
r
t t so uf st fc s , t x t si , t soi , coc
t t zo ocxf
t t so t = oo-t fco sosuo t sso ccsc so
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t zt o t= t : fco oo--t : coc-t t : t f-z
s
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coc-t t : t f-zs
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coc-z: t f-t
t z4o t = ou-s. s MM t- MM c:x t si -z
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x t si -t z fco oo-t : coc-z

t zso sosuo t oso

t zso cfuo
r
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t zso sft s t t i o==
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soo t = v t t i :-t so fco s--s: ou-ou-.
: f-zs: t f-t : sosuo s4t o
t st o t = v t t i t so- t sozoui fco s--s
xL t = ou-s. s ooo v t t i :-t so fco so
fo t t o
t sso f st fcs , t x t si , v t t i i t s
t s4o cfuo
.
t sso cn ------ =cooo -----
t sso sosuo ssso
t szo st fct t si -st t t si
t sso =o t -c fo zss sfc 4
t so ct oc t t , t si - t t -4 , t si , 4 , o=
t 4oo uf st fc s , t t -t z, t szi , t s , s
t 4t o =o a-o fo :o: ocxf
RxL ML
t 4so sofo soso
t 44o uf L Lc q \ q Y l q
RL cfuo
t 4so c- -----t f MLLLLM
t 4zo t = Y`P x fco cfuo
t 4so st fc L
RL t = Y x MM R LM ~
-t : sosuo RL
t soo st fc on
t st o cfun
xL L MMLL MLLLLML
-
t sso t = LPx cM LM Y l
RL t = L Px LM LM Y l x
t sso ~L
cL t= Y \ PL fco so
L LLM
L MM cL q LL q L q c R s zo "
1 1 9
cq 4 , q c q g c q ooq c q "sc q U q
t so L LM| -------
cLL P LM LLL t sso
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cL L L4 PL4 l x
t s4o o-t : t -t s4-c
cL P xt ~L o c~Y fco LL
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ccL uf L L q l L q q R
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.
cL c- LLLL -----
t zoo L L4 I PL4 RI
t zt o uf L L q l L, =si q
t zzo ~ LL t Pxt LLLL s4t o
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ccsc sofo cL

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t zzo LLM
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LV`cL fcn occ: cnf-cnf-i
t = cvso fco YPYxt
: = LV5 L LM LM~
t = LV`x MM LVc MM LM`L
LM~ LM LMPLM
LMPxL LM LMP
t = cn-t fco YPYR
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tsso
tss
i szo
i sso
so
cfum
----- cn ------ cos --
uf st fcs , t -zo , -zor , o
t = co:-zc o v-t s4fcm
tso v-v-s: x-x-z
t oo uf st fco , t x , vr , t 4
4 t t o uf st fc t , t x-t s, vr , t
t zo t=v:-t 4o fco sofo t so
t so =o i -t fo so: ocxf t
t 4o sofo t so
sofo t
:-o af-or -st t 4r : stfct t t r -s
t t 4r
o t zo t f-zs: f-zoo: soso s4t :
t so =o t -o fo 4oo: ocxft
t o sofo soso
zooo cn -----novcncof------
zot o o-o: o-sft cr t avrr

zozo t = o-o fco sofo zt 4o

= o-t fco v-v-z: sofo .t 4

zoso t
o- fco cv-cv-t : sofo .t t o zo4o t=
ofo
t 4o o-s fco v-v-z: s . zoso t
o=z fcm cv-cv-i : sofo zt t o zoso t
t = o- fcm v-v-z: cv-cv-i : sof zozo .
O zt t o
fcm v-v-z: cv-cv-i : sof zoso t = o-4

i
= o-s fcm v-v-z: cv-cv-t : sof
O zt t o
-s fcm v-v-z: cv-cv-t zt oo t = o-
s: t o= ct oc t oo sr - t z4o , t ,
, zt t o
=

,
ooo cv st fco coco zt zo t = cv..
t ccsc coco s
t : o

ct oc t oo sr - t zoo- t cvizr , g g zt so .
,
=
t = cv -o fco cv-o: sosuo t sso
: o t = v. t 4o fco sosuo t sso
zt so t = v4s :cm v-4s
zt zo x-cv-z
t = cz fcm sfc
o
z
o uf st zt o t = v-t
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csc uf st fct fct 4 , t x t t r , .4 r , ,
4 , t x :tr, z4 ,o , t 4
zzoo cfuo
cs ------
zt o cn ------- st f
zzzo csfoc zsso
zzso =o o-o fo
=o o-t fo .
zzso coo ot
t voc t ot: : zzso st : or -st t or -ct
zzzo ocx1 o
zzso ocxf o
zzo cfum
t fcs ----- zsoo cn ----- cf u s
zst o st fct t or -st t o:
zszo st fct t t : -st t t :
zsso stfct t zr -st t sr
zs4o st fct t s: -st t zr
zsso st fct t 4r -st t s:
zsso st fct t sr -st t ts:
zszo cfuo
scccu
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zsso cn scf u
o o
t
s .s:, t vt r , t z, or
4t o ct oc t o, t st r - t zss, t st r , s
z4zo ct uc t o t ss r - t zss , t ssr , s
z4so ct oc t o, t szr - t zss , t szr ,
z44o ct uc t o t ssr - t zss , t ssr ,
z4so ct oc t o , t st r - t zss , t st r , s
z4so ooa ont s, o :ooac4zssrsot 4ss czsssut 4cs
z4zo ooa onzo, s : ooac4t oorzot osz ct oozut ocz
z4so scf t z4 , zr , t : t ofct , : fs:
`
z4vo ooaont so , s :ooac4vsrzotosz cszut ocz
zsoo scf t t sz, zr , t : : ofct , cvs:
.
v zst o ot of t t so, zr , 4
zszo ooaons4 , zo
zsso ooa

c4ozorzt ooczuzo

zs4o ooa

onsv , zz
zsso ooa4orzot 4szc4ozut 4cz zsso ooaont 4s , zz
zszo ooa4orzot4szc4ozut 4cz zsso o: of t sz , zzr , 4
zso ooaont 4v , zs

zsoo ooaossotsot sot sotsosuss

ut sut sut sut sus

zst o x-so: v-st : t-o: cv-so: c-zss: s-zs

@ s:t f-o:co-o:cof-o:c-o
zszo ct oc t zoo , sr - t zoo+ t cvtzr , t sr , t z , o=
zsso ct oc t zt s, 4r - t zt s , t sr , 4
zs4o cfuo
zsso cn corc zsso ct oc t c-4 , t sr - t c-4 , t zor , 4 , or zszo cfuo
zsso cn oofo
zso oofo o , 4s , tzo , t zo, zz , t t t , z4z, z4
z , z4z, zss, z4o , s , o , o, o, o, t s , s , s , v, zs
s, t 4s, t t , sz, t t s, t 4z, zs4 , o, o, o, o, o zzoo oofo t 4, st , st , vs , zss, zss, zss , s ,
zss, zs4 , zso, z4s, t zz , ss , so , o , o, o , o , o ,
zz4 , so , v4 , zss , zss, zso, zsz , o , o , o , o , o
zzt o oofo o , o , o , o , o , o , o , t , t , o , o , o , o , o , o , o , o , o , o, o , o , o , o , o , o , o , o , o , o , o , o , o
zzzo oofo t , z , s , s , s , s , s , s , z , t t , zz , so
, ss , ss , ss , ss , o , t zs , t zs , t zs , t zs , t zs, t zs, t zs, t z, t so, t zs , t zo , z4s, z4s, z4s, z 4s
zzso oofo t , so , ss , ss , s4 , sz , 4t , t s , sz,
s4 , 4 , zs , so , t t , 4 , o , t 44, t t o , t z, t , t sz, t os , t 4 , t s4 , zs , t 4s, t s, zz , ss , t s , zs , s
o
zz4o oofo o , z, t t 4 , t z, z , ss , sz , s , zs , s s , ss , t , t , t , t , s , o , t 4 , 44 , t s , st , t sz , t s s , s4 , ss , t zs , t zs , t zs , t zs , t zs , t zs , t z zzso oofo st , ss , i zz, t zz , zss , zss, zss, t t , t s , s4 , s4 , s4 , sz, t s , s. s, t s , ss , zt t , zt s , zss, z4z , z4s , zzs , t s , o , o , o , o, o, o , o
zzso oofo s , t s, st , ss , ss , t zz, t zz , t zz, t zz , ss , ss , st , t s, s , o , o , t z , z4o , t s4 , t s s , zzo , zos , zss , zs+ , zs4 , zsz , zsz , z4s , z4 !J , tz,o, o
zzzo oofo zs , zs, st , zz , zz , zz,zz , so . zs , zs , t , t , t , t , zz, t s, t sz, t sz , z4s, to 4 t o4 t o4 t
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SPRITE EDITOR
By A. Fedyn
Our first reaction to this program was 'ono, not ag

in! ' But this

sprite editor rises above the pack b

offenng very
.
wtde range of
features, enabling you to create spntes of vanous stzes a

d save
them on cassettes for later use. l t is also very easy to use, wtth clear
instructions and logical use of the keyboard and screen. All pound
signs are # (SHI FT 3).
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oaJ , sa.o , oi
szzo vocro-- o- co--o- o- ) o,-r : c-
szso oofo o, -t , t , -t , t , o, t , t
sz4o oofo o, t , -t , t , -t , o , -t , -t
szso oi ro. r
szso oofo
szzo oofo
szso oofo
s- : ro cJ: ro-
-
W

!
szo oofo fo : - -oq-ao ai i o=- ,oo r
L
!
ssoo oofo Jo-: qo --: ro- =: rooor o
o aoJ
sst o oofo ao-. ,
sszo oofo caco --: ro : - -oo=o a- a
q-: J
ssso oofo oo roo -c-ooo . caco -oa-
o oo
ss4o oofo roo -c-ooo -o-o-oor- ao

~ ssso oofo oi oooor o roo -- : ro.

ssso oofo
sszo oofo o co--o- t roo o i ac- -oa-
or
ssso oofo -oo=- =o-o ,oo a-o.
sso oofo osc
soo oofo
st o oofo foo co--o- : - oo.oJ a-ooo
J roo
szo oofo -c-ooo =: ro roo co--o- -o
,- o-
sso oofo , o,-r : c - . ooo : r : - co--
ocr
s4o oofo -o--: oq o: roo- -aco oa-
o-
sso oofo : -o oorroo -o-ocr: .i , =
: i i
sso oofo coaoqo roo coi oo- o toar

oi oooot
sso oofo
so oofo otoo- oocr: oo- a-o cai i o
J o,
4ooo oofo -o--: oq ooo o roo ooct
: oo
4ot o oofo -o,- t t -sr .
4ozo oofo foo-o ooct: oo- a-o Jo-c-
: ooJ
4oso oofo oo roo oo t aqo-
4o4o oofo osc
4oso oofo =oocr: oo t - s: z o
4oso oofo --------
4ozo oofo

4oso oofo fo: - -oi ocr- roo oroo- -:

zo o
--: ro.
4oo oofo
4t oo oofo
-
4t t o oofo
: o. coaoqo-
o- coaoqo-
ss ro t s t s
t s t s ro ss
, osc
noo.
4t zo oofo =oocr : oo z
4t so oofo -------- -
4t 4o oofo

oofo oi i o=- ao, --: ro ro oo o

J : roJ .
4t so oofo oo-=o- roo -oor t :r =: r
o ao,
4t zo oofo ooooo- o t t o =ooo aoJ so.
4t so oofo
.
4t o oofo s-: ro cJ: ro- =: i i ai i o=
o ro
4zoo oofo so o oaco -: z o --: ro to
oo
4zt o oofo : o oooo-, ar ao, ooo t : oo

4zzo
.. 4o

4z4o
oofo osc
oofo =oocr: oo s -
oofo --------
oofo
s=a

oofo foo co--oor --: ro : - : o.o
a -roJ

4zzo oofo foar : - oaco oi oooot : - co

-
aoqoJ

4so oofo: o coi oo- . oi ac- oocooo- =

n: ro
a
9
4zo oofo aoJ =o: ro oocooo- oi ac-
4soo oofo osc
4st o oofo =oocr: oo 4 - v: o=
4szo oofo

"g 4sso oofo

4s4o qofo oi i roo --: ro- o roo co
-oor

4sso oofo-: zo a-o J: -i a,oJ.

4sso oofo
4szo oofo ss --: ro- a-o -oo=o oaqo
: : oJ .
4sso oofot s t s --: ro- a-o oooaqo:
: oJ .
4so oofo
44oo oofo caco -- : ro : - -oo=o aqa: o
-r : r-
44t o
44zo
44so
444o
44so
r
oofo ooooo-. ,osc
oofo =oocr: oo s - coJo
oo1o
oofo
oofo o i : -r o roo ooooo-- toa
44so oofo oa-o o roo -oc : : oJ --
: ro
9
LMM TG CLffGO
COLCGO``
RRcL LMM ` `
^ RRL LMM '`G GT 1 @ VGO O GX
BOO``
RLL LMM ``OGC MB - LBC OjTG G OLM
OGfGO``
R L LMM '' BOO MBj OG OLMGO TC B f
OTGf .
RxL LMM

RL LMM
' L M j BOGwGf TG fCMT
I`I ''
RRL LMM '' w T TG fGQL fGO Gf TG
BOO``

RL LMM '' f OTGf CT CO BG fGQLI fG

O .
RcL
RL
RcL
, RL
RcLL
``MLL`` LMM
LMM
LMM
LMM ' ``
LOCT CO c
'

LCBO``

`
LMM ' BTB 1 Cf Gf TG BTTGfOG
G
Rc L LMM fGBO 1 CfM TBG. WGO TG
GBOGf
RcxL LMM BG CBOGO B T T G G f
OTGO .
RcL LMM ``f GGGO@ LL LL w I I
BOCfT
RcRL LMM TG CBO w T BO CT CO T
RcL LMM ``@C OBC TC TG MBI O fC@f
BM Cf
RccL LMM
RcL LMM
RccL LMM
RcL LMM
RLL LMM
R L LMM
tOG
RxL LMM
RL LMM
T T G ``
RRL LMM
Gt``
RL LMM
RcL LMM
RL LMM
RcL LMM
RL LMM
RcLL LMM
Rc L LMM
RcxL LMM
C Lf TG
LWL `
``fG CBO OBTB- ``
' MLL

LOCT CO LBVG``
`` *

'

BTB 1 Cf B Gf TG BTTG
G OLMGO TC TBG
'

fGT CL BfG BGkGO 1 Cf B

wI C GCL O OG @ VGO B1T

TG fCMT `I . ``
' MLL' '
' LOCT CO c G
E

^*

J
``

` G fGf OTG T G TG< T``

'' MLL

`` ``
86
`
8
`` `` `
6
`
6 9
``
66 9 9
``
+ 1 + 1
LO TCf fC@fB3q q MLL
6
'
TANK A TTACK
By Jacob Lidbale
This game from Denmark puts you in control of a cannon which
runs along a railway line out from your headquarters. Enemy tanks
appear on your radar, and you have to destroy them before they
reach your base. The program uses a machine-code routine
poked in from Basic to give the horizontal scrolling effect - a
mistake in the data l i nes here could crash the machine, so you
must save the program on cassette before you attempt to run it. All
pound signs are # (SHI FT 3).

C
L Y MLL L LLMLLL
LL LLLMxLLq c R ' t LL WMt LLW'' @

_ f t ` ML t WL L t LW WLMML L
LLLL ccL
L LLLL q t LLLLWx q xt LLLL xLt
LLLL cxLt WLMMLLt LLt LLLL q R
xL LM~ t LL ' L t L t LA ' ~LLL
g L MLt LLLL RL
L LLt L
cL LLt AcLt L Lt LL L q AZx
L q LI q q L
L LL~ Lxt LLLL LLt WLA
cL L # CVG CBOOCO #
q L LL L LI t L~L L I

^xLL L~LMLL~LLWxRL
_ x L L~LL~LWRL
L~LLLWL
LL Lq \ A Z x L q L1 q q L
L LWxL
L L LJ LMWLL L ~LMWLL

G\! ~LLWRRL
L|.xRLWRRL
xL L t Lt LY xt LA xt L~
xcL LLLL Lt LL t L WL xL q LI x
LL*R q c! q q
` xL LYLXLt L~L t L~L
LL L. LWL
=

L L~RLW Lt LLLLRLLt LAxct

c* x
`"J - __l
cL
-
~

RLL
Lc L q LA q LY! q c q LZ
LLLRRL
A~ARt A ` cLLLWA~ cLLt LLLxRL
L~LLI LI t LA~LARt A~A
LLLxL
A

ARt ALLWALt LLLxRL

L~LL \ LI t 'ALARt AA
LLLxL
L 7 LOGC OL I T #
L ~ Lx
RxL A AL \ I LARMWLLAR A
A L LWRL
RL WcAt LLW
RR L # CVG TBFG #
RL L Lx
RcL L \ I ~ LW W WL I #RL ~
LWL~l t LLLL LLLLLLL
RL ' L LWcL
RcL A ~A LM
RL A \ I cLW L
LL LL Lc A I Zx q L
I q q J L I ~xMWLL~ I #x
L A \ I A LA I A `xLW
~Lt Lc L q xc q x q L q xLt LL
Ll xc x I q L q xLt LLLL
xL LLW W WL #xL MM
LLLLW
L W WL #L MWLLLLM
} L
RL I MWL W WL #x LML
LLLcRL
L L LMLL LR q A A q c
q q c t LL L q A A q c
q q t LLLL
cL LL L q A A q L q q L
L
L LLLWcxL
cL YYt t
L A5LLA `xLWLLt Axct Y
x
soo t ==t -ss- t c-t-sfcnscsuozso
st o ufst fcz, t =t , =vr , t , =t /s
, szo nctf
sso scfct so
s4o t ==s-t fcncfun

sso scsuot t o: =s-t : =t-t t t r -t-4. = t -

s
u - t c-t : -s: =v-z4: =--s- t c-t r -4
sso cfun
-
szo cn - no.o ooi : coto-
sso t =t :t t t r fcn-t

t=t-zss t t t r fcn--t
t =t t t r -t :oonot t t r -t.zssonot nf t n
o t t r -zor -t fcn--
zt o t t t r -t t t r -- t t -svr
zzo scfcsoo

zso cn - voo J: o -
=
z4o =s-o: t ==t :z4oc=t . t sfcn=t-t oo:
-s
4
t =ct nf t =t , =v-zr -t oonct nf t =t-z
=v-z: -t ofcn=t-zss: =v-t
=
: cfun

: zso =t-zss: =v-t z: ufst fcz, t =t , =vr
.

--
o o- scsuot t o
c
zzc
=
c: nc t 4o , 4o: - t zt s, 4sr , t z, o= : cc

t : scf t z , 4t r , t z: t nfct ,vcu uc

t f
- 4on
-
zso =ca-t fcso: cccc , , s : =co-
t fc
a

ctf

cccc , , t : =co-t fc4o: nctfo , a

zo

ct -ct -t : scsuot sso: t =ct -ofcncfu

. nsso

soo scsuot soo

st o ct nc t 4o , 4o: - t zt s , 4sr , 4 , o=
szo cfun

a sso cn - saoo ,o.o- #

as4o scsuot zzo

:-
sso scunoz, ss: co

v osJoJoqoJoJqo
JJ
c t z
sso ct nc t z4 , ssr - t zst , ss: , s , o= : ct n
z
s sr - t zz s t r , t , o : cccct : scf t s ,
y
*
c
: s

t nfct sonc ov
-szo
-
scf t ss, st r , s: cccct s: t nfct ,o
e

\ss -sc : scsuotsso

aVo rot -t fcso: kt-tnkcvt: uctf
-
voo kt-t nuftttr
vt o t =kt- o okt- n fcncccct s, 4 , 4:
g t rkt-,ckt- v fcnocc: scfct zo
vso scfcoo

v4o cn - vou o : tao- -

vso ufstfcts , t zss , tzr , o , zo

vso ufst fcs-t , t t t t r -t-z , zor , s ,

ufst fcs+t , t t t t r -t , zor , t t , : ufst

1et , t t t t r -t+z, sr , s ,
vzo scsuot to
o fo
-fo
vso sc -sc +so-sf t t r : ssuot z
~
+t : ct ue t zss , t sr - t zso-fo-s , zt r , t , o=
vvo =ca-t fct soo: nctf
t ooo o t t r -t : t t t r -sooo
zo uf
toto ufst fcs-t , t zss, t z: , o ,
st fcs-t , t zss , t vzr , o , zo
tozo t=c-t fcut t oo
t oso t =fo-t sfcnc-t : o- t : scsutoso
t o4o cfuu
o t zr
-
t oso t =c-t c t fo-t 4ono t o t t r -oc -
OI rfcncfunszo

t oso f t o r -o: sf t o : -uo t o: -s-t : o t or -

o
t ozo t t or -no t t r -t t oo+soo: t =t t or -t :-
t sonot t or -t.zssfcnt ozo

t oso t rc-t fcnsf t t r -o: o t zr -t : t t zr -s

ooo
t oo cfun
t t oo cn - voo =oo #
t t t o t nfcvoccn: =co-t fczooo: nctf
t t zo scsuot zzo: a-o
t t so ct nc t z4 , ssr - t zst , ssr , t , o=: ct nc t
zs , ssr - t zz, st r , t t , o : cccc: scf t s ,
szr , t : t nfct , vcu ucn : cocct s: t n
fct ,
css onv kcv fc : cccc
z: t nfct ,
sfof t n fc nctf cc
vcc
t t 4o ct nc t so, t sor - t t z , t ssr , s , o=: ccc
ct : scf t sz , t st r , s : t nfct , ocnus: ;
_ : cccct s: t nfct , sv-zooo: sc -sc -sv-
zooo
t t so sv-z: scsuot szo
t t so =ct -t fcso: kv-tnkcvt: nctf
t t zo kv-t ukcvt: t =kv-fcnt t zo
t t so t nfcvocc==: occ: cfunt so
t t o cn - c-a-o -
t zoo scunoo, o: scunot , s: scunoz, o: scun
os, t s: scuno, zss: scunos, t s: scunos , o
: scunoz, o: scuuos, t s: scuno , t s: scunot
o , t s: scunot t , o: scunot z, s: scunot s , o : s
cuuot z, ss
t zt o cfuu
t zzo =ca-ofct s: ufst fca , t zss , t z:
, o , zo: nctf: cfun
4 , o=: scsuot zso: scfctso
t 4zo cn - u-: to -co-o oo -c-ooo -
t 4so scccnz: cccct s: ct nc t o , or - t zss,
szr , t , o= : ct nc t o, t st r - t zss , t t r , t , o=
t 4o scf t st , or , t : t nfct ,ooo: : c
t nct z, t or - tt os, sor,t s, o:oou ct soot s
, zsozJ t -soot Jz
t soo scf t t t t , or , t : t nfct , onnu: : c
csuot soo:scftt t t , t sr ,t : t nfct , fon
ks:: scsuot st o
t st o scf t z , t ssr , t : t nfct , sccc:
ct vcs: fc:

: scsuot szo: ccsuot s

so: scsuot sso: cfun
t szo ot- oooooo : ot-sft t sc r : o-ccn t
otr -t : nt ov t ot , z-o, o: -t sft t ot , o :
t sso ct nc t t os-o-s, t ss: - t t os, t t r , t , o
= : scf t ss , t ssr , t : t nfct , ot
ts4o t =sc :-ct fcnct -ct -sooo: ct -c
t -t : ccsuot sso
t sso cfun
t sso cccct s: ct nc t t s , t ssr - t t ss , t t :
, t , o=: scf t t st , t ssr , t : t nfct , ct
t szo cfun
tsso ov-oooooo : ov-sft t s : : o-ccu t
ovr -t : nt ov t ot , z-o, o: -t sft t ot , o:
t so ct nc t zss-o-s , t ssr - t zss , t t r , t , o
=: scf t zoz , t ssr , t : t nfct , ot: cfun
t soo sk-o: =ca-t st fct 4z- t zs-skr -4sfc
4: oouoo-) ; , s-zt t os: nctf: cfun
t st o =ca-t st fct ss- t t s-for -ssfcs: o
ouczoo-) ; , zt-zot o t t zqt o-zost z-sJ t :
nctf: cfun
t szo cn # to-t-octoo- -
t sso a-o: t nfcvoccn: scsuot sso
t s4o ct nc t o , or - t zss, ssr , 4 , o=
tsso oouct oos , sot - t s t Jsq t t sqt Jzoq
t t zo t ozoo t t so t osooso , sot - t s t Jzsq t t z
o t ot oo t t t oq t J t oq t t zo t ozsoos4 , t oot -t o
t Jsq t t t oo t os
t sso oou ooss, sot -z t J4 t zot sot -z t
Jzsq t t zo t o4o t zJ t sq t t zo t ozsooso, sot -z
t Jt oot t sq t t t oqso t oJ t t zo t ozs
t szo ona to

E
c ot t o, sot - t s t Jzsq t t zo t ut

o t t t oq t J t oq t t zo t uzsoot t 4 t oot -t o :

:
o

t usoot ss , sot - t s t Jsq t t eq t Jz

uoo t t sot usoot so , sot - t s t Js t sq t Jzoq t t zot uzoo t t so t us
q t
t sso onoa oot ss , sot -t s t Js
o t : t oqt Jt oq t t zo t uzsoot s , o.
:
q t t t oo t usoozt o, sot -t s t Jzqt t zo t uso t t

t Jt z t - t oot uzot -z t Jsq t t t so t uzsoo

t -z t J t oot t sq t t t oso t oJq t i z

t so =ont -zfcszsfczs ot nf t

f: =ont -t t zfczszsfcs: ot n
r
s
,
:
t : n
t : nctf
. y
t zso ncn - oac-q-ouoJ -
t z4o ct nc t o , zr - t zss, zr , t 4: ct nc t o s
or - t zss, t sor , t o , o=
.
t zso ncscf t o , zt r : =ont-ofczsssfcs: c
t nc- t t -4 , ss-nno t t r -t or , t 4: ct nc- t t -s
ss-nno t t r -t or , t 4: nctf: ot nf t o zsr i 4

t zso sosuot zo
,
J
` t zzo onooo4o,t soc t zoso t ssoo t soo
t zo,

soozoo, t ssozzo, t so sooot z , i 4

c t ot s , t zs- t oot ss , t 4t t s : ot nf t 4s , t
zr , t z: ot nf t t zs, t 4sr , t : ct nccc : t so, t
zzr , t s, t , , , . 4: ot nf t t so, t zsr , t : ct ncc
c t i so, t sor , st , t , , s. t s . z: ufsnt fco
t t
-
.
.
,
~ y zt :
.t,o
t zso ncfunn
t zo ncscf t o, t osr : =ona-ofczsssfcz4
: ct nc- t a-z4 , t o4-nno t t : -4r , 4: nctf
t soo ncscf t o, t t sr : =ona-ofczsssfcz4
: ct nc- t a-z4 , t t 4-nno t t r -4r , 4: nctf: ot
nf t o, t oz , 4: ncfunn
t st o ncn - fao- -oaco ooaJua-ro- -

szo sounoz , ss: covo4Jqo Jqo Jqo

t sso
-
ct nc : zs , 4o: - : zst , 4sr , t z , o=: coco
nt :.cft 4s , 4t r,t z: nt nfct ,

fonr ncoc
_ - u ucooouonfcn
t s4o =ona-t fc: nctf
t sso scnccnz: sosuot 4zo

sso ct nc: o, so: - t zss,t sor ,t o, o=:ct nc

- : zs, ~: - t zss, zr , t 4
- -__ t szo ncscftz ,zr:=ona-zfczsssfcs

,
: ct nc- t a-4 ,ss-nnottr-t or ,t 4: ct nc- :a-
_

_ __
-
-
s, ss-nno : t r -t or, t 4: nctf: ot nf t t oo zs
r , t 4: sosuot zo
.

so ct nctsz,szr- t ss, zzr,t s,o=:ct-ct

-
-

7
4
tsz,zer,t,o=: ct nct sz , z4r- t so,
zsr , t , o=: ct nc t 4z , szr - t 4s , z4: t o=
_ t

o onowcsoso,zzos-t s st zo :ot nf
t , zt r , s
t 4oo =ona-zssfct sosfc-t : ufsnt fco,
t a , zor , t , sf t t -sf t t r -t : =ono-t fc4o- nc
tfo , a

t 4t o sosuot t o: =ona-t zzfcsssfc-t : u

fst fct , t a , zt r , t , t z : =ono-t fct o: nctf
_
o, a
t 4zo sosuot t o: ufsnt fct , t zs , sr , s ,
: ufsnt fcz , t ss , zt r , s , : ufsnt fcs,
t 4t , ssr , s , : =ona-t fcsooo: nctf
t 4so ct nc t s , 4or - t z4z , ssr , t z , o=: scf t
t s, 4t r , t z: cocont : nt nfct , voun ucooo
uonfcn t s ocsfnovco: nt nfct ,
ono vou cosc o ct vc
t 4

c sounoz, ss: cov

o4oJ oJqJoqq
t 4o ct -ct -t : sosuot sso: =ona-t fc:
nctf: t =ct -ofucnsso
t 4so

sosuot zzo: c

nc

o , ssr - t zss , t sor ,

@

44
onoa

oot o, ss-4oust zoJs-sous-su

s- t ouzt t ouzt t oJzt zJs-zuso-4oJ t -se i zJ
s-4Js- t oJss-soJzot zooq t ot t ooso- t t ot s
out soz, zsut oot oo, zsut zoo4s, t zs- t ssoo
zss, t sozt z, t szoozo, t so- t 4ooosz, t 4oo
s4, t ssoot zo, t t t uz-z t Js-su4-s 4q4t su
4t sJsq t t z
t zt o ct nccct 4s, t ss: ,t o: ct nccct 4s, t ss
r , s: ct nccc t zso , t ssr , t o: ct nccc t zso, t s
sr ,s: =ont -zofczt osfczo: ct nccc t t , t ss
r , z: ct nccc t t , t sr , z: nctf: =ont -sofczt
osfcso: ct nccc t t , t zzr , s : scf t t , t zzr :
nctf
tzzo cocont z: ncscft4z,4or:nt nfct,
tov aocoo c. t cr t ss
. t zso cocons:ncscft zt ,t ssr :nt nfct ,
t nsfnucft ons t v/n: ~
t z4o =ont -t fcso: rt-tnrcvt: nctf
@
@
t zso rt-t nrcvt:t =rt- fucnt zso
,t zso t =rt- , onrt-v fucnt zo
t zzo t =rt-

cnrt- nfucnncfunn
t zso sofct zso

t z=o t nfcnvoco==: occ: ccs: ncsfonczt s
o
t soo onoaooss, o- t 44qst t s4osJso- t 44u
soqsJzosost t s4qsosuzo: cocons: ncsc
f t ss , t zr : nt nfct , fonr offocr: cocon
t s: ufsnt fco , t zo , sr , s , s: ufsnt fct ,
t zt , sr , s , z
t st o =ont -ssfct zzsfc: ncooot
t szo ncscf t z , t r : nt nfct , ot: nctf
t sso coconz: ncscf t z , t ss: : nt nfct ,
-o-- ao, -o,
t s4o =ont -t fcso: rt-t nrcvt: nctf
t sso rt-inuft t t r : ncfunn
t sso ncn - fuoo -
t szo a-a- t : t =a .4fucna-4: ncfunn
t sso ot- cc. at sa. at sa4acc . at sa. at so-
-sqq. t so. t sq . at so-. osJt sJ . ct sco4oo
sc . o4o-t sa. q t sa4 4 . t s . ot sJ4o-4o-4
-sosJJ . c t sccc . o4o-t so-oq -s
t so sounoz , ss: ot-nt ot t ot , t a-t r -sz-t
, sz:
t oo cov osooo- t t sot;
t t o ncfunn
t zo ncn - s-: ro- oaco: oocoJo -
t so ncsfonct so: =onsc -st 44o fcst ss
. : ncooa : orcsc . , a : octf: oc=usn-st 44z
,
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-
t so ncooot: vorct , voc tto -ot: : nctf
t so =ont -t 4zszfct 4ssosfcsz: =ona-of
cz: ncooot: vorct -a , voc t to-ot: : nctf
a , t
t zo ncfunn
t so oofo , z , ss , z4o, 4s , o, zo , ss , t zs , t
zs zt , t zs , 4s , zzs , ss , zs , t z , sz , o , zs , t s
. , z6s , sz , s , st , t 4 , i ss , zos , t ot , z4o , s, 4
s zos t ot , z4o , ss , zos , t t 4 , z4o, 4s
.
o 4
-
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t o oofot s , z4s , t zs , zos , t t 4 , z4 g @
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t , t zs, t ss , sz , zzz, zot
zooo oofoss , z4o , 4s , o , zo , ss , t zs , 4s , zz
4 , ss , zs , t z , sz , o , zs, t s , zss , sz, s , st , t 4
, t ss , zos , t ot , z4o , s , ss , zos , t ot , z4o, 4
s , zos , t t 4 , z4o, ss
zot o oofot s, z4s , t zs , zos, t t 4 , z4o , ss , z
t , t zs , t ss , sz , zzz , zot , z4s , zsz , t os, zsz
, z , t s , o , o, zsz , t zo , t z , zst , zot
zozo oofoz4s , zsz , t os , s , t z4 , z4s, s4, zs
z , t zt , s , t s , zsz , t zt , t z, zst , zot

L L L L L 1 C q 1C L
q L L L L q L q L q cL cL q cL q cLq cL cL
g L q 1 1 L LL q cL cL q cL cL cL
P zLHL MML L q L q L q 1 1 q 1 1 q L 1 1 1 11
_ LL 1 GL q GO q HO 1 q L L L q GL q GL q GL GL
1 G q 1 1 1 1 q L q 1 G L q O q Oz q 1 C
_ zLQL MML L L L Lc Lc L q 1 q 1 1
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As you grow more familiar with your micro, and
become confident that you can produce a game or
program of interest to all our readers, why not send it i n?
But we have to insist on tape or 3. 5 inch disk copies, as
we haven't the time to type in programs ourselves.
Your covering letter should include instructions on
how to use or play the program, as well as a brief
description of any interesting programming techniques
and a list of the main variables.
We wi l l , of course, pay for any listings we print, exactly
how much depending on the qual ity of the program
NOT the length!
bR0fR@gOUf 8R@8
Most of the (forunately few) complaints we get about
listings can be traced to incorrect typing of the program.
So it's worth making a few points about how to enter
listings, and problems to watch out for.
Sometimes you will see a row of

letters or other
characters in a PRINT statement. This happens when
the program, as supplied, contains graphics characters
which our printer doesn't recognise. If the particular
character is i mportant then we'll tell you what it should
be in the introduction to the program.
When a program crashes, yDUwill often get an error
` LO
#..
= W+
7 1 11 @m0G \L\ rG 1

'~

L

c

z L ooforoo t a-r caoooo , =o: co eao

-ro
_ z cL oofroo
oooo, a-o, -oo -oaeor
oq
__

oofo ,oo- qooo-at -ra - ooaaq

zzLL oofo ro- . t r cao oo.o o-o=a-a a

oJ
zz L oofo oac-=a-J oo a t ooq -a: t ao
O ,oo

zzzL oofo oa.o a -aaa- , -o ,oo eao -o
o roo
t:: z

oofo=oot o oarrt o : ot a. voo ou-t

zzHL oofot s rao-- aoJ ooo oot : coto
-
Y
zzQL oofoooo-o ,oo cao qo oo to to
G''
zzcL oofo ooar t o.ot , =oo-o roo oooo:
o-
_ zL oofooo.o- o: c -o- . voo a: o : a
zzcL oofo-ooor o r - ,oo , o- a raot f
oaco
zzL oofo ,oo- ooaJoa-ro- , oor ,oo e
ao
zsoo oofo qor ao oa r-a t : .o o- o.o-
,
. .
z L oofo sooo o: or-.
message which refers to a paricular l ine number. But
this isn't always as useful as it sounds because it may
not be that l ine which contains the fault. For example,
the line may contain a READ command, but the program
wil l crash because of a lack of OAT A for this l ine to
READ. The fault actually lies in the DATA statement.
For this reason you must take particular care over
OAT A entries. Some programs can contain a couple of
hundred numbers and strings i n OAT A lines. Miss out
just one item, or one comma, and the program wil l fail
through DATA starvation.
Make sure you are entering exactly what is shown i n
the listing. Don't type a zero when i t should be the letter
L,or a small I when it should be the number one.
REM statements can usually be omitted, which saves
time and effort. But they do hel p to explain what is going
on. That's handy when you come back to a program
after a break and want to make some changes. And
watch out for GOTOs. If one of these commands di rects
the program to a REM l ine which you've omitted, the
program wil l crash.
If, in the end, you still can't get the program to work,
then let us know. But PLEASE WRITE, don't telephone.
lt's virtually impossible to de-bug a program over the
phone, and the intricacies of a program are usually
known only to the original programmer, who is never
around to answer your questions!




W W %

M M

BR0
Alien 8
Alpha Blaster
Barnstormer
Battleship Clapton
Beam rider
Blagger
Boom
Boulderdash
Bounder
Boxing
Buck Rogers
Centipede
Chiller
Choro Q
Circus Charlie
Disk Warrior
Dogfighter
Elidon
Eric and the Floaters
Finders Keepers
Fire Rescue
Flight Deck
Fruity Frank
Galaga
Ghostbusters
Golf
Gridtrap
Gunfright
Heist
Hero
Highway
Hopper
Hots hoe
Hunchback
Hustler
Hyper Rally
Hyper Spors l
Hyper Spors
Hyper Sports I l l
Hyper Viper
International Karate
Jet Fighter
Jet Set Willy
Kings Valley
Knightmare
Lazy Jones
Les Flies
Le Mans
Manic Miner
Maxima
Monkey Academy
Mopiranger
Mutant
Nightshade
Ninja
Oh Mummy
Oh No!
Oil's Well
Panic Junction
Pastfinder
Pillbox
Pinball
Pitfall l l
Polar Star
Punchy
Price Magik
MBR0
Andrew Talbot (Bridlington)
Mohamad Shuib (Pontypridd)
Graham Dixon (Lincolnshire)
AS Clark (Bradford)
Sean Baxter (Qyfed)
Euan Marshall (Epping)
Christopher Swain (Kent)
Alan Jones (Streatham)
Johan Karda (Noray)
Philpott (Chaddesden)
Neil Macfall
Tracy Randles (Penrion)
Martin Alien (Weybridge)
Scott Fielding (Truro)
I an Bucklow (Worksop)
Chris Needham (Banstead)
Neil Sims (Derbyshire)
Andrew Talbot (Bridlington)
Sean Baxter (Dyfed)
A. Munro (N. Yorks)
Mark Lowles (Greenock)
D. Booth (Southampton)
Lesley Robinson (Biairgowrie)
Gar Barnes (Holland)
Laurence Burke (Ireland)
Joseph Gleeson (Ireland)
Lynn Scott
Neil Aldritt (Parkhurst)
Ashok Ras
Gerry Van Cleef (Holland)
Dermot Long (I reland)
Clristopher Rutherord (Hexham)
Dan Gavik (Denmark)
David McEwan (Lanarkshire)
Derek Powers (Milton Keynes)
Dermot Long (I reland)
Mark Bosselli (Kenton)
L Henry (Battersea)
Richard Reynolds (Brampton)
Helen Carter (Mkt Weighton)
I an Povey (Nowan)
Adrew Talbot (Bridlington)
Sally Wood (Turkey)
Paschal Wilson (N. Ireland)
Moren Serink (Noray)
Mark Sutton (Rayleigh)
Rob Cranston (Northampton)
Jacob Poviah
W. Wither (Scotland)
Les Lynch (Worsley)
Michael Masson (Fraserburgh)
lan West (Aylesbur)
Mark Drabwell (Essex)
Paul Grave (Caithness)
Marion Worsley (Orpington)
Paul Tooke (Whitley Bay)
J C Ledesma (London)
Andrew Talbot (Bridlington)
A. Stubbs (Warrington)
Daniel Goodwin (Evesham)
Roger Worsley (Orpington)
A Baker (London)
Arild T ennessen (Noray)
P. French (Walsatl)
William Sanchez (Gibraltar)
Barrie Fleming (Glasgow)
CDf0 IB@0
49oo
89,235
279,955 1 2
97,300
133,380 25
231 ,520
99,240 34
59,848 F/4
286,726 5
1 0
31 0,900 6
53,795 7
33,481
42,380
1 ' 1 98,460 1 05
1 ,400,000
1 0, 1 00
94oo
1 ,844, 1 60
1 8,323
29,540
6, 410
21 ,000
244, 010
$999,900
28 under par
558, 1 20
$1 50,000 51
384,201
692, 1 20 Pro
339,360 4
100,050 3
187,575 19
2,700,000
8 shots
239,500
2,050,800 51
500,500
59,713
1 27,500
999,999
21 4,950
1 20 objects
5,'42,60 928
238,020
1 49,650
1 00,200
42,530 8
1 1 7,321 52
21 1 , 1 20 120
305,300
620,400 44
737 7
137,000 1 3o/o
23,550
5,030
76,250
1 98,400
14,91 9 1 0
24,205
2,800 3
1 ,240,680
1 99,000
289,990 8
6,959,870
1 2oo 18

The MSX Club (Wales)
C/0 PJ Morgan
230 Dunvant Road
Swansea
West Gl amorgan SA2
7SR
The MSX Computer
Club
C/0 Dean Adams
1 73 Hampden Way
Southgate
London N1 4
BR0
Pyramid Warp
River Raid
Road Fighter
Roller Ball
Sasa
Scion
Socer
SpacWalk
Spoks and Ladders
Step Up
Stop The Express
Super Cobra
Sweet Acorn
Tennis
The Snowman
The Wreck
Time Bandits
Time Curb
Time Pilot
Track and Field |
Track and Field
Turmoil
Vacumania
Valkyr
MSX West
C/0 Mark Smith
1 4 Beech Hi l l
* Wel l ington
Somerset
Tel : N/A
MBR0 CDf0
Marcus Sear (Botley) 820,758
D. J. Cowell (Biackburn) 73,450
Richard Cobelli (F avers ham) 998,675
A Baker (London) 3, 1 20, 180
Nigel Sims (Derbyshire) 200, 1 95
Gary Barnes (Holland) 67,90
David Orpington (Camberley) %
Stephen McCioskey 1 ,846,200
Helen Carter (Mkt Weighton) 189,930
Mick Bedwell (Whitstable) 60,250
Johan Kovda (Noray) 7,360
lan West (Aylesbury) 501 g 1 0
Brian Richardson (Ossett) 6,348,460
Mark Drabwell (Essex) 6-0, 6-0
Ole Morten Finnset (Norway) 36,51 0
Niclas Penn Shog (Sweden) 23,975
K. Baird (Beaumont) 9,990
Amy Louise Goulsbra (Lines) 1 76,050
Uilam Vu Ong (London) 689,000
V. Williams (Kirkby) 266,640
Martin Green (London) 500,300
Peter Bell (Hexham) 1 1 ,740
Tony Watson (Boroughbridge) 22,340
Marin Green (London) 23,975
Yamaha DXIMSX
Users Club
C/0 Tony Wride
PO Box 6
Ripon
Norh Yorks HG4 2QT
MSX Users' Club
C/0 V.W. Warren
32 Staford Road
Great Yarmouth
NR31 0EX
MSX User Group
C/0 Andrew Phi l l ips
Room 5
1 4 Moor Street
Ormskirk
Lancashire
IB@0
38
7
79
212
62
240
8

MSX'r
C/0 Tony Brown
23 Hal l Street
Foham
Cambridgeshi re
CB7 5BN
Tel : N/A
MK-MSX
C/0 Jef Whiting
.
8 Blackheath Crescent
Bradwel l Common
Mi lton Keynes
MK1 3 BAD
Tel : (0908) 674065

MSX Link
C/0 David Webb
1 1 Ayscough Avenue
Spalding
Lincolshire PE1 1 2QB
Tel : N/A
MSX Ireland
C/0 Liam Lynch
84 Orchardville
Crescent
Finaghy Road North
Northern Ireland
BT1 0 0JT
NUN&CONgUI0r8 LIO., UI T 2, MOr808HO0 H&rR,
MOr808HO0 HO&O, H&@DOUr0, 0rR8 HB7dW.
lO85O 5ODO ul/ C8I8lOQuO OD CZ!OOuCI5.
Name & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & &
Addre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . &
& & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & &
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fhone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . &
I Ow B & & . . . . . & w w < < < . . w w . & & & & & . . . NbXLOOu!C|.
MSX1Z
1tB0e Qute5 DDe 07357-4335