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  • Your Commodore (May 1987)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Your Commodore – Issue Number 32 – May 1987

    Your Commodore was a U.K. published magazine for Commodore 8-bit computers. This mostly meant the Commodore 64 and 128 but it also covered machines like the C16 and Plus/4. The May 1987 issue includes:

    Features

    • Gunship – This month’s game of the month. This is a combat flight simulator featuring the Apache AH-64A. It was about as realistic as it got at the time.
    • Byting Into The 6510 – The first in a series of articles on machine code programming for the 6410.
    • Platform Panic – A look at some of the most influential platform games of the time, including Impossible Mission, Wizard, Bounty Bob Strikes Back, Cauldron II, Hercules, and Monty on the Run.
    • Image System – A detailed look at this graphics software for the Commodore 64.
    • Graphix Pax – A look at some of the better graphics packages and tools for the Commodore 64, including Koala Pad, Doodle Pad, Drawing Board, PIcasso, Blazing Paddles, Cadpak, Art Studio, Artist 64, and Simon’s Basic.
    • Guide To Graphics – A guide to understanding and using the Commodore 64’s graphics power.
    • Spanner In The Works – A guide to troubleshooting and repairing your computer.

    Regulars

    • Data Statements – News and new products including a new “face lift” package for the C64 to make it look more like the 64C, Aqua Racer from Bubble Bus Software, new SSI releases from U.S. Gold, a new joystick from Epyx, and more.
    • Games Reviews – Reviews of new games including Agent Orange, Indoor Sports, Eagles Nest, Chickin Chase, Big Deal, Krakout, Mutants, Leviathan, Paperboy, Feud, Terror of the Deep, Aliens, Tomahawk, Future Knight, and Escape From Singe’s Castle.
    • I.Q. – A look at some adventure games and other types of games that require more brain power than reflex, including Hollywood Hijinks, Murder Off Miami, Masters of the Universe, Adrian Mole, and Portal.

    Programs and Utilities

    • Lower Case Graphics – A program for using the lower case character set on the C16 and Plus/4.
    • Plus/4 and C16 Character Generator – A type-in character editor for the Plus/4 and C16.
    • Sprite Editor – A type-in sprite editor for the Commodore 64.
    • Cedit – A type-in full-featured character editor for the Commodore 64.

    …and more!


    📂This entry was posted in Commodore 64 Computer Arcana 📎and tagged

  • Computer Gaming World (January 1990)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Computer Gaming World – Issue Number 67 – January 1990

    Computer Gaming World was, overall, the best computer gaming magazine out there. In it’s later days it became Games For Windows. Though it still maintained its quality for the most part, it didn’t last very long after that. The January 1990 issue of Computer Gaming World includes:

    Features

    • Digital Dogfights in ‘Air Warrior’ – A review of Air Warrior, an online World War I air combat game that could be played via GEnie via an IBM PC, Amiga, Atari ST, or Macintosh. This was a game ahead of its time.
    • Microprose’s ‘Sword of the Samurai’ – A review of Sword of the Samurai for the PC. This is a strategy game set in feudal Japan.
    • Hero Wanted: Inquire Within – Hints for the game Hero’s Quest from Sierra for the PC.
    • Who Ya’ Gonna’ Boot? – A review of Ghostbusters II for the IBM PC (Commodore 64 version listed as coming soon). This was a sequel game based on a sequel movie. While the original Ghostbusters game was an absolute classic, this one was a bit of a letdown.
    • Spartans in Spitfires – A review of Their Finest Hour, a Battle of Britain simulation for the PC (Amiga and ATari ST versions listed as coming soon).
    • Heart of Darkness – A review of The Dark Heart of Uukrul from Broderbund for the Apple II. This was a fantasy RPG.
    • ‘Popcorn Not Inclued II’ – A review of Mean Streets from Access for the PC.
    • Hitler’s Navy – A review of Kriegsmarine, a World War II naval simulator for the IBM PC (Amiga, Apple II, and Atari ST versions also available).
    • Sierra’s ‘Hoyle’s Official Book of Games’ – A review of Hoyle’s Book of Games: Volume I from Sierra for the PC. This package includes a variety of card games that can be played alone or with others.
    • ‘Blitzkrieg at the Ardennes’ – A review of this game for the Amiga. This is a turn-based World War II strategy game.
    • Nobody Does It Better – A review of License to Kill for the IBM PC (Amiga, Atari ST, and Commodore 64 versions listed as planned). This game is based on the James Bond movie of the same name.
    • The Psychology of Computer Games – Two statistical psychologists look at the psychology of computer games based on statistics from Computer Gaming World.
    • Origin’s/CGW’s ‘Omega’ Tournament – An ongoing monthly tournament featuring Origin’s Omega. This was a game in which you could create automated futuristic tanks that could battle tanks that others created.
    • The Secret History of ‘Sword of the Samurai’ – A look at the history and creation of Sword of the Samurai.

    Departments

    • Editorial – A look at the state of the industry and of the magazine from a new editor.
    • Taking a Peek – A brief look at upcoming games including The Blue Angels, Hardball II, Dethtrack, The Manhole, Playmaker Football, and Pocket Rockets.
    • Rumor Bag – Rumors about Epyx bankruptcy and what’s to come of some of their products. Plus a future Cinemaware WWI game, modem play on the next Leisure Suit Larry, and more.
    • Over There – A look at new games released in the U.K. including Betrayal, Blade Warrior, Final Battle, and others.
    • Inside The Industry – The latest gaming related news including Nintendo practices being referred to the Justice Department, Software Toolworks acquiring Mindscape, and more.
    • Letters From Paradise – Letters from readers about Sargon 4, multi-system coverage (or the lack thereof), and more.

    …and more!


    📂This entry was posted in Computer Arcana Retro Games 📎and tagged

  • Computer Shopper (September 1994)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Computer Shopper – September 1994

    Computer Shopper was not a magazine I picked up very often. Calling it a magazine is almost misleading. In the late 1980s and early 1990s it was phone book sized…or bigger. This issue approaches 900 pages which is pretty insane for a magazine. Before the Internet, this was THE source if you were looking for places to by computers or parts. However, in addition to all of the ads, it also had great articles. The September 1994 issue includes:

    Features

    • 60MHz Pentiums Under $1,500 – A look at were the “best buy” system based on the 60MHz Pentium processor. Systems here include the First Computer Systems Inc. FCS Green Pentium 60MHz, Micro Professionals Inc. P5/60 Pro Systems Ultra, MilkyWay Computer Products Myriad P5/60, Royal Computer Inc. Pro Desk, and the Tagram System Corp. Pentium VLB P60.

    • 64-Bit Graphics Accelerators – A look at some of the latest and greatest graphis cards. They weren’t even really GPUs at this point. Cards looked at here include the Diamond Viper Pro PCI, Media Vision Pro Graphics 1024 VL-Bus, Number Nine GXE64 PCI, and STB LightSpeed VL.

    • Special Report: Cyber Chips – A look at some of the latest and upcoming CPU technology. The top CPUs of the time included the 100 MHz DX4, 66 MHz Pentium, 100 MHz Pentium, 80 MHz PowerPC 601, 200 MHz DEC Alpha AXP 21064, 150 MHz MIPS R4600. Upcoming CPUs included the 133 MHz Intel P6, 100 MHz PowerPC 604, 100 MHz Cyrix M1, 100 MHz AMD K5, and 100 MHz NexGen 586.

    Shopper’s Guide: Super Systems

    • High-Powered Portables Move In – On the PC side of things, most vendors were still using 486 CPUs because of their lower power requirements but a few were putting 60 and 66MHz Pentium CPUs in mobile systems. For Mac, the PowerPC 603 (which would become the G3) would be the next big thing.

    • CPU Upgrades: Bridging The Generation Gap – CPU upgrade options were really just heating up at the time. There still weren’t a whole lot of options. SX2 and DX2 processors could be used to upgrade some systems and there was the long awaited Pentium Overdrive option that was upcoming. If I recall correctly, the DX2-66 I had back in the day could be upgraded to an 83 MHz Pentium Overdrive. On the Mac side, both DayStar and Apple had upgrade cards that would take 68040 based Centris and Quadra machines up to a 80MHz PowerPC 601.

    • Multiprocessing Goes Mainstream – Pretty much all CPUs were single core at this time and multiprocessing (systems with more than one CPU) were really just starting to become available on the Microsoft/Intel side of things. There were a relative handful of 486 and Pentium based options available.

    • Serious RISC Solutions – A look at Alpha AXP and MIPS R4000 based machines.

    Software

    • Communications Software – In this case, communications software mostly means terminal software. Software looked at here includes Crosstalk for Windows 2.1, HyperAccess 1.02, Procomm Plus for Windows 2.0 (always one of my favorites), QmodemPro for Windows 1.10, Relay/PC Gold for Windows 6.0, Smartcom for Windows 1.0, and WinComm Pro 1.06 among others.

    • Compoent Software – A look at technologies such as Microsoft’s OLE 2.0, OpenDoc, Appware, and Taligent.

    • News And Analysis – Microsoft introduces Exchange, new Harvard Spotlight presentation software, Excel outsells Quattro Pro and Lotus 1-2-3, and more.

    • Spin Doctor – A look at some of the latest CD-ROM titles including Score 800 (30 educational programs), Peterson’s College Database (profiles of 3,200 colleges and universities), Lovejoy’s College Counselor (more college info), ad more.

    • Wohl’s World – Supporting increasingly complex software.

    • Games – Reviews of several games including D-Day: the Beginning of the End, Serf City: Life Is Feudal, Aerodrome, Corridor 7: Alien Invasion, Aerodrome, and Fields of Glory.

    Trends & Technology

    • Charles Cooper – Falling mail-order PC prices.

    • Michael Slater – The 486 remains strong in the face of the Pentium onslaught.

    • Arlan Levitan – Microsoft’s version of 1984.

    • Van Name And Catchings – Searching for data on the PC.

    • John Dickinson – Intel and the competition.

    Tech Section

    • The Hard Edge – Comdex vs. CES, Microsoft’s new OS, and more.

    • Ultimate Windows – A look at the two types of 64-bit video cards: 32-bit interleaved design and true 64-bit.

    • PC’s Unplugged – New battery technologies for laptops.

    • Alfred Poor’s Computer Cures – Questions answered about problem parallel ports, upgrading the hard drive in a notebook, parallel port external hard drives, and more.

    • Developer Tools – Tools for creating fax enabled applications.

    • What Ever Happened To…? – A look back at IBM’s first attempt at a desktop computer, the IBM 5100. Plus the creation of the IBM PC.

    • Cyber-Privacy – A look at the RSAREF cryptography toolkit for encrypting e-mail.

    • Inside The Internet – A look at how the Internet works.

    • What’s The Code? – Programming techniques for performing 2-D rotation with fixed point math.

    Online

    • Hot Off The Wire – Apple has trouble determing audience for eWorld, IBM’s new wireless information-retrieval technology, and more.

    • ZiffNet Dispatch – New electronic cookbook, online survey results, and more.

    • Connect Time – Onlne services prepare for the arrival of broadband (which was still several years away in practice).

    • Shareware Shop – A look at some of the latest shareware including Music Sculptor, CD Jammer, Cool Editor, MIDI Mode Music Jukebox, Multimedia Sales Army Knife, and more.

    Multimedia Direct

    • Best Data’s ACE 5000 Multimedia Card – A combination data, fax, voice, and sound card.

    • North Coast Software’s PhotoMorph 2 – Image manipulation software.

    • Sony Imagesoft’s The Haldeman Diaries CD-ROM – Inside the Nixon White House.

    • Future Labs’ TalkShow 2.1 – Whiteboard software for your PC.

    • Quantas Press’ Terrorist Group Profiles CD-ROM – Dossiers of real terrorist organizations.

    • NuReality’s Vivid 3D – An inexpensive add-on that creates 3D sound from any set of speakers.

    • Dell Computer’s Dimension XPS P90 – A look at Dell’s new Pentium 90 multimedia powerhouse. Features include a 90 MHz Pentium CPU, a Panasonic double-speed CD-ROM drive, a Creative Soundblaster 16, 16 MB of RAM, 256K of secondary cache, a 540MB Quantum IDE hard drive, a Number Nine GXE 64Pro graphic accelerator card, and more for $3299.

    …and much more!


    📂This entry was posted in Computer Arcana 📎and tagged