• Tag Archives VIC-20

  • RUN: The Home User’s Guide to Commodore Computing (January 1985)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: RUN: The Home User’s Guide to Commodore Computing – Issue Number 13 – January 1985

    RUN was one of the most popular Commodore 8-bit computer magazines, mostly covering the Commodore 64. It was also one of the magazines I bought the most growing up. The January 1985 issue includes:

    Features

    • Trapped in the Maze – Creating a maze game in BASIC on the VIC-20.
    • Writing Word Games – A guide to creating word games (like Hangman).
    • Smoking Joe – Some tips and a program for creating sprites.
    • Quatro – A type-in tic-tac-toe game for the Commodore 64 with the twist that you have to get four in a row instead of three.
    • Don’t Forget! – A type-in program for the Commodore 64 that gives you a calendar and the ability to create appointments.
    • Selecting The Right Printer – A guide to choosing the best printer for you. Some models mentioned here include the 1520 Plotter, 1525e, MPS-801, Prowriter, Okidata 82 and 92 series, Epson MX, RX, and FX series, Gemini 10X/15X, and more.
    • Three Printers From Commodore – Reviews of the Commodore DPS-1101 Daisy Whee printer, and the Commodore 1526 and MPS-803 Dot Matrix printers.
    • Disk Tips For Beginner – A guide to managing your floppy disks.
    • Let There Be Light Pens – At one point in time, before the mouse took over for good, light pens seemed to be the up and coming input device. This article is an introductory guide to light pens.

    Departments

    • RUNning Ruminations – A look ahead to what is in this issue and a request for articles on the new Plus/4 and Commodore 16.
    • Magic – Short programs for recovering an erased program, extracting lines from an existing program, tracing the execution of BASIC programs, reading raw data from tape, using a voice synthesizer for debugging, and more.
    • Software Gallery – Reviews of Questprobe: The Hulk, Kidwriter, Saucer Attack!, Space Taxi (one of my all time favorites though it only gets a ‘B’ rating here), abd Word Processor – Professional.
    • Clubs – A list of Commodore computer related clubs and user groups.
    • Commodore Clinic – Questions answered about documentation for the Commodore B128, compiling BASIC programs, word processing programs on cassette, CP/M on the Commodore 64, 1541 disk drivr problems, blowing fuses on the VIC-20, keypads for the Commodore 64, and much more.
    • Mail RUN – Letters from readers about CP/M problems on the Commodore 64, Commodore in South Africa, Panasonic printers, and more.
    • RUN’s 1984 Index – An index of articles and reviews from RUN covering all of 1984.
    • New Products RUNdown – A look at new producs including Suspect from Infocom, Breakdance from Epyx, President Elect from SSI, F-15 Strike Eagle from MicroProse, The Operating System from Hacker’s Hardware, The Professor from Progressive Peripherals, and more.


    Back cover of the January 1985 issue of RUN
    …and more!


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  •  Home Computer Magazine Volume 4, Number 1 (1985)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Home Computer Magazine Volume 4, Number 1 (1985)

    Home Computer Magazine started life as TI99er which exclusively covered the the Texas Instruments TI-99 line of computers. With this issue (Volume 4, Number 1) it was re-branded and started covering the Commodore 64 and VIC-20, Apple II, and IBM PC (DOS) in addition to the TI-99. This issue was published some time in 1984 and includes:

    Features

    • Uncle Larry’s Fiddle Tunes – Type-in folk songs for the Commodore 64, TI-99/4A and PCjr.
    • Pocket Canon – More type-in music, this time for the TI-99/4A.
    • TI-Writer Tutorial – The third part of a tutorial TI-Writer, a word processor for the TI-99/4A.
    • I Write the Songs: Electronic Sheet Music – A type-in BASIC program for the TI-99/4A called Music Magic that lets you play, display, and save music.
    • Just Assemble Melody: Music in Mini Memory – A type-in program that makes writing music on the TI-99/4A easier.
    • PCjr: A Detailed Look Inside the Peanut’s Shell – An overview of IBM’s new PCjr. It was doomed to failure for a variety of reasons, including a terrible keyboard, incompatibility with PC parts, limited expansion ability, software compatibility issues, a relatively high price, and probably other reasons.
    • 66 Keys to Graphics Success: A Primer for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20 – A beginner’s guide to the Commodore 64 and VIC-20.
    • Have No Fear: Assembly Language Won’t Byte, Part 3 – The third part in a beginner’s assembly language tutorial for the TI-99/4A.
    • Porsches and Other Pipedreams: Computer Assisted Savings – A type-in program for the Apple II, PCjr, Commodore 64 and VIC-20 that does things like calculating compound interest, payment plans, future value, and more.
    • 3D-IIe: Apple Graphics in Three Dimensions – A type-in program for creating 3D line drawing on the Apple II.
    • The Future Is Now in Apple Graphics – A look at new graphics products for the Apple II including the Supersprite board and StarSprite software, plus an interview with Don Fudge.
    • Biting Into Your Apple – A guide to customizing and expanding your Apple II.
    • Movable Feasts – A type-in meal planner for the VIC-20.
    • Don’t Be a SlowPOKE – A type-in machine language routine to help you animated your sprites on the Commodore 64.
    • Down Memory Lane – A guide to rearranging the memory map of your Commodore 64 to squeeze out more memory.
    • Easy as Apple Pie – A guide to creating simple graphics on the Apple II.
    • Microcomputer Accuracy – A guide to testing the mathematical accuracy of your computer. Typically, home computers were not as precise as scientific calculators, at least not with built in math functions.

    LOGO Times

    • What Is LOGO – It’s a programming language.
    • Lyrical LOGO – Recursion using LOGO.
    • LOGO Shoots for the Moon – Structured programming using LOGO.

    Product Reviews

    • Henpecked – A cartridge based Joust clone for the TI-99/4A featuring chickens.
    • Hopper – A cartridge based Pengo clone for the TI-99/4A in which you control a kangaroo on a cargo ship trying to avoid capture.
    • Zeus – A game inspired by Space Invaders for the Commodore 64 in which you must avoid lightning bolts from Zeus.
    • Beach Head – This classic for the Commodore 64 plays kind of like a series of mini-games with a World War II theme. It is definitely among the best early games for the commodore 64.
    • Gruds in Space – A sci-fi themed graphic adventure for the Apple II.
    • Jumpman Junior – A cartridge version of this screen based platform game. The graphics were definitely simple but this game was a lot of fun (and also hard).
    • Stellar Seven – A wireframe space combat sim for the Apple II.
    • Coveted Mirror – A graphics adventure game for the Apple II with the somewhat unique feature for the time that the screens were animated.
    • Fly Snuffer – An action game on cartridge for the TI-99/4A in which you have to spray flies to kill them.
    • Homeword Bound – A review of HomeWord, a word processor from Sierra Online for the Apple II.
    • Bank Street Writer – A popular 1980s word processor for the Apple II (and later other machines).
    • Bigger Better Basic – Reviews of The Super Expander 64 and Simon’s Basic 64, both of which are extensions to Commodore 64’s BASIC that add things like graphics commands among others.
    • Getting it Out of Your System – A look at the Buffered Grappler and PSIO interface cards for the Apple II.
    • Facemaker – A educational/art game in which you create and must remember faces for the Commodore 64, Apple II, and TI-99/4A.
    • Art at Your Fingertips – A color graphics system for the Apple II consisting of a Koala Pad drawing pad, Microillustrator art program, Transtar 315 printer, and a PICS Interface card which can transfer color screen dumps to the printer.

    Gameware Buffet

    • Flak Attack – A type in game for the Apple II, Commodore 64, VIC-20, PCjr and TI-99/4A in which you must shoot down enemy aircraft.
    • Slots – A type-in slot game simulator for the TI-99/4A.
    • Meltdown – A type-in game in which you must prevent a nuclear power plant from melting down for the TI-99/4A.
    • Challenging the Tower of Hanoi – A type-in implementation of the Tower of Hanoi for the Apple II, Commodore 64, VIC-20, PCjr, and TI-99/4A.

    Departments

    • On Screen – TI exits the personal computer market and all about the changes in the magazine.
    • Group Grapevine – News and upcoming events related to computer users groups.
    • Letters to the Editor – Letters from readers including converting programs for the TI Editor/Assembler, the IBM PC vs. the IBM PCjr, and more comments on articles from previous issues.
    • HCM Product News – TI announces two new games for the TI-99/4A (Symoids and Pirate’s Isle); the Super Stik from Personal Peripherals; Persuasion, a strategy game from Orion Games for the PC; new printing service for TI users; Flight Simulator II from subLogic for the Commodore 64 and Atari; a new TI BASIC compiler; and much more.
    • Tech Notes: TI – A guide to setting up data files on cassette for the TI-99/4A.
    • Tech Notes: IBM – Demonstrating mathematical accuracy on the IBM PC.
    • Tech Notes: Commodore – Restoring DATA pointers on the Commodore 64 and VIC-20.
    • Tech Notes: Apple – Modifying, inserting, and deleting from existing programs on the Apple II.

    …and more!


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  • Compute! (February 1985)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Compute! – Issue Number 57 – February 1985

    Compute! was a great magazine for those with home computer in the 1980s, at least if you had one that it covered. In 1985 that meant the Commodore 64, VIC-20, Atari 8-bit, Apple II, and IBM PC. Many computer magazines were more technically oriented this one but if you were just looking for more typical articles and reviews then it was very solid. It still had type-in programs which was a great way to get software for almost free (minus the cost of the magazine and your time of course). The February 1985 issue includes:

    Features

    • The New Atari: Q & A With Sigmund Hartmann – An interview with Sigmund Hartmann, President of Atari Software, about Atari’s future. On the immediate horizon were new machines including two new Atari 8-bit computers (the Atari 65XE and Atari 130XE) as well as their new 16-bit Atari ST.

    • Fame Games – A look at games using the names of famous authors and stars. Some of these include Amazon (Michael Crichton), Fahrenheit 451, Rendezvous With Rama, Ghostbusters, and many others.

    • Michael Crichton: Reflections Of A New Designer – Michael Crichton discusses the creation of his adventure game Amazon.

    • Birth Of A Computer Game – Game designers Chris Crawford, Jon Freeman, Bill Budge, Bruce Carver, and Dan Bunten discuss their creation process.

    Reviews

    • Dinosaurs – An educational game for preschoolers featuring dinosaurs for the Apple II and Commodore 64.

    • The Syn Series For Atari – A look at SynCalc, SynTrend, and SynFile+ for the Atari 8-bit. SynCalc is a spreadsheet program, SynTrend is a statistics and graphing program, and SynFile+ is a database program.

    • PC-Write Word Processors For PC & PCjr – A low cost shareware word processor capable of running in only 64K on the PC/PCjr.

    Columns And Departments

    • The Editor’s Notes – Reflections on the attributes of the perfect computer.

    • Readers’ Feedback – Readers write in about DOS, the need for two disk drives, memory on the Atari 800XL, transferring/translating BASIC programs between Sinclair computers, POKE and PEEK (or the lack thereof) in TI BASIC, and more.

    • The Beginner’s Page – Conditional logic and IF-THEN statements.

    • Programming The TI: Programming Without A Math Background – Knowing a little math is, of course, useful when programming but an advanced degree in mathematics should hardly be a pre-requisite.

    • Machine Language: Multiplication, Part 2 – The second part in a series on multiplying numbers in machine language.

    • Computers And Society – Word processors and their effect on writing.

    • IBM Personal Computing: Inside King’s Quest – A look at how King’s Quest was made. Incidentally, this game was created as a result of IBM asking Sierra to develop a game that would show off the color graphics of the PCjr.

    • INSIGHT: Atari – A BASIC benchmark for the Atari.

    • Telecomputing Today – Using a “lap computer” with a modem while traveling for business and pleasure, the latest updates on information services including CompuServe, Dow Jones News/Retrieval, and The Source, as well as a look at two new services, People/Link and Play/Net.

    The Journal

    • Acrobat – A type-in game for the Atari, Commodore 64 and VIC-20 in which you must use various acrobatic moves to make your way through various environments and obstacles.

    • Plus/Term For VIC & 64 – A type-in terminal program for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20 with 1200bps support.

    • Adding Sound Effects To Atari – Five short type-in programs for generating various sounds on the Atari.

    • How TurboTape Works – TurboTape is a program that speeds up loading programs from tape that was published in the previous issue. This article explains how it works.

    • IBM Rebound: All Machine Language Game For PC & PCjr – A type-in game for the IBM PC and PCjr that is similar to breakout.

    • Apple Bowling Champ – A type-in bowling game for the Apple II for up to four players.

    • Advanced Sound Effects On The 64 – Includes a type-in program for experimenting with different sounds without programming.

    • News & Products – New printers including the Riteman LQ and Riteman Plus; Work Force II home applications package for the Apple II; new games for Atari and Commodore including Market Forces, Break Street, and more; memory expansion for the Atari 600XL; and more.

    …and more!


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