Source: RUN Special Issue 4 – 1988

RUN was one of the most popular Commodore 64 magazines in North America. In its earlier days, it would publish a special holiday issue at the end of the year. This one, referred to as “Special Issue, 1988” would have actually been on the shelves probably by late November 1987. I’m not sure if it was published before or after the regular December issue. It included both new material and “best of” material from previous issues throughout the year. The contents of this one includes:

• RUNning Ruminations – An introduction to the fourth annual special issue and an overview of what is in this issue from the editor.

• Holiday Gift Guide – Recommended gifts in various categories. Categories include Arcade Games, Books, Databases, Disk Drive Speed-Ups, Drawing Programs, Education, Financial, Flight Simulators, Graphics, Graphic Adventures, Home Helper, Input Devices, Integrated Software, Low-Cost Software, Music, Naval Simulations, Networks, Other Hardware, Party Games, Printers, Productivity, Software From Movies, Sports, Spreadsheets, Telecommunications, Utilities, Word Processors, and Unusual Uses.

• Caveat Emptor – Guidelines for Commodore related gift buying and some questions to consider before making a purchase.

• Commodore Clinic – The best technical questions of the year from readers and their answers. Categories include commercial software, programming, hardware, and miscellaneous.

• Magic – The two hundred best Magic tips of the year. These typically consist of short programs or commands to perform computer ‘magic’ and can include programming tips, short programs to generate sound and/or graphics, small useful utilities or applications, and much more.

• Easy Applications – Two previously published (relatively) short type-in applications including Flash Cards and The Menu Machine.

• Mega-Magic – Like Magic but consisting of slightly longer programs. This includes five previously published items including Scroller (BASIC line scrolling program), Error Channel Monitor (displays disk drive status), Fast C-128 Hi-Res Screen Dumps, Activating C-128 Keys in C-64 Mode, and Ultra Hi-Res Pie Charts.

• Commodore Service Centers – An exhaustive list of Commodore service centers listed by state.

…and more!

Source: Compute!’s Gazette – September 1988

Features

• Exta! Extra! Write All About It! – A guide to desktop publishing on the Commodore 64 and 128 including an overview of some of the software available, including The Newsroom, geoPublish, Personal Newsletter, and Paperclip Publisher.

• Putting It to Work – Some examples of how Commodore user groups are using various desktop publishing software to create newsletters.

Reviews

• Deja Vu – A mystery themed text/graphics adventure by Mindscape that was originally written for the Mac.

• Ticket to Washington D.C. – An educational game in the same vein as Carmen Sandiego but with a focus on Washington D.C.

• X-15 Alpha Mission – A 3D arcade style shooter in which you are in the cockpit of an X-15 space craft (not to be confused with the research aircraft).

• Star Empire – A vast action strategy game that borrows a lot from games like Elite in which there are a number of goals including finding the cure for a galactic plague and ultimately building a shield to protect against alien invasion.

Games

• Lincoln Green – A type-in arcade style game in which you play a Robin Hood like character running through the forest protecting your treasure and dodging arrows.

• Boom and Bust – This type-in game combines Hangman with Circus Atari. Launch your clown to hit the balloon with the letter that you want to guess…

• Lava Flow – A type-in game in which you must build walls to prevent the Lava flow from getting to you.

Programming

• BASIC for Beginners: The Pigeonhole Analogy – This BASIC tutorial teaches you all about arrays.

• The Programmer’s Page: Did You Know That… – Various programming hints and tips, including PEEKing strings, undimensioned arrays, abbreviating BASIC, and more.

• Machine Language Programming: Debugging – Some tips on debugging machine language programming, including making the RUN/STOP key work and a specific debugging example.

• Pattern Fill – A type-in graphics utility that will fill areas with any rectangular pattern.

• Multicolor Graphics Dump – A type-in program for sending full screen graphics to a MPS-801, MPS-803, Commodore 1525 or compatible printer.

• Multicolor Graphics and Video Storage – A detailed article on how graphics are stored and accessed on the Commodore 64, including a programming example and instructions for how to print.

• ML Boot – A type-in program that lets you auto load up to 9 machine language programs at once.

• Speedcheck 128: A Spelling Checker for SpeedScript 128 – A spell checker for Gazette’s own word processing program that was also originally published as a type-in program.

• Disk Package – A type-in program that gives you a more full-featured set of disk utilities (and also supports the 1764 RAM Expansion) vs. the DOS 5.1 disk that comes with the 1541 and 1571 disk drives.

• MultiSort 128 – A machine language sorting routine that can be used from your own BASIC programs on the Commodore 128.

Departments

• The Editor’s Note – An overview of some of what was shown at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show.

• Letters to the Editor – Some readers complain about defective Commodore 128Ds, a question about the Commodore PC10-1, and another about page numbering.

• Feedback – Questions about converting a 1702 monitor to a color TV, alphabetizing in SpeedScript, printing machine language listings, formatting and using double-side vs. single-sided disks on the 1571, and more.

• D’Iversions: Murder at Palenque – A look at a interactive videodisc software and the future of multimedia software.

• Horizons: Counting People and Making Faces – A look at the chat mode of various telecommunications services and a comparison with CB radio.

• The GEOS Column: Quick Clock – A type-in program that gives you a simple clock desktop accessory for GEOS.

• News & Products – New products mentioned this month include Home Video Producer, Tower Toppler, Technocop, Battleship, Final Assault, Street Sports Football, The Legend of Blacksilver, Mind-Roll, The Games: Summer Edition, Pete Rose Pennant Fever, U.S.S. Ocean Ranger, Predator, Zak McKRacken and the Alien Mindbenders, Neuromancer, Serve and Volley, T.K.O.,Fast Break, and Rack ‘Em.

…and more!