Microhobby Cassette #4 (June'85)

[Juan F. Ramirez]

Microhobby Cassette threads are back!!!



This time, issue 4 from june 1985. Another exiting issue containing an excelent farming simulator, a sophisticated and elegant roulette game, another ermm, interesting M/C utility, a solitaire game, a sports bet program, ... only in the most pathetic your fave SC thread!!!

STAY TUNED!!!

[Juan F. Ramirez]

Garden by G. Smith


Because of the author's name, I presume it's an 'imported' game, probably published in a british mag before. It's about the ancestral art of farming. you're a farmer, with a certain amount of money (10,000 pesetas) to spent on seeds. First you'll ask how many seeds ('semillas') you want (100 pts per unit) and how many water litres ('litros') you need (50 pts per unit).

Then, sow them on the land, water them, trim, avoid insects, ... all in a 365-days cycle, when your harvest will become money. fire can destroy plants and rain will help them.


Insects will try to destroy your precious plants

The keys are:
1 Left
2 Right
3 Action

Next to the tank (to the right) you'll change tools and under the pipe you'll get the water you'll need to sow.

Funny at the first try. Then, you realize you're not up to this. Too hard lifestyle. You'd better live in the city.


It's raining day, hallelujah!!!

[Juan F. Ramirez]

Solador by V. Serrano

You're an unemployed bricklayer who finds a good job oportunity: You must tile a 7-room house.

First, you're asked for the difficulty level (1=highest, 3=lowest). Then, you must select which room ('habitacion') to start your work. Using O, P, Q, A you tile trying to fill in the highest surface you can, avoiding to lock yourself, surrounded by tiles with no possibility of advancing. This reminds me of any Tron game. If you lock yourself too soon, you'll lose one of your three lives ('vidas').


Selecting which room to start

You'll pass each room in order till the last one (unless you lose all the lives) and then your score will be shown, asking whether you want to play again or not.

Simple idea, but a bit boring after some games.


Tiling...

[Morkin]

Heh - a gardening simulator and a game where you're tiling the house...

Next I expect to see a 100% machine code game where you have to insulate your loft...

[Juan F. Ramirez]

Heh - a gardening simulator and a game where you're tiling the house...

Next I expect to see a 100% machine code game where you have to insulate your loft...

... or maybe a progam that gives you interior decorating advices, everything can be made on Spectrum BASIC!

[Juan F. Ramirez]

Caza Menor (Small Game Hunting) by M. Orcera




Snake vs mouse. Who will win?

Here we have the first MH Seal of Approval game! A simple but addictive mouse vs snake game.

In a random labyrinth, you can play either as the mouse (only in 1 player option) or the funny (and not-common in this kind of games) 2-players option. The keys are:

Mouse ('Ratón'): P,L,N,M
Snake ('Serpiente'): Q,A,Z,X

As the mouse, you have a limited time of 60 seconds to avoid being eaten by the snake. As the snake, you have the same time to chase and catch the mouse.

The mouse must avoid being locked by the longer and longer tail. As I said before, quite an addictive game.

[Morkin]

Two consecutive 'snake' type games??

[Juan F. Ramirez]

Ruleta (Roulette)


Impressive starting screen!

This time turn your Spectrum into a classic and sophisticated roulette game.

You have a budget of 30,000 pts to waste bet. Input the number of players, names and which bet, pressing:

1- Simple (just a number)
2- Colour (red/black)
3- even/odd
4- Passe/Manque (< or > 19)
5- Column
6- Group (12 first numbers, 12 middle or last 12)
7- two-in-a-row numbers
8- three-in-a-row numbers
9- four-in-a-row numbers
10- six numbers
N - no bet

Then, how much money to bet and ... rien va plus!!!

[Juan F. Ramirez]

Depurador (Debugger)
By V. Serrano



This utility program, a 300-bytes-long M/C routine, is a BASIC debugger.

Once loaded, press 'D' and load the BASIC program to be debugged. Press RANDOMIZE USR 65000 and RUN and the program runs in a slowly way, showing the program line is executing at any moment.

If you find any bug, press BREAK and RANDOMIZE USR 65122 (but the magazine warns the keyboard will also be slow! ).

Now there's no excuses for not joining the CSSCGC 2020 comp!

[Ivanzx]

Caza Menor (Small Game Hunting) by M. Orcera




Snake vs mouse. Who will win?

Here we have the first MH Seal of Approval game! A simple but addictive mouse vs snake game.

In a random labyrinth, you can play either as the mouse (only in 1 player option) or the funny (and not-common in this kind of games) 2-players option. The keys are:

Mouse ('Ratón'): P,L,N,M
Snake ('Serpiente'): Q,A,Z,X

As the mouse, you have a limited time of 60 seconds to avoid being eaten by the snake. As the snake, you have the same time to chase and catch the mouse.

The mouse must avoid being locked by the longer and longer tail. As I said before, quite an addictive game.

I spent soooo many hours playing this game with my cousins

Also the author later produced some more complex games (Manuel Orcera)

[Juan F. Ramirez]

M. Orcera is a classic name in these MH games but he also rings me a bell, I'm sure I've seen his surname somewhere.. till I found this:

[Juan F. Ramirez]

Ale Hop by M. Orcera


Loading screen

Here we have another game of the MH prolific author we just talked about.

This time we must control a thief along seven screens, where he must reach uranita blocks (a sort of radioactive mineral) by different ways. They have in common the use of physics in the character's movement.

Controls are O,P (left, right) and SPACE or M (jump). There are no lives, according to the instructions, the less lives you spent, the more score you get. I suspect even if you don't reach the end of each screen, you can pass the screens, it depends maybe of the number of tries... so it seems you have a number of lives... sort of!

First, you must choose play practice mode (pressing 1) or non-practice mode (pressing 2). As I'm living on the edge, I chose option 2.


First screen

In the first screen, we must jump controlling the impulse (as in Bugaboo the Flea) to reach the uranita.

In second screen we must climb a long stairs avoiding a little falling block. According to the instructions, when we reach the eighth step we must go back and a new stairs will be made, that cross the first ones. A bit surrealist, I must say.


Second screen. Beware of the falling block!

I encourage you to advance in this game to discover the rest of screens. Each one has its own way to progress. Reach the last one and you'll be awarded as 'hero of the month'!

[Juan F. Ramirez]

Cruz(Cross) by J.,A., & P. Moro


Solitario

This is a series of four board games, based on Peg Solitaire and its variants:

1- Solitario
2- La Cruz
3- El Equipo
4- Cuadro Franco

The fifth option is just some simple instructions.

Input the coordinates of the piece you want to move, first row origin, then column origin; then row destiny, then column destiny. To exit, press 0.


El Equipo

These kind of games doesn't need to be technically good to be funny. Try and tell.


Cuadro Franco

[Juan F. Ramirez]

El Duende Perdido (The Lost Goblin) by F. García


First screen

Guide a lost goblin through certain screens to arrive home avoiding flying dragons, worms, etc. The keys are:

0 - Walk
9 - Jump
J - start game

Incredibly original, addictive (sometimes frustrating too!) for just a BASIC game, so it deserves the second 'Seal of Approval' of the issue.


Second Screen

[Juan F. Ramirez]

Pronóstico (Sports forecast) by M. Cervera

This program uses the probability calculation to give you a (supposed) forecast for football pools.


First bug: that's how 'Ritman Rovers' is displayed... Sheffield Wednesday fans refrain from using the program!

First, you're asked if you want instructions. Then you must input some info the program needs to calculate:

- number of match (considering the whole season is 34 matches, as it was in the 80s' spanish league -18 teams-).
- name of the home team (1)
- name of the away team (2)
- number of winning matches of (1) so far this season
- number of draw matches of (1) so far this season
- number of lose matches of (1) so far this season
- number of winning matches of (2) so far this season
- number of draw matches of (2) so far this season
- number of lose matches of (2) so far this season

At this point asks you if you want a partial percentage (?)

- place of (1) in the ranking
- place of (2) in the ranking
- goals scored/let in of both teams
- if both played last season (and what was the score)
- the referee (home-biased/neutral/away-biased/non computable) (?)
- number of outstanding players of both teams
- team internal problems

...

So after all these annoying,long inputs, if you haven't pressed reset before, the program displays the long-awaited match forecast: (home wins, draw, away wins)



If I were you, I'd bet for the home team. This program can't fail!

[Juan F. Ramirez]

Cintas Locas (Mad Tapes) by A. Cifrian


Organize your tapes!

The last program of the issue is a simple game with only two keys to use:

1 - 5: left
6 - 0: right

Your tape recorder has got mad and rebelled after your abusive use of it (loading games day by day...) and throws you tapes that you must collect and organize. Surrealist plot for a boring game. The difficulty level increase once you've collected all the tapes.


... and that's all! See you in the next issue! Bye!