Microhobby Semanal 33-36

General software. From trouble with the Banyan Tree to OCP Art Studio, post any general software chat here. Could include game challenges...
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Juan F. Ramirez
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Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Your worst nightmare fave SC thread has come!

I'll review the tape corresponding to BASIC programs published in Microhobby 33 to 36 issues, corresponding to june & july 1985. Remember that all the MH issues are available at archive.org if you want to check the BASIC lists.

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It'll be a thread containing 19 exciting programs about Olympics, bullfighting, space shooters, an Indiana Jones adventure, ... and of course derivative calculation, hypocycloid curves and even a periodic table!!!

Stay tuned!
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Morkin »

Yay..!

I hope you're typing all of these in yourself rather than cheating and loading them off the tape.. :mrgreen:
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Juan F. Ramirez
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Morkin wrote: Fri Nov 23, 2018 2:47 pm Yay..!

I hope you're typing all of these in yourself rather than cheating and loading them off the tape.. :mrgreen:
Eh! I must tell you that some games from this and the last thread were typed up by me back in the day! True!

After hours of hard typing, the frustration after running the game for the first time was unbelievable! :lol:
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Renumerador (Renumberator) by J. L. Rodríguez

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This program, as its name says, renumber BASIC lines in a program (option 1 in the starting screen) as well as remove blocks of BASIC lines (option 2).

In option 1, an INPUT command asks you first number of line to renumber, then the step between lines.

In option 2, number of the first line to remove, then the last line to remove.

Renumerador, the most powerful weapon for your BASIC masterpieces.
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

La Bodega (The Wine Cellar) by José F. Santos

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There's an old legend that says that somewhere there's an underground wine cellar where someone produced a prodigious wine, source of health and energy.

So you're the guy who faces the amazing challenge of entering the cellar and getting that winery (and got plastered, by the way).

This is an original program in which you control the guy going downstairs, avoiding the broken steps and getting some bottles that restore your energy level. O and P are the only keys you need to accomplish your mission.

Not bad, in spite of BASIC limitations.
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Plasma by M. Eugenia Cuervo

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Your spaceship is crossing a dangerous cosmic plasma zone, where the frightening plasmas live (as you'll see, they're frogs, ghosts (?), ... ). They're approaching the spaceship so you must get out and trying to repel them to avoid they reach and fire the ship's energy aerial (the green circle to the right).

Yes, my friends, it seems a script from another Ridley Scott film, but we're lucky we'll enjoy it in a BASIC game instead.

The keys are:

Q - left
W - right
1 - up
P - fire

You are armed with a special repellent ray and must repel the plasmas completely to the left of the screen till they dissapear. Then a new enemy appears and you must do the same again.

It's hard to control the astronaut and the background is too confused, full of coloured planets, and all this make the game difficult and boring.
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Derivadas (Derivatives) by Xavier Alaman

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It's about Derivatives calculation, one or two variables.

The program starts with the options shown as above. Press 'I' to input a function. for example, 2*x+5 and pressing 'D' will show the result (2). I don't remember how 'x-squared' or other exponents were typed with the Spectrum keyboard, nor in a PC keyboard, so we have a problem here! :lol:

The other options are (S) 'second' and (C) 'change'. C asks you for a new variable. S seems it calculates again.

No instructions were shown in the magazine (issue 34, pages 8 & 9) neither the program, so try it out for yourself.
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Morkin »

Juan F. Ramirez wrote: Fri Nov 23, 2018 8:31 am Your worst nightmare fave SC thread has come!

I'll review the tape corresponding to BASIC programs published in Microhobby 33 to 36 issues, corresponding to june & july 1985. Remember that all the MH issues are available at archive.org if you want to check the BASIC lists.

Image

It'll be a thread containing 19 exciting programs about Olympics, bullfighting, space shooters, an Indiana Jones adventure, ... and of course derivative calculation, hypocycloid curves and even a periodic table!!!

Stay tuned!
Quite a lot of semi-nudity on that inlay..?! :shock:

(Manages to resist the temptation to make a crude bone-related joke)
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

La Corrida (The Bullfight) by J.J.López

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It's 5 o'clock in the evening in a crowded bullring somewhere in Spain in the hot summer of 1985. The big doors open and a majestic bull appears. In front of him, the matador. *guitar music*

But this time the roles exchange and with the keys 5,6,7 and 8 you control the bull and take revenge by trying to reach the matador that appears and dissapears randomly. There's a step counter ('pasos') and the number of times you hit the bullfighter ('cogidas'). Whenever you reach the matador, the program tells you the time you needed to reach the man and back to the fight again.

Nice traditional bullfighting music intro (enigmatically I can't hear it in this version, loaded with SPIN). The crappy feature is that at first, the bull is displayed with the letters corresponding to its UDGs instead of the graphics themselves. But once you move the bull, the correct UDGs appears. I don't remember noticing this (and the tune issue) when I typed up this program (yes, this was one of the programs I typed up a whole evening!).
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Las Llaves (The Keys) by S. Peira.

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Also known as 'El Prisionero' ('The Prisoner'), it a game of logic, really good, as good that it'll be awarded with the first 'Seal of Approval' (a sort of crappy 'Crash Smash'):

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Only the best games will deserve this seal.

Back to the game, you're closed in a 49-cells grid. You start in one of them. You can exit a cell by two ways:

- Black batting doors: They're opened only in the direction they show
- Coloured keys: They open the doors with the same colour.

You must reach the black door to complete the game, taking into account that the maximum time you are allowed to stay in each cell is 500 time units. And you have 3 lives.

The maze is not random, though, but it is really addictive.
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

El Bombero (The Firefighter) by Arturo Pérez

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As a firefighter, you must take all the water drums, avoiding fire. If you step on the blue ground fire will appear behind you.

The keys are:

7 - go upstairs and jump
5 - left
6 - go down satirs
8 - right

That's the theory. On the contrary, the practice is it's very difficult to control the character. I can't hardly go upstairs, sometimes keys are late to respond... exasperating!
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

El Ídolo de Oro (The Golden Idol) by Juan J. Sánchez

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This is one of the most enjoyable BASIC games I've ever come across, a nice adventure in which you take the role of the intrepid adventurer Indiana Jones in his search for the Golden Idol. A deserved 'Seal of Approval' game.

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The three-gates chamber

It's a very looong BASIC list that was published in the issue 33, pages 8, 9 & 10. It took me many days to type it up, but it was worth doing it.

After a nice music intro and nice animations, the game starts. He's inside an ancient temple and must overcome five challenges till reaching his desired treasure: The Golden Idol.

- The three-gates chamber: press a key in the precise moment to avoid the three moving gates crush Indi.
- The liana chamber: similar to the Hunchback liana screen, press a key and grab the liana to reach next chamber.
- The weighing-scales chamber: put the correct weight in kilos (100 kg per weight character) to escape.
- The arrow chamber: press a key in the precise moment to kill the monster and reach the final chamber.
- The final chamber: The Idol chamber. Step on avoiding ember and collect the three keys.

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The weighing-scales chamber

As the magazine says in the description, it's "a really spectacular adventure that will thrill you, we assure you". And that's right. This program is an example of how a limited programming language and a lot of inventiveness can go so far. Enjoyable.

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At last, we got the precious treasure!

A highly recommended game. Try it and share your comments.
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by djnzx48 »

That Las Llaves is a great idea for a game, and nicely executed too. Although I did find it annoying ending up stuck in the same dead end room again and having to reRUN the program, even when trying to avoid it! I'm sure it would be possible to make a random level generator for it and maybe even add some multicolour.
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

djnzx48 wrote: Thu Nov 29, 2018 9:04 am I'm sure it would be possible to make a random level generator for it and maybe even add some multicolour.
I had thought the same.

There's a cool challenge for you coders! ;)
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Curvas Hipocicloides (Hypocycloid Curves) by Francisco Vila

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Hypocycloid curves were used in an old toy, Spirograph, that maybe some of you remember. So this program is about drawing these kind of curves.

11 parameters (0-10) are displayed on screen (radius, initial X, resolution, ring teeth, wheel teeth, etc). With the keys 6 (down) & 7 (up) you select the parameter and 0 changes it. ENTER starts the drawing. C erase and draw. S saves on tape and Z copy on printer.

Once the drawing is displayed and finished, CAPS + M save and return to menu whereas CAPS + R ignore drawing and return to menu.

You can draw a marvel like this:

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Cute, isn't it?
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

En Busca del Tesoro (In the search of the treasure) by Gregorio Morel

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Simple game in which you must find a treasure, hidden in an unknown island, by typing the (column,line) coordinates in the map. First of all, you must enter your name.

Certain messages are displayed depending on the distance of your input from the treasure:

Te alejas (you get away)
Vas bien (you go ok)
Templado (mild)
Caliente (hot)
Te quemas (you're burning)

You can also came across cannibals and you are asked for fighting or run ('peleo' o 'corro' should be the answers). There's also a dangeous volcan in eruption or quicksands so in these cases you'll be asked whether go east ('este') or west ('oeste').

Depending on all these answers you could finish the game or continue.

You have 8 attemps to find the treasure.

In general, not a bad game based on a simple concept.
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Dominó (Dominoes) by Amador Tenreiro

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A simple dominoes game vs the Spectrum. At first, you'll be asked how many games to play (recommended 5). Then, all your dominoes are displayed and you must select the number of the domino you want to use (0=pass).

Bigger dominoes displayed on screen would have been great, but in the absence of good commercial games (now I don't remember any interesting one) this is what BASIC games are for.
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Aeromash by Antonio Torregrosa

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This is a modest try to make a Missile Command clone. You control a sight to shoot planes and destroy their bombs before they reach the land. The keys are I, P, Q, Z and O fire. The program warns you that the cursor must be in L mode. In C mode the controls won't work. A very nice WTF feature. Also, Control your energy and time levels.

It's hard (and strongly slow) to move the sight. The on-screen instructions says if you press the controls + caps shift, they'll go faster (second nice WTF feature).

A hard game that probably will get on your nerves.
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by PeterJ »

Juan F. Ramirez wrote: Wed Nov 28, 2018 7:01 am
That's the theory. On the contrary, the practice is it's very difficult to control the character. I can't hardly go upstairs, sometimes keys are late to respond... exasperating!
You are right [mention]Juan F. Ramirez[/mention], this is very frustrating. Sometimes you stand under the stair press '7' and you jump rather than climb. Also you can't see yourself when you are on the stairs!

Thank you for continuing to bring MicroHobby to the English audience though. Its a great read.
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Air Attack by Francisco Villalba

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This is very similar game to Aeromash, reviewed above.

You must destroy an enemy plane that flies from left to right at random heights by controlling a sight with the cursor keys and 0 fire. They're hard keys (5-6-7-8) to be used in this game (at least in a PC keyboard) what makes the game hard and exasperating.
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Morkin »

Juan F. Ramirez wrote: Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:11 pm Air Attack by Francisco Villalba

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That looks as if it would fit right in on Cassette 50...
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

La Escoba Espacial (The Space Broom) by J. J. Valencia

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Under this weird name we have a weird game. You control a space broom (yes, a space broom!) to remove every flying object thrown by the martians, who are trying to invade our planet.

In a looooong and slow intro, we are warned to avoid the clouds and told that the keys are 5-8 left/right, 7 up and 0 shoot lazer.

But the bizarreness doesn't end here. Once the game starts, we lose every life and cannot control the ship (I mean, the broom!). There's something wrong with the program, definitely. I tried it on SpecEmu, Fuse and ZX Spin and the same issue.

Ironically, once you've lost all the lives, a message says 'YOU'VE BEEN KILLED, DUDE! ANOTHER GAME?'
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Olimpiadas (Olympics) by M. Javier Reyes

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Who needs Ocean's Daley Thompson's Decathlon when you can have your own 100m game just by typing up this BASIC list? That's what anyone would have thought when finding this game among the pages of the issue 36 of Microhobby magazine, in july 1985. The mag said the program was a mix of BASIC and M/C.

After a long evening typing hopefully the program, I typed RUN and I came across a monstruous keyboard killer, even worse than the Daley game itself.

You are asked for the key for right, then for left. They are the only two keys you need. You must press them alternatively with the enough speed and constant rate to win the race. You run on lane 2, by the way.

You can choose three levels:

1 - For snails
2. For athletes
3. Beware! Carl Lewis is running!

Original, isn't it?

There's a WTF message that says that the record is 9E+10 seg. in level 3.

Once the race starts (on your marks, set, ... GO!) the nightmare starts too (in level 1!!!). You press and press and press... but most your opponents are leading and you press and press and press... till you get on your nerves, stop pressing the controls and reset the game (I was lucky as I had a Spectrum Plus with its own reset button, 48K owners couldn't do that! Mwhahahaha!)
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Lissajous by Fina Valero

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This is an educational program (hurraaahh! - Ed) that helps you draw Lissajous curves, studied by Jules Antoine Lissajous.

After a starting screen that shows you some examples of these curves you must press S to start the program.

Then, the program tells you that the units will be: frecuency in Hz, phases in sexagesimal degrees and the period of study will be in multiples of the higher period. After reading that, please, don't reset. Give it an opportunity. Monsieur Lissajous would be proud of you.

Pressing any key takes you to the next screen, where you must fix each parameter with the letters O and P (decrease, increase), selecting with ENTER:

- vertical frecuency
-vertical amplitude
-vertical phase angle
-horizontal frecuency
-horizontal amplitude
-horizontal phase angle
- length of study 0:5 PI (WTF?)

And the corresponding curve is shown. Press S to start a new curve.

Cool, isn't it?
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Re: Microhobby Semanal 33-36

Post by R-Tape »

If push came to shove, I'd say that one is my favourite of all the Lissajous curve generators.

And I might be wrong, but I gather that Zynaps used this utility for those little wobbly things in the bottom corners.

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