uMIA type-in from Personal Computer World: Qix (Feb. 1985)

[Neil Parsons]

I've already typed and transfered into a TZX file an uMIA game called "Qix" from PCW magazine, developed by Y. Yu (or so it seems). After a long time trying to make it perfectly checked of free errors, there must be something bad inside the program. So to start, once I press RUN and ENTER, some machine code routines are generated.

I've modified it several times fixing every bug Spectaculator detected, except for at least one occasion that I couldn't see normal text after exiting me from the game because of another error system message prompting.

Tried to type CHARS pokes to see normal characters on bottom screen, but something in the program stopped me to fulfill every typed command (POKE 23606,0 and POKE 23607,60 at first). Maybe those MC routines or something else existing at memory didn't allow me to correct more lines. Next screenshot show what happens after running the program again and one error message is shown with pixels and random characters on prompt.

Probably this BASIC listing was printed in the magazine with errors.

TZX has been already uploaded with my new entry of this title to SC database.



"Qix" appeared in PCW magazine of February 1985. See it here.